Chapter 14: Becoming a Disciple (I)
Old Zhou glanced at his daughter and asked, "What are you doing in the county town?"
Manbao couldn't say that she went to sell candy, because her family had always speculated that her candy was given by Mr. Zhuang or students in the school, and she was afraid that they would bring this up when they went to apprentice tomorrow.
So I can only find another excuse, "I want to broaden my horizons."
Zhou Erlang said, "You are just a kid, what experience do you expect to gain? Wait until you are a little older before going."
But when she grows up, her family will no longer be short of money, and Manbao has gained a lot today, so she feels she needs to verify her conclusion.
So she insisted, "No, I will go the day after tomorrow. Fifth and sixth brothers will also go. Let them take me. I don't need eldest and second brothers to worry about me."
Old Zhou glared majestically.
Will Manbao be afraid of him?
Of course not. She slid directly from Zhou Dalang's legs to the ground, pounced on him and hugged Old Zhou's arms, twisting him like a twist, "Dad, Dad, just promise me."
Seeing that he was indifferent, Manbao pounded his shoulders with his fists and said, "Dad, I'm going to buy you some candy, just promise me."
Will Old Zhou be bribed by sugar?
He is not a child.
But, “Where do you get the money?”
"I will earn money, Dad. If you let me go to the county town, I can earn money." Manbao had been pounding his shoulders from left to right to get his promise.
Zhou Dalang couldn't help laughing when he saw this and pleaded for her, "Dad, why don't you let her go? It happens that in addition to bringing food, she also needs to bring eggs the day after tomorrow. My second son has exchanged a lot of eggs. These can't be placed on the cart, they have to be carried on her back."
Zhou Erlang thought the same thing. "It seems that my youngest sister hasn't been to the county town yet. Since the fifth and sixth brothers are going too, I want to take some winnowing baskets and dustpans with me. The prices in the county town are a little higher than at the market, so maybe I can make some money."
Only then did Old Zhou stop talking.
Manbao patted his shoulders even harder, "Dad, just agree to it, just agree to it."
Old Zhou was so annoyed by her that he waved his hand and said, "Alright, alright, go ahead. But your eldest brother and the others have to go out before dawn. Can you get up?"
"I can get up! I get up very early!"
You wouldn't believe her. Old Zhou said, "If you can't get up, we won't call you. Don't cry if you can't go."
Manbao was full of confidence, "I will definitely be able to get up."
I immediately instructed the system in my mind, "Keke, you must wake me up the day after tomorrow, understand?"
Koko didn't expect that he would also have to serve as an alarm clock, but he also wanted his host to go out and see the world, so he nodded in agreement.
Qian has already assigned the tasks of tailoring and making shoes. The clothes made by farmers are not that delicate, so they can be sewn together after being cut. As long as the stitches are fine and flawless, it will be fine.
The best tailor in the family was the third sister-in-law, He. After she accepted the task, she took the cloth and started cutting. It happened that Mr. Zhuang's height was similar to Zhou Erlang's, so she just cut the cloth according to Zhou Erlang's height.
In order to finish the work by the next day, He didn't have to do anything in the afternoon and just sewed and mended clothes. Qian was generous for once and lit an oil lamp for them after dark.
But it wasn't much different, and the clothes were made quickly.
Qian was responsible for making shoes. The soles were ready-made, the same soles used for Zhou Erlang. Because he walked often, Feng made the soles for him specially thick, so that they were very comfortable to wear.
The uppers are made of specially bought cotton cloth, which is much better than the homespun cloth they make themselves.
The next day, Old Zhou and his two sons took out their best clothes, washed themselves, and asked Xiao Qian to get their daughter out of bed and prepare her to become a disciple.
Manbao spent a long time peeling candies last night. He turned over, stuck his butt out and didn't want to get up.
Seeing that she always crawled under the quilt, Xiao Qian took her coat, lifted the quilt, patted her little butt, and said, "Little aunt, it will be too late if you don't get up now. You have to go to the apprenticeship today, so you have to be a good boy."
He held her in his arms and helped her put on her clothes. Then he carried her to a chair with her eyes closed and wrung out a towel to wipe her face.
The water was warm, but Manbao still shuddered and woke up reluctantly.
It was Feng's turn to cook today. She brought a bowl of egg water from the kitchen, placed it on the table and said, "Auntie, remember to drink the egg water before you go."
As soon as the sun came out, Old Zhou took his two sons and Manbao to school.
Mr. Zhuang knew that Manbao would come to become his disciple today, so he got up early in the morning and was practicing boxing in the yard.
When Old Zhou saw Mr. Zhuang, his back bent subconsciously. He has always been in awe of scholars.
Mr. Zhuang smiled slightly, "Is Mr. Zhou here? Please come in quickly."
"Yes, yes, Mr. Zhuang, please come in first." Old Zhou bowed and invited Mr. Zhuang to come in first.
Manbao was very familiar with Mr. Zhuang. She helped him to sit down in the study first, and then went to help her father. She looked around and saw a stove burning in the familiar place, so she went to bring them water very attentively.
Zhou Dalang and Zhou Erlang hurried to take over. Manbao had never done these things at home. What if he got burned?
Mr. Zhuang was very satisfied. He stroked his beard and smiled at Old Zhou, saying, "Mr. Zhou, you have raised a good daughter. I have never seen a smarter child in the whole village."
"That's because the teacher taught me well." Old Zhou had always known about Manbao's behavior of secretly learning by leaning on the window. He felt distressed at first, but after that he could only bear the pain and let his daughter learn as much as possible.
Because he knows that the greater the ability, the better life one can live.
As long as Mr. Zhuang doesn't drive Manbao away, he won't restrict his child.
Therefore, Old Zhou has always been in awe and grateful to Mr. Zhuang, and his back has become even more bent.
Mr. Zhuang smiled and said, "This child is good. She is not only smart, but also filial. She knows how to clean the yard for me and thinks about her parents and family. It shows that my father-in-law has a good family tradition. I have decided to take this child as my apprentice, but I can only keep her by my side and teach her. I have to ask Master Bai before she can enter the school."
After all, this school was opened by Mr. Bai, and he was also invited by Mr. Bai.
Old Zhou was cheered up and said immediately, "In fact, it's enough to study with the teacher. It doesn't matter whether I can enter the school or not."
Old Zhou was afraid that Manbao would have to pay tuition to enter the school, so he blushed and said, "Teacher, you know that my family is poor..."
Old Zhou hesitated and didn't finish his words, but Mr. Zhuang understood. He laughed out loud and said, "Don't worry, old man. Since I want to accept Manbao as my disciple, I will treat her as my own child. Naturally, I won't accept any tuition."
He paused and said, "I also know that your family is in financial difficulty, and Manbao is still young. There's no need to buy her anything. When she learns to read and write, she can copy textbooks from me."
In fact, before the Zhou family came to their door, he was not sure whether the Zhou family would be willing to let Manbao worship him as a master. Now that the Zhou family came to their door, Mr. Zhuang couldn't help but sigh that the Zhou family really doted on Manbao.
Because I don't often open the background of my phone, someone said he wanted to ask me a question yesterday, so I clicked it and found that there were several expired questions in the Dashen Q&A, but I didn't see them, so I was thinking, should I not see someone's question and let it expire?
(End of this chapter)
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