Chapter 4 Apprenticeship

Chapter 4 Apprenticeship

Chapter 4 Apprenticeship
"Yes."

Chen Yuan responded, handed the bag to Chen Laoer, turned around, walked to the mountain of iron materials, bent down and hugged a piece.

He took a deep breath and tried to lift it up, but found it unexpectedly easy, so he picked it up directly.

Chen Yuan weighed it and found that the piece of iron weighed about twenty pounds, which was extremely heavy for an ordinary boy of twelve or thirteen years old. But in his hands, it was only slightly difficult.

Chen Yuan walked briskly into the warehouse, put down the iron materials, then returned to the yard and continued to move the iron materials.

The patio of this yard is very large, and the distance between the warehouse and the iron pile is not close, but Chen Yuan still managed to move three pieces of iron in a very short time and passed the test.

But he kept Chen Laoer's instructions in mind and did not stop, continuing to move the iron materials.

When Chen Yuan finished moving the fourth piece of iron, everyone in the yard looked at him with surprise.

Manager Li, who had always had a calm expression, also straightened up and looked Chen Yuan up and down.

When the tall young man called for a stop, Chen Yuan had just finished moving the ninth piece of iron.

The tall young man said:

"Nine pieces of iron have passed the test and are on the list!"

The accountant had already picked up the brush, dipped it in thick ink, and asked:
"What's your name? How old are you? Where is your home?"

"I am Chen Erniu, thirteen years old, and I live in Chenjia Village..."

Chen Yuan answered respectfully according to Chen Laoer's instructions on the way.

The accountant quickly entered Chen Yuan into the roster and nodded slightly to the tall young man.

"Deng..."

The tall young man was about to speak when Manager Li slowly raised his hand. He immediately shut up and stepped aside.

Manager Li stroked his goatee and said:
"Chen Erniu, is your great strength natural?"

Chen Yuan's heart trembled, he raised his head, showing a lingering fear expression, and said:

"No, I caught a cold three years ago. My family was poor and couldn't afford medical treatment. My father went into the mountains to find some herbs. After I took them, I recovered and my strength gradually increased..."

Manager Li frowned when he heard this. Chen Laoer observed his expression and added hastily:
"I'm reporting to Manager Li. Erniu and I are from the same village. This story spread throughout the village three years ago. Everyone in the village knows that Erniu is lucky. He survived a near-death experience and gained tremendous strength. Everyone says that he was blessed by God."

Manager Li's frown finally relaxed and he asked:

"Do you remember what the herb looked like?"

Chen Yuan shook his head and said:
"Can not remember."

Manager Li nodded thoughtfully:
"Well, you must have eaten some rare flowers and herbs that cured your cold and gave you great strength for no reason. You are really lucky..."

Chen Yuan felt relieved, knowing that he should have passed the test.

He made up this story after discovering the effect of the jade pendant, in order to explain his gradually increasing strength after he turned ten.

However, Chen Tiezhu did venture into the Chimang Mountains to look for medicine for Chen Yuan, but it didn't work. Chen Erniu still fell seriously ill and died, giving Chen Yuan a chance to live again.

Manager Li cleared his doubts and said to Chen Lao Er:

"You brought a good seedling this time, and I'll reward you with three hundred coins."

Chen Laoer was overjoyed:

"Thank you, Manager Li, for the reward!"

The accountant counted out three hundred coins as a reward, plus fifty coins as wages for introducing an apprentice, and wrote two apprenticeship contracts. After Manager Li signed them, he gave them all to Chen Laoer.

Only after Chen Tiezhu signed the apprenticeship contract and registered with the government could Chen Yuan become an apprentice of Baibingtang.

At that time, Baibingtang could beat and scold Chen Yuan at will. As long as no one was killed, even if he was beaten to a disability, the government would not intervene.

Chen Laoer left happily with the apprenticeship contract and reward money. Before leaving, he told Chen Yuan:

"It's your blessing that Manager Li thinks highly of you. Work hard and listen to Manager Li."

He didn't lower his voice deliberately, and everyone in the yard could hear it.

The tall young man sneered silently, while the short and strong young man in yellow clothes on the other side of Manager Li nodded, as if he agreed with it.

Chen Yuan smiled and said:
"Yes, Uncle Erhua, I will definitely listen to Manager Li. I will do whatever Manager Li tells me to do."

Manager Li smiled slightly, and after Chen Lao Er left, he looked at Chen Yuan and said softly:
"Chen Erniu, do you want to be my apprentice?"

Chen Yuan looked confused:
"Ah? Aren't I here to be an apprentice?"

The tall young man shouted sternly:

"Hurry up and kowtow to Master! My Baibing Hall recruits apprentices. You need to go through a one-month trial and do menial work for a year before you can become a formal apprentice. If Master takes a liking to you, you can become a formal apprentice directly and learn martial arts without having to do menial work. This is a great blessing for you. Why are you still standing there?"

Chen Yuan suddenly realized, knelt down and kowtowed, saying loudly:
"I am Chen Erniu, and I am here to meet the Master!"

Manager Li frowned and said:

"Now that you have become my disciple, stop calling yourself a villain."

Chen Yuan immediately changed his words:

"Yes, Erniu has met the master!"

