Chapter 235 New Skills

Chapter 235 New Skills

Chapter 235 New Skills (Subscribe!)

After taking a nap at noon, Li Kailang was full of energy.

It was a rare occasion that he got up early today, and Li Kailang didn't want to spend the morning in such a hurry, so he had to find something to do.

"I have nothing to do this afternoon, so I'll go find Master Hua and learn some more skills. I'll learn them as soon as possible!"

"But before that, there is one more thing to do."

"Well, first send the wardrobe that Master's Wife wants over, lest she forgets."

As he spoke, Li Kailang got out of bed, pushed the cart out of the yard, and then moved the wardrobe out.

On the way to Zhang Fen's house, passers-by couldn't help but feel a little envious.

"Look at that wardrobe, it's so new! I don't know whose new wardrobe it is, I really want it!"

"Yeah, it would be great if I had one when I get married!"

"Just think about it. If you still want to get married, it's good that you don't scare people away with your careless personality!"

"Don't talk nonsense!"

After a few words, the two of them started to wrestle with each other playfully and laughingly.

For women, who doesn’t like a wardrobe? Now everyone is using old ones, so a new one will look different.

After a while, Li Kailang pushed the cart and arrived outside Zhang Fen's yard.

"Brother Zhang, I'm here!" Li Kailang shouted at the gate and pushed the cart in.

When hearing Li Kailang's voice, the first person to come out was not Zhang Fen, but Zhang Ya.

Zhang Ya came out of the house quickly. The first thing she saw was the brand new wardrobe. She exclaimed, with a hint of amazement in her eyes.

She immediately turned around and shouted towards the house:

"Mom, your new wardrobe is here!!"

"Ah! My new wardrobe!"

When Han Xiaohui heard her daughter's words, she rushed out immediately.

When she saw the wardrobe in front of her, her eyes immediately lit up. She stroked the surface of the wardrobe with a joyful smile on her face.

She kept saying, "My new wardrobe!"

Zhang Ya was also looking at her mother's new wardrobe. She compared her own wardrobe with her mother's new wardrobe and suddenly felt a little disappointed and her face hung.

She looked at Li Kailang with an aggrieved expression:

"Brother Li, how come you made such a nice one for my mom, with patterns and decorations, but mine has nothing at all."

"Ha ha!"

Li Kailang smiled helplessly. Although the wardrobe they took was made after they mastered the carpentry, it was Li Kailang's experimental work at that time.

Naturally, there is no special pattern or decoration, it is just an ordinary wardrobe.

Zhang Fen came over, tapped Zhang Ya on the head, and said with a smile:
"Hey, this belongs to our mom, can't it be a little different? Why, you want to fight with mom for this!"

Hearing the word "grab", Han Xiaohui pretended to hug the wardrobe with an expression as if she was not going to give it to him.

"Want to change? No way, Mom likes this one!"

"I don't want to change it, I just want some nice patterns." Zhang Ya said pitifully, looking at Li Kailang:
"Brother Li, how about you help me make some patterns?"

Li Kailang looked at the pitiful Zhang Ya, and then looked at his master's wife who was happy. He decided not to disturb her joy for the time being.

He shrugged helplessly: "Forget it today, I didn't bring any tools with me. Let's wait until next time. I'll help you make some patterns next time."

"Okay then!" Zhang Ya could also accept the current situation.

"Mom, stop looking and move the wardrobe in quickly!" said Zhang Fen.

Han Xiaohui rolled her eyes at Zhang Fen and said, "Why are you in such a hurry? Everyone and Xiao Li worked so hard to move here, they should take a break. You are useless even to animals!"

"Where to put the wardrobe at home if it's not moved out?"

Turning to look at Li Kailang, Han Xiaohui looked very happy: "Xiao Li, take a rest. I'll go pack my things."

"Xiaoya, go get some water for your brother Li!"

After saying that, Han Xiaohui went to pack her clothes.

