Tears in one's eyes

  Liu Zhi's eyes were a little sour, but He Shu smiled and saw Liu Zhi drinking porridge, his face full of satisfied smile.

  "Young master, have some more, I'll go get another serving!" He Shu said as she saw Liu Zhi know finish a bowl.

  "Thank you, Aunt He!" Liu Zhi Zhu turned his head away, afraid that tears would fall from his eyes. Liu Zhi Zhu's mother had died a difficult death, and he had never experienced maternal love since childhood. Although his grandfather loved him dearly, it couldn't make up for the lack of maternal love. Later, when Aunt He came to take care of this villa as a servant, Liu Zhi Zhu felt a kind of maternal love from her that was even more intimate than what he felt towards his own father, Liu Chuan Yi.

  After having breakfast, Liu Zhi began to grind the medicine materials and refine the Ganoderma lucidum spirit pills. It took several days to complete, with various medicines added in a certain proportion, put into the pot and stir-fried. Liu Zhi was very careful, putting the ceramic pot on the gas stove, slowly roasting over low heat, carefully stirring and frying until slightly yellowish brown, the fragrance of the medicine filled the entire room. The wild honey that had been prepared earlier was added to the pot, the thick honey mixed with the medicine powder like flour, Liu Zhi began to knead, after mixing evenly, he used his hands to shape into small pills the size of a Chinese tallow tree seed, over a hundred grains were obtained. After cooling and drying, they were stored in several ceramic bottles, the pill refining was successful.

  Liu Zhi took out a pill and an idea suddenly popped into his mind. According to legend, those cultivators refined elixirs, and he wondered if what he was doing could be considered refining elixirs. He couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head, thinking that what he was doing was just the process of making ordinary Chinese medicine pills. Refining elixirs must be much more difficult, and who knows if it even exists? However, since magic exists, there's no reason why refining elixirs shouldn't exist either. Does this world still have cultivators existing in secret?

  Liu Zhi thought to try the effect of the medicine, returned to his room, sat cross-legged on the bed. Liu Xing had only obtained the five ghosts' magic, but not the orthodox practice method. The other one was burned away. Later, Liu Xing looked through a large amount of data and explored a set of sitting methods from the qigong health care techniques that were passed down in the world. It can make people's spirits refreshing, and even have hot flow through the meridians, which is very beneficial to the body. There is nothing else mysterious about it.

  When Liu Xingxu passed on the Five Ghosts Yin Soldier Technique to Liu Zhizhi, he also taught him this method. Liu Zhizhi practiced it intermittently for some time and was able to lead the air with his mind, thinking of a place and having a warm flow follow his thoughts.

  Liu Zhi is not Liu Xingxu, what he learned is modern science, and in terms of physics, physiology, etc., it can be said that his understanding is very deep. When this phenomenon appears, thinking carefully about it, a nearly perfect explanation can be obtained from physiology: when the mind is concentrated on a certain part of the body, the muscles in this area will involuntarily contract and relax alternately, naturally producing heat, while at the same time, the blood flow in the capillaries also changes, making the heat more pronounced, and even other sensations such as itching or numbness may appear. It's not that some kind of "inner energy" is emitted, and having practiced boxing for many years, there is no feeling of emitting "inner energy". Those so-called "inner energies" are just...

  Liu Zhi knew magic, but deep down, he still looked at everything with a scientific eye, and even thought that the five ghosts might be a kind of field substance similar to a magnetic field.

  He sat cross-legged on the bed, swallowed a Zhi Shen Yang Shen pill, and began to focus his mind on the Dan Tian. Before long, a surge of heat emerged from his abdomen, much faster than usual. Without waiting for him to guide it with his mind, it started running along the meridians he usually thought about. What's going on? Before he could think, this hot energy felt very warm and made him feel extremely comfortable, like the feeling of being slightly drunk after drinking wine. It even made Liu Zhi know unwilling to use his mind to guide it, deeply intoxicated and forgetting everything outside.

