Chapter 38 Apprenticeship

Chapter 38 Apprenticeship

Chapter 38 Apprenticeship
As time goes by, the weather gets colder.

In a blink of an eye, more than half a month has passed, and there have been several snowstorms, each heavier than the previous one. The cold winter in the north has finally arrived.

On this day, Zhu Shenzhui got up early as usual. He opened the door and saw that the heavy snow last night had made everything around him white, even his own courtyard was covered with a thick layer of snow.

It's impossible to practice boxing in such heavy snow. The snow in the yard is so thick that it's hard to walk properly.

Zhu Shenzhui found a broom and a shovel and started sweeping the snow in the yard. Not long after, his sister-in-law Zhang came out from the main house with Qiao'er.

"Thank you for your hard work, uncle." Zhang said to Zhu Shencui when she saw him sweeping the snow. Qiao'er excitedly ran over to him when she saw Zhu Shencui, but there was too much snow on the ground and Qiao'er was too small, so Zhang quickly grabbed her and said they could play after the snow was swept.

"Father! Father! Snow! Snow! It's snowing so heavily!"

Qiao'er was still a child. Children only begin to have real memories at the age of three. Perhaps this was the first real heavy snow she had seen since she could remember.

Seeing such heavy snow and the whole yard covered with white, Qiao'er danced with joy and shouted at Zhu Shenzhui, wanting to run over and play in the snow with him.

Zhang couldn't wait to let Qiao'er go out in the snow. The child was weak and the weather was cold. What if she caught a cold while playing in the snow? Although Qiao'er was just a girl, she was also the flesh and blood of her and her deceased husband. For Zhang, she was the only person closest to her in the world.

But what did a child know? Qiao'er, who was already excited by the sight of the snow, struggled to get over, but was held tightly by her mother. She couldn't break free after several attempts. Qiao'er's little mouth turned upside down and she started to cry. She looked at Zhu Shenzhui pitifully and cried out in a sobbing voice, "Father! Father! Xue! Xue!"

"Little naughty girl, stop crying. Isn't father here?" Zhu Shenzhui quickly stopped what he was doing and stepped forward, took Qiao'er from Zhang's arms, touched her nose to comfort her, and took out a handkerchief from his arms to carefully wipe away her tears.

"Sister-in-law, it's a rare snowy day, let Qiaoer play for a while." After comforting Qiaoer with a few words, Zhu Shenzhui said to Zhang.

"Qiao'er is still young, and the weather is cold."

"It's okay, just don't let her mess around with the snow on the ground. Come! You watch her first, and I'll do it!" Zhu Shenzhui knew what Zhang was worried about, and said this with a smile. Then he handed Qiao'er to Zhang to hold, and said to Qiao'er, "Don't be anxious, just watch her."

After saying that, Zhu Shenzhui went to find a broken basket, placed it in a place in the yard, and then used a shovel to pile the snow he had just swept out onto the basket.

Watching Zhu Shenzui busying around like this, Qiao'er stared with her round eyes, not knowing what he was doing, but Zhang understood after just a few glances and a smile appeared on her face.

After a while, a chubby snowman gradually appeared. The broken basket with snow piled outside was the body of the snowman, and the big snowball rolled out of the snow was the head of the snowman.

Watching the snowman slowly taking shape in Zhu Shenzui's hands, Qiao'er was overjoyed. It was the first time for her to see a snowman being made. She clapped her hands and cheered, and even wanted to run over to take a closer look.

"Don't be impatient, wait until I'm done." Zhu Shenzhui turned around and said to Qiao'er, then continued with the work in his hands.

After a stick of incense, the whole snowman finally took shape. Zhu Shenzui stood up and took a closer look, then walked forward to make some more modifications. Then he went to the corner of the yard to find some coal slag. He put two relatively round pieces of the same size at the snowman's eyes, then put a long piece as a nose, and the last piece at the position of the mouth. When everything was done, the snowman had eyes, nose and mouth, and looked more like a human.

