Here is the translation:

  For the next one or two weeks, Wei Duan Gong frequently visited Chen Er Gou's small nest, never empty-handed. He would bring Huanghe Building 1916 cigarettes and at least Wuliangye liquor, just enough for a meal. His conversations were brief and to the point, as if he had calculated everything carefully. As Wang Hu Sheng put it, this guy was so calculating that even his farts were perfectly timed. Wei Duan Gong would often eat Zhang San Qian's simple dishes and drink wine, speaking and laughing with ease, making people think that this wealthy man was just experiencing the hardships of common folk. However, Wang Hu Sheng, who believed in being cautious, didn't dare to let his guard down. He had been racking his brains trying to figure out Wei Duan Gong's intentions, but ultimately couldn't come up with a convincing explanation and had to give up. With good wine to drink, good cigarettes to smoke, and beautiful women to admire, Wang Hu Sheng really couldn't think of a more comfortable life. Incidentally, he also found Wei Duan Gong more likable.

  On this day, Wei Duan Gong was walking his six dogs in the southern foothills of the residential area when two of the dogs suddenly barked loudly towards the mountain slope. The other four dogs immediately followed suit, and the rustling sound came from the trees. Wei Duan Gong's heart grew cautious, and the young driver took a few steps forward to stand guard in front of his master. Then, Wei Duan Gong saw an astonishing scene: a little kid was rolling down the slope with a two-meter-long snake wrapped around his body. The snake and the child rolled onto the road together. After great effort, the child finally managed to get up, successfully catching the snake by pinching its head with two fingers and grabbing its tail with the other hand. He shook it several times, immediately rendering the originally powerful yellow snake limp and lifeless, completely subduing it. It was clear that the child had considerable strength. The child, who had chased the snake through half of the mountain slope's trees, grinned from ear to ear, revealing a bright smile on his face as he looked at the snake's head.

  Wei Duan Gong was stunned for half a day, staring at the snake that was longer than an adult by a length, then looking at the child covered in dust and dirt. He lightly shouted to calm down the six dogs and asked with a smile: "San Qian, is this snake venomous?"

  Originally intending to turn around and boast to Third Uncle, Zhang Sanqian casually glanced at Wei Duan Gong and said: "What's the big deal about poison? If you're afraid of snakes, don't enter the mountain. You city folks understand nothing about herbal medicine, it serves you right if you get bitten to death."

  Zhang Sanqian was a restless man, after eating lunch and having half an hour of free time, he ran out to get some fresh air, climbed the mountain, originally wanting to dig up some bird nests and play with some eggs for cooking. As a result, he bumped into this snake and started playing a game of cat and mouse. He had always been disdainful of Wei Duan Gong's behavior of walking around the neighborhood with a bunch of dogs. With his hands shaking that snake, he said with an air of superiority: "Six dogs are nothing to be proud of, my third uncle can catch a black blind dog with just one dog, these beasts eat better than humans, what's the use? Even if they enter the mountain, they will still be overturned by wild boars."

  Wei Duan Gong didn't get angry at the child's cold ridicule, he also had self-awareness, in Zhang San Qian's eyes he was just a deadbeat who relied on others for food. The child couldn't understand the underlying meaning of his actions every time he went to scrounge for food with cigarettes and wine in hand, but Wei Duan Gong actually liked this child's audacity towards him, having spirit but not being worldly. He looked at the snake that should be called a yellow-bellied brocade python with great interest, it was already quite rare for a snake to grow up to two meters long, he really didn't know how it ended up in San Qian's hands. Wei Duan Gong joked: "San Qian, why don't you sell the snake to me, name your price."

  Zhang Sanqian was too lazy to pay attention to this nouveau riche, and didn't even respond, directly turning his head and running away. Leaving behind a speechless Wei Duan Gong and a lightly shaking head of the driver, the bodyguard who was called Ge Rui looked at Zhang Sanqian's slender back and smiled: "Master Wei, this kid looks delicate, but is actually very wild inside. You also haven't seen someone you like for a long time, to be honest, when I see Zhang Sanqian, I always feel uncomfortable, it's not that he's ugly, sigh, Master Wei, my ability to express myself is poor, and I won't be able to explain clearly for the time being."

  Wei Duan Gong nodded and said, "I understand your feelings. People in our line of work tend to feel uneasy when they're too relaxed around someone. That kid is different from Chen Er Gou. Chen Er Gou will be almost thirty in a few years, which is a bit late. I've been thinking about retiring from this circle soon, so I don't want to invest too much time and effort into someone whose personality is already set. That's why I'm more interested in San Qian, that kid. He's young, and with proper training, he'll turn out well. Let's not talk about this for now. We'll make a decision after the map of Zhang Jia Village comes out. I'll go take a look at how to deal with that snake. It seems like we'll have a good meal today, real wild game. You take the dog back."

  Wei Duan Gong arrived at Chen Er Gou's residence, where he had just finished removing the scales and skin of a yellow-bellied snake. Wang Hu Sheng and Zhang San Qian were squatting by the water dragon head, lending a hand. The remaining half bottle of Maotai wine from last night was divided into three cups by Chen Er Gou. The first cup dripped into the snake's blood, making it a bright red color. The second cup dripped into the snake's gallbladder juice. The third cup had nothing added to it. When Wei Duan Gong appeared, Chen Er Gou smiled and said: "You've come at just the right time." He handed the first cup of snake-blood wine to Wei Duan Gong, the second cup to Zhang San Qian, and the third cup to Wang Hu Sheng, saying: "This is my family's traditional way of drinking snake wine. Since this snake isn't suitable for soaking in wine, and we can't buy good quality Erguotou around here, let's drink it according to our local method. Also, Hu Sheng wants to try San Qian's stir-fried snake meat and snake bone stew. Mr. Wei, you're welcome to come over tonight and taste the freshness."

