Duan Zhuang was unwilling to teach anyone, so over the following weeks, Ji Mian proudly added thirteen more “potatoes” to his collection of wooden carvings, each polished to a shiny sheen.
While Ji Mian didn’t seem to improve in any other skills, his polishing technique had notably advanced.
On a morning in early April, Duan Zhuang casually mentioned he was “going out to run some errands” and tossed the shop keys to Ji Mian, asking him to keep an eye on the store.
Ji Mian started carving wood shavings early in the morning, and it wasn’t until after lunch that he took a break, moving a small stool to sit at the shop’s entrance, gazing blankly at the lead-gray sky.
Before lunch, the sun had hung high in the cloudless sky, but in just two short hours, the weather had suddenly changed, clearly signaling that rain was on the way.
A brand new black sedan slowly drove in and stopped in front of the wood carving shop.
The driver’s side door opened, and a young man wearing sunglasses, with a cocky expression, stepped out.
Ji Mian squinted for a while before confirming that this person was Sun Qi, who had been wrapped in a strange facade.
As he approached, Sun Qi pushed his ostentatious sunglasses down, revealing his single eyelid, looking a bit cocky. “Where’s the boss? I can’t reach him by phone.”
“He’s gone out.”
Sun Qi looked around, puzzled. “But the car is still here.”
The gray Volkswagen was still parked nearby.
Ji Mian shook his head and said, “I don’t know.”
“Forget it.” Sun Qi tossed his car keys up, pointing to the black sedan. “Look, I just got this new car.”
Ji Mian stared at it for a moment, thinking it looked somewhat better than Duan Zhuang’s. So, he honestly said, “It looks better than Brother Duan Zhuang’s.”
“Of course! How much did Brother Duan Zhuang’s car cost? Mine is at least a hundred thirty thousand more!” A trace of pride couldn't be hidden from Sun Qi’s face as he tried to suppress it, but ultimately failed.
“Oh.” Ji Mian thought Sun Qi looked somewhat cheap at that moment.
Suddenly, the system piped up mischievously: 【Want to check Sun Qi's savings?】
【……】
【…… Well, okay.】 Ji Mian faintly scolded himself for being nosy and glanced at the system screen.
After looking, he calmly replied: 【Oh.】
It was far less than Mu Yuman's.
【Here’s Duan Zhuang’s too.】
【……】
Ji Mian struggled internally but two seconds later, his curiosity won out.
【Wow.】 This time, his tone was filled with some amazement.
Still not as much as Mu Yuman's, but it was a considerable amount.
Ji Mian felt a little melancholic.
If only he could save up that much money one day.
He could buy a small house of his own, and then he wouldn’t have to awkwardly live with Duan Zhuang anymore. He could set aside the rest to buy gifts for Mu Yuman and Brother Duan.
After briefly fantasizing about his future, Ji Mian’s thoughts were interrupted by Sun Qi’s voice.
“Oh, today is the day…” Sun Qi pulled out his phone and saw the date.
“No wonder the boss isn’t around; he probably went to pay respects at the grave.”
Ji Mian thought for a moment and asked, “Is he visiting his grandfather’s grave?”
“Yeah, and his mother’s too.”
Ji Mian was stunned. “His mother too…?”
“Yeah. Brother Duan Zhuang’s mother was in poor health and passed away ten years ago. But it’s nothing to be taboo about.”
Ji Mian fell silent for a moment, suddenly recalling something: “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Brother Duan Zhuang’s uncle?”
As soon as he finished speaking, Sun Qi snorted coldly and said, “Don’t mention that scumbag in front of the boss.”
...Scumbag?
Ji Mian was momentarily taken aback when the system explained: 【Oh, I never mentioned this before, but Duan Zhuang is the product of his father Yi Zhang’s affair. When Yi Zhang was with Duan Zhuang’s mother, Duan Jinyan, he already had a family, but because he was a son-in-law, he was always dissatisfied with his wife’s dominance. So when the beautiful Duan Jinyan, who had just graduated from university, appeared before him, Yi Zhang coaxed and deceived her into becoming his mistress.】
【Not long after, Yi Zhang’s wife discovered their affair and cut off all ties, but by then, Duan Jinyan was already pregnant with Duan Zhuang.】
【Duan Jinyan wasn’t a good woman, but she was a great mother who always cared for Duan Zhuang. Unfortunately, she had a short life; when Duan Zhuang was thirteen, she passed away.】
【Duan Zhuang’s maternal grandfather couldn’t bear the loss of his daughter and passed away not long after. It was during that time that Mu Yuman helped Duan Zhuang, and that’s how they became like siblings.】
“…”
Ji Mian recalled the joking remark he had made during the Spring Festival about “everyone being dead.” It turned out to be serious.
