Chapter 51 There are mountains beyond the mountains
Foshan Pedri, Ye family mansion.
Ip Man had morning tea with his wife as usual.
No one spoke at the dinner table. This was also the rule of the older generation. They ate and slept without talking.
While eating, suddenly a group of strong men broke in, and Zhang Yongcheng frowned slightly.
Ye Wen quickly stood up: "Senior brother, you haven't had breakfast so early, are you?"
The leader did not sit down, but directly slapped a newspaper on the dining table.
Ip Man picked it up and took a look. The news on the front page instantly attracted his attention.
"Junior brother Ye, you have property in Xiangjiang and are well-informed. Can you help find out whether it is true that the World Fighting Championship champion has a bonus of one million US dollars?"
After reading the newspaper, Ye Wen closed it gently: "Brother, there is no need to ask, I happened to have heard of this."
"oh?"
"This World Fighting Championship has been held for six times. Not only is the prize money for the champion one million US dollars, but also the runner-up is 500,000 US dollars, the third runner-up is 300,000 US dollars, and there is also a 30,000 US dollars bonus for entering the main competition. It enjoys a high reputation all over the world and its level is very high.
Gao, I have watched several videos in Xiangjiang, and to be honest, I am not sure of winning against any player."
Everyone was shocked when they heard what Ye Wen said. You must know that Ye Wen has become famous in the southern martial arts community in recent years. He has the reputation of Foshan Invincible. This name is not bought with money, but a real fight.
Three years ago, no one in Foshan could catch Ip Man's Ten Moves.
In recent years, there have been many boxers who have come to Foshan to make a living. If they want to make a name for themselves in Foshan, they all come to Ip Man to compete, but without exception, they all lose.
Now Ip Man says that any of the players in the World Series of Fighting can have a back-and-forth with him, which undoubtedly poured cold water on them.
"Is Junior Brother Ye too humble?"
Ye Wen shook his head calmly and said seriously: "Senior brother, you should know that when it comes to kung fu, I always have one thing to say."
The strong man smiled bitterly when he heard this. His junior brother is arrogant at best, and unsophisticated at worst. He doesn't care how prominent your sect is or how powerful your master is. As long as he comes to challenge you, everyone will lose face.
Not given.
In Ip Man's words: Kung Fu, horizontally and vertically, only those who stand are qualified to speak.
"Junior brother Ye, are you interested in participating in this trial?"
Ye Wen shook his head: "I have already asked someone to help me sign up, so I won't take up this quota."
The strong men looked at each other and were somewhat thankful that their junior brother had a rich family. Otherwise, if he participated in the competition, he would definitely occupy a quota, which would reduce their chances by one point.
After getting a satisfactory answer, everyone left. Ip Man sent everyone to the door, and was about to return to his seat to continue eating breakfast, but found that his wife Zhang Yongcheng had a dark face.
"What's wrong?" Ip Man asked cautiously. His wife Zhang Yongcheng was the kind of gentle lady who spoke in a soft voice. But once her face became serious, it meant that she was very angry.
Zhang Yongcheng put down his chopsticks, said nothing, and just looked at Ip Man.
Ye Wen was a little embarrassed by the sight. He, who was usually invincible, subconsciously looked away at this moment.
After a long while, Zhang Yongcheng said quietly: "Do you have to go to that world fighting competition?"
Ye Wen suddenly realized that his wife was angry about this and could only keep smiling.
"Isn't this all decided in advance? Next year we will go to the United States together to take Zhu'er to have fun, and I will go to participate in the competition."
Zhang Yongcheng said angrily: "If you want to go alone, you must be so young and can't bear to see those bloody scenes."
After saying that, Zhang Yongcheng turned around and went upstairs. Ip Man sighed helplessly, who said that ladies can't have a temper? It would be scary to get angry.
However, Ip Man had no intention of compromising. In fact, he wanted to participate in the World Fighting Championships as early as three years ago. However, his children were still young at the time, and the family business had been moving to Hong Kong in recent years, so he could not leave for a while.
Now that my son is 12 years old, he also wants to see the outside world.
What's more, he is already 43 years old at this time. If he doesn't compete while his physical function is still at its peak, in two years when his physical function will deteriorate, there will be no hope of breakthrough.
In the first forty years of his life, he had only seen Qin Hao's high mountain.
That mountain was too high for him to cross, but now there was another mountain for him to climb, and he would never give up this opportunity.
