Eternal madness

Chapter 56 Wealth and Prosperity Arrive (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

"Brother Laifu, could you please let me know before you use any weapons next time? I had to pay an extra dollar before the police would let me go."

Zhang Laifu and the car discussed things all the way: "Brother Car, turn back into a car first. We've known each other for a while, so we can talk things over."

Li Yunsheng found the box quite interesting: "Carrying the box is more convenient than pushing a cart. Top-quality weapons require a period of study to figure out how to use them. Some weapons can be studied for a lifetime and still not be understood."

"How can I wait for him forever? I can't find my things!" Zhang Laifu was really anxious. All that was left in the wooden box was the oil lamp; everything else was gone.

"Let's find a place to stay first. This guy is good at managing a household, so he'll definitely be able to get the items back." Li Yunsheng went to a place called Beizhuli, rented two bamboo houses, and settled in with Zhang Laifu.

This bamboo house is quite large. The first floor has a living room and a kitchen, and there is also a latrine at the back of the house. The second floor has two spacious bedrooms.

The landlord's surname was Chai. He was a bamboo craftsman in his fifties, short and stocky with dark skin. He knew Li Yunsheng, but Li Yunsheng didn't know his real name, only that he was nicknamed Chai Badao (meaning "Chai the Eight-Cut").

Brother Chai thought that one bamboo house would be enough for the two of them, but Li Yunsheng rented two. He and Zhang Laifu were both craftsmen who usually had to study their craft, hone their tools, and refine their skills. They couldn't interfere with each other's work.

"Brother Laifu, I'm going out to check out the market. You stay home and rest, and prepare some food, clothing, and other necessities." Li Yunsheng gave Zhang Laifu fifty silver dollars and went out to do business.

Zhang Laifu searched the box for a long time but couldn't find a single coin. Now that he was a craftsman, he didn't want to spend Li Yunsheng's money, so he went out to find a way to make a living.

This place seems a bit remote. There is a small path downstairs, with an endless bamboo forest on the right and a row of houses of varying heights on the left.

Most of these houses are two stories high, with the occasional three-story one. Regardless of their height or width, the building materials are all bamboo: bamboo frames, bamboo beams, and bamboo pillars, creating a verdant landscape.

The landlord, Chai Badao, had a bamboo house with tiles on it, which looked quite decent. But when Zhang Laifu got closer, he realized that the roof wasn't made of tiles, but of bamboo strips.

Chai Badao was splitting bamboo with a bamboo-splitting knife when Zhang Laifu asked, "Brother Chai, is this the outskirts of the city?"

"What is the suburbs?" Chai Badao didn't understand.

Where is the county seat?

"Isn't this just a county town?"

"I'm referring to a relatively prosperous county town. Prosperous means having a lot of people."

“Lots of people…” Chai Badao thought for a moment, then suddenly realized, “You want to go to the market, right?”

After thinking about it, Zhang Laifu realized that the market should be the liveliest place in the county town, which made sense.

“Going to the market can be a bit of a hassle,” Chai Badao said, handing over a large bamboo tube. “This water pipe is brand new. Take a puff first, and we can talk slowly.”

Zhang Laifu took it and saw that the bamboo tube was filled with water, and a cigarette holder was stuck next to it. A cigarette was lit on the cigarette holder. Under Chai Badao's guidance, Zhang Laifu put the lower half of his face on the tube and took a puff.

He took a really strong drag, and Zhang Laifu felt like his ears were on fire. He coughed twice and asked the landlord, "How troublesome is going to the market?"

"It wasn't troublesome before, we could go anytime. But now that the big boss is here, it's a hassle to go to the market now."

Zhang Laifu was about to ask about this when he asked, "Didn't the commander say he was going to Heishakou? Why is he in Miedaolin?"

Chai Badao looked around and said mysteriously, "You haven't heard, have you? There's been trouble at Heishakou, and the second-in-command burned down the police station. The commander didn't dare go to Heishakou and changed course to Miedaolin instead."

Zhang Laifu was shocked: "This second-in-command is so powerful? What if the eldest-in-command comes..."

"What 'Big Brother'?" Chai Badao sized Zhang Laifu up and down. "Where are you from? Can't you even understand? 'Second Brother' is 'Bandit,' and 'Bandit' is a bandit!"

