Cultivating through increasing my stats in America-Chapter 43 - Purchase of Materials

Chapter 43: Chapter 43 Purchase of Materials

Chapter 43: Chapter 43 Purchase of Materials

Yan Tianqi put on his classic faux smile and said to Li Ang:

“Young people like you who face difficulties, we will surely help with such trivial matters. These are two bottles of medicinal wine Master gave me before, but I don’t need them anymore, so I might as well give them to you.”

Li Ang feigned joy on the surface and expressed his thanks, but he was somewhat hesitant in his heart.

No good deed comes without a motive, either treacherous or thieving.

“By the way, you should also work hard on your Sideways Training Martial Arts. Try to keep it on par with your fist technique. You’re young; it’s always good to try more things.”

“Additionally, I have the contact of a master who specializes in Sideways Training Martial Arts, Master Zhao. If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can consult him and say that I referred you.”

Yan Tianqi believed he had spoken very appropriately and thought that this kid couldn’t possibly guess his underlying motives.

And whether it was the medicinal wine or this Master Zhao, they were genuine and could certainly help him practice Sideways Training Martial Arts.

Li Ang thanked him profusely, smiling as he accepted these things.

He knew very well that Yan Tianqi’s intentions were not for his own good.

At least one thing was certain: he wanted to divert his attention, which might ultimately lead to diminishing his achievements in Tongbei Quan.

So, if his accomplishments in Tongbei Quan were diminished, what benefit would that have for Yan Tianqi?

After leaving the martial arts school, Li Ang didn’t immediately ride away on his bike, but leaned against the wall, pondering Yan Tianqi’s motives.

He was alone and vulnerable now and couldn’t afford to fall prey to others’ scheming. If he couldn’t figure it out, he wouldn’t even dare to use the two bottles of medicinal wine.

Li Ang recalled the first time he met Yan Tianqi and his attitude toward him.

It wasn’t unfamiliar, nor was it friendly, but it contained a touch of malice.

This, along with the subsequent fact that the martial arts school had not arranged for him to have students.

Piecing it together with the attitude of Old Master Hua, who was the actual controller of the school towards him.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

Li Ang guessed the reasons from these details.

“He feels that my arrival poses a threat to his position? So, he doesn’t want me to comfortably stay in the martial arts school and wants Old Master Hua to reduce his regard for me. That would explain it.”

Having figured this out, Li Ang felt somewhat helpless. He had just come to be an instructor, and yet it was turning into a political intrigue.

Truth be told, he didn’t care for the status that Yan Tianqi was so protective of—none of which he had at the moment—since his own goals were far beyond this place.

However, for Yan Tianqi, the cost of a few bottles of medicinal wine was a small price to pay to dim the shine of a Tongbei Quan prodigy who no longer posed a threat to his position; it was naturally a worthwhile deal.

Having thought this through, Li Ang understood that this situation was actually for the best. In Yan Tianqi’s eyes, he was no longer a threat and therefore would not come up with various schemes, and he even managed to obtain some medicinal wine from him this time.

“Looks like when I’ve made some progress with my Sideways Training Martial Arts, I can come over and see if I can trick Yan Tianqi into giving me more stuff.”

Li Ang chuckled to himself, cleared his mind, and no longer dwelled on these matters.

After wandering around the city center for quite a while, Li Ang finally found a store that sold what he needed.

Mainly it was various types of sandbags—filled with mung beans, sand, iron sand, and small rocks. Li Ang prepared three bags of each kind. He bought the iron sand in the store, while for the other materials, Li Ang would have to find them himself.

He also found a bookstore and bought a bunch of outdated newspapers.

These were primarily for protection, useful for practicing Iron Head Skill by headbutting walls and striking trees with one’s body.

Then there was a large jar that could hold hundreds of pounds of water, for practicing Iron Finger Technique.

This item was quite hard to find. If it had been in China, it would’ve been easier since markets were abundant with them, but this was America, in the middle of the city.

Li Ang could only find a small shop selling ceramic art, but the Indian owner initially wanted $80,000.

After haggling for a long time, he finally played the “I’m a student” card and with $20, bought a flawed jar whose pattern hadn’t been printed properly from him.

The only thing left was the bamboo strips used to practice the Iron Cloth, and although bamboo was also imported into America, it was relatively scarce and certainly not something you could find just by the roadside.

Even if you did find some, you couldn’t just chop it down—bad luck and you might get reported by someone.

Li Ang thought it over and decided to buy online; after all, he didn’t need much, and he took the opportunity to purchase the Chinese herbs for the herbal bath as well.

In America, there simply aren’t any Chinese medicine practitioner licenses, meaning there is no legally recognized traditional Chinese medicine.

Similarly, “Chinese herbal medicine” isn’t considered “medicine”—it’s mostly imported under the guise of dietary supplements.

So far, none have been approved as medicine by the FDA (United States Food and Drug Administration).

Therefore, you can basically only buy these things in Chinatown offline.

Once all these items were bought, Li Ang looked at his purchases and realized that altogether, it was quite a lot.

Li Ang had no choice but to go to the supermarket again to buy some tape, cramming the other miscellaneous items into the jar.

Then he wrapped the jar with several layers of tape, securing it to the bicycle rack.

Just packing these things kept him busy

for more than ten minutes.

Li Ang let out a long sigh; he had always found riding a bicycle quite convenient and good for exercise.

But now, it seemed he would still need to buy a car in the future.

Whether it was buying something big or traveling a bit further, a car would be more convenient.

His own shopping was done, but Li Ang’s shopping trip wasn’t over yet.

He planned to buy a gift for Sheila.

No matter how you looked at it, she had always been nice to him. Not to mention the free meals and drinks he’d had a few times, she was now helping him with health care and taught him massage—it would be too rude not to give her something in return.

You can’t avoid exchanges of favors wherever there are people, not just in China; in fact, they’re unavoidable anywhere where people exist.

About gifting, Li Ang once heard from an old philanderer with countless conquests.

It was never to chase cost-effectiveness, or, in other words, to spend a lot on something insignificant.

For instance, if you have a thousand dollars budget for a gift for a female friend.

Buy a phone, and you could only get an entry-level model, which she may end up deeming too low-grade to even show off.

However, spend a thousand dollars on a cup from an unknown brand claiming to be a niche luxury, and she would only think you have great taste, possibly spending ages photo editing, all to post it on social media.

She would boast to everyone that someone gave her a thousand-dollar cup.

You’re guaranteed to stand out in her mind ahead of a host of fawning guys.

Of course, this doesn’t apply to family and very close friends.

Finally, in a department store, Li Ang picked out a CL (Christian Louboutin) lipstick at the counter, nicknamed Louboutin.

With the sales associate’s recommendation, he chose a classic red, which was a foolproof choice.

Though it cost less than two hundred, this thing was definitely the Hermès of lipsticks.

In China, it was priced at around one thousand for a single piece.

A gift that was bound to impress.

As he just arrived at his front door, Li Ang saw that there seemed to be quite a few workers knocking and hammering away in Sheila’s yard.