Night had fallen completely, and Gao Family Village had entered its "non-static image" mode.
Oh, no, that wasn't entirely accurate anymore. Villagers now patrolled the city wall in shifts around the clock. Beneath the swaying, yellowish lamplight, two villagers made circuit after circuit along the wall.
Still, the scene was boring enough that no one could keep watching it forever.
At this time every day, Li Daoxuan could safely turn his attention away and return to his own real life.
He couldn't be bothered to turn on his computer, so he opened his phone instead.
Just then, a message arrived from Cai Xinzi: "Daoxuan, I spent hours talking with that customer, and we finally reached an agreement."
Li Daoxuan: "Oh? How did it turn out?"
Cai Xinzi: "The craftsmanship on our Supreme Treasure is excellent, but unfortunately, Supreme Treasure isn't a popular character in that market. It's too much of a 'toy,' so it isn't worth much. The customer actually paid 888 yuan for it just as an introductory gift, to establish a connection with us."
Li Daoxuan understood. "So you're saying we can make money if we change the subject of the carving?"
Cai Xinzi: "Yes. Buddhist and Taoist deity statues are worth much more than Supreme Treasure. That's how you shake off the 'toy' label and turn it into a genuine 'work of art.'"
Li Daoxuan was amused. "I only made Supreme Treasure for fun. I can do Buddhist and Taoist deity statues too. What price did he offer?"
Cai Xinzi: "For a proper subject, nothing spoofed, he'll pay 4,888 yuan for a one-centimeter-tall deity statue, provided it's as detailed as that Supreme Treasure."
Li Daoxuan chuckled to himself. "Oh, that's enough for two Hakka Walled Houses."
Cai Xinzi didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "I make you a half-meter model, complete with tires, motors, and a remote control, with over two hundred rooms and loads of sheet metal and other materials, and I can only charge you 2,000 yuan. Yet your one-centimeter bit of wood sells for 4,888 yuan? I refuse to accept this. I want to beat you up."
Li Daoxuan laughed. "Hahahaha!"
Cai Xinzi: "The customer also made a really outrageous request. Let's see if you can handle it."
Li Daoxuan: "Oh? Let's hear it."
Cai Xinzi: "He wants something even smaller! Smaller than one centimeter. Five millimeters... can you do that?"
Li Daoxuan: "..."
When Cai Xinzi saw his string of dots, she assumed he couldn't manage it. "Ah, so it's impossible after all? He's willing to pay 28,888 yuan for a five-millimeter piece."
Li Daoxuan: "Why do you have so little faith in me? You must have added him on WeChat, right? Message him now and ask whether five millimeters isn't a little too big. I can do a one-millimeter piece. I'm just worried it'll be too small for him to see clearly and he won't want it."
Cai Xinzi: "Holy shit!"
Li Daoxuan: "Speak properly. Don't swear."
Cai Xinzi: "You can freaking do one millimeter too? Isn't that smaller than a grain of rice?"
Li Daoxuan: "The craftsman who made Supreme Treasure for me is a master of rice-grain microcarving. Anyway, one millimeter isn't a problem for me. Ask the customer whether he wants it."
Cai Xinzi: "Wait a moment. I'll ask him."
Two minutes later, another message arrived from Cai Xinzi: "For a one-millimeter piece, he'll pay 128,888 yuan if the level of detail is even half as good as that Supreme Treasure."
Li Daoxuan: "All right, I'll take the order."
Cai Xinzi: "You're a freaking lunatic. You can even handle an order like that. I'm starting to admire you."
Li Daoxuan: "Hahaha. So, what does he want made?"
Cai Xinzi: "A statue of Taishang Laojun."
Li Daoxuan: "What can you do with a one-millimeter statue of Taishang Laojun?"
Cai Xinzi: "I was curious too, so I asked. He said he wants to make a 'Sacred Image in the Bead.'"
