The next morning, while his father Xu Qinghe had not yet left for work, Xu Nian’an hurried home to discuss his apprenticeship.
"This is great news!" Xu Qinghe was beaming with pride; his own son was going to become a doctor.
"Then let’s bring the apprenticeship gifts today."
Xu Qinghe couldn’t wait. His son was making something of himself. Now that he had found a teacher and would later pass the medical college entrance exams, he would be a real doctor. And doctors not only heal the sick and save lives but can also earn good money.
"Dad, don’t rush. I still have classes today. I was thinking of going this Sunday when I’m free," Xu Nian’an explained and then turned to Ji Ying, "Mom, I already made arrangements with Grandpa Du, my future master, that I would pay a formal visit to apprentice with him this Sunday."
"Agreed." Ji Ying naturally wouldn’t object. She had inquired about Xu Nian’an’s aspirations earlier and knew he wanted to become a doctor. As his mother, she naturally wouldn’t object. She looked a bit worriedly at Xu Qinghe and asked, "Qinghe, what do you think we should give as the apprenticeship gift?"
Du Chang was also worried about what to give as a gift for meeting his disciple.
"Yicheng, what do you think I should give as a gift?" Du Chang was at a loss. He couldn’t just give a few medical books as a meeting gift, could he?
Pei Yicheng pondered for a moment, then suggested, "He’s about to sit for the college entrance exams, why not a fountain pen?"
He remembered that he had bought many fountain pens for his grandfather who also liked collecting them. Their house was filled with fine pens.
Du Chang’s eyes lit up instantly, and he praised, "You always think fast."
Giving a fountain pen was a good omen, wishing him academic progress and success. Whether it was for becoming his disciple or for the upcoming college entrance exams, the fountain pen was indispensable.
At the same time, it also conveyed Du Chang’s earnest expectations for his future disciple – hoping Xu Nian’an would write with integrity and live honorably, living up to the profession of a doctor.
A week flew by in the blink of an eye.
Early on the weekend.
Xu Qinghe specially took the day off from work, and with the apprenticeship gifts in hand, the whole family arrived at the Du’s early.
The Xu family mobilized all its members and arrived early at Du Chang’s place.
Unsure about what to buy for the apprenticeship gift, since no one had been through the apprenticeship experience and didn’t know what presents to give, they finally brought together everyone’s suggestions: a bottle of fine liquor, two pounds of meat, biscuits and canned goods for eating, and they even specially bought a suit of clothes tailored for Du Chang’s size.
It was a Sun Yat-sen suit, which Du Chang liked to wear on regular days.
Seeing their full sincerity, Du Chang wondered if the pen set he had prepared was good enough.
After the apprenticeship ceremony, Xu Nian’an affectionately called him "master" time and again.
Xu Qinghe and Ji Ying exchanged looks and felt very relieved.
Both families enjoyed a lively lunch together, with Xu Nianhua, Ji Ying, and Zhou He cooking up a sumptuous feast that everyone praised endlessly.
After the apprenticeship was complete, Xu Nian’an suddenly found his daily tasks multiplying.
In addition to the intense revision for senior year of high school, he also had to learn medical knowledge from Du Chang, who threw various medical books at Xu Nian’an to study.
Xu Nian’an wished there were forty-eight hours in his day, or that he could split himself in two.
After a few months of cramming ancient poetry and formulas, Xu Nianhua’s marks had slowly caught up, and her foreign language skills were gradually improving, from eighty to eighty-five, and then to ninety, until later on, she scored above ninety in every exam. She became the student with the best foreign language results in Gaoliang County No. 1 High School.