Chapter 110: The Heir to Mortise-and-Tenon Craft! My surname is Xu, and I come from Shenzhen.

Five days earlier, Gao Ran had moved from Fragrant Bloom House to Hai Zhong University.

She was already a sophomore, so she did not have to take part in military training, and she had plenty of time to go out.

Ever since she arrived at school, she called Zhang Tianfeng almost every night under the pretext of chatting on the phone with her boyfriend. In truth, she wanted her chatty roommates to spread the word that she had a boyfriend, so those persistent pests would know when to back off.

To keep living at Fragrant Bloom House for free, the lazy Zhang Tianfeng could only take on this arduous task.

After calling Gao Ran, Zhang Tianfeng drove her Crown sedan toward Pearl City.

Half an hour later, he arrived in Pearl City. The city's noise rushed into his ears, traffic flowed in endless streams, and pedestrians came and went without pause. In an instant, he had gone from the countryside into the bustle and brilliance of a great city.

He pulled over and went straight to a fruit stand.

Since this was his first appearance at the university, he could not show up empty-handed.

He bought some mangoes, chilled watermelon, and grapes, then started back out.

Before he could even get into the car, a little girl suddenly ran up to him.

"Mister, would you like to buy some toys?"

"You look so handsome, you must have lots of girls who like you. Buy a few toys and give them to those sisters. They will definitely be very happy."

Zhang Tianfeng had seen this girl before. She happened to be set up right beside where he parked, selling all sorts of small wooden toys from a street stall.

He looked around and asked, "Where are your parents?"

"My mother is sick and resting at home. My father is working at the factory and hasn't finished his shift yet."

The little girl blinked her large eyes and said, "Mister, all these toys are made by our family. They're really fun. Let me show you."

She picked up a wooden horse with practiced ease, twisted its head once, gave it a firm push, and the little horse began to walk forward on its own.

Seeing the seamless fit of the joints, Zhang Tianfeng's eyes lit up.

These looked like they had been made with mortise-and-tenon craftsmanship. The pieces fit together perfectly, with almost no gaps at all.

He crouched down and brushed the hair from the girl's forehead with his hand.

"Little sister, did you make all these toys yourself?"

"I learned from my mother," the girl said with a nod. "She can't work because she's ill in bed, so she makes these little things instead."

"Usually my father is the one who sells them, but today he had to work overtime, so I'm the one running the stall."

"You're very brave, and very capable. How much is one toy? I'll buy them all."

"They're one yuan each. If you want all of them, I'll give you a discount. Fifty yuan will do."

The stall was scattered with toys, probably more than eighty of them: frogs, grasshoppers, even lifelike dragonflies, with their translucent wings exquisitely combined with the carved wood.

This was the work of a master.

Without more than a decade of dedication, no one could carve something like this.

He took out three hundred-yuan bills and gently placed them into the girl's hands.

"Your work is perfect. It's worth more than this."

"Keep the money safe. We'll load the things into the car, then wait here for your father to come."

"Thank you, big brother."

The little girl immediately understood what Zhang Tianfeng meant. He was worried that if she held three hundred-yuan bills in her hand, others might get greedy.

Her mother had indeed been right. Nuonuo had a sharp eye for people, and she really had found a very good man.

After they loaded the goods into the car, the little girl was drenched in sweat.

During their conversation, Zhang Tianfeng learned that the girl's name was Yun Qian, and that she came from Twin Deities Village. The village lay deep in the mountains of River City, right on the border between Fuji Province and Hunan Province, in an extremely remote location.

She had come to Pearl City this time to spend her summer vacation there, and to help out as well.

Once seated in the car with the air conditioning blowing, Yun Qian let out a bright, bell-like laugh.

"Big brother, about how much does your car cost?"

"Roughly five hundred thousand yuan."

"Wow, you're so rich! No wonder you're so generous."

"Don't sell yourself short. Your things are made very well. I even think I paid too little."

"Qianqian, is your village specifically known for making toys like these?"

"No. My mother learned it from Grandpa Village Chief. He said that nowadays young people are unwilling to learn this sort of thing and all go out to work instead."

"Then your village chief must be very impressive."

"Of course. Grandpa Village Chief is a ninth-generation carpenter by inheritance. If the young people in the village weren't unwilling to learn, my mother wouldn't have been able to pick up these skills either."

Ninth-generation inheritance? That was indeed something extraordinary.

The moment Zhang Tianfeng saw these toys, an idea had sprouted in his mind: he wanted to promote mortise-and-tenon toys throughout the world.

After all, foreign building blocks had already begun to invade the domestic market. Why could they not turn the tide and export their own culture instead?

For now, his positioning of these toys was very simple: stress relief.

Exactly, stress relief.

A perfect mortise-and-tenon structure, watching the process as scattered pieces were assembled and seeing tiny gaps gradually disappear before one's eyes, created a pleasure beyond words.

In his past life, during the age of explosive social media, all sorts of foreign information flooded in, including a ranking of items from the Eastern Nation that foreigners loved most. Mortise-and-tenon toys had ranked near the top.

In their words, they were incredibly soothing.

If he could reproduce these perfect mortise-and-tenon toys and break into the foreign market, the money to be made would be far from trivial.

While he was thinking, a frantic voice suddenly rang out.

"Qianqian, Qianqian, where are you?"

"Dad, I'm here."

