The Fantastic Little Farmer

Chapter 81: Chapter 81: The 4 Great Disciples’ Mission

Zhang Yun had previously promised them the status of honorary disciples, stating he would test them first. The three men had performed a grand kneeling ceremony back then. He hadn’t seen them for the past two days because they had been busy planning this formal apprenticeship ceremony.

Making such a grand spectacle certainly gave him a lot of face, and they had even brought their tuition fees.

Zhang Yun reached out and accepted the envelopes one by one. ”Alright. I appreciate the thought.”

The girl, holding a thermos of prepared tea, darted into the house. She poured three cups and brought them out, handing one to each of the three men.

”Master, please have some tea!”

Tuition fees held practical importance, while serving tea carried ceremonial weight. Zhang Yun accepted the cups and took a symbolic sip from each, completing the ritual. The girl stood to the side, taking the empty cups from him as he finished.

”Master, please take Die in as well!” Xu Jin asked tentatively.

Zhang Yun was left speechless. He figured Die must be this girl, but what did Xu Jin mean by ”take her in”? That sounded completely wrong!

”Die is young, but she is highly talented and willing to endure hardship. If you take her as your disciple, she will definitely achieve great things in the future!” Ma Yuming chimed in.

Zhang Yun chuckled inwardly. He knew what that meant. He thought to himself that a beautiful girl like her would indeed ”achieve great things” in the future.

”Master, we—”

Zhang Yun interrupted Zhao Ye’s persuasion, raising his hand toward Die. ”Alright, you can serve me a cup of tea too!”

While they were pleading on her behalf, the girl named Die looked visibly embarrassed. It felt like a group of straight-A students asking a teacher to let a classmate delay her tuition payment. She looked as though she wanted the ground to swallow her whole. However, the three men’s personal demonstrations and resolute guarantees filled her with a deep yearning to learn.

Hearing Zhang Yun’s words, she was instantly overjoyed.

”Thank you, Master!” Die immediately knelt and offered him a cup of tea.

Zhang Yun took a sip. ”Alright, get up. Let’s go talk inside. It’s weird having everyone stare at us.”

”Yes, Master!”

”We still have gifts in the car!”

They quickly hurried outside.

Zhang Fu looked at Zhang Yun with a face full of questions, while the other villagers immediately swarmed around to interrogate him.

Zhang Yun casually spun a lie. ”When I was studying out of town, I learned Kung Fu from an old master. These guys are Sanda champions. They realized how strong I am and wanted to become my disciples.”

”Who would’ve thought! You’re actually a Kung Fu master!”

”Good thing I never offended you! HAHAHA!”

”What did I say? What did I tell you? When that mob came to cause trouble the other day, Zhang Yun took them down effortlessly! I told you he was a master, but you didn’t believe me!”

Zhang Fu had seen Zhang Yun and Xu Jin shake hands that day. Although he had found it a bit strange, he hadn’t said anything. As long as his son could handle the situation, he was fine with it.

The items Xu Jin and the others fetched from their car’s trunk were typical housewarming gifts: fruit baskets, milk, and the like. Upon entering the house, they respectfully addressed Zhang Fu as ”Grandmaster.” The grand title flustered the old man, who hurriedly insisted they stay for lunch.

Die’s full name was Fu Yudie. She was an outstanding female Sanda athlete in the city, operating on the same elite tier as the other three, which was why they were such close friends. Xu Jin and the others had wanted to bring Fu Yudie along from the start. However, her family wasn’t as well-off. Practicing Sanda was already an expensive endeavor, and she couldn’t afford the tuition fee for the apprenticeship. Furthermore, she had flatly refused their offers to chip in and cover her expenses.

Zhang Yun smiled warmly. ”Since you’re all here, you can help out with some chores around my house!”

”No problem!”

The four of them were incredibly excited. In their eyes, this was exactly the test Zhang Yun had mentioned! Traditional martial arts and crafts had a strict custom of only passing skills down to sons, never daughters. Disciples outside the family often had to undergo rigorous tests. For example, many apprentices had to do chores for their master’s family for years before they were even taught the fundamental basics. While this was undoubtedly a flawed, secretive sectarian practice, it was also a vital process for evaluating one’s character and tempering their state of mind.