  Before long, everything dissipated, and Liu Zhi woke up, feeling a slight sweat on his body. He didn't think much of it, let out a sigh, the time was too short, the pill was still effective, but he didn't dare to take more, after all, medicine is three parts poison, his body would expel the toxins, according to Western medicine's residual time in the body, it should take two or three days to decrease to negligible levels. For safety, it's best to take one pill a week.

  Liu Zhi knew that he was calculating here, as a science student, he understood these things quite well. He got up and exercised for a while, feeling that his control over his body was better than before. As a martial artist, when his body control was harmonious, it was almost at the level of hidden strength. This medicine was not bad, it could accelerate his entry into hidden strength.

  Liu Zhi Zhi put the watch back on his bedside table, and when he sat still, he took off the watch and placed it on the bedside table. Unintentionally, he glanced at the time and was stunned to find that nearly two hours had passed, although he felt it was only over ten minutes.

  Liu Zhi didn't dare to believe it, and checked again. Before he sat down, he took a look at the time, and two hours had passed. He was afraid that his watch was wrong, so he took out his mobile phone to confirm, and the time on his phone was the same as on his watch. His heart was stirred up, and he really had entered a meditative state. In the past, when he read books about meditation, he thought it was simple, but later, when he actually practiced it, he realized that it was extremely difficult. He didn't expect that one pill would make him unconsciously notice the changes in his body's heat, forget everything else, and naturally enter a meditative state.

  Wait! I didn't intentionally lead the Qi today, yet the warmth is circulating through my meridians. Could it be that internal Qi really exists? The ancient books weren't deceiving people after all? Liu Zhi couldn't understand for a moment, and a deep doubt lingered in his heart.

  In the following days, Liu Zhi knew was idle. After attending the graduation ceremony, he went to a journalism professional again. You Jiajia seemed unlikely to come to school this semester. Liu Zhi didn't know what had happened either. He actually knew very little about You's family. When they were together, neither of them took each other's family background seriously. Either of them was enough to guarantee a lifetime of food and clothing without worry. Now, it even made Liu Zhi unclear what had happened to You Jiajia for a while.

  Before he knew it, summer vacation had arrived. For Liu Zhiyi, his student days were already over, and there was no such thing as a summer break. However, Liu Chuan Yi did call him, rarely taking the initiative to show concern for his son, asking what plans Liu Zhiyi had, whether to continue studying for a graduate degree or go abroad for further studies, or perhaps join the family business to participate in management?

  Liu Zhi Zhi made it clear what he was doing for charity at the moment, which was also his grandfather's wish. Liu Chuan Yi didn't say much more and just said a few words before hanging up the phone. Liu Zhi Zhi wasn't surprised by this either.

  After a few days, Sun Xiang and Sun Lao called to say that all the formalities had been completed. During the summer vacation, they would go to those schools again. This time there were only three people, in addition to Sun Lao and Liu Zhi, there was another person who was a supervisor engineer from a construction company. The boss of that construction company donated a Hope Primary School, which was a cooperative project between the Longteng Foundation and the National Hope Project. The boss invested money, with the only requirement being that he would send someone to supervise the quality of the project, so Engineer Cheng Zhenqian was sent out.

  This time is not for inspection, the three of them actually have two things to do. Sun Lao and Liu Zhi brought a donation to add desks and chairs to the mountainous elementary school in Duo Suo and repair the school, while Cheng Zhenqian supervised the construction of Hope Elementary School.

  Liu Zhi knew to gather his luggage, put on a travel backpack and went out. When he arrived at the entrance of the community, he waited for a while. A Beijing Jeep stopped in front of him. Sun Lao waved at Liu Zhi from inside the car. The driver was a middle-aged man, thirty-five or six years old. Liu Zhi got on the car. Sun Lao introduced Liu Zhi to the driver, who was Engineer Cheng Zhenqian. The two greeted each other.

