1988: Back to the human world for a few years

Chapter 238: Apprenticeship Tea

In Chinese tradition, becoming a disciple is an extremely serious and grand event. Although it is not as grand as a wedding, its procedures and specifications are far superior to those common graduation ceremonies and admission banquets in later generations.

Originally, the fat guy Zhang Wenshun wanted to book the drilling company's most famous Bichuan Hotel, and then invite some important guests and etiquette to follow traditional etiquette.

But after Yang Mo looked at the three-page process list that the fat man had sorted out, he refused to do it.

After all, he was just a young man in his twenties. Making too much noise would easily attract criticism. As for himself, he did not think that the waste water in his stomach was worth going through with such fanfare... Originally, he thought that he could just sit on the chair and let his little apprentice hand him a cup of tea and that would be it.

So after arguing for more than an hour, both sides decided to give in.

Zhang Wenshun agreed that they could not book out the entire Bichuan Hotel, nor invite outsiders to watch the ceremony, and could even skip the "gift-seeking" part at the beginning, but the minimum part of becoming a disciple had to be done according to the rules.

So Yang Mo could only agree that after simplifying it as much as possible, he would follow the traditional process meticulously and would not be perfunctory in this apprenticeship banquet that Zhang Wenshun and others attached great importance to.

So...

Three days later, some old items suddenly appeared in Yang Mo's small courtyard, and Mr. Yang, who had never been particular about his clothes, also put on a Tang suit that Zhang Wenshun paid for and had someone make overnight.

To be honest, such a golden-red Tang suit embroidered with longevity and fortune patterns all over it looked quite ridiculous on a young man like Yang Mo.

But when Yang Mo, feeling uncomfortable in this Tang suit, sat on the somewhat old four-over-the-head official hat chair in the yard, there was an indescribable sense of match.

………………

There were only four people in the small yard.

"Kneel down and bow!"

Zhang Wenshun, who was acting as the master of ceremonies, stood to the right of Yang Mo and spoke in a long, drawn-out Guizhou accent.

Upon hearing this, Bai Mengmeng, with a somewhat anxious expression, quickly adjusted the silver comb in her hair, and then walked forward with all her accessories clattering. With a panic-stricken manner, she smoothed her indigo pleated skirt, which had more than thirty layers of layers, and slowly knelt on the cushion in front of Yang Mo.

Looking at the little disciple kneeling in front of him, and glancing at the girl's body that weighed at least twenty kilograms of various silver ornaments and formal clothes, Yang Mo's lips twitched, and he finally suppressed the urge to laugh.

The Miao women's formal silver clothing is famously beautiful, but you also have to see how they wear it.

For a girl like Bai Mengmeng who is short, clever and cute, all she needs is a silver crown, a silver collar and a simple batik dress to amaze everyone...she doesn't even need a silver shawl.

But the result?

Wow, silver crowns, silver necklaces, collars, shawls, necklaces, toothpicks, hairpins, earrings, bracelets, rings...

All the possible collars were put on. There were as many as seven collars alone, and they weighed at least two kilograms.

Wearing so many silver ornaments on her body is gorgeous, but it makes this girl, who is not tall to begin with, look like a little silver pig, and she has difficulty even walking a step; she doesn't look pretty or well-behaved at all, but she does look funny.

Hehe ~
Who made you so short? If you were as tall as your classmate Tugou, you wouldn’t be so funny!
Thinking of this, Yang Mo glanced at Lu Yingying, who was standing on his left and looking at the scene curiously. Suddenly, an idea popped up in his mind.
If Tugou wore such a gorgeous and almost luxurious Miao silver dress, it would surely blind everyone's eyes!
He was still daydreaming, but the host Zhang Wenshun didn't give him the chance to be distracted.

"Bye~!"

"I bow to the sun, moon and Big Dipper, and the world will last forever..."

Following Zhang Wenshun's long voice that sounded like a Guizhou call, Bai Mengmeng, who was dressed in formal attire, did not hesitate at all. He put his hands on his forehead and knelt on the ground in an orderly manner.

That indigo pleated skirt, like the morning glory in autumn, slowly bloomed in the courtyard.

………………

"Bye again~!"

"Second bow, Master and disciple join hands, the moon shines on the nine states..."

Bai Mengmeng, who had just stood up and knelt down, seemed not to notice the dust on his hands. He put his hands on his forehead again, and knelt down three feet in front of Yang Mo with a crisp sound of silver.

………………

“Three bows~!”

"Bow three times to remember the teacher's kindness, and his merits will last forever..."

After Bai Mengmeng, who was wearing a weight of more than 20 kilograms on his body, stood up and knelt for the third time, Yang Mo, who had been sitting quietly on the official hat chair, stretched out his right hand and supported him from a distance.

Seeing Yang Mo extending his hand, Bai Mengmeng smiled, but he didn't dare to say a word. Instead, he stood up slowly with some difficulty wearing silver ornaments that looked almost the same as armor.

Seeing Bai Mengmeng standing still, Zhang Wenshun looked around at Yang Mo who was sitting on the chair, and Lu Yingying who was standing behind him with a curious look on her face, and finally his eyes fell on his little niece.

