Shen Le patted the little fellow on the head, then went ahead and ordered the Jujube Wood bracelet. He also messaged customer service to specify that he wanted beads without holes drilled in them.
Then, with patience, he continued slowly and carefully repairing all the dents and scrapes on the Ink Marker.
He cut a small piece of wood, carved out a mortise, and patched the missing piece on the outside of the Ink Reservoir;
He picked up the Woodworking Glue and Woodworking Powder, filling the cracks in the lion's ears and all the tiny gaps across its body, then smearing the mixture onto its head;
Then he picked up his carving knife, Woodworking Chisel, and handheld electric drill, working slowly and meticulously.
He smoothed and polished every crack, then carved strands of hair into the raised areas where the Woodworking Powder and Woodworking Glue had filled the gaps, replacing the missing fur on the lion's head.
"Emmm... My carving skills are pretty good, if I do say so myself..."
Shen Le picked up the Ink Marker and examined it from every angle, thoroughly pleased.
The fur on the lion's head curled into little tufts, gathered into tiny chrysanthemum shapes. They were evenly spaced, the lines flowed smoothly, and they blended seamlessly with the original fur. If you ignored the color, you couldn't tell at all which parts had been added.
And the color—was that really so hard?
"Xiao Ling! Bring me the paint box!"
"Coming~~~"
The Little Puppet pattered over. With a wave of her little hand, dozens of Silk Threads danced through the air, picked up the paint box, and set it on the table.
Two Silk Threads hooked the lid open. Then more threads dangled down, lifting the paint tubes one by one, ready to go.
"Which one do you want?"
"This one, this one, and this one..."
Shen Le pointed them out one by one. The Silk Threads unscrewed each tube and handed it to him.
Xiao Ling grabbed a brush of her own and got to work, stirring the paints around and around in the palette until she had mixed a color close to the Ink Marker's original shade.
"Hey, don't rush into painting like that! Let me teach you. You can't rush when you apply paint; you have to build it up layer by layer. Follow the wood grain and the patterns in the carving. Look—first, dip the brush in a little paint and wipe the tip thin. Then hold the brush like this..."
After showing her once, he grabbed a random piece of wood and sent Xiao Ling off to play. Then he cradled the Ink Marker and patiently painted the repaired areas, one stroke at a time.
The Ink Marker might become sentient. It was far too important to let the Little Puppet practice on it.
If she liked painting, he could let her work on the beams, pillars, and all sorts of other places in the mansion. That would save him from having to haul a ladder around and climb up to the roof...
Shen Le happily plotted out his plans as he continued restoring the Ink Marker.
This was delicate work, too. To make the carvings on the Ink Marker look lifelike, he had to apply the paint carefully.
He held a paintbrush in one hand and a high-powered hair dryer in the other, making sure each stroke dried as quickly as possible so the paint wouldn't pool or collect in one spot...
"Ugh, this hair dryer is so big and heavy, and it's loud, too. My arm's killing me. I wonder when I'll be able to afford a Dyson. And I wonder if a Dyson hair dryer would dry this paint faster...
Xiao Ling! Don't drip paint on my head!!!"
Hey, I let you play with paint. I didn't tell you to splash it everywhere, much less do my makeup!
Keep messing around like that, and you're cleaning the courtyard!
Restoring something to its original condition was a skill that took patience. It wasn't something you could finish in a hurry.
Shen Le worked all night. The next day, after dropping the Little Puppet off at work, he went home and continued. Another coat of paint, then another, before he switched to a fan brush and carefully painted in the wood grain.
After that, he used an airbrush to paint the patterns on the wood, then polished and waxed it...
Shen Le found woodworking relaxing and thoroughly enjoyable.
He had a house and some money—not a lot, but it kept coming in. He never had to worry about food or clothes.
And whenever he really needed a large sum, he could sell any piece of furniture in the mansion and instantly bring in hundreds of thousands.
Financial freedom, the ability to do what he loved—he was genuinely happy...
But his happiness didn't mean every carpenter was happy.
After finishing his work for the day, just before dusk, Shen Le slung on a backpack, took the Ink Marker, and went out for a stroll. At the end of Old Street, beside the bridge, he spotted a scattered crowd. Some stood, others squatted, each with a sign placed at their feet:
"Fix faucets, replace toilets, unclog drains, clean range hoods, install ceilings, build cabinets..."
Each sign also had a long string of digits—a phone number. It was obvious they were day laborers, standing here every day, hoping to pick up a temporary job and earn enough to support their families.
By now, it was almost evening. Those still standing here without having found work...
Where would they get the money for today's expenses? What about their families' expenses?
Shen Le sighed to himself and walked past them at an unhurried pace, committing the scene to memory. If the mansion ever needed a roof tile replaced or a leak repaired, he could come here to find someone.
At the next intersection, a shop selling pork trotter rice caught his eye, and he wandered inside. He was sitting there waiting for his food when he heard an argument behind him, its voices kept low but carrying on without pause.
He turned around and saw the couple who had sold him the Ink Marker, sitting at a table behind him with their backs to him. They were arguing—or rather, the wife was pulling at her husband, tugging hard and scolding him on her own.
"How could you only charge a hundred yuan! Installing a ceiling is a huge job. A hundred yuan isn't nearly enough! Everyone else charges at least three hundred. What were you thinking, charging only a hundred? Go get the rest after we eat!"
"I..."
"You what? Tell me, are you interested in that woman?!"
"No! Absolutely not! It's just that she's a single mother..."
"So what if she's a single mother? You can go live with them, then!" The wife's voice grew shriller.
"Fine, they're pitiful. Linlin and I aren't pitiful at all. You work out of town, and I have to work, raise Linlin, and look after the two old folks all by myself. Remember when your dad had a stroke and Linlin had a high fever at the same time? I was running around taking care of everything, inside and out. You weren't there to help. I handled it all on my own, didn't I?"
"Xiulan... That was ages ago..."
"To you, it's all in the past! To me, it isn't! When Linlin broke his leg, I carried him to school every day, there in the morning and back in the evening. What about you? What were you doing?"
"Xiulan..." There was a hint of pleading in the man's voice.
"Stop, please... I'll treat you both better from now on..."
"From now on? Zheng Xiaohua, I'm not asking you to do better someday. I'd be happy if you could earn a decent living now! Go on, go get the money back!!!"
"Xiulan! Let it go this time!" The man tried to sink down in his chair, doing his best to stop his wife from dragging him away.
"I heard her say her son doesn't even have money for food at school!"
"Your son has money, does he?!"
Shen Le hurriedly clamped a hand over his backpack.
Oh no. He could feel the Little Ink Marker bouncing around inside!
Ink Marker, don't start anything!