Chapter 26: Strive

Zhou Qing wanted to say more, but Zhou Ping took a quick step forward and knelt down beside Shen Li.

"Second Uncle, I also want to be your apprentice."

Zhou Ping glanced at the items Shen Li had placed on the kang and licked his lips.

Roast chicken!

Pork hock!

Pork belly!

Pastries!

The Four Treasures of the Study!^[1]

They looked delicious~~~

"Although I don't have a formal gift for you, I'm your nephew. Since you've accepted him, why not accept me too? Consider it a buy one, get one free deal."

Without waiting for Zhou Huaishan’s approval, he turned and bowed to Shen Li, "Senior Brother."

Shen Li...

His eye twitched, looking bewildered, "Junior Brother?"

Zhou Qing...

Darn it!

Are you all forming a team to learn Buddhist scriptures?

What about the third one?

Zhou Huailin raised his hand and smacked Zhou Ping on the head, "Stop fooling around, get up!"

Zhou Ping remained on his knees.

The marquis, with his notorious reputation, remained composed and smiled calmly, "Alright, alright, since you both don't mind, I’ll reluctantly accept you."

"Thank you, Master."

Shen Li and Zhou Ping said in unison.

Zhou Qing...

"Boss Shen, why did you come at this time? How did you get here?" Unable to stop Shen Li from becoming an apprentice or Zhou Huaishan from accepting students, Zhou Qing tried to think of a way to send Shen Li away first.

Shen Li stood up and turned to Zhou Qing, still with his gentle smile.

"Miss, I came by mule cart. I arrived at this time because I just found out where Master lives. I never expected him to be your father. It must be fate."

Of course, Zhou Qing believed that the fate Shen Li spoke of was the buy one, get two free kind of fate.

She chuckled and said to Zhou Ping, "Quickly take Boss Shen to settle his mule cart and feed it well. Boss Shen will be on his way soon."

"I’m not leaving..."

Before Shen Li could finish his sentence, Zhou Qing interrupted, "Boss Shen, don’t be so polite. We don’t have much to offer here, but we have plenty of fodder for the mule."

She then pushed Zhou Ping outside. Zhou Ping grabbed Shen Li’s hand and pulled him out.

Shen Li...

Once they were out, Zhou Yao and Zhou Huailin also left.

One went to tell Zhao what had just happened, and the other quickly went to hire someone.

With the room empty, Zhou Qing turned to look at Zhou Huaishan, "Father!"

Zhou Huaishan had a confident look on his face, "He came here for me, how could I refuse?"

"You just want him to write for you," Zhou Qing bluntly revealed his intention.

Zhou Huaishan didn’t feel embarrassed at all, "Isn’t it right for an apprentice to write the ‘abundance’ character for his master?"

"No, we can't accept him. We don't even know him well, who knows what his intentions are."

Zhou Huaishan chuckled.

"What intentions could he have? If our family were rich and powerful, we’d need to be cautious. But our family is so poor that it’s a blessing if the roof doesn’t leak when it rains. What could he possibly want from us? We’ve got nothing to lose."

Zhou Huaishan seemed determined.

Zhou Qing couldn’t understand why Shen Li wanted to be Zhou Huaishan’s apprentice. 

Was it really just for Zhou Huaishan’s calligraphy?

That simple?

Zhou Qing felt uneasy.

But what else could he want? Their family had nothing else.

"If you take him as an apprentice, and also take in Ping, you’ll have less time to study. You must pass the Tongsheng exam this year."

Zhou Huaishan waved his hand impatiently, his honest face showing a deeply ingrained rebellious spirit.

"Once you know how to manage time, it's inexhaustible!"

Zhou Qing closed her eyes.

This guy sure had a way with words.

"Aren’t you worried that Shen Li is interested in your daughter?" Zhou Qing asked, out of options.

Zhou Huaishan was drinking water. Upon hearing this...

Pffft!!!

Cough, cough, cough...

He choked on the water, coughing until tears came to his eyes.

"Would the owner of a calligraphy shop in the town come all the way here just because he’s interested in you? Really?"

Zhou Qing...

"Don’t worry, daughter. It’s nothing. Your father has seen many people. This little shop owner might look a bit silly, but he has no ill intentions. Anyway, I’ve decided to accept this apprentice."

Zhou Qing...

In the end, under Zhou Huaishan's persistence, the devilish Qing temporarily agreed.

When Zhao heard that Zhou Ping and a calligraphy shop owner from the town had both become Zhou Huaishan’s apprentices, she was so excited that she killed one of their chickens and decided not to have dinner with the main family or the first branch.

When Zhao killed the chicken, the main household and the first branch knew.

Hearing that someone from the town coming to apprentice under Zhou Huaishan made Old Zhou’s feelings complicated as he looked in the direction of the second branch.

Sun cursed under her breath, but given what had happened in the past two days, she didn’t dare to go to the second branch.

Wang’s eyes turned red with jealousy.

Zhou Huaihai was a student. Were these people in the county fools?

At dinner, Wang deliberately dawdled.

Zhao didn’t argue, happily humming as she picked and washed vegetables. After an hour of Wang dawdling, Zhao finally got the stove and used the chicken to make stewed eggplant.

Before dinner was ready, Zhou Huaishan had Shen Li and Zhou Ping writing the ‘abundance’ character.

With Shen Li’s help, the output of the ‘abundance’ characters skyrocketed. Although Shen Li’s writing wasn’t as good as Zhou Huaishan’s, he was eager to impress and wrote quickly, one sheet after another.

Zhou Huaishan looked proudly at Zhou Qing: See, this labor is pretty good, right!

Zhou Qing silently rolled her eyes.

Before dinner was ready, Shen Li and Zhou Huaishan had written 600 large ‘abundance’ characters, 600 medium ones, and 800 small ones.

"With so many characters, how will Miss Qing sell them tomorrow?"

Seeing Zhou Qing and Zhou Yao rolling up the ‘abundance’ characters and putting them into a basket, Shen Li's eyes showed some concern.

Zhou Qing smiled, "I'll carry them, they're not heavy."

Carry them?

Looking at the thick stack of paper, Shen Li’s mouth twitched, "Miss Qing, use my mule cart tomorrow. Since I’ve apprenticed, what’s mine is Master’s. Using the mule cart will save you effort and you can visit more places."

Zhou Huaishan beamed.

Good apprentice.

"You're not leaving today?" Zhou Qing asked, surprised.

Shen Li smiled, "My home is in the county town. It's too time-consuming to go back and forth. I plan to stay here."

Zhou Qing...!!!

This time, Zhou Ping protested first before Zhou Qing could speak.

"No way!"

Everyone looked at Zhou Ping. Shen Li tilted his head, "Why?"

Zhou Ping said righteously, "Even though you're my senior brother, you’re also an outsider. My elder sisters aren’t married yet, you can't stay here."

Zhou Qing glanced at Zhou Huaishan: See, even Ping is more sensible than you!

Zhou Huaishan: I never said he could stay! This shameless apprentice!

Zhou Yao: Scared me to death! He wants to stay?!

Shen Li...

Seeing the family’s reaction, Shen Li quickly explained, "Master and Junior Brother misunderstood. I didn’t mean to stay at master’s house. As an apprentice, how could I eat and drink at master’s house? I plan to buy a vacant house in the village. That way, it will be convenient for me to study."

Hearing that Shen Li wanted to buy a house, Zhou Ping’s tense face relaxed. He immediately smiled, "Senior Brother, I’ll show you later. There’s a vacant house behind ours."

_____

Footnotes:
[1] brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.