Li Kailang took a rest for a while and found out that his master had not returned yet.

After Han Xiaohui packed her clothes, Li Kailang and Zhang Fen worked together to move the wardrobe into the house.

As for the old wardrobe, the master's wife didn't want it anymore and gave it to a resident in the yard.

"A new wardrobe!" Han Xiaohui couldn't let go of the new wardrobe and stared at it intently.

He took Zhang Jinwu's towel and wiped the new wardrobe clean.

Li Kailang also smiled. Fortunately, he had cleaned it when he moved in.

Now that the matter was settled, Li Kailang planned to leave and do his own things.

"Brother Zhang, I've delivered the wardrobe. I'll leave now. The cart will be left with you."

"Why are you leaving so early? Stay a little longer!" Zhang Fen tried to persuade them to stay.

"No, if I really have something to do, I'll come next time. It's not long before the Chinese New Year anyway, so I'll be here in a few days."

"That too!"

Seeing Han Xiaohui still staring at the closet, Li Kailang left without saying goodbye.

After leaving Zhang Fen's house, Li Kailang skillfully went to an alley to start studying.

"Mr. Hua, here I come!"

"What are you arguing about? It's not like I didn't hear you!" A somewhat complaining but friendly voice came from the courtyard.
"Squeak——" the door slowly opened.

What came into view was a hunchbacked old man, leaning on a walking stick, with wrinkles all over his face. Time had left deep marks on his face.

Despite his advanced age, Mr. Hua's eyes are still sharp, as if he can see into people's hearts.

"Boy, why did you come so early today?" Old Hua joked.

Li Kailang smiled and said, "I have nothing to do today, so I wanted to come early to learn from you, Mr. Hua. I also want to master this skill as soon as possible, so as not to embarrass you."

"You are thoughtful!" Old Hua nodded, pointed at Li Kailang and said with a smile.

"Go wash your hands. You are becoming more and more skilled in this skill. You will be able to learn it soon! Maybe you can learn it today."

Mr. Hua is a winemaking master, and Li Kailang is learning his skills.

However, Mr. Hua did not accept Li Kailang as his apprentice. Mr. Hua taught Li Kailang the art of brewing wine, which was more of a transaction or a trust.

Since learning that skill proficiency can be improved, Li Kailang has been constantly looking for suitable skills to learn.

The skill of brewing wine meets Li Kailang's current requirements. He can buy it or make it for himself to drink.

There happen to be medicinal herbs in the planting space, and if you learn how to make them, you can make medicinal wine.

Coincidentally, a few days ago, when Li Kailang was strolling on the street after get off work, he suddenly smelled a strong aroma of alcohol.

"Where does the aroma of wine come from? It's so strong! This winemaking technique is extraordinary!"

"It's a good opportunity to give it a try and see if I can learn the art of brewing wine."

He followed the scent and came to Mr. Hua's yard. Seeing the door was open, Li Kailang walked in.

At this time, Mr. Hua was distilling liquor and was about to take the final steps of blending and bottling.

Mr. Hua lives in a small courtyard with its own entrance and courtyard. The courtyard is filled with pottery jars of various sizes, which are obviously used for making wine.

When Li Kailang met him for the first time, he was the only one in the yard.

Seeing that Mr. Hua was filling the bottles, Li Kailang did not disturb him and just watched quietly from the side.

After Mr. Hua finished filling the wine, he turned around and found Li Kailang, and looked at him warily.

"Who are you? Why are you in my yard?"

Li Kailang quickly explained: "Oh, uncle, I am Li Kailang. I came here because of the smell of wine. I saw that the door was not closed, so I thought I could come in and take a look."

"I hope I didn't bother you. I'm really sorry that I came in without saying hello to you!"

After listening to Li Kailang's explanation, Mr. Hua looked at the door frame and found that the valve was not closed. It was indeed his fault.
Seeing that he had a slender figure, was handsome and had a good temperament, Mr. Hua did not pursue the matter further with Li Kailang, nor did he drive him away immediately.