In the blink of an eye, it was already January 1937. It was freezing in the north, and goose-feather-like snowflakes were falling, but this did not hinder the progress of the trials.
A group of northern martial arts people gathered at the Nanjing Grand Hotel. The auditions had all ended and the main competition was now underway. A total of 68 boxers were shortlisted.
The format and specifications of the competition are completely copied from the World Fighting Championships, which can be regarded as allowing players to adapt in advance.
According to the results of the negotiation between the northern and southern martial arts schools, the northern martial arts school will determine the top three, and they will be qualified to participate in the World Fighting Competition. The southern martial arts school only has two places. At first, because of this difference in quotas, the two sides almost lost.
A fight broke out on the spot.
In the end, the matter was finally settled under the pressure of Gong Baosen, Sun Lutang and other martial arts seniors.
It was not until the Spring Festival that all the games were completed.
The two finalists of the Southern Martial Arts School were one named Wang Chao and the other a master of Hongquan.
Wang Chao and Wang Kai met in the semi-finals in advance. Wang Kai lost by one move. Fortunately, Wang Chao got a spot.
As for the three players on the Northern Martial Arts side, one is Ma San, one is a master of Bajiquan, and the other is a master of Natural Gate.
Although there were some cheaters during the competition, it was generally fair. Some young boxers emerged during the competition, which also made Gong Baosen very pleased.
Originally, Gong Baosen planned to implement this competition system completely and hold similar competitions in China.
However, it soon became apparent that this approach simply did not work in China.
If nothing else, the first issue is money.
The money to hold the audition alone would cost at least tens of thousands of dollars, which the National Government was reluctant to pay. Originally, Gong Baosen was counting on finding business sponsors.
But it soon became apparent that this path was not feasible, because there was no television in the country, and the advertising effect brought by newspaper reports alone was too small, and the merchants were not stupid. A full sponsorship of a game would cost at least a dozen
Wan Dayang, this is not counting the players’ bonuses.
Helpless, Gong Baosen could only give up this idea. Fortunately, the trials can be held next year. With this channel, those young boxers will not be buried at the age when they are most capable. He even hopes that this year's Masan group will be among them.
If someone can win the championship, there will be ten places for the next year.
Precisely because he was particularly concerned about the World Fighting Championships in the coming year, Gong Baosen also gave up his plan to retire immediately and continued to shine as the director of the Nanjing Chinese Martial Arts Hall. This also made Ma San resentful.
He took over, but the old man insisted on occupying his position and refused to move.
Of course, in front of Gong Baosen, Ma San was still respectful and did not dare to let the old man see it.
It was New Year's Eve, and the weather in Jinmen was particularly gloomy, with goose-feathered snow floating in the air and a biting cold wind going straight into my bones.
Since Gong Ruomei and Qin Hao were in the United States, Gong Baosen could only spend this New Year's Eve with Ma San and Lao Jiang.
All three of them drank a lot of wine. The old man and Lao Jiang were old after all, so they quickly fell asleep while drunk, but Ma San was just a little tipsy. After coming out of the palace, he was about to go home when a carriage came on the road.
But he followed quietly.
Ma San didn't pay attention at first, but soon he discovered that the carriage was following him. If he went fast, the carriage would go faster, and if he went slow, the carriage would also follow him slowly.
Having practiced martial arts all year round, Ma San still has a keen sense of crisis. He slowed down his steps and clenched his hands into fists.
Just as Ma San was about to turn around and subdue the coachman, the curtain of the carriage was opened.
"Third brother, it's boring to wander the streets alone on New Year's Eve. How about finding a place to have a drink?"
As soon as Ma San saw it, his defensive movements relaxed, and he said angrily: "Li Si, it's your kid. You're not at home for the New Year's Eve, so why are you sneaking around with me?"
Li Si chuckled: "Didn't I just come out from the New Year's Eve dinner at home and was planning to go to Cuiwei Building. I didn't expect to meet you, Third Brother, here. Let's go and have a drink together?"
"You kid, you spend your days drinking and drinking, living a carefree life." Ma San said this, but he was still a little envious of this kid in his heart. This guy is also a disciple of the Xingyi Bagua Sect, but he is a registered disciple.
My father was originally a Baylor from Zhenghuang Banner, so he and Puyi were cousins.
Later, after the Qing Dynasty was over, many Eight Banners disciples were in despair, but he still lived a prosperous life. In addition, after his father died, no one took care of him. He could do whatever he wanted, spending money like water, and he didn't know.