【However, this information isn’t too relevant to your task, so I didn’t transmit it to you earlier.】
After a while, Ji Mian said, “Next time, please tell me.”
【If you need it.】 The system replied indifferently.
After all, transmitting plot details was just a few kilobytes of data for him.
Sun Qi stood in place for a few minutes, feeling that he wouldn’t be able to wait for long, so he reluctantly drove away in his new car.
Ji Mian continued to guard his small stool, staring blankly at the sky. The color of the sky gradually deepened, and the leaden clouds grew thicker.
Suddenly, with a "thud," a drop of cold water fell directly into his eye.
The eyelid was stimulated and shut.
He closed one eye and rubbed it with his fingers.
“It’s raining, system.”
“Hmm. It’s the plum rain season; light rain is normal.”
But the system’s judgment was incorrect.
In just ten minutes, the light drizzle gradually turned into a moderate rain, even hinting at the possibility of turning into a downpour.
Ji Mian moved his small stool back two meters, finding shelter under the eaves.
The temperature had dropped slightly; he pulled in his limbs, curling up, resting his chin on his hugging arms, smelling the scent of rain-soaked earth, feeling a deep sense of peace inside.
Not knowing how long had passed, the rain still showed no signs of easing. Through the hazy curtain of rain, Ji Mian saw a vague figure at the mouth of the alley.
He uncrossed his arms, stood up, and slipped into the woodcarving shop.
When he came out again, he held an old-fashioned straight umbrella.
He opened the umbrella, plunging into the chilly downpour, and ran toward the alley.
The alley was long; Ji Mian had run halfway when he felt slightly out of breath.
That vague figure became clearer, walking steadily and slowly. It was Duan Zhuang.
The upper half of his black coat was already soaked, raindrops continuously dripping from his slightly stiff short hair and his nose tip, while his brow bones and eyelashes were equally damp with moisture, as if imbued with coldness.
“Brother!”
Duan Zhuang raised his eyes and saw the young man running toward him.
He sheltered under the tilted black umbrella, looking like a mushroom lifting its head toward the sky.
And now, this mushroom had come before him.
“Brother” Ji Mian gasped, “you didn’t bring an umbrella?”
“Hmm. Didn’t check the weather report,” Duan Zhuang’s expression looked no different from usual, and then he conveniently took the umbrella handle from Ji Mian’s palm.
“Brother, did you walk all the way back?”
Duan Zhuang glanced at him, “I took a taxi to the entrance.”
He wasn’t so helpless that he would run several kilometers in the rain without an umbrella.
Ji Mian looked at his shoulder, saying, “Oh.”
It indeed didn’t look like he had been soaked for long. At least his upper clothing was not completely drenched.
They walked side by side, with Duan Zhuang holding the umbrella.
The way back seemed a bit longer than usual, perhaps due to the calming noise of the rain creating an illusion.
Upon returning to the shop, Duan Zhuang first took off his coat, then grabbed a dry towel to dry his hair.
The white towel was casually draped over the back of his neck. Out of the corner of his eye, Duan Zhuang caught sight of Ji Mian's workbench, where today’s product lay—an unremarkable object resembling a cylinder.
He casually picked it up, raising an eyebrow and asking, “What’s this? A potato?”
Hearing this, Ji Mian turned to look, saw the object in Duan Zhuang’s hand, and his face turned a bit red. “No, it’s… a sweet potato.”
Duan Zhuang: “…”
System: 【……】
It also thought it looked like a potato.
Duan Zhuang sat down at the workbench, taking a file. His wrist moved the tool as if carelessly scraping away at it, and soon the end of the cylinder-like object was shaped into a smooth cone. After forming the general shape, he used other, more precise tools to carve patterns into the surface.
Ten minutes later, a distinctly shaped wooden sweet potato was born. The surface of the sweet potato had shallow recessed patterns, and it had no wormholes; although it hadn’t been sanded, it was a very healthy and standard sweet potato.
Ji Mian showed an expression of amazement.
No wonder he was the older brother; he could even carve a sweet potato so realistically!
【Pfft.】 The system let out its first-ever laugh.
Not just at Ji Mian, but also at Duan Zhuang. Originally, only one fool carved sweet potatoes, and now there were two abnormal guys.
As for Duan Zhuang, he was currently staring at the wooden sweet potato in his left hand, his right hand trembling slightly with a sharp knife, ready to destroy the evidence—he had carved such a silly thing for the first time in his life.
He bit on half a cigarette, his expression complex, almost unable to remember how he had thought twenty minutes ago.
Had his brain short-circuited?
However, Ji Mian had already taken the sweet potato from his hand, cradling it in his palm and examining it closely.
“……”
Duan Zhuang’s right hand raised and fell again, then raised again. After three rounds, he finally relaxed his hand, tossing the knife into the toolbox.
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