Rise from a Poor Family: My Martial Arts Counterattack

Chapter 32: Entering the city by boat, overcoming all difficulties

The sixteenth day of the first lunar month.

At the Linhu Village Pier, many villagers saw them off.

Lin Chen carried his bag, said goodbye to his parents, and boarded the fishing boat.

"Fire the gun!"

After the village chief gave a shout, Gu Fei was the first to light the firecrackers.

The crackling sound of firecrackers woke up many birds. In the smoke of firecrackers, Lin Chen waved goodbye to his parents and the villagers who came to see him off, and only let go of his hand when the fishing boat completely disappeared.

He is now the hope of the whole village.

Not only does he carry the expectations of his family, but also the expectations of the entire village.

Going to the martial arts school to learn martial arts, you must achieve something.

"Brother, let me do it."

"No, brother Chen, just sit there and I'll row the boat."

The eldest brother Lin Liang, who was rowing the boat, smiled and refused. Although it was upstream from Linhu Village to the county pier, there was no fish on the fishing boat, only one person, so rowing was not tiring.

Poyang Lake was very lively on the 16th day of the first lunar month, and many fishing boats began to go out to the lake to fish.

On the waterway, there are fishing boats, as well as cruise ships rushing for the early spring, but there are more colorful boats.

Today is the day for students to register for the county martial arts school. Young men from each village who have trained hard within three years, especially those living near the lake, will choose to take a colorful boat into the city.

Wherever the colorful boats passed, the fishermen on those fishing boats had envy in their eyes. If there were children on the boats, they would point at the colorful boats and use them to encourage their children.

The idea that only by learning martial arts can one succeed in life has been deeply rooted in the hearts of every citizen in Poyang County.

Poyang County has enjoyed good weather and good harvests in recent years. Unless the family is extremely poor, everyone will save money for their children to enroll in the martial arts hall.

Lin Chen is the pride of the whole village for cultivating his vital energy within a year. Originally, the village chief wanted to rent a colorful boat, but Lin Chen declined.

You can be superstitious, but there is no need to spend money on it.

In his previous life, if he did not have to pay for tickets or incense when passing by temples and Taoist temples, he would worship devoutly, but if he had to pay for incense, then sorry, he was a firm successor to materialism!

He was the only one in the village who reported to the martial arts school this year. It was a waste to rent a colorful boat, which cost one tael.

Wouldn’t it be nice to use the one or two taels of silver you save from renting a colorful boat to buy some meat?

On the river, the young men on each colorful boat were full of vigor and vitality. Even though it was still cold in spring, they still stood on the deck, unafraid of the cold wind.

Compared with the colorful boats, Lin Chen's fishing boat looked a bit shabby, with only a piece of red cloth tied on the bow, which represented good fortune and also indicated that Lin Chen was a student in the martial arts school.

According to Lin Chen, he didn't want the red cloth, but he couldn't resist the strong request of the village chief, and his parents also agreed, so he let his eldest brother tie the red cloth on the bow of the boat.

In this way, his fishing boat tied with red cloth was extremely conspicuous among the many colorful boats.

"Which village is this from? It's only tied with a piece of red cloth. The village is not even willing to rent a colorful boat?"

"It probably took three years to develop the essence, and the village probably doesn't take it seriously."

The young men on the colorful boats were also discussing the matter. In their opinion, Lin Chen only rode in fishing boats tied with red cloths, so he should be the type of person who had to train his energy within a deadline. It was unclear whether such a person could become enlightened, and the village would not take this too seriously.

Most of them try to develop their energy within two years. If they fail to do so, they give up. Very few will persist until the third year.

As for cultivating the essence within a year, that was not something they dared to think about. That was the goal of the rich and powerful children in the town. These powerful children in the town would choose to enter the city on horseback, and very few would take colorful boats.

The colorful boats entering the city are a source of pride for the young men in the village.

"Brother, how about joining us on our boat?" a young man on the colorful boat shouted with a smile.

"No thanks." Lin Chen refused with a smile.

Although the colorful boat is large, it is not fast.

Although the fishing boat is small, it is not slow.

After an hour and a half, Lin Chen saw the pier of Poyang County.

At this moment, the dock is crowded with ships, ranging from large merchant ships with heavy cargo to small light and flexible fishing boats, and there are also some medium-sized cruise ships shuttling among them, interweaving a staggered and prosperous picture of the water.

Along the waterway on the left side of the pier, colorful boats were approaching this side. This was the passage specially reserved for students entering the martial arts school in the city.

No matter if it was a merchant ship or a cruise ship, even if they had been waiting in line for a long time, they dared not cut in line. "Brother, follow behind this colorful boat."

