RTAMEIN70s Chapter 2

Practice Martial Arts

Twenty-three-year-old Zhan Aiping is an assistant teacher at the medical school. She agreed to help Mr. Luo by substituting for a few classes. Zhan Aiping casually flipped through several medical books and didn’t need to prepare. She walked into the classroom holding one of the books.

The classroom from the 1970s had nothing besides wooden desks, chairs, and a blackboard. The students in the classroom came from diverse backgrounds, including former workers, students, farmers, veterans, party members, and educated youth. Their ages and knowledge levels varied greatly. If she taught them in the conventional way, some of them would be as lost as if they were reading a foreign language.

At this time, most teachers were not very motivated to teach, as the school was busy with various activities. Teachers would go through the motions of completing their classes, and students were just trying to graduate and finish their courses.

After fifty years, Zhan Aiping stood in front of a classroom once again. She didn’t want to just go through the motions with her students. With a wealth of medical experience accumulated over half her life, she used a humorous and witty tone to explain the content from the textbooks.

The classroom was silent, and you could hear a pin drop. None of the students were speaking, and they weren’t even whispering to each other. The only sound in the classroom was Zhan Aiping’s crisp and clear voice. Occasionally, laughter would break out between the teacher and students, but it was brief, and the quietness would return, leaving those in neighboring classrooms amazed.

The class ended quickly. After Zhan Aiping answered the students’ final question, she announced the end of the class.

Before leaving the classroom, she turned to look at the words on the blackboard. The writing on the blackboard, done by Zhan Aiping, was very beautiful, with neat characters like printed text. She remembered that Gu Sheng also had excellent handwriting. Both of them were graduates of military academies and had high standards for their calligraphy. The characters they wrote were as neat and orderly as their military marches. In his younger years, Gu Sheng wrote regular script and clerical script, but as he got older, he developed a preference for cursive script. Whenever he had the energy, he would write several pieces of calligraphy every day.

After the class, there was a lot of chatter in the classroom:

“Teacher Xiao Zhan’s class was really good.”

“Today, I finally understood something… Why did I even go to medical school? If I had known medical books were so thick, I wouldn’t have bothered studying medicine.”

“You’re lucky; at least you have some foundation. I swear, what was I even listening to before? I might as well go back home and farm.”

“From now on, we should just have Teacher Xiao Zhan substitute for all our classes.”

…

“Teacher Zhan is a veteran, a military doctor. Didn’t you see how she stood so upright on the podium? She has a military style, very impressive. She must have been a popular military beauty in the past.”

“Well, not necessarily liked by everyone; maybe she was feared by everyone. When she faces you students, she speaks softly and looks gentle. If you asked her to be a female drill instructor… she’s a tough one.”

Zhan Aiping returned to her office, poured herself a cup of hot water, and shortly after, a few more teachers entered the room. They chatted and laughed, and as soon as they saw Zhan Aiping, the first male teacher who came in teased her, “Teacher Xiao Zhan, go outside and listen; the students are all praising you.”

“You’re good-looking, and you teach well.”

“Whoever marries you is incredibly lucky; it’s good karma from a past life.”

A female teacher with short hair chimed in, “What’s this talk about karma? Teacher He has good conditions; his family has a big house. If Teacher Zhan marries into that, she’ll be living the good life.”

“Teacher Zhan is getting married.”

“The date has already been set. Congratulations, congratulations!”

“Zhan Aiping, I heard from Xiao Jiang that you were absent-minded today and had another argument with your future mother-in-law,” said the short-haired female teacher named Ye Fangjing. She had long been jealous of Zhan Aiping, admiring her beauty and the fact that she had found a good match in He Mingzhang, Teacher He. He was not only cultured and talented but also came from a well-off family with a large house in the city.

Ye Fangjing suppressed her jealousy and offered advice as if watching a drama unfold. “Don’t be too stubborn. Give the groom’s family some face. A daughter-in-law must endure and become a good wife. When in front of your in-laws, be more pleasing, quick and diligent, compete to do things, take care of your own man, and your in-laws will like you more.”

“The older generation does prefer hardworking daughters-in-law. We women have all come this way…”

The male teacher nearby also agreed, “A woman should be thrifty and industrious.”

“If you keep quarreling with your in-laws, what will your future be like?”

Zhan Aiping responded calmly, “Then it won’t be much of a future.”

Ye Fangjing smiled, “How can you say that you won’t have a future? In ten days, you’ll be holding the wedding banquet. You absolutely can’t make a scene now.”

“Teacher Zhan, don’t say such angry words.”

“We’re still waiting for you to introduce the groom. If you say it’s not going well, it’ll be a big joke.”

“If you can’t marry someone as considerate and soothing as Teacher He, it’s likely that no one will dare to marry you in the future.”

Ye Fangjing was jealous that Zhan Aiping had found such a good match. She secretly wished that Zhan Aiping’s hot temper would ruin the wedding and provide entertainment for everyone. But at the same time, she wanted to see the proud Zhan Aiping humbling herself in front of her in-laws, giving her mother-in-law a chance to mold her.

The male teacher added, “You’ve already sent out the wedding invitations. We’re looking forward to basking in your glory and getting a free meal at the state-owned restaurant. Teacher Zhan, you can’t mess things up at this crucial time.”