  Cheng Zhenqian drove the car, and this time the three of them didn't take any other means of transportation, but instead Cheng Zhenqian drove directly. While driving, Cheng Zhenqian chatted with the two of them casually, and before long, Liu Zhizhi became familiar with Cheng Zhenqian, and there was no initial awkwardness between them.

  "Cheng Ge, is this car yours? How much did it cost?"

  "This car is not mine, it was used by my boss before. Now my boss has bought a new car and entrusted me to come to the remote mountainous area where transportation is inconvenient. My boss handed over this off-road vehicle to me, and I'm afraid that only this type of vehicle can be used in the mountains!" said Cheng Zhenqian.

  "Probably even off-road vehicles won't work!" Sun Lao interjected, having seen the mountain roads during his inspection a few days ago.

  "If that doesn't work, we can leave the vehicle in a nearby town and hike into the mountains. But I think it should be fine, the construction materials for the primary school should be able to get in, and the vehicle should be able to enter too. However, Old Sun, you're not young anymore, this road is bumpy, can your body take it?" Cheng Zhenqian asked with concern.

  "No big deal, my old bones can still take the trouble. Last time in the mountains, I got a wild ganoderma lucidum, it's really good stuff! I ate some medicinal dishes for a few days and my body feels great! Little Liu, this time we go, are you going to find that girl to buy some more?" Sun smiled brightly.

  "It should be fine." replied Liu Zhi Zhi. Cheng Zhen Qian heard this and was a bit curious, asking what was going on. Sun Lao told him about how Liu Zhi Zhi had bought the wild Lingzhi from Miao Nu's hands, and Cheng Zhen Qian also became very interested, saying that he would go see it for himself when he had time.

  The car's speed averaged out to be not very fast, only around 40-50 kilometers per hour. At noon, they had to eat lunch. In the evening, they arrived at a county town and found an inn. The three of them didn't want to drive through the night, so Cheng Zhenqian, who had been driving all day, was tired. Sun Lao was old after all, and his body couldn't take it anymore after a whole day. After freshening up in their room, the three of them went out to eat dinner.

  The three of them didn't go far and found a nearby restaurant. The store wasn't big, but it was very clean. They ordered several dishes. Mr. Sun asked Liu Zhi and Cheng Zhenqian what wine they wanted to drink. Liu Zhi and Cheng Zhenqian let Mr. Sun decide. Mr. Sun ordered a bottle of white wine and said: "Originally, the weather is warm, you young people like to drink beer, but after a day's hard work, white wine can help blood circulation and relieve fatigue! Little Cheng should also drink less, anyway, we won't be driving tonight."

  When Sun Lao said that, Liu Zhi knew that Sun Lao's mood was indeed a bit off. He took out a small porcelain bottle from his body, which contained the Shizhen Yangshen pills he had refined a few days ago. Liu Zhi divided them into several bottles, and most of them were put in his backpack. The small bottle he carried with him only had four pills, which was for emergency use. Their efficacy was not weaker than the ginseng slices used to save lives, and they were actually better for the body than ginseng slices. Seeing that Sun Lao and the other person were both tired, Liu Zhi poured out two pills and handed them over, explaining their purpose. The two saw the pale yellow pills the size of a tung tree seed, smelled the medicine, and their spirits lifted. They followed Liu Zhi's words and took the pills with tea water. The dishes had not yet arrived, but the three of them chatted while waiting.

  After a while, the waiter brought the dishes. At this time, Sun Lao and his wife were already feeling warm in their stomachs, and their fatigue had disappeared. They couldn't help but praise it, and Sun Lao even asked how to prepare it. Liu Zhi didn't keep it secret, after all, finding these recipes in modern society is not a difficult task. The difficulty lies in the fact that good medicine is hard to find.

