"At first, they were willing to take me under their wing. Later, when they heard that I didn't want any payment, I didn't think much of it. I just wanted to find materials to hone my knife skills and cooking skills. Over time, I unknowingly ended up like this." Ma Hua scratched his head a little embarrassedly.
Ma Jianguo also breathed a sigh of relief. But then he asked nervously, "What did your master say?"
“He was the one who first said he would expel me from the school, and that even if I begged him in the future, he would not teach me.” Ma Hua quickly recounted what Sha Zhu had said at the time.
Ma Jianguo didn't speak, but his brows furrowed. He took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, pulled one out, and put it in his mouth. Seeing this, Ma Hua quickly grabbed a match, struck a match, and lit the cigarette for his father.
After a long while, when Ma Jianguo had almost finished his cigarette, he threw the cigarette butt on the ground, stomped on it a few times, and said, "No, you have to go apologize to your master and beg him to forgive you."
"No, why should I?" Ma Hua's eyes instantly welled up with tears when he heard his father not only fail to encourage him but also tell him to apologize to Sha Zhu.
Only then did Ma Jianguo realize that something was wrong with his child's expression. He sighed deeply, his straight back seeming to bend slightly: "Xiaohua, are you blaming me, blaming me for not understanding you?"
"Sigh," Ma Hua felt a pang of heartache when he saw his son's red eyes. He loved his son, and he felt sorry for him too. He had already noticed the bruises and swelling on Ma Hua's exposed skin.
“Xiaohua, I know you’re upset. I’m just worried your reputation will be ruined if word gets out. It’ll be hard for you to find a partner later,” Ma Jianguo understood his son’s grievances very well. In this era, what apprentice hadn’t gone through that?
Forget about the dirty and tiring work, you even had to empty the chamber pot for your master. Every apprentice got beaten by their master before they even started. If you got beaten, it meant your master still cared about you.
“Dad, I know what you mean. You’re afraid people will say I stole your teacher’s skills and then abandoned him after mastering them, and that I’ll be scorned by everyone, right?” Ma Hua seemed to understand his father’s meaning.
A sense of resentment began to grow within me regarding the relationships between masters and disciples in this era. It was clearly Sha Zhu's fault, but just because he was my master, I was being scolded. Why?
“Dad, have you thought about this? If I keep following him like this, when will I ever be able to cook for myself? You told me before that the first few years are for learning how to be a person, but what am I supposed to learn from him? How to steal? How to hit people? Or how to be obsessed with widows?”
At this point, Ma Hua's bad temper began to surface. "Why? I just don't want to! It's clearly not my fault! Everyone says to respect teachers, and I respected my teacher, but did he respect his teachings? Other teachers might hit their students, but they were teaching them!"
Even if he had a backup plan, Sha Zhu went too far. He welded the door shut, leaving him no room to maneuver. If he had left him even a small opening, he wouldn't be so angry.
Who wouldn't want to learn a skill well and earn more money? It's been almost four years, and Ma Hua is still only getting 17.5 yuan at the steel rolling mill. The kitchen wages are inherently lower than those in the workshop; apprentices in the workshop get 25 yuan. But at least he can eat there for free.
If things continue like this, when will I ever get a raise? Do I really have to wait until Sha Zhu takes Fatty to work at Yu Li's restaurant?
"Dad, I know what you mean, but please let me be willful this time. I really can't stand it anymore. I treat him like a mentor, but what does he take me for? Besides, I have my own reasons that I can't say. Please forgive your son for being willful this time."
Ma Jianguo remained silent for a long time before looking up and facing his usually timid youngest son again. He realized that his son had grown up without him noticing. He wanted to say something to comfort him, but the words that came out of his mouth were different: "You do what you want, I don't care anymore."
After saying that, he lifted the curtain and went out.
Ma Hua watched her father's departing figure with red eyes, unsure of what to say. She only felt wronged. "I believe I did nothing wrong, yet it seems like I'm the one who's wronged everything."
Just as Ma Hua was pondering, he saw his mother push the door open and come in: "You silly boy, what are you thinking about?"
"I wasn't thinking about anything." Ma Hua stubbornly turned her head away, avoiding her mother's gaze.
"You, you still won't tell me? I'm your mother! What's wrong? Now that you're all grown up, you don't want to talk to me anymore? Fine, Mom knows you're upset. You're just like your father."
"Are you still complaining about your dad? I understand you." Mother Chen Hongmei sighed. How come this father and son have such similar tempers? They're both stubborn as mules; can't they just talk to each other properly?
Seeing Ma Hua's still aggrieved expression, she smiled and said, "You've always been like this since you were little. You keep everything to yourself, and you only ever report good news. You hide everything from us until it's absolutely unbearable. As for you and your mentor, Mom supports you."
When Ma Hua heard his mother say she supported him, he immediately looked up in surprise. He saw his mother, Chen Hongmei's, kind face.
"Silly boy, that's my son. If I don't support you, who will I support?" Chen Hongyan looked at Ma Hua's happy face, but her heart was filled with conflict as she thought about what Ma Hua might face in the future.
After thinking for a moment, she still asked, "Xiaohua, let me teach you something else today. If you want to do something, you have to see it through to the end. Think about how others will treat you in the future and how you will retaliate. Otherwise, you will suffer a lot if you act rashly every day." Then Chen Hongmei called Ma Hua over and whispered to him.
Ma Hua's eyes lit up as he listened. Wow, his mother was really something! He nodded excitedly.
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