  Wei Duan Gong drank it all in one gulp, and found a different flavor.

  Zhang Sanqian drank half a cup of snake gall wine, his face turned bright red, and handed the remaining half cup to Chen Ergou. Chen Ergou never bothered with Zhang Sanqian, knowing that he couldn't finish a whole cup, or else he'd be lying in bed talking nonsense again. After finishing the wine, Zhang Sanqian went to practice calligraphy on his own initiative, while Chen Ergou busied himself separating the bones of the yellow-bellied snake meat, opening Wei Duan Gong's eyes wide.

  Behind Zhang Sanqian, who was concentrating on copying the inscription with both hands, Wei Duan Gong also didn't speak, and looked at him for a whole hour. At this time, Chen Erdou and Wang Huzi returned to their posts to work. Zhang Sanqian put down his pen and let out a deep breath, only then noticing Wei Duan Gong behind him, furrowing his brow. Wei Duan Gong, with a mind as nimble as a sieve, couldn't help but sense the boy's displeasure, and asked kindly: "Sanqian, has your Third Uncle ever mentioned to you the concept of 'Jin Shi Qi'?"

  Zhang San shook his head.

  Wei Duan Gong pulled over a small stool and sat down in front of Zhang Sanqian, picked up his brush and wrote the three characters "Jin Shi Qi". He explained: "What is referred to as Jin Shi Qi is generally the style of inscriptions on metal and stone before the Northern and Southern Dynasties. The lines are bold and simple, the structure is steep and clumsy, emphasizing a high and ancient air. This tradition originated from the Shang Dynasty's oracle bones, the gold texts of the Shang and Zhou dynasties, and the stone steles of the Qin and Han dynasties. It suits your temperament. Your calligraphy was taught by your third uncle, to some extent, he also taught you how to be a person and handle affairs, but the model he gave you is not quite right. I suggest you copy "Longmen Zhuangxiang" and "Zheng Wen Gong Bei". The former cures the problem of loose structure and commonness, while the latter is a good remedy for floating lines. As for whether you like big seal script, clerical script or Wei stele script, it doesn't matter. I even know a master calligrapher who started with grass script and later reached the ultimate state of 'old man old'.

  "You mentioned Jinshi Qi and 'Longmen Zhuangxiang', I've never heard of them, nor do I understand what they mean." Zhang Sanqian merely said indifferently, continuing to practice his calligraphy, "But I only copy the stickers that Third Uncle gave me."

  Wei Duan Gong didn't get angry, but instead lightly laughed and said: "San Qian, why are you so willing to listen to your Third Uncle's words?"

  "Don't bother me." Zhang Sanqian muttered in a low voice.

  "I don't know about the Golden Stone style, but if you can write a few lines with the flavor and atmosphere of 'Zhe Jia Gu' or 'Wu Lou Hen', your Third Uncle will definitely look at you in a new light." Wei Duan Gong said encouragingly. In fact, Zhe Jia Gu and Wu Lou Hen are the kind of things that only appear after one has mastered calligraphy, ordinary people can't grasp even a hint of them without 30 or 40 years of hard work. However, after looking at Zhang Sanqian's characters, Wei Duan Gong felt that there was some hope for him. This child not only had a spirited and lively appearance, but his handwriting also didn't have any common or mundane air to it. Although it was immature, it already had its own unique style.

  "Really?" Zhang Sanqian asked doubtfully.

  "What's in it for me to deceive you? I never do anything that doesn't benefit me." Wei Duan Gong said with a straight face, but people in the circle all knew that Su Nan Wei Qian Sui loved to do things that harmed others without benefiting himself. However, when it came to Zhang San Qian, Wei Duan Gong really didn't have any malicious intentions, he just wanted to find a warm jade and carve it into something beautiful.

  "Alright, then give me 'Longmen Carving' and 'Zheng Wen Gong Stele', I'll secretly practice." Zhang Sanqian said succinctly.

  Wei Duan Gong smiled and looked up at the wooden board that had been made into a dartboard, with dense holes all over it. He casually asked: "San Qian, does your third uncle like to play darts?"

  "I like it."

  Zhang San didn't even lift his head, filled with pride: "Third Uncle's hands are really good, whether it's a dagger or a hunting knife, once they're in his hands, they're like they have eyes. Do you know what a hunting spear is? Tsk tsk, you've never seen one before. My Third Uncle's hunting spear is over three meters long, and with one thrust, he can pierce even the largest wild boar, just like Second Uncle's cow horn bow is domineering. Second Uncle said that Third Uncle's hands are as useful as his brain."

  "You're just as formidable as your third uncle." Wei Duan Gong said with a smile.

  "Don't believe it, then." Zhang Sanqian curled his lip and said, "Third Uncle can shoot birds, fish, and snakes with no problem. With that snake, as long as Third Uncle has a knife in hand, he can definitely pin it to the ground with one slash. You city folks are only good at having many dogs, guns, and bullets, but we mountain people have to rely on ourselves. Second Uncle's bow and Third Uncle's gun are the two most awesome things in Zhangjiashan."

  "When you arrive in a big city, the gun in your hand is useless no matter how powerful it is. You have to rely on that thing between your legs." Wei Duan Gong chuckled softly, narrowing his eyes, and seemed to still savor the aftertaste of snake blood wine in his mouth. This man, who was extremely low-key in front of Chen Er Gou and others, suddenly had an interesting idea pop up in his mind - his eldest daughter had also reached the age of marriage, why not give her to Er Gou?"