“Little Crane, quickly kowtow to the master!”
Wan Yuhong was so overjoyed she could barely contain herself the moment she heard it.
She had thought Jin Feng only planned to take Wan Heming to Xihewan to study, never imagining he would directly accept him as a disciple.
As a child she had watched her father work, and she had spent a long time in the iron forge herself, so she knew perfectly well that Jin Feng’s skills far surpassed her father’s.
She had also seen how Jin Feng taught Man Cang. Unlike others, he never held anything back when instructing disciples.
In feudal times there was a saying that teaching an apprentice everything would leave the master starving. Many kept their best techniques secret, yet Jin Feng never did.
If Wan Heming could become his disciple, he was destined to bring glory to the family name!
“I pay respects to my Master!”
Wan Heming knelt before Jin Feng and earnestly kowtowed three times.
Jin Feng disliked people kowtowing to him and disliked doing it himself, but this time he did not stop the boy.
“Very well, rise. From now on you are my third disciple. Remember always to be patient, avoid impatience, study hard, and forge ahead.”
Jin Feng cautioned him seriously.
Wan Heming had been called a genius since childhood, and Jin Feng’s greatest worry was that the child might become arrogant.
“Yes!” Wan Heming stood up at once.
“Thank you so much, sir!”
Wan Yuhong was so moved that tears filled her eyes. She stepped forward and was about to kneel to Jin Feng.
“You’ve been in Xihewan long enough to know, don’t you? In Xihewan we don’t go in for all this kneeling.”
Jin Feng stopped her with a smile.
“Only because of your great kindness in accepting Little Crane can I now die without regret and still face my late mother in the afterlife.”
Wan Yuhong wiped her tears and said, “It’s a pity I have nothing of value at present, not even tuition gifts to offer. All I can do is kowtow to express my gratitude.”
“Do you really think I accepted a disciple for the sake of tuition gifts?”
“Of course not.”
Wan Yuhong hastily waved her hands. “I simply don’t know how else to thank you, sir.”
“If you truly want to thank me, just work hard from now on.”
This was the sentence Jin Feng said most often at Iron Can Mountain.
Especially right after they had taken the mountain, nearly every female worker who saw him would kowtow and pour out endless words of gratitude.
Jin Feng could only reply with this one line.
Eventually he grew tired of it, so he gathered all the women together for a meeting and strictly forbade further kowtowing.
As they grew more familiar with him, the women gradually stopped, and the custom died down.
But then, who could have guessed, the women started teasing and flirting with him instead. It was practically becoming a new trend at Iron Can Mountain.
That was even harder to deal with than the kowtowing. He could hardly call another full meeting and announce that nobody was allowed to flirt with him, could he?
That would be far too shameless, especially since not every girl actually flirted with him.
“Enough. I’m going to have a look around the factory.
Little Crane, go with your sister, pack your things, say goodbye to the other children, and tomorrow you’ll come back to Xihewan with me.”
Jin Feng was genuinely afraid Wan Yuhong would insist on kowtowing again, so he waved his hand and left the room.
He visited the soap workshop first, then the drying area, and finally reached the canteen.
It had to be said, Zuo Feifei was highly capable. She managed the factory extremely well.
When he arrived at the canteen, he happened to run into Zuo Feifei herself.
“Sir, I’ve arranged everything for the new sisters. They’ve just eaten, and A-Zhen is taking them to bathe and change clothes now.”
Thinking Jin Feng had come to check on the new workers, Zuo Feifei smiled and said, “I told them to rest for two days first and start work the day after tomorrow.”
“Good, that works.”
Jin Feng nodded. “I just walked around the factory. You’re managing it very well.”
“It’s mainly because all the sisters are grateful to you, sir. Everyone works hard, and nobody slacks off.”
Zuo Feifei smiled. “When all is said and done, it’s thanks to you.”
“Alright, we’ve known each other long enough. You don’t need to keep… er, flattering me any more.”
