"Okay! I'll go back and discuss it with my mother-in-law." Tian Shumei left with a heavy heart.

"Master, why are you so serious? Are you saying this because you don't want to accept that ambitious person as your disciple?" Li Wenjuan asked in a low voice with a gossipy look on her face.

"Is it serious? I'm telling you two, once you become a disciple, you'll have to run away and take care of your destiny. The same applies to you.

If you don't do your homework well in the future and make mistakes, I will not only teach you, but I will not be soft-hearted just because you are a girl, Juanzi. I will also not be soft-hearted when it's time to hit you.

So, I have decided whether to become a disciple or not." Zhang Junping glared.

"Don't think about it, Master, I am determined to be your master. How about calling me Master for such a long time in vain?" Li Wenjuan said firmly.

"The reason for your apprenticeship is to be the master during this period of time. Can't it be in vain?

If you don't plan to become a disciple, do I have to call you back?" Zhang Junping smiled and knocked Li Wenjuan over the head.

"What about you?" Zhang Junping looked at Xia Guoxiang again.

"Master, once you are a teacher, you are always a father!" Xia Guoxiang said firmly.

"Okay, it's getting late, you should go home quickly!

Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year, and you have to go to your relatives’ homes to pay New Year greetings, so I won’t let you have dinner.” Zhang Junping smiled and waved his hand, driving the two people away.

"Master, let's go then!"

"Let's go! Divide some of the candy in the basket and take it home for your younger brothers and sisters to eat." Zhang Junping pointed to the candy in the basket and said with a smile.

"Thank you, Master!" Li Wenjuan had long been greedy for the imported candies in the basket, but Master didn't let her eat them, so she didn't dare to do anything.

As soon as Zhang Junping said this, Li Wenjuan immediately took a piece of fruit candy, opened it and put it in his mouth, and then shared the candy with Xia Guoxiang.

One piece for you, one piece for me, one piece for me, one piece for me, and one piece for you.

The way Li Wenjuan distributed the candies almost made Xia Guoxiang cry. Most of the candies in the basket were given to him, but less than a third was given to him. However, Li Wenjuan was a girl, and he was embarrassed to care too much.

But, he also wants to eat sweets!

Zhang Junping went up and hit Li Wenjuan so hard that he lost his head, "You still want to be a senior sister, and you will bully your junior brother like this when you become a senior sister?"

"Master, I was wrong!

But, people like to eat them! And these candies look so beautiful!" Li Wenjuan said coquettishly, covering her head.

Even though Li Wenjuan is already at work, she is actually still a seventeen-year-old girl.

Zhang Junping shook his head, turned around and opened the cupboard. Using the cover of his body, he took out two packs of candies from the space and handed them to the two people, "I can't help you! Here, one pack for each person!"

If you like to eat, don't eat too much, otherwise you will get cavities and make you cry."

"Thank you, Master, Master is the best!" Li Wenjuan happily took the candy and smiled sweetly at Zhang Junping.

When Tian Shumei returned home, Mrs. Zhou was sitting on the kang, pasting paper boxes.

Although Tian Shumei made a lot of money during this period.

However, making paper boxes has become a living habit of Mrs. Zhou. If she doesn't do it for a day, she will feel uncomfortable all over.

Mrs. Zhou also understands that no matter how much money she has, she will eventually spend it all. Therefore, with the mentality that every extra point she can make is worth it, she still sat on the kang and made paper boxes on the first day of the new year.

The two brothers, Huaizhi, also obediently helped.

Seeing Tian Shumei coming back, Mrs. Zhou raised her head and asked, "Why does Pingzi need firewood?"

A person who never makes a fire or cook suddenly borrows firewood and has become a gossip ever since.

"Pingzi's apprentice came to pay New Year's greetings, and his apprentice is here!

Mom, what was the point of apprenticeship in the past? I heard that apprenticeship in the past to learn crafts was different from apprenticeship in a factory now?" Tian Shumei asked in a low voice, leaning sideways with half of her butt on the kang.

"I used to be an apprentice. Your father used to be an apprentice.

He learned the carpentry trade from his master.

The furniture in our house was all made by your father before." Mrs. Zhou didn't understand why her daughter-in-law asked this, but she still said it.

"If there is any difference between now and the past, the difference is overwhelming.

