Help, carpentry skills even come with forced feeding?

To "open the knife" means to perform open surgery.

Compared to minimally invasive surgery, open surgery involves more bleeding, greater trauma to the body, a longer recovery time, a higher risk of infection, and more complications.

The only advantage is that it saves money. Especially years ago, many surgical instruments used for minimally invasive procedures had to be imported and could only be paid for out-of-pocket, with no insurance coverage, and a single piece of equipment started at twenty or thirty thousand.

Shen Le fell silent. When his grandfather was alive, there was a time he had to choose between open surgery and a minimally invasive procedure; his grandfather, reluctant to spend the money, insisted on the open surgery, but Shen Le had pushed hard for the minimally invasive one.

The price was that his uncle paid for the surgery, and after his grandfather passed away, the house he left behind went to the uncle. Shen Le moved far away for school and severed his roots in his hometown from then on.

Yet, he did not regret it. Because his grandfather had the minimally invasive surgery, he was able to get out of bed the same day and leave the hospital in a week. The fellow patients who had undergone surgery at the same time were all still lying in their beds.

...Even so, to let a child attend high school and fight for that slim, infinitesimal chance, must a father suffer such great hardship?

"But the child..."

"Let the child learn the trade from you!" the wife concluded decisively.

"In a family like ours, if he has good grades, fine, but if his grades aren't good, we can't afford to support him!"

"That won't do! I didn't study when I was young, so I had to go around building cabinets for people every day; without an education, you can't even become a boss." The father shook his head vigorously.

"The suffering I endured, I want my son to go through it again? Schooling, he must go to school!"

"What if the child can't keep up with his studies? Just because you couldn't study doesn't mean he can!"

"What does that have to do with me? I'm out working every day; if the child refuses to study, isn't it because you didn't watch him properly?"

"How is this my fault again? You work every day, but do you think I don't?! You come home every day and lie on the sofa, while I come home to buy groceries, do the laundry, and cook. Who is the one suffering?!"

This was followed by mutual accusations, dredging up old grievances, and a earth-shattering argument. The wife listed everything from the food not being to her taste during her confinement, to the husband buying pork belly instead of the leg meat she asked for today, pouring out her complaints like a torrential downpour.

Shen Le covered his ears with both hands, wishing he could immediately retreat from this memory. Just as his mother paused to catch her breath, the child, clutching an old Ink Marker, said timidly:

"Dad, Mom, I still want to be a carpenter..."

"No!"

Bang!

The Ink Marker was snatched from the child's hands and smashed fiercely against the floor. The exquisite Devil's Work Ball flew out of the Ink Reservoir, hit the ground, and with a crack, a piece broke off.

The field of vision before Shen Le went completely dark. He couldn't help but sigh softly:

In the eyes of the older generation, "being a carpenter" was a job worthy of pride and honor, a profession where one could be named an Advanced Producer or a March 8th Red Banner Holder, and stand tall to receive commendations.

The old couple had poured their life's blood into this work; even long after retirement, these tools were still wiped down and maintained regularly.

However, by the son's generation, this generation...

Regardless of the income, at the very least, it was no longer the kind of work a father would agree to, or even hope for, his son to pursue...

Oh, life. Oh, the way of the world...

Before the sigh could finish, his head suddenly felt heavy. Shen Le raised his hand to cover his forehead, feeling the veins at his temples throbbing violently, as if his entire brain were about to explode.

The experience from when he repaired the Little Puppet repeated itself. Memories like a revolving lantern poured directly into his mind with a rushing sound:

The old couple, in their youth, working face-to-face at the same large table. The husband had a book on Mechanical Drawing spread out before him, reading with intense focus, while the wife, head slightly bowed, brushed and sharpened a Ruling Pen.

The wife rocked a cradle with her left hand while holding a book in her right, humming a lullaby. Beside her, the husband planed a few pieces of wood, the frame of a baby walker already taking shape.

Moving into a new home, the husband sawed wood with all his might to make a large bed, while the wife sanded and polished the boards for a small bed on the side.

After being laid off, the wife went out to do renovations for others, returning to spread out sketches, gesturing to tell her husband about the new styles that had emerged, studying with him how to make them faster and better.

The elderly husband, lying on his hospital bed, held his wife's hand tightly, while his other hand gripped a half-finished Devil's Work Ball...

The high spirits of creating a satisfying finished product, the joy of inventing a handy tool, the pride and satisfaction of completing a difficult task...

At the same time, selecting materials, marking lines, splitting, sawing, planing, carving, sanding... all kinds of carpentry skills flooded into his head, churning and roiling within.

In this single instant, it was as if Shen Le had lived through decades of life, having personally crafted countless pieces of furniture, tools, and molds.

He felt that now, if given a piece of wood, he could pick up the tools from the Tool Box and build a table if he wanted, or a cabinet if he pleased...

Regardless of whether Shen Le needed this ability, the flood of memories had already left him dizzy, his temples buzzing. He clutched his forehead and couldn't help but let out a moan:

"Ugh... next time, could you be a little slower... or at least stretch out the time so I can practice slowly in my Soul Space?"

The Copper Fragment remained silent, ignoring him completely. Shen Le broke into a cold sweat and finally managed to recover. He pulled out the Copper Fragment to look at it, and sure enough, it had changed again:

The Copper Fragment, which had been three-quarters the size of his palm, had grown to the size of his entire palm, stretching the outer knot so much it nearly snapped.

There was also one more protrusion on the Copper Fragment; although he couldn't tell what characters they were, it was clear that an extra stroke had been added, bringing it closer and closer to forming actual text.

As for the second light point that had lit up, it might represent the Ink Marker's...

Shen Le had no intention of poking it at all. Are you kidding? Memory infusion was exhausting, and he had had enough for today!

Even if the sky fell, he would deal with it tomorrow...

Shen Le thought this with righteous indignation, his fingertips dancing as he quickly re-tied the knot for the Copper Fragment, then scrambled into bed to sleep.

Early the next morning, after sending the Little Puppet off to work, finishing the Five Animal Frolics, and practicing the Spirit Eye Technique, he was just about to investigate the new functions of the Copper Fragment when a call came in.

Shen Le picked up the phone, and his eyes lit up:

"Are you here to install the air conditioners? Great! Just come in through the back door, it's a bit closer. I'll be there in a second!"

Ah, the two air conditioners he ordered had finally arrived.

One for the bedroom, one for the bathroom. From now on, he would never have to endure the smell of paint, acetone, or all sorts of dust, nor would he have to brave the scorching sun and run out into the yard just to catch a breath of fresh air...

Shen Le happily ran to the back door. As soon as he opened it, two men were already waiting there—one older, one younger. Each was pulling a small cart, and stacked on the carts were four large boxes.

Oh, familiar faces?

Shen Le recognized the older one at a glance; it was none other than Zheng Xiaohua, the second owner of the Ink Marker, whom he had just seen in his memories yesterday.

The younger man standing beside the older one had a similar facial structure, and he also bore a striking resemblance to the boy Shen Le had seen in his memories, the one who had held the Ink Marker and declared, "I want to learn carpentry."

Shen Le felt a sense of certainty in his heart and nodded at them with a smile:

"Master Zheng? Are you here to install the air conditioners? Thank you for your hard work, please, come on in!"