Why didn't you tell me earlier that my little sister is still waiting for me?

Chapter 730 The Story of Xie Heshun

Lin Bufan stared intently at Xie Heshun, his eyes seemingly crackling with sparks. He gritted his teeth and forced out a voice through the gaps in his teeth: "Master Xie, really can't we... discuss this a little longer?"

Xie Heshun crossed his arms, his eyelids drooping, but his gaze met Lin Bufan's without flinching. His eyes were cloudy yet sharp, like the gnarled roots of an old tree, unwavering. He tapped his thin fingers on his arm, speaking crisply and decisively, leaving no room for negotiation: "No discussion!"

The air between the two seemed to freeze. Their gazes clashed in mid-air, and the silent struggle made the two apprentices beside them afraid to even breathe. They exchanged glances, their palms sweating, wondering whether they should rush to break up the fight if this young man, who didn't look like a good person, really started fighting with their master, or... stay far away to avoid getting splattered with blood.

After a full half-minute standoff, Lin Bufan's defiant spirit, like a balloon punctured by a needle, slowly deflated. He slumped, letting out a long, resigned sigh, tinged with a hint of gritted teeth: "Fine...fine! You win! Tuition it is! You tell me, how much?"

Xie Heshun's usually expressionless face twitched almost imperceptibly at the corner of his mouth as he slowly extended a finger.

Lin Bufan's eyes widened instantly, and his voice cracked:

"How many?!

How much did you say?!

One hundred million? !

Master Xie, are you crazy?!

I just wanted to learn wood carving from you, and you're asking for a hundred million?! Why don't you just rob me?!

Xie Heshun was taken aback by Lin Bufan's sudden accusation and blurted out instinctively, "Isn't that what I'm doing right now?"

As soon as he said it, he realized his mistake, his face flushed red, and he quickly waved his hand, his tone filled with anger at being wrongly accused: "Wait! What robbery?! When did I rob anyone? No! When did I say I wanted a hundred million?! Don't slander me, okay?! I said ten thousand! Ten thousand yuan!"

As if afraid of being misunderstood by his two apprentices and having his reputation tarnished, Xie Heshun quickly turned to his two dumbfounded apprentices behind him and explained, "He's slandering me! He's slandering me!"

"Ten thousand?!" Lin Bufan's voice rose again, his face filled with an exaggerated "Are you kidding me?" expression. He pointed at Xie Heshun, his finger trembling, as if he had heard something unbelievable: "Master Xie! Why do you sound like ten thousand yuan isn't much? Do you think ten thousand yuan is a small amount?! Do you know how much you can buy with ten thousand yuan?!"

Lin Bufan didn't give Xie Heshun a chance to interrupt. He started counting on his fingers, speaking at a speed like a machine gun: "I'll charge you three yuan per sausage. Ten thousand yuan can buy three thousand three hundred and thirty-three sausages! Enough to line up from one end of the village to the other and back!"

A hot roasted corn costs you five yuan. Ten thousand yuan can buy two thousand! That would fill your entire wood carving workshop, so you wouldn't even need to light a stove in winter!

I'll charge you 15 yuan per cup of milk tea. 10,000 yuan can buy 666 cups! Enough for you to drink from this year to next year, with a different one every day!

A deluxe jianbing guozi with two eggs, two sausages, and sesame sauce is ten yuan. Ten thousand yuan could buy a thousand of those! Enough for three years' worth of breakfasts!

Lin Bufan became more and more agitated as he spoke, as if the ten thousand yuan had already transformed into a shower of grilled sausages and milk tea. He concluded with a pained expression, "These are all real, heartwarming, and delicious things! You just ask me to use so many good things in exchange for you sitting here with a knife, chipping away at wood?! Master Xie, doesn't your conscience hurt?!"

Xie Heshun was a little stunned by Lin Bufan's series of "sausage economics" remarks. He opened his mouth, looked at Lin Bufan's indignant expression that said "you are simply wasting resources", and after a long while, he squeezed out a sentence through his teeth: "...wood...it can also warm people's hearts."

"How can that be the same?!" Lin Bufan immediately retorted, "Burning wood can provide warmth, but that destroys art! The warmth I'm talking about is warmth in the heart, satisfaction of the taste buds! It's a real sense of happiness! No matter how well you carve this wood, can it be eaten? Can it be drunk like milk tea? Can it be used to satisfy my cravings when I'm hungry in the middle of the night?"

Xie Heshun looked at Lin Bufan, a hint of speechlessness flashing in his cloudy old eyes. He realized that he and this kid were completely on different wavelengths. He gave up arguing, simply crossed his arms, lowered his eyelids again, and retorted with the simplest logic: "Never mind how many sausages it can buy. If you want to learn, that's the amount. If you don't want to learn, the door is over there."