Their biggest fear had been that Zhang Yun would send them away, which would mean he had no intention of teaching them. Now, given the opportunity to work, they were brimming with enthusiasm.

”Die, you stay behind and help my dad cook. Cooking for six people is a bit much. Is that okay?”

Fu Yudie hadn’t expected her first task to be cooking, but she happily agreed.

”You three, come with me!”

Zhang Yun secured a rack to the back of his old motorcycle, placed some plastic crates on it, and led the three men to the fish pond.

The morning firecrackers had echoed throughout the entire village. Word of the dramatic apprenticeship ceremony spread rapidly among the onlookers, and everyone soon realized that Zhang Yun was actually a hidden Kung Fu master. If even Sanda champions were begging to be his disciples, how could it be fake? No wonder he hadn’t been afraid of provoking a hooligan like Li Bing, easily breaking the thug’s legs!

Seeing Zhang Yun head out to work with his three disciples in tow, the villagers were filled with deep respect. No one even dared to crack casual jokes with him anymore.

Arriving at the fish pond, Zhang Yun pointed out a convenient spot to catch fish and handed them the necessary tools. He then went into the small wooden cabin alone, took a melon from the Peach Blossom Spring Space, chopped it into pieces, and began to feed the fish.

”Wow! These fish are huge!”

”They eat like crazy!”

”Good thing they didn’t attack us last time. Otherwise...”

”Otherwise, they might have bitten off your twig and berries! HAHAHA!”

The Sanda experts had a blast catching fish. Although they lacked Experience in fishing, they more than made up for it with their raw strength and fast reflexes. Adopting their martial arts stances and coordinating their movements, they followed Zhang Yun’s instructions and successfully netted the largest batch of fish. Having feasted on the fruits and melons from the Peach Blossom Spring Space over the past few days, these fish had clearly grown significantly. If it weren’t for the sake of the small fish fry, Zhang Yun would have wanted to keep them in the pond longer.

After all, with his current income, he no longer needed the petty cash from selling fish.

After transporting the haul back to the village, Zhang Yun asked people along the way if they wanted any, selling them for three yuan below the current market price. A three-yuan discount per pound meant saving eight to ten yuan on a single fish. Most people hadn’t planned on eating fish, but seeing the bargain, they figured they might as well take advantage of it. Buying ten pounds meant saving thirty yuan!

Everyone was incredibly envious of the million yuan Zhang Yun had earned yesterday. However, since they were only casual acquaintances, they couldn’t just ask to borrow money. Now that Zhang Yun was selling fish on the cheap, they felt like they were at least getting a small slice of the pie. The catch sold out quickly in the village, saving Zhang Yun the trip to town. Some people even asked him to catch more to sell.

By the time they finished their work and returned home, Die had already helped Zhang Fu prepare the meal. None of these tasks had been difficult, making the whole experience feel like a fun outing to them.

Zhang Yun took a moment to check their tuition red envelopes. Each contained five thousand yuan. He handed all the money directly to his dad.

”I’ll give you another job after lunch...”

”Great!” They remained excited. More work meant they could earn Zhang Yun’s approval even faster.

”Master, what’s the task?” Fu Yudie asked as she placed a choice piece of food in Zhang Yun’s bowl.

”Harvesting the rice!”

”...”

Fishing, cooking, harvesting rice... This wasn’t what they had imagined their training would be like at all. This was just genuine manual labor. Their master was an Inner Power expert! Surely he was going to teach them some miraculous Cultivation Technique!

Originally, it was just Zhang Yun and his father. Doing farm work naturally took them longer than others. Now, with four fit young people helping out, their speed more than doubled. Under the envious gazes of the villagers, they quickly finished harvesting the entire field. Xu Jin and the others didn’t leave; they stayed behind to help dry the rice grains in the sun and finish up the remaining chores.

Right after lunch, Zhang Youcai hurried over to find Zhang Yun, urging him to personally head to the ancestral hall. He needed Zhang Yun to inspect and appraise the antiques exactly as they were being collected.

Thanks to the hype Zhang Youcai had built up the previous night and all throughout the morning, not only had many villagers dug up old items, but people from neighboring villages had also come over. Amidst the bustling crowd, Zhang Yun arrived leisurely, instantly becoming the center of attention. Everyone immediately made way for him, which made him feel quite like a grandmaster making a dramatic entrance with his four great disciples.