Chapter 3

Li Shoumin then introduced his two younger brothers, named Li Xiangji and Li Shouji.

After a few pleasantries, everyone took their seats and began to eat.

This family was very disciplined. Mrs. Zhou, the elder, sat at the head of the table, Zhou Hexuan, the guest, sat on the right, Li Shoumin sat on the left, and the two younger brothers sat facing the door.

The dishes on the table were all simple home-cooked dishes, with only one dish of twice-cooked pork being meat, which was deliberately placed closer to the guest. The rice was a bit coarse and yellowish, indicating it was more than three years old.

Zhou Hexuan only needed to glance at the table to understand the basic situation of the family—strict family discipline, but not wealthy.

Li Shoumin took the initiative to ask about Zhou Hexuan: "Your accent is very standard, are you from Zhili?"

"Ancestral home in Hebei," Zhou Hexuan began to fabricate his background, "I grew up in Nanyang when I was young, and later my family fell on hard times, and I traveled with my parents to various places. After my parents passed away, I wandered in various Western countries, and only recently returned to China by ship."

Li Shoumin, who had only studied in a private school, said enviously, "Brother Hexuan, which prestigious Western university did you attend?"

"To be honest, although I have traveled to many countries, I don't have a formal degree," Zhou Hexuan said with a bitter smile, "I was always short of money, and it was already a great achievement to have enough to fill my stomach. This time, I plan to find a job in Tianjin to make a living."

Mrs. Zhou suddenly interjected, "Shanji, you can help Mr. Zhou look for a job."

Zhou Hexuan quickly asked, "Where does Brother Shoumin work?"

"I can't say I have a high position, but I have a job at the New Tianjin Evening News," Li Shoumin briefly explained his situation.

He used to work in the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Beiping, a small civil servant. Later, when the Second Zhili-Fengtian War broke out, the warlord Hu Jingyi joined Feng and Sun to overthrow the Zhili clique, and Li Shoumin joined Hu Jingyi as a military secretary, fighting in various places in the north, and later moved to Tianjin with the troops. After Hu Jingyi died in April last year, Li Shoumin lost his patron and took off his military uniform to become a proofreader at a newspaper.

Li Shoumin's second brother, Xiangji, was only 20 years old last year and worked as a clerk at the Tianjin Lili Book Bureau. The third brother, Shouji, was still in school.

Zhou Hexuan inquired, "How is the salary at the newspaper?"

Li Shoumin smiled, "It depends on the newspaper. The better the sales, the better the待遇. Is Brother Hexuan interested in joining a newspaper?"

"My writing is decent," Zhou Hexuan said ambiguously.

Li Shoumin said enthusiastically, "Then I'll ask around tomorrow to see if our newspaper needs anyone."

...

After dinner, Mrs. Zhou cleared the table and washed the dishes, leaving Zhou Hexuan and the others to continue chatting.

Li Shoumin talked about many domestic situations, while Zhou Hexuan gave a mixed account of the customs and scenery of various Western countries. He didn't dare to go into too much detail and could only talk about the folk customs and scenery of England, America, and France. Thanks to his pre-travel experiences, Zhou Hexuan still had some knowledge about these places.

"Speaking of Italy, the most interesting place is Venice. The entire city is built on water, and the people go out by boat instead of by carriage. The city is crisscrossed with bridges and waterways, connecting all sides," Zhou Hexuan said, opening up the conversation.

Li Xiangji was surprised, "That's quite rare. The city is full of water, so it must be very damp."

Li Shoumin smiled, "It has a bit of the flavor of the southern water towns."

Zhou Hexuan continued, "The Venice Carnival is particularly famous. On that day, every citizen wears a mask and pretends to be someone else. At that time, there are no class or wealth distinctions; a count can dress up as a beggar, and a farmer can dress up as a prince. Commoners and nobles enjoy themselves to the fullest, performing their own grand life drama."

