A Promising Talent

Zhang Laifu pasted paper onto lanterns with a group of apprentices in the courtyard.

The work looked simple, but it was anything but. Chen Xiaowang had been there two days and still couldn't judge how much paste to apply. Too much seeped through the seams; too little, and the paper wouldn't stick to the lantern.

Even Deng Yuechuan, who had been an apprentice for a month, was clumsy at it. Sometimes he pasted the paper crooked, and the seams failed to line up, so he had to tear it off and start again. Sometimes he left it too loose, and the paper fell away when the lantern shook. Other times he pulled it too tight, and the paper split before he could finish.

Wang Tiaodeng kicked and shoved him from the side. "Is there anything you can do? Deng Yuechuan, you've been here a month, and you still can't handle a bit of paste!"

"Look at that! You've wasted another two sheets. How much paper are you going to use on one lantern? You're about to cost the lantern shop everything, and you don't even realize it!

"Stop pasting lanterns. Stop learning the craft from me, too. I can't stand the shame. Go home!"

A lantern sold for just two copper coins. At that price, they had to save every scrap of labor and material they could.

Master Wang made lantern frames while berating the apprentices. He had meant to give Zhang Laifu a few sharp words too, but remembering all that nonsense Zhang had said about selecting materials and drawings only made him angry.

Yet as he watched Zhang Laifu work, he couldn't find a thing to criticize.

It was Zhang Laifu's first time pasting a lantern, but his hands were steady and he applied just the right amount of paste. The seams met perfectly, the paper was neither too loose nor too tight, and the result was a perfectly serviceable lantern.

He worked fast, too. Pinching the rough-edged paper between his thumb and forefinger, he used his other three fingers to smooth it along the lantern frame. One turn covered a full circuit; before long, he had finished another lantern. Several old hands around him had worked there for years, but none could match his speed.

They had a big order that night, so Wang Tiaodeng concentrated on the work. Once they were done, he called Zhang Laifu over. "Have you learned this trade before?"

"I learned to make Silk Lanterns, but I never finished learning," Zhang Laifu said. "I even brought one with me."

That was pure nonsense. Zhang Laifu couldn't explain his own skill either.

He simply felt that the rough-edged paper and paste worked with him in perfect harmony, as naturally as dressing his own wife.

Seeing the Silk Lantern Zhang Laifu had brought, Wang Tiaodeng looked skeptical. "You bought that from the Auspicious Splendor Workshop, didn't you? Silk Lanterns aren't even in the same Trade Circles as ours."

"Different trades, same principles." Zhang Laifu tossed out a few words of excuse, then went to eat a late-night meal with Chen Xiaowang.

Wang Tiaodeng watched Zhang Laifu walk away, his eyes growing brighter by the moment.

An old worker beside him asked, "Master Wang, spotted a promising talent?"

"A promising talent. A real promising talent!" Wang Tiaodeng's eyes shone brighter still.

That was one good thing about the Old Bright Lantern Shop: workers and apprentices alike were never shortchanged on food. They had worked hard to rush the order today, and their late-night meal included chicken, fish, and beef in soy sauce.

After eating and drinking his fill, Zhang Laifu went back to rest. He wasn't picky about where he slept; during a summer job, he had once shared a dormitory room with nineteen other people.

The quarters here were fairly spacious. The room looked to be about twenty square meters and held only three beds, for the three newcomers: Deng Yuechuan, Chen Xiaowang, and Zhang Laifu.

Zhang Laifu looked around. "Just the three of us in a room this big?"

Deng Yuechuan snorted. "How many more do you want to cram in? You think we're livestock?"

They blew out the oil lamp and settled down to sleep, but Deng Yuechuan couldn't. He sat on his bed, staring into space.

"Brother Deng, that's just how Master is," Chen Xiaowang said to comfort him. "His words are knives, but his heart is tofu. Don't take it to heart."

"That's not it," Deng Yuechuan said, shaking his head. "Go to sleep."

As he spoke, two coughs came from outside the door.

Chen Xiaowang waved a hand at Deng Yuechuan. "Quick, lie down. Master's here."

Deng Yuechuan was about to lie down when Master Wang called from outside, "Yuechuan, come to my room. I have something to tell you."

What could he have to say this late at night?

Deng Yuechuan felt uneasy, but he had no choice but to go.

After he left, Chen Xiaowang tossed and turned under his quilt, unable to sleep. He was worried about Deng Yuechuan.

Zhang Laifu couldn't understand it. "Master Wang asked to see him, not you. Why are you so frightened?"