Seeing Xie Heshun's unyielding attitude, Lin Bufan knew that arguing further was pointless. Like a defeated rooster, he slumped his shoulders and waved his hand weakly, "Fine...fine! You win! Ten thousand it is! I'll pay! I'll pay, okay?"

Upon hearing this, Xie Heshun's droopy eyelids instantly lifted, and the sternness on his face melted away in a flash, replaced by a smile that could only be described as "amiable." The speed of his change of expression left Lin Bufan speechless. He deftly pulled a small wooden tag from the inside pocket of his work vest, on which a prominent QR code for payment was printed, and handed it to Lin Bufan, his tone so warm it was as if he were a completely different person.

"Oh, that's more like it! Young man, you have good taste and guts! Come on, just scan the code! We accept WeChat and Alipay! We also accept cash, and we have a POS machine here, whichever is more convenient for you!"

Lin Bufan looked at the fully prepared payment tools, his lips twitched, and he couldn't help but say with a hint of disdain, "Master Xie, your equipment is quite complete, isn't it? Your business scope is quite wide."

Xie Heshun chuckled, a hint of pride mixed with a touch of helplessness on his face: "What can we do? Tourism is booming in the village now, attracting visitors from all over the country, including quite a few foreigners. Many of them don't know how to use QR codes! We have to keep up with the times and provide better service. What if someone wants to buy a large wood carving? We can't expect them to run to town to get the money, can we? That would be such a hassle!"

Lin Bufan rolled his eyes, too lazy to argue with him anymore. He took out his phone, reluctantly scanned the code, entered the amount, and gritted his teeth as he pressed the payment button.

"Alipay payment received—10,000 yuan—" A clear electronic female voice announced.

Xie Heshun's smile widened, as if every wrinkle had smoothed out. He carefully put away the small wooden sign, patted Lin Bufan on the shoulder, and said, "Alright! Money and goods settled! Be here promptly at eight o'clock tomorrow morning, and we'll officially begin!"

Lin Bufan waved his hand weakly, feeling as if he had been drained dry, and turned to leave the wood carving workshop with "heavy" steps.

Back in the breezy courtyard, the afterglow of the setting sun bathed the space. Xu Hongdou was sitting on a stone bench in the courtyard, drinking tea. Seeing Lin Bufan return, she put down her teacup and asked with a smile, "You're back? How did your wood carving go? Did your master give you a hard time on your first day?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Bufan immediately straightened his back, the slight "pain" on his face instantly replaced by a nonchalant smugness. He waved his hand, his tone reminiscent of Versailles:

"Difficult? How could that be! Look who's behind this! The moment Master Xie saw me, it was like he'd seen some incredible gem! He gave me a few pointers, and I got the hang of it! Master Xie was amazed, praising my extraordinary talent, calling me a once-in-a-century woodcarving prodigy! He said my hands were born to hold carving knives! If I hadn't stopped him, he would have passed on his ancestral carving knives to me right then and there!"

Looking at Lin Bufan's smug "Praise me!" expression, Xu Hongdou couldn't help but chuckle: "Really? You're making it sound like a martial arts novel! You should thank his master properly for valuing you so much."

"Thank you! I definitely have to thank you properly!" Lin Bufan nodded vigorously, his face solemn. Then he silently added in his mind, "Just wait, I'll call Su Qing later and give Duan Xifeng a good talking to! There's no way around it, you have to pay for the mess these twins made, right?"

……

That evening, Lin Bufan was nestled on the sofa in his room, playing a game with Sang Biao and others who were far away in Shanghai... when a soft knock came at the door.

"Who is it?" Lin Bufan asked without looking up, his fingers flying across the screen, his tone conveying annoyance at being disturbed.

"It's me, Xie Heshun." A slightly deep voice came from outside the door.

Lin Bufan was taken aback. Xie Heshun? Why was this old man coming to see him so late at night? Could it be that he had changed his mind and thought that the tuition fee of 10,000 was too low?

Lin Bufan reluctantly got up and opened the door. He saw Xie Heshun standing outside, holding an envelope in his hand. The shrewdness he had displayed during the day was gone, replaced by weariness and an indescribable solemnity.

Lin Bufan looked at Xie Heshun outside the door with suspicion: "Master Xie? How did you find your way here?"

“I asked A Yao, and he told me you live here.”

Oh, it's a little sun!

That's alright, there's nothing in this village that he doesn't know!

After explaining, Xie Heshun handed over the envelope in his hand.