"Tea has ten virtues. The first is to show respect, the second is to practice virtue... serve tea!"

As Zhang Wenshun's almost shrill call fell, accompanied by a sound of water, Bai Mengmeng walked to a low couch that had been prepared on the side. He first used bamboo tweezers to pick up a piece of loose tea with the most complete shape from the teapot and put it into the covered bowl. Then, with a little difficulty, he lifted the iron kettle that was constantly spewing water vapor from the red clay stove, and in a slow and hurried manner, he slowly poured the water in the iron kettle along the inner wall into the covered bowl.

He stood quietly for a while with the covered bowl in his hand, until the loose tea leaves were completely expanded in the water and the tea soup was no longer so hot. Then, Bai Mengmeng closed the lid of the bowl, served the tea with both hands, walked to Yang Mo with a well-behaved and slow pace, and knelt down again.

"Tea has ten virtues. It can refine one's mind and express one's heart... Please have some tea, Master!"

Taking the covered bowl from Bai Mengmeng, Yang Mo lifted a corner to look at the tea leaves that had fully expanded. He knew that this meant to take a piece of ice heart into a jade pot. He blew it slightly, took a sip of the still slightly hot tea, and then placed the covered bowl on the low couch beside him.

Seeing Yang Mo drinking the apprenticeship tea, Zhang Wenshun took a wooden ruler from the wooden tray and handed it to him.

Yang Mo took the old-fashioned ruler, which was still somewhat faded. His eyes twitched, and he found that the man was looking at him very seriously. Helplessly, he could only follow the method he had learned before and gently tapped the silver crown with the ruler: "A tap on the head to make the mind clear and dedicated to the group."

After being knocked like this, Bai Mengmeng immediately replied in a clear voice: "Respect the Master's teachings!"

Yang Mo nodded, then moved the ruler to the little girl's shoulder and tapped her gently again: "Tap her shoulder twice, so that Yong will bear the heavy burden and go to Chen Chuangxin!"

Bai Mengmeng: "Respect the Master's teachings!"

After knocking twice, Yang Mo hesitated a little. He glanced at Zhang Wenshun who was standing solemnly. Finally, he moved the ruler to the white waist and knocked again: "Knock three times, so that you can do things in moderation and step by step!"

Bai Mengmeng bowed again: "Respect the Master's teachings!"

After saying this, he stood up and took a hardcover copy of the letter from the wooden tray that Zhang Wenshun had already picked up. He opened it and bent over to read aloud the extremely old-fashioned letter of apprenticeship:
"Master Yang Mo, Daojian!"

"I, your disciple, have long admired your master's extraordinary knowledge."

"Thank you for accepting me as your disciple. I am willing to follow your teachings, unite with my peers, study hard, pass on the skills, and promote your prestige!"

"I sincerely present my name in this letter, respectfully paying my respects to you as my teacher!"

"Officiating: Zhang Wenshun; Witness: Lü Yingying; Disciple: Bai Mengmeng."

"In October of the Wuchen year, I pay my respects in the courtyard of No. XX in the staff quarters of the drilling company in Linyi County, Qilu Province!"

………………After hearing this apprenticeship letter that was no different from a contract, Yang Mo frowned slightly, turned around and took the same-style apprenticeship letter from Zhang Wenshun's wooden tray, and read softly:

"The teacher's duty is great. To accept students and open the door to impart knowledge is the foundation of sincerity and integrity. "

"Now there is Yang Mo, who is touched by Bai Mengmeng's sincerity and is willing to accept him as his disciple. From now on, I will strictly abide by the teacher's ethics, teach him everything I know, and set strict requirements;"

"I hope my student Bai Mengmeng will uphold the spirit of [consistent words and deeds, diligent study], respect teachers and education, study diligently, and seek to benefit the world."

"I have no regrets about my feelings. I write this to show my sincerity!"

"Officiating: Zhang Wenshun; Witness: Lü Yingying; Master: Yang Mo."

"In October of the Wuchen year, this document was written in the small courtyard of No. XX in the staff quarters of the drilling company in Linyi County, Qilu Province!"

………………

After the apprenticeship letter and the discipleship letter were formally read out and the fingerprints were pressed, this extremely simplified apprenticeship ceremony was basically completed.

The rest is nothing more than presenting the six gifts of apprenticeship, namely:

Celery (meaning hardworking and studious, diligence leads to success);

Lotus seeds (the heart of lotus seeds is bitter, which means painstaking education);
Red beans (symbolizing good fortune);

Red dates (meaning early success in teaching);

Longan (meaning the fulfillment of one’s merits);

Dried lean meat strips (to express the disciple’s gratitude).

Then, after the witness Lu Yingying announced that the master-disciple relationship between the two was officially established, she asked Bai Mengmeng to call him "Master" a few times, and then said some random jokes to warm up the atmosphere.

What's more trendy is that Zhang Wenshun, who has never liked to play fancy tricks, actually brought a camera today. He smiled and asked the three of them to take a photo together. He also took half a roll of film by changing their poses.

Although taking photos was something that excited the two little girls, Lu Yingying even ran into the house and changed into an opera costume to take a photo with Bai Mengmeng, who was dressed in a gorgeous silver dress.

