Those who achieve are fit to be teachers.
Respecting teachers and valuing education was a Chinese tradition.
The ritual of kowtowing and serving tea was necessary, and Xia Xiaolan didn’t find it humiliating.
It was just like paying New Year’s respects to elders.
She happily knelt to kowtow, lifting the tea from the table to present to Mao Kangshan without any hesitation.
Xia Xiaolan performed three kowtows, and Mao Kangshan took three sips.
“All right, get up quickly!”
“Yes, thank you for your consideration, Master!”
Xia Xiaolan stood up and waved to Ge Jian, “Ge Jian, this is my master now. Whatever Teacher Mao needs, treat it as my request and make sure it’s done properly!”
“Yes, Miss Xia. Teacher Mao, please just let me know if you need anything.”
Ge Jian was a man of few words but proper manners.
He understood the situation – with Miss Xia starting a new company to build and sell houses, he and his senior apprentice brother Li Dongliang would likely split up, with Li Dongliang following Liu Yong while he stayed with Xia Xiaolan.
Ge Jian had no objections, as he had been following Miss Xia from the start.
Miss Xia had taught him and his senior apprentice brother how to handle matters, then temporarily placed him at Yuanhui. Ge Jian didn’t mind following Liu Yong, who valued both him and Li Dongliang highly, but deep down, he still wanted to follow Xia Xiaolan.
Whether Miss Xia’s new company could succeed depended critically on this thin, dark-skinned Mao Kangshan.
Miss Xia had said that to receive, one must first give. One shouldn’t be too calculating, expecting to receive before giving – reversing this order would make things twice as difficult. Ge Jian was also willing to do his part in pleasing Mao Kangshan.
In just the short while since Xia Xiaolan’s arrival, Mao Kangshan had received more surprises than in an entire year.
The previously quiet house now had two more people – the silent Ge Jian and the chattering Xia Xiaolan.
Her arrival was like releasing a lark in Mao Kangshan’s home.
Her words were pleasing and her voice sweet. Even knowing she was flattering him, the flattery was so well-placed it was impossible to reject.
Mao Kangshan looked at the pile of things in the living room, so much it made him uncomfortable.
“Discipleship gifts should value quality over quantity. What’s all this mess you bought?”
Xia Xiaolan pulled out a large red list from her backpack.
“See for yourself.”
Mao Kangshan hadn’t expected her to do this.
There was nothing he couldn’t accept – he was already going to help Xia Xiaolan.
Mao Kangshan opened the list:
“One box of Yanzhou pears, one box of Xiaoshan sandy sweet potatoes, three jin of dried abalone, five jin of dried shrimp, five jin of dried scallops, two jin of monkey head mushrooms, two jin of bamboo fungus, two jin of wood ear mushrooms, five jin of red dates, two jin of royal jelly, five jin of honey… one box of Guizhou Maotai Special Edition, ten cartons of Chinese Special Edition cigarettes.”
No wonder it took three people to carry everything up.
All told, there must have been about a hundred jin of goods.
As he read further down the list, Mao Kangshan grew increasingly exasperated.
“Did you buy out an entire grocery store!”
How much were all these things worth?
There were both expensive and inexpensive items.
While the total value was hard to calculate, just the box of Maotai and ten cartons of Chinese cigarettes weren’t something ordinary people could obtain.
In the small kitchen, Madam Song had finished cooking but didn’t dare bring the food out. The usually frugal Mao Kangshan had rarely been generous, buying two jin of meat and a fish. Madam Song had liked Xia Xiaolan from the moment they met – she was beautiful and sweet-spoken, so who wouldn’t like her?
But when Mao Kangshan finished reading the gift list, Madam Song’s eyelid started twitching in the kitchen.
How much money did this cost?
With such lavish gifts, how would people outside talk about Old Mao accepting such a disciple?
The two jin of meat and one fish prepared to host Xia Xiaolan now seemed laughably modest.
