Eternal madness

Chapter 36 Craftsmanship

"Zhang Laifu, you lied to me. I hate being lied to the most."

"Old Helmsman, even your name is fake. Why didn't you say you hated me when you lied to me?"

"I lied to you because you're an idiot, and you deserve to die..." the old helmsman roared, but his voice grew softer and softer.

"What fool owes you? Did the fool eat your rice?" Zhang Laifu looked down at the old helmsman, watching his body break apart inch by inch until he disappeared into the top hat along with the waterwheel.

Zhang Laifu wiped the blood from his face, a smile appearing on his lips. He muttered to himself, "I'm going to become a craftsman!"

After laughing for a while, he remembered something and quickly took out another bag of jasmine snuff from his body.

"We need to replenish the soil quickly," the old helmsman said himself.

Once you start, you can't stop. This is what Song Yongchang said himself.

Once the second bag of snuff was poured in, the hat fully unleashed its power, growing wildly within the ancestral hall.

The brim of his hat cracked the wall of the ancestral hall, and Zhang Laifu was very worried that the main house and the ancestral hall might collapse.

He ran under the offering table, collected the craftsmanship of Yu Qiasuan and Xiaozhuzi, and also took their money bags.

Old Yu also left behind a peach wood sword, a stack of talismans, five wooden plaques, and a mirror.

Xiao Zhuzi left behind relatively few things, only a sewing box. The box had two layers, and the contents were quite substantial. The top layer had two rows of needles. The largest needle was longer than Zhang Laifu's cell phone, and the smallest needle was so small that Zhang Laifu couldn't even pick it up, and he couldn't even see where the needle eye was.

There's also a wooden box, which Zhang Laifu originally dug up, but Lao Tuozi snatched it away. We'll keep this one too.

Having collected everything he could, Zhang Laifu stood outside the ancestral hall, watching the dust and smoke that occasionally flew up from inside.

Bowls made from top hats, soil made from snuff, seeds made from old rudders—what kind of craftsmanship can be created from these?

Zhang Laifu didn't know about this, and probably very few people in the entire Wansheng Prefecture knew about it.

Can one old helmsman do the job? This old ghost has been dead for who knows how many years; does he still have any skill left?

Just to be on the safe side, Zhang Laifu also put Lao Yu's excellent skills into the hat.

The hat reacted violently, with a series of explosions coming from the boiling smoke.

Such a commotion can't be kept secret. If He Shengjun suddenly comes to inspect the old house now, how can we explain all this to him?

This is my bowl, the soil I bought myself, the seeds I planted myself, and the result of my own skill. If He Shengjun dares to take it, I can't beat him...

Thinking about it this way, there doesn't seem to be anything to think about. If he really comes, there's nothing we can do.

Without much thought, let's start counting the money.

Zhang Laifu opened Xiao Zhuzi and Lao Yu's money bags, and the gleaming silver dollars were dazzling.

Xiao Zhuzi had twelve silver dollars in his purse.

Old Yu had twenty-six silver dollars in his purse.

The bandit profession offers quite attractive compensation and benefits.

There were fifty silver dollars in the small wooden box. Adding the twelve silver dollars for buying tobacco leaves and snuff, plus this month's salary, and deducting the expenses for buying tobacco leaves and snuff, the expenses for treating yin energy, and the expenses for buying a shovel, there were ninety-eight and a half dollars left.

Ninety-eight and a half silver dollars!
How many bowls of wontons can this buy?

Zhang Laifu felt very happy!

The time to enjoy life has come!
Boom!

The remaining half of the wall in front of the ancestral hall also collapsed.

This bowl seems to be making quite a commotion.

He Shengjun, please don't come!

……

After waiting for two whole days, He Shengjun still hadn't come. During those two days, the hat grew bigger and bigger, with smoke constantly billowing out and dust churning inside. Zhang Laifu didn't dare to get close.

He wasn't idle either; he first studied the old helm's alarm clock. Every time he wound up the alarm clock, the old helm could hear it. Li Yunsheng had also speculated that this alarm clock was a top-tier weapon.

How should we use such a powerful weapon?

The three hands on the clock face didn't move. Zhang Laifu turned the alarm clock over, grabbed the wind-up key, and tried to turn it several times, but it wouldn't budge.

Is this spring wound up so tightly?

It might not be that it's tight, it's just that I don't know how to use it. I'll find an opportunity to learn it later.

After putting away the alarm clock, Zhang Laifu searched around the old house again, finding 161 silver dollars in the west wing of the main courtyard, under the swing in the backyard, and in the storeroom of the east wing.

These silver dollars were all packed in small wooden boxes. Some boxes contained forty or fifty dollars, while others contained two or three. They were probably hidden by the old helmsman. When he hid the silver dollars, he certainly never imagined that he would be so close to his own corpse.

Zhang Laifu now has a total of 259.5 silver dollars. Can he use this money to buy some property?

It's too early to think about developing a business now. He's still being hunted by bandits, and even if he did develop a business, he wouldn't be able to hold onto it.

By the morning of the third day, the hat was torn; the crown, brim, and strap were all ripped, leaving a pile of tattered cloth on the ground.