Yun Qian rolled down the window and shouted.

Soon, a haggard middle-aged man walked over.

Seeing Yun Qian in the car, he panicked a little, and his voice dropped several notches.

"You naughty child, hurry up and get down. Don't dirty the car."

"It's all right. Can we talk in the car?"

"Sir, if my daughter has offended you, I'll pay for it. I absolutely will."

"It's not about paying for anything. I want to talk business with you about these toys."

Yun Qian's father was named Yun Tianhe, forty-six years old this year. He had been working at a furniture factory in Pearl City for the past six months.

He worked during the day, and after getting off work at night, he would set up a stall by himself outside. Before, he sold small trinkets bought from wholesale markets.

This summer, his daughter brought over a large pile of wooden toys, and he switched to selling those instead. Unfortunately, the sales were poor; for several days in a row, he could not even sell a single piece.

"Sir, if you have something to say, please just say it plainly. I'm just an ordinary laborer, and there is very little I can do."

"Qianqian said that your village chief from Twin Deities Village is remarkable, a hereditary carpenter."

"That's right. The old village chief's skills really are impressive, but these days no one likes this sort of thing anymore."

"I do!" Zhang Tianfeng said solemnly. "Can you take me to Twin Deities Village? I want to discuss a business deal with your village chief."

"Whether this deal succeeds or not, I will give you one thousand yuan as compensation."

"If taking leave causes you to lose your job, I can provide you with work. I've opened a toy factory in Tangwan Town."

With that, Zhang Tianfeng placed ten hundred-yuan bills into Yun Tianhe's hand.

Feeling the warmth of the banknotes, Yun Tianhe's emotions surged and plunged.

Only moments ago, he had suspected this was a swindler, or perhaps even a human trafficker. Now that he had the money in hand, all his doubts vanished.

After a long silence, Yun Tianhe said, "The village chief has a strange temper. I'm afraid he may not be willing to see you. Give me three days. I'll call back home and ask him."

"All right. You only need to tell him that I can help him carry this mortise-and-tenon craft forward and make it flourish. I can also help solve the villagers' employment problems."

"Very well. Thank you, sir. I'll head back first."

"I'll drive you back. Tell me where to go."

After sending Yun Tianhe and his daughter home, Zhang Tianfeng hurried to Hai Zhong University. By the time he arrived, it was already eight in the evening.

Night had fallen, and the stars were brilliant.

At the gate of Hai Zhong University, stylish and attractive young men and women flowed in and out without pause.

This was a century-old university, one that had nurtured many gifted people.

Just as Zhang Tianfeng parked the car, he heard someone pounding on the door. Turning his head, he saw Gao Ran.

The girl was glaring at him angrily.

"What took you so long? You said you'd be here at seven, and it's already eight!"

"On the way, I ran into an interesting father and daughter, so I was delayed a bit."

Zhang Tianfeng asked, "Didn't you say you had classmates? Where are they?"

"They've already gone to the karaoke bar. I found an excuse to wait here for you."

At that, Gao Ran looked around and said, "Your task tonight is a tough one. That bunch of plastic best friends of mine is still trying to introduce me to boyfriends. I have no idea how much money they've been paid."

"I still have two years left in school. I don't want to fall out with them, so I'm counting on you."

"Leave it to me. I'll make sure the mission is completed. Get in and show me the way. Let's go eat a feast."

Since this was a gathering arranged by her admirers, there was naturally no way the girls would be footing the bill. Zhang Tianfeng was just hungry anyway, so he could enjoy a free meal.

The restaurant was in the building to the left of Hai Zhong University, so they drove over.

Five minutes later, they went upstairs. Before they even entered the private room, they heard thunderous laughter.

"What are you all talking about? You're so happy," Gao Ran said as she pushed the door open.

Inside sat three women and six men, with the table covered in all kinds of liquor.

Nine pairs of eyes turned toward the doorway at once.

After a few seconds, the girl on the far left said, "Ranran, you finally came. So this is your boyfriend, huh?"

"Sorry, everyone. There was traffic on the way, so I'm late."

"No problem. Drink three bottles as punishment and we'll forgive you."

"Hey, shouldn't it be three glasses?" Gao Ran said hurriedly.

Three bottles in a row—that was clearly the pace for getting someone drunk.

"Ranran, we're doing this for your own good. You said your boyfriend runs a factory. If he can't hold his liquor, how is he supposed to do business?"

"I usually don't drink. Someone else does it for me."

"Then today you'll have to take the battlefield yourself."

A boy in a white shirt, his hair slicked back with grease, stood up.

"If you won't drink, we won't accept you."

"I need your acceptance? Do I know you?"

Gao Ran had thought that, at the very least, her classmates would show some regard for friendship and not go too far.

But to try and drive people away from the start like this? Who could stand that?

"It's fine, it's fine. I really was late, and if I'm in the wrong, I should admit it."

After saying that, Zhang Tianfeng picked up a bottle of beer and began to drink directly from it.

Gulp, gulp.

Drinking beer for him was like pouring water onto the ground. One bottle took ten seconds, and three bottles were finished in half a minute.

He set the empty bottles down, wiped the wine from the corner of his mouth, and asked, "I've drunk it. Are you all not angry anymore?"

"Impressive. I'll make you my brother."

The man extended his hand and said, "My surname is Xu. I'm from Shencheng."