Mr. Hua said calmly, "What do you want? If you don't have anything, please go out first and don't disturb me while I'm working."

Li Kailang quickly said, "Uncle, I see you are brewing wine. I wonder if you can teach me the technique of brewing wine?"

"Teach you?" Old Hua looked Li Kailang carefully and shook his head.

"Forget it, young man. I see you have your own job. Don't waste your time here with me."

"You won't make a lot of money by learning my craft. At most you can just make a living. You might as well learn something else with this time."

Li Kailang quickly explained: "No! Uncle, I see that you are good at brewing wine, and I just want to learn another skill. It is always good to have more skills!"

Mr. Hua still shook his head and refused.

Seeing this, Li Kailang had no choice but to pay tuition to study.

Li Kailang said sincerely: "Uncle, please don't rush to refuse. I can pay the tuition to study with you!"

"boom!"

Suddenly, Mr. Hua threw down a jar and said angrily:
"Who do you think I am? You want to buy my ancestral craft with just a few bucks. So many people wanted to buy my craft, but I refused to sell it to them! Who do you think you are?"

"Tell me, is there anyone who wants to buy my craft from you? I'm used to your tricks! Get lost!"

Hua Lao was so angry that he blew his beard and glared, and raised his cane as if he was about to hit Li Kailang.

Seeing this, Li Kailang fled in panic.

"Damn it, if you want to cheat me of this craft, I won't give it to you even if I die!"

Mr. Hua cursed and closed the door.

Li Kailang was standing outside. Mr. Hua looked so angry, obviously he was very confident about his wine-making skills.

Looking at Mr. Hua's yard, Li Kailang vowed, "I must have learned it."

In the following days, Li Kailang would shamelessly come to Hua's home to help after get off work every day.

No matter how Mr. Hua tried to drive him away, he refused to leave.

At first, Mr. Hua suspected that his motives were impure and that he wanted to steal his skills.

But after seeing the truck driven by Li Kailang, his doubts were completely dispelled.

"Are you really not one of those businessmen who want to buy my craft?" Old Hua asked doubtfully.

"Of course. Look at this truck. Apart from the driver, who else would dare to drive it out so openly?"

Li Kailang patted the truck proudly and took out his trainee driver's license to show Mr. Hua.

Mr. Hua looked at the photo and name on the driver's license and finally believed what Li Kailang said.

From then on, Mr. Hua no longer drove Li Kailang away, but treated him as a free handyman without teaching him any skills.

Until a few days ago, things took a turn for the better.

"Dad! I'm back!"

I saw a middle-aged man with an unshaven beard walking in carelessly with a bottle of wine in his hand.

"Who are you? What do you want to do in my house? Are you trying to steal my things?"

He found Li Kailang who was carrying a clay jar.

"Don't leave! I'll call the police right away and have them arrest you! Don't even think about leaving. I'm telling you, everyone around here is my people, you can't escape."

Li Kailang looked at him blankly, wondering what he was doing?
"Of course, it's not that I can't let you go, but now that you're here, I'd be embarrassed to let you go!"

"Forehead!"

After saying that, he burped and rubbed his fingers at Li Kailang, as if asking for money.

Li Kailang looked at him with disdain. It seemed that this man should be Mr. Hua's son.

"Mr. Hua, is there someone coming to your house?"

Li Kailang shouted towards the workshop.

Hearing Li Kailang's words, Mr. Hua hurried out and saw Hua Yaoqian who was drunk.

His face darkened instantly, and he said in disgust: "Why did you come back? You are not welcome here. There is no money. Go back to where you came from!"

Hua Yaoqian didn't care: "Hey, Dad, don't be so heartless. I am your son after all, how can you say that?"

Mr. Hua said bluntly: "My son? My son died a long time ago! I dare not have a son like you, who drinks and gambles, and even gambles away our family and separates us from our wives and children!"