Zhang Laifu picked up a piece of rag, squeezed it in his hand, and it crumbled into powder.

This is way too thoroughly broken.

There was a clump of dust on the ground; it was unclear whether it was snuff or ashes. In the center of the dust was a wooden box. Upon opening the box, one could find a yellow-skinned fruit about the size of a walnut inside.

Is this fruit the magic of craftsmanship?

Will eating this make me a craftsman?

Zhang Laifu was a little excited, wondering how he should eat the fruit.

This thing feels quite soft to the touch, somewhat like fruit. But in terms of appearance, it also looks a bit like a walnut.

Should this be cooked or eaten raw? Should it be swallowed whole, or should the skin be removed first?

You can't just guess about these things. Zhang Laifu picked up the wooden box, took everything he could, and left the Lin family's old house.

There are still many untold stories about the old house in Baicaodang.

What grudge does Old Tuozi have with the Lin family? What is the origin of that waterwheel? Why is such a large mansion abandoned?

These matters can be discussed later. Zhang Laifu closed the door, slung his bag over his shoulder, and left.

Zhang Laifu had a lot of stuff with him, so he wanted to hire a car, but the place was too remote and he couldn't find a driver along the way.

They walked all the way to Pearl Street, where Zhang Laifu found Li Yunsheng.

Seeing that Zhang Laifu was unharmed, Li Yunsheng was overjoyed: "Brother Laifu, you defeated that evil spirit?"

Zhang Laifu handed the wampee to Li Yunsheng: "He turned into this!"

The evil spirit of the Lin family's old house in Baicaodang was quite famous throughout Heishakou, but unexpectedly, it was subdued by Zhang Laifu.

But Zhang Laifu in front of us isn't even a craftsman!

How did he do it?
What kind of person is this?

No matter how many twists and turns there are, it's always good to have a strong backer; this divination is absolutely correct!
Li Yunsheng examined the golden fruit carefully and nodded repeatedly: "Good fruit, excellent quality and skillful craftsmanship."

Are craftsmanship skills categorized by color?

"Show me! These golden fruits are top-quality. Eating such fruits can help you become a craftsman with virtually no risk."

Zhang Laifu blinked: "Basic?"

Li Yunsheng lit three incense sticks, letting the smoke envelop the two of them: "There is no absolutely reliable craft spirit in this world. Pure color is top-grade, and golden is the best of the best. To grow such a good craft spirit, you must have used a good bowl!"

"The quality of a craft's skill is also related to the bowl?" Zhang Laifu learned something new.

Li Yunsheng nodded and said, "Of course it's related. There was a hoodlum in the west of the city who spent five thousand silver dollars to buy a low-grade bowl and grew a colorful, mottled spirit."

Some people advised him not to eat it, saying that the chef wasn't even 50% sure of success, but he wouldn't listen. He ate it and died that very day, plunging into an ash pit at the east end of the street. His body was only discovered after it became infested with maggots.

This sounds familiar!
Zhang Laifu remembered: "That night watchman, the one with worms in his gums, the corpse he encountered was this scoundrel?"

"It's him!" Li Yunsheng took a sip of tea. "Brother Laifu, a pure craft spirit is extremely precious. If you consume this craft spirit, there's a 99% chance nothing will happen to you."

If you don't want to eat it, you can sell it. With this quality and skillful craftsmanship, it could easily fetch tens of thousands of dollars.

A registration clerk can earn a hundred silver dollars a month, but it's not easy to earn tens of thousands of silver dollars; it would take decades.

But that's just the income of a registration clerk. If his skills improve and he becomes the head chef on the second floor, he'll earn much more than a hundred silver dollars a month.

How much can the head chef earn?

"It's hard to say. A master chef can open his own shop and be in charge of his own business, or he can partner with a shop and be in charge of someone else's business."

The craftsmen on the second floor don't easily partner with others; the shopkeeper has to give them at least 30% of the profits, otherwise there's no room for negotiation.

"Thirty percent profit?" Zhang Laifu wasn't very knowledgeable about business. "If he gives him that much, how can the manager still make a profit?"

"There's money to be made! Shops with a master chef are on a completely different level from ordinary shops; the path to making money is both stable and broad."

Brother Laifu, it's not easy to get such a good fruit. Whether you want to become a craftsman is up to you to decide.

“No need to weigh the pros and cons anymore, I want to be a craftsman,” Zhang Laifu had already made up his mind. This wasn’t just about money. “Brother Li, can you tell what trade this fruit belongs to by looking at its color?”

"I really couldn't tell. If I had been able to tell back then, I wouldn't have become a doctor specializing in incantations."

How should this be eaten?

"Eat it whole, don't peel it, don't spit out the pit, and don't waste the juice. The more you eat the fruit, the better you'll be able to eat it!"

"Okay!" Zhang Laifu took the fruit and swallowed it in one gulp.

Li Yunsheng was stunned: "You ate it already?"

Zhang Laifu nodded and said, "I ate it."

You don't even use water?

"Using water makes you a man!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Laifu collapsed to the ground.

P.S.: Thank you to the leader, Sunfish, for your support and protection all along.

(End of this chapter)