The Fantastic Little Farmer

Chapter 92: Chapter 92: Failing to Find Yun

Zhang Yun stayed at the factory for over half an hour. He only left after making sure Gao Weimin wouldn’t come back to cause trouble.

”You all rushed over early in the morning and have been busy until now. It’s getting late, so head on home.” Since the rice in Zhang Yun’s fields had already been harvested, he told Xu Jin and the other three to head back to the city.

Xu Jin hurriedly asked, ”Master, then for Ming Tian, will we...”

Zhang Yun smiled. ”You don’t need to come for now. Even if you do, I’ll just have you catch fish and do farm work. I won’t be teaching you anything for the time being.”

”That’s fine, we’re willing to do it!”

”It’s an honor to work for our master!”

Zhao Ye and Ma Yuming immediately expressed their stance. Meanwhile, Fu Yudie timidly held out two red envelopes to Zhang Yun. ”Master, I haven’t paid my apprenticeship fee yet. Please, you must accept this!”

Zhang Yun frowned slightly. ”Do you think I care about your apprenticeship fee? The three of them vouched for you and spoke up on your behalf, which shows you’re a good person. I drank the tea you offered, so I already consider you my disciple.”

”But...” Fu Yudie still looked extremely bashful.

”Will you three feel it’s unfair because she didn’t pay the fee?” Zhang Yun asked.

The three of them immediately shook their heads.

Ma Yuming looked utterly serious. ”Reporting to Master! Die was already our friend, and now she is our junior sister. It is our duty to take care of her!”

Zhang Yun nodded. ”See! That’s the attitude. They treat you as their junior sister, and I treat you as my disciple. There’s no need to feel inferior.”

”Yes, Master!” Fu Yudie was slightly emotional.

Zhang Yun chuckled. ”You all heard about it today. The centennial ginseng I dug up yesterday sold for a million. Do you really think I took you in just because I was greedy for your fees?”

”Master brought us in because of destiny!”

”Master doesn’t care about pocket change; it was just a token of our appreciation. Die is also very sincere and eager to learn from you.”

Fu Yudie simply opted for praise. ”Master is the most handsome!”

”Here...” Zhang Yun took out the red envelope he had received earlier. ”Split this among yourselves. Consider it a red envelope from me!”

”Master! We can’t accept this!” the four of them panicked.

They had only accepted Zhang Youcai’s red envelopes because their master said it was an appearance fee. How could they accept a red envelope from their master himself? Wouldn’t that mean they were being paid for today’s labor? Didn’t that mean their master was trying to keep his distance from them?

Their reaction left Zhang Yun a bit stunned. He wasn’t exactly looking down on five thousand yuan right now, but he didn’t care too much about it either. Just like Zhang Youcai had said, it was merely a token of goodwill. If they were sincere in their cooperation, the benefits would far exceed this small amount.

”When a traditional master takes in disciples, he also pays them a salary or covers their room and board. If you refuse my red envelope, I’ll feel bad calling you over when there’s work to be done.”

Ma Yuming’s mind worked the fastest. As long as their master wasn’t doing this to keep his distance, then this was his way of bringing them closer!

”I understand. It doesn’t mean anything else; it’s simply a red envelope from you to your juniors.”

”Pretty much,” Zhang Yun nodded.

”Then I’ll accept it on behalf of my fellow disciples. Thank you, Master!” Ignoring the others’ gazes, Ma Yuming took the red envelope. ”Die, your family hasn’t been doing too well lately. Since we’re all on the same side now, I won’t stand on ceremony. On behalf of us three senior brothers, I’m regifting Master’s red envelope to you!”

Fu Yudie felt both awkward and grateful. ”I...”

”You guys don’t have any objections, do you?” Ma Yuming glanced at Xu Jin and Zhao Ye.

”No, no objections! We’re your senior brothers! It’s our duty to take care of our junior sister. Plus, this is a red envelope from Master,” Xu Jin immediately voiced his support.

