Without even thinking, Li Shishi replied, "Why not go?"
I sighed and said, "Jin Shaoyan has become a complete businessman now, and he has a deep misunderstanding about us. Under these circumstances, I really don't know if he will deliberately mess with you."
Li Shishi said naturally, "I just need to do my job well."
I frowned and remained silent.
Li Shishi asked me cautiously, "Cousin, what are you thinking about?"
I spread out the half-burnt 150,000 check and asked intently, "Do you think we can exchange this for 75,000 at the bank? Will they give it to us?"
Li Shishi: "..."
...
Later, Jin Shaoyan kept his word. The very next day, someone contacted Li Shishi, and the two parties signed a contract almost hastily. Filming for "The Legend of Li Shishi" quickly began. However, judging from Li Shishi's furrowed brow and her frequent trips home, their production team was definitely a makeshift operation. The already limited budget was further reduced by half. The attic and interior sets were all made of wooden planks, and the exterior scenes were mostly filmed in local parks. Often, a servant would suddenly appear in the shot, simply to block out trash cans or sprinklers on the lawn. Most of the props were borrowed from the Peking Opera troupe. The gaudy and vulgar costumes with endless bangs attracted many Peking Opera enthusiasts who thought Li Shishi's crew was staging a performance of "The Drunken Beauty."
Jin Shaoyan was deliberately trying to disgust people. If it were me, I'd either fight him or just go all out. If I were Li Shishi, I'd just make weird faces in front of the camera and turn it into a parody film; I'd still get paid. Unfortunately, Li Shishi isn't me, and the film I made wasn't *The Legend of Xiaoqiang* (if I were to make *The Legend of Xiaoqiang* and make weird faces in front of the camera, that would be a documentary). Li Shishi, like a gentleman, diligently did her job, striving for perfection even when sitting on a dirty stone bench and smiling back.
That day, I received a call from the school. It was from the heroes, saying that the Eight Heavenly Kings had issued another challenge. I rushed to the school, but the heroes had already finished their preparations.
The challenge arrived via a newly installed fax machine. It was very simple, containing only the name "Wang Yin" and an address. The date was two days later. A postscript read: "Respectfully presented by Xiaoqiang and all the heroes of Liangshan. The current competition is primarily to resolve the grudges between you and the Eight Heavenly Kings. Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Western Chu, is fierce and has no connection with Fang La. It's best to avoid any instances of 'Guan Yu fighting Qin Qiong' in the future. Otherwise, even if your Liangshan has Little Li Guang and Little Wenhou, I can easily find Flying General and Lü Bu, which would lead to utter chaos. Please be cautious."
This postscript thoroughly enraged the heroes. They believed it was a mockery of Liangshan for having no one to rely on, and that they could only depend on Xiang Yu. Therefore, they were determined not to allow any outsiders to interfere and were particularly eager to volunteer for battle.
Li Yun, usually known for his good temper, blushed and pounded his chest at Lu Junyi and Wu Yong's table, insisting that he be the one to fight. This was understandable, as Li Yun had died tragically at the hands of Wang Yin years ago. However, although Li Yun was skilled in martial arts, fighting Wang Yin would only lead to his death, so the other heroes did not support him, and only a few pleaded with him.
I pulled Lin Chong aside and asked, "Is Wang Yin's kung fu really that good?"
Lin Chong said solemnly, "This man rides the 'Turning Mountain Flying' sword and wields a steel spear. He is Fang La's unparalleled fierce general, even surpassing Shi Wengong in his prime. Moreover, he has received guidance from a master, and his footwork and fist techniques are second to none."
We know that Shi Wengong single-handedly routed Liangshan, even defeating the general Qin Ming in just 20 rounds. Fortunately, that was on the battlefield; since they were enemies, the heroes shamelessly joined forces and killed him. Now, Wang Yin is "even stronger" than Shi Wengong. Therefore, he is "no less than" anyone. It must be said that Lin Chong's words were very skillful and tactful—meaning he couldn't beat him in a one-on-one fight.
