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墨書 Inktalez
Ziyan looked at Principal Hong, but Hong Gang shifted his gaze to Leader—Ziyan.
Ziyan nodded and joked, "It seems that today Principal Hong has to prepare a feast for everyone. By the way, it's on Principal Hong."
"Uh, heh heh... alright, I'll do whatever the leader says."
Hong Gang immediately felt a bit embarrassed and chuckled awkwardly.
"Principal Hong, actually? I think you shouldn't be called the leader anymore," Elder Yan Laoguai said meaningfully as he looked at Hong Gang.
"...???"
Everyone was taken aback, even Ziyan was slightly stunned.
Seeing this situation, Yan Laoguai let out an exaggerated "heh heh" laugh and then said, "Hong Gang, you really are a pure technical talent! You became the principal of the academy today with many disciples around you. But have you forgotten who taught and guided you to achieve such a breakthrough in your culinary skills?"
"Of course it was the leader."
Hong Gang immediately replied without hesitation, his voice loud and clear.
"Then that's settled!"
Yan Laoguai casually said a few words, then fixed his gaze on Ziyan with a certain expectation.
However, by this point in their conversation, Ziyan's intuition began to clear up! It seemed that Yan Laoguai wanted to awaken Hong Gang from his slumber.
To be honest, Hong Gang really was a technical talent and still hadn't caught on.
Looking at Hong Gang like this, Ziyan couldn't help but want to laugh!
For a moment, the atmosphere in the room became particularly strange and tense.
Hong Gang felt a strange and inexplicable sensation regarding Yan Laoguai's words, as if he were in a fog.
Under everyone's gaze, he appeared somewhat embarrassed, his face flushed as he managed to say a few sentences: "Please enlighten me, Great Elder!"
"Ha ha..."
At this moment, Yuwen Yu could no longer hold back and burst into laughter.
He then interjected, "Master, if you have something to say, just speak plainly to Principal Hong. He has been with me for a full seven years; I know him too well. How could he dare to think in that direction?"
"…"
Upon hearing his former leader's words, Hong Gang was even more confused.
"Sigh! What a fool!"
Yan Laoguai was almost driven mad by Hong Gang's lack of comprehension. Shaking his head, he said, "You fool, although your cooking used to be decent, your progress in such a short time is astonishing. Without the Sect Leader, would you have this natural transformation today?"
"Of course not!"
Hong Gang readily accepted this line of questioning.
"This kind of open-handed teaching usually only occurs between master and disciple. You can't understand such a simple principle?"
Yan Laoguai, in exasperation, felt an overwhelming desire to rush forward and knock some sense into him.
"…Are you saying?"
At this point, Hong Gang finally had an epiphany, as if struck by lightning. However, when he turned to look at Ziyan, who was sitting comfortably in his chair, his confidence immediately plummeted.
He lowered his head and said, "Thank you for the reminder, Great Elder, but I don't have that kind of Fortune."
“Fortune?”
Ziyan put down the teacup in his hand. Why did those two words sound so strange in his ears?
“Uh? Sect Leader, please don’t mind. Subordinate means, how could Subordinate at this age be worthy of being the disciple of the Sect Leader?”
Hong Gang also instantly felt that his wording was slightly problematic and hurriedly explained again.
“Who says you are not worthy? As long as you Hong Gang dare to call me Thank you for everything you have done for this Sect Leader, I am very satisfied. today, I will immediately accept you as my first disciple, oh no, it should be my senior disciple. In the future, I might take in more disciples. How about that?”
If he could take Hong Gang as his senior disciple, Ziyan would certainly be pleased. If it weren't for the Elder bringing this up today, he would never have thought about it due to Hong Gang's age.
He originally intended to cultivate more people belonging to him, and the Elder's casual remark truly fulfilled his wish. Because in this ancient era, the bond between master and disciple really followed the saying of being a teacher for life and a father for life.
As long as Hong Gang acknowledged him as a master today, he would surely pledge his loyalty to him in the future.
Just as Ziyan was lost in thought, he heard Yan Laoguai urging Hong Gang: “Hong Gang, what are you waiting for? Hurry up!”
Then, in the next second, everyone witnessed this scene—Hong Gang immediately knelt down with a “thud” and bowed his head: “Master above, please allow your disciple to pay respects. Disciple Hong Gang bows to you.”
“Haha…”
Clap clap…
Some people laughed happily for Hong Gang, while others applauded.
Ziyan remained calm and composed at the top, unlike when he faced those ten or so boxes of Silver, where he had shown some hesitation regarding responsibility.