Hua Yaoqian didn't care at all: "Dad, I have no money. You still have some money. Can you lend me some?"

Mr. Hua's eyes widened. "Yes! Bullshit! You have squandered all the money in the family, and you are still asking me to borrow money."

"Hua Yaoqian, your father has no money left, so why don't you sell your ancestral craftsmanship?"

Suddenly, a few people came out of the door. They looked ferocious and obviously not good people. "You! You!" Old Hua pointed at the group of people and then at Hua Yaoqian.

"Are you going to sell our ancestral craft to them?" Old Hua's face showed shock and horror.

Hua Yaoqian looked nonchalant and took a big gulp of wine.

"Dad, I'm in debt and you won't give me money to pay it back. I can't pay a penny now. I have no choice but to sell my ancestral craft."

"You know what, this inherited craft is really valuable. Not only can it pay off my debt, but it can also make me some money. Hehe."

Several people walked up to Elder Hua and said unscrupulously:
"Old man, why didn't you sell this skill earlier? You see, it's because you didn't buy it that your son wouldn't gamble."

"You owe money, so you sold your assets, right?"

After saying that, he turned and looked at several younger brothers.

"Hahaha--"

Suddenly he burst into laughter.

His expression changed instantly and he looked at Mr. Hua coldly.

"Mr. Hua, we are here today to collect a debt. Either you give us your ancestral craftsmanship, or your son will have one hand chopped off!"

As he spoke, he pulled out a machete and waved it a few times in front of Mr. Hua.

"Dad!" Hua Yaoqian knelt down in front of Old Hua.

"Dad, save me, I don't want to be without hands! Save me! Dad!"

Hua Yaoqian knelt down and begged Mr. Hua to save him.

Mr. Hua said angrily, "Save you! How can I save you? You gambled away all the money in the family, how can I pay you back?"

"Oh! You can't pay it back! If you can't pay it back, use Hua Yaoqian's hand to pay it back!"

As they spoke, several people approached Hua Yaoqian with gloomy faces.

"Dad, save me!" Hua Yaoqian looked at them getting increasingly anxious, his mind suddenly cleared up, and he begged Old Hua.

"Wait, I...I." Old Hua looked at his son who was begging, and then looked at the people approaching.

The one kneeling on the ground was his own son. After all, he was the child he had raised for decades. Old Hua couldn't bear it.

Mr. Hua sighed and said helplessly: "I'll give it to you!"

As soon as these words came out, several people laughed: "Mr. Hua, it would be better if you could take it out sooner rather than later, so we don't have to go through so much trouble!"

Mr. Hua went into the house helplessly and took out an old and tattered book.

Old Hua looked at the book with tears in his eyes. The book recorded the ancestral skills and recipes.

Li Kailang was standing aside and watching. He couldn't stand this situation. No one dared to act cool in front of him and even threatened Mr. Hua.

"Wait!" Li Kailang said.

"Boy, what can I do for you?" Several people turned their heads unfriendlyly and their eyes fell on Li Kailang.

Li Kailang looked at them fearlessly and said calmly, "How much money does Hua Yaoqian owe? I'll pay it back!"

"You still do! Hahaha." Several people immediately burst into laughter.

"Do you know how much money Hua Yaoqian owes? How dare you come and pay it back?"

"Kid, don't get in the way of us doing our work, go cool off!"

Obviously, compared to money, they wanted the skills passed down by their ancestors more.

This requires us to appreciate the deeper meaning behind this. Perhaps it was they who induced Hua Yaoqian to gamble.

"Oh, I wonder if this thing of mine is good enough?"

"Clap!"

Li Kailang smiled sinisterly and pointed his gun at them.

"Gun! Boss, it's a gun!" one of the younger brothers shouted in horror.

Suddenly, when those people saw the black gun in Li Kailang's hand, their faces changed and they trembled with fear.

"Tell me, is this good enough?"