Chen Xiaowang sighed beneath his quilt. "I think it's nice that we're all learning the craft together. I don't want a little thing to sour things between him and Master."

"Brother Deng cares about his pride. I'm afraid he'll argue with Master, and Master has a bad temper too. If Master actually strikes, Brother Deng could lose his life."

"Surely not. Master Wang wouldn't kill him, would he?"

Chen Xiaowang sat up and lowered his voice. "You don't know. Master killed plenty of people back in the day. He knows a secret skill."

A secret skill!

Zhang Laifu truly wanted to learn one. Li Yunsheng had told him about secret skills, and the ones he had seen were astonishingly powerful.

"What's the secret skill of our Paper Lantern Trade called?"

"Single Bright Rod!"

This young fellow knew quite a lot.

Zhang Laifu took a Silver Dollar from his pocket and handed it to Chen Xiaowang. "What does Single Bright Rod do?"

A Silver Dollar? Why was Zhang Laifu so generous?

Chen Xiaowang hurriedly pushed the money back. "Brother Laifu, why are you giving me money?"

Zhang Laifu genuinely wanted him to have it. "You told me something this important. I can't let you go unrewarded."

Chen Xiaowang waved it away. "I've only heard about it. I've never seen it. They say that once Master uses his secret skill, he can see straight through a person's organs with a little paper lantern he made himself."

Wasn't that just an X-ray machine? That was nowhere near as impressive as Zhu Laoshan's move.

"And what good does seeing through them do?"

"He doesn't just see them!" Chen Xiaowang lowered his voice even further. "I've heard that if you master the skill, you can set a person's organs on fire. Our master can do that."

Now Zhang Laifu was interested!

Setting someone's organs on fire was another matter entirely. That turned it into a radiation weapon.

"Has Master ever said how to practice this secret skill?"

Chen Xiaowang shook his head. "Why would he tell me? I've only been here two days. Besides, that's Craftsman business. Telling me wouldn't do any good.

"I just want to be an apprentice. Once I've finished learning, I'll go home and make lanterns on my own, or stay on as a worker for the shopkeeper. I'd be content with that."

With that, Chen Xiaowang rolled over to sleep. But he was so worried about Deng Yuechuan that he couldn't drift off.

His worry was completely unnecessary. Wang Tiaodeng hadn't called Deng Yuechuan in to scold him.

He had laid out wine and food in his room and invited Deng Yuechuan to eat with him.

In over a month of learning the craft, Deng Yuechuan had never once seen Master look pleased with him. This unexpected treatment frightened him badly.

"Master, are you going to..."

"Yuechuan, sit down first. Have a couple of drinks with me."

After master and apprentice had shared a few cups, Wang Tiaodeng asked, "Yuechuan, do you know why I'm always dressing you down in front of everyone?"

Deng Yuechuan lowered his head. "Master, you're doing this for my own good."

Wang Tiaodeng smiled. "That sounds nice, but I know you don't mean it. Who knows how many times you've cursed me in your heart?"

Deng Yuechuan shook his head at once. "I wouldn't dare. I wouldn't have the nerve."

Wang Tiaodeng poured Deng Yuechuan another cup of wine. "Curse me all you like, but don't hold a grudge. You're a lad who's seen something of the world, and your family had means. If your father hadn't lost money in business, you wouldn't have had to come learn this trade."

"But now that you're here, I want you to learn it well. I've been hard on you because I wanted you to build a solid foundation. Your foundation's nearly there, so it's time I taught you some real skills."

Wang Tiaodeng took out a strip of bamboo and held it over the oil lamp for a moment. "Do you know when it's heated just right? You can't only look; you have to smell it too. I'll tell you the trick right now."

Deng Yuechuan thanked him profusely, rising to his feet and bowing to Master Wang again and again.

Wang Tiaodeng waved him off. "Forget all that. You're a lucky lad. What I'm teaching you now is the real thing. Never mind that you've only been with me a month—even those who studied under me for three years, right up until they finished their apprenticeships, never learned these skills."

"I'm teaching you because I won't stand for that brash young pup getting cocky with me. Do you know which lad I mean?"

Deng Yuechuan thought for a moment. "You mean the one who arrived tonight?"

Wang Tiaodeng nodded. "A child from a well-to-do family sees the world differently. One glance tells you there's something off about that lad's background."

"He came to study under me with skills he'd already learned, yet he won't tell the truth. Keep an eye on him for me. Come to my room every night and tell me everything he says and does."

Deng Yuechuan bowed deeply. "Master, don't worry. Leave it to me."

P.S. Why did Master Wang keep such a close eye on Zhang Laifu?