When She Stops Being Dramatic

Chapter 65: Chapter 42: The 1950s Wife of Chaff and Bran

The young couple looked at each other as they ate, the meal feeling like a novel experience.

Zhu Yun told him about taking on apprentices that afternoon.

Chu Shenyu smiled in acknowledgment and then sighed. ”After all my years of study, you’re the one who gets to enjoy an apprentice’s offering first.”

”That’s right. I got twelve apprentices out of the blue. So, is the master’s husband happy?” Zhu Yun teased him with a grin.

Her jab hit home, but Chu Shenyu actually gave it some serious thought before nodding. ”I’m pretty happy about it. Before, people just knew me for me. When they talked about my family, they’d say, ’Oh, isn’t that so-and-so from Chu Shenyu’s family?’”

”But now, my wife is bringing me glory. From now on, when people mention me, they’ll say, ’Oh, my goodness! Isn’t that Director Yun’s husband, the master’s husband to all those apprentices?’”

Zhu Yun was in the middle of a sip of tea and nearly choked. The deadpan way he mimicked a gossipy woman’s tone was too much for her.

She forced the tea down, her face flushing beet-red. Before she could even catch her breath, she was pounding the table with laughter.

Chu Shenyu found it amusing as well and let out a low chuckle. After a moment, however, his expression grew pensive.

Gazing at his wife’s beautiful, lively features, he realized he’d never imagined he could live such a normal, ordinary life.

”Should I go and figure out what kind of welcome gifts to prepare for the apprentices? Should we give them red envelopes?”

Chu Shenyu asked.

Zhu Yun froze for a second. ”Oh, you’re right! I completely forgot about that. They’re holding a formal master-apprentice banquet, so I need to take this seriously too.”

The young couple had absolutely no experience with such matters. Chu Shenyu hesitantly offered an idea. ”Why don’t we ask about the customs for acknowledging a god-father and god-mother? The process should be pretty similar, right?”

Zhu Yun nodded in agreement. The two decided to split up to gather information and regroup at nine o’clock to compare notes and make a final decision.

Her choice, of course, was Sister-in-law Qian. She decided to use the old ”I’m asking for a friend” line.

”Director Yun, you’re asking about acknowledging god-kin?” Sister-in-law Qian and Xu Xiaohui were now basically head cooks, though they didn’t know many dishes and were barely holding down their service window.

Zhu Yun took this chance to give them a few pointers while casually fishing for information.

”There are plenty of people in our factory who have acknowledged god-kin. The biological parents usually give the godmother a hat and the godfather a pair of shoes, while the godparents are expected to give things like a set of bowls and chopsticks, a longevity lock, and new clothes. It’s all symbolic and has traditional meanings, but I’m not the best at explaining it...”

Zhu Yun mulled it over for a while before meeting up with her husband to compare notes. They discovered their findings were more or less the same.

It was too late for them to prepare things like longevity locks.

”Why don’t we just give them red envelopes?” ’It’s too much of a headache,’ Zhu Yun thought. ’Money is the most practical gift.’

Chu Shenyu felt that would seem insincere and lacking in thought. ”There must be bowls and chopsticks in the warehouse. We can give each of them a set. There’s a bladesmith in the commune, so we could also pick out some quality knives for them.”

A glint appeared in Zhu Yun’s eyes. ’That’s right! The people in the commune live well because they’re so close to the big factory. They might have just what I need.’

After giving a quick heads-up, the pair got on their bikes and rushed over to the commune.

The clothes Chu Shenyu was wearing immediately caught the eye of the sharp-eyed deputy commune head.

Upon learning the purpose of their visit, he eagerly led them to the bladesmith’s shop to pick out what they needed.

It was a time-honored establishment, with a craft passed down through generations. The commune had incorporated it into its revenue streams, so the shop was quite large, filled to the brim with all sorts of ironware.

Zhu Yun quickly picked out twelve sets of knives and then bought twelve small bamboo baskets from the neighboring shop to put them in.

She discreetly asked the deputy head if he knew anyone willing to part with some longevity locks, as she was looking to buy twelve.

The deputy head scurried off and returned in less than twenty minutes with a pocketful of longevity locks, each one polished to a brilliant shine.

Zhu Yun paid for them and took them all.

To do right by her ”big sons” and ”big daughters,” she decided that in addition to an unbreakable set of wooden bowls and chopsticks, she would also tuck a foolproof recipe for a showstopper dish into each basket!

Chu Shenyu went out of his way to find some red cloth, which he used to cover the gifts in each basket before tucking a red envelope into each one as well.

Each carrying a large basket on their back, the couple headed for the master-apprentice banquet, beaming with joy and drawing the attention of everyone they passed.

Since Zhu Yun was accepting a whopping twelve apprentices, they and their parents took up four entire round tables.

The tables were laden with a rich spread of dishes, with plenty of chicken, fish, eggs, and meat.

Everyone invited Zhu Yun and Chu Shenyu to take the seats of honor.

It was the middle of the dinner rush, and the people coming and going all stopped to watch the grand ceremony.

Director Wang and his wife approached with a smiling Wang Simi, presenting their gifts: a carton of cigarettes, two bottles of liquor, two live chickens, a disciplinary ruler, and two full sets of clothes, including shoes and hats. ”Our Simi’s very name means she was born to be a cook. We hope that you, Master, will be strict with her...”

Wang Simi was also beaming. She bowed three times, so deeply it looked as if she wanted to touch her head to her knees. ”Master, no words can express how happy I am! From now on, please judge me by my actions!”