Nine Transformations of the True Spirit

After Chen Yuan finished chopping firewood, Chen Tiezhu told him that he wanted to send him to be an apprentice in the county.

Chen Yuan was mentally prepared and agreed very sensibly.

The next morning, Chen Tiezhu invited Chen Laoer, who had not yet returned to the county, to his home to settle the matter.

Chen Laoer is a thin man, in his thirties, with a shrewd look on his face.

I don’t know if it was because he received 20 cents from Chen Tiezhu, but his attitude was quite enthusiastic:

"Brother Tiezhu, I watched Er Niu grow up. He is a good boy, loyal and honest, and very strong. I have thought about it and brought him to Baibing Hall. It is just right. You can rest assured..."

Chen Tiezhu asked:

"What kind of shop is this Baibingtang?"

Chen Laoer explained:

"Baibingtang is the largest blacksmith shop in the county. There are hundreds of blacksmiths. Every year, thirty or forty apprentices are recruited. Even the garrison in the county comes to Baibingtang to buy weapons. Erniu is very strong and goes to Baibingtang. , As long as you work hard and learn your craft, you will definitely be able to make a difference.”

Chen Tiezhu felt relieved and said to Chen Yuan beside him:

"Er Niu, follow your Uncle Erhua to the county tomorrow. Be obedient along the way and don't cause trouble for your Uncle Erhua."

Chen Yuan smiled and said:

"Uncle Erhua, I will do whatever you ask me to do."

Chen Laoer nodded with a smile, reached out and pinched Chen Yuan's arm:

"Good young man, I haven't seen you for a few years, and you are getting stronger and stronger. Baibingtang likes to recruit strong apprentices, you must be fine!"

When Chen Yuan heard this, his eyes flashed slightly, but he still maintained a straightforward smile on his face.

…

Chen Laoer and Chen Tiezhu agreed on a time to pick up Chen Yuan the next day and left.

Mrs. Chen Li packed Chen Yuan's luggage and prepared a change of linen clothes, a pair of coarse cloth shoes, and three coarse flour cakes.

Perhaps seeing that these things were too shabby, Chen Li quietly stuffed Chen Yuan with thirty coins.

Chen Yuan refused:

"Mom, I can't take this money."

Chen Li forced the copper plate into Chen Yuan's hand:

"You have a big appetite. If you can't eat enough at the owner's shop, just buy two thick flour pancakes. Don't buy white flour pancakes. White flour pancakes are too expensive..."

Mrs. Chen Li chattered non-stop.

Chen Yuan was not impatient at all, but listened quietly, with a warm feeling in his heart.

…

That night, Chen Yuan's brother Chen Daniu also returned home.

Chen Daniu is sixteen years old. Since last year, he has been working as a long-term worker in the house of Chen Rongcai, the only landlord in Chenjiacun. He also lives in Chen Rongcai's village on weekdays.

Chen Tiezhu rushed to inform him today that Chen Yuan was going to the city to work as an apprentice, so he took leave and went home.

After Chen Rongcai heard about this, he not only agreed with Chen Daniu to take leave and go home, but also asked him to bring back a box of stir-fried vegetables and two white flour pancakes as a farewell party for Chen Yuan.

Chen Yuan only ate one white flour pancake, and almost all the fried vegetables went into the little girl's stomach.

In Chen Yuan's previous life, these were the lowest-quality food from street stalls, but now, they are delicacies that the Chen family rarely eats several times a year.

Before going to bed, Chen Daniu quietly handed Chen Yuan a hundred coins:

"Er Niu, this is what I saved this year, you can use it."

Chen Yuan refused:

"Brother, you still have to save money to build a house and marry a wife. I can't accept this money."

Chen Daniu forced the money into Chen Yuan's hand and said:

"When I asked for leave today, Mr. Chen told me that a poor family has a way to get rich. It makes sense to me. You are away from home and have a lot of places to use your money. I live and eat at my master's house and have few places to use my money. You can take it. …”

Chen Yuan stopped refusing and took the heavy one hundred copper coins.

Chen Daniu said with a silly smile:

"Go to sleep, you have to get up early tomorrow and go on your way."

After that, he closed his eyes and lay down, and soon he started snoring like thunder.

Chen Yuan was lying on the bed, but he was not sleepy at all. He stared at the old wooden beams above his head, sighed softly, and then slowly closed his eyes.

…

The next morning, Chen Yuan got up early, ate three thick flour pancakes for the first time, hid the coarse cloth bag containing the jade, put on his simple luggage, and waited for Chen Laoer's arrival.

My little sister just found out this morning that her second brother, who loved her dearly, was going to the county to be an apprentice and wouldn't be back for a long time. She lost all the joy of eating white flour pancakes and stir-fried vegetables yesterday and burst into tears.

"Second brother, please don't leave, okay, wuwu, I can't let you go..."

Chen Yuan knelt down, stroked the little sister's head, and said softly:

"Little sister, be good. Second brother is going to make a lot of money. When he comes back, I will buy you white flour pancakes, pork belly and white cakes to eat, okay?"

The little girl grabbed Chen Yuan's clothes tightly, sniffed and said:

"real?"

"Really, when did second brother lie to you?"

The little girl pursed her lips and said:

"Then you can't go too long. When I miss you, you have to come back and tell me stories and coax me to sleep..."

Chen Yuan said softly:

"Okay, second brother, listen to you. Just listen to your parents at home."

The little girl slowly let go of her hand:

"Well, I'm obedient. You have to come back with white flour pancakes, pork belly, and white cakes..."

After Chen Yuan coaxed the little girl, Chen Laoer also arrived. He walked into the open courtyard door and greeted:

"Er Niu, let's go! Brother Tiezhu, sister-in-law, the road to the county is not short, we are on our way now."

