yournovel Chapter 98 Be Honest with Yourself
Chapter 98 Be Honest with Yourself
"Oh no, the house has collapsed!"
With a startled cry, the "magnificent building" made of oddly shaped wooden blocks collapsed onto the ground in an instant, because Zhang Qiang's hand trembled when he placed the "lintel" on top.
Looking at the broken bricks and tiles scattered on the ground, Zhang Qiang scratched the back of his head somewhat awkwardly, muttering to himself:
"Tsk, this wood is too slippery. It's my fault, my fault."
Mengmeng pouted and squatted on the ground, fiddling with the small wooden blocks with a somewhat dejected expression.
Xingruo also withdrew her hand, which she had originally intended to hold onto the door, with a hint of disappointment flashing in her eyes.
"It's okay, it's okay, let's try a different game."
Chen Feng, who had been leaning against the counter watching the show, finally stood up.
He reached out and turned off the fluorescent light on the shop ceiling.
With a "click," the entire shop was plunged into darkness, with only the warm yellow old-fashioned table lamp on the square table emitting a soft glow.
"Look at the wall," Chen Feng whispered.
Upon hearing this, Mengmeng suddenly raised her head.
In the shadows beyond the