Recruiting New Apprentices
By the time they arrived at Qingmiao City, Yuan Yu was almost frozen solid.
Bai Lu lifted the curtain of the carriage and saw ice had formed in Yuan Yu's hair. She was stunned for a moment, about to ask why he didn't warm up inside the carriage despite the cold, then suddenly understood.
It turned out Yuan Yu noticed her discomfort, so he deliberately said the carriage was stuffy and spent the whole way outside in the cold wind, pretending to be carefree as he joked and laughed with her.
"Sister Bai Lu, time to get off!" Yuan Yu said cheerfully, shaking the ice and snow from his hair, stamping his feet and rubbing his reddened hands.
Bai Lu looked at his smiling face and suddenly felt a lump in her throat. She lowered her head and jumped down from the carriage.
It was just past the first month of the lunar year, and most of the taverns in Qingmiao City had opened. The two found a warm tavern, wrote out recruitment notices with paper and brush, took some reward money, and had someone help post them.
"I don't know if these notices will work, time is tight, so it's a last-ditch effort," Bai Lu said.
Yuan Yu nodded, also wondering if the people they recruited would be reliable.
Outside, the wind and snow had lessened. Several young men who had received money posted the apprentice recruitment notices on the bulletin boards of Qingmiao City.
But they didn't notice that as soon as they posted the notices and left, someone immediately tore them down.
Half an hour later, the young men returned to report that all the notices had been posted.
"Let's wait and see, maybe someone will respond," Yuan Yu said just as a boy about eleven or twelve, dressed plainly and somewhat raggedly, walked in.
The boy's eyes immediately landed on Yuan Yu and Bai Lu. He said, "Are you two recruiting cooking apprentices?"
Yuan Yu and Bai Lu exchanged glances. "Someone came so quickly?"
Yuan Yu and Bai Lu conducted an initial interview and screening, learning that the boy was a wandering refugee whose family had all starved to death. He just wanted to find work to earn a meal.
Seeing the boy was alert, with clear eyes and speech, Bai Lu and Yuan Yu thought he was decent and decided to keep him.
After a while, a man about twenty years old came, also saying he wanted to be an apprentice.
Throughout the afternoon, several groups came. After Bai Lu and Yuan Yu screened them, they kept four—three boys and one girl, aged between eight and fourteen, including the first boy who arrived.
After selecting the apprentices, Bai Lu and Yuan Yu decided to take the four of them back home by carriage and let Su Li choose.
On the carriage, the four were both unfamiliar and curious. At first, everyone was reserved, but later they chatted away, calling Bai Lu "Sister Bai Lu" and Yuan Yu "Brother Yuan Yu."
When the carriage arrived home, the four followed Bai Lu and Yuan Yu into the house obediently, where they met Mrs. Wang on the way.
Mrs. Wang sized up the four and nodded at Bai Lu: "Good picks, I think they're quite fine."
Bai Lu smiled brightly, "Thank you, Old Madam, for the compliment. I'll take them to let the Madam have a look right away."
Su Li was in her room with Yuan Bao, thinking about the academy. Hearing Bai Lu ask her to choose apprentices, she exclaimed to Yuan Bao, "Wow, Bai Lu is getting more and more efficient!"
Yuan Bao smiled warmly at her, "That's because the lady taught well and has good judgment."
So Su Li and Yuan Bao went together to see the new apprentices Bai Lu had picked for her.
As soon as they entered the hall, Yuan Bao's gaze fell on the four, a trace of approval flashing in her eyes: Xiao Yun had really picked well. These four were all top fighters among the Xiao family’s secret guards. Having them by Su Li’s side would make her much safer.