Chapter 98: The Apprentice Test

Hearing Li Xiangdong’s words, Hou San pointed at himself in surprise, “Me, take on an apprentice?”

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Li Xiangdong nodded, “Yes, do you want to?”

“Of course I want to! Every time I see Uncle Hai kick Erguaizi, I get so excited!”

“Having an apprentice to kick around whenever you feel like it, how enviable is that? But isn’t it a bit early for me to take on an apprentice at my age?”

As Hou San spoke, he even felt a little sorry for himself.

Li Xiangdong saw that Hou San was indeed interested, so he continued, “It’s not early at all. You said yourself that Uncle Hai kicks Erguaizi, but Erguaizi is still very filial to Uncle Hai after being kicked. Do you know why?”

Hou San said smugly, “Of course I know that. Erguaizi was saved by Uncle Hai when he was a child. Otherwise, who knows which mountain gully he’d be farming in now.”

Li Xiangdong shook his head, “What you said is only part of the reason.”

Hou San was puzzled, “Then what’s the other reason?”

Li Xiangdong exhaled a puff of smoke and said, “I think it’s because Erguaizi has been with Uncle Hai since he was a child, and their bond is deep. So every time Erguaizi gets beaten, he’s the first to coax Uncle Hai and make him happy.”

“Think about those old masters who take on apprentices halfway through. Aren’t many of them often angered to death by their own apprentices?”

“Is that so?”

Hou San scratched his head, recalling the masters and apprentices he had seen at the train station. “Brother Dong, what you said makes sense. It seems to be true.”

He suddenly became annoyed, “But to take on an apprentice, you have to take someone you know well. I want to take one on now, but where can I find one!?”

“What do you think of my second nephew? Didn’t you just say you liked him? Would you take him on as your apprentice?”

Li Xiangdong revealed his final plan. In fact, this was a win-win situation.

The first win was that Hou San’s family had strong connections. If he took Li Xiaotao as his apprentice, the family wouldn’t have to worry about Li Xiaotao’s future job.

The second win was that although Li Xiaotao was not very bright, he would be filial when he grew up. When Hou San got older, he would have a sincere apprentice to care for him.

As for the peace of mind, Li Xiangdong arranging for Li Xiaotao to become an apprentice was actually a form of pledge of allegiance.

Back then, Old Li had used a favor to get Deputy Director Zhang of the street office to arrange a job for him. Hou Jianshe had then taken the opportunity to ask him to look after his own child.

As a result, the two families were now connected, and Li Xiangdong was forced to join the Hou family faction.

So now, by sending his nephew to Hou San’s tutelage, Li Xiangdong was telling Hou Jianshe that he intended to stay on the Hou family’s boat for the long haul and would take good care of Hou San in the future.

For Hou Jianshe to be able to sit firmly in the position of head of the labor and capital department, he would definitely be able to understand Li Xiangdong’s intentions!

Ah Zhe, who had been silent all this time, simply thought that his childhood friend was planning to arrange a future for his foolish nephew.

He joined in the fun, “That’s right, Hou San. This way, you don’t even have to have your own son. You can start being happy every day in advance.”

“This…”

While Hou San was still hesitating, Li Xiaotao came in with Li Xiaobo and Li Xiaohai.

“Dad, I want to eat chicken.”

“Third Uncle, I want to eat too.”

Li Xiaohai and Li Xiaobo, who were following behind Li Xiaotao, started asking for food as soon as they entered the room.

“Eat my ass. You two, go and stand over there for me.”

Li Xiangdong picked up the feather duster and pointed to the corner of the wall. He didn’t have time to deal with them now. He would deal with them later.

Seeing the feather duster, Li Xiaobo and Li Xiaohai didn’t dare to ask for food anymore. They quickly ran to the corner and stood straight, not making a sound.

Li Xiaotao, the main character of the funeral drama, was now acting as if nothing had happened. He sidled up to Li Xiangdong with a grin.

“Third Uncle, I brought Xiaobo and Xiaohai to you. When are you going to give me a chicken wing?”

Li Xiangdong pushed his head away and asked, “Where’s your big brother? Why isn’t he here?”

Li Xiaotao replied, “My big brother said you were going to beat us, so he’s hiding in the room and won’t come out.”

Li Xiangdong tapped his head with the feather duster in his hand, “Oh, so you’re saying I’m going to beat you?”

Li Xiaotao rubbed his head and shook his head, “No, I listen to Third Uncle the most. Why would you beat me?”

At this moment, Hou San suddenly interjected, “If your third uncle really plans to beat you, will you run?”

Li Xiaotao looked at Hou San and retorted, “Why should I run?”

Hou San stared at him with his small eyes and pointed to the feather duster, “Because he’s going to beat you!”

Li Xiaotao sniffed and said nonchalantly, “So what if he beats me? What’s wrong with my third uncle hitting me a couple of times?”

Hearing this, Hou San was delighted. “Then what if I want to beat you?”

Li Xiaotao walked up to Hou San and stared at him intently, “Why would you want to beat me? My third uncle is my elder. He can beat me. If you dare to beat me, I’ll dare to beat you. What are you laughing at? Why don’t you try?”

This made Hou San even more delighted. “Then what if you’re my apprentice now, and I’m your master? Can I beat you then?”

Li Xiaotao snorted and said in a muffled voice, “If you’re my master, of course you can beat me. If I fight back, that would be disrespectful to my elders.”

Hou San was very satisfied with this answer. He felt goosebumps all over his body!

“Then what if someone wants to beat your master?”

Li Xiaotao cooperated and asked, “Who wants to beat my master?”

Hou San blurted out, “My dad.”

Li Xiaotao clenched his fists, “I’ll beat the shit out of him!”

“Good, good, good!”

Hou San stood up excitedly and said, “Brother Dong, I’ll take this apprentice!”

“…”

Li Xiangdong and Ah Zhe watched in stunned silence as the master-apprentice test drama unfolded before them.

So for Hou San, when taking on an apprentice, other things were not important. What was most important was whether the apprentice would fight back when beaten, and whether he could help him beat his own father!

Li Xiangdong was now a little apprehensive. This guy Hou San, was he really planning to let his foolish nephew beat his father?

Although Li Xiaotao was young, he was really strong!

If he were to face off against Hou Jianshe, it would depend on who made the first move. If Hou Jianshe made the first move, they would be evenly matched. But if it were Li Xiaotao, Hou Jianshe would be in trouble…

Ah Zhe, who was sitting on the side smoking and drinking water, was speechless after hearing this absurd conversation. “Hou San, are you taking on an apprentice? Are you looking for a hired thug?”

Hou San said contemptuously, “This is a test, do you understand? Would I really let my own apprentice beat my dad? Are you stupid, Ah Zhe?!”

Ah Zhe rolled his eyes at Hou San and muttered to himself, *If it’s a test, why were you so serious? When you heard Li Xiaotao say he would beat the shit out of your dad, you were so excited you almost jumped to the roof!*

Hou San looked at the water cup in front of him, “Brother Dong, I’ll take this apprentice. Is it time for the apprentice to serve tea to the master? Brother Dong, where’s your family’s tea? Go and get it.”

“I can go get the tea, but Hou San, you have to remember to tell Uncle Hou about you taking my nephew as your apprentice when you get home. After a while, we’ll pick a good day, and I’ll bring my nephew to your door.”

Li Xiangdong reminded Hou San. This kind of thing had to be done openly.

Seeing Hou San nod in agreement, he felt a little proud. The first step of changing his allegiance was showing initial results