  After listening, Sun Lao made up his mind to go find Miao girl Ali to buy wild medicinal materials and configure them himself. Cheng Zhenqian also became interested. The three of them drank and chatted, with Cheng Zhenqian only drinking two small cups, after all, he still had to drive tomorrow. Sun Lao and Liu Zhizhi drank a lot, about four liang each.

  Sun Laoxing was in a good mood, the medicine had taken full effect, and he started talking about some past charitable deeds. Liu Zhi and Cheng Zhenqian listened for most of the time, as they rarely came into contact with wealthy philanthropists like him, but they found his stories quite interesting.

  The three of them ate for more than an hour and returned to the hotel. Liu Zhi knew took a bath, didn't even want to watch TV, fell onto the bed, and soon fell asleep.

  A few days later, the three finally arrived in Qiannan. Sun Lao and Liu Zhi Zhi bid farewell to Cheng Zhen Qian, who was heading to a place not far from Ma Jiazhai Elementary School where Liu Zhi Zhi would be teaching, about 100 kilometers away. However, Sun Lao had some business to attend to in the city and had to stay temporarily, so Cheng Zhen Qian left his contact information with them, saying he would visit Liu Zhi Zhi at Ma Jiazhai when he had time, before hurrying off to the Hope Elementary School construction site.

  Mr. Sun had already contacted the furniture factory by phone and ordered over a thousand sets of desks and chairs. In some mountainous primary schools, students even brought their own desks and chairs, which was really unbearable for the inspection team to see. The last time they saw this situation, the materials needed for school repairs were written into the report, and the first batch of charitable funds was spent on this aspect. Because in the past, when the foundation handed over the charitable funds to the education department in charge, the result was that the charitable funds were misappropriated, which led to a lawsuit between the foundation and the local education authority. This time, Mr. Sun suggested in his report that the entire operation of the charitable funds should not go through the local education department, but be directly operated by the foundation, and the higher-ups of the foundation agreed to do so.

  These things must be in place before the students start school, so soon after the summer vacation started, Sun Lao brought Liu Zhi to come here, these desks and materials were loaded onto trucks and transported to schools, Sun Lao contacted the principals of each school, telling them what time to receive.

  Ma Jia Village Primary School received no more than 150 sets of desks, when the truck arrived, the situation stunned Sun Lao and Liu Zhi. Originally, the cargo truck couldn't climb the mountain, it was already unable to proceed a few miles away from the foot of the mountain. Sun Lao had already prepared to hire local laborers to carry them up the mountain, with wages all ready.

  At the fork in the road where the highway turns into a mountain path, Principal Du Weimin and a teacher, as well as dozens of people, had already been waiting. Sun Lao asked about the situation and found out that the principal had informed the students' parents, and most of them immediately came with carrying poles to carry things up the mountain and deliver them to school.

  One person carried four sets of desks, and the mighty mountain people's army marched towards the school. When they arrived at the school, they put the desks in the classroom and the glass materials in a room behind. Old Sun was ready to pay, but who knew that all the parents refused, saying it was for their own children, how could they want this money!

  After several pushes and pulls, Principal Du's eyes were filled with tears as he said to Old Sun, "They won't accept it. They say you're a kind-hearted person who donated to the students, they're extremely grateful, but how can they take money for just doing their job?"

  Seeing these mountain people, not even a drop of water to drink, busily and happily, Sun Lao also had tears in his eyes, saying to Liu Zhi: "Little Liu, look at these mountain people, although they have no culture, but they represent the conscience of China! The true satisfaction of doing charity is nothing more than this!"

  Liu Zhi felt a sense of indignation in his heart, those corrupt officials were one by one with a noble appearance, compared to these simple mountain people, they didn't even have the qualifications to be called human beings!

