Eternal madness

Chapter 57 Gold and Silver Mountains (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

When Manager Fang first encountered a craftsman, he was determined to keep Zhang Laifu at all costs.

Zhang Laifu waved his hand: "We agreed that I wouldn't let you lose money. We can discuss the wages later."

Shopkeeper Fang hurriedly agreed: "Friend, please let me see the apprenticeship certificate."

"I didn't bring my graduation certificate with me." Zhang Laifu didn't have a graduation certificate, and his master didn't live to see that day.

Shopkeeper Fang's smile faded slightly: "That's a bit... So, who is your master?"

"It's not convenient to disclose." Zhang Laifu didn't want to talk about Wang Tiaodeng's matter. After all, Wang Tiaodeng had just died at his hands, and if he got involved, it would arouse suspicion from the gang.

Little did he know that Zhang Laifu's actions had already violated the rules of the gang.

The accountant chuckled: "Manager, would you dare hire someone like that?"

Shopkeeper Fang was at a loss for words: "My friend, you can't put me in such a difficult position. If you don't tell me about the graduation certificate and the sect, the guild will definitely not tolerate me if I hire you."

A day laborer named Yang Enxiang, who was standing nearby, noticed something amiss: "Boss, you know exactly what kind of price those craftsmen charge. There must be a reason why they're willing to come here."

The accountant snorted: "Once the guild finds out about this, they won't care about the reasons; they'll still tear down our signboard and smash our shop!"

The day laborer rolled his eyes at the accountant: "Then don't let the guild know. If you want to get rich, you have to have the guts. If you're afraid of everything, you'll only ever earn enough to make ends meet."

The accountant patted the abacus: "That's better than not being able to earn enough to make a living!"

The two were still arguing when the shopkeeper discovered that Zhang Laifu had disappeared.

"He's gone? Why did he leave?"

The laborer snorted, "Why aren't you leaving? You're leaving him hanging here. He's a craftsman; how can he stand this attitude?"

The innkeeper, leaning on his cane, returned to the inner room, muttering to himself all the way: "It would have been better if he hadn't come. If he hadn't come, I would still have something to look forward to. Now that he's here, all that hope is gone."

The day laborer sighed: "Everyone has their own fate. Even if wealth and honor are right in front of you, you can't handle it. What's the point of having any expectations? You're just fooling yourself."

……

Zhang Laifu walked around the bamboo-knife forest and this time he figured out the market situation.

Without a certificate of completion of the apprenticeship, shops dare not hire anyone, whether they are apprentices or craftsmen; the certificate of completion of the apprenticeship is the proof of their employment.

Is it okay if I don't have to work?

Zhang Laifu has the skills; he could open his own paper lantern shop.

He thought about it and went back to make preparations. He first bought a few bundles of bamboo from the landlord.

Chai Badao was puzzled: "Why are you buying so much bamboo? Are you going to build a house?"

"We're not building houses, we're opening shops."

Chai Badao sized Zhang Laifu up and down: "What kind of shop do you run?"

"Lantern shop, I can make lanterns!"

Do you have a letter of authorization to complete your training?

"No, that's why I opened my own shop."

"Don't bother with your nonsense, the guild definitely won't let you open it."

"Why can't I open the road? I didn't use their land or spend their money, so why can't I do business!"

"You're not in this line of work. Doing business in this area is robbing people! Don't mess around. If you open a shop in this building, the gang will smash it up!"

"I don't need your house, I'll set up a stall on the street!"

“Even setting up a stall is not allowed; the gang will smash it up.”

“I carry my lantern around selling them!” “But even the guild has its moments of arresting you.”

"I don't go out during the day; I go out to sell them at night."

Chai Badao got angry: "Why won't you listen to my advice? Why are you so stubborn? Do you think you can just go out and sell yourself whenever you want?"

Besides, who goes out to sell lanterns in the middle of the night! Why don't you do something else? Or you could learn bamboo weaving from me. Do you really have to make lanterns?

Do something else?
Zhang Laifu went through so much hardship to become a craftsman, and you're telling him to do something else!

He insisted on selling lanterns, but when evening came, Li Yunsheng returned to the bamboo house and finally persuaded Zhang Laifu to stop.

“Brother Laifu, you don’t need to rush to find a job. I’ve made a new friend in the bamboo-making workshop. She’s also a paper lantern maker. She told me some things about the trade. As long as you can learn the skills in the trade, we’ll have plenty of opportunities to make money.”

Li Yunsheng knew which words Zhang Laifu would listen to. As soon as the topic of his special skill came up, Zhang Laifu immediately calmed down; he desperately wanted to learn it.

But what does the paper lantern maker's skill have to do with the Zhuyou school of medicine?
"You mean, once I've mastered this amazing skill, the two of us will find a mountain stronghold and become bandits?"

Li Yunsheng was a little angry: "Brother Laifu, what kind of person do you take me for? We're not bandits, we're doing legitimate business."

The unique skill of "One Lantern Illuminates" allows one to use a lantern to illuminate traps, weapons, and even internal organs and the soul.

"If you master the art of using a magic lamp, illuminating the internal organs, the soul, and the spirit, you'll be able to see any ailment at a glance. Then, mountains of gold and silver will be waiting for us brothers to rake in."

This time, Zhang Laifu understood: "I'll diagnose, you'll treat!"

Li Yunsheng nodded repeatedly: "A fortune is right before your eyes!"

Zhang Laifu really didn't expect that the paper lantern maker could cooperate so well with the doctor of the Zhuyou sect.

Could you introduce me to your new friend?

Li Yunsheng shook his head: "I'm not very familiar with this friend yet, and her temperament is a bit strange. Actually, you've met her once, but she might not be willing to see you now."

"I've seen him before?" Zhang Laifu couldn't recall such a person.

After inquiring about the market all day, Li Yunsheng was tired and went back to his bamboo house to go to bed early.

Zhang Laifu tossed and turned, unable to sleep. He had always longed to learn the special skill, and now, hearing Li Yunsheng talk about mountains of gold and silver, he wished he could learn it tonight.

But every time he practiced his special skill, the first step stumped him.

The first step to making a lamp is to build it quickly enough so that you can sense its response. Zhang Laifu felt he was fast enough, but he still didn't know what a response meant.

Honey, say something to me!

What's wrong between us? If you keep keeping quiet, we can't go on like this.

Zhang Laifu did not give up. He firmly believed that his wife still loved him, but just thought he wasn't fast enough.

To speed up the lamp-making process, he first went to a watch shop and bought a pocket watch to keep track of time.

Pocket watches were considered luxury items, and he used a silver dollar to buy the cheapest secondhand one. The case was badly worn, reddish-green, and the material was unrecognizable. The crystal was cracked, making the two and five o'clock positions difficult to see. Fortunately, the movement was good; the watch shop owner said this pocket watch was exceptionally accurate.

Zhang Laifu didn't have any other watches, nor could he compare them to his own, so he just said it was accurate.

He took another five silver dollars and went to the landlord to buy gray-eyed bamboo.

Chai Badao asked Zhang Laifu, "What do you need gray-eyed bamboo for?"

"I also want to learn bamboo weaving, to find the strength of bamboo, and practice my skills."

Chai Badao sneered: "You're an amateur, aren't you? What's the use of using gray-eyed bamboo to practice bamboo strength? You have to use iron-stem bamboo! Iron-stem bamboo has extremely hard tendons and bones. If you develop your strength on iron-stem bamboo, you'll be able to handle any kind of bamboo in the future!"

PS: Thank you to Alliance Leader SuSu for the above, and thank you for your trust and support of LaiFu.

(End of this chapter)