Just like last time, out of consideration for Liangshan's reputation, not many of the heroes, except for a few simpletons who didn't care about anything, were willing to volunteer. Back then, Wang Yin was defeated and killed by five generals led by Lin Chong. His ferocity was unparalleled at the time. If they went up and got their necks snapped in just a few moves, they would be utterly humiliated.
Lin Chong looked around and sighed, "I'd better deal with him myself. I'll fight him on foot with my spear; I can't let him get the upper hand." Among the people who came, his martial arts were second to none, but everyone knew that his skills were only those on horseback. Asking a general on horseback to fight someone on the ground with fists and feet was a completely different matter. But in the current situation, there was no better way.
Just as everyone was feeling gloomy, Zhang Qing, sitting by the window, suddenly exclaimed, "Hey, there's a fight outside!" The bandits, always eager for a good show, immediately swarmed to the window. They saw two groups of workers fighting over a job at a construction site in the distance. Yucai was receiving hundreds of tons of raw materials every day, attracting laborers from almost the entire city. With more workers than goods, there wasn't enough to go around, and that's why the two groups were fighting.
But one group was quite strange. When the other group rushed at them, they all stepped back, making way for a strong, muscular man. This man had thick eyebrows and large eyes, bulging muscles in his arms, and wore work pants of an indistinct color rolled up, revealing thick hair on his calves. He watched with a grin as the dozen or so men charged at him. When they were close, he crouched down and swept his leg, knocking several men down with a series of thuds. Then, he stretched out, grabbed two men by the collar, and shoved them backward, sending them stumbling and falling. With every punch and kick from this man, one or two men would fall or stumble; none could withstand a single blow. His coworkers behind him watched with smiles on their faces, arms crossed, as if they already knew he was skilled, so no one stepped forward to help.
The man was very measured in his actions, simply pushing or tripping people. The dozen or so people on the other side didn't even get close to him before they all fell and got covered in dust, but no one was injured.
Seeing that no one was challenging him, the man chuckled and said, "Sorry, brothers, we're all suffering and it's not easy for us. But we've come all this way, so please let us have this chance. Next time we meet, we'll show our goodwill too."
As he raised his head to speak, his features became clearly visible. Zhang Qing, who had been squinting to admire his skills, suddenly cried out, "Brother Wu Song!" Without waiting for anyone else, he turned and ran outside. The others, startled by his shout, pressed their eyes against the glass and exclaimed, "That's him!" They rushed out, some through doors, others through windows, like a swarm of bees.
I felt a gust of wind around me, and in the blink of an eye, there was no one there. Even Wu Yong had jumped out of the window.
Just as "Wu Song" had driven away that group of people, he suddenly saw forty or fifty more people attacking from all directions. He said with a bitter face, "Damn it, so many people are trying to steal my job today?"
The first to reach him was Dai Zong. Dai Zong originally wanted to get intimate with "Wu Song," but saw him shove a large hand at his chest without any politeness. Dai Zong quickly twisted his body and slipped behind "Wu Song" in the blink of an eye.
The second to arrive was Zhang Qing, who had run ahead of the others. He grabbed "Wu Song's" hand and pulled him into his arms. "Wu Song" quickly used his other hand to slap Zhang Qing's face, intending to leave him covered in bruises. But before he could even raise his hand, it was grabbed by the enthusiastic Dong Ping. Just as he was about to kick him, Li Kui had already firmly gripped his waist. The heroes who arrived later surrounded "Wu Song," hugging and embracing him, all shouting affectionately. "Wu Song," practically unable to move except for his mouth, cried out to his coworkers behind him, "Damn it, these guys stealing our jobs are all laid-off martial arts association members!"
After the heroes finished their friendly greeting with "Wu Song," Zhang Qing asked, "Brother Wu Song, what are you doing here?"
