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

Uncle Jiu's eyes lit up when he looked at the largest tree trunk. In his opinion, the diameter of this peach tree trunk was at least six or seven inches (one inch is 3.33 cm) and it was at least thirty years old.

In addition, the trunk is relatively straight and has few bumps, making it perfect for making magical instruments.

Shopkeeper Li watched the middle-aged man come forward to check the wood and thought he was a carpenter. He then said to Uncle Jiu, "How about these pieces of peach wood? Are they pleasing to the eye?"

Uncle Jiu said, "Not bad, not bad. The trunk is straight without any knots. It's a pity that it's a little young. It would be better if it was a hundred-year-old peach tree."

Shopkeeper Li said, "There are some century-old peach trees, but unfortunately they are not willing to sell. If I spend a lot of money to buy them, I will lose a lot of money if I lose them later."

Jiang Li heard this and asked, "Where is the century-old peach tree that Shopkeeper Li mentioned? Why don't you take me there so we can talk to him in detail."

"Of course, regardless of whether the negotiation is successful or not, the fee that should be paid to Shopkeeper Li will certainly not be reduced."

Shopkeeper Li immediately smiled flatteringly and said, "Master Jiang, what are you talking about? Since you really want to buy it, I will naturally accompany you on the trip."

Jiang Li looked at the peach wood in the house and said, "Don't worry about the other things, let's deal with these peach wood first."

Then he said to Uncle Jiu, "Master, what do you think of these peach trees? Do we need to saw them first?"

Uncle Jiu looked at the peach wood and said, "Don't worry, they are not dry yet. They need to be dried in the shade before they can be processed."

Shopkeeper Li didn't take Jiang Li's calling him "Master" seriously. He thought Jiang Li was just being polite because he was young.

Then he said to Jiang Li, "So when do you think we should go buy that century-old peach wood?"

Jiang Li said, "First, you should have someone transport these peach woods to my house, and then settle the money with my father. Then, you have to trouble Shopkeeper Li to take us there."

Shopkeeper Li said, "That's great. Otherwise, it would be bad if he sold the peach tree to someone else."

Jiang Li did not expose his little thoughts, but got on the donkey cart with Uncle Jiu. Shopkeeper Li also got on a donkey cart, and the coachman drove the donkey in front to lead the way.

As he was walking, Shopkeeper Li kept talking about how much effort he had put in over the past few days to find these seven or eight peach trees, and how much energy he had spent to convince people to sell the trees.

Jiang Li became impatient and interrupted, "Manager Li, please tell me about the century-old peach tree. I am more interested in it."

When Manager Li heard this, he turned the topic to the old peach tree. According to him, the tree was in the yard of an inn in Zhoujiaji, thirty miles away.

These were planted when the inn opened, and it has been more than a hundred years now, so people simply don't sell them. When Uncle Jiu heard this, he immediately frowned.

Jiang Li did the same, and then the two of them looked at each other silently and shook their heads. Soon, two donkey carts arrived on the street of Zhoujiaji.

The group immediately spotted the Taoyuan Inn with the huge peach tree, but the tree was taller than the courtyard wall and could not cover it at all.

Jiang Li was speechless when he saw the name of the inn. It would be a miracle if the other party was willing to sell the peach tree. But since they were already here, they walked towards the inn. They had to give everything a try.

As we walked into the inn, the waiter came out to greet us, bowed and asked, "Are you here for a night or to stay overnight?"

Shopkeeper Li did not speak but looked at Jiang Li. Jiang Li said, "Give us a few side dishes and a big bowl of noodles for each person."

"Oh, by the way, there is a coachman outside the gate, give him a bowl as well."

The boy said, "Please wait a moment, sir. I will be right back."

As he said that, he went to the backyard to ask for the cooking. Shopkeeper Li said, "Master Jiang, what are you doing? Aren't we here to discuss business? Why are we having dinner?"

Jiang Li said, "My master and I haven't had lunch yet, so it's a good idea to eat something to fill our stomachs. The shopkeeper has helped me so much, so it's no big deal to treat you to a bowl of noodles."

Then he took out three dollars and said, "This is the introduction fee I promised to give to Shopkeeper Li. Please keep it."

Shopkeeper Li took the money and said with a smile, "Thank you, Master Jiang."

Jiang Li looked at Uncle Jiu and said, "Master, do you think there are any Feng Shui issues in this store? Can we talk to the store owner about this?"

Uncle Jiu stood up and looked around, then sat down and said to Jiang Li, "I just took a look, there is nothing wrong with the feng shui of this store. On the contrary, it is a good place to store wind and gather energy. I'm afraid the method you mentioned won't work."

At this time, Jiang Li looked at the huge peach tree and said, "Master, do you think it is possible to make a peach wood sword using peach tree branches?"

Uncle Jiu was stunned, then shook his head and said, "No, first of all, the branches are too soft and contain too much water. Secondly, most of its branches are not very old and are of little use."

Jiang Li had an idea after hearing this, and then pointed to a large branch and asked, "Master, do you think that branch can be used? It looks very big, so it should be very old."

Uncle Jiu turned around and looked at the thick branch that Jiang Li pointed out, which stretched out diagonally outside the yard, and said, "That branch looks pretty good, but it's definitely not as good as the main trunk."

Jiang Li smiled bitterly and said, "What can we do? The owner of the main trunk will definitely not want to sell it, but we can think of a way to sell this branch."

Then he just started to ponder there, and then suddenly...he spoke.

Soon several side dishes and several large bowls of noodle soup were served. I took two bites of the noodles and they tasted very delicious. There didn't seem to be anything fishy about them, so I guess there must be something fishy in the soup.

He called the shopkeeper and asked, "Shopkeeper, what's the name of this noodle soup? It tastes really good."

The shopkeeper said with a smile, "Thank you for your compliment, sir. This soup stock has been carefully simmered for several hours before it is served, so it naturally has a unique flavor."

Jiang Li said, "Really? I wonder if the shopkeeper sells this secret recipe. I'm willing to pay a high price for it. I want my parents to taste this delicious noodle soup."

After that, he continued to eat the noodles. The shopkeeper hesitated and said, "It's not that I don't want to sell it. It's just that the recipe is passed down from my ancestors. I don't dare to ruin my children and grandchildren's livelihood. Please forgive me."

Seeing that he was in such a dilemma, Jiang Li did not pursue him, but said, "I wonder if the shopkeeper's soup contains ingredients such as beef, dog meat, black fish, turtle, and wild goose."

"Don't misunderstand, shopkeeper. My master and I are Taoist priests from Mount Mao. We cannot eat these things. I don't mean to spy on your secret recipe. Please tell me the truth."

The shopkeeper said, "I see. But rest assured, my soup doesn't contain any of these things. You can eat it without worry."

Jiang Li looked relieved when he heard this, and then he started eating noodles with peace of mind.

It was then that the shopkeeper looked at Uncle Jiu. The middle-aged man in front of him had a righteous face. Although he was not wearing a Taoist robe, his straight eyebrows gave people a sense of stability.

He then asked Uncle Jiu who was eating noodles, "I don't know your name, where you practice, I just got up to check my shop, did you see anything unusual?"

If it were any other Taoist priest, he would probably try to trick the man into cutting down the peach tree. However, Uncle Jiu was a very upright Taoist priest and he would not do such things, so he would naturally not cheat anyone.

So he put down his chopsticks, bowed his head and said, "I am Lin Jiu, a Taoist priest from Mount Mao, living in Yizhuang outside Renjia Town."

"Don't worry, shopkeeper. I just took a look and found that your store has a good feng shui layout. It is a good place to store wind and gather energy. There is no problem."