Chapter 2: The Legend of Kung Fu

  Grandfather's kung fu was passed down from his family. When he was 17 or 18 years old, a flood destroyed their house and only he survived. At that time, his kung fu skills were already developed, so he left his hometown and joined a security company in Beijing and Tianjin. During that time, warlords were fighting each other, society was unstable, and there were many bandits and outlaws. Grandfather practiced Yanqing Fist, especially skilled at kicking and footwork, and earned the nickname "Iron Leg Flying Swallow" with his leg skills. His real name was Yan Fei, but few people mentioned it. In the five provinces of the Central Plains, he rarely met a match, and bandits and outlaws would not dare to attack when they saw the Flying Swallow flag on the security company's carriage. At that time, everyone in the martial arts world knew that "Yanzi" was ruthless, if someone robbed his goods, he would definitely take revenge and not give up. However, he was also a just and righteous person who liked to help others, so he ended up killing a warlord's younger brother-in-law while helping a friend, and then brought his wife and children back to their hometown of Yanjia Village under an assumed name.

  A family with a wife and children to eat, grandma's house used to be a restaurant, grandma can cook well, so she opened a restaurant in the county town to make a living. Grandpa knows kung fu, but no one outside the family knows about it. Because grandma's cooking is good, business has also picked up. Grandma and grandpa attach importance to children's education, all three children were sent to school, and their days are getting better.

  It's been seven or eight years since the good times, and the Anti-Japanese War broke out. In 38, the Japanese army arrived here, and the eldest daughter, Yan Xiufang, who was studying medicine in the provincial capital, lost contact. Later, it was learned that she had run to Yan'an with her husband to join the revolution. Another two years passed, and the eldest son, Yan Xiufeng, joined the **-led anti-Japanese guerrilla force behind enemy lines to fight against the devils. The old couple discussed and decided that they could no longer stay in the county town, so they quickly sold the restaurant and brought their youngest son, Yan Xiuyun, back to Yanjia Village, bought a few acres of land, and became farmers again.

  My elder uncle, Yan Xiu Feng, was a legendary figure in the local area. After practicing martial arts with my grandfather for several years, he had basically mastered it and became extremely brave. At that time, the guerrilla team lacked guns and ammunition, so to seize them from the enemy, he rode his bicycle alone to the east gate of the county town, pretending that his bike was broken, squatting on the ground to repair it. When two Japanese devils approached with their guns, he used a sweeping leg kick to knock down the first devil in front, and as the second devil raised his gun to stab him in the throat, my uncle dodged to the left, kicked out with his right foot, grabbed the gun, and used a grappling hook to disarm the devil. In an instant, the gun was in my uncle's hands. But that wasn't all - he then used his bayonet to force the two devils to hand over their bullets, saying "Give me your bullets!" The two devils were apparently terrified and actually handed over their bullet boxes to my uncle. My uncle took the bullets, slung the two guns over his shoulder, kicked the two devils to death with a loud "crack", mounted his bicycle, and rode off into the distance, scaring the Japanese devils guarding the city gate so much that they dispatched an entire squad.

  Later, because of his exceptional bravery and skill, my big uncle became the leader of a guerrilla team, fighting against the Japanese devils and eliminating traitors. He was so fearless that he would often sneak into enemy territory alone, striking fear into the hearts of the enemy.

  One time, while on a solo mission, my big uncle was ambushed and captured by the Japanese. As night had fallen, they locked him up in a nearby enemy outpost. The outpost was guarded by over 20 Japanese soldiers and puppet troops.

  That night, while the enemy was asleep, my big uncle broke free from his restraints, burst open the prison door, and single-handedly slaughtered all the enemy soldiers in the outpost.

  The next day, when the Japanese devils and traitors discovered that their telephone lines were cut off, they sent a team to investigate. As they approached the outpost, they were met with a gruesome sight: over 20 human heads hung from the eaves of the roof, and a sea of headless corpses scattered all over the courtyard.

  From then on, the Japanese devils and traitors had a saying that went like this: "We'd rather encounter ghosts than run into 'Yan Heizi'!" Whenever they made an oath or a vow, they would say, "If we don't keep our promise, may we meet 'Yan Heizi' when we step out the door!"

  After Japan's surrender, my uncle's guerrilla team was reorganized into a military district independent regiment. My uncle served as a staff officer in the regiment and fell in love with a female propaganda team leader. At that time, dating and getting married in the army were conditional, but he didn't meet the requirements. Later, when the leaders found out, they got angry and left my uncle behind when the troops moved south. It wasn't until after liberation that my uncle was able to marry the female team leader as he had wished. However, as a grown man, he felt too embarrassed to follow the army, so to this day, he still lives apart from his wife like the Cowherd and Weaving Maiden in legend. My aunt and their daughter are with the troops, while my uncle lives alone in a single dormitory in the city.

  Second uncle has been following grandfather to work at home, married a girl from the neighboring village, had a son and a daughter, his wife is virtuous and his children are filial, it's also a happy family. However, second uncle's son is just like him, not willing to practice martial arts by nature, no matter how much the old man scolds or beats him, he still won't do it, which makes the old man lose his temper.

  The old man was unwilling to accept outsiders as apprentices, fearing that the family's traditional skills would be lost when he passed away. This had been a source of frustration for him. Zhang Peng's arrival gave the old man hope, and he saw an opportunity to pass on his skills. He used a combination of persuasion and deception to lure Zhang Peng onto the path.

