Rebirth of the Legend of the Red Age

Chapter 36: Apprentice Arrives, Problem Solved
After dinner on Sunday morning, Wang Li’s father went to Zhao Qiang’s house and invited him to have dinner at the courtyard.

As soon as the father went out, he met four adults and two boys about 4 years old outside the gate.

Wang Li’s father asked: Who are you looking for?
Zhang Fang's father Zhang Lei asked: "Hello, is this Wang Li's home? We are the parents of Wang Li's schoolmates, and we are here to visit him today with our children."

Wang Li's father was very surprised to hear this, because he knew that Wang Li didn't have any particularly good friends at school, but he still politely let the six people in and brought them to Wang Li.

When Wang Li saw the six people and noticed that two of them were his classmates Zhang Fang and Li Renshi, he thought they came to him with their parents because of a conflict between Wang Li and Zhang Fang at school.

But then he thought about it and it didn't make sense. If this was the case, Li Ren and Li Ren's parents shouldn't have come, so he only replied: Hello, classmates, hello, uncles and aunts.

Zhang Fang's father Zhang Lei first looked at Wang Li carefully, then looked at Wang Li's father and said: Hello, Wang Li, I am Zhang Fang's father, this is Zhang Fang's mother, and these two are Li Ren's father Li Hu and mother.

I'm sorry to bother you without permission, but we have no other choice, so I just said it directly. These two children want to learn martial arts, but we don't have any connections and don't know any powerful martial arts masters. I heard that your kung fu is very powerful, Wang Li, so these two children want to become your disciples.

Wang Li was slightly surprised when he heard this. First, he was still very young, several years younger than his two classmates. Second, he didn't expect that he had just had a conflict with Zhang Fang, and within a few days, this guy wanted to worship him as his master. This change was still a big change, and he couldn't react.

Wang Li thought about it and refused: Uncles and aunts, as you can see, I am still relatively young and my abilities are limited.

I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to teach these two students well, and we were in the same class, and if they asked me to be their teacher, our relationship would be disrupted in the future.

At this time, Zhang Fang and Li Ren did not wait for their parents to speak, but took a few steps forward and suddenly knelt in front of Wang Li, and said loudly together: Master, please accept us, we will learn martial arts from you in the future, and we promise to listen to you. We will do whatever you tell us to do and recognize you as the boss.

In fact, the two had already discussed this before coming. They were afraid that Wang Li would think that he had a conflict with Zhang Fang and would not accept them, so they took the initiative today.

Because they knelt down so suddenly, Wang Li didn't react, and when he was about to say something, Wang Li's father helped them up.

Then he said to the parents of the two children: Comrades and two little classmates, let's go into the house and sit down and chat.

He also asked Wang Li's mother to pour water for the guests.

After Wang Li's father, Zhang Lei and Li Hu learned about the situation, they said to Wang Li: Wang Li, you are all classmates. These two children want to learn Kung Fu, and I think they are sincere. You should accept them. They can come to our house to learn martial arts from you before school every day.

In fact, his father also took into consideration that Wang Li didn't have many friends, and this time two classmates came to his house to ask for company, so that he wouldn't be so lonely. His father also hoped that Wang Li would have a good childhood, although he knew that Wang Li was very mature. After hearing what his father said, Wang Li hesitated for a moment and thought: Although these two guys are a bit arrogant at ordinary times, they are still pretty good in nature. Their arrogance may be due to their relatively good family conditions.

He doesn't bully the weak in normal times, and judging from the behavior of Zhang Fang's family members after the conflict with him, they are of good character.

Therefore, Wang Li nodded in agreement: "Okay, but I will accept you two as registered disciples first. There is another senior brother above you named Lai San, you will meet him later. You can complete the apprenticeship ceremony in the presence of your parents later, but it doesn't have to be as complicated as before. Now it is a new society. You two can just offer me a cup of tea."

After hearing what Wang Li said, the two students were a little disappointed to hear that they were only nominal disciples, but they were also full of confidence that they would be able to become Wang Li's real disciples and learn real kung fu. Then, with the witness of several parents, the two of them performed a simple apprenticeship ceremony to Wang Li.

After paying homage to the master, the atmosphere of conversation between the parents became more intimate. After all, the children have the bond of master-disciple relationship and are considered half family members.

After a while of chatting and introducing themselves, the three members of the Wang family learned that Li Ren's father, Li Hu, and Zhang Lei were former comrades-in-arms. They were both assigned to work in Kyoto government departments after the capital was recovered.

Zhang Lei is now the deputy director of the Municipal Housing Bureau, and Li Hu is the deputy director of the Municipal Household Department. Their mothers currently work in the Women's Federation, and their two families can be considered old friends.

After everyone got familiar with each other, Wang Li's father took everyone to visit the courtyard. After all, this was where other people's children would come to learn martial arts in the future, and they also had to let them know about Wang Li's family situation.

They walked from the first courtyard to the garden, and then to the second and third courtyards. When they saw the big pit in the third courtyard, Zhang Lei asked: "Why did Brother Wang dig such a big pit?" (Because Wang Li was their children's master, they all called him "Brother" to show respect for Wang Li's father)
Wang Li’s father replied: “Oh, forget it! We were planning to build a main house with three courtyards and dig a basement, but we were stopped by the military control committee. They asked us to go to the relevant departments for approval before we could continue the construction.”

I went to ask, and the person in charge said that the new documents have not yet come down, so the work has been suspended.

Zhang Lei laughed and said, "Brother Wang, this is just a coincidence! This is under my jurisdiction. Don't worry, wait until tomorrow when you go to work, and I will arrange for someone to help you solve this matter. After all, this is a normal house construction, and there is nothing wrong with it."

Li Hu also agreed: "Yes, we can't delay building the house, as the rainy season is coming. If the materials are left in the open air, water will accumulate, and when we build the house, it will be damp, affecting the quality of the house."

The three members of the Wang family were very happy after hearing what Zhang Lei said. They finally solved the problem and didn't have to look for Zhao Qiang.

What a coincidence! I didn't expect that by taking in two apprentices, I could solve such a big problem.

Note: The reason why Wang Li accepted them as his apprentices was to gain a reputation and to lay the foundation for the future plot and setting. After all, they all have to respect the protagonist in the future! There must be suppression of status. Only then can Wang Li live a more free and unrestrained life.

(End of this chapter)