Eternal madness

Chapter 70 This is not a bright spot
Li Yunsheng once told Zhang Laifu that the machines grown in the bowl have a smooth spirituality, while the machines that haven't been smoothed out will have conflicting spiritualities between their parts.

Zhang Laifu now basically understands the situation of this factory: "Is it true that the more parts there are and the more complex the machinery, the greater the probability of spiritual conflict?"

Li Yunsheng nodded: "From a mathematical point of view, this is inevitable. This production line is so complex that almost every production link will generate spiritual conflicts, making it impossible to produce qualified finished products here."

Zhu Shiqing disagrees: "With the right production process, it is possible to achieve spiritual compatibility to a certain extent."

Li Yunsheng shook his head: "Have you calculated how low the probability is? A thousand parts achieving spiritual compatibility simultaneously is equivalent to rolling a thousand sixes on a thousand dice at once. Do you believe that yourself?"

“It’s not as difficult as you say. There are many factories in other states with thousands of people working together. These workers can cooperate with each other, and the parts can be made just as well.” Zhu Shiqing looked down at the blueprints; she didn’t want to talk to Li Yunsheng.

When it comes to academic matters, Li Yunsheng insists on making things clear: "Humans are the most intelligent of all beings. How can the intelligence of machine parts compare to that of humans? If you tell these machines that they are compatible, can they understand you?"
Unless you grow all these machines in the same bowl, their spirituality might not be compatible, but where are you going to find a bowl that big? Even if you did find one, can you guarantee that what you grow will still be machines?

Zhu Shiqing's bamboo veins bulged: "You've come here to ask me for a favor, haven't you? Is this attitude appropriate?"

Li Yunsheng took out the things he had prepared earlier: "So let's talk about something practical. I think jewelry and rouge are quite nice."

"Take it further away!" Zhu Shiqing was about to fight with Li Yunsheng.

Zhang Laifu glared at Li Yunsheng. Li Yunsheng was good in every way, but he lacked social skills.

"How dare you talk to that girl like that? Do you think she's that kind of vulgar person?" Zhang Laifu turned around and handed thirty silver dollars to Zhu Shiqing: "Buy whatever you like!"

Zhu Shiqing's helmet fell to the ground, and her soft hair fell down, covering her face.

She got angry, and her hair started growing wildly.

"Get out!" Zhu Shiqing ordered him to leave.

Zhang Laifu took out another thirty silver dollars: "If that's not enough, I have more."

Zhu Shiqing's hair suddenly stood up, with branches and bamboo leaves growing from the strands.

"I'll tell you to get out of here!" Zhu Shiqing suddenly looked up, her face turning green, truly green.

Long eyebrows turned into bamboo leaves, narrow eyes turned into bamboo joints, and the skin on his face was a uniform emerald green with a slight sheen. Zhu Shiqing was about to turn into bamboo.

Li Yunsheng reminded Zhang Laifu to keep his distance from Zhu Shiqing at this time.

Zhang Laifu wasn't too nervous: "If you find a suitable bowl, you might actually be able to grow a factory. I've seen trains grown in bowls."

Zhu Shiqing shook her head: "Factories and trains are different."

"Then use different bowls to plant them."

Zhu Shiqing shook her head again: "Even if it could be grown, I don't want to use a bowl to grow it in a factory. What I want is not random, isolated cases, but a regular process!"

"Then use a regular bowl to plant them."

"What did you say?" Zhu Shiqing and Li Yunsheng both looked at Zhang Laifu.

There is no pattern to planting things in a bowl. How come Zhang Laifu still doesn't understand this?

Zhang Laifu understood: "You think you can find a regular process, and I think I can find a regular bowl. Whoever finds it, let's use it together. What do you think?"

Zhu Shiqing's face wasn't so green anymore, and her eyebrows, eyes, and hair gradually returned to normal. She looked Zhang Laifu up and down, and to be honest, he seemed quite sincere.

"What exactly do you want from me?"

"We're in the same profession, and I'd like to learn some of your unique skills."

Zhu Shiqing refused outright: "You didn't submit an apprenticeship letter, so you're not my disciple. I definitely can't teach you my special skills."

Zhang Laifu thought for a moment and said, "Then should I submit a formal apprenticeship certificate?"

"Sure, work at my factory for three years!"

"Does it really have to be three years?"

"Rules are rules."

Zhang Laifu clearly refused, so Li Yunsheng quickly explained, "Miss Zhu, it's not that I want you to teach him his special skill. He has already learned the skill, but he hasn't learned it completely. He wants you to give him some pointers."

