Eternal madness

Chapter 58 A Steel Bar

The landlord asked Zhang Laifu to buy iron-reinforced bamboo, but Zhang Laifu didn't want to: "I'm not practicing my hand strength, I'm practicing my skill."

"Listen to me, iron-reined bamboo is not expensive and is much more effective than gray-eyed bamboo. I have been a bamboo weaver for many years, do you think I would lie to you?"
I'll also tell you, this iron-reined bamboo only grows in the Bamboo Forest. Once you leave the Bamboo Forest, the fibers break, and you can't sell it anywhere else!
"You've come at the right time. I have some ready-made here; these are all single-minded bamboo shoots, perfect for someone like you."

Iron-reined bamboo was indeed inexpensive, and the firewood was also very reasonably priced; Zhang Laifu only paid one silver dollar for two bundles of bamboo.

Zhang Laifu still wanted to buy gray-eyed bamboo. Miedao Forest is the hometown of ten thousand bamboos, and the gray-eyed bamboo here is much cheaper than outside. Chai Badao spent one silver dollar to buy more than a dozen bamboos for Zhang Laifu.

As its name suggests, the iron-reined bamboo has a bright silver line running from the root to the top of its stalk; this line is the iron reined part.

Zhang Laifu wanted to split the bamboo into small strips. He could split it in other places, but when he got to the iron core, the bamboo-splitting knife couldn't cut it, and he couldn't even chop it through.

He chipped the bamboo with his axe until the blade was dull, then picked up the bamboo and went to return it to Chai Badao: "What use is bamboo that I can't cut?"

"What do you mean 'can't be cut'? You're cutting it wrong!" Chai Ba Dao picked up his bamboo-cutting knife and pointed to the bamboo joint. "There are bone seams in the bamboo joint. The sinews and bones are inseparable. The bamboo sinews also have seams here. You have to find the bone seams before you cut!"

Zhang Laifu stared at the bamboo joint for a long time: "Where are the bone seams?"

Chai Badao laughed: "You can't even find a crack, how are you going to live with bamboo in the future? Watch closely!"

Click!

Chai Badao swung his bamboo knife and chopped through the iron-ribbed bamboo in one stroke. His knife was fast and steady, startling Zhang Laifu.

"Brother, are you a craftsman?"

Chai Badao smiled: "Aren't you the same?"

No wonder Li Yunsheng rented the house here. Chai Badao is no ordinary person. Renting his house can provide some support for the two of them.

While chopping bamboo, Chai Badao chatted with Zhang Laifu: "I'm not just saying I'll let you learn bamboo weaving from me. I can give you a formal apprenticeship certificate. I really want to take you on as my apprentice."

But Li Yunsheng said, "You have other skills, so I can't take you in. Switching to another profession will lead you down the dark path."

I'm an old bamboo craftsman, and I've seen many artisans, but few are as single-minded as you. Those scars on your hands, are they from practicing your craft?

Zhang Laifu nodded: "It was cut when we were breaking up the bamboo."

"Your muscles are even tougher than bamboo. Don't worry, I won't fool you. Iron-resilient bamboo is a good thing. Take it back and practice with it."

Chai Badao chopped both bundles of iron-reined bamboo into strips. Zhang Laifu took them back to continue practicing his skeletal skills. The bamboo strips without iron reins were no different from ordinary bamboo, but the one with iron reins was quite different. Zhang Laifu tried to break it over the fire for a long time, using all his strength, but he couldn't budge it an inch.

Is it because you don't have enough hand strength or you haven't found the right muscle strength?

It seems there are two reasons. Zhang Laifu practiced for ten days and could bend the iron bamboo, but he couldn't bend it to a fixed angle.

The veins of gray-eyed bamboo are said to be spiritual, making them suitable for practicing skillful techniques. Zhang Laifu practiced with gray-eyed bamboo for five more days, and once he got a feel for it, he started working with iron-ribbed bamboo. Gradually, he was able to bend the iron-ribbed bamboo into a fixed arc.

He hid in the bamboo house and didn't go out much for more than half a month. On the sixteenth day, Zhang Laifu made a lantern frame out of iron-reinforced bamboo.

Every bone, including the bamboo rings above and below, is made of iron-reinforced bamboo.

Zhang Laifu, his hands covered in blood, stared at the iron lantern for a while.

It's pleasing to the eye! The more I look at it, the more pleasing it becomes.