"Enough, enough, enough!" Several people nodded frantically, with obvious fear in their voices.

Li Kailang nodded with satisfaction: "Tell me how much Hua Yaoqian owes!"

The leader held up three fingers and said, "Three, three hundred dollars!"

"Three hundred, that's not bad! You wait, I'll go get the money." Li Kailang nodded, and then said to Mr. Hua: "Mr. Hua, take the book back, and I'll pay you back."

Before leaving the door, Li Kailang looked at the group of people and said, "Don't move! If I find you moving, my gun won't have eyes."

"Yeah, we won't move!" Several people nodded repeatedly.

After a while, Li Kailang pretended to bring the money back. Seeing that they were indeed motionless, he was very satisfied.

"Very good! You guys really didn't move around!" Li Kailang said with a smile.

Then he handed out three hundred yuan to those people.

"Three hundred yuan, count it, don't leave less!"

The boss carefully reached out and took the money, counted it one by one, and found that it was exactly one cent.

"Brother, it's just right!" The boss looked at Li Kailang cautiously.

Seeing that he didn't have any instructions, he tactfully wanted to leave.

"Wait!" Li Kailang called them again.

Those people were so scared that they knelt down and looked at Li Kailang in fear.

"Where's the IOU? Don't take the money from me and ask for it again tomorrow!"

The boss quickly took out the money from his trouser pocket and handed it to Li Kailang, "Brother, this is an IOU!"

Li Kailang took the IOU, glanced at it, and handed it to Hua Yaoqian, "Take a look, is this the IOU you wrote?"

Hua Yaoqian took it and looked at it carefully, "Yes, it's my IOU!"

Li Kailang tore up the IOU directly, and it fell like snowflakes.

"Okay, let's go."

"Thank you, brother! Thank you, brother!"

Several people felt relieved, kowtowed to thank Li Kailang, and then left in shame.

Hua Yaoqian looked at the torn IOU and finally felt relieved.

He grabbed the large wine bottle beside him and started drinking from it in big gulps, completely different from his previous look of compromise.

"Oh, I don't owe money anymore!" he said with emotion.

"Dad, I'm leaving!" After saying that, Hua Yaoqian left.

"Go? Can you go?" Old Hua smiled contemptuously, completely disappointed with Hua Yaoqian.

"Xiao Li, please call the police and have this Hua Yaoqian arrested." Old Hua said coldly.

Seeing Mr. Hua's extremely determined eyes, Li Kailang didn't try to persuade him much.

"Stop! Dad, I was wrong!"

The police were called and Hua Yaoqian was arrested. He had to spend three months in prison.

"Since you can't change your gambling habit outside, then you should try to change it inside. You will definitely be able to get rid of these bad habits inside." Old Hua said cruelly.

I have to admire Mr. Hua's heart. He is also cruel enough to dare to send his son directly to prison for reform.

"You helped me pay off my debts and saved my son, so you can take this book."

"No, Mr. Hua, I just want to learn the skill of brewing wine. I don't want your ancestral book and craftsmanship. Please keep it for yourself."

Mr. Hua insisted: "This won't work. Even without you, I will hand over this book. Instead of giving it to them, I'd rather give it to you!"

In the end, Li Kailang accepted the book passed down by Ancestor Hua.

"Here, Mr. Hua, when I have time, I will copy a copy of the book and return it to you!"

"Okay, okay, thank you for your help!" Mr. Hua said happily.

This book was handed down from his ancestors and has accompanied him for decades. It is impossible to say that he has no feelings for it.

If his son hadn't been addicted to alcohol and gambling, he wouldn't have to sell the book to get his son's hand.

He is not young anymore and he won't live long. He is afraid that he will let down his ancestors if he passes away.

From then on, Mr. Hua began to teach Li Kailang the art of winemaking with all his heart.

He imparted his experience and skills to Li Kailang without reservation, and personally demonstrated the operation process to ensure that Li Kailang could fully master it.