Ziyan then decided to give him one last test: “Wait! Do you know that once this kneeling ceremony is over today, your little life will be handed over to me? Also, your responsibilities will be much greater than before. How about this! I’ll give you one last chance to think it over carefully.”
Below, while still kneeling and bowing his head, Hong Gang was suddenly stopped by Ziyan. He widened his eyes and stared intently at Ziyan.
After listening, he immediately spoke again without hesitation: "As long as Master does not mind the occasional foolishness of the disciple, I, Hong Gang, vow to serve Master faithfully from now on. If I, Hong Gang, ever go against this intention in the future, I will die a terrible death."
Wow! What a fierce oath!
In truth, Ziyan was quite resistant to such oaths, but in this era, people held them in high regard. What could she do? She could only go along with their customs.
However, there was one thing she admired: as long as people dared to swear an oath in this era, 99.9% of them would keep their promises and commitments.
Thus, this was indeed a direct and effective way to bind her subordinate.
Next, Ziyan smiled brightly at Hong Gang: "Well, as long as you have made up your mind, that's good enough. I have never been one to force others."
At the same time, during the conversation between Ziyan and Hong Gang, Hong Gang's former direct leader, Qi Yu, immediately poured a cup of tea for Hong Gang and handed it to him.
Of course, this cup of tea was not meant for Hong Gang to drink himself.
His purpose was clear: this was a cup of apprenticeship tea, the first cup offered by the disciple to the master.
The person who drank the tea handed over by another would acknowledge that person as their master.
Ziyan understood this principle well, so she quietly waited for Hong Gang to present the cup of tea to her for drinking. This way, the apprenticeship ceremony would be completed.
As Ziyan watched Hong Gang calmly, she noticed that he did not act foolishly at that moment.
Instead, when he took the cup of tea from Yuwen Yu's hand, he immediately raised it to align with his head.
This was the etiquette of serving tea from juniors to seniors or teachers in this era.
Thus, Ziyan received the cup of apprenticeship tea from Hong Gang with a smile that also conveyed a sense of seriousness. She gently took a sip and then handed the cup back to Hong Gang so he could place it back in its original position.
With that, the ceremony was complete!
Next, everything returned to normal.
“Congratulations to the Sect Leader on acquiring the first disciple!”
The Grand Elder, along with the other two Elders and his disciple Yuwen Yu, immediately congratulated the Sect Leader, who was Ziyan.
“Hmm, no need for formalities. It seems you all came prepared today?”
Ziyan joked casually.
Everyone laughed together.
Ziyan then turned her gaze back to her disciple Hong Gang: “In that case, disciple Hong Gang, listen to my command.”
“Disciple Hong Gang is here, please give your orders, Master.”
Hong Gang immediately clasped his fists and awaited orders.
Ziyan promptly issued her command: “Go! Call your disciples to the school’s back garden to prepare a lavish feast for me and the Elders. Today I’m in a great mood, so you must personally make a portion of each of your signature dishes to present at the table and bring me honor. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Master!”
Upon hearing this, Hong Gang respectfully acknowledged and then quickly left with one of his students to prepare for the feast in the back garden.
Once Hong Gang had disappeared, Ziyan turned her attention to the Elders. She continued, “It seems today went as you all expected?”
“Hehehe! Sect Leader, you flatter us; it was purely coincidental. Of course, this is also due to Director Hong's talent.”
Yan Laoguai spoke on behalf of everyone.
“Hmm, but Hong Gang is indeed a promising talent.”
Ziyan thought for a moment and nodded with deep feeling.
"Well then, let's go for a walk in the back garden. Why stay cooped up in this room?"
As Ziyan spoke, she had already raised her gaze and stood up to look at her beloved, who had been quietly by her side, saying nothing until this moment.
Everything was understood without words; the latter naturally understood what her Beloved Child meant.
So, he lazily and unhurriedly stood up, casually adjusting his robe before extending his arm toward Ziyan.
Immediately, Ziyan confidently and calmly linked her arm with his.
Next, they all went downstairs and headed directly to the academy's back garden.
When they arrived at the back garden at a leisurely pace, they saw several new teachers from the school setting things up in a Pavilion.
Seeing this scene, Ziyan couldn't help but feel delighted again. However, it was only for a brief moment; she didn't expect that Hong Gang was somewhat slow in certain aspects, yet he had grasped one of her greatest passions.
That was her long-standing enjoyment of eating, drinking, and savoring wine and dishes in such a harmonious environment.
This scene was something Ziyan greatly cherished. It seemed that Hong Gang was quite willing to put in effort; after all, if he were someone who didn't want to invest any thought at all, how could he become a renowned chef and win her favor?
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