Setting the iron-reinforced bamboo aside, Zhang Laifu took ordinary bamboo to make lanterns again. While breaking the bamboo strips, he broke six out of eight.

What's happening?
If you use too much force, it becomes difficult to control?
Zhang Laifu stared at his ten fingers, which were covered in bloody wounds, and worried for a moment before suddenly laughing.

If you use too little force, there's really nothing you can do; if you use too much force, it's not a problem, you can control it by holding back a little.

After several more attempts, Zhang Laifu made a lantern in eighteen seconds.

Can it go any faster?
It only took seven seconds to create the skeleton; even if we try to save time, it will probably take at least five seconds.

It took five seconds to paste the paper, which is unacceptable. Pasting paper is for dressing up one's wife, and this is the skill one is most proficient at, so it can save even more time.

It took six seconds to thread the lantern pole and place the candle.

These two techniques are relatively simple, but Zhang Laifu has never really studied them properly. He has been using his lantern pole skills for fighting, so he still needs to practice these more!

By the seventeenth day, Zhang Laifu could make a lantern in just ten seconds: five seconds for the frame, two seconds for pasting the paper, two seconds for bending the wire and threading the pole, and one second to put the candle stub through.

Can it go any faster?
It seems like this won't work. Zhang Laifu feels that even his two hands aren't enough; ten seconds is the limit.

He lay in bed thinking for a long time, and suddenly something occurred to him: when making lanterns, could he thread the candle through the paper first and then paste it on? That would be a little faster, but not by much. Could he thread the candle through the paper while simultaneously pasting it on, completely eliminating the second of threading the candle?

Then the process had to be changed: first install the wire, then paste the paper.

But if you put wire in it, the paper won't stick properly; the wire gets in the way.

Zhang Laifu racked his brains for a long time before finally coming up with a solution.

Of all the steps in making lanterns, his specialty is pasting paper. He can paste the paper while threading wire through it, and when the paper is halfway pasted, he can insert the candle, saving up to two seconds in extreme cases.

But if you make a mistake and the paper gets torn by the wire, the lantern will be ruined.

After practicing for a whole day, on the morning of the eighteenth day, Zhang Laifu finished pasting a lantern in eight seconds.

It's eight seconds, right?

This broken pocket watch is so hard to read.

Just as Zhang Laifu was feeling excited, he suddenly realized that something was wrong with the lantern.

It moved slightly in Zhang Laifu's palm, but he could feel it.

Is this a response?
Zhang Laifu seemed to hear the sound of lanterns.

"Guys, let's do it!"

That's such a considerate thing to say, like something your own woman would say!

Let's get started!

Zhang Laifu was a little nervous. His wife couldn't wait any longer. What was the second step again?

A standing lamp!

Find a suitable place to put the light up!
This step is easy; just find a place that won't affect the lighting.

There were gaps in the floor of the bamboo house. Zhang Laifu used all his strength to insert the lantern pole into the gaps, and the lantern stood up.

The third step is to light the lamps, and that's where the real challenge begins.

Zhang Laifu took a match, struck it, and stuck it into the lantern: "We're an old married couple, I'm just trying to light this, don't dodge, I can't light it..."

Before the candles could be lit, the lantern stopped moving.

That lasted far too short a time!
Zhang Laifu thought about it carefully. Did the process just now last two seconds?
They still needed to set up a lamp and light it, but in such a short time, Zhang Laifu couldn't think of any way to light the candle.

Should we try Li Yunsheng's methods again?

Zhang Laifu took out the talisman box given to him by Li Yunsheng and set it on fire.

call!
A ball of flame burst out of the window of the bamboo house, and the landlord shouted from downstairs, "This won't do! You can't burn my house down!"

The house didn't burn down, but the lanterns were completely burned.

What else can be done?
After thinking for a long time, Zhang Laifu finally came up with a solution.

When pasting the paper, just light the candle and put it in, isn't that enough?

He made a lantern in a little over eight seconds, inserting a lit candle halfway through.

The lanterns trembled continuously, which was a sign that they were responding.

Overjoyed, Zhang Laifu quickly stuck the lantern into the crack in the floor.

The lamp was made successfully, the lamp was erected successfully, the lamp was lit ahead of schedule successfully, and the special skill was mastered.

One shot!

Is it bright?

Zhang Laifu looked around and saw that it was indeed quite bright!

It was so bright that Zhang Laifu couldn't open his eyes.

(End of this chapter)