Jin Feng hurriedly corrected himself. “The trading company is growing bigger by the day, and demand for soap will keep rising. If you run into any difficulties here, just write a letter and have someone deliver it to Xihewan.”
“I understand, Feifei knows.”
Zuo Feifei said, “The weather has been bad lately, so the new workshop is going up too slowly. Drying the liquid soap is also taking several extra days, I’m afraid output this month will drop quite a bit.”
“There’s nothing to be done about that. It’s raining all across Sichuan and Shu, the merchant caravans are moving slowly too, so you actually have plenty of time.”
Jin Feng continued, “About the workshop construction, when I get back I’ll discuss it with the village head and Third Grandpa to see if we can send more workers over.
But you must be careful here, under no circumstances let the builders enter the soap workshop itself.”
“Understood,” Zuo Feifei nodded. “I’ve already made that clear to all the sisters. No outsider can get in.”
“That’s good.”
Jin Feng said, “Auntie invited me to your house for lunch, and it’s about time. Come on, let’s head home and talk there.”
The way he said it sounded far too intimate. Zuo Feifei’s face turned red again, and she followed behind him like a shy newly-wed wife with her head lowered.
When they reached the Zuo home, Zuo Zhangshi was just about to go out and call Jin Feng and Zuo Feifei in for the meal.
Seeing the two of them walking back side by side, she stopped, leaned against the doorframe, and watched quietly.
The pair were chatting as they walked, and the smile never left Zuo Feifei’s face.
The more Zuo Zhangshi watched, the more satisfied she became, and the more she felt they were perfectly suited.
She walked forward with a smile. “I was just coming to fetch you both, and here you are.”
“The delicious smell of auntie’s cooking has drifted ten li. We followed the aroma all the way home.”
Jin Feng laughed.
“You certainly know how to talk, sir.”
Zuo Zhangshi laughed too. “If you really like my cooking, sir, you must come to Iron Can Mountain more often.”
In the head bandit’s compound, apart from the office space, only Zuo Feifei and Zuo Zhangshi lived permanently. Jin Feng and Guan Xiaorou came only occasionally, so the kitchen and adjoining dining room had been given entirely to the mother and daughter.
Working together, the two soon had the meal on the table.
It was a simple three dishes and one soup, but Zuo Zhangshi had prepared everything with great care. The food looked, smelled, and tasted wonderful.
“My skills are poor, and I only know a few dishes. Please don’t mind, sir.”
Zuo Zhangshi offered the customary polite remark.
“You mustn’t say that, auntie. Your cooking is especially delicious. Later I’ll have to send Lub-niang to Iron Can Mountain to study with you for a while.”
Jin Feng smiled and continued, “And auntie, I’ve told you several times already, please stop calling yourself ‘old woman’. Only grannies of seventy or eighty call themselves that. You’re barely thirty-three. The first time I met you I honestly thought you were Feifei’s older sister. Calling yourself old like that will really age you.”
In feudal times people married young. Zuo Zhangshi had married Zuo Feifei’s father at fifteen and given birth to Feifei that same year, so she was only thirty-three now.
Since coming to Iron Can Mountain, she had plenty to eat and drink, and the work was not too heavy. She had quickly recovered from the trauma of having her home confiscated, and she truly did not look old.
A large part of Zuo Feifei’s beauty came from her mother.
In Jin Feng’s previous life, if Zuo Zhangshi put on some makeup she could easily have passed for a young woman in a nightclub.
“Sir, you mustn’t tease auntie!”
No woman dislikes hearing compliments.
Zuo Zhangshi pretended to scold him, but the delight on her face was impossible to hide.
“Heaven and earth are my witness, I’m not teasing you at all!”
Jin Feng pointed at Zuo Feifei. “Feifei, tell me, am I right or not?”
“You’re right. My mum is the prettiest!”
Zuo Feifei laughed and nodded too.
“And now you’re joining in the nonsense!”
Zuo Zhangshi reached out and lightly swatted Zuo Feifei.
Zuo Feifei stuck out her tongue and pulled a funny face at her mother.
