My Apprenticeship to Uncle Jiu: I Was a Warlord in the Republic of China

The shopkeeper smiled and said, "Thank you, Master Lin, for your kind words. I will take my leave and not disturb the guests for their meal."

Uncle Jiu nodded and said, "Please do as you wish, boss," then looked at Jiang Li and continued eating.

At this time, Shopkeeper Li looked at Uncle Jiu and his face changed slightly. Damn, I thought you were a carpenter, but it turns out you are a Taoist priest. Why don’t you introduce yourself to Brother Jiang?

However, he recalled his previous words and it seemed that he had not offended the Taoist priest named Lin. Otherwise, it would be bad to offend Maoshan for no reason. You know, Maoshan is quite well-known among the people.

But then I remembered that the Taoist bought the peach wood to make a peach wood sword. But it was such a good opportunity just now. Why didn't you seize it? Wouldn't it be easy if you had just said that there was something wrong with the peach tree?

Thinking of this, he looked at Jiang Li again, and seeing a trace of disappointment on Jiang Li's face, he understood that this Brother Jiang was deliberately leading the topic here, but there was nothing he could do if the Taoist priest didn't accept it.

But then he was relieved. He had already received the errand fee and got a big bowl of noodles for free. Why should I worry about all this? I immediately picked up another piece of dish with chopsticks and started eating.

After they finished eating, Jiang Li said to the shopkeeper, "Shopkeeper, please settle the bill."

The shopkeeper immediately ran over and said, "You four ate three side dishes and four bowls of noodles, which cost a total of one dollar and thirty copper coins. As for the fodder for your donkey cart, it's free."

Jiang Li said, "Thank you, boss. Seeing that you are so straightforward, I also give you a suggestion. Look at your peach tree. The trunk and branches have all grown outside the yard. This is not good. You should take care of it when you have time."

Then they walked out. The shopkeeper thought that the two men were Taoist priests from Mount Mao, so he asked, "I wonder what the significance of this peach tree extending outside the courtyard wall is."

Jiang Li saw that he had taken the bait and seemed to believe it, so he said, "It's nothing special. Don't ask me, boss. I just think it's not good. If you want to take care of it, then take care of it. If you don't want to take care of it, that's fine too."

"Farewell"

He left without hesitation after saying that. Seeing how anxious he was, the shop owner quickly chased after him and held Jiang Li back, but Jiang Li was unwilling to speak and just said that it was okay.

He changed his target, grabbed Uncle Jiu and said, "Master Lin, do you see any problem? If there is any, you must tell me."

Uncle Jiu saw that the shopkeeper was really anxious, but he had no idea what the problem was, so he could only tell him the truth, "Don't worry, shopkeeper, your shop is really a good place to store wind and gather energy, there will be no problem."

These shopkeepers were really panicked, and immediately knelt down in front of Jiang Li and said, "Young Taoist priest, please give us some advice."

Not only Uncle Jiu and Shopkeeper Li were dumbfounded, but even Jiang Li was stunned, so he helped the shopkeeper up and said, "I wonder if something happened to you, why do you react so strongly to my words?"

Now it was the shopkeeper's turn to be dumbfounded. He thought to himself, "Why do you say that I have such a big reaction to just one sentence? Didn't you say that there is something wrong with this tree?"

Then he said to Jiang Li, "I dare not deceive the Taoist priest. My family all believe in Taoism because this shop was opened under the guidance of a Taoist priest. He said that the wind and energy gathered here will ensure that my family will have no worries about food and clothing for a hundred years. This peach tree was also planted under his guidance."

"Just now, your master saw the Feng Shui pattern of this place at a glance, and you also saw that there was something wrong with this peach tree. I think you must know how to solve it. Please be merciful and help me."

Uncle Jiu and Jiang Li looked at each other in silence. The shopkeeper saw their eye contact and did not interrupt them as they were communicating whether to speak or not. He just waited anxiously on the side.

Jiang Li and Uncle Jiu looked at each other for a long time, and then he sighed and said, "It's not that I don't want to help you, but I don't know where the problem lies. I just feel that this peach tree is not quite harmonious."

"It gives me a bad feeling, but I can't tell exactly what's wrong with it. I wonder if the Taoist priest left any magic tools to protect the store."

The shop owner was dumbfounded on the spot. I couldn't understand what you were talking about. But when he heard about the store's magical weapon, he thought again, is there something under this store?

He immediately said, "Since I took over this store from my father, I have never heard of any magical weapon that guards the store. Could it be that there is something underneath this store?"

Jiang Li had to admire his imagination, but he couldn't say anything with his master present, so he just said, "I'm still a beginner and can't see any problem, otherwise you can ask my master."

The shopkeeper immediately turned to look at Uncle Jiu, and Uncle Jiu said with a gloomy face, "There is nothing wrong with this store, inside and out."

The shopkeeper looked at Jiang Li again, and Jiang Li said, "Since my master said so, there must be no problem. However, since the Taoist priest has said that he can guarantee your family's wealth and prosperity for a hundred years, you don't have to worry, there will be no problem."

At this time, the shopkeeper said, "But my shop has been open for 120 years. There may be some problems. I'd better ask the Taoist priest to help me find a solution."

Jiang Li looked at Uncle Jiu's gloomy face and said, "Master, do you think it would be helpful to use this discordant branch to make a magical peach wood sword and let the shopkeeper put it in the store to ward off evil spirits?"

When Uncle Jiu heard what happened, he was stunned. He thought Jiang Li was going to steal the branch, but this turned out to be the case.

He immediately said, "This peach tree is more than a hundred years old. Although this branch is not as powerful as the main trunk, it is also very effective. If it is refined with secret methods, it will naturally be a magical weapon that can ward off evil spirits and protect the house."

The shopkeeper immediately perked up when he heard this and said, "Then please let me go and save me from this worry."

Uncle Jiu was a little frustrated. He thought, "How can I respond to this? Can I chop down a tree and carve a wooden sword for you on the spot?"

Seeing Uncle Jiu in a dilemma, Jiang Li took over the conversation and said, "Don't worry, shopkeeper. Making a magic tool is very complicated. It will take more than half a year just to dry the peach wood in the shade."

"After the wooden sword is made, you need to draw a spell on it, and then use cinnabar and realgar, which are extremely yang substances, to make it into a usable magic weapon, so the shopkeeper can't rush this matter."

The shopkeeper was stunned when he heard this. "Why is it so troublesome to make a broken peach wood sword? Isn't there a simpler and faster way?"

Jiang Li smiled and said, "There is a simple way. You can just go to the gym and ask for a finished peach wood sword. Then you can save everything."

The shopkeeper immediately came to his senses and said, "Yes, I didn't think of that. May I ask if Master Lin has any ready-made peach wood swords in his temple? I am willing to pay a large sum of money to buy them."

Uncle Jiu said embarrassedly, "Yes, there is, but it is definitely not as good as your peach wood sword made of a hundred-year-old peach wood branch."

Jiang Li took over the conversation and said, "My master is right. Why don't you wait a little longer? In a year at most, my master will be able to deliver a powerful magic weapon to you."