Chapter 186

We'll learn that Tai Chi later; there's plenty of time. Let's have breakfast first. I made millet porridge on low heat—it's very good. Shangguan Zhuren laughed.

I then followed Shangguan Zhuren into the restaurant.

On the table were two bowls of millet porridge, two large steamed buns, and some pickled vegetables.

I picked up the bowl and took two sips.

It was fragrant; I drank a bowl of millet porridge and ate a large steamed bun.

Then I took out a cigarette and offered it to Shangguan Zhuren,

and we both started smoking.

After finishing the cigarette, I asked Shangguan Zhuren, "Shangguan Zhuren, how are you going to train me next? Let me be reborn."

Shangguan Zhuren smiled and said, "We're not writing a web novel; you can't just be reborn however you like."

What I mean by letting you be reborn is letting you start over,

by completely changing your way of speaking and your appearance.

to forge a new Zhao Jianqiang.

That way we can deal with what comes later."

After Shangguan Zhuren finished speaking, he took out a book from his pocket,

"You have nothing else to do now; study this book at home every day. Aim to be able to speak Mandarin within a week."

I took the book,

and saw that the cover read "Mandarin Learning Guide."

I opened it and saw that it began with pinyin letters.

I said to Shangguan Zhuren, "Shangguan Zhuren, this is too simple, isn't it?"

"It may seem simple, Jianqiang, but don't think it's easy. Listen to your accent now—your Lanling dialect is strong. People don't just need to see your face; just hearing your voice gives you away.

Have you ever studied Mandarin before?"

I shook my head,

"Shangguan Zhuren, back when I was in school, Mandarin wasn't yet universally taught. In the mountain village we only learned the local dialect."

"Then we must change it; to change a person, start with the voice. Each day, read the contents seriously, then record yourself on your phone and play it back. When your speech sounds like a broadcaster's, you're done.

Also, this medicinal tea can alter your voice. You must drink it every day.

Jianqiang, I want to tell you,

As for revenge, everything depends on yourself now.

It's just a matter of whether you work hard or not."

After saying that, Shangguan Zhuren tossed down a few small packets of the herbal tea, stood up, and left.

I had no other choice,

I opened the book and studied it attentively,

learning what flat-tongue sounds and curled-tongue sounds are.

I practiced pronunciation like an elementary school student.

Since there was no teacher, I could only record myself on my phone and listen.

But no matter how I corrected myself, my pronunciation was still not correct.

Because I had never learned this since childhood, and as an adult I had never done any dedicated Mandarin practice.

For me, it's not easy.

After practicing all morning, I felt a little thirsty, so I brewed the herbal tea Shangguan Zhuren gave me and drank it.

It had a strong medicinal smell and a slight throat irritation. Drink it.

For the future, I gulped down this herbal tea.

The day passed just like that.

In the evening, Xiao Fang returned from Lanling.

She reported to us the situation there in Lanling,

Xiao Fang said, "I've already made contact with Du County; he is very concerned about your safety.

Then he hopes that Manager Xiao Feng will come as soon as possible.

Kong Shi has already found him for a talk.

We must urgently deal with the Qi He Kuang mine.

Du County wants to proceed via internal bidding, saying this is his last authority."

After Shangguan Zhuren heard Xiao Fang finish speaking,

he said to me, "Tomorrow contact Manager Xiao Feng, urge her to come quickly, and settle the matter of the Qi He Kuang mine. This mine must absolutely not fall into their hands again.

Xiao Fang, have you taken care of your ID card?"

Xiao Fang said, "I've already found Old Jia; he said it will take three days."

"That Old Jia is just slow. Fine, let's do it this way for now. Also, Jianqiang, you must learn Mandarin and stop speaking Lanling dialect. Xiao Fang, as a former broadcaster, you have some spare time to teach him." Shangguan Zhuren said.

"Dad, why make Chairman Zhao practice Mandarin? This seems unrelated to what we're doing." Xiao Fang said.

Shangguan Zhuren laughed,

"Just teach him; it will definitely be useful later. His accent will give him away as soon as he speaks outside."

"All right, then after dinner we'll practice." Xiao Fang said to me.

"Okay, with Miss Xiao Fang teaching me, I'll learn quickly. Today I read the book all day, reading along with it, but I haven't changed at all." I said.

"That's for sure. To master Mandarin you need a teacher, to read along and speak along. I spent a year in college just practicing pronunciation." Xiao Fang said.

Shangguan Zhuren said, "You don't need to train Jianqiang to be a broadcaster; just change his way of speaking. Understand?"

Xiao Fang nods.

After finishing the meal,

I and Xiao Fang start practicing Mandarin in the pavilion.

Xiao Fang says a sentence, I learn a sentence.

It all starts from the simplest bpmfdtnl.

I now know that some characters' pronunciation still has the four tones.

Xiao Fang teaches seriously, I study carefully.

Xiao Fang tells me: "Although Mandarin and our Lanling local speech belong to the Northern dialect group, but our tongues are relatively hard, when speaking they don't curl, so the spoken sound is relatively straight, not very pleasant."

This is closely related to our diet.

Our staple food here is pancake,

and differs from the pronunciation when eating steamed buns and rice.

So our spoken words are also different.

This requires long-term practice to eliminate our colloquial pronunciation."

Hearing Xiao Fang say this, I feel somewhat discouraged.

I am already over forty, and for over forty years I've spoken this way, never thinking of changing anything.

My accent has already formed like this; wanting to change it in a short time is impossible.

Seeing me somewhat discouraged,

Xiao Fang laughs: "When I was in college, I had a classmate whose family was from the Yi River; their accent was even heavier than ours, and his Mandarin in class was always at the bottom."

If a host can't pass the Mandarin test, they basically can't host. To practice spoken language, he would hold pebbles in his mouth and speak every day.

This can make the tongue quickly curl, able to train the tongue's flexibility, but practicing this requires endurance; the stones can wear the mouth raw and cause bleeding."

Upon hearing that, I felt energized,

"Tomorrow, I'll go to the flowerbed to find some small stones to put in my mouth to practice."

"That won't do; those stones have edges and can easily scratch. I went to Jinling a few years ago; they produce Yuhua stones there. I bought many; those small stones are smooth and beautiful. I'll get them for you shortly; you put them in your mouth to practice."

I said: "This requires too much thanks to Teacher Xiao Fang."

"Chairman Zhao, don't say that. Actually helping you is also helping my dad. Everyone should think about effort." Xiao Fang laughed.

"I still say that: please don't call me Chairman anymore; I'm not that anymore. You can call me by my name, or Zhao Ge." I said to Xiao Fang.

"Then I'll call you Zhao Dage from now on; anyway you've changed that name, just calling you brother, but you want me to call my dad, that would be unfair to you." Xiao Fang laughed.

"Fair, Shangguan Zhuren is originally much older than me, also my senior; calling him that is normal." I also laughed.

"Alright, let's leave it at that." Xiao Fang happily walked out of my room,

then brought me two Yuhua stones.