Old Zhou's action startled everyone.
Only Lao Wang, who had known him for over a decade, knew exactly why Lao Zhou had done this.
Old Zhou, despite his advanced age, still acts like a child, doing whatever comes to mind.
Gu Lili gestured to Li Ershu to help the man up, and asked suspiciously, "Why is Craftsman Zhou doing this? Why did he kneel down all of a sudden? Get up quickly."
Gu Lili was completely confused. She didn't seem to have revealed her identity, so why was she kneeling down?
Li Ershu stepped forward to help Lao Zhou up, but Lao Zhou remained kneeling on the ground, which greatly troubled Li Ershu.
"Young lady, please don't laugh at me. I would like to ask you to take me as your apprentice!" Old Zhou said earnestly.
After hearing this, Gu Lili and the other two were both amused and exasperated.
Especially Gu Lili, she doesn't know anything about carpentry at all, how could she take Lao Zhou as her apprentice?
The only reason she was able to draw the structural diagram of the bunk bed was because she had more life experience than Old Zhou.
Moreover, she has been sleeping in bunk beds like this since middle school, for nearly ten years.
She merely drew out its structure, but Lao Zhou was able to build it.
Gu Lili should be the one admiring Lao Zhou. Her drawing wasn't very detailed, but Lao Zhou was able to do it, which is already very impressive.
"Carpenter Zhou, you'd better get up quickly. How could I be your teacher? I know absolutely nothing about carpentry," Gu Lili said hurriedly.
Gu Lili felt ashamed of Lao Zhou's actions.
Old Zhou thought that Gu Lili didn't want to take him as her apprentice, which was why she said that.
"Please accept me as your apprentice, young lady. Or is there something you're having trouble telling me?" Old Zhou said stubbornly.
Seeing this, Old Wang stepped forward and pulled Wang the carpenter up.
“Oh dear, Lao Zhou, Miss Gu has already said she doesn’t understand. Why are you so stubborn? You’re so old, yet you’re still so obsessed with woodworking. Don’t you think about how old Miss Gu is? She’s a young lady, how could she possibly know anything about woodworking? This bed, I guess Miss Gu saw it somewhere and then drew it.”
Gu Lili nodded hastily. It wasn't that she was unwilling to teach, but rather that she really didn't know how.
After being scolded by Lao Wang, Lao Zhou's mind cleared up a bit.
He was a little disappointed, though, because he thought Gu Lili knew woodworking, so he could learn some skills too.
Seeing the disappointment on Lao Zhou's face, Gu Lili felt a little sorry for him.
She understands that some people only love one thing in their entire lives, which is why they are so stubborn.
In order to improve himself, he even disregarded his reputation and formally became his disciple in front of his three apprentices.
Therefore, Gu Lili immediately took out a simple woodworking sketchbook from her sleeve.
The document contains structural diagrams of ten types of furniture, which should allow Lao Zhou to study them for some time.
“Carpenter Zhou, although I don’t know anything about carpentry, I have a book about it on me. I have no use for it, so I’ll give it to you to take a look.” Gu Lili smiled and handed over the book.
Old Zhou was initially a little disappointed, but upon hearing Gu Lili's words, his eyes instantly lit up again.
Seeing the book Gu Lili handed him, Old Zhou quickly wiped his hands on his clothes several times before reaching out to take it.
Old Zhou carefully opened the book, his eyes shining even brighter.
He turned a few pages, and then with a thud, Old Zhou knelt down again.
“Young lady, although you don’t know anything about carpentry, you have generously given me books, so you can be considered my master. Please take me as your apprentice.”
Gu Lili couldn't help but want to facepalm; Old Zhou was really stubborn.
Seeing this, Old Wang was also helpless.
"Why don't you just accept Old Zhou, Miss Gu? Otherwise, his stubbornness will kick in again," Old Wang said helplessly.
Gu Lili sighed softly, as if this was the only way.
"Okay," Gu Lili nodded.
After Gu Lili agreed, Lao Zhou immediately knelt down and kowtowed three times.
"Master, please accept my bow."
Gu Lili quickly helped him up. Old Zhou was old enough to be her grandfather, yet he was kneeling before her like that.
She was truly uneasy.
And so, Gu Lili had her first apprentice.
"Master, could you take a look at this bed I made? Is there anything that needs improvement?"
Old Zhou's way of calling someone "master" is quite natural.
Gu Lili nodded and followed Lao Zhou to see the bed he had made.
Old Zhou did a very meticulous job, and Gu Lili nodded in satisfaction as she watched.
"Look, it would be better if these corners could be blunted."
Gu Lili suggested.
"There are many beds in a room. With so many people, it's inevitable that they'll bump into each other. If the angle is obtuse, the injury will be less."
Old Zhou was very pleased to hear this; his master was truly amazing!
With such sharp angles, the table is also very practical.
"Master, you're amazing!" Old Zhou praised.
Gu Lili was getting a little embarrassed by Lao Zhou calling her "Master" so often.
Chang'an, who was standing to the side, chuckled to himself while helping Gu Lili out of the predicament.
"Lili, shall we go take a look over there?"
Gu Lili glanced gratefully at Chang'an. Old Zhou wanted to ask a few more questions, but seeing that Gu Lili was about to leave, he had no choice but to give up.
After leaving Lao Zhou's place, Gu Lili went to check out other parts of the estate.
The renovation should be completed in just two or three days, since we informed Craftsman Wang beforehand that she was in a hurry.
As for the wooden bed, there's no rush. It's summer now, so we can just let the servants sleep on the floor for now.
The wooden bed can be used whenever it's finished.
When the appointed time arrived, Li Ershu went to Wangwu Bridge to pick up Uncle Facai.
Uncle Fa Cai drove his horse-drawn cart, bringing the distillation equipment with him.
The carriage drove into the courtyard and came to a steady stop. As Uncle Facai lifted the black cloth on the carriage, all the distillation equipment came into view.
"This is glass!"
Everyone couldn't help but sigh.
Chang'an was also greatly shocked. Even in the imperial palace, glass was extremely rare. He never expected that this wealthy uncle could obtain so much glass.
Moreover, the shape of this glass was truly peculiar, a twisted, tube-like shape that he had never seen before.
“Uncle Fa Cai trades with merchants on the border,” Gu Lili explained with a smile.
Chang'an then realized that the glassware in the palace was also a gift from foreign countries.
The group carefully carried the distillation apparatus inside.
Everything is ready; now all that's missing is for Zhuangzi to be renovated.
To Gu Lili's surprise, what she thought would take three days, Old Wang completed the modification in just two days.
All that's left is Old Zhou's wooden bed.
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