Seeing several colorful boats moving towards the left, Lin Chen reminded his elder brother that the flexibility of the fishing boats would come into play at this time, and they could weave in and out of the queue. However, Lin Chen did not let his elder brother do so as there was no need to rush.

Just as the eldest brother Lin Liang was rowing the boat to prepare to line up at the back, the colorful boats in front of him refused to give way to each other in order to get ahead and almost collided with each other. The young men on the colorful boats glared at each other.

Soon, the noise attracted the attention of the government patrol boats, and two patrol boats approached this side.

"What are you doing? Line up properly and don't cause trouble!"

The soldiers on the patrol boat shouted at him, and a young man bravely explained, "They were the ones who wanted to cut into our ranks. It was clearly us who came first."

"Bullshit, our boat arrived first." The young man on another colorful boat immediately retorted.

"Shut up, everyone."

The soldier scolded again and glanced at them with a sharp gaze, which made the boys dare not argue anymore, but they still looked at each other unconvinced.

"You guys step back and line up at the back, and your fishing boat..."

The soldier who was maintaining order began to sort the colorful boats. He glanced at the fishing boats behind the colorful boats and was stunned for a moment. Then he immediately said, "Your boat goes first."

"Thank you, sir."

When Lin Liang, who was waiting in line, heard this, he was a little slow to react at first. But when he was sure that the soldiers were referring to their boat, he immediately rowed the oars happily and pushed the fishing boat forward. This scene made the young men on several colorful boats dissatisfied.

"Why should this fishing boat be allowed to go first? It was the last one to arrive."

"Why? Because I am responsible for maintaining order on the waterways. If there are any troublemakers, your names will be reported to the Military Administration Office."

Lin Xiuyong snorted lightly, and as soon as he said this, the young man on the colorful boat immediately fell silent.

Young people are not afraid of the government, but they are afraid of the Military Administration.

According to Daliang law, if a student of a martial arts hall or martial arts school commits a crime, the government must report this to the Wuzheng Office after arresting the person. Only after the Wuzheng Office has stripped the student of his/her student status can the person be sentenced to prison.

"Your colorful boat is too big. Letting the fishing boat go first won't waste time." Lin Xiuyong explained loudly after seeing the scene quiet down.

After the scene quieted down, eldest brother Lin Liang rowed the fishing boat through several colorful boats and headed towards the shore. When the fishing boat passed by the patrol boat, Lin Chen also nodded to Lin Xiuyong to express his gratitude.

Lin Xiuyong also smiled back, and his smile was even brighter.

This attitude made Lin Chen stunned for a moment. He vaguely felt that the soldier seemed to be trying to please him.

Illusion?
The soldier probably thought that the fishing boat was smaller and could pass first, so it wouldn't delay any time. He was just overthinking it.

Seeing the fishing boat passing by and a colorful boat about to move forward, Lin Xiuyong immediately shouted: "What are you doing? Wait a moment."

The colorful boat was stopped. Lin Xiuyong looked back and saw that the fishing boat had already docked, so he let it go.

"Brother Lin, what's going on? What's the origin of that young man on the fishing boat?"

On the patrol boat, another soldier asked quietly. He was a member of the city gate guard team who had joined not long ago. This time he was seconded to the dock with Brother Lin to help maintain order.

He didn't believe the excuse that the fishing boat was small and wouldn't delay any time.

"Years ago, this person was personally led into the city by the martial arts instructor and was taken to the martial arts hall. I'm afraid he has reached the state of enlightenment now. This is what Ge Tou said himself. How can these young men compare to him?"

Lin Xiuyong lowered his voice, and his words shocked his companions.

"Have you figured it out? You came here on a fishing boat like this?"

"Maybe they don't want to make it public. Anyway, we can't afford to offend such people. It would be better if we can help them and make a good relationship with them."

Lin Xiuyong knew what his companion meant by "can't tell".

It’s not that you can’t tell from his appearance, it’s just that he looks too shabby.

"Keeping a low profile and not showing off one's abilities, this is what it means to be truly powerful." Lin Xiuyong made up an excuse for Lin Chen to take the fishing boat.

"I'll tell you another trick. As the gatekeepers, we must be alert when we look at people. Look at this guy, although he is dressed plainly, he was neither humble nor overbearing when facing the two of us. This kind of person is confident. Don't provoke him easily."

"Thank you, Brother Ling, for your advice."

"I am only giving you some advice because I see that you are quite compatible with me."

PS: It has entered the top 50 of the new book list, and there will be another chapter tonight. Please vote for me and keep reading. In the next few days, keep reading is extremely important. I'm counting on you all!
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(End of this chapter)