Lin Bufan took it and saw a neat stack of money inside, about ten thousand yuan.

I rely on!

They really can refund the money?

Is testing someone's feelings really just testing their feelings?

Could it be that those people who demand an 88 yuan dowry to see if you love them are really just testing whether they love her and then return the money later?

No, not possible!

There's no way such a good thing could exist in the world!

"Master Xie, what do you mean by this? The tuition has already been paid, how can it be refunded? Although we didn't sign a contract, a man's word is his bond, and you can't go back on your promise."

“It’s not that I’m going back on my word.” Xie Heshun shook his head, a hint of helplessness on his face. “This money… I never really intended to take it. What I did during the day was mainly to show my two apprentices.”

Hmm～～?

There is a story!

How can you listen to a story without enjoying fine wine and food!

Lin Bufan quickly reached out to stop Xie Heshun, who was about to continue explaining: "Master Xie, no rush! Come, come, let's sit down and talk slowly."

As he spoke, Lin Bufan pulled Xie Heshun into the kitchen on the first floor. He quickly chopped some peanuts, smashed a cucumber, and found some ready-made braised dishes. He then set out two small wine glasses, poured some wine, and sat down opposite Xie Heshun.

"Master Xie, now you can tell me slowly." Lin Bufan poured Xie Heshun a full glass of wine: "What exactly happened?"

Xie Heshun looked at Lin Bufan sitting opposite him, who seemed to be eagerly waiting to see what would happen next, and suddenly felt a little confused.

What the hell is all this?!

Do you really enjoy listening to other people's gossip?

Seeing Xie Heshun's dark expression, Lin Bufan immediately realized that he had been too hasty.

Some things are easier to say when you're under the influence of alcohol. Before you've even had a drink and the atmosphere isn't right, the old master is thin-skinned, so it's naturally hard for him to say some heartfelt things.

"Oh dear, look at my impatient nature!" Lin Bufan slapped his forehead, a warm smile spreading across his face. "Master Xie, although I haven't formally learned your craft yet, we've already established our master-apprentice relationship. Since we're here together tonight, let me toast you!"

I'll finish it, you can do as you please!

As he spoke, Lin Bufan picked up his wine glass and drank it all in one gulp.

Seeing this, Xie Heshun felt it wouldn't be right not to drink, and since he did have something on his mind, he drank a few cups with him. After a few drinks, his face flushed, his previously somewhat reserved expression relaxed, and his eyes showed a hint of alcohol and an unconcealable sorrow.

Seeing this, Lin Bufan knew the time was right, so he sighed at the opportune moment, his tone carrying just the right amount of concern: "Master Xie, you seem... to have something on your mind? If you don't mind, could you tell me? I may not be good at much else, but I have big ears, and I can hear things!"

These words were like opening Pandora's box, and Xie Heshun immediately began to speak, as if pouring beans from a bamboo tube.

"Xiao Lin... this money is to show my two good-for-nothing apprentices." Xie Heshun tilted his head back and took another gulp of wine, his gaze drifting to the deep night outside the window, as if piercing through time and seeing the past: "You have no idea how glorious our business was back then!"

During holidays and festivals, people would come to visit with gifts in an endless stream!

The line of people asking for carvings or for craftsmen to come to their homes to do work could stretch from the entrance of my workshop all the way to the big banyan tree at the village entrance!

Back then, every apprentice learning a craft was desperate to get in.

"If you can master this craft, you'll have a secure future, never have to worry about food or clothing, and be respected wherever you go!"

Xie Heshun's tone was filled with the excitement of reminiscing about the past, but it quickly turned somber, transforming into a deep sense of desolation: "But what about now? Look... one batch of apprentices after another has left. They all complained that this job was too tiring, the money was too slow, and they couldn't sit still. One by one, they went out to work, saying they wanted to see the world and make quick money. The two who stayed behind..." He shook his head, his face full of disappointment: "Their minds are no longer on this job. They're always listless, feeling that this line of work is a dead end, and they can't even support their families."

I took this 10,000 yuan from you to show them! I want them to see with their own eyes that wood carving isn't completely dead! That people are still willing to pay a high price to learn it! This craft passed down from our ancestors still has value and a future! It's not what they think, some unwanted junk! I want to tell them not to take their blessings for granted! They're sitting on a mountain of gold and silver, yet they're always thinking of running off to pick up those seemingly glamorous pebbles!

Xie Heshun became more and more excited as he spoke, his fingers unconsciously tapping the table: "I want them to know that as long as they calm down, master their skills, and carve good things, they won't have to worry about not being recognized or about not having food to eat!"