e-booksonline Chapter 4 How to be Superior
Chapter 4 How to be Superior
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Licheng is divided into east and west cities, with the Lishui River, which flows through the city, serving as the boundary.
Jiang Qi's Sweetwater Lane is located in the western part of the city. The lanes here are crisscrossed, the houses are low and crowded, and it is a place where ordinary people live.
In contrast, the East City had neat houses, wide streets, and numerous shops and restaurants, making it a place for the wealthy and respectable.
In the past few days, besides collecting moon essence water, Jiang Qi has spent his free time wandering around the streets and alleys of the western city, trying to find a safe way to sell it.
He selected three shops in total: two clinics and one pharmacy, intending to sell water at each.
At this moment, he was standing in front of a shop called "Renji Medical Clinic".
This is one of the places he chose.
Renji Medical Clinic has a good reputation in Xicheng District. It often reduces or waives consultation fees for poor families, and its buyback price for medicinal materials is higher than the market price.
Jiang Qijin arrived at the clinic with diluted moonlight water, saying it was water he had obtained by chance in the mountains. The old doctor at Renji Clinic didn't ask many questions about the details, but simply took the bamboo tube and examined it.
There are many things in the mountains; whether they are poison or good medicine, we have to distinguish them before we can know.
The old doctor opened the bamboo tube and poured out a small amount into a special container for the clinic.
The first step in identification is to observe its color.
The water was clear and free of impurities.
He brought it closer and took a sniff, and the old doctor raised an eyebrow slightly.
After just two steps, he seemed to have decided that the water was good medicine, and even dipped it in a little more water and put it in his mouth.
It has a refreshing taste upon entry, followed by a warm sensation after swallowing, which makes one's mouth water and invigorates the spirit.
A look of surprise flashed in the old doctor's eyes: "This water... has the effect of strengthening the body's foundation and nourishing the vital energy."
He picked up the bamboo tube, weighed it in his hand, and said, "Six taels of silver, young man, will you sell it?"
Six taels!
Jiang Qi's heart skipped a beat.
He originally thought he would sell this diluted moonlight water for just one or two ounces.
But it seems that even when diluted, the effects of the moon essence water exceeded expectations.
Six taels of silver! As a plumber, you only earn nine hundred coins a month. Even if you save every penny for two or three years, you might not be able to save that much.
In that case, selling just two tubes would be enough to cover the martial arts school's ten taels of silver.
"Sell."
Without further ado, the old doctor immediately took out the silver.
There are actually quite a few medicinal herbs that can strengthen the body's foundation and nourish the vital energy; the clinic has a lot of them stored in its warehouse.
However, water-based medicinal herbs with the same efficacy are relatively rare, which is why he offered this price.
"Young man, if you have any more of this water, please send some more."
Jiang Qi nodded, pocketed the silver, and quickly left the clinic.
After wandering around the city for a while to make sure he was clean, he arrived at another clinic.
As expected, there was a reason why the clinic was so famous; the second tube of Moon Essence Water also sold for six taels of silver.
In this way, he not only had enough silver for the martial arts school's ten-tael entrance fee, but also an extra two taels.
"Let's go to the martial arts gym."
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The Zhenyuan Martial Arts School still boasts a spacious entrance.
Jiang Qi stood in front of the black lacquered gate with its gleaming copper nails at the martial arts school, took a deep breath, and stepped forward.
In the past, water was always delivered through the back door, but this was the first time he had entered the martial arts school through the front door.
The gatekeeper was a burly man. When he saw Jiang Qi approaching, he sized him up and asked, "What is it?"
"I'm here to learn martial arts," Jiang Qi said.
Seeing that he was simply dressed but looked alright, the man stepped aside to make way for him: "Go straight in, someone will greet you."
Jiang Qi thanked him and stepped inside.
Inside the gate was an open space where many people were practicing martial arts.
The training ground I glimpsed while delivering water that day was this very place.
After passing through the training ground, you will see a small courtyard with a table in the middle and a middle-aged man sitting behind the table.
