Of course, she didn’t mention the incident with the stinky tofu that had everyone gagging. It was in line with her usual incompetence in everything except for having a pretty face, so winning people over with her poor cooking was consistent with her character.

Proudly, Mrs. Zheng held Shen Cui’s hand and said, “I knew you were clever since you were little, following me. Your father used to say that girls don’t need to learn cooking, but I insisted you learn. I never expected that today, our daughter, with her terrible cooking skills, could still have such good fortune.”

Pausing, Mrs. Zheng still couldn’t shake off her worry. “But this challenge with that surname Lao…”

“Is this Mr. Lao really reliable?”

After saying this, she didn’t look at Shen Cui but instead turned to Shen Da and Shen Er. After all, they were men who worked, so they were more informed about such matters than the women who stayed at home.

As it turned out, Lao Buyu had quite a reputation in the city. Especially Shen Da and Shen Er, one was in charge, and the other was a cook. They interacted with people from all walks of life and had heard many complaints from those who lost to him in competitions and ended up giving him money for nothing.

Out of curiosity, they had asked around and found out that Lao Buyu was indeed a scholar who had passed the imperial examination, a truly talented individual.

Mrs. Zheng finally relaxed upon hearing this. Then, when Shen Cui mentioned performing the ceremony to become a disciple, Mrs. Zheng boasted confidently, “I know all about these things. When your two brothers went to the city to become disciples, I personally sought advice from others. You don’t even have to wait until tomorrow. Your second brother has been a cook for so many years and is familiar with all kinds of merchants. Tonight, I’ll have everything prepared for you. Tomorrow, we’ll set up two tables at home and invite that old lady from the Chen family over to show her who’s boss.”

Shen Cui smiled and nodded. She had come to the Shen family specifically to relay this message and ask Mrs. Zheng to help arrange the formalities.

As for the other matter, she pondered for a moment before saying to everyone, “It’s good to have a lively celebration, but let’s not hold it at home. Let’s do it this way…”

Everyone in the Shen family was immersed in the joyous atmosphere and naturally agreed with her arrangements.

Early the next morning, as the sky began to light up with a hint of crab-shell blue, the empty streets were only occupied by night watchmen preparing to return home and workers pouring out night incense.

The soldiers guarding the city gate changed shifts, and the heavy city gate slowly opened.

At the same time, the door of the Lao family’s small house also opened a crack. Lao Buyu, dressed neatly with a small bundle hanging from his arm, cautiously observed the situation outside.

Seeing that there was no one around, Lao Buyu cautiously slipped out of the door.

However, before he could step out with his other foot, he saw two burly young men suddenly emerge from the corner.

These two were none other than Shen Cui’s two brothers.

“Who are you?” Lao Buyu was startled and asked, clutching his chest.

Shen Er was nimble with his hands but not very articulate, while Shen Da was eloquent. He quickly stepped forward and said, “Master, please don’t be alarmed. We are the Shen brothers. The other day, you mentioned needing assistance for your students, and they happen to be our nephews. Yesterday, our younger sister came home and said she had dirtied your place, so we’ve come to help you tidy up.”

As he spoke, Shen Da’s eyes fell on the bundle in Lao Buyu’s hand. “Are you preparing to go on a journey, Master?”

No matter how thick-skinned Lao Buyu was, he blushed instantly when asked this, “Uh, no, I’m just preparing a small gift for the children.”

Shen Da waved his hand, “Master, you’re too polite. It’s already a great kindness for you to accept our nephews without any conditions. You take your things back inside and rest for a while. We’ll clean up the house for you.”

Lao Buyu naturally insisted there was no need, but when it came to strength, he couldn’t contend with the two men who were accustomed to hard work. Reluctantly, he was pushed back into the house.

The courtyard had been used as a spittoon by many people the day before, and although it had been hastily cleaned, it was still not thoroughly cleaned.

Shen Da and Shen Er had both spent many years as apprentices in the city and were not afraid of dirt. They immediately started helping to clean up.

In addition, the stinky tofu that had been stuffed into the kitchen the previous night, the brothers learned of its power from Shen Cui and brought cloth to cover their noses and mouths. They took it out of the kitchen and, not daring to discard it randomly, dug a small hole in the courtyard and buried it there.

Lao Buyu listened inside the house as they swept the floor with brooms, splashed water in the courtyard, and then swept again with brooms.

