Chapter 40: You Sure Are Generous
Chapter 38 of "The Great Ming in the Box" unveils a new twist: Night had fallen completely, plunging Gaojia Village into a ânon-static shot.âWaitâactually, it wasnât entirely static... See what happens!
Night had fallen completely, plunging Gaojia Village into a ânon-static shot.âWaitâactually, it wasnât entirely static anymore. Villagers now patrolled the walls in 24-hour shifts. Beneath the flickering dim lamplight, two villagers circled the fortress round and round.
Still, the scene felt unbearably dull. No one could stand watching it for long.
By this hour each day, Li Daoxuan could comfortably shift his gaze away and return to his real-life routine.
Too lazy to boot his computer, he grabbed his phone instead.
Just then, a message from Cai Xinzi popped up: âDaoxuan, after hours of negotiation with the customer, we finally struck a deal.â
Li Daoxuan replied: âOh? So whatâs the verdict?â
Cai Xinzi: âOur Supreme Treasure piece was exquisitely crafted, but sadly, that character lacks broad appeal in that market. It skews too much toward âtoyâ territoryâdoesnât carry much value. The buyer only shelled out RMB 8,888 as a networking gift to open the door.â
Li Daoxuan grasped it immediately: âSo if we switch the theme, we can actually make money?â
Cai Xinzi: âExactly! Buddhist or Taoist deities are worth infinitely more than Supreme Treasure. Thatâs when it sheds the âtoyâ label and becomes true âart.'â
Li Daoxuan chuckled: âI carved Supreme Treasure just for kicks. I can handle religious statues too. Whatâs his offer?â
Cai Xinzi: âFor a standard, non-parody theme at one centimeter tall, matching Supreme Treasureâs detail level? Heâll pay RMB 48,888.â
Li Daoxuan grinned privately: âNice! Thatâs twenty Hakka roundhouses right there.â
Cai Xinzi groaned inwardly: âI painstakingly build you a half-meter model with tires, motors, remote controllers, and over two hundred roomsâgobbling up heaps of sheet metal and materialsâand barely charge you RMB 2,000. Yet you sell a one-centimeter wood scrap for RMB 48,888? Unacceptable. Iâm coming to punch you.â
Li Daoxuan laughed: âHahahaha!â
Cai Xinzi added: âThe client also tossed out a wild request. See if you can handle it.â
Li Daoxuan: âOh? Shoot.â
Cai Xinzi: âHe wants something smaller. Tinier than one centimeterâdown to five millimeters. Can you do it?â
Li Daoxuan: ââŚâ
Seeing the ellipses, Cai Xinzi assumed defeat: âSigh, impossible after all? Heâs willing to pay RMB 228,888 for five millimeters.â
Li Daoxuan: âWhy so little faith? You surely added him on WeChat? Ask him right now: isnât five millimeters too bulky? I can deliver one millimeterâonly fear is itâd be too minuscule for him to see. Might refuse it.â
Cai Xinzi: âHoly sht!â
Li Daoxuan: âLanguage, please.â
Cai Xinzi: âAre you freaking serious? One millimeter? Smaller than a grain of rice?â
Li Daoxuan: âThe artisan who made my Supreme Treasure? A micro-sculpting master. So one millimeterâs no hurdle for me. Just ask if he wants it.â
Cai Xinzi: âHold on. Let me check.â
Two minutes later, Cai Xinziâs reply lit up: âIf a one-millimeter piece holds even half the detail of your Supreme Treasure, heâll pay RMB 1,288,888.â
Li Daoxuan: âDeal. Iâll take it.â
Cai Xinzi: âYou mad lad! How can you pull off such an order? Color me impressed.â
Li Daoxuan: âHahaha, fineâwhatâs this thing he wants?â
Cai Xinzi: âA statue of Lord Laozi.â
Li Daoxuan asked, âWhat can a millimeter-sized Grand Supreme Elderly Lord statue even be used for?â
Cai Xinzi replied, âI was curious too, so I asked. He said itâs for âsaint statues in beads.'â
Li Daoxuan was astonished, âWhat the heck is a âsaint statue in beadsâ?â
Cai Xinzi teased, âNo clue, eh? Ha! Well, neither did I until I asked him. Youâve heard of sandalwood Buddhist prayer beads and Taoist beads? Little round pieces, often strung together to wear around the wrist.â
Li Daoxuan acknowledged, âThat much I have heard of.â
Cai Xinzi explained, âThe âsaint statue in beadsâ involves hollowing out the center of a bead and placing a tiny deity picture inside. Then itâs filled with a special liquid and sealed, leaving just a small window to peek through. When you hold one bead up, squinting into it, you see an image of a Buddha floating inside. For devotees, itâs practically priceless.â
Li Daoxuan exclaimed, âWow, that actually sounds quite impressive.â
Cai Xinzi continued, âBut an average craftsman can only manage a crude drawing inside. With your micro-sculpting skill, he could cram a lifelike statue in there. Imagine how much more three-dimensional that is! Way more sophisticated than a flat image. The statue could even float and rotate in the liquid â something a drawing could never do.â
Li Daoxuan finally grasped it: the thing really did seem like a clever trick.
Cai Xinzi predicted, âI bet heâll take your statue for 1,288,888 yuan, pop it into a bead, and then dare to sell that single bead for three million.â
Li Daoxuan chuckled, âHaha, interesting! How much he sells it for is his own skill. Weâre fine here. Just be open-minded about it.â
Cai Xinzi insisted, âOpen-mindedness is fine for a person, but not for business. I need to haggle harder.â
Li Daoxuan agreed, âSure, whatever you manage to get is your skill. I just need 1,150,000. Anything extra is your commission.â
Cai Xinzi sighed, âDamn, you really are open-minded. If we were back in ancient times, youâd be one of those ridiculously generous heroes, like that âSmall Whirlwindâ Chai Jin from Water Margin â handing out money to anyone, useful or not, just making everyone respect you by flinging cash around.â
Li Daoxuan thought: Hey, nailed it. Iâve been flinging money at those villagers all month. Got their ten out of ten respect now. Since being called generous wasnât bad, he just smiled and accepted it.
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The time ticked awayâŚ
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Soon, days had passed.
During these recent days in Gaojia Village, aside from Gao Yiye and Thirty-Two, the two newly arrived sculptors had garnered the most attention. After consecutively offering statues to the Deity, both earned substantial rewards multiple times.
Beyond the initial two large pieces of pork loin, they received many bags of flour, rice, canola oil, and a huge lump of pure white lard.
In this time of drought, these items were more valuable than any jewels or gold.
They traded them with fellow villagers for daily necessities and even hired several people. During breaks from constructing the Dao Xuan Deity Temple, these hired hands built simple shelters for the two sculptorsâ families.
Thus, the sculptors became the first among the new arrivals to gain solid roofs over their heads.
However, Zheng Daniu, another diligent newcomer who chopped wood relentlessly every day, hadnât prospered. Though he too received rewards, he only ever asked for happy fat water.
The villagers found it enjoyable to drink, yet none willingly traded their limited supplies for it.
Simply putâŚ
If it was free, theyâd happily gulp it down. But asking them to pay? Theyâd rather die than drink.
Zheng Daniu didnât mind skipping trade either. Heâd slurp down a basinful, gather more wood, then refill his basin. He couldnât care less if others were willing to work for it; his own happiness mattered most.
And so, amidst this atmosphere of contentment, the Dao Xuan Deity Temple was finally completedâŚ