Manager Li stroked his goatee, raised his hand and pointed at the two young men in yellow clothes beside him, and said with a smile:
"Haha, good disciple, this is your senior brother Wang Cong and senior brother Zhao Shan. Zhao Shan, you will teach Er Niu martial arts from now on."

The short and stocky young man replied respectfully:

"Yes, Master."

He was not tall, but very strong, with dark skin and a square face.

The other tall young man was naturally the Wang Cong mentioned by Manager Li.

Chen Yuan stood up and saluted to the two of them:

"Erniu greets Senior Brother Zhao and Senior Brother Wang." Zhao Shan said with a smile:

"Brother Chen, there is no need to be so polite."

Wang Cong's eyes flashed with displeasure, and he said lightly:
"Junior brother, remember this. You must be filial to your master in the future. This is our duty as a disciple."

Chen Yuan nodded repeatedly:

"I will definitely be filial to Manager Li... No, I will be filial to Master!"

"Ha ha……"

Manager Li seemed to be amused by Chen Yuan's honest and straightforward appearance. He stroked his beard and smiled, saying:

"Okay, I'm going to recruit apprentices. Zhao Shan, you should settle Erniu first, and then come back to do the work."

"Yes, Master."

Zhao Shan answered respectfully and raised his hand to wave Chen Yuan to leave.

Chen Yuan picked up the bag on the ground beside him and followed Zhao Shan out of the yard.

After the two of them crossed the courtyard gate, Wang Cong bent over and smiled flatteringly, whispering:

"Congratulations, Master, for accepting a great disciple today. Junior Brother Chen has great strength and great talent. He will surely learn martial arts soon and help Master solve problems."

Manager Li looked at Chen Yuan's back with a smile on his face:

"What good disciple? He's just a country boy, as dumb as an ox, which is in line with his name... But this boy has a simple mind and great strength. If we train him well, he will be of great use."

Wang Cong immediately changed his words:

"Master really has a keen eye! This Chen Erniu is just like Zhao Shan. They are both from poor families, have never seen the world, and are not capable of taking on important tasks. It is a blessing for them to be noticed by Master."

Manager Li did not comment, stroked his beard and murmured:

"Zhang Jinkui, I have recruited many disciples. In the future, all the people in the branch hall will be mine. Let's see how you can fight me, haha..."

……

Chen Yuan lowered his head and followed Zhao Shan out of the yard and turned into an alley.

"call……"

Chen Yuan exhaled lightly and felt cold sweat all over his back.

When the breeze blew, I felt a sticky, wet and cold feeling, which was very uncomfortable.

When Manager Li was talking to Wang Cong, his voice was extremely low, and he thought it was secretive, but in fact, he heard everything.

He originally thought that Manager Li accepted him as his apprentice because he was eager to find talented people. However, he did not expect that he was actually trying to recruit disciples and compete for power with that "Zhang Jinkui".

Fortunately, he was a cautious person and took the initiative to hide his clumsiness when moving the iron materials. Later, he pretended to be honest and honest and deceived Manager Li.

In fact, he realized something was wrong when Manager Li and Wang Cong played the good and bad roles respectively.

This is even more obvious when Manager Li did not teach him martial arts himself but asked Zhao Shan to teach him on his behalf.

This Manager Li is not sincere in accepting disciples at all.

However, as long as Manager Li is willing to teach him martial arts, he doesn't mind working for Manager Li.

Just be careful and don't be the vanguard in the charge.

The world is dangerous, and every step must be taken with caution...

Chen Yuan's thoughts turned, reminding himself to be cautious, then he raised his head and pretended to be ignorant:
"Brother, Uncle Erhua sent me here to learn blacksmithing, why did he change it to martial arts?"

Zhao Shan slowed down his pace, turned around, and explained:
"We at Baibingtang are in the ironware business and often need to transport ironware. In order to protect the convoy from being robbed by bandits, we need guards who are good at martial arts."

"Oh... So which one makes more money, blacksmithing or martial arts? My mother said that I have to save money to build a house before I can marry a wife."

Zhao Shan laughed and said:
"How can ironwork compare to martial arts training? As long as you master martial arts, it will be easy to build a house and marry a wife, even if you want to take a few concubines."

Chen Yuan looked longingly and said:

"Then I must practice martial arts well, marry a pretty wife, and let my mother have a grandson sooner!"

Zhao Shan smiled and said:

"I will teach you martial arts tomorrow. After you practice for two or three years, you will be able to escort the caravans transporting iron tools. The money you save should be enough to marry a wife."

"Ok!"

Chen Yuan nodded heavily and asked:
"Brother, have you got married?"

Zhao Shan was stunned and shook his head:
"No."

"Why?"

"I have to concentrate on practicing martial arts so that I can join the main gang and do something big in the future... Forget it, you are still young and you won't understand even if I tell you."

"Oh……"

Chen Yuan responded with a confused look, but his thoughts were racing.

Zhao Shan treated him as a simple country boy, so he had no guard and revealed a lot of useful information, which allowed him to have a deeper understanding of Baibingtang.

However, Chen Yuan still had many doubts, for example, this "General Gang" was obviously unusual.

But since Zhao Shan took the initiative to say it, it should not be a secret and can be kept for later investigation.

Finally, the two of them arrived at a small courtyard deep in the alley. Zhao Shan unlocked the door and pushed it open.

"Junior brother, this is the yard where I live. It is also where you will live in the future."

(End of this chapter)