Li Daoxuan was thoroughly intrigued. "What the heck is a Sacred Image in the Bead?"
Cai Xinzi replied: "Showing your ignorance, aren't you? Haha! All right, I didn't know either. I only found out after asking him. You've heard of sandalwood Buddhist and Taoist prayer beads, right? Individual beads that can also be strung together and worn around the wrist."
Li Daoxuan: "That much I've heard of."
Cai Xinzi replied: "A Sacred Image in the Bead is made by hollowing out a Buddhist or Taoist prayer bead, putting a tiny picture of a deity or Buddha inside, filling it with a special liquid, and then sealing the bead, leaving a tiny window on top so you can look inside. When you pick up a bead, close one eye, and peer into it, you see an image of a Buddha floating inside. To a believer, that's an absolute treasure."
Li Daoxuan: "Holy shit, that actually sounds pretty impressive."
Cai Xinzi: "But ordinary craftsmen can only put a very crude picture inside a bead. With your microcarving skills, he can put a lifelike statue inside instead. That's far more three-dimensional than a picture, and it'll look much classier. The statue can even float and rotate in the liquid. A picture can't do that."
Now Li Daoxuan understood completely. This thing really did seem capable of pulling the wool over people's eyes.
Cai Xinzi: "I'm certain this guy will buy your microcarving for 128,888 yuan, put it inside a bead, and turn right around and sell that bead for 300,000."
Li Daoxuan laughed. "Hahaha, interesting. Whatever he can sell it for is down to his own ability. As long as we get a fair amount on our end, that's fine. Be a little broad-minded."
Cai Xinzi: "You can be broad-minded as a person, but not as a merchant. I need to haggle with him some more."
Li Daoxuan: "Sure. Whatever price you can negotiate is down to your ability. All I need on my end is 115,000 yuan. Anything above that is your commission."
Cai Xinzi: "Damn, you really are broad-minded. If you lived in ancient times, you'd definitely be a hero who valued loyalty over wealth, like that Little Whirlwind Chai Jin in Water Margin. You'd give money to everyone you met, regardless of whether they were any use to you. You'd just keep giving it away, showering money around until heroes near and far all showed you respect."
Li Daoxuan thought, Oh, you've really hit the nail on the head. I've spent the better part of the last month showering money on the little people, and now their respect for me is absolute.
Being generous to a fault isn't an insult, anyway. I'll gladly accept the compliment.
Time ticked away...
Several days passed in the blink of an eye.
Over the past few days, aside from Gao Yiye and San Shier, the two newly arrived sculptors had been the most celebrated people in Gao Family Village. They had "offered" several statues to the Heavenly Venerable in succession, earning themselves several generous rewards.
Besides the two large pieces of pork tenderloin they had received at the start, they had also obtained plenty of flour, rice, rapeseed oil, and a great lump of white lard.
In this year of drought, those things were more useful than any gold, silver, or jewels.
They traded them with other villagers for quite a few daily necessities. They even hired several villagers from their old village to build two shacks for their families during breaks from constructing the Dao Xuan Heavenly Venerable Temple.
The two sculptors became the first men among the villagers who had migrated to Gao Family Village to have roofs over their heads.
Yet Zheng Daniu, who worked just as hard as they did, chopping wood with all his might every day, hadn't managed to get rich. Although he received rewards too, every time he asked for one, he wanted only happy fat otaku water.
Drinking it might make him happy, but no villager was willing to trade their limited possessions for it.
To put it simply...
If it's free, I'll happily drink it. If you want me to pay for it, I wouldn't drink it even if you killed me.
Zheng Daniu was happy not to sell it, too. He drank it himself. Once he finished a basinful, he fetched more wood, then drank another basinful. He didn't care whether anyone else was willing to work themselves to death for the stuff. As long as he was happy, that was enough.
Amid this cheerful atmosphere, the Dao Xuan Heavenly Venerable Temple was finally completed...
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