Where does this guy get his money from?
"Third brother, come in quickly. It's the twelfth lunar month of winter. It's so cold outside. There's a brazier in my carriage, so it's very warm."
A gust of cold wind hit, Li Si shrank his neck and said hello.
Ma San cursed: "Look at how promising you are, you still have the nerve to say that you are a martial arts practitioner. You can't even withstand the cold."
Having said that, Ma San still got on the carriage.
Following the coachman's shout, the carriage swayed and disappeared into the dim street.
At the entrance of a wooden building hung with colorful lanterns, as soon as the carriage stopped, several women with voluptuous figures and heavy makeup gathered around them.
"Sir, you haven't been here for a long time. Come in and invite me."
Ma San was pulled out of the carriage by Li Si, and was soon pushed into the building by the girls.
As soon as he entered the door, Ma San smelled a strong fragrance of powder, and he subconsciously got out of the surrounding girls.
This move stunned all the Yao sisters. Li Si smiled and slapped one of the Yao sisters on the butt.
"This third master is not someone you can entertain. Why don't you invite the most beautiful girl in your building to entertain him?"
Just as the Yao sisters were about to cry, Li Si raised his hand and threw out a handful of silver coins. This made the Yao sisters so happy that they happily went to call for help.
Li Si, on the other hand, took Ma San to the second floor with ease and went straight to a private room. He knew from the first glance that he was here.
Ma San didn't think much about it, and because he was feeling depressed, he started drinking heavily when the food and drinks were served.
After a while, a row of beautiful Yao sisters were brought over by the madam. Ma San didn't even raise his eyelids. Li Si casually ordered the two most beautiful ones and asked them to sit next to Ma San. Then he also picked two.
They hugged each other, and the madam took the remaining girls away in a sensible manner and closed the door.
"Third brother, to be honest, I really don't deserve it for you."
After drinking for three rounds, Li Si pretended to sigh and said.
Ma San was already a little drunk: "What's wrong with me?"
"With all due respect, Third Brother, you have been practicing Kung Fu for at least thirty years. In these years, you have been in front of the old man, and those who came to challenge the old man were sent away by you in the end."
Li Si observed Ma San's expression and thought: There is something interesting.
He quickly added another fire.
"I originally thought that the old man would wash his hands in a golden basin, and this northern martial arts world would be your world, but who knew that this old man still occupies his seat and refuses to step down..."
Before he finished speaking, Ma San slapped the table and stood up angrily: "You dare to sow the relationship between our master and disciple!"
"Third brother, don't be angry. I just said it casually. If you don't want to hear it, why not stop talking?" Li Si laughed, but he could see Ma San's expression in his eyes.
So the conversation changed.
"Third brother, please sit down first. I really regard you as a brother. If it were anyone else, I wouldn't be too lazy to talk about this gossip, don't you think?"
Ma San's expression softened: "Master treats me with great kindness, so be careful what you say."
"Okay, I promise I won't say anything bad for my uncle. Today, I just want to tell you something that's very heartfelt."
"You must also know, third brother, that I grew up in Baylor Mansion. I was used to living a life of fine clothing and fine food. Relying on the property accumulated by my ancestors, I never had to worry about money before I was thirty years old. I drank
The money spent on wine is enough to buy ten units of Cuiwei House."
"What about you? You have been alone and homeless since you were a child, and you still don't have a caring person by your side..."
Ma San said angrily: "Nonsense, you are a relative of the emperor, I am just a little beggar, how can I compare with you."
"Well, to be honest with Third Brother, it's just a glamorous appearance. In fact, our family has been in decline since the Qing Dynasty fell. If I hadn't found a way to make money, we wouldn't have the good life we have today." Li
Thinking playfully.
"Oh? How do you make money like this?" Ma San became interested. This time he went to the World Fighting Competition for the one million US dollars in prize money. In these years, under the old man's hands, even though he had not spent much money on food and clothing.
The old man was responsible for it, but he really didn't have any money saved.
"Actually, it's nothing. I just transport some rare items such as ginseng and deer antlers from the three northeastern provinces and sell them to the south."
"Oh? The three eastern provinces are now occupied by the Japanese."
"What's wrong with the Japanese? Who can still struggle with money? Besides, our family is related to the man from Manchuria and Mongolia, so it's easy to transport some goods."
Seeing Ma San purse his lips subconsciously, Li Si showed a sneer, a reckless man will be a reckless man after all.