Li Kailang also studied very hard, practicing the skills taught to him by Master Hua over and over again.

Li Kailang had read the contents of the wine book, and except for the brewing method of beer, it contained all the other methods of making white wine, sorghum wine, and medicinal wine.

Even wine is mentioned, though only one type of wine is mentioned.

But it gave him a more comprehensive understanding of winemaking.

Under the guidance of Mr. Hua, Li Kailang has gradually mastered the art of winemaking.

Mr. Hua was very pleased to see Li Kailang operating the brewing equipment skillfully.

Finally, Li Kailang finished distilling a barrel of liquor. Old Hua tasted it and looked at Li Kailang.

"Xiao Li, you have now learned all my wine-making skills. I have nothing left to teach you. You have graduated!"

"Really? Master Hua, I am now a master?" Li Kailang said in disbelief.

Mr. Hua nodded heavily: "Really! You don't have to come to my place anymore. If you want to make wine, go back and do it."

Mr. Hua said, "You have the wine book in your hand. You can brew whatever you want."

Li Kailang was overjoyed. After studying for so long, he finally became a master.

At the same time, a light screen appeared in front of Li Kailang's eyes, and winemaking (beginner's guide) appeared among a host of skills.

[Skills: Repair Proficiency, Driving Proficiency. Brewing (Beginner)]

This means that he has officially entered the field of winemaking.

Seeing Li Kailang so happy, Mr. Hua couldn't help but feel relieved and said:
"You should practice more in the future. Practice makes perfect. You should also open the wine book often. It contains some things you should pay attention to."

"If you come across something you don't know, just open the book and look it up. If you really don't know, come and find me!"

Li Kailang was concentrating on the light screen and was not paying attention to what Mr. Hua was saying.

“It’s good to learn how to brew wine, but you must not forget your job.”

"You can't make a lot of money, you can only make a living. Don't focus all your attention on brewing wine, otherwise it will ruin you."

Mr. Hua continued to advise, not caring whether Li Kailang was paying attention or not.

Li Kailang came to his senses after hearing this.

He understood that Mr. Hua's concerns and instructions were out of concern and reminder for him. So he nodded solemnly and said:
"Master Hua, don't worry! I will remember your teachings and I won't give up my job because of this."

After hearing Li Kailang's answer, Mr. Hua nodded with relief.

"What a pity! If it were in the past, I would have accepted you as my apprentice, but now it's not possible. If I accept you, I will harm you."

We are now in a planned economy, and you need coupons to buy everything. Small family workshops simply cannot buy enough raw materials for production.

If you buy tickets on the black market, the cost will increase further and you won’t make much money, so you might as well go out and work.

Hua Yaoqian was arranged by Mr. Hua to work in the winery.

"By the way, Mr. Hua, I have finished copying the wine book today, so I'd better return your book to you."

Li Kailang returned the wine book that originally belonged to Mr. Hua to him.

"How can this be my book? This should be yours. I can't accept it!" Old Hua declined.

"Mr. Hua, you see I have already copied the exact same one. You should keep this ancestral book. This new one is enough for me."

Li Kailang took out another copied book.

Mr. Hua looked at Li Kailang suspiciously, afraid that he was trying to fool him.

Compare the two and even the contents inside to confirm that there are no mistakes.

Elder Hua cried bitterly while holding the wine book handed down from his ancestors, and said with great emotion, "When I die, I will have done my utmost to repay my ancestors for not throwing the book away."

"Xiao Li, thank you!"

Li Kailang quickly explained: "No, no! This is your thing, how can I take it! Please don't bother me."

After crying bitterly, Mr. Hua stared blankly at Jiushu, as if he was reminiscing about something. Li Kailang did not say anything to disturb him and quietly left Mr. Hua's house.

"I've learned the technique of brewing wine. After work tomorrow, I'll go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some ingredients and try brewing it myself."

(End of this chapter)