Zhu Shiqing asked Zhang Laifu, "What level of skill do you possess?"

Zhang Laifu recalled Lao Yu's reply: "I'll be the head chef soon." "You, a mere registration clerk, want to learn a secret skill? You definitely won't learn it all. Go back and practice for a couple more days."

Li Yunsheng advised, "We've come all this way, at least let us see what the complete skill looks like."

"Do you really have to come here to see it?"

Zhang Laifu said, "If we're talking about the best skills of paper lantern makers, who in the entire bamboo weaving forest can compare to Miss Bamboo?"

Zhu Shiqing smiled, "That's a very accurate remark."

In fact, Zhang Laifu was telling the truth. In the entire Bamboo Knife Forest, he had only ever met one paper lantern maker, Zhu Shiqing.

She led the two to an open space surrounded by bamboo groves, ensuring that no one would spy on them.

Zhu Shiqing took out six bamboo strips, bent and folded them, and casually fastened them with bamboo rings. The skeleton was completed. She made the skeleton in less than half the time it took Zhang Laifu.

He held the rough-edged paper between his index and middle fingers, and with a twist along the frame, the paper was pasted on. He pasted the paper a little faster than Zhang Laifu.

Threading the wire and climbing the bamboo pole, Zhu Shiqing was much faster than Zhang Laifu.

boom!
The lantern was stuck in the ground. Zhu Shiqing struck a match and easily lit the lantern, a beam of light piercing through the bamboo forest.

One shot, and it's done!
Zhu Shiqing called out towards the bamboo grove, "Who's there?"

Several bamboo stalks leaped up and tumbled and crawled out of the bamboo forest.

Li Yunsheng explained to Zhang Laifu, "These are bamboos with extremely strong spiritual power. In a few years, they are expected to become the top bamboo. They are just like ordinary bamboos normally. Do you know how the bamboo maiden can tell them apart?"

Zhang Laifu looked at Zhu Shiqing: "You're the leader of the bamboo family, so what's so great about being able to distinguish bamboo?"

Zhu Shiqing pulled up the lantern and shone it on a bamboo stalk: "If a bamboo stalk is standing in front of you, you can discern its spirituality. But if it is hidden in a bamboo forest, even if not only the eldest bamboo stalk, but even the ancestor bamboo stalk came, they might not be able to tell the difference."

I only knew how to see the spirits of these bamboo stalks because of the paper lantern maker's skill. And this particular bamboo stalk not only seemed poised to grow, it was also a bit unruly.

As they spoke, Zhu Shiqing kept shining the lantern on the bamboo in front of her. The bamboo jumped up in pain. Its outer shell was fine, but its inside was charred and it ran away smoking.

"A single flame can set someone ablaze; it's a method of murder. This bamboo has been following me for a while now, and I don't know what it's up to. I don't want to kill it, but I have to teach it a lesson." The lantern in Zhu Shiqing's hand had already gone out. Her special skill was brief, and she used it with ease.

"You've demonstrated your special skill, is there anything else?"

"I've memorized it all. I'll practice it slowly when I get back." Zhang Laifu turned to leave, feeling a little ashamed.

Li Yunsheng stopped Zhang Laifu: "Brother Laifu, show your special skill to Miss Zhu as well."

Zhang Laifu was embarrassed, but Li Yunsheng insisted, so he had no choice but to demonstrate.

Seeing Zhang Laifu take out bamboo strips to make lanterns, Zhu Shiqing couldn't help but laugh: "His hands are too slow. His skills are lacking, he's clearly not skilled enough..."

Before she could finish speaking, Zhu Shiqing froze.

Zhang Laifu made lanterns in a different order than others; he pasted paper on them while simultaneously attaching candles.

He not only put the candle inside, but also lit it.

Zhu Shiqing didn't understand: "What kind of method is this..."

boom!
Zhang Laifu stuck the lantern into the ground, and it stood upright.

A flash of bright light, and Zhang Laifu vanished.

Li Yunsheng's heart tightened; his worst fears had come true.

Zhang Laifu's sudden disappearance was not because there were evil spirits in the Yao family mansion, but because there was something wrong with Zhang Laifu's special skill.

Zhu Shiqing was also stunned. She walked closer to the lantern and looked carefully inside the lampshade. Only then did she understand: "This is not a bright light, it's a dark light under the lamp."

Zhang Laifu still didn't understand: "What does 'blind spot under the lamp' mean?"

Zhu Shiqing called Li Yunsheng over: "Look, there's no fire in this lantern. He's practicing some kind of Yin-style martial art!"

(End of this chapter)