Half an hour passed before the noise outside gradually died down.

Lao Buyu couldn’t sit still any longer and came out of the house, saying, “Thank you, brothers. I’m going to find your nephews’ home now.”

Shen Da and Shen Er had already put down their cleaning tools. Shen Da waved his hand and said, “You don’t need to worry about finding them; we’ve arranged everything for you. Please come with us.”

Helpless, Lao Buyu was once again escorted out of the door by the two men.

However, instead of taking Lao Buyu back to Tea Pot Alley or to Shuiyun Village, Shen Da and Shen Er led him to Academy Street.

Academy Street was where scholars and students did their business. Besides selling stationery and books, there were also many restaurants and taverns.

At the corner of the street was a small restaurant, which, due to its excellent location and affordable prices, was very popular among students.

Although it wasn’t yet lunchtime, the restaurant’s entrance was already crowded with people.

Before Lao Buyu could understand what was going on, the two brothers from the Shen family had brought him to the front of the restaurant.

At the entrance of the restaurant, beside the main road of Academy Street, there stood a signboard with red paper, bearing a few large characters: “Congratulations to Master Lao Buyu for accepting the student Mu Hanshan.”

Most of the people gathered at the entrance were students, who didn’t know who Mu Hanshan was, but they all knew that Lao Buyu had organized a competition in the city that had never failed.

Today, seeing such a large notice saying that Lao Buyu had accepted a disciple was quite surprising to them.

“Here comes Master Lao!”

Someone shouted, and then Mrs. Zheng, Mr. Shen, Shen Cui, and others came out of the small restaurant.

At the same time, the people inside the restaurant were also ready, and they brought out a table.

On the table were six high-bottomed porcelain plates, each containing dried meat, longan, celery, lotus seeds, red dates, and red beans, all tied with red silk ribbons – the six rituals of becoming a disciple.

With a splash, a portrait of the venerable Master was unfolded and hung beside the six rituals.

At this moment, Mu Er Pang came out of the restaurant with a cup of hot tea. He knelt down in front of Lao Buyu with a thud and said loudly, “Student Mu Hanshan presents tea to Master.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the waiter from the restaurant came out and distributed candy from a sugar jar to passersby. Although the candy was just pieces of rock candy, not worth much, it was considered auspicious in the context of accepting disciples and celebrating such a joyous occasion.

The onlookers all reached out to take some candy and then congratulated Lao Buyu one after another.

“Congratulations, Master Lao!”

“Master Lao, great joy!”

Due to this series of lively events, the merchants and pedestrians on Academy Street almost came to a halt.

Amidst the chorus of congratulations, Lao Buyu, with a stiff expression, even had a moment of confusion, as if wondering how he ended up accepting a disciple and making it seem like he, an old bachelor, was the center of attention.

However, despite his momentary confusion, everyone was still waiting to see what would happen next, so he had no choice but to drink the cup of tea offered by Mu Er Pang as a gesture of accepting him as a disciple.

At the same time, the silent system reacted.

The system prompted that the cross-level task of selecting a renowned teacher had been completed.

Received a cross-level reward of 300 shopping points.

Data for the renowned teacher Lao Buyu has been generated.

While Lao Buyu was drinking his tea, Mrs. Zheng was whispering to Shen Cui, “Girl, this teacher doesn’t seem very reliable. Your elder brother just told me that he’s exactly as you imagined. He was ready to run away early this morning. With such a person, even if he has real talent, can he devote himself to teaching our Er Pang wholeheartedly?”

Mrs. Zheng’s concern was something Shen Cui had already considered when she arranged everything this morning after the competition with Lao Buyu the previous day.

Shen Cui probably didn’t expect to see Lao Buyu’s data until after completing this task.

But the system was still not fully satisfied, so she couldn’t ask questions now. She just opened the semi-transparent screen and checked Lao Buyu’s personal qualities. Leaving aside factors like age, height, weight, etc., it turned out that his charisma was remarkably low, at only 65 points, while the other four indicators were all in the 90s.

After quickly scanning through the information, Shen Cui reassured Mrs. Zheng, “Mother, what you’re thinking, I’ve already thought of it. That’s why I had a backup plan.”

As she spoke, she looked towards the street corner, a smile playing on her lips. “Look, our backup plan has arrived.”