Sui and Tang Dynasty Generals

Chapter 4: Become a disciple, the kind that rents out the whole place
The next day.

"Why are you going to ask for help from a master? We're almost moving out, and you're still wasting money. If this gets out, won't everyone laugh at you for being stupid? And..."

Early in the morning, Aunt Zhang was hanging out clothes to dry, muttering non-stop. When she looked at the busy Tao and Fu Rui in the yard, and the prepared gifts for paying homage to their master, her eyes were filled with reluctance.

"What kind of world is this? He is just a poor scholar. Why is it worth it to go through all this trouble and spend a few dollars to find the old people in the village? I heard that this newcomer is only in his early thirties. How could he have seen the world? What skills does he have to prepare such a generous gift to become a disciple..."

Zhang kept nagging. In her eyes, the gifts for becoming a disciple were enough to buy a lot of food for the whole family.

There are famines everywhere these days, and food is becoming more and more expensive. Who knows when the Fu family will run out of food to eat.

"Come on! Sister-in-law, I would like to find a capable person for Hou'er, but even if there is one at home, it is not certain that he will be taught after all these years!"

Tao couldn't help but turn her head because of her sister-in-law's nagging. She just happened to see her eldest brother Fu Hong coming out, so she spoke seriously.

But how could Zhang not hear the hidden meaning in these words? Although she was in the wrong, Zhang didn't care about her face.

"His uncle is also working hard for the future of his family. Even his cousin hasn't learned anything."

Zhang replied.

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Tao looked at Fu Zihou's uncle Fu Hong, who seemed to have heard nothing. She sighed and did not continue the argument. On the contrary, Mrs. Zhang, seeing that Mr. Liu was about to take Fu Zihou away, was still worried and hurried forward.

"Mr. Liu, when you see that person, remember to look carefully and don't let him fool you. If something is wrong, bring Zihou back with you!"

Zhang came up to Mr. Liu and gave him instructions.

Old Liu nodded and turned to look at Fu Zihou. He knew in his heart that according to what Uncle Zihou said, the Fu family would have to move out of here in two months at the latest, or in a month at the fastest.

In just one or two months, what could Fu Zihou learn by studying there?

What's more, Fu Zihou's current identity is that of a merchant's son!
However, like other people in the Fu family, Old Liu actually had the same guess. It must be because of the marriage with the Li family. Fu Zihou was worried that he would be looked down upon by the Li family, so he wanted to get the status of a student so that he could have more face in the Li family.

This child has been sensible since he was young, even making people feel sorry for him!
"Come back early, it's very chaotic outside now."

Tao looked at her son, sorted out his clothes, and then gave him instructions.

"Got it, mother!"

Fu Zihou smiled and nodded, then turned around and left the garden with Old Liu under Tao's gaze.

Tao watched her son and Old Liu leave, her eyes full of a mother's expectation. However, when she turned her head and saw Fu Zihou's uncle, her expression instantly turned cold, and she picked up her things and walked into the house.

"Women! It's hard to have insight!"

How could Fu Hong not see the look in his sister-in-law Tao's eyes? He frowned and said.

However, just as he finished speaking, Zhang beside him glared at him.

"You are very knowledgeable, but I have never seen you teach your own son!"

After Zhang finished speaking, she also turned and walked into the house, leaving Fu Hong stunned. He raised his hand to speak, but he could only watch his wife enter the house.

Fu Hong, who stayed in the yard, put down his hands in indignation, and seemed too lazy to argue with the two women.

How could a woman know that he had been talented but not appreciated for many years, had traveled all over the world but had difficulty finding a mentor, and had a lot of ambitions to help the world and serve as a wise ruler.

These two women only care about trivial matters.

In the village.

Along the way, we could meet one or two hungry villagers sitting on the ground with dazed eyes. Many of them had sunken eyes due to hunger and their faces were slightly dark and blue.

Nowadays, villagers dare not let children under the age of ten leave home alone, and even if they are at home, they have to be kept under close watch.

Cannibalism, these three short words reveal such horror that perhaps only young children can understand.

Fortunately, although the world was in chaos, the Sui Dynasty had not completely collapsed. Not only in every city, but also in every village, cannibalism was prohibited. Unless some families secretly exchanged their children for food, once a child was lost, both the government and the clan leader would call for people to help find the child.

Fu Zihou and Old Liu were walking on the path, and soon they noticed that on a piece of wasteland in the village in the distance, there were densely packed men gathered around, and some of them were fiddling with long sticks.

It was obvious that the Zhao family, the head of the village, was recruiting male refugees from all over the place through food supplies and secretly training them in this village.

It doesn't look like there are that many people, probably only about one or two hundred in total.

After a while.

When I arrived at the wooden house I passed by yesterday, the villagers who were there to watch the fun were no longer there. Outside the cold wooden house, there was only a lonely sign. The villagers passing by took a look and did not stop.

Fu Zihou and Liu Lao, carrying packages, came to the door of the house.

Looking at the quiet wooden house, before entering, Fu Zihou and Liu Lao guessed that this new scholar most likely did not have any disciples.

Thinking of this, unlike the old Liu who had an uneasy look on his face, a hint of secret joy appeared in Fu Zihou's eyes.

"Is anyone here?"

After shouting a few times in a young voice, Fu Zihou cautiously stretched his head to look inside the house.

Hearing the noise, the busy man in the house turned around. Under the messy hair, a pair of sallow and weathered cheeks came into view. He stared at Fu Zihou who stretched his head out, and the man slowly stood up.

"Are you here to study?"

The hoarse voice made Mr. Liu frown slightly when they met face to face for the first time.

