Chapter 413 Zhao Zhao Becomes an Apprentice
Although Huo Tingzhou was promoted this time, his work focus and content remained essentially unchanged.
There is no such thing as a new broom sweeping clean.
After finishing her work, and thinking that tomorrow would be the weekend, Jiang Si said, "Let's take Zhao Zhao to the Zhuo family tomorrow."
It's been more than half a month since kindergarten started. It's fine on weekdays, but every weekend, Sui Sui and several of Teacher Hu's children all have to go to the Children's Palace.
Zhao Zhao was quite bored being home alone.
Jiang Si said, "Yesterday your daughter told me that if she continues to be so idle, she'll sprout."
The couple had reached a consensus beforehand on having Zhaozhao learn abacus mental arithmetic from Lao Zhuo.
Huo Tingzhou didn't have much to say, "Okay, whatever you say."
Seeing that he agreed, Jiang Si added, "Then let's get up a little earlier tomorrow. I plan to buy some gifts to take with me when I become an apprentice."
Huo Tingzhou rolled over, his voice noticeably raised, "A ceremony to formally become a disciple?"
“Yeah, right.” Jiang Si said with a smile, “You don’t mean to come empty-handed.”
Huo Tingzhou didn't mean that, but he wondered, "Wouldn't this mess up the generational hierarchy?"
Back in military school, he was always called "Big Brother," but now his daughter calls him "Master." So what will he call Lao Zhuo?
"You can call me whatever you want, it won't make a difference!"
Jiang Si didn't know what was wrong with this person, so she said directly, "This is your daughter's idea. If you don't agree, you can talk to Zhao Zhao yourself."
Huo Tingzhou fell silent.
The next day, upon hearing that her younger sister was going to become an apprentice, Sui Sui paused in packing her bag.
"Mom, can I go with you?"
Jiang Si was quite surprised to see this, as this child would go to the Children's Palace without fail, no matter the weather.
Today, he actually made an exception for his sister.
As a result of her hesitation, Sui Sui clearly misunderstood. "Mom, I won't miss my chess lessons. I'll make up for today's lesson when I get back later."
“Mom didn’t think that way.” Jiang Si patted his head.
She knew that Sui Sui was a very opinionated child, which was evident from his desire to learn Go.
To be honest, Jiang Si was quite surprised when she learned that he wanted to learn Go.
Judging from his daily hobbies, he doesn't seem to like Go that much.
Privately, she also asked Sui Sui,
If you don't like it, why do you still learn it?
But the answer she received surprised her even more.
Sui Sui actually said that he wanted to temper his temper.
It's simply unbelievable that a three-year-old child would say such a thing.
Later, she went to the Children's Palace to inquire and found out that it was because the teacher told her that practicing Go could not only improve a person's concentration, endurance, and calculation ability, but also increase a person's logical thinking ability.
That's why Sui Sui devoted herself to it wholeheartedly.
Jiang Si has always respected her two children's ideas.
So after calling the teacher at the Children's Palace to ask for half a day off, the family of four set off.
In Beijing, when one becomes an apprentice, one usually buys six gifts, but there are no strict rules about which six items to buy.
Before leaving, Jiang Si had already taken a cashmere scarf and some tea.
When I passed by the convenience store, I bought a box of pastries, a piece of meat, a serving of fruit, and finally picked out a serving of dried fruit and grains.
It contains red beans (symbolizing good fortune), red dates (symbolizing early success), longan (symbolizing fulfilling one's duties), and lotus seeds (symbolizing nurturing others with dedication).
The Military Economics Academy is under the General Logistics Department, and its affiliated family compound is not far from here; it only takes about ten minutes to walk there.
Zhao Zhao was very happy and skipped and jumped all the way.
For some unknown reason, Huo Tingzhou suddenly asked, "Zhaozhao, is Daddy better or Teacher Zhuo better?"
Why again?
Jiang Si was truly speechless.
