Chapter 00189: A Sudden Windfall of Fortune
# A Sudden Windfall of Fortune
Chapter 189
Novel: 1979 Golden Age
Chapter 189: A Sudden Windfall of Fortune
"The long-awaited movie *Tai Chi* premiered in our province, and its impact was no less than that of an atomic bomb. Countless adults and children were captivated by the dazzling sword fights and the profound Tai Chi skills depicted in the film. It seemed as if overnight, the streets and alleys of Henan were filled with the song 'Hot Blood, Hua Chenyu's Earth'..."
"A junior high school student wrote to our newspaper, saying, 'Every day after class, there are 109 Duan Wangyes and 385 Yang Yuqians wandering and sparring on the playground, while the remaining 70 Chen Shaomeis throw stones.'"
"One week after *Tai Chi* premiered in our province, the number of viewers broke historical records, and all cinemas in Zhengzhou were packed!"
"Two county-level company representatives got into a physical fight over the rights to screen *Tai Chi* first. The provincial company urged everyone to act rationally and promised to distribute the copies fairly."
"Sigh!"
At a middle school in Zhengzhou, during break time, Liu Xiaowen, who usually didn’t care much for newspapers, was engrossed in reading one.
After a while, he inexplicably sighed.
"Xiaowen, let's go!"
"Let's play on the field! Today, I’m Yang Yuqian! I’ve mastered that move!"
A friend ran over excitedly, but Liu Xiaowen gave him a serious look and said, "Fatty, don’t you think this game is childish?"
"Didn’t you have a lot of fun playing yesterday?"
"That was yesterday. Today is different. I’m fourteen now, not a kid anymore! I thought about it all night, and I’ve found the meaning of life..."
Liu Xiaowen’s eyes sparkled with determination as he spoke earnestly, "I want to learn martial arts!"
His friend gasped, almost choking on his spicy soup, and asked, "Where are you going to learn martial arts?"
"Of course, Chenjiagou! Don’t you know Chenjiagou is in Wen County?"
As he spoke, Liu Xiaowen became cautious and pulled out a crudely hand-drawn map from his desk.
"Look, I traced this from the atlas at home. Wen County isn’t far from Zhengzhou. You can get there by bus for just 2 yuan and 43 cents!"
"Do you have the money?"
"I’ve saved up 1 yuan from my New Year’s money, and I’ll take 2 more from home. Besides the bus fare, I’ll have enough to buy food."
"Then, where will you stay?"
"I’m going to become a disciple. Once the master accepts me, I’ll live at his place, and meals will be taken care of. I heard you have to work as an apprentice for three years before they teach you martial arts. In three years, I’ll be 17, strong and young. After another three years of training, I’ll be 20, ready to make my mark in the martial world as a master!"
His friend was also getting excited and asked, "But Chenjiagou doesn’t teach outsiders. Will they accept you?"
"Then I’ll follow Yang Yuqian’s example. I’ll live outside, build a shack, dig a cellar. With my own hands and feet, I won’t starve. So, are you coming or not?"
"Uh..."
His friend hesitated but finally made up his mind, gritting his teeth, "I’m in! I want to be a master too!"
"Good brother!"
Liu Xiaowen grabbed his friend’s hand, excitedly saying, "Why don’t we swear brotherhood? We may not have been born on the same day, but we’ll die on the same day!"
"Sure, sure! You’re two months older, so you’re the big brother!" his friend agreed enthusiastically.
"Second brother!"
"Big brother!"
...
"Two junior high school students in our city, obsessed with *Tai Chi*, did something absurd. They took money and food coupons from home, ran away together, and left a note saying they were going to become martial arts masters. Fortunately, their parents discovered it in time and intercepted them at the bus station. We remind everyone that *Tai Chi* is just an entertaining martial arts movie, quite different from reality. Don’t take it too seriously!"
The emergence of the first true martial arts movie on the mainland had an unimaginable impact on the people.
From adults to children, it planted seeds of a martial world dream in their hearts, igniting a love and longing for "wuxia" in the nation.
In those days, running away from home was quite popular.
Many people, after watching *Shaolin Temple*, rushed to Song Mountain to learn martial arts.
Most were intercepted along the way, but some weren’t, or had family support.
One of them was Wang Baoqiang.
Of course, Wang Baoqiang hadn’t been born yet, and *Shaolin Temple* had been overshadowed by *Tai Chi*.
Chenjiagou in Wen County, Henan, became a place of yearning for young people.
While it was harder for children to run away, adults could, especially those from nearby areas in Henan.
They could just grab a bag and head there.
...
Chenjiagou is located in Zhaobao Town, Wen County, Jiaozuo.
Nearby is a mountain called Qingfeng Ridge.
The village has a deep north-south running gully, and the Chen family is prosperous, hence the name Chenjiagou.
There are also other surnames in the village.
In later years, a 4A-level tourist attraction themed around Tai Chi was built here.
But now, it’s just an ordinary poor village, where people drink sweet potato leaf soup and eat coarse grain and wild vegetable buns.
The Chen-style Tai Chi has a lineage, that’s undeniable.
During the great famine of 1942, almost all of Chenjiagou’s 4,000 residents fled.
After liberation, some returned, but very few of them still knew Tai Chi.
At that time, there was a man named Chen Zhaopi, born in 1893. When Nanjing fell, he taught broadsword techniques in the local anti-Japanese armed forces under Fan Tinglan.
After liberation, he held a public office but retired early to return to the village and pass on his martial arts.
He selected four children, who became known as the "Four Great Guardians" of Chen-style Tai Chi.
These were real people, though their names aren’t mentioned here.
One of the guardians had a son named Wang Zhanhai, who became good friends with Jack Ma and co-founded a company specializing in Tai Chi.
Inspired by Jack Ma, other tycoons like Guo Guangchang and Liu Chuanzhi also took up Tai Chi, often seen in white Tai Chi uniforms practicing their moves...
In later years, Chen-style Tai Chi became highly commercialized, much like Shaolin Temple.
But now, it’s still very poor, and great efforts are being made to preserve Tai Chi.
For example, to encourage people to practice, they even tied it to work points.
Villagers would come to practice Tai Chi to earn points.
The outside world’s commotion didn’t disturb this quiet little village.
Not only Chenjiagou, but even the cinemas in Wen County hadn’t screened *Tai Chi* yet, though Jiaozuo already had it, causing quite a stir.
It was an ordinary day.
The able-bodied men were out working in the fields, while the elderly sat at their doorsteps, weaving bamboo baskets, sewing shoe soles, and chatting about daily life—this was the true face of rural China in the 1980s.
Chen Qi’s life in the capital was already a world apart.
Suddenly, two young men in their twenties entered the village, dusty and carrying large bags.
They approached, looked around, and without a word, knelt down and kowtowed.
"What’s this? What are they doing?"
"What are they saying? What do they want?"
"To become disciples... to learn Tai Chi??"
The elderly villagers were startled, looking at each other in confusion.
The village had only just started practicing Tai Chi again.
Why were outsiders coming to learn? How did they even know about it?
As they were still puzzling over this, they heard the rumble of an engine.
A rare jeep kicked up dust as it sped down the dirt road and stopped nearby.
The doors opened, and several men stepped out.
"What’s this now?"
"Who are they?"
"City officials?!!"
Ignoring the villagers’ shock, the city officials looked around the poor village, feeling as if they’d stumbled upon a windfall.
They might not have had the experience of creating political achievements like in later years, but their official instincts told them this was a golden opportunity!
(End of chapter...)