Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Just as Yuan Zhou was looking for that carpenter mentioned Zhou Shijie very carefully, there came a clear sound of scolding from the noisy atmosphere.
“Are you a pig? How many times have I told you it can’t be made in this way? Get lost and make it again.” The loud scolding was clearly heard.
“F*ck off. Was all the food you ate fed to a dog for so many years?
“Get out of here and disappear in front of me. I’m sick of seeing you.”
“It seems to be impossible to expect you to inherit my techniques.”
Yuan Zhou hadn’t realized what had happened when he heard raised voices. The voice was so loud that Yuan Zhou couldn’t help looking towards the origin.
The distance was a little far, so Yuan Zhou walked a few steps forward until he found the voice coming from a store named Musheng.
This store was interesting due to its decorations. The neighboring stores were designed either in the ancient style or modern style. Essentially, they were still buildings made of cement and paint with some wood interspersed at most. For this store named Musheng, however, things were quite different. The decoration of the store was all made of wood from the inside out, including the door frame, door header, and the wooden lions at both sides of the door.
It was a building of pure wood just like houses of the rich during ancient times. With Yuan Zhou’s sharp eyes, he could recognize the furniture and decorations inside were all made of wood, more specifically, quality wood with beautiful wood grain.
“Don’t you have brains or is your brain just moldy? Did I ever tell you to make the table this way?”
Just as Yuan Zhou was observing the store carefully, a man who was dressed in black clothes and pants inside turned his back to Yuan Zhou and pointed at the man in front of him, scolding excitedly in a loud voice, again. The table mentioned by him was an old-fashioned square table for eight people. With Yuan Zhou’s judgment, the table was fairly good, so he really didn’t know what he was lecturing for.
“It must be him.” Yuan Zhou finally understood why Zhou Shijie said he could recognize him as soon as he saw Carpenter Lian. It was indeed not difficult to recognize him. He was the one that had the toughest temper and loudest voice.
Just now, when the old man turned around, he was dressed in black clothes and pants, of which the cloth was all dirt resistant. The old man was grey-haired and was a humpback. His finger knuckles were big and thick; his eyes were drooping and the corner of his mouth was pulled high. Judging from his appearance, he was a severe person and not someone that could be gotten along easily.
To be honest, there was even a little bit of sterness on his face. At first sight of him, however, Yuan Zhou knew he was the carpenter mentioned by Zhou Shijie.
This was because of the severe expression he had when he scolded the other man. The difference between a professional and a layman was worlds apart. In Yuan Zhou’s eyes, that table was really not bad based on the aspects of outward appearance and steadiness.
However, it was commented to be worthless by the old man. The person who was scolded also lowered his head and listened to the old man seriously, even if his voice was quite ear-piercing. One should never think it was terrible to be scolded severely. The worse thing was when nobody cared enough to lecture. In order to learn a craft, it was impossible for an apprentice not to be scolded.
When the old man turned his head and saw Yuan Zhou, he angrily found a place to sit down with his expression unchanged. He didn’t really mind if his irritable attitude would affect his business and nor did he care about if Yuan Zhou was his customer.
“Hello, are you Carpenter Lian or Master Lian?” Yuan Zhou opened his mouth proactively.
Only then did this old man who had just got seated looked up at Yuan Zhou. The old man’s eyes were slightly different from those of others. His pupils were very round, but the white part of the eyes nevertheless had some yellow color and some blood streaks. His appearance really looked frightening when he stared at Yuan Zhou with his unkind expression.
Yuan Zhou wasn’t afraid at all. They just stared at each other like that for a while before the old man answered.
“You are Yuan Zhou.” The old man said affirmatively. Obviously, he knew Yuan Zhou.
“Yes, I am. Hello, Carpenter Lian.” Yuan Zhou greeted him courteously.
“What did you come to me for?” Without moving his position in his seat, the old man looked at Yuan Zhou and asked directly.
