My Apprenticeship to Uncle Jiu: I Was a Warlord in the Republic of China

Jiang Li saw that they were smiling happily after receiving the money and did not bother them. He just thought to himself, "I hope you can keep the money warm."

As expected, when Uncle Jiu saw the twenty dollars, he sent Jiang Li away to feed the chickens, and came to the two of them and said, "You two don't have to worry about food and clothing, why do you need so much money? Each of you keep two dollars and I'll keep the rest for you."

As he said that, he snatched away the sixteen pieces, making the two disciples want to cry but have no tears. When Jiang Li came back and saw Qiu Sheng and Wencai had a bitter face, he felt secretly happy.

After sending Qiu Sheng and Wen Cai to cook, Uncle Jiu called Jiang Li to sit down in the hall and asked hesitantly, "Ah Li, how much do you know about Western tea?"

Jiang Li secretly laughed in his heart, but looked puzzled, "Master, are you talking about the coffee that foreigners drink in Western restaurants?"

Uncle Jiu coughed and said, "Yes, it is coffee. Have you ever drunk it? What do you know about it?"

Jiang Li said innocently, "I have drunk it a few times, but I am not used to it. Why did the master suddenly ask this?"

Seeing that he couldn't get any words out of his disciple, Uncle Jiu knew that his disciple must have understood what he meant.

So he stopped hiding it and said frankly, "Didn't Master Ren ask me to go and see Feng Shui tomorrow? We'll meet at a western restaurant. I'm afraid I'll break a taboo and make a fool of myself, so I'm asking you."

Jiang Li laughed and said, "Master, you are really something. We are friends, so why bother testing each other like this?"

Uncle Jiu said in embarrassment, "I'm just afraid you'll laugh at me."

Jiang Li said, "You are my master, how could I laugh at you?"

"Coffee is a kind of coffee fruit seeds that are roasted and ground into powder. When boiled with water, it has a strong aroma but tastes bad and bitter. You need to add milk and sugar to mix and stir, and you get a cup of bitter and sweet drink with a mellow aroma."

Uncle Jiu understood immediately and said seriously, "You promised Miss Ren to meet you before. It's not easy for you to break your promise. Why don't you just go with me tomorrow?"

Jiang Li smiled and said, "Okay, anyway, I was just thinking about getting to know the next master. Who knows, I might need his help in business in the future."

The matter was settled and lunch was ready. After the group had finished a fairly sumptuous meal, Jiang Li handed over the key points of planting that he had compiled over the years, as well as the sword, gun and stick techniques that he had learned in the martial arts school to Uncle Jiu, and explained the principles behind them one by one.

After a whole afternoon, Uncle Jiu finally got a general understanding of Western agricultural science. In the end, he said with emotion, "It's very simple, but it does have its merits."

...

At nine o'clock the next day, Uncle Jiu put on a suit and a pocket watch and brought Jiang Li to Renjia Town. Along the way, people selling fish, meat and vegetables greeted Uncle Jiu one by one, and Jiang Li also took advantage of this and received a lot of praise.

When we arrived at the western restaurant, the waiter stopped us and asked, "Do you two have reservations?"

Jiang Li said before Uncle Jiu, "It was Master Ren who invited us to come and discuss something. He should have reserved a seat, right?"

The waiter immediately smiled and said, "So you are the guest invited by Master Ren. Please follow me."

Then the two of them followed him upstairs and came to the table where Ren Fa was sitting.

Ren Fa looked at the two men in suits and couldn't help but tease, "Uncle Jiu is really well-informed, but I'm afraid it's not easy to cast spells in suits, right?"

After saying that, he motioned for Uncle Jiu to sit down. (In the original novel, Ren Fa had never seen Uncle Jiu take action, and only thought that he was a quack, and looked down on him because he had no skills.)

Uncle Jiu was a little confused when he heard this, but Jiang Li said, "Master Ren, you are joking. Master learned that Master Ren was going to discuss something in a western restaurant, so he put on a suit. If Master Ren thinks that a Taoist robe is more suitable, I will go back and get it."

Seeing Jiang Li answering the question, Master Ren couldn't help but take a closer look at him. He felt that the young man was sturdy and well-dressed, and although he wasn't handsome, he was decent. He answered the question neither humbly nor arrogantly, so he asked, "May I ask who you are, little brother?"

Jiang Li stood behind Uncle Jiu and did not sit down. He just smiled and said, "My name is Jiang Li, and I am Uncle Jiu's third apprentice."

Ren Fa heard this and said, "So you are the Brother Jiang that my daughter mentioned, who saved her life on the road. Please take a seat."

Jiang Li sat down immediately, then said with a smile, "Mr. Ren, you are too polite. I just did it for the sake of convenience."

Seeing that Ren Fa did not continue teasing, Uncle Jiu said, "I heard that Miss Ling came back from the provincial capital. Why didn't I see her today?"

When Ren Fa heard Ren Tingting mentioned, he couldn't help but laugh and said, "My daughter went to the provincial capital to learn makeup, and when she came back, she asked everyone to help her. She really made me worry."

Then he raised his finger and said, "Look, my girl is here."

At this time, she was wearing a pink dress, a hat of the same color, delicate makeup, a playful ponytail, and two big lights on her chest that pushed the dress up high. (I think the low-cut dress in the movie is unlikely, because it was limited by the times and people of that era could not accept it)

Ren Tingting came over and called him daddy first. Ren Fa said, "Go say hello to Uncle Jiu and his apprentice." Then Ren Tingting called Uncle Jiu, and Uncle Jiu also said with emotion, "You've grown so big in a few years."

At this time, she looked at Jiang Li again and asked in surprise, "Brother Jiang, when did you come to Renjia Town?"

Jiang Li stretched out his right hand and they shook hands and said, "I came here today to accompany Master to discuss some matters with Master Ren!"

After hearing what Jiang Li said, she did not continue to ask, but sat down next to Ren Fa with a smile.

At this time, the waiter brought the menu and handed it to the four people. At this time, Ren Fa said, "You can order whatever you want to drink."

Ren Tingting said, "Give me a cup of coffee."

Because of Jiang Li's explanation yesterday, Uncle Jiu did not hesitate and said directly, "Have a cup of coffee."

Then he asked Jiang Li, "What would you like to drink?"

Jiang Li smiled and said to the waiter, "Please give us two cups of coffee, thank you."

Ren Fa saw this and asked directly, "I wonder if you have picked a good day for my father's reburial as I mentioned before."

Uncle Jiu advised in accordance with the ethics of a cultivator, "It is better to stay still than to act on this matter. Master Ren should reconsider it!"

Ren Fa said, "Don't worry, Uncle Jiu. I have thought it through. The Feng Shui master said that the coffin must be moved after 20 years. This will be good for our Ren family."

Seeing that he insisted, Uncle Jiu stopped trying to persuade him and said, "In that case, let's do it in three days. I've seen that the weather will be good in three days, which is suitable for digging the ground and opening the coffin."

Ren Fa asked again, "Then what should we prepare?"

Uncle Jiu said, "Master Ren, just prepare some strong laborers, and I will prepare the other things."

Because Wencai was not brought along this time, there were fewer surprises and both sides reached a consensus after just a few words.

At this time, the manager came to Ren Fa and said, "Mr. Ren, Huang Baiwan is here and he is over there."

Ren Fa stood up and said to Uncle Jiu, "I'm going to say hello to my friends. Please do as you please."

Uncle Jiu nodded and said, "Okay, okay."

Before leaving, he said to the manager, "Give them some egg tarts."

After Ren Fa left, the coffee came. Since Uncle Jiu was prepared, he didn't make any more jokes.