"Does it look good?"

"Good! Good!" Qiao'er clapped her hands excitedly, her face flushed with joy. She loved this snowman so much. Its chubby appearance was so cute. How could a child resist such a thing?
Zhang took Qiao'er to see the snowman. Qiao'er was so attracted by the snowman that she didn't care about playing in the snow. Zhang thanked Zhu Shenzhui and felt relieved. Zhu Shenzhui smiled and waved his hand, saying that it was a small matter as long as Qiao'er was happy. Then he continued to sweep the snow that he had not finished sweeping. When all the snow was swept clean, Zhu Shenzhui was sweating from exhaustion.

"Thank you for your hard work, uncle. Go change your clothes. I have made some ginger soup. Remember to drink a bowl of it. Don't catch a cold."

"Thank you, sister-in-law." Zhu Shenzhui responded and hurried into the house to wipe and change clothes. This era was not like the future. If you had a cold, you could just go to the hospital to get an IV drip or take some cold medicine at home.

The conditions are not met now. Often a minor illness can cost a person's life. Although Zhu Shenzui has always been in good health, he cannot be careless. He does not want to fall down because of a mere cold, especially in this era when there is no specific medicine.

He went inside to wipe the sweat off his face, changed into dry clothes, and drank some ginger soup. When he was done, Zhu Shenzhui came to the main room. Breakfast was already served, and Zhang and Qiao'er had finished their meals. Zhang had taken Qiao'er to see the snowman and played with her for a while, and now she had brought her into the room.

He had a simple meal, just like usual. After finishing his meal, Zhu Shenzhui washed the bowl and chopsticks and then put them in the kitchen.

Before he left the kitchen, he heard someone knocking on the door.

After answering the call at the door, Zhu Shenzhui walked out of the kitchen and quickly walked towards the door. When he reached the door, he bolted it and asked who was outside. A familiar voice came from outside the door.

"Sixth Master! It's me! Second grade!"

"Chu Er? Why are you here?" When he opened the door, it was indeed Wang Chu Er standing outside. The boy was wearing a sheepskin coat and stood at the door cheerfully, smiling at Zhu Shen Zhui who opened the door. Seeing him, Zhu Shen Zhui hurriedly invited him in, but at the same time he was also wondering why he came here so early in the morning? Did something happen in Wangjia Village? Wang Chu Er responded and entered the door. He did not come empty-handed, but brought a lot of things, including a piece of bacon, two pheasants, and even a honey dog.

Wang Chuer came in and put down the things, saying that except for the bacon, the rest was hunted by Wang Jinwu in the mountains. The day was getting colder, and Wang Jinwu had gone into the mountains again a few days ago. He was lucky and hunted some prey. He kept some for himself and asked Wang Chuer to bring these to Zhu Shenzhui.

It would be impossible to go into the mountains in this weather, so it could be considered as an early New Year gift from Wang Jinwu to his cousin. This time, Wang Chuer came to Pingyang and followed a large caravan passing by on its way back to Pingyang. The caravan moved fast, and they set off at dawn. As soon as he entered Pingyang City, Wang Chuer went directly to Zhu Shenzhui.

When asked if he had eaten, Wang Chuer smiled and said he had. Zhu Shenzhu invited him to come in first, and then went to the kitchen to bring him a bowl of ginger soup that Zhang had made to drive away the cold.

After taking the ginger soup, Wang Chuer thanked him, took two sips and drank it. After finishing, he put the bowl aside and started talking to Zhu Shenzhui.

This time I came to Pingyang, in addition to purchasing some things in the city, my main purpose was to deliver prey to Zhu Shencui and to meet him.

It has been nearly a month since Zhu Shenzhui last returned to Pingyang from Wangjia Village. Zhu Shenzhui made some instructions and arrangements when he left Wangjia Village. This time, Wang Chuer also came with the task of reporting.