In the living room, Xia Xiaolan was still smiling, “I just became your disciple and don’t know what you and Master’s Wife like to eat, so I bought a variety. Please let me know which ones suit your taste.”
Excessive courtesy is not a fault.
One can’t strike a smiling face.
Mao Kangshan’s firecracker temper couldn’t flare up at all in the face of Xia Xiaolan’s thick skin.
With Xia Xiaolan speaking this way, it would be hard to find someone more ingratiating or sycophantic.
Even Mao Guosheng living on the third floor had never spoken to Mao Kangshan this way!
Of course, Mao Guosheng was on a fixed salary and couldn’t compare financially with Xia Xiaolan.
But even though the Mao Guosheng couple knew the elderly pair ate plain noodles every day, they never thought to send nutritious foods like eggs, meat, or milk.
Mao Kangshan was momentarily speechless, while in the small kitchen, Madam Song’s eyes grew moist.
Who was fortunate enough to raise such a daughter as Xia Xiaolan?
Madam Song brought out the dishes:
“We can start eating now. Little Xia, please don’t mind the simple food.”
Xia Xiaolan’s eyes widened, “With fish and meat, how can you call this simple? Master’s Wife, are you tired? I’ll help you wash the dishes later. I wanted to help cook, but my cooking is terrible, so I didn’t dare try.”
The willowy girl’s hands didn’t look like they’d ever washed dishes.
She probably hadn’t even touched cold water at home!
Madam Song took Xia Xiaolan’s words as a joke – whether she would help or not was one thing, but her words were pleasant to hear.
Xia Xiaolan helped set the table. Madam Song had prepared braised pork, sweet and sour fish, and two vegetable dishes, including a cold seaweed salad.
It was quite a feast. Xia Xiaolan didn’t always eat luxurious meals – she could eat twenty-cent cafeteria food just fine. Besides, Madam Song’s cooking wasn’t bad at all. Xia Xiaolan kept praising how delicious it was, making Madam Song beam with joy.
The atmosphere was so good that even Mao Kangshan couldn’t maintain his serious expression.
When he wanted some alcohol, Xia Xiaolan pushed aside his loose liquor and pulled out a bottle of Maotai from the box.
“From now on, drink this – it shares your surname, what a coincidence! At the very least, you should drink good liquor and smoke good cigarettes. Consider it filial respect from your disciple!”
The 1985 Maotai was indeed of excellent quality.
Though hard to buy, the price wasn’t expensive for Xia Xiaolan. She even thought about stockpiling some – serving 30-year Special Edition Maotai to guests in the future would be quite prestigious.
Although Xia Xiaolan had successfully become his disciple today, she wasn’t entirely happy.
She felt the Provincial Construction Institute had handled things poorly, not giving Mao Kangshan the treatment he deserved. Now that she was his disciple, Xia Xiaolan was even more protective – after all, Mao Kangshan was her master now, so he shouldn’t live so modestly. Her master’s skill wasn’t inferior to Ning Yanfan’s, so he should enjoy the same lifestyle as Ning Yanfan!
Madam Song felt her ears burning, “Little Xia, even with money, you shouldn’t spend it like this. We’re old now, we don’t need such fine things.”
“After working hard your whole life, contributing to the country all these years, why shouldn’t you enjoy some comfort? Master’s Wife, I know what I’m doing. These things won’t make me poor.”
Xia Xiaolan smiled sweetly, and Mao Kangshan felt content inside.
Who doesn’t like being cherished?
Especially when the one cherishing him was the disciple he had approved of himself.
Xia Xiaolan’s purpose was clear – she would become his disciple if he would help her obtain a company qualification. Even if Mao Kangshan had offended half the people in their circle, didn’t that leave another half he hadn’t offended?
Just as he was about to speak to Xia Xiaolan about this matter, someone was sneakily peering in through the window.
Ge Jian immediately put down his chopsticks and stood up, “Who’s there!”