Only then did "Wu Song" realize that these people probably weren't trying to make things difficult for him. He rubbed his wrist, which had been pinched purple by Zhang Qing and Dong Ping, and asked blankly, "What Wu Song?"
Hu Sanniang laughed and said, "Brother Wu Song, stop joking. We all miss you."
"Wu Song" turned to his fellow workers and asked, "Why does this name sound so familiar?"
One of his coworkers, a short fellow, said, "Is he from 'Water Margin'?"
Their commotion drew a few more people, including Duan Tianlang and Bao Jin. I glanced at Duan Tianlang, who stared intently at "Wu Song" for a moment before nodding firmly at me. It seemed that regardless of whether this person was Wu Song or not, he was indeed the one who had injured him that day.
Among Wu Song's coworkers, a worker around 40 years old, seeing the commotion caused, surrounded by a large group of people who insisted that he was the tiger-fighting hero from the novel, laughed and said, "If he is Wu Song, then I am Fang La!"
"Bullshit!" Bao Jin suddenly rushed up to the man and slapped him so hard he stumbled. I had already sensed from Bao Jin's words that although he was quite magnanimous, he held Fang La in the utmost reverence and would never allow him to be disrespected.
Seeing his coworker humiliated, "Wu Song" flew into a rage. He grabbed Bao Jin by the collar and slapped him across the face. Bao Jin parried with his fist, and the two, evenly matched, were thrown back several steps with a "bang." As Bao Jin retreated, his large foot spun and kicked out. "Wu Song" ducked, letting Bao Jin's leg land on his shoulder, then suddenly swung his body. Bao Jin was sent flying high into the air, finally regaining his footing, and said in a deep voice, "It really was you!"
Wu Song barely managed to stand firm. He looked around at the many bandits and shouted, "Who are you people? What do you want?"
The heroes looked at each other in bewilderment. Lu Junyi stepped forward and said kindly, "Brother, since you say you're not Wu Song, what's your name?"
Wu Song said, "My name is Fang Zhenjiang!"
I pulled Wu Yong aside and quietly asked, "Do you think this person is Wu Song?"
Wu Yong gestured for me to follow his gaze, and I saw a distinct black spot on Fang Zhenjiang's left arm, a feature unique to Wu Song. While two people might look alike and have similar martial arts skills, it's impossible for them to even have identical birthmarks.
Besides, how could anyone in modern times possibly master the same kung fu as Wu Song? Shandong storytelling goes: "Dang ge dang, dang ge dang, the hero Wu Erlang, went to Shaolin Temple to learn kung fu, and practiced for eight years... Does Shaolin Temple hire porters now?"
What was supposed to be a brotherly reunion has turned into a tense standoff. "Fang La," who had just been slapped by Bao Jin, covered his face and whispered to Fang Zhenjiang, "Zhenjiang, shall we call it quits?"
Wu Yong hurriedly said to me, "We can't let him go. We need to keep them calm first."
The quick-witted Song Qing stepped forward and said, "I was just joking with everyone. We'll have to trouble you all with the work here. Our wages are higher than those of ordinary construction sites."
Fang Zhenjiang and his fellow workers gathered together to discuss it for a while, then looked at us with suspicion before reluctantly deciding to stay.
At Wu Yong's urging, the heroes reluctantly left Fangzhenjiang, turning back every few steps. They sat in a circle at a distance, watching him and his fellow workers at work, but were at a loss for what to do.
Wu Yong pondered for a moment, then suddenly called Du Xing aside and whispered a few words to him. Du Xing's eyes lit up, and he ran off. A little while later, he returned with two jars of wine and walked among Fang Zhenjiang and the others, saying, "I'm really sorry about what happened earlier. I'll treat you all to some drinks as an apology."
Those were two whole jars of chilled "Five-Star Juniper" wine—the very same "Three Bowls and You're Gone" wine from back in the day. Du Xing first handed a cup to Fang Zhenjiang, pouring him a full glass, the aroma wafting over from afar. This was truly authentic, high-quality wine, purer than anything sold in stores.