If you work as a master in the factory, you will usually help the master, serve him tea and water, and help him when he has something to do at home, and the factory will give you a salary.

In the past, once you became a disciple, you sold your life to the master.

Three years of study and two years of service.

In these five years, don't even think about making a penny.

The master only cares about your food and drink. If you meet a conscientious master, he may give you two pocket coins and let you buy some clothes or something.

If you encounter a master with a bad heart, not only will your work be in vain, but you will also not learn much skills.

In the past, there was also a saying that learning from a master was called learning from a master.

If you want to learn a craft, you can't wait for the master to teach you. You have to learn it secretly." Older people like to talk about ancient times the most. Once they start talking, they can't stop it.

That's what Mrs. Zhou is like.

"Your father was just like that at that time, like a slave. He worked in the master's house for two years and didn't learn any skills.

Jian Tian would either help his wife look after the children, or help her carry water and chop wood.

If you are even slightly dissatisfied, you will either be beaten or scolded, or you will be starved and denied food." Mrs. Zhou said enthusiastically, but she didn't notice that Tian Shumei turned pale with fright.

Tian Shumei followed Mrs. Zhou's words and imagined in her mind that after her son became a disciple, he was either beaten or scolded every day and was not given food. In winter, he huddled on the kang in thin clothes and was too cold to sleep.

My heart was twisted into a ball.

"Meizi, what's wrong with you? Why do you look so ugly?" Mrs. Zhou finally discovered something was wrong with Tian Shumei.

Tian Shumei frowned, her face was pale, and she almost scratched the mattress with both hands.

"Ah? It's okay. I'm fine. I just thought of something."

"Mei Zi, although you are my daughter-in-law, we have been dependent on each other for these years, and you are no different from your own mother-in-law.

If you have something to do, you must tell your mother. After all, your mother has been through more things than you.

I can help you with some advice." Mrs. Zhou held Tian Shumei's hand and said worriedly.

"Mom, I'm fine. It's just that I went to Pingzi's house just now and saw him teaching his disciples. I thought Pingzi was a very capable person, so I wanted to ask Huaizhi to become his teacher.

As a result, Pingzi told me that he accepted disciples according to the old etiquette, and even ran away to death and wounded, so that each one could accept his destiny and so on.

And what you just said scared me.

Thank you for not becoming a disciple!

What if Huaizhi becomes a disciple, beats him every day, and doesn't give them food? How am I going to live?" Speaking of which, Tian Shumei still felt a little bit frightened.

"Mom! Uncle Pingzi is a good person, he will not deny us food! Even if he hits us, it is because we have done something wrong. In school, if we make a mistake, the teacher will slap us on the palm of his hand!" Zhou Wenhuai said loudly

.

"Haha! You! You are so over the top that you are not as clear as a child." Mrs. Zhou laughed.

"Mom, do you agree to let Huaizhi become a disciple?" Tian Shumei was still a little worried.

"As you said, Pingzi is a man of great ability. If Huaizhi is destined to be able to worship Pingzi as his teacher, then you and I will no longer have to worry about them.

According to the old worshipper, there are also benefits of the old worshipper.

You should ask Uncle Liu about this matter again, he is an old gentleman and knows more than us." Mrs. Zhou said longingly.

After sending away his two apprentices, Zhang Junping suddenly found that he had nothing to do.

pay a New Year call?

At this point, Xu Shaomin, Director Zhang, and Director Zheng were not at home. They all went out to meet the leaders to pay New Year greetings.

Not to mention Xu Shaomin, he must have returned to his parents' house at this point.

As for visiting his parents' home for New Year's greetings, he couldn't enter the compound where his parents lived.

Xu Shaomin's parents were not of very high rank, but the rank of that compound was high.

By the way, Mrs. Yang hasn’t gone to pay New Year greetings yet.

Zhang Junping rubbed his growling stomach and suddenly remembered that he hadn't paid New Year's greetings to Mrs. Yang yet.

So, I took a bag of candies and went out.

"Pingzi, come to our house for dinner at noon! I made fish stew and asked Uncle Wang to drink some with you." Aunt Wang greeted Zhang Junping enthusiastically when she saw her.

Brother Zhu, who heard the commotion, also came out and shouted: "Pingzi, come to my house and ask your sister-in-law to cook two dishes, and we two brothers will have some!"
Chapter completed!