“I want to make a cabinet. It is a little special and is used specifically for putting things inside. The room is small, so I want to make it carry as many things as possible. Therefore, I come to you for help.” Yuan Zhou was quite courteous when he said that. The description was a little messy, but clear enough.
“I haven’t made furniture in person for a long time.” Carpenter Lian muttered.
He looked up at Yuan Zhou, but didn’t say anything loudly. He kept silent and seemed to be thinking of something.
Though Yuan Zhou heard Carpenter Lian mutter to himself, he wasn’t sure if the old man was talking to him and thus didn’t answer him. He was just waiting in silence for his reply.
“Young man, did Zhou Shijie tell you to come here?” Carpenter Lian opened his mouth and asked.
“Chairman Zhou just told me there is a master carpenter in Jinfa Market.” Once in a blue moon, Yuan Zhou became smart. He didn’t deny it directly, but used another way to say no.
“This annoying Scamming Zhou always does things that make me feel awkward.” Carpenter Lian continued muttering with an obviously discontented expression on his face. Besides that, he addressed Zhou Shjie as Scamming Zhou instead of his name. There was definitely a story between them, but Yuan Zhou found it inappropriate to ask about that.
But luckily, Carpenter Lian didn’t lose temper at Yuan Zhou.
The store suddenly fell silent and nobody came inside for an instant. Even the tall and thin man, who originally looked like the boss, hid himself behind the cutout door and didn’t come over to them when he found Yuan Zhou began to talk with Carpenter Lian.
Therefore, only Yuan Zhou and Carpenter Lian were left in the store now. Yuan Zhou stood there casually while Carpenter Lian was seated there.
“To be honest, I haven’t made furniture for long. My hands are out of practice.” The way Carpenter Lian spoke became quite severe.
“Master Lian, I believe in your craftsmanship,” said Yuan Zhou immediately, “And Chairman Zhou has once said that you are the best carpenter in China.”
With regard to Zhou Shijie’s praise told by Yuan Zhou, Carpenter Lian curled his lip lightly. Obviously, he didn’t believe that Zhou Shijie would praise him behind his back.
As a matter of fact, Zhou Shijie didn’t speak highly of him much, but instead took a photo of his daughter’s dressing table directly. Frankly speaking, it was so beautiful that even those very expensive dressing tables couldn’t match it. Moreover, too few people could master the techniques of mortise and tenon joints nowadays. Of course, those which were provided by the system must be excluded.
It wasn’t easy to come across such a great craftsman and besides, the things to be put into the cabinet were all very precious. Thus, Yuan Zhou naturally wanted that kind of furniture very much.
Complimented by Yuan Zhou so straightforwardly, Carpenter Lian choked for an instant. He paused for a while and then said, “It’s no problem for me to make a cabinet, but I have one condition.”
Carpenter Lian specifically looked at Yuan Zhou’s expression when he said that. When he found Yuan Zhou just appeared composed, he became a little discontented and hence paused for a while, waiting for Yuan Zhou to say first.
“What kind of condition?” Looking at Carpenter Lian’s manner, Yuan Zhou instantly became enlightened and hence asked.
“Young man, aren’t you a very famous chef? I heard of a dish before, but I haven’t seen nor eaten it. If you can cook it for me, I will promise to make a cabinet for you, free of charge.” Carpenter Lian appeared quite confident when he said that.
“I can guarantee the cabinet will be satisfactory, but you also must guarantee this dish is to my satisfaction.”
He spoke as if he were quite sure that Yuan Zhou was unable to do that.
“What is it?” Yuan Zhou asked with ease. He had been well prepared inwardly.
With Yuan Zhou’s current craftsmanship and great knowledge, he was capable of cooking more dishes than what he wasn’t capable of. Therefore, he wasn’t afraid of any challenge about cooking.
“Tri-Color Beans. Have you ever heard of that?” Carpenter Lian said.