  In the next few days, desks and chairs for other schools also arrived one after another. During this process, Liu Zhi was moved time and again. After these things were done, Liu Zhi and Old Sun came to Mazhai Primary School again. The principal had already tidied up Liu Zhi's dormitory. From now on, Liu Zhi would live here, supervising the school's renovation, ensuring the proper use of donations, monitoring quality, and regularly reporting to the foundation to explain whether all donations were used properly.

  The principal entertained Sun Lao and Liu Zhi-zhi at home, the principal's home was in the two dormitories on the east side of the school classroom courtyard. The principal and his wife both worked at the school. Liu Zhi-zhi called the principal's wife "Shi Niang", after all, the principal couple were much older than Liu Zhi-zhi, calling her Shi Niang was also a term of respect.

  The hospitality was simple, with two jars of local Miao people's self-brewed bamboo tube wine made from sorghum, two stir-fried dishes one of which was wild vegetables, a plate of mountain chicken meat that the villagers had hunted and sent over upon hearing that Principal Du was hosting honored guests, and a bowl of roasted pork also bought at the market in the foothills because of today's visitors.

  "The mountainous area is poor and there's nothing good to entertain you with, I'm really sorry!" Principal Du poured a cup of wine and greeted the two.

  "It's nothing, this kind of meal is what I can eat with peace of mind! To be honest, I, Old Sun, extremely admire Principal Du, being able to guard this place for several decades, it's not easy!" Old Sun said with a sigh after taking a sip of wine.

  "Du Shiniang, I'm here, you don't have to hurry anymore, come sit down and eat!" Liu Zhizhi stood up, took the bowl of soup that Du Shiniang was holding, and placed it on the table.

  "Xiaoliu, don't hurry, you all drink slowly, I'll go get some more rice!" Du Shiniang said, and then turned around to enter the small kitchen.

  "Xiaoliu, sit down and have a drink. I'll let the others go. I'd like to toast you, welcome you here to teach. Life is not as easy as in big cities, but it's simple and pure. There are no entertainment facilities, young people, it's not easy, old men like me really admire!" Principal Du said with a raised cup.

  "Principal Du, you are a senior and I should respect you. You have been here for decades, while I've only been here for one or two years. This bit of hardship is something I can endure!" Liu Zhi knew hurriedly raised his cup.

  Du Shi Niang sat down with a bowl of rice, she didn't drink wine, so she ate first.

  "Old Du, is there any household nearby that sells wild medicinal materials, such as Ganoderma lucidum and Sanqi?" Sun Lao and Principal Du had a few cups of wine, warming up to each other, and their address became more intimate.

  "There are some, but good ones are rare. It's hard to get really good stuff with age." Principal Du furrowed his brow and said after a moment of thought.

  "Does A-Li's side in Ants' Nest usually have good stuff?" asked Liu Zhi-Zhi.

  "How did you know Ali?" Du Shiniang suddenly stopped and looked strange.

  "What's wrong?" Liu Zhi felt something was off and told him about the last time he met Ali, buying wild ganoderma.

  "Arina's side should have these things, but..." Du Shi Niang was a bit hesitant.

  "Don't be mysterious! Ah Li from Ant Nest Village is said to be able to release gu, and people in the nearby villages are both respectful and fearful of her. However, this matter of raising gu is just a rumor among everyone, I don't believe it! She used to study here, she was my student. Old Sun, if you're interested, accompany them on a trip tomorrow!" Principal Du clearly didn't quite believe these things.

  Liu Zhi's mind was turbulent, and he couldn't say for sure whether he believed it or not. In the past, he would have definitely not believed it, but now it was hard to say clearly. If others could raise Gu, what was strange about that?

  Sun Lao looked at Liu Zhi Zhi, and Liu Zhi Zhi also looked back at Sun Lao. The two exchanged a glance, and Sun Lao, being knowledgeable and experienced, believed that something was amiss. Their gazes then shifted to Principal Du.

  "Then I'll have to trouble Old Du! Come and drink." Sun Lao said, raising his cup.

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