Chapter 215: Starting Martial Arts

"You said Er Niu went to my maternal home a few days ago!"

The woman, however, was no longer as easy to talk to as before, "I met Li Dayong's wife who just returned from Shuangzhai Village this morning, and she said she didn't see Er Niu in the village at all!"

"You believe that woman's ghost talk?" The man frowned in dissatisfaction, "You know her temper! Forget it, don't say anymore. At worst, I'll go to your Shuangzhai Village with you in a day or two and find this dead girl myself!"

"No!" The woman said firmly, "We'll go as soon as the sky brightens tomorrow morning! Er Niu has been missing for several days, and I haven't felt at ease in my heart."

Seeing that his wife was no longer as easy to talk to as before, the man's brows furrowed deeper and deeper, and he simply said: "Fine, we'll go tomorrow."

After saying this, he cursed in a way that seemed to be covering up: "This dead girl only knows how to run outside all day. When I find her, see if I don't beat her to death!"

Seeing her man cursing, the woman didn't say anything more, blew out the oil lamp, and went to sleep.

The room suddenly became dim.

The man glanced at his wife lying on the bed, his face sank, and his fingers couldn't help but touch the silver ingot hidden in his bosom...

At dawn, the eastern sky turned slightly white, and the air was filled with threads of cold air.

Jiang Xiaoxiao, however, was sweating profusely and panting.

"Don't stop, two more laps, hurry up." Jiang Wei on the side was holding a small leather whip, urging like a teacher.

Shen Que was on the side saying: "The girl is still young, it's fine to rest for a while..."

Jiang Wei glared at him upon hearing this: "She is my daughter, I know her physical constitution and endurance best, don't you worry about it!"

"No matter what, she is now considered my half-disciple, how can I not worry."

"You—"

Jiang Xiaoxiao looked helplessly at the two people arguing in the distance and looked up at the sky speechlessly.

Then she took a deep breath and started running again.

Jiang Xiaoxiao, who had finished running, was pulled by Jiang Wei to do leg stretching before she could catch her breath.

After stretching, Shen Que handed over a cup of clear, sweet water and said pleasantly: "Very good, next, squat in a horse stance for half an hour, then learn martial arts from me."

"No, practice boxing with me after the horse stance."

"Little Lady Jiang, there must be a principle of first come, first served."

"You, an outsider, eating my family's food, living in my family's house, and you're talking to me about first come, first served?"

Seeing that the two were about to argue again, Jiang Xiaoxiao held the water cup she hadn't drunk yet and said helplessly: "That, I say... do you want to ask for my opinion first?"

"That's fine, Xiaoxiao, you say it, who do you want to learn from first?" Jiang Wei quickly stood on her daughter's side.

Shen Que also looked at her.

Jiang Xiaoxiao drank the water in the cup in one gulp. In order to ensure her future days wouldn't be too difficult, she thought seriously, cleared her throat, and said cautiously.

"Mother, Lord Shen, the saying goes that having many skills doesn't weigh you down, but if you two teach me together, I'll always have times when I can't attend to everything, and I won't learn well. How about this, I'll exercise and learn with Mother on even days, and learn martial arts with Lord Shen on odd days."

Hearing this, Jiang Wei and Shen Que looked at each other involuntarily, and then nodded in unison: "Okay."

"Today is an even day, so let's practice the most basic boxing with me first."

And so, on the first day of learning martial arts, Jiang Xiaoxiao learned one move and one style from her mother under the shade of the tree in the courtyard.

Jiang Wei taught very seriously and strictly, requiring every movement to be near perfect.

Jiang Xiaoxiao learned for a whole morning. She didn't know if it was because she had taken the gene modification liquid, but her physical fitness was extraordinarily strong. After practicing high-intensity boxing with Jiang Wei all morning, she wasn't tired at all, and her limbs didn't feel sore or weak; instead, she felt refreshed.

Shen Que watched the mother and daughter practice boxing in the courtyard for as long as they did, his expression also unprecedentedly relaxed and pleasant.

In the afternoon, it was Jiang Xiaoxiao's time to rest and play.

Jiang Wei would usually take this time to go to the soap workshop for a surprise inspection to see if any workers were sleeping or slacking off during this time when they were most prone to sleepiness.

Generally speaking, there weren't any.

But today Jiang Wei really caught one.

"Auntie Wu." Jiang Wei walked over and called out.

Her voice wasn't loud and didn't attract the attention of the people around.

Instead, Auntie Wu, who was sleeping soundly in the corner, cursed impatiently: "What are you shouting for? Just manage yourself, I'm just squinting for a while."

Her voice was much louder than Jiang Wei's. Everyone looked over one after another, but no one spoke, and some eyes even flashed with a hint of schadenfreude.

Obviously, this wasn't the first time Auntie Wu had slacked off like this.

Usually, some people would advise her, saying that with such high wages, how could she be embarrassed to sleep instead of working hard?

Auntie Wu would immediately scold them for meddling in other people's business.

Gradually, no one advised her anymore.

Now, she was finally caught red-handed.

Jiang Wei came to Auntie Wu with a dark face, didn't speak, just watched her, seemingly wanting to see how long she would sleep.

At this time, Auntie Wu finally felt a trace of something wrong.

She opened her eyes suddenly and immediately met Jiang Wei's cold gaze.

She was so scared that she knelt down to Jiang Wei without a word: "Oh my, Xiaoxiao's mother, I was wrong, I was wrong, I was really too sleepy and couldn't hold it in. Please forgive me this time, don't drive me away..."

Jiang Wei continued to watch her, not speaking.

This person's reaction was quite fast; she knelt down and apologized immediately after being discovered.

Seeing Jiang Wei's gloomy face and silence, Auntie Wu hardened her heart, simply raised her hand and slapped herself twice, crying while saying: "Xiaoxiao's mother, I was really wrong. Please don't drive me away. I still have two children to raise at home, I can't lose this job. You can beat me or scold me, just don't drive me away. I promise I won't dare to slack off again..."

Auntie Wu cried with snot and tears, and with the red slap marks on her face, she looked extremely pitiful.

The workers who were still a bit dissatisfied with her slacking off and sleeping earlier now felt a bit soft-hearted.

Jiang Wei, however, was expressionless. She looked at Auntie Wu indifferently, and only after she finished slapping herself did she slowly open her mouth: "Since that's the case, please remember what you just said. Let this be the last time."

She didn't expect Jiang Wei to actually forgive her.

Auntie Wu appeared very happy, thanking her repeatedly and swearing a bunch of oaths while patting her chest.

Jiang Wei didn't wait for her to speak, turned around, and left the soap workshop.

Her brows were furrowed tightly.

It seems she still needs to recruit a few more trusted people. Zhao Dasao had been sent by her to neighboring villages and towns to purchase pork for the past few days, and without time to watch the soap workshop, people started to feel lucky and began to slack off. ===== CHAPTER 216 =====