He had already caught on. By accepting and using the money this way, they weren’t distancing themselves; instead, it fostered a sense that they were all one big family. Taking a step back, even if their master had originally wanted to draw a clear line, by giving all the money to their junior sister rather than splitting it, their master could not possibly maintain that intention anymore.

Seeing them like this, Zhang Yun guessed that Fu Yudie’s family must really be facing some difficulties. Even though they had only just met today, she had formally knelt and kowtowed to acknowledge him as her master.

”Just accept it! None of us are outsiders here. Pushing it back and forth will only make us look like a joke to others.”

”Yes! Thank you, Master, and thank you, my three senior brothers!” Fu Yudie’s eyes were already moist as she forced a smile and bowed to them in gratitude.

She didn’t have the money for the apprenticeship fee, yet after a single day, she had actually received eight thousand yuan. It was simply unimaginable!

Zhang Yun asked another question. ”Tell me about your family’s situation. Let’s see if I can help out.”

”No, no, it’s nothing. I’m already very grateful, and I wouldn’t dare trouble you, Master!” Fu Yudie hurriedly shook her head.

Among the group, Xu Jin was the oldest. Ma Yuming and Zhao Ye were also slightly older than Zhang Yun. Only Fu Yudie was younger than him. Therefore, even though Zhang Yun asked in the tone of a master, Fu Yudie was too embarrassed to ask him for help.

Zhang Yun didn’t press the issue, figuring it might involve her private affairs. ”Alright then. You guys head straight back! I’m going to take a walk and buy some things before heading home.”

”Goodbye, Master.”

”Goodbye, Master!”

”Master, if you ever need us to do any work, just let us know anytime, and we’ll rush right over!”

Although he was someone their own age, or even younger, they had acknowledged his status as their master. Naturally, they harbored feelings of respect toward him as an elder. After a busy day, they all felt much more familiar with one another.

They drove back to the city while Zhang Yun took a walk to town. He didn’t have a destination in mind and was just strolling casually. Without realizing it, he had unexpectedly wandered over to the Wind and Cloud Internet Cafe.

Zhang Yun found it somewhat amusing. There was nothing at the internet cafe for him to miss. The only reason he subconsciously walked here was because of the wonderful, hot-blooded memories from yesterday afternoon!

He instinctively looked toward the house that belonged to Yang Xiaoyun’s maiden family. Yesterday, no one else had been home, but now it wouldn’t be convenient to pay a visit. Nevertheless, he slowly walked forward, hoping to hear someone call out from the second floor. What if Teacher Yang... Sister Xiaoyun was home alone again today? Drinking tea with her was a very interesting experience!

Unfortunately, he walked past the Wind and Cloud Internet Cafe without hearing Yang Xiaoyun’s voice. Too embarrassed to detour to her front door, Zhang Yun continued walking forward to stroll around the town’s middle school.

Walking outside the middle school’s perimeter wall, Zhang Yun felt a bit sentimental. Back in the day, climbing this wall had been quite difficult, but now it looked like he could scale it with ease. He figured the security guards at the main gate probably wouldn’t let him in, so he wondered if he should climb the wall to stroll around the campus.

Zhang Yun stopped and looked around. If no one was paying attention, he might as well use this to test his current physical skills!

No one was coming from the direction of the school gate. However, from the direction of the Wind and Cloud Internet Cafe, several motorcycles were heading his way. Someone was even shouting loudly:

”There he is!”

”It really is him!”

”Don’t let him get away!”

Zhang Yun got a clear look. The person riding the lead motorcycle was the Yellow Hair from yesterday! The others weren’t as easily recognizable, but they were likely the same gang from yesterday.

Zhang Yun didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He had purposefully walked by slowly just now, yet he failed to attract Yang Xiaoyun’s attention and had instead been spotted by Yellow Hair’s gang from the internet cafe? Were they out here preparing to steal vehicles and extort people again?