Chen Yuan hugged his little sister, slowly straightened up, glanced at his family members one by one, and said:

"Father, mother, brother, I'm leaving. You don't have to worry about me. If anything happens in the future, I will ask Uncle Erhua to come back with a letter."

Chen Laoer was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said:

"That's the truth."

Chen Yuan glanced at his little sister one last time with nostalgia, his eyes turned decisive, and he followed Chen Laoer and got on the donkey cart.

"Oh--"

The driver waved his whip, and the gray donkey neighed loudly, hoofbeats clattering, and headed off into the distance.

Behind him, the family stretched their necks and looked in the direction of the donkey cart.

The donkey cart went further and further away, and Chen Yuan's back became smaller and smaller.

The little sister suddenly broke away from Chen Daniu's hand and ran after the donkey cart, crying:

"Second brother, don't leave..."

The cry floated over on the breeze. Chen Yuan trembled and waved his hand, but never looked back.

…

The dirt roads in the countryside were difficult to navigate, so the donkey cart traveled for three hours before arriving at the county town near noon.

Looking at the crowded street in front of him, Chen Yuan felt as if he was in another world.

He has never left Chenjia Village in the past three years, and today is the first time he has entered the city.

Although the prosperity in front of him was not worth mentioning in Chen Yuan's eyes, in order not to make Chen Laoer suspicious, he still pretended to be a country boy who had never seen the world and found everything novel.

On the way to the county town, he chatted with Chen Laoer and finally got to know the world outside Chenjiacun.

Before that, he only knew that the mountain range near Chenjiacun was called the Chimang Mountains, where bandits were rampant, and the county was called Leping County.

Only today did he learn from Chen Laoer that the Chimang Mountain Range is more than ten thousand miles long and spans most of Qi State. There are only eight passable roads. A large number of caravans pass through it every year, and they also feed a large number of mountain bandits.

Leping County belongs to Xin'an County, Yuzhou, and is adjacent to Yuanping County, one of the Eight Chimang Mountains. It connects Yuzhou and Qingzhou. It has been a prosperous place for business travelers since ancient times.

Chen Laoer introduces apprentices to shops in Leping County every year. He has long been accustomed to Chen Yuan's behavior and introduced the shops along the street:

"This is Fengle Restaurant, the best restaurant in the county. Its golden belly soup is famous far and wide... This is Xinshenghao, the largest cloth shop in Leping County..."

Chen Yuan was very cooperative and kept exclamating, which further aroused Chen Laoer's conversation and made Chen Yuan know more about Leping County.

Halfway there, Chen Laoer spent six copper coins on the street and bought three meat pies and handed them to Chen Yuan:

"When Baibing Hall recruits apprentices, there will be a test that requires a lot of effort. You need to fill your stomach first."

Chen Yuan took the cake and said with a naive smile:

"Thank you, Uncle Erhua."

Chen Laoer had a smile on his face and touched Chen Yuan's head:

"Good boy, when you enter the Hundred Soldiers Hall, you have to be sensible like this, be careful and don't make your boss angry..."

While Chen Yuan was eating meat pie, he listened carefully to Chen Laoer's experience in being an apprentice.

After Chen Yuan finished eating the meat pie, the two of them came to a vast courtyard complex in the east of the city. Facing the street was a huge facade with three words written on the plaque and various iron tools inside.

Chen Yuan is illiterate, but he also knows that this should be the Hundred Soldiers Hall.

Chen Laoer led Chen Yuan through the side gate and turned into an alley in a familiar manner, arriving in front of a courtyard.

Several young men aged sixteen or seventeen, wearing uniform gray coarse cloth shorts, were guarding the courtyard gate.

A dozen middlemen like Chen Laoer lined up in the alley a dozen steps away from the courtyard gate, leading a twelve or thirteen-year-old boy beside them, and entered the courtyard one by one.

After a while, some of the strangers walked out alone, holding a coarse cloth bag in their hands, with excited expressions on their faces, while others still led the young man back with ugly expressions on their faces.

But regardless of success or failure, everyone remained quiet and no one dared to make any noise.

Gradually, fewer and fewer teenagers were waiting for the test. Chen Laoer leaned down and whispered in Chen Yuan's ear:

"Er Niu, the test later will ask you to move iron materials. Do you know how much you can move?"

Chen Yuan nodded lightly:

"I understand, Uncle Erhua."

After waiting for a while, it was finally their turn. Chen Laoer smiled at the young men guarding the door and led Chen Yuan into the courtyard.

The courtyard in the courtyard occupies a vast area, with a hill-like pile of black iron materials piled on the left side. The door to the main room is open, with no threshold, and the inside is equally dark and filled with iron materials.

There is a Taishi chair on the right side of the patio. Sitting there is a man in his thirties. He is tall and thin, has a goatee, is dressed in silk clothes, wears a ring on his left hand, and looks majestic.

Next to the man stood two young men wearing yellow muslin short clothes, standing with their hands down.

To the right of the Grand Master's chair, a bookkeeper sat, with a small table in front of him, writing and drawing on a roster.

After Chen Laoer entered the door, he immediately pulled Chen Yuan, gave a big salute to the man in silk clothes, and said respectfully:

"The villain Chen Erhua has met Manager Li!"

Manager Li nodded slightly, did not speak, and just waved his right hand.

The tall young man in yellow with sinister eyes on his right immediately said to Chen Yuan:

"I'll give you a quarter of an hour to move the iron materials into the warehouse. As long as you can move three pieces, you will be an apprentice of the Hundred Soldiers Hall from now on!"