RNP Page 111
Page 111
The officer snapped out of his daze, so excited he was incoherent. He quickly pulled out his walkie-talkie and shouted in an almost roaring voice:
"Chairman! Chairman! Master Yun is here! It's Master Yun!"
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the walkie-talkie, followed by Zhao Fangxu's voice, which was also slightly trembling with excitement.
"Please! No! I'll go pick you up myself!"
Less than half a minute later, the building's revolving door was suddenly pushed open.
A figure dressed in a Zhongshan suit, with gray hair and a face etched with the lines of time, staggered out quickly.
It is Zhao Fangxu, the chairman of "Nadutong".
He spotted the young Taoist priest standing at the bottom of the steps, his figure still as upright as a pine tree.
Twenty years seemed to stand still for him.
But I myself am already very old.
Zhao Fangxu's eyes welled up with tears, and he was speechless. He simply stepped forward and solemnly bowed deeply to Zhang Yunyuan.
The two security guards were terrified, their faces ashen, their legs trembling uncontrollably, wishing they could disappear into the ground on the spot.
The aroma of tea wafted through the chairman's office.
Zhao Fangxu personally brewed Zhang Yunyuan a cup of top-grade Junshan Yinzhen tea.
When he offered it with both hands, his hands, covered with age spots, still trembled slightly.
"The Taoist priest's demeanor is as elegant as ever."
He was full of emotions.
Zhang Yunyuan took a sip of tea, looked at the old friend in front of him, and felt a sense of melancholy as things changed.
After catching up, Zhao Fangxu talked about the founding of "Na Du Tong" and its current predicament, highlighting the urgent need for manpower.
He took out a draft recruitment list and handed it over.
"Please take a look, Daoist Master, and give us some guidance."
Zhang Yunyuan took the list and quickly scanned it.
These names, destined to become legendary in the future, are currently just a few strokes on paper.
His gaze paused slightly on a certain name.
"I've seen this person before."
Zhang Yunyuan's finger landed on Xu Xiang's name.
"Oh?" Zhao Fangxu became interested.
"This person is resilient, upright, and exceptionally talented; he is a promising individual."
Zhang Yunyuan's assessment was concise yet weighty: "If entrusted with important responsibilities, he should be able to stand alone."
Zhao Fangxu immediately circled the name "Xu Xiang," having already made up his mind.
Meanwhile, in western Hunan, the Iron Master Sect...
Xu Xiang, who was then an elder of the sect, was instructing his disciples in martial arts training on the back mountain.
An agent from "Na Du Tong" (a local information service) came to him with a letter of appointment stamped with a red seal.
"Mr. Xu Xiang, the country needs you."
The commissioner got straight to the point, handing him the appointment that would change his life.
—Head of the North China Region.
Xu Xiang looked at the letter of appointment and the heavy official seal on it.
Involuntarily, the image of the wandering Taoist priest I met on the official road decades ago, and that prophetic remark, surfaced in my mind.
"To serve the country and maintain order in one's region."
He remained silent for a long time, and finally bowed in the direction of the capital.
Then, he turned around and nodded solemnly to the commissioner.
"I agree to join."
Chapter 128 Tiger Crouching Over the Industrial City
With the affairs in the capital settled, Zhao Fangxu sent someone to contact Xu Xiang to recruit talented individuals from across the country.
The driving force behind all of this, Zhang Yunyuan, had already quietly left that turbulent port city with Feng Baobao, and once again integrated into this vast and turbulent land.
Even in late summer, the heat lingers.
The train rattled into an old industrial city in the north, and the air was immediately filled with a unique, complex smell that was a mixture of coal dust, metal rust, and a vibrant atmosphere.
Zhang Yunyuan led Feng Baobao off the platform, his gaze sweeping over both sides of the street.
On the walls, one can still see the mottled traces left by the slogans "Realize two fundamental transformations" and "Revitalize state-owned enterprises".
In the distance, rows of huge factory buildings stand silently, but many of the chimneys that used to spew smoke now stand like silent giants, no longer emitting smoke.
This is a microcosm of an era, where the heavy, silent industrial atmosphere and the vibrant life force of the grassroots intertwine to create a unique "qi".
Zhang Yunyuan closed his eyes and carefully sensed it.
It was a complex atmosphere, a mixture of loss and hope, silence and clamor.
After a large state-owned factory ceased production, there was a heavy, deathly silence, like the death of a giant beast.
There's also the vibrant, weed-like life force of people striving for a living in the spontaneously formed night markets near the factory area.