But to be honest, Yang Mo doesn't really like this thing.

He didn't like things like the apprenticeship and disciple recruitment posts, and he disliked the contents of the two posts today even more. He always felt that they were too much about skills and contracts... Although the contract between master and disciple was a mixture of interests and human relations, no matter what, he actually still hoped that the utilitarian color in it would be less.

Although you can understand Zhang Wenshun's behavior of coming over with a camera to take pictures as a way to commemorate this important moment, Yang Mo always feels that it has more of the meaning of "keeping pictures for evidence".

Ordinary young people may not have such an idea, but as a reborn person whose age in two lifetimes combined is enough to bury his neck in the ground, Yang Mo would never believe that a person who has seen the hustle and bustle of life would be interested in taking photos to commemorate the past, nor would he think that a half-white old man who is almost fifty years old would take the initiative to think of this extremely fashionable way of commemoration.

Tsk tsk~
Is it because he is about to be promoted to a full-time officer that makes this guy completely lose his sense of security?
Or is it that even after more than a decade of ups and downs and trials, this fat guy still can't get rid of the Tongren area's quick-success-oriented character in his bones?

Thinking of this, Yang Mo sighed helplessly.

However, the only good thing about him is that he is self-aware. As an old VC who was reborn, he never thought that he had the qualifications to comment on anything utilitarian... He is covered in cow dung, so how can he laugh at the crow for being black?
………………

After nearly an hour of noise, we finally entered the dinner session.

Perhaps because she got what she wanted today, Bai Mengmeng was particularly excited. She ran to Tugou's room and took off the silver suit that was enough to paralyze a person. Then, the girl, who had become cute and lovely again, rolled up her sleeves and rushed into the kitchen to show her skills to her master and Uncle Zhang.

It is said that a certain fat guy has already ordered a lot of dishes from Bichuan Restaurant, which will be delivered soon. But no matter what, as a disciple who finally has a master, she has to express her gratitude to her master today, right?

Although Yang Mo's small courtyard had very few ingredients, except for wheat, noodles, or cornmeal, there was not even a few pieces of meat in the refrigerator, and there were no peppers or Sichuan peppercorns. It was undoubtedly a dream to make a few decent dishes;
Fortunately, Bai Mengmeng was well prepared. He rushed into the kitchen carrying two large bags, and then took out a bunch of odds and ends in front of Lu Yingying's stunned expression.

"what is this?"

"This is sour wild onion. I'll pound it into the dipping sauce for seasoning... You don't have wild onions in Qilu?"

"Uh, I haven't seen this before... What is this, and why does it stink so bad?"

"This is dried black beans, the kind that smells stinky but tastes delicious... Put it on a plate, top it with bacon, garlic sprouts, chili peppers, and shredded ginger. It's delicious!"

"Um... OK, you Guizhou people have really weird tastes... What is this? Why does it look a bit like boiled beef cheek?"

"This is beef cheek meat. Not just beef cheek meat, but also beef cheek meat, and various tendons... Let me tell you, today I'm going to make a special delicacy from Tongren for Master. I guarantee that you've never eaten it, and I guarantee that after you eat it, you'll bite your tongue off!"

"Um... what are the special foods of Tongren that you haven't tried?"

"Rotten beef... How about that? Have you never heard of it?"

"Rotten beef?"

The fearless Tu Gou shuddered for a moment, then looked at the half bag of food with suspicion.

This bunch of stuff...

Why doesn't it look rotten or smelly?
………………

Although Tugou looked like a curious baby and looked around in the kitchen, Zhang Wenshun, who was smoking with Yang Mo in the courtyard, was also obviously excited.

After chatting with Yang Mo about all sorts of things, he found that the kid was not in a particularly good mood today. The fat guy who vaguely guessed the reason did not try to explain, but just sat there for a while, suddenly closed his eyes, clapped his legs, and hummed in a pure Guizhou accent.

"Lotus slides, lotus falls (laò)~ eh!"

"First, hit that toad that jumped into the well. Second, hit that carp that jumped into the dragon gate!"

"Three hits of the Peach Garden Three Heroes~Four hits of the Four Seasons Prosperity..."

Although this fat guy's tone-deafness is comparable to Yang Mo's, anyone can hear the lightness and joy in his tone.

Listening to the broken-pot-like singing of this guy, Yang Mo looked at the fat guy with a frown on his face. He found that this guy had been entertaining himself with his eyes closed from beginning to end. With no choice, he could only listen with gritted teeth.

Although he was not very familiar with the southwest region, he had been to Guizhou twice for some reasons in his previous life and he could recognize that this was the lotus flower song that the people there liked to hum.

However, it is different from what northerners imagine. This kind of lotus flower song is not a folk song sung by beggars when begging. Not only is the tune much lighter, but in Guizhou it is only sung during the New Year.

Ok……

If I remember correctly, this thing seemed to be sung along with the improvised dragon tunes during the dragon dance.

Therefore,
Are you so happy today?

Seeing Zhang Wenshun's ease and comfort, Yang Mo fell into deep thought...

(End of this chapter)