The middle-aged man had also been practicing boxing nearby. Ye Mo had seen him but thought his style was flashy and unremarkable, so he didn't pay much attention. Now that the man came over and greeted him, Ye Mo felt it rude to ignore him, so he gave a slight smile and said, "Just messing around, not much to it."
Hearing this, the man smiled awkwardly. Clearly, Ye Mo wasn't interested in making friends. But the man did feel that Ye Mo's boxing was pretty good, probably not worse than his own, and this sparked his interest to get acquainted. So he took the initiative to say, "My name's Fang Weicheng. I can tell you come from a reputable school. I just got itchy hands. How about we spar a bit?"
Only then did Ye Mo realize this man had come looking for a fight.
Looking at Fang Weicheng, Ye Mo shook his head and said, "You're no match for me. Let's skip the sparring."
Fang Weicheng was stunned. Earlier, when the young man spoke humbly, he thought he was modest, but now he was boasting. His face flushed red. Although Ye Mo's style caught his attention, to say he wasn't a match for him was a big exaggeration.
Fang Weicheng joined the military at 17 and retired at 32. After leaving the army, he became a driver but never stopped practicing his martial arts. A young man just over 20 couldn't possibly be his match—he wasn't buying it.
He wanted to spar because he felt Ye Mo's punches were real, not flashy, and so were his own. Testing each other would benefit him.
"How do you know you're not my match? Honestly, I haven't met a worthy opponent since I retired from the army. If you're so confident, then let's try it," Fang's face showed some embarrassment.
Ye Mo shook his head helplessly, "Fine, if you want to try, then go ahead."
"Let's do it here. No need to find a bigger place," Fang looked around.
Ye Mo smiled lightly, "It'll only take a few moves. No need."
"You…" Fang was almost choked by Ye Mo's words, anger rising. He said heatedly, "Then watch this."
Fang launched a straightforward "Black Tiger Heart Grab" strike. He intended to quickly switch moves as the young man reacted, showing off his skill.
But before Fang could change moves, Ye Mo stepped forward, grabbed his fist, and with a lift of his hand, hoisted nearly 200 pounds of Fang's body off the ground. Fang's head buzzed.
This was beyond his expectation. When he came to his senses, he found himself placed on a nearby stone pillar as if he had been sitting there all along. The young man he fought was gone.
"Amazing," Fang murmured after a moment. Even his army coach couldn't defeat him so effortlessly.
When Ye Mo returned to the small courtyard, Xu Wei was inspecting his plants. Though Ye Mo had many flowers and plants, the main reason was to hide the single Silver Heart Herb.
Seeing Ye Mo come in, Xu Wei got a bit embarrassed and quickly stood up, making small talk: "I didn't expect you to like gardening. Usually, men who grow plants are very meticulous. Seems you're a careful person too. Oh, I bought some dishes today. Let's eat together later, as neighbors getting to know each other."
Ye Mo usually ate out but wouldn't refuse an invitation, smiling, "Sure, thanks. I see you go to work early and come back late. Why didn't you go today?"
"My colleague took leave, and I happened to have some days off, so I covered her evening shifts," Xu Wei replied, noticing how closely Ye Mo observed.
Her cooking was quite good, definitely better than Ye Mo's usual random meals.
"Great meal today. Thanks a lot," Ye Mo thought to himself that if he could always eat like this, he wouldn't have to go out just for food.
"No need to thank me. You can treat me next time," Xu Wei teased, feeling Ye Mo wasn't a bad guy.
Ye Mo smiled awkwardly, "I never cook."
"Then just go to a restaurant," she said playfully, thinking Ye Mo was kind of cute. Usually, if not familiar, guys don't cook but take girls out.
Ye Mo sighed, "Alright, maybe next time."
He thought, "I knew nothing's free in this world. Just finished lunch and already owe a meal."
"Let's exchange numbers. Mine is 13xxxxxxxx. What's yours?" Xu Wei pulled out a delicate pink phone.
"I don't have a phone. Just knock on my door if you need me. I can help with most things. I'm heading back now," Ye Mo said, standing and returning to his room.
Xu Wei was stunned. Nowadays, even laborers had phones, but Ye Mo didn't have one. He must be doing pretty poorly. She wondered how the landlord let him stay here.
Still, he seemed proud, saying he could help with ordinary matters. Xu Wei shook her head, thinking maybe she should help him find a hospital janitor job rather than let him be an unemployed bum.
Xu Wei also thought she was somewhat pretty, but Ye Mo didn't even want to linger and chat. That was discouraging. Maybe he was just shy—an unemployed guy without a phone couldn't easily talk to her. Thinking this made her feel better.
Back in his room, Ye Mo thought about buying a phone but then considered it pointless. He had no connections here anyway.
After paying rent and buying some medicine, only about 20,000 yuan remained. He decided to set up a street stall again.
This time he wouldn't sell talismans—they were too hard to sell. If not for the woman's urgent need last time, he might not have sold a single one.
This time, he planned to open a mobile medical stall at the night market. The idea came partly from Xu Wei's work.
Another reason was the mobility of such a stall—it would prevent anyone from tracking him. Also, since the government forbids itinerant doctors, he could only work at night.
Ye Mo's plan was the same as with the talisman stall: either no business at all or earn enough to live comfortably for a whole year.