It turns out this is another name for bandits.

"Which band of bandits could scare the commander away?" "Which other bandit could it be? The Hunlong Village of Fangpaishan, only that gang of thugs has that kind of guts!"

It's Hunlong Village again!
Are they crazy? They went to Heishakou and burned down the police station? And they had to do it when the warlord arrived? Does Yuan Kuilong have a death wish? He's a bit crazy, but not to this extent, is he?
The key point is that Zhang Laifu couldn't understand the warlord's actions: "How could a dignified warlord be scared away by bandits? Why didn't he go and suppress the bandits?"

Chai Badao immediately tensed up: "Young man, don't you know any better? You can't just say things like that! The commander-in-chief came to Heishakou this time on an inspection tour to see the people's conditions, not to fight a war."

These gangsters are all desperate criminals. The commander-in-chief is completely unprepared. How can he possibly confront them head-on? If something goes wrong, who can bear the consequences?
"The commander-in-chief should stay in the Bamboo Forest for a few days, and then make his move when the time is right. This is called avoiding the enemy's strength, striking unexpectedly, and attacking when they are unprepared. There's a lot to learn about this; what do you know!"

Zhang Laifu didn't understand what the commander was thinking, but then he thought that the current situation was not bad. If Hunlong Village focused its efforts on Commander Qiao, he should be safe for the time being.

"Brother Chai, are there any paper lantern shops in Miedao Forest?"

"Why buy a paper lantern? A paper lantern costs two coins, it's not cheap. I'll get you a bamboo tube and make a lantern."

"I have other business at the lamp shop, could you please give me directions?"

Chai Badao told Zhang Laifu that there was a paper lantern shop just two streets away.

These two streets are quite special; they are separated by buildings and bamboo. In the bamboo forest, a row of buildings faces a row of bamboo, and this layout is present in both the main streets and alleys.

After crossing two streets, Zhang Laifu arrived at the Heguang Paper Lamp Shop.

The old shopkeeper of the paper lantern shop, surnamed Fang, was seventy years old this year. He thought Zhang Laifu was there to buy lanterns, but he didn't expect Zhang Laifu to be there to work.

The old shopkeeper looked at Zhang Laifu's face and thought he seemed like an honest and kind man: "Young man, do you want to do short-term work?"

Zhang Laifu shook his head and said, "I want to be a shop assistant!"

"Would you rather be a greeter or a deliveryman?"

"I want to be a registration clerk."

"Are you a craftsman?" Shopkeeper Fang was stunned for a while. Miedaolin was a small place, and his shop was a small business. He had been doing business for decades, and this was the first time a craftsman had come to his door.

Zhang Laifu nodded and said, "I am a craftsman."

Shopkeeper Fang trembled slightly. It would be a lie to say that he didn't want craftsmen. No matter how hard a shop works without craftsmen, it can only make a living. Only with craftsmen can a shop be called a business and can one become rich.

But can his shop retain skilled craftsmen?
“My friend, I won’t lie to you. My shop is too small. After deducting wages, capital and expenses, I can only earn about thirty silver dollars a month. If you come to work in my shop, I don’t know how much I should pay you.”

In fact, Manager Fang had heard that in a city like Heishakou, a registration clerk's monthly wage was one hundred silver dollars, and even in a small place like Miedaolin, it would be at least sixty. He simply couldn't afford that much.

Zhang Laifu knew that this was a small business: "The wages are easy to discuss. We can talk it over. We'll start with a small amount and gradually increase it as you earn more."

"How can this be..." Manager Fang rubbed his hands excitedly, wondering how he could have encountered such a good thing.

The accountant chimed in, "Manager, be careful, craftsmen aren't so easy to talk to."

Shopkeeper Fang pursed his lips, also doubting whether Zhang Laifu was a true craftsman.

Zhang Laifu took eight willow twigs from the shelf, singed them over a fire, broke them with his hands, and then put them on a bamboo ring, thus making a lantern frame.

The workers were stunned, and the shopkeeper kept nodding: "I dreamt last night that a great fortune was coming, and the dream was really accurate."

"Friend, if you really want to work in my shop, I'll pay you fifty dollars a month upfront. Even if I lose money, I'll keep you here!"

(End of this chapter)