  "Grandma, I'm back!" Zhang Peng came in with a basket of pig feed on his back. He is five years old this year and seems to be very sensible, probably because his parents are not around. He also helps out at home like the other village kids.

  "Okay." Grandma, who was busy making dinner, replied, looking up at Zhang Peng with a loving face. When she took the weak child from her daughter's hands that year, the old lady felt so sorry for him, a pitiful child without his mother by his side. From then on, the old lady devoted all her thoughts to Zhang Peng. When he was sick, she would sleep with him in her arms all night, and give him all the good food to eat. Now that her grandson had grown up like a little calf, the old lady was overjoyed. After finishing dinner, when Grandma came out with the cooked pig feed, Zhang Peng had already washed and chopped the pig grass clean, and was feeding the chickens with a string of mealworms, muttering to himself "Eat your fill, get fat, and we'll have a good New Year's feast."

  "Peng Peng, wash your hands and eat this egg." The old lady smiled and handed Zhang Peng a boiled egg.

  "Grandma, I'm starving! Let's eat quickly!" It was the second aunt from the second uncle's family who had returned. Zhang Peng hastily stuffed the eggs into his pocket.

  Er Ya called Yan Yu, was a few years older than Zhang Peng. She had opinions about the special care her family gave to Zhang Peng and often pinched his nose and twisted his ears in private. Zhang Peng was very afraid of her.

  "Second sister-in-law, you go wash first." Zhang Peng hastily handed over the basin of water he had scooped.

  "Bootlicker!" Yan Yu gave Zhang Peng a glance, feeling content and self-satisfied.

  The sister and brother washed up clean, went back to the house to wait for the adults to finish work. Er Ya played outside for an afternoon, really felt a bit hungry, remembered that grandma's house still had some walnut cookies brought by big uncle last time, and the craving was stirring in her stomach.

  "Zhang Peng, are you hungry?" Er Ya asked softly.

  "I'm hungry, but Grandpa and them haven't finished work yet, we'll eat later."

  "Grandma's house has a little heart, it's fragrant and crispy, so delicious!" Er Ya tempted.

  "Grandma didn't say we could eat it."

  "We'll secretly take one, and Grandma won't know." Er Ya continued to tempt.

  "It's okay, Grandma won't find out." Seeing Zhang Peng still hesitating, the little girl simply pulled Zhang Peng and left, also taking a bamboo stick that was propping up the window.

  At that time, there were no refrigerators in the village. Delicious food was all put into baskets and hung from the beams of the house, which was dry, ventilated, and could prevent rats and children from stealing. Er Ya pulled Zhang Peng to Grandma's house, quickly using a bamboo pole to pick up the basket, lift the lid, pull out a piece of walnut pastry, and quickly hang the basket back. Zhang Peng saw that Er Ya's movements were quick and skilled, obviously not for the first time.

  Er Ya handed the bamboo stick to Zhang Peng, and also broke off a small piece of walnut pastry for him. She then ate the pastries in her hand in two or three mouthfuls. After finishing eating, Er Ya wiped her mouth and saw Zhang Peng's dazed expression. "Hurry up and eat, don't let your grandma find out," she urged in a low voice. As soon as she finished speaking, Grandma lifted the door curtain and came in.

  "I thought it was a clever mouse that could steal even when hung so high, but it turns out it was the two of you who stole it!"

  "Grandma, it wasn't me, it was Zhang Peng!" Er Ya said, pointing at Zhang Peng.

  Zhang Peng looked down at the bamboo pole in his left hand and the pastry in his right hand, then looked up at Grandma's stern face, and finally glanced at Er Ya. The little girl had an expression that said "you dare to tell the truth, you won't be able to eat your fill". "I'm hungry," Zhang Peng thought about the consequences of telling the truth, so he decided to take the blame himself.

  "Zhang Peng, didn't I just give you an egg?" Grandma said with a bit of puzzlement.

  "......" Zhang Peng's heart was itching with hatred, but he couldn't argue back, his face flushing bright red.

  "Grandma, look, Zhang Peng has already known his mistake. I'll take him to the courtyard to play." Hurriedly pulling Zhang Peng away. Grandma helplessly waved her hand, the pastries were originally left for the children anyway, so just eat them and didn't investigate further.

  "Here, I'll eat the white and you eat the yolk." Er Ya pulled Zhang Peng to a big tree in the yard and said eagerly. Zhang Peng reluctantly took out an egg and handed it over to Xiao Ya.

  "Remember to save some for me next time you have something delicious, don't eat it all by yourself!" The little girl finished eating, dropped the sentence, and walked away with a satisfied heart.

  "Let me take the blame, and also snatch my eggs to eat. This can't be counted." A little devil kept flying in Zhang Peng's mind. Zhang Peng picked up a few pieces of eggshell from the ground and left.

  At night, Zhang Peng was untying knots (first using both hands to tie the hemp rope into a knot and then using his thumbs and index fingers to touch the knot, opening it one by one, repeating the practice, the more he practiced, the softer the rope became, the tighter the knot was tied, and the stronger his finger strength became). From next door came the voice of Second Aunt, "Yan Yu, did you steal eggs again?"

  "No!" Er Ya replied.

  "What? Then where did the egg skin in your pocket come from?" Second Aunt's voice rose.

  After a quarrel, there was a burst of "crackling" sounds and the little girl's wailing cries...

  Zhang Peng slept very soundly at night...