Shen Le watched the old woman slowly wipe down her tools. She rubbed them twice, then had to rest; rubbed them twice, then rested again. It was enough to make him nervous:
What if one of the tools slipped from her hands and fell on her, badly hurting the old woman?
The old woman kept wiping. Then came a rapid thumping from outside, and a child of seven or eight ran in. The child stood close beside her and stretched up on tiptoe.
"Grandma! Grandma! You're cleaning your tools again? Grandma, will you teach me how to carve a little monkey?"
"You still haven't finished carving that little rabbit from last time." The old woman picked a carving knife from the toolbox and handed it to the child.
"Here, show Grandma what you can do. Once you've finished the rabbit and I'm satisfied, I'll teach you how to carve a little monkey..."
The grandmother and grandchild nestled together, one teaching and the other learning, both thoroughly content.
After carving for a while, the child asked the old woman for the Ink Marker. Holding its Lead Weight up in front of their eyes, they toyed with the Devil's Work Ball attached to it, turning it over and over.
"Grandma, did Grandpa make this three-layered wooden ball?"
"He did... Your grandpa made this wooden ball and used it to propose to me..."
"Grandpa was amazing! Grandma, when I grow up, I want to be just as amazing as Grandpa. I want to make a wooden ball like this too!"
The light flickered. Shen Le opened his eyes with a smile and stroked the Ink Marker beside him.
Was this your memory?
Were you made to prove a suitor's skill, so that this marriage could take place?
You watched them meet, fall in love, propose, and pledge themselves to each other;
You watched them lean on and support one another, walking the long road of life together, from the factory's glorious days to its closure and the workers' layoffs, then rising to fight against fate;
You bore witness to their love, their lives, and the passing down of their craft and passion...
To share the same passion and interests, and to stay together until old age—what a happy life that would be!
Then he thought of the couple who had sold him the toolbox. Judging by their ages and by the Ink Marker's history, they were probably the old couple's son and daughter-in-law.
No wonder the Ink Marker was so furious. The two of them argued every day, all the way to the brink of divorce.
Putting himself in the Ink Marker's place, Shen Le thought that if he were the Ink Marker, he might have swung the Ink Line and given those two unfilial descendants a good thrashing too...
He composed himself and got back to work. As soon as he started, Shen Le couldn't help feeling pleasantly surprised.
"It feels like... my skills have improved!"
Several bursts of memories had flooded into him in succession. Could they have included the Ink Marker's owner's work experience?
When he picked up the carving knife again, each movement felt much smoother and more precise!
Before, he would make a couple of cuts, then veer off course; make a couple more, then gouge out the wrong bit. All that clumsy stumbling was gone.
Wonderful!
Keep it up. Victory was right around the corner!
He patiently worked with the Wood Chisel, carving knife, and Needle Knife, using them all in turn.
Before long, the Jujube Wood Devil's Work Ball in his hands had grown another layer smoother. The innermost bead spun around with a soft whir, more polished and responsive than ever.
At this point, Shen Le set aside his carving tools and started working on the original Devil's Work Ball.
The original had been a testament to a young man's passionate love, and to the steadfast love a couple had shared through decades of life's ups and downs.
It would be better to repair it, restoring it as closely as possible to its original state.
First came the same three essentials: Woodworking Glue, Woodworking Powder, and Fast-drying Woodworking Glue. He poured them in one after another, filling the entire inside of the Devil's Work Ball.
Then he waited for the glue to dry completely, bonding the Woodworking Powder firmly inside the ball and filling it into a solid sphere, leaving only the damaged outermost layer unfilled.
Finally, he took out the Silicone Powder, mixed it into a paste, and prepared to make a mold!
Carving a copy by eye wasn't difficult, but making a mold would obviously be more accurate!
Shen Le had worked with his teacher on the restoration of ancient buildings. He could climb onto rooftops or descend into underground chambers; handle rough jobs like replacing beams and pillars, or delicate ones like carving the eyes and wisps of hair on wooden sculptures.
Naturally, making molds was within his skill set too. He had done it himself more than once.
He found some leftover food-grade Silicone Powder and mixed it with an equal amount of water.
He made a paper tube two centimeters in diameter using kraft paper and filled it with Oil Clay, then pressed the lower half of the Devil's Work Ball into it.
He spread a layer of Vaseline over the upper half, then brushed on several coats of silicone solution before pouring the rest in.
Into the fridge it went. After sitting for thirty minutes, the mold was ready!
"Beautiful!"
Thanks to the Vaseline barrier, the silicone separated cleanly from the Devil's Work Ball. Shen Le lowered his head to inspect the inside of the mold. The carved swimming dragon, its whiskers, and its scales had all been reproduced in perfect detail.
Shen Le gave himself a pat on the back. Then he took a wooden bead and carefully began carving it to match the Devil's Work Ball.
First, he sketched out the design in pencil, drawing the overlapping, evenly sized fan-shaped dragon scales.
Next, he fitted the handheld Electric Drill with the smallest Needle Knife. Following the lines of his sketch, he carved out the shapes of the scales, one row at a time.
Then came the fine work. This was the step that would determine whether the scales looked lifelike. Shen Le held his breath and angled the Needle Knife slightly, lining it up with the overlapping edges of the scales. He carefully carved away a little...
"Ah!"
The wooden bead was so small that the Needle Knife slipped off it in a moment of carelessness and struck the Woodworking Clamp beside it, making a sharp "Cling! Bzz—" in rapid succession.
Fortunately, Shen Le had kept his hand well away, pressing down on the Woodworking Clamp from a distance. He hadn't been hit, but cold sweat still broke out all over him.
"Maybe I should just make a mold with Woodworking Powder?"
He murmured softly, then shook his head. For the sake of the love shared by the Ink Marker's former owners, that old couple, he wanted to restore it as perfectly as possible. He wanted to leave as few regrets as he could.
If he could carve the piece from a solid block of wood and glue it on, there was no need to use Woodworking Powder!
Shen Le took a deep breath and tried again. After failing seven or eight times, he finally carved a section of the dragon pattern. He covered it with the silicone mold and carefully compared them.
"The scales on the left are still a little too high. I'll have to trim them some more..."
Carpenters preferred to leave a piece too long, while ironworkers preferred to leave it too short. Stonecutters went for something in between. A carpenter didn't have to worry about carving a piece too long or too large; if there was extra, he could always shave it down.
He went back and forth, comparing the pieces seven or eight times and adjusting them just as often. At last, they fit together perfectly, with no gaps or uneven spots.
Next, he cut off the other side of the wooden ball, hollowed it out, and carved away a wooden shell bearing the design, matching the thickness of the Devil's Work Ball's first layer. After comparing them a few times, he cut out a piece that exactly matched the damaged section and set it in place. It fit perfectly!
"Nice work!"
Shen Le gave himself a pat on the back.
The added piece blended seamlessly with the original part of the Devil's Work Ball. The curves of the dragon's body, the overlapping scales, and the circular openings facing inward—all the details flowed smoothly. It was impossible to tell which part had been added later.
Now, all he had to do was sand away the Woodworking Powder that had been packed into the old Devil's Work Ball and carve a pattern into the second layer. Then the whole ball would be restored...
After that, he could wait for the Ink Marker to come back to life, and for the Copper Fragment to give him a huge reward!