Chapter 3: Worship (Part 1)
Let’s not worry about Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling for now. It is urgent for Zhang Xuanning to worship Master Su as his godfather, and in ancient times, it was a big event.
Although there was not much time left as they planned to establish the father-son relationship before the first day of the new year and then celebrate the New Year, Master Su still held the ceremony in a grand manner. We will not go into the details of the process for now, but on December 18th, when Zhang Xuanning got up early and changed into new clothes, there was a commotion inside and outside Master Su's courtyard soon.
"Brother, come out, everyone is almost here." The one who came to call was a man in his thirties, leaning on a cane.
Zhang Xuanning hurried out of the house, rushed forward to support him, and said, "How dare I ask my brother to come and call me in person? I don't deserve it. I don't deserve it."
This person was Master Su's biological son, Su Ling. After hearing this, Su Ling smiled: "Today is special. According to etiquette, this is how it should be. This is your sister-in-law, and your niece and nephew."
The daughter was probably about ten years old, and the son was only two or three years old. They greeted each other and spoke.
While chatting and laughing, they had already walked to the large room in the middle. Although they were not going to change their surnames this time and therefore did not invite many people from the clan, a few clan members did come, and quite a few brothers from the gang also came, but most of them were incense masters from nearby. At this moment, there was a commotion among the crowd outside.
A man stepped forward and whispered something to Master Su. Master Su's face changed and he said quickly, "Come, come with me to welcome Master Shen."
"Ah, even Hall Master Shen is here? Master Su really has some face!" Some people were already whispering. Zhang Xuanning looked over and saw more than 20 people escorting one person. When the person arrived in front of him, a voice came over: "Hey, Brother Su, I'm here to see you on behalf of the gang leader. The gang leader heard that you adopted a son, so even though he was busy, he still asked me to come and see you!"
"Oh, thank you for your concern, Gang Leader, and thank you for Hall Shen's concern. I would be willing to die for you and never be able to repay you." Master Su stepped forward and bowed deeply. He was an old man who had followed the Gang Leader since he started his business and had once served as a deputy hall leader. Of course, he did not need to kneel.
Zhang Xuanning couldn't do that, so he immediately stepped forward and knelt on the ground: "Zhang Xuanning, I pay my respects to Master Shen."
“Hey, Brother Su and I are old brothers. Since you are loyal to Brother Su, just call me Uncle Shen.”
Master Shen smiled and personally reached out to help Zhang Xuanning up. Zhang Xuanning glanced at Master Su and saw him nod, then he stood up and called out again, "Uncle Shen."
"Very good, well, he is indeed a handsome young man, a young hero, Master Su, you have a good eye!" Master Shen looked at him and said with a smile: "There is another rising talent in the gang, haha."
Of course Zhang Xuanning didn't dare to say anything. While they were greeting other people, he looked at Hall Master Shen. Shen Beichang was actually the head of Fengzhu Hall. He had two thousand men who were brave enough to kill and fight. His influence spread to more than twenty counties nearby. He was really in a high position and had great power. The twenty guards around him were solemn and dignified, and they were obviously good at martial arts. However, he was only about forty years old, and even had a sense of elegance on his face.
After a few words, seeing that most people had gathered and the time was almost up, he gave an order and everyone automatically lined up according to their status and seniority.
"My dear relatives, brothers, and friends, today I am here in front of everyone to adopt Zhang Xuanning as my adopted son. Zhang Xuanning, come here. In the presence of our ancestors, brothers in the gang, and the leader of the hall, I hope you can strictly abide by the family tradition and the gang rules."
Being uneducated is being uneducated. Master Su turned a proper ceremony of recognition of relatives into something like a gang joining ceremony. Although he thought so in his heart, Zhang Xuanning looked very respectful. He stepped forward, knelt down in front of Master Su in full view of everyone, and kowtowed three times and nine times, performing the ceremony of recognition of relatives.
Then he looked up and said, "Father, I will follow your instructions."
As he spoke, he also served tea. Mr. Su laughed and took a sip, and the ceremony was completed.
"Congratulations, congratulations!" As soon as the ceremony was completed, countless people came forward to celebrate, and the originally quiet hall immediately became bustling.
Then comes the singing ceremony.
The first thing was the gift from the gang leader. Shen Beichang coughed, stood up, and said slowly: "Master Su is our predecessor. He has been with the gang leader since he started his business. The gang leader misses him very much. Master Su's son Su Ling also lost a leg for the gang. It can be said that both father and son fought for the gang, shed blood, and made contributions. The gang leader has not forgotten these. When he heard that Master Su had adopted a son, he was very happy. Although he was very busy and could not come in person, he still entrusted me to meet our gang leader's rising talent."
These words were spoken on behalf of the gang leader Yin Kaishan. Everyone immediately fell silent and listened quietly. This majestic scene suddenly showed the majesty of the master of ten thousand people. At this moment, Zhang Xuanning deeply understood what kind of power the Bamboo Flower Gang represented.
Seeing that everyone was listening solemnly, Shen Beichang was very satisfied. He smiled and said softly, "The gang leader asked me to give you 100 taels of silver, 10 pieces of silk, and a volume of sword manual as a gift."
"Thank you so much, boss. Thank you so much, boss. You really haven't forgotten me!" Master Su was fifty years old, but at this moment, he burst into tears and knelt on the ground. Zhang Xuanning didn't know whether this was a true expression of emotion or an act, but he had to kneel down as well.
This is the leader of the gang, so of course he has to bow. Shen Beichang waited for him to bow three times before he smiled and said, "This is nothing. Although our gang is in Yangzhou City, we don't have a rudder. The gang leader said that since Master Su is in Yangzhou and has adopted an adopted son, we should set up an incense association under the jurisdiction of Fengzhu Hall. Zhang Xuanning will be appointed as the deputy incense master. If he does a good job, he will be promoted to the main incense master in one or two years. Nephew, why don't you thank me for your kindness?"
"Thank you so much, gang leader , and hall master!" Zhang Xuanning fell to the ground and bowed deeply.
"Okay, okay!" Shen Beichang said with a smile, looking up at everyone, and then said: "Everyone stand up, come on, we are brothers, do we really need such a big gift? Today we are not talking about official business, but friendship. Nephew, why don't you help your father stand up?"
"Yes, Uncle Shen!" Zhang Xuanning responded, bowed again, then stood up and helped Master Su up.
At this moment, an attendant stepped forward and whispered something to Shen Beichang. This was actually a naked hint. Shen Beichang frowned slightly and said, "Oh, there is something going on in the hall again."
Master Su was of course tactful and kept saying, "I have already finished the ceremony. The hall master has thousands of brothers in his entourage, so official business is more important. I will not bother the hall master any more. Xuan Ning, come and toast to your uncle Shen."
"Okay, okay, I will definitely drink this glass of wine, haha."
At that moment, Zhang Xuanning respectfully offered a glass of wine, and Shen Beichang drank it readily. After drinking, he even patted his shoulder affectionately and said, "You are so young and you are the deputy incense master. You have a bright future. Work hard!"
"Yes, my nephew is too young and I am not thoughtful in doing things. I look forward to Uncle Shen's teachings and care for him in the future!" Zhang Xuanning said so, and then respectfully escorted him out the door. When Shen Beichang turned around and left, he stood there respectfully until he could no longer see him, and then he went back out the door.
"Well, not bad." When he came back, Master Su said with a smile.
