newbobooks Chapter 64 Inquiring about the Martial Arts School
Chapter 64 Inquiring about the Martial Arts School
"Sir, these three rooms are your rooms. Please let us know if you need anything else. I'll get back to work now." The waiter led the guests to his room and then went off to attend to his needs.
Song Jiaojiao looked at the room in front of the door. There wasn't much in the room except for a 1.5-meter wooden bed, a small eight-immortal table, and two chairs by the window. Looking down from the window, she could see the lively scene on the street.
After Song Jiaojiao put her things away, she led everyone out of the inn and found a wonton stall by the roadside before they began their breakfast.
"Shopkeeper, four bowls... five bowls of wontons, please." Song Jiaojiao looked at Meng An, thought for a moment, and then ordered five bowls.
"Alright, please wait a moment, sir," the shopkeeper replied loudly.
It was past lunchtime, and there was no one else at the stall, so the five bowls of wontons were served quickly.
"Sir, here are your wontons. Please enjoy." An older woman said as she brought the wontons to the table.
Song Jiaojiao urged everyone to eat quickly and pushed two bowls in front of Meng An. Meng An scratched his head shyly but did not refuse.
After finishing her meal, Song Jiaojiao didn't rush to leave. She called the old lady over and asked, "Sir, what's wrong?"
Seeing the slightly nervous older woman in front of her, Song Jiaojiao smiled and said, "It's alright, Auntie, don't be nervous. The wontons are delicious; you can tell they're made with years of experience."
Upon hearing Song Jiaojiao's words, the old woman knew it wasn't a food issue. "Yes, our shop has been here for over twenty years, and we've been supporting our family with it."
"I knew it! This tastes just as good as the big restaurants." Song Jiaojiao continued chatting casually.
"I'm glad you like it, sir. You don't look like someone from the county, do you?"
"Auntie has a good eye; our group only arrived in the county today."
"Hey, it's because I've been doing this for a long time that I can remember some faces. These people don't look familiar to me, so I just asked."
The old woman spoke with a smile and a hint of pride.
"So, you're quite familiar with the county town, auntie." Song Jiaojiao's eyes lit up when she heard the old woman say this; she hadn't expected to find someone she knew so well right away.
"I have a general idea," the old lady said modestly. "Please feel free to ask me any questions, and I will answer them to the best of my knowledge."
"Thank you very much, Auntie. I've just arrived in the county and I'm really unfamiliar with the place. May I ask if there are any Sifanglou or Huichuntang in this county?" Song Jiaojiao cupped her hands to the old woman and asked.
"Yes, yes, that's a big restaurant in our area. Just go east along this street for about 500 meters, and you'll see it. Huichuntang is in the south of the county. You can ask anyone there. I heard that all the restaurants in the county with the name 'Sifang' are owned by the same person. I heard that from a customer, but I don't know if it's true." The old lady pointed to the road in front of her and said.
Just as Song Jiaojiao thought, restaurants are usually located in the center, and this square-shaped one probably belongs to the Wang family.
"Oh, ma'am, actually I came here mainly to find a martial arts school for my son. I wonder where the martial arts school in the county is located?"
"The martial arts school is to the north. That area is mostly schools, bookstores, and so on. Oh, right, there's also a security escort agency there," the old woman said, glancing at Song Jiaojiao before pausing.
"There are two martial arts schools in the county, one is the Li Family Martial Arts School, and the other is the Zhou Family Martial Arts School. The Li Family School charges a bit more and is a bit stricter, while the Zhou Family School is cheaper and has more lenient conditions. You can go and ask them."
Seeing that the older woman seemed to have more to say, Song Jiaojiao asked, "Auntie, is there a problem with these two martial arts schools?"
"There's nothing wrong with it, but I heard that the Li family martial arts school is going to torture its disciples. I only heard a customer mention it, but I don't know the specifics," the old woman whispered in Song Jiaojiao's ear.
Song Jiaojiao had a mental check and thought for a moment, "Thank you for telling me, Auntie. I feel more at ease now. Can you calculate how much the wontons cost?"
"A bowl of wontons costs 15 coins, and five bowls cost 75 coins."
Song Jiaojiao nodded, put eighty coins on the table, and led everyone to the martial arts school in the north.
Upon arriving at the north side, she saw two martial arts schools facing each other. After hearing what the old lady had just said, Song Jiaojiao decided to go to the Zhou family's house first.
As Song Jiaojiao and her companions entered the restaurant, the person behind the bar immediately asked...
"Gentlemen, is there something you need?"
Song Jiaojiao looked it over but couldn't see anything wrong, though she could hear some hitting sounds.
"I'd like to ask if they still accept apprentices here?"
"Who is it that has come to the martial arts school?" the person inside asked, looking at the three people behind Song Jiaojiao.
"These are the two," Song Jiaojiao said, pulling Wang Hefan and Xu Sen out.
The person inside looked them over and said, "The price here is 20 taels a year for bondage, with two holidays a year: seven days off for the autumn harvest and from the fifteenth of the twelfth lunar month to the tenth of the first lunar month for winter. Accommodation is 10 taels a year, and living expenses are 5 taels a month. If there are no problems, you can register."
The person inside said calmly, "May I go in and take a look?" Song Jiaojiao wanted to go to the backyard to check the situation.
The person inside glanced at Song Jiaojiao, pondered for a moment, and said, "Come with me. My surname is Zhou, you can call me Instructor Zhou."
Song Jiaojiao and her group followed them to the backyard, where they saw plum blossom stakes and stakes for hitting. There were about twenty people in the yard, mostly teenagers, with a few around ten years old. When they saw Song Jiaojiao and her group enter, they all stopped what they were doing and looked at them curiously.
The instructor noticed this and shouted, "What are you looking at? Have you memorized all the movements we taught you today? Get moving!"
The instructor's pointer cracked loudly, and the students sprang into action like mice before a cat.
Instructor Zhou then led Song Jiaojiao and the others to the canteen. "The canteen provides three meals a day. Breakfast consists of porridge, steamed buns, mantou, and eggs. Lunch consists of two meat dishes, one vegetable dish, and a soup. Dinner consists of dumplings, wontons, and noodles."
The cafeteria environment looked alright; the floor was fairly clean, and I didn't see any oil stains or anything like that.
After passing the canteen, you'll find the dormitories. Instructor Zhou continued, "The dormitories are for eight people a room, and everyone washes up in the same place. Apart from the canteen, the martial arts school is mostly staffed by men. Martial arts practitioners inevitably carry injuries, so the school also has basic medicinal herbs, which will be charged according to the situation."
Just past the dormitory was a simple medical room, where a student was applying medicine and was wincing in pain.
After inspecting the backyard, Manager Zhou led Song Jiaojiao and the others out. "You've seen the situation here. Whether or not you want to enroll is up to you."
Song Jiaojiao thought she should take a closer look, so she said to Instructor Zhou, "Thank you very much, Instructor Zhou. We'll go back and think about it."
After finishing her sentence, Song Jiaojiao led everyone out of the Zhou Family Martial Arts School and into the Li Family Martial Arts School across the street to ask around.