Zhan Aiping remained noncommittal. In this lifetime, she could never marry He Mingzhang again. As they mentioned, the wedding invitations had already been sent out, and the banquet tables had been reserved at the state-owned restaurant. If the wedding were to be canceled now, it would become a major joke.

It was precisely because they had her cornered like this, thinking they had deceived her, that the He family began continuously testing her boundaries. He Mingzhang and his mother played a good cop-bad cop routine. His mother, Zhou Jiacui, pulled her aside for heart-to-heart talks, nitpicked at her, made insinuations with a double entendre, suggesting that a woman should be virtuous and stay in her place… until they provoked Zhan Aiping. Then He Mingzhang would step in, playing the role of the good cop, consoling her in various ways, bringing her tea, even doing the laundry for her. He would even wash her feet if she asked.

He Mingzhang lied and cajoled, saying that he could privately wash her feet for her, but in front of his own mother, she should give him face. He hoped Zhan Aiping could put aside her pride and play the role of a virtuous daughter-in-law, just for a while, to make his parents happy.

At that time, He Mingzhang had been humble and accommodating in his words and actions. Zhan Aiping had grown up in a relatively simple environment, and people in the military were straightforward, so she believed him.

Belief led to getting stuck in a quagmire.

Many things should never have been done from the very beginning. Once done, they become your “duty.”

Starting as a virtuous daughter-in-law, then later not being virtuous anymore, it becomes your fault.

As for the words spoken earlier?

How could a manly man do those things?

…

Thinking back on these matters, Zhan Aiping closed her eyes and clenched her fist. Her fists had hardened.

When she was young and had just come out of the military, all she remembered was camaraderie with her comrades, the collective spirit, loyalty, and keeping promises. Yet she had been deceived by someone who was untrustworthy, full of lies, and skilled at changing with the wind.

When a person reaches their seventies or eighties, they can only practice swordplay or Tai Chi. But when Zhan Aiping was young, especially during her time at the military academy, her combat skills were top-notch. She had a reputation as a skilled fighter.

Zhan Aiping had always been a troublemaker since she was a child, often getting into fights. She couldn’t even count the number of times she had fought with Gu Sheng. Gu Sheng, who had grown tall and strong, with powerful muscles, consistently ranked first in individual combat competitions. She might not necessarily be able to beat him, but fighting against others was a piece of cake.

After leaving the military, she hadn’t practiced martial arts for some time, but picking it up again was no problem for her now.

Zhan Aiping also had experience in traditional Chinese medicine acupoints. She knew how to use pressure points and inflict pain without causing serious harm, leaving just a slight “injury.”

With these thoughts in mind, Zhan Aiping planned to “stretch her limbs” and practice her martial arts. The school had a sports field and a gym, so she intended to practice by hitting a sandbag. She got up to leave, and Teacher Xiao Jiang asked her, “Teacher Zhan, where are you going? Are you heading home?”

Ye Fangjing added, “Her mother and sister came, right? She’s probably going back home.”

Zhan Aiping replied, “I’m going to practice martial arts.”

Teacher Xiao Jiang: “?”

Ye Fangjing: “?”

“What’s the point of practicing martial arts before the wedding?”

Zhan Aiping didn’t say anything more. She walked outside, facing the cold and bleak weather with no fear. Her young body was in great shape, as warm as a furnace, unfazed by the cold.

Ye Fangjing caught up with her from behind and said, “I’ll go with you.”

Zhan Aiping and Ye Fangjing headed to the school’s exercise room together. As they climbed the steps, Ye Fangjing was about to ask curiously, “Are you really going to practice martial arts—”

Before she could finish her sentence, a group of people rushed towards them. They heard cries of agony mixed in, sounding like a pig being slaughtered, “Pain, pain, it’s killing me! My hand is broken, my hand is broken.”

“Did you twist your hand or dislocate it?”

“Make way!” Zhan Aiping strode forward, her capable and strong right hand grabbing the person’s arm. With a few “crack” sounds, she straightened it.

“Pain, pain, ahh!” The man’s voice was like a trumpet piercing through the sky. Some people instinctively covered their ears; his cries threatened to rupture eardrums.

On the side, Ye Fangjing broke into a cold sweat, watching as the nearly two-meter-tall, burly man, resembling a bear, was reduced to a whimpering mess, despite his imposing stature.

His arm was probably thicker than her thigh.

Ye Fangjing’s eyes widened as she swallowed hard, taking a step back involuntarily. Her heart raced, and her eyes betrayed a mixture of panic and fear.

Oh my, how painful that must have been!

“Ah? It’s better now.”

“You should head back.”

“Was it Teacher Zhan? She’s incredibly strong.”

“Thank you, Teacher Zhan.”

Zhan Aiping nodded and said, “Don’t worry, it’s all better now. Just be more careful in the future.”

She turned to see Ye Fangjing, whose face had turned pale, and Zhan Aiping couldn’t help but smile.

A military doctor with fifty years of experience, specialized in orthopedics.

If anyone dares to act up in front of her again, they might just find themselves in need of a little “orthopedic treatment.”