Two completely different atmospheres coexist here in a contradictory yet harmonious way.
"Let's go find a place to eat."
Zhang Yunyuan opened his eyes and said to Feng Baobao beside him.
Feng Baobao didn't react much, but silently followed behind him, her clear eyes curiously observing everything around her.
She wasn't interested in the tall factory buildings and slogans, but was instead drawn to a roadside stall selling sugar paintings, where she stood and stared for a long time.
As night falls, the small night market near the factory comes alive.
The dim streetlights lengthened the shadows of pedestrians, and the air was filled with the smells of grilled skewers, the sweet scent of cheap perfume, and a faint metallic rust smell emanating from the abandoned factory.
From the nearby video arcade, the iconic "Hey! Ha!" sounds of Hong Kong martial arts films mingled with the shouts of vendors and the sounds of diners playing drinking games, creating a unique symphony of everyday life that belongs to this era.
Zhang Yunyuan found a roadside stall and ordered two bowls of noodles, a few skewers of grilled meat, and a bottle of local beer.
The noodles were ordinary plain noodles, and the quality of the grilled meat wasn't particularly good, but it had a strong smoky flavor.
Feng Baobao was curious about everything. She imitated Zhang Yunyuan, picked up a sizzling, oily skewer of meat, and nibbled on it expressionlessly, her clear eyes reflecting the flickering firelight, revealing no emotion.
"Have you heard? Tiger's gotten into another fight over the warehouses in the south!"
At the next table, several men in blue overalls, covered in grease, were drinking beer. One of them, a bald, burly man, lowered his voice and spoke with spittle flying everywhere.
"This time it was a group of 'protection money' collectors from out of town. I heard they were all high and mighty in other cities, but when they came here, Tiger took care of them all by himself!"
"Really? I've seen those out-of-towners before. They all look fierce and menacing, not like nice guys." A tall, thin man next to him said, skeptical.
"Then there's still a lie!"
The bald, burly man slammed his hand on the table, making beer bottles clang. "My cousin was setting up his stall right there, I saw it with my own eyes! Tiger just threw a few punches, 'bang bang,' and took down those out-of-town thugs."
Those bones were as hard as the steel plates we work on in the factory, and their strength was terrifying!
Another man joined in, adding with a mysterious expression:
"Moreover, this Tiger is particularly particular about 'rules of the underworld'."
He chased the people away, but didn't kill them, nor did he take the opportunity to collect protection money for himself. He just told the stall owners, "If you need anything in the future, just let me know."
He doesn't bully us honest, laid-off workers; he only targets those who resort to crooked means!
"This kid's got something! His name's Ru Hu, right? I heard he used to be the son of some big factory owner?"
"Who knows? Anyway, he's pretty good at fighting and loyal."
With him around, the night market in our area has become much quieter.
As they drank, the group discussed the young man named "Na Ruhu," expressing their admiration and respect for him.
Zhang Yunyuan listened quietly without interrupting.
He picked up his glass and downed the somewhat bitter beer in one gulp.
His bones were as hard as steel, and his strength was terrifying.
A slight stirring in his heart led him to gaze at the old industrial area, now shrouded in darkness, as if he were piercing through layers of barriers to see a raw, unpolished gem growing wildly.
After finishing her meat skewers, Feng Baobao neatly arranged the bare bamboo sticks on the table, then looked up at Zhang Yunyuan, as if asking if he wanted more.
Zhang Yunyuan smiled and handed her another skewer.
In this chaotic world, in this martial arts world, a new generation of extraordinary individuals is beginning to emerge.
Chapter 129 The Crouching Tiger Shows Its Majestic Strength
As night deepened, the hustle and bustle of the industrial zone gradually subsided, leaving only a few lonely lights on at the construction site of the new buildings in the distance, like a few tired eyes open in the darkness.
Zhang Yunyuan was meditating with Feng Baobao in the hotel room when suddenly, his brow twitched slightly, and he opened his eyes.
An unusual fluctuation of Qi emanated from the old warehouse district slated for demolition on the western outskirts of the city.
That energy was mixed and chaotic, filled with the fierce energy of struggle.
One of them, though rough, carried a pure, fierce, and protective will, which caught his attention.
"Let's go and watch the fun."
He said to Feng Baobao, who was intently scratching something on the wall with her fingernails.
Feng Baobao said "Oh," put her hand down, and silently followed behind him. The two of them, like two wisps of smoke, quietly blended into the night.
An abandoned freight station in an old warehouse district.