Several people were waiting in front of the stage.
After Jiang Qi joined the line, he suddenly heard someone next to him shout, "Jiang Qi?!"
He turned his head and saw two people staring at him in surprise not far away.
These two are clearly Luo Yue and Tan Ming from the water shop.
"What are you doing here?" Tan Ming walked over in a few steps and looked Jiang Qi up and down.
Luo Yue followed, laughing, "This is the registration area for Zhenyuan Martial Arts School, aren't you in the wrong place?"
Jiang Qi said calmly, "I'm a martial arts practitioner."
"You?" Tan Ming scoffed. "Do you know how much silver it costs to join a martial arts school? Ten taels! Do you have that?"
"No need for Brother Tan to trouble himself with that," Jiang Qi said casually.
Luo Yue squinted at him, seemingly lost in thought.
"Next."
Jiang Qi ignored the two and walked forward.
"Name, age, address." The middle-aged man from the martial arts school didn't even look up.
"Jiang Qi, eighteen, Sweetwater Lane."
"Ten taels for entry fee."
Jiang Qi took out some silver from his pocket and placed it on the table.
The middle-aged man then looked up, glanced at him, took the silver, and handed him a wooden plaque: "Go over there for a bone reading. Only after you pass can you enter the sect. If you fail, the silver will be returned."
Jiang Qi accepted the wooden plaque, bowed respectfully, and walked in the direction the middle-aged man pointed.
Luo Yue and Tan Ming exchanged a glance, both seeing confusion in each other's eyes.
Among those people working at the waterworks, it was absolutely impossible for them to scrape together ten taels of silver from their monthly wages for fetching water.
Where did this kid get so much money?
"Let's go, let's go take a look," Tan Ming said with a smile. "Without talent, money is useless."
The two had already established a good relationship, so they skipped the bone-reading procedure and went straight into the family.
As fellow waterworkers, they had finally managed to get into the martial arts school, and naturally didn't want to see other waterworkers also get in; otherwise, where would they find a way to show off their superiority?
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The inner courtyard.
Several people were also queuing up to have their bones examined.
Bone palpation is the most direct method to test martial arts aptitude. Those with poor bone structure will find it difficult to achieve success even if they practice martial arts, and most martial arts schools will not accept them.
The person who performed the bone reading was a tall, middle-aged man. With just one glance, one could feel an invisible pressure.
"I'm too old; my muscles and bones are already set, I can't train anymore."
"You have a severe muscle strain. Practicing martial arts has only harmed you. Go home."
"Those with below-average talent can train, but they have to put in ten times the effort of an average person."
Of the three, two couldn't go on at all, and one was still struggling.
It's clear that the threshold for learning martial arts is really high.
Soon, it was Jiang Qi's turn.
I wasn't nervous, but seeing the situation of the three people ahead of me, I was still somewhat worried.
Tan Ming and Luo Yue chuckled to themselves.
The bone-reading test has stopped countless people. Jiang Qi has been fetching water from dawn till dusk every day, and he was hit on the head before, so his body is probably already worn out.
"Give me your hand." Coach Chen said expressionlessly.
Jiang Qi stretched out his hands.
Coach Chen placed his fingers on his wrist bone, moving upwards, pinching his arm bone and shoulder blade, then had him turn around, pressing his spine, and finally gently touching the Baihui acupoint on the top of his head.
The whole process took only a few breaths.
"His physical constitution is below average; he can be trained," Instructor Chen said calmly, withdrawing his hand.
"Thank you, Coach." Jiang Qi felt relieved.
I've been taking Moon Essence Water these past few days, and my constitution has been changing gradually. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't even have this below-average physical constitution.
"Below average?"
Tan Ming and Luo Yue were stunned for a moment, then their expressions turned rather unpleasant.
The two of them were worried that their natural talent wasn't good enough, so they used connections and gave a lot of extra money to get into this martial arts school.
I originally thought Jiang Qi would definitely be eliminated, but I never expected that he would actually have potential.
Suddenly, I felt a bit unbalanced.
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