Trade Circle Senses

Zhang Laifu was eager to learn a craft. Li Yunsheng could not stop him, but he could not help worrying. "The men from Hunlong Stronghold may still be looking for you everywhere. You need to be careful. Better find somewhere to lie low for a few days."

That made sense, but where could Zhang Laifu lie low now? Even staying at an inn would leave him on edge!

He was a Craftsman now. If he learned a craft, at least he could fight back. He had had more than enough of hiding from place to place.

"Brother Laifu, I've closed my stall anyway. I'll go to Candle Oil Road with you." Li Yunsheng wanted to accompany him, but Zhang Laifu refused.

The Hunlong Stronghold bandits had come to Pearl Street looking for Zhang Laifu twice, and both times they had dragged Li Yunsheng into it.

If it happened again, the bandits would probably start seeking Li Yunsheng out.

Since Zhang Laifu had arrived in Wansheng Province, Li Yunsheng had helped him so much. Zhang Laifu could not repay a friend by putting him in danger.

"I caused you plenty of trouble when I had no craft. Now I'm a Craftsman, Brother Yunsheng. I'll handle this myself!"

Li Yunsheng could not sway him, so he could only offer some advice. "Once you reach Candle Oil Road, if you find a suitable Trade Circles, stay and learn it. You must build a solid foundation in your Trade Circles before your craft can improve.

"Learning a craft isn't easy. Hard study and practice aren't enough; you also need to judge your master's skill. Only a master craftsman, at the very least, can teach a registered apprentice properly. Look carefully, and don't let some incompetent fool lead you astray."

Zhang Laifu took the advice to heart and went to Candle Oil Road alone. Just inside the entrance, he saw a shop with an especially broad storefront. Lanterns hung beside its sign, which read Moonlit Workshop.

He thought it sold lanterns, but when he went in and asked, he learned it was a candle workshop.

Moonlit Workshop was the largest candle workshop in Heishakou. For weddings, it had Dragon and Phoenix Blossom, Mandarin Duck Glow, and Unity Red. For funerals, it had Soul-Guiding Candle, Third Watch Glow, and Road-Breaking Candle. For blessings, it had Peace Candle, Longevity-Adding Candle, and Home-Guarding Candle.

There were candles for special purposes, too: Relay-Road Candle for signaling at the docks, Yin-Yang Candle for driving off evil and suppressing ghosts, Fortune-and-Longevity Wax for opium dens, and Spring-Parlor Candle for the elegant rooms of brothels.

Looking at so many candles sent a flutter through Zhang Laifu's heart. He wanted badly to buy them all and take them back to study.

Was this fluttering feeling what a sense was?

Could candle-making be his Trade Circles?

A shop assistant came over to greet him. "What can I get you, sir?"

Zhang Laifu did not answer. He made a circuit of the shop, then shook his head slightly.

Candle-making was not his trade. A candle's flame was too distinct, unlike the firelight he had seen in his dream.

"Do you sell lanterns?"

The assistant waved a hand. "Wrong shop, sir. Head east along Candle Oil Road. There's a lantern shop up ahead."

Zhang Laifu figured he could take a look. If he felt nothing in the lantern shop, he would return to the candle workshop. If he felt something there too, he would compare which feeling was stronger.

He walked east along the street, passing several candle workshops before he finally found the lantern shop.

It was called Bright Illumination Studio. Its signboard was painted gold and outlined in vermilion, the brushstrokes bold and vigorous. The storefront was not particularly large. Three lanterns hung beneath the eaves, giving off a soft, warm glow in the sunlight.

What were those lantern shades made of? Why did they look so hazy?

They could not be glass; they were clearly less transparent. Nor did they look like plastic. They were not that smooth, and the shades bore unusual patterns.

Inside, Zhang Laifu saw several rows of shelves, all filled with lanterns.

Up close, he could see them clearly. Their material was peculiar, as though they had been ground from jade and coated with a layer of wax. When light fell on them, even people's silhouettes seemed much softer.

Every shade had been polished until it was translucent, leaving the outline of the wick visible. Some had inlaid rims and densely carved cloud patterns.

The longer Zhang Laifu looked, the faster his heart beat.

These lanterns were mesmerizing!

As he stared at them, Zhang Laifu felt as though he could see the goddesses of his fantasies.

Some were real-life stars; others were characters from fictional worlds. They were so beautiful that he dared to look, but would never dare touch.

Looking too directly at them even made Zhang Laifu feel ashamed.

The shopkeeper sat behind the counter, his hair faintly gray at the temples and a plain gray robe on his back. He held a small knife and was scraping a lantern shade. The blade moved in fine, careful strokes, leaving the shade gleaming like water wherever it passed.

Zhang Laifu had stood in the shop for quite some time before the shopkeeper came over. "Looking to buy a lantern, sir?"

The shopkeeper knew how to give a customer space, letting him browse before talking business.

"I'd like to ask what these lanterns are made of." Zhang Laifu sounded a little nervous.

An apprentice nearby glanced at him. "You came to Bright Illumination Studio to buy a lantern, and you're asking what it's made of?"

Zhang Laifu paused. Was he not allowed to ask?

The shopkeeper glared at the apprentice, then explained to Zhang Laifu, "The young man doesn't know any better, sir. Please don't mind him. The lanterns at Bright Illumination Studio are all made from ox horn."

Ox horn?

Ox horn could be made into shades this translucent?

Zhang Laifu had studied civil engineering, but he could not work out how they had done it.

"How do you turn ox horn into a lantern?"

The moment he asked, the shopkeeper froze.

The apprentice stepped forward. "Is that something you can just ask? Are you here to learn the craft?"

That was not wrong. Zhang Laifu nodded. "I do want to learn a craft."

The apprentice took an immediate dislike to him. "What do you mean, 'a craft'? Are you here to ask him to take you as an apprentice?

"If you want to become an apprentice, you have to follow the rules. You're standing there spouting nonsense like a fool. Is that any way to ask?"

"Then tell me the rules for becoming an apprentice." Zhang Laifu genuinely wanted to know how it worked.

The shopkeeper found Zhang Laifu rather strange too. "Bright Illumination Studio doesn't plan to take any more apprentices before the new year. If you're sincere about learning, come back next year."

"I can't wait until next year. It's urgent. Could you teach me a couple of things first so I can see whether it suits me..."

The shopkeeper turned to the apprentice. "A-Qiang, show him out!"

The apprentice came forward to drive him away, but Zhang Laifu called out, "Wait! I'll buy a lantern. How much is this one?"

Zhang Laifu picked up a lantern edged in bronze.

It was not large, and its workmanship looked fairly plain. The bronze rim was not new metal either, but old bronze that had been polished again. Traces of verdigris were still faintly visible around the edges.

A lantern like that ought not to have been very expensive. But the shopkeeper's answer made Zhang Laifu jump.

"Eight Silver Dollars."

"Eight?" Zhang Laifu cried in shock. "Why don't you just rob me?"

The shopkeeper smiled. "That's the price at Bright Illumination Studio."

Holding the lantern, Zhang Laifu looked it over from every angle, putting on the air of an expert. "The workmanship's a little rough, yet you're charging that much? Is this really Bright Illumination Studio, or are you passing yourselves off as them?"

The shopkeeper looked Zhang Laifu up and down. "Are you actually buying that lantern?"

"Buy it!" Zhang Laifu produced eight Silver Dollars on the spot!

The shopkeeper nodded. "A-Qiang, take him to see the workshop. Let's show him whether this is the genuine Bright Illumination Studio."