Fortunately, Zhao Zhao knew how to comfort her father, and shook his arm as she spoke.
"Of course Dad is the best! But Teacher Zhuo is also very good to Zhaozhao, Zhaozhao loves him!"
Heavy?
"It's respect," Jiang Si couldn't help but remind her.
Huo Tingzhou felt better now. "Yes, your mother is right, it's about respect!"
However, the smile on his face came to an abrupt end when he reached the entrance of the Zhuo family's courtyard.
Even through several thick doors, Zhuo Mingda's loud voice could be heard clearly.
Huo Tingzhou frowned. Old Zhuo was usually quite gentle and refined, but he didn't expect him to be like this during class.
"Is Teacher Zhuo always this strict in class?" he asked Zhao Zhao subconsciously.
Zhao Zhao nodded, then thought for a moment and said, "Teacher Zhuo doesn't treat Zhao Zhao like that."
During the two weeks of classes, Teacher Zhu praised her every day.
Jiang Si ignored the conversation between the father and daughter and went straight to knock on the door.
"Who is it?" Zhuo Mingda quickly came out from inside when he heard the knocking.
Upon seeing Jiang Si, he exclaimed in surprise, "Sister-in-law, what brings you here?"
Then I saw Huo Tingzhou was there too, and more importantly, he brought Sui Sui and Zhao Zhao with him.
Zhuo Mingda hurriedly invited people inside, but when he saw what Huo Tingzhou was holding, he couldn't help but frown.
We brothers had an agreement that, apart from essential social interactions, no one was allowed to bring anything when visiting each other.
Even during holidays, you don't need to buy this much.
Huo Tingzhou said, "This is your sister-in-law's idea."
Zhuo Mingda poured a glass of water for the couple and grabbed some shrimp crisps for Zhaozhao and Suisui before speaking to Jiang Si.
"Sister-in-law, you're not allowed to bring these things next time. Old Huo and I are sworn brothers. Take these back with you later."
“That won’t do,” Jiang Si said with a smile. “These are all gifts for Zhao Zhao’s apprenticeship.”
As for tuition fees, it seems inconvenient to discuss them today.
After all, there were still students in the inner room, so Huo Tingzhou could only find an opportunity to talk to him privately.
"Oh, so it's a ceremony for becoming a disciple." Zhuo Mingda was so confused by the students that it took him a while to come to his senses. "A... a ceremony for becoming a disciple?"
Jiang Si nodded and explained her purpose.
"Zhaozhao really likes mental arithmetic and wants to continue learning from you. I wonder if it would be convenient for you to take her on as a student."
"Convenient! What's inconvenient about it!"
In his excitement, Zhuo Mingda blurted out his thoughts, "I wanted to talk to Lao Huo about this before the New Year, but I was afraid that Lao Huo would be reluctant or had other plans, so I never dared to bring it up."
He patted his chest and assured her, "Sister-in-law, don't worry about Zhaozhao. I'll definitely teach her well and treat her like a..."
He originally intended to treat Zhao Zhao like his own daughter, but when he looked up, he found Huo Tingzhou staring at him with a deep gaze.
So he promptly stopped talking.
Jiang Si can rest assured about this a thousand times over.
Knowing he was still in class, she didn't plan to stay any longer.
After chatting for a while, Jiang Si said, "Then we'll have to trouble you with our Zhao Zhao. We have some things to do, so we'll be leaving now."
"Sister-in-law, what are you saying! It's no trouble at all."
Zhuo Mingda waved his hand repeatedly, warmly urging them to stay, "Don't leave, have lunch here with me."
“No need to trouble yourself,” Jiang Si said.
Zhuo Mingda interrupted, "No, no, we have to stay here for a meal today."
We're all usually busy, so it's rare to have this opportunity today.
After saying that, he looked at Huo Tingzhou again, "Old Huo, say something."
The door to the inner room was ajar, and Zhuo Mingda wasn't keeping quiet either.
The commotion outside was heard by everyone inside.
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