Courtyard House: Passing through the Silly Pillar, Activating the Blessed Cave Heaven

66

Zhang Hu and his men will come over at night and use a cart to take these eggs away and sell them.

After finishing all that, He Yuzhu went to his master Shang Zhirong's house.

He was just about to practice his pole-shaking as usual when Shang Zhirong stopped him: "Zhu Zi, don't rush to practice. Your master has something to tell you today. You can practice after he finishes speaking."

Seeing Shang Zhirong's solemn expression, He Yuzhu walked up to her and stood properly.

Looking at her disciple, who was much taller than herself, Shang Zhirong found it hard to reconcile him with the skinny little boy who had knelt down to beg for her apprentice four years ago.

In just four years, the boy had grown into a robust and strong man.

She composed herself and began to speak:

"Zhu Zi, you have been learning Xingyi Quan from me for four years now."

In these four years, I have taught you all the martial arts I have learned in my life without reservation, and you have not disappointed me and have learned very well.

From now on, it will be up to you to study and improve yourself.

"Master, what do you mean by that?" He Yuzhu interrupted Shang Zhirong urgently.

Shang Zhirong raised her hand to signal him to calm down and continued, "Your grandmaster, who is also my father, was obsessed with martial arts when he was young. He traveled around all year round, exchanging martial arts skills with others."

He didn't marry and have children until he was nearly sixty.

I was only fifteen when he passed away, and after that, it was just my mother and me, relying on each other for survival.

"Now that the world is at peace, my mother is getting old and she wants me to take her back to her hometown in Shandong."

I plan to return to Shandong with my mother after the spring, carrying my father's remains.

I cannot leave her alone in Shandong. Once I leave, I fear I will never be able to return to Beijing.

From now on, you'll have to rely on yourself to practice.

He Yuzhu pondered for a long time before solemnly saying, "Since Master has made up his mind, I will not try to persuade you any further."

Actually, your return to Shandong is a good thing.

There's just one thing you must remember.

Seeing Shang Zhirong nod in agreement, he continued, "I remember you said that during the Anti-Japanese War, you worked in the Wang Jingwei regime's police department."

Although you were forced to do it out of necessity to make a living, if you had continued to stay in Beijing, there was no guarantee that someone wouldn't use this incident to cause trouble.

Since you've decided to leave, never bring up this past again.

Based on my observation, our country is very likely to follow the Soviet Union's example and launch a political movement, which may then affect people with historical issues.

Shang Zhirong was secretly alarmed after hearing He Yuzhu's words.

She had always known that this apprentice was extraordinary, but she never expected him to have such a long-term vision.

"I have kept your words in mind." It was because of He Yuzhu's reminder that Shang Zhirong kept her past experiences a secret after returning to her hometown in Shandong, and safely weathered the turbulent years that followed.

"What do you plan to do with the house after you go back?"

"I haven't decided on the house yet. Do you have any good suggestions?"

"Currently, there are two ways to handle this: one is to sell it to the government, which will give you a sum of money; the other is to entrust the government to rent it out, and you can collect rent every month."

Your house is quite large; it's unlikely you'll find a suitable buyer for a while.