Fu Zihou, who was standing by, didn't seem to notice anything. When he saw the man coming out, he bowed and saluted. "Yes! I'm here, kid. I want to learn from you!"

Fu Zihou nodded.

Seeing this, the man looked at Mr. Liu, noticed that he had a sword on his waist, and nodded.

"come in!"

After the man finished speaking, he walked into the house first.

This arrogant and domineering look made the elderly Liu open his eyes wide with a look of surprise.

Looking at the man's back, his smelly clothes were covered with dirt, and his messy hair was also in a mess.

"This……"

Old Liu was a little confused. It seemed that the poor scholar was putting on airs.

Old Liu was so angry that he looked at the young man and was about to pull Fu Zihou away, but when he turned around, he saw Fu Zihou looking at him with an apologetic smile.

"Mr. Liu! You're leaving soon. Father is very busy right now. We can't let him take time out to find other wise teachers to teach us! That would not only take time, but also cost money!"

Fu Zihou consoled him in a low voice.

Seeing the somewhat angry Mr. Liu, Fu Zihou coaxed him in a gentle voice and then took Mr. Liu in.

The wooden house was messy and dilapidated, with a strong smell of mold and dust. Fu Zihou did not mind it too much, but Old Liu was different. He looked around with a bad brow, looking at the thin beams of the wooden house, which looked like they were about to collapse at any time, and at the missing pieces here and there.

Old Liu, who was already dissatisfied with the man, now stared at the man with his cloudy old eyes.

"May I ask who your master is? Now that you are accepting me as a disciple, what are you going to teach me?"

Old Liu thought about it, and finally considered that Fu Zihou really didn't have much time to stay here, so he endured it. So after coming in, he bowed and asked a question.

"what do you want to learn?"

The man named Liu Zhiyuan noticed Mr. Liu's displeasure, but he didn't mind it. Instead, he asked the young man.

From the appearance of the old and the young when they met just now, Liu Zhiyuan judged that the young man's family was very wealthy, and the old man next to him was most likely the young man's servant, otherwise if he was an elder, he would not be carrying a package.

I saw the young man take the package from the old man's shoulder, put it carefully on the ground, and spread it out one by one.

A small bag of rice, a string of five-zhu coins, a brand new set of clothes, and a small piece of dried meat!

Compared with the requirements for accepting disciples and teaching written on the wooden sign outside, the package that the boy took out was obviously a gift for becoming a disciple, which surprised Liu Zhiyuan and made him even more curious about the boy in front of him. In this famine-stricken world, it was incredible that a person with no reputation was willing to give such a heavy gift for becoming a disciple.

Liu Zhiyuan couldn't figure it out, and his eyes couldn't help but reveal a little vigilance. If the two people in front of him were not an old man and a young boy, if they were two other ordinary men, they would probably have turned around and fled.

"Return to the wise teacher!"

When Fu Zihou heard the question, he looked up at Liu Zhiyuan, raised his hands, and bowed carefully. However, the next sentence caught Liu Zhiyuan off guard.

“The more the merrier!”

These four simple words echoed in the house.

Looking at the young boy with a serious face, although Liu Zhiyuan met him for the first time, he couldn't help but feel interesting when he heard this surprising answer. He inexplicably felt a little bit of goodwill towards him, and his vigilance was relaxed a lot.

It's like an adult seeing a child touch something he likes, and the child wants this and that. His mind is not yet settled, and he doesn't know the principle of greed: a snake swallowing an elephant.

"Your name and surname! Also, does your family agree to bring such a generous gift here?"

Liu Zhiyuan asked. Although he was extremely hungry right now, the pride and doubt in his heart still made him not rush to accept a disciple.

"Master, my name is Fu Zihou. My father and mother have agreed to my trip to become a disciple. I may leave in one month at the earliest and go to the place where my relative is going to be married in two months at the latest. However, I know that I have no talent and do not want to be looked down upon. The world is in chaos now and I also want to find a way to make a living. Therefore, I came here today to seek a disciple. I beg the master to take me in and enlighten me during this period of time!"

After Fu Zihou finished speaking, he bowed to Liu Zhiyuan and made a request seriously.

Becoming a disciple requires not only the ceremony of becoming a disciple, but also certain requirements in terms of words and deeds. Fortunately, now is a time of chaos, and things are not as rigid as in later generations.

"One or two months..."

Liu Zhiyuan listened to the boy's words and looked at him, and finally understood why the boy brought such a heavy gift to become his apprentice.

After learning about the boy's purpose, Liu Zhiyuan, who had just decided to take him in as a disciple in order to fill his stomach, naturally would not be disappointed with the boy's "dealing with others and saving face" approach to learning, nor would he have any excessive feelings about it.

He pondered for a few breaths, thinking that now that he had come here to live in seclusion, the fewer people he came into contact with, the better. Besides, teaching just one person would be much easier than teaching multiple people.

Finally, Liu Zhiyuan thought about it and nodded.

"it is good!"

The young man did not ask for much. Although he did not know where his wife was from, he had never heard of any famous family in this village since he came to it. Therefore, Liu Zhiyuan believed that with his own talents and knowledge, he only needed to teach the young man a little bit, which would be enough for the young man to deal with people like Taishan's wife in the future.

Since he had agreed, Liu Zhiyuan looked at the angry old man next to Fu Zihou.

"Tell your master that I, Liu Zhiyuan, am willing to accept this disciple and will follow their requirements. During this period of time, I will only teach him. If he agrees, come back tomorrow! Then, I will start teaching him!"

Liu Zhiyuan spoke, looked at the old man who was glaring with anger, and then asked the old man and the young man in front of him to go back.

(End of this chapter)