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

When Li Si saw the money, he immediately stood up and said, "Brother Jiang is really good at judging people. I'm just waiting for the pie in the sky."

Saying this is like taking the money from Jiang Li's hand. How could he do that? He took two steps back, put his hands behind his back and said, "Brother Li Si, don't worry. I'll give it to you if you promise to help me with something."

Li Si laughed dryly and said, "What can I do? You may have found the wrong person."

Jiang Li said, "I know what you usually do. Stealing is indeed unpleasant, but you are the most suitable person for what I want to do today."

He took out a dollar and gave it to Li Si, saying, "I want to find some special chickens. If you can help me find them, I'll give you another two dollars."

"Chicken, what kind of chicken, what does it look like to be considered special." Li Si asked back.

Jiang Li said, "I want to find a few big roosters, with particularly bright colors and large bodies, or with loud voices and lively and active. Finally, it would be best if I could find one with a particularly long lifespan."

When Li Si heard this request, he immediately smiled happily and said, "This is not a simple matter. The chickens in Butcher Li's house are very active and make a lot of noise. I have tried to steal them several times but failed."

"And the widow Wang also has a big rooster at home, the color of its feathers is so bright. Tsk tsk."

Jiang Li said with a frown, "That's enough. I didn't ask you to help me to make you miss Widow Wang. These two points are correct. Are there any others?"

Li Si chuckled and said, "I'm used to it. I'll think about it."

He scratched his head and thought for a long time, then clapped his hands and said, "I remember now. Old man Zhang in Zhangjia Village outside the town had a big red rooster. I once went to steal it... I passed by and heard people say that the rooster lived for eight years. I'm not sure if it's true or not, but it looked very fat to me."

Jiang Li did not pursue what Li Si had said, but said, "I will go and see if what you said is true. If it is true, I will give you the two dollars."

Li Si saw that the other two dollars were about to be in his hands, and said in embarrassment, "Brother Jiang, just give me the two dollars. What I said is true. If there is any lie, I can just return it to you."

Jiang Li said unhappily, "Go away, can you take it back now that it's in your hands?"

Then he took his father to Butcher Li's house. When they arrived outside Butcher Li's house, Jiang Li saw Li Si following him, so he ignored him and started knocking on the door.

After a while, a middle-aged woman's voice was heard inside, "Who is it? Lao Li is not at home because he went out to buy pigs. Come back later if you need anything."

Jiang Li said, "I am Jiang Kaishan's son. Auntie, please open the door. I want to ask you something."

After a while, the door opened and a middle-aged fat woman in an apron stood at the door. She looked at Jiang Kaishan and said, "Xiao Jiang, what can I do for you?"

Jiang Li said, "I heard that you have a loud and lively chicken at home. Can I take a look at it?"

Butcher Li's wife wanted to agree, but she was afraid of gossip when she saw Jiang Kaishan, so she said, "Why don't you come back later? My husband should be back soon."

Jiang Li looked at her expression and came back to his senses. He said awkwardly, "Okay, let's come back later."

Afterwards, he went to Widow Wang's house and knocked on the door again. This time, he asked Jiang Kaishan to wait at a distance, and he also looked at the colorful chicken that Li Si mentioned from afar at the door.

This was very disappointing, because the chicken was just average, at most the same as my own chicken, only it ate better and had slightly prettier fur.

After leaving Widow Wang's house, Li Si jumped out and said, "How about it, it looks good, right?"

Jiang Li looked at Li Si's frivolous expression and said unhappily, "What do you think? I think that chicken is ordinary."

Li Si said, "Brother Jiang is still young and doesn't know how to appreciate. Let me tell you..."

Jiang Li quickly interrupted and said, "Don't waste your time. This news is fake. I'll deduct a hundred copper coins from you first."

Li Si said with a sullen face, "Brother Jiang, please don't be like that. I think the color of that chicken is very beautiful. How can it be fake?"

Jiang Li ignored Li Si's words and continued, "I hope the chickens at Butcher Li's house are really as you said, otherwise I will deduct a hundred copper coins from you."

Li Si said anxiously, "Brother Jiang, please stop. What I said is true. The chickens at Widow Wang's house are indeed beautiful, and the chickens at Butcher Li's house are really hard to catch."

Jiang Li said, "Don't say those useless things. It's not you who decides whether it's true or not. It's me who decides. Okay, just wait here. You'll know when Butcher Li comes back."

Li Si wanted to continue talking, but Jiang Li ignored him, leaving Li Si alone and anxious.

About half an hour later, Butcher Li came back from outside the town with a black pig weighing over 100 pounds. Jiang Li and Jiang Kaishan then went forward to help.

With the efforts of the three, the big black pig was driven into the yard and was eating pig food. Jiang Li then said, "Hello, Uncle Li. I heard that you have a big and energetic rooster at home. I wonder if I can take a look at it."

Butcher Li looked at the Jiang family father and son in confusion and said, "Why are you looking at it? Don't you have a lot of chickens at home?"

Jiang Li said, "It's like this. I have already worshipped Uncle Jiu as my master a few days ago. I heard that using rooster blood to draw talismans can greatly increase the power of talismans. That's why I want to buy a few for my master. But since it's a gift, of course it has to be special. The roosters in my house are too ordinary."

When Butcher Li heard that it was a gift for Uncle Jiu, he smiled and said, "So that's how it is. Then go and see for yourself. It wanders around in the backyard all day long."

Jiang Li thanked Butcher Li and immediately went to the backyard to look for chickens. Jiang Kaishan stayed and talked to Butcher Li.

When he arrived at the backyard, Jiang Li immediately saw a big rooster with its head held high and chest puffed out looking for food in a small vegetable patch. He could clearly tell at a glance that it was different. That spirit was not something an ordinary chicken could have. Jiang Li immediately decided that it was him.

He then came to the front yard and said to Butcher Li, "Uncle Li, I think this big rooster is really amazing. Can you sell it to me?"

Butcher Li said, "Uncle Jiu helped me a few days ago. Since you want to give it to Uncle Jiu, you should give me two dollars!"

To be honest, the big rooster weighed about 6 or 7 pounds, and two dollars was not expensive at all. Jiang Li happily paid the money and went to catch the rooster.

If this chicken was indeed extraordinary, it would have been impossible to catch it after chasing it for a long time. In the end, it was caught only after Butcher Li, Old Man and two other people surrounded it. During this period, Jiang Li truly experienced what Li Si meant by a loud voice. It could really be described as piercing.

After buying the chicken, it was getting late, so he took out a hundred copper coins and sent Li Si away, saying, "Take these 100 copper coins first. It's getting late today. I'll go to Old Man Zhang's house to find the long-lived rooster another day. If it's real, I'll give you the one yuan."

Li Si immediately panicked and said, "No, Brother Jiang, what I said is true. Give it to me now or I will have to trouble you to make another trip, which is not good."