"Sixth Master, the people from Yangtou Mountain have already gone there. The news they sent back said that they have been settled." Although they were at home, Wang Chuer did not dare to speak loudly and spoke to Zhu Shenzhui in a low voice.

"Who did your uncle arrange to go? How many people?"

"There were five of them when we left, but two stayed. One is Yinsheng, and the other is Tieshu."

Zhu Shenzhu nodded. He was familiar with both of them. They were from Wangjia Village and followed him to run salt business. Wang Yinsheng was Wang Chuer's brother and one of the main members of the gang. Wang Tieshu was also from Wangjia Village. Although he was young, he was very down-to-earth and did things very steadily. Uncle Wang Rong had carefully considered choosing these two to go to Yangtou Mountain.

"What's the situation over at Yangtou Mountain?" Zhu Shenzhui asked.

"There's nothing going on over there. The snow is about to block the mountain, so Li Hu and his men can't do anything. But the houses have been built. Although they are not as good as the houses in the village, they are still suitable for living. In addition, with your previous arrangements, there is no shortage of food in the mountains for the time being. Yinsheng and his men also brought some food and utensils when they went there. There will be no problem getting through this winter."

After hearing what he said, Zhu Shenzui felt relieved. Yangtou Mountain has an important geographical location. Now Li Hu and others have joined him. Wang Yinsheng and others will be responsible for the future salt road. These things must be arranged properly.

When the snow melts in the spring of next year, Yangtou Mountain will play an important role. Zhu Shenzui is very concerned about Yangtou Mountain. He has discussed this matter with Wang Rong privately before leaving Wangjia Village, and Wang Rong naturally understands this.

"How's the situation in the village? Is everything alright?"

"Everything is fine in the village. I came to Pingyang this time to help buy some New Year goods for the village. Thanks to you, Sixth Master, for the past two years..." Wang Chuer grinned, but was interrupted by Zhu Shenzhui before he could finish his words.

"There's no need to say this anymore. I'm also from Wangjia Village. If people don't help their own people, can they still be considered human beings?"

Wang Chuer was full of gratitude. Although Zhu Shenzhu said so, Wang Chuer was also grateful. How could he, Wang Chuer, not know what Wangjia Village was like before and what it is like now? If it weren't for Zhu Shenzhu leading Wangjia Village to open up this salt road, how could he, Wang Chuer, have such a good life today?

"By the way, Chu Er, how are the two people I brought back now?"

"You mean Master Zhang and Li You?"

Zhu Shenzhui nodded, and Wang Chuer smiled and said, "Li You is a good kid. Although he is as simple-minded as his father, he is a real person. He has been practicing martial arts with Uncle Jinwu these days. Uncle Jinwu accepted him as his apprentice and has changed his name to Master."

This surprised Zhu Shenzhui a little, but after thinking about it carefully, it was not surprising.

Wang Jinwu and Li Hu were both straightforward men. Although they had fought each other, they did not become enemies after the fight, but became friends instead.

Especially now that Li Hu has joined Zhu Shenzui, they are now considered family. Li Hu's son followed him to Wangjia Village, and as Li Hu's friend, it is natural for Wang Jinwu to take care of him.

Moreover, Wang Jinwu's boxing skills were already good. Although Li You was young, he had also learned some boxing skills from Li Hu since he was a child. After a while, the two became familiar with each other, and it was natural for Wang Jinwu to teach Li You some boxing skills. However, Wang Jinwu actually accepted Li You as his apprentice, which was something Zhu Shenzhu had not expected, but it was not a bad thing, but a good thing.

The master and apprentice nowadays are not the nominal master and apprentice in later generations. The relationship between the master and apprentice is almost comparable to that between father and son. Li You worships Wang Jinwu as his master, which is equivalent to being a family. This will be of great benefit to Zhu Shenzhu's future arrangements.

"What about Master Zhang?"

"Master Zhang..." When it came to Zhang Xijun, Wang Chuer did not answer immediately. Seeing his hesitant expression, Zhu Shenzhui became alert instantly.

(End of this chapter)