“Go wash the dishes,” Qi Shejiang instructed, “Do you know how to wash dishes?” “Yes, we do, good master.” The two ran off to wash the dishes, looking as if they were enjoying it, feeling as though the master already considered them family. Qi Guangling exclaimed, “Your master really has a flair for being in charge!
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The traditional master-disciple relationship was just like that; Qi Shejiang had no experience as a master himself, and it was all learned from his predecessors.
In the past, a master taught culinary skills, and the disciple helping out wasn’t taken seriously at all; back then, the master-disciple bond might have been even closer than that of relatives, as relatives might not even provide a meal. One needed to observe a disciple’s character in such life scenarios before deciding whether to pass on one’s ultimate skills.
Now, with appliances for everything, Mo Sheng and Qi Leyang wanted to show their eagerness to help, but there wasn’t much work to do, so they eventually emerged to chat with their elder.
Qi Shejiang asked about their family situation and told them to bring some New Year groceries for his family, as he and the two were bound to connect more in the future.
“Master, we saw that you were trending again today,” Mo Sheng recalled, “I really thought that looked like you, it wouldn’t be you and Zhang… Zhang Shibo, right?”
They knew that Qi Shejiang had a good relationship with Zhang Yue, who had even praised Qi Shejiang in front of others.
“It’s just them.” Xia Yiwei clicked his tongue, “Did you see? Your master only woke up at noon; he got back last night.”
The two laughed, “Haha, it really is you, Master!
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We had no idea you had such a close relationship with Zhang Shibo.” After saying that, they noticed their master smiling slightly, without saying anything, seeming to acknowledge it. “Alright, come to the study. Since you’re here, I’ll talk to you about the work,” Qi Shejiang said, seeing the joy on Mo Sheng and Qi Leyang’s faces. During the festive season, they had a few days off, yet they weren’t lazy; they were quite happy to be called to class on the first day of the new year. In the study, Qi Shejiang carefully explained a segment to the two disciples, then said, “Your skills in willow work still need a bit of improvement.” Qi Leyang felt embarrassed, “We agree, we feel we’ve embarrassed you too much in this regard.” “By the way, Master, speaking of willow work, can you teach us the disciples’ forms?” Mo Sheng inquired. “Do you also want to learn two styles?” Qi Shejiang smiled, “If you are willing to learn and can grasp it, I will teach.” Why wouldn’t they want to learn?
Receiving Qi Shejiang’s approval, the two felt immensely happy. “By the way, Master, can we talk about our master-disciple relationship to others?” Mo Sheng asked a bit shyly. “Why the sudden question?” Qi Shejiang asked. The two exchanged glances. To be honest, right after becoming disciples, they felt uncomfortable discussing it with outsiders, not due to any cliques but because Qi Shejiang was currently popular, and they were afraid of being accused of riding on his coattails. When Qi Shejiang appeared on television, their classmates were buzzing in the group, saying he might have gained entry into the Quyi Association due to intangible cultural heritage, but the xiangsheng sub-association wouldn’t take him, ‘Haiqing Tui’ stands as ‘Haiqing Tui’. Mo Sheng and Qi Leyang started arguing with them, “What are you grumbling about? That person is still being referred to as ‘Master Meng’ in family terms, while you guys are here trying to act like grandkids.”
Their classmates were exasperated, rolling their eyes, saying, “What have you been telling Qi Shejiang then? Oh, you’re working in the same production team? But does he know you?” That made the two unhappy, “Come on, how could he not know us? He’s our master!” And so, another round of bickering ensued… After hearing their explanation about the whole master-disciple connection, Qi Shejiang wasn’t bothered, “That’s the truth; there’s nothing to hide.” In his heart, he saw no issue with riding on popularity, just like he had realized when he first learned about his and Xia Yiwei’s fame and relationship; everything gained comes with something lost; one must bear the consequences. Since Qi Shejiang had just opened Weibo, he now opened it and followed their accounts. Later, Mo Sheng and the other had yet another round of heated discussions with their classmates, as some in the xiangsheng circle were not satisfied with Qi Shejiang taking on disciples at such a young age. As for the present, since Qi Shejiang had opened Weibo, he also uploaded a lot over the past days and only had the last two rounds of ‘Ten Questions and Answers’ left to upload. “Master types slowly, can you help me write a bit?” Qi Shejiang handed his phone to Mo Sheng. Mo Sheng: “……” Qi Leyang: “…… Wow, Master, you used to be so aloof, only sharing but not chatting.”
You’re not used to the input methods here in China, are you?” Qi Shejiang thought for a moment and admitted, “Fine, you write.” “Ahem, ‘Ten Questions and Answers’ describes a dialogue between Guan Yu and Diao Chan, covering various subjects…”
“Alright, publish it.”
Mo Sheng clicked send and saw the successful send notification.
In no time, comments began to flood in. Mo Sheng glanced at them and asked, “Master, do you want to look at the comments?”
“No need, the last two times didn’t have any fresh singing styles. I’ll check the reviews later,” Qi Shejiang said, “You guys drink some water and then perform a segment of Peking opera for me. I’ll take a look.”
“…Okay.”
.
.
Meng family.
“Shi Bo, Shi Ge, Shi Jie, Happy New Year!” Luo Xia smiled and greeted as soon as she entered, and everyone in the room stood up to respond, making the atmosphere lively.
“Luo Xia is here, quickly, sit down and have some tea,” Mr. Meng, Meng Jingyuan’s father, welcomed.
The two families have been family friends for generations, knowing each other since Xiao Yingyue’s time with old Mr. Meng. The younger generation may not be as close, but they still make sure to visit each other every year during the New Year. The Luo family isn’t as numerous as the Meng family; aside from Luo Xia, the other grandchildren are still out of town.
After chatting for a while, Luo Xia and Meng Jingyuan began discussing a mutual acquaintance, Qi Shejiang.
“Jesse is not bad; he can really imitate my grandfather well. I bet Meng Shige must have guided him a lot,” Luo Xia said.
Meng Jingyuan stroked his chin, “It has nothing to do with me; doesn’t he watch documentaries to learn?”
Luo Xia was taken aback, “That can’t be! Some of his life habits he imitates are also quite similar.”
The two looked at each other, both confused about who could have told him that.
Meng Jingyuan remembered something and said, “Oh, maybe his Chinese master taught him; it’s a generational teaching. You should have seen it; he learned a lot from past masters, and he mimics them quite accurately.”
With so many people during the New Year, the conversation naturally turned to this topic.
Luo Xia asked again, “Is Grandpa doing well?”
Meng Jingyuan’s father stood up and said, “He was in good spirits before and ate some meat. I’ll go tell Grandpa that Luo Xia is here.”
After a while, he came back out, “Grandpa is doing pretty well; he said to let Xia go in and have a chat.”
Only Luo Xia, along with him and Meng Jingyuan, entered the room, as Grandpa likes to keep the number of people low when resting.
