Chapter 156 - Chapter 156: Chapter 156: Woodcarving and the Imagination of Rocket (1/2)

Chapter 156: Chapter 156: Woodcarving and the Imagination of Rocket

Translator: 549690339

Tang Baona called for a ride and took the half-finished woodcarving packed in a cardboard box by Xiang Kun. She was originally planning to head home, but her mother sent a message telling her that she and her sister were at their grandfather’s house, so she instructed the driver to change course.

Upon arrival, Tang Baona learned from her sister Baoting that she’d brought her boyfriend along, apparently planning to announce their engagement. Their grandfather proposed that he should meet him.

Baoting’s boyfriend was rather introverted and shy, but he was tall and handsome. Baona had met him a few times before and knew he was a local public servant who had been dating her sister for over a year. Given their age, discussing marriage was only a natural progression.

Once Tang Baona arrived, she found a corner to sit in and play with her phone, not participating in the conversation. When the chatter was more or less over, their grandfather, Mr. Feng, noticed the box at her feet and asked: “Nana, what have you brought for your grandfather?”

Tang Baona blinked in surprise then quickly responded: “Oh, Grandfather, this is a woodcarving made by a friend of mine. It’s still not finished, so it’s not suitable to offer as a gift!”

“Oh? Made by your friend? Do young people also enjoy playing with woodcarvings these days? Is your friend an art student by any chance?” Mr. Feng was intrigued by the woodcarving Tang Baona had brought.

She then brought the box to her grandfather, took out the unfinished woodcarving, and put it on the table.

Upon seeing the woodcarving, her sister Tang Baoting couldn’t help but let out a chuckle—it was somewhat “humorous”.

Mr. and Mrs. Tang, along with Baoting’s boyfriend, understood then what Baona had meant by “unfinished”.

But Mr. Feng was curious about the woodcarving, which wasn’t sanded down, had clearly visible carving marks, imperfections in multiple places, and was slightly misshapen overall.

Mr. Feng had a dear friend in his early years who was a master woodcarver in the south. He also studied woodcarving and had quite a collection at home, so he had a discerning eye.

“Your friend’s skill is still rather raw, but his knife work isn’t bad. He has a steady hand, good control over the force applied, and is quite talented.” Mr. Feng remarked while scrutinizing the unfinished work, “Most woodcarvings nowadays are done with electric drills and carving machines for efficiency, less effort, and stability. It’s increasingly rare to see traditional handmade work.”

Tang Baona promptly took out her phone and showed her grandfather the Saber woodcarving she’d photographed, which was now carefully preserved in a transparent display box at home.

“This is the unfinished one that I asked him for today. The one on my phone is the finished product.”

Mr. Feng put on reading glasses and, as he examined the pictures of Saber taken from various angles, slowly nodded his head, “This one is quite interesting. Significant progress indeed. Very interesting.”

Tang Baoting also leaned in to look at the photos on her sister’s phone, expressing surprise, “Saber? From your profile picture? The carving is really good…your friend…” She suddenly seemed to realise something. She gave her sister a significant look, nodded and went back to her seat.

Mr. Feng didn’t notice anything unusual in his granddaughter’s words. After examining the pictures on the phone for a bit, he said to Tang Baona: “Nana, ask your friend next time if he wants to sell any of his works. I’d like to have one for myself.”

“Okay, I’ll ask him.” Tang Baona nodded happily, proud that her friend’s woodcarving had met her discerning grandfather’s approval. Her grandfather said, “Get one for me,” but she could tell that he meant to buy it. Of course, she wouldn’t let him pay. She would negotiate a price with Xiang Kun and buy it to give to her grandfather.

She knew that Xiang Kun, although he had just received a “reward” of 200,000, hadn’t been working for a while. It seemed his mortgage wasn’t paid off yet, so having an extra means of income would definitely be a good thing. Given her grandfather’s social circle, if he simply mentioned it a few times among friends, it was certain to bring in other customers, making Xiang Kun’s woodcarving popular quickly.

Tang Baona suddenly realized that she herself could do it. She could post the Saber woodcarving at home on her circle of friends and Weibo. It would quickly attract a lot of people to inquire about it, wanting to place orders. After all, such a lifelike and detailed woodcarving of a character from a secondary dimension of comics was indeed rare.

However, it was strange that Tang Baona, who usually enjoyed posting on her circle of friends, along with Yang Zhen Er, who also took pictures at the time, didn’t post this Saber woodcarving on their circle of friends or on any other social media.

She quickly understood her mindset. It seemed she subconsciously didn’t want Xiang Kun to make custom-made woodcarvings for too many people, so she didn’t post to her circle of friends. As for Zhen Er, it was easier to understand. She would, of course, wait until the woodcarving that Kun had customized for her was ready before showing off.

After seeing Tang Baona off, Xiang Kun did not go straight home. Instead, he inexplicably ran up to the rooftop and gazed at the thousands of lights in the distance from the railing.

He had found out before that standing in a spacious, high place with good visibility at night, his senses would become more sensitive, and he would feel more “lightweight”.

He would often hear or smell something that came with the wind, which should be far beyond the range of his senses.

He had acrophobia before the mutation. When looking down from a high place, he would hold the railing tightly.

However, now standing on the rooftop, at least sixty to seventy meters above the ground, standing directly above the railing, he felt no fear or worry.

Of course, it’s not because he is now so mighty that he would be unharmed from such a height. He was certain that if he fell, the consequence would be quite tragic. Whether he could heal afterward was another matter. He had no desire to test it.