"Interesting, interesting, there is actually such a festival in the world," Li Shoumin said repeatedly, then asked, "Are there any beautiful mountains and rivers abroad?"

Zhou Hexuan said, "The world's highest peak is the Himalayas in China."

"The world's highest peak is in China?" Li Shoumin was surprised; many people didn't know this fact.

"It is located on the border of Tibet, covered in snow all year round, and rarely visited by people. No one has successfully climbed it yet," Zhou Hexuan said.

Li Shoumin, who loved mountain climbing, had climbed Emei Mountain three times and Qingcheng Mountain four times when he was young, and later climbed Mount Tai, Mount Hua, Qilian Mountain, and Diancang Mountain. He said with longing, "In my lifetime, I must see the Himalayas."

Zhou Hexuan continued, "The world's second-highest peak is the main peak of the Kunlun Mountains, called 'K2' in Tajik, meaning 'majestic and grand'..."

Li Shoumin clapped his hands in admiration, "The mountains of China are indeed extraordinary; the world's second-highest peak is also in China!"

His younger brother, Li Shouji, suddenly asked, "Is it the Kunlun Mountain where the Queen Mother of the West is said to live?"

"I'm not sure if the Queen Mother of the West lives there," Zhou Hexuan said with a smile.

They chatted until about 10 p.m. before Zhou Hexuan got up to leave. Before leaving, he asked Li Shoumin for a stack of old newspapers.

Back in his bedroom, Zhou Hexuan found that most of the newspapers were the New Tianjin News, the New Tianjin Evening News, and the New Tianjin Morning News, all published by the newspaper where Li Shoumin worked.

He quickly browsed through the social news of the past six months and soon focused on the New Tianjin Evening News. This newspaper serialized storytelling and novels. The storytelling was not of interest, but the novels were very primitive martial arts stories, not far from the Three Heroes and Five Gallants.

Perhaps he could submit some martial arts novels to the New Tianjin Evening News to earn some稿费, Zhou Hexuan thought. He also wanted to redeem his wristwatch as soon as possible.

He slept soundly through the night.

The next morning, Zhou Hexuan got up at the right time, got dressed, and went to ask the landlord for some water to rinse his mouth.

Tianjin had a water company in the late Qing Dynasty, but the water pipes had not been widely installed. Those with wells drank well water, and most citizens had to buy water, with a specific profession called water delivery workers.

Zhou Hexuan asked the landlord for a bowl of water and, when he returned to the courtyard, found Li Shoumin standing there.

This man was standing with his legs slightly apart, his hands clasped in front of his chest, his eyes slightly closed, and his breathing long and silent, as if he was practicing some kind of qigong.

Zhou Hexuan was curious and waited until Li Shoumin finished his practice before asking, "Brother Shoumin, are you practicing qigong?"

Li Shoumin explained, "It's a breathing technique taught to me by an old Taoist on Emei Mountain, which I have practiced since I was young."

"So you are a martial arts expert, my apologies," Zhou Hexuan said with a smile.

Li Shoumin waved his hands, "I am not a martial arts expert; I haven't learned any techniques, just a breathing technique."

Zhou Hexuan asked a few more questions and realized that Li Shoumin was telling the truth. The breathing technique was only for strengthening the body and was not very helpful in fighting.

The three Li brothers soon left for work and school, and Zhou Hexuan, with some silver dollars, prepared to go shopping. He needed to buy pots, bowls, and other kitchenware, as well as pens, ink, and paper for writing.

As he walked down the street, Zhou Hexuan suddenly remembered Li Shoumin's identity—he was the author of "The Immortal of Shu Mountain," also known as Huanzhu Louzhu.

In the world of fantasy and martial arts novels, the concept of "渡劫" (passing the tribulation) was invented and popularized by Li Shoumin. Many settings in Jin Yong, Liang Yusheng, and Wen Rui'an's novels were also inspired by Li Shoumin's works. He was truly the founder of the fantasy and martial arts novel genre!