"Yan Xingmin, don't give me that nonsense. I'm here to ask you what kind of things you've been teaching my son these past three years!"

Although Bai Zhiman was sitting, his voice was full of energy.

Although he has been bedridden for the past few years, his children have never mistreated him. Although he lacks exercise, he is still quite healthy. He stands upright, and if people didn't know that he was lame, they would just think that he was sitting in a chair.

Yan Xingmin could no longer maintain his polite demeanor: "Brother, what do you mean by this? You entrusted Shibo to me back then, and how I teach him is my responsibility. You're not in this line of work; do you think you know more about teaching apprentices than I do?"

Bai Shibao, who had been lectured by Bai Zhiman the whole way, finally spoke up: "But Master, my senior brother, who started his apprenticeship around the same time as me, graduated half a year earlier. Why do I have to wait two more years?"

"I've told you so many times, this craft is not like farming, it depends on talent. Your senior brother is talented, so of course he learns quickly. You're a bit slow, so I have to teach you slowly."

Yan Xingmin stood with his hands behind his back, speaking eloquently.

"Bullshit! In all these years, have you ever made him do a proper job? What makes you think he has no talent? Just because he's bad at odd jobs doesn't mean he has no talent!"

Bai Zhiman turned his wheelchair and walked up to Yan Xingmin: "I gave you my son not so you could ruin him. I'm here today to take him back."

"Take it or leave it!" Yan Xingmin pointed at Bai Shibao and said, "Bai Shibao, take your father to your room, pack your things and get out of here. You eat and drink my food, and now you're acting like it's my fault."

The commotion in the backyard attracted the workers in the shops outside. These fellow apprentices were kind-hearted, and one by one they came up and asked, "Master, why are you so angry? Shibo, you should apologize to Master right away!"

Bai Shibao was rather slow-witted, so when Yan Xingmin got angry with him, everyone naturally assumed that Bai Shibao had angered Yan Xingmin, and that was how they tried to reconcile them.

"It seems they have a better place to go and don't care to stay here!" Yan Xingmin sneered.

"Shibo, what's wrong?" Pang Jiahong is the eldest brother, and he's over thirty years old this year. He usually takes good care of Bai Shibo. He's been following Bai Shibo around since Bai Shibo came here, for three years now. Pang Jiahong really can't bear to see Bai Shibo give up halfway.

Bai Shibao wasn't entirely determined to leave. He glanced at Bai Zhiman and said, "Father..."

"Don't call me father. These are all your fellow disciples. They know perfectly well how your master has treated you these past three years. Tell them yourself why I brought you home today!"

Bai Shibao had no choice but to explain the situation to Pang Jiahong with a bitter face: "Brother Hong, I really can't afford to waste any more time. I'm already twenty-one this year, and I've been an apprentice here for three years, but I've only learned half the skills. My master taught Changzi more than he taught me. I don't believe I'm that stupid." As he spoke, Bai Shibao felt wronged, and the corners of his eyes reddened.

Zhang Benchang was the junior disciple who was defeated by Yan Xingmin last year. He was considered the last disciple. Yan Xingmin's father was a ship captain, and he was the only one left in the family. Yan Xingmin was unwilling to send him to the ship, so he found Yan Xingmin. Yan Xingmin's filial piety was something that all his fellow disciples combined could not match.

To put it bluntly, it's about being a snob and a rich person who favors the wealthy and belittles the poor.

Everyone knows the truth about this, but as an apprentice, it's not fair to blame the master. If anyone's to blame, it's that they don't have a father who's a captain.

“Master has his reasons…” Pang Jiahong’s voice was clearly lacking in confidence. Bai Shibao was usually honest, which is why his master bullied him so much. Over the years, his master had probably developed a fixed mindset about him.

“Child, this matter has nothing to do with you fellow disciples, but since you are here, you can be witnesses. We came here for two reasons: first, to take Shibo away, and second, to make things clear that although Shibo went with us voluntarily today, he has a clear conscience.”

Bai Zhiman didn't want to see Bai Shibao's pathetic state. He turned to the group of blacksmiths with different expressions and said, "You've all been watching Shibao work these past few years. You all know perfectly well why things have developed to this point today. If Shibao doesn't leave now, are you going to let him work for another two years until his master can't delay any longer and finds some excuse to send him back? It's a harsh thing to say, but I have to say it out loud so that people won't say that Shibao betrayed his master and was sent back later."

"Bai Zhiman, do you think you're the boss in this world? You think whatever you say goes?"

Yan Xingmin's face was grim.

This blacksmith shop doesn't belong to him alone. Since it's a public shop, naturally half of the blacksmiths aren't from his lineage, and some even have disagreements with him.

Yan Xingmin was completely convinced that Bai Zhiman would disregard everyone's feelings and make his point clear.

He tried to stop him, but became a little anxious and took two steps forward, saying he was going to move Bai Zhiman's wheelchair.

What are you doing!

Bai Jiaojiao was standing behind the wheelchair. Seeing Yan Xingmin's intention, she quickly moved the wheelchair back: "You still want to hit my dad? It's one thing for you to hit my brother, but you've gone crazy from hitting people, and now you want to hit my dad?"

Bai Jiaojiao's tone rose, and Yan Xingmin, who had no intention of doing so, panicked at her words: "When did I ever say I wanted to hit your father!"

"What are you trying to do by suddenly rushing over here? What, is this some kind of place where people can't talk?"

“That’s right, Lao Yan. You said it yourself, it’s not up to him to say what he wants. Justice will prevail. What are you afraid of? Just let him say it.”

Among this group were many who were eager to see a good show and wanted to fan the flames and make the spectacle even bigger.

There were already people in the blacksmith shop who disliked Yan Xingmin.

Bai Zhiman sneered: "It seems you're not very popular here either. It's a pity I was blind back then to befriend someone like you and to entrust Shibo to you."

Yan Xingmin said, "If I weren't blind, I wouldn't have taken on such a disciple!"

"Back then, I could earn several dollars a day pushing stones. My family was rich, and you came to my house to drink every day. Now that I'm a cripple, you're making things difficult for my son, not teaching him what he should, and making him do odd jobs for you for free. If you can find an apprentice like this, you'd be lucky to find one!"

"Bai Zhiman, you should speak with a clear conscience! For so many years, I've fed and clothed him, haven't I been more devoted than you, his crippled father?"

“If I, Bai Zhiman, say one wrong word, may lightning strike me dead! It’s fine if you look down on our Bozi, but don’t let him down after calling you master for so many years. We’ve done everything we should, from the apprenticeship ceremony to the filial piety. We don’t ask you to teach him those special skills, but at least let him be able to establish himself in the future. He’s been an apprentice for three years, and now you’re telling him to wait two more years and see? Is that even human?”

"Master, I really can't afford to delay any longer!" Bai Shibao still called Yan Xingmin "Master," but Yan Xingmin looked away.

Now that things had been discussed, Bai Zhiman said, "Bai Shibao, hurry up and pack your things, let's go back."

Bai Jiaojiao looked at the onlookers and knew that after this commotion, some of them would definitely embellish Bai Zhiman's words and spread them.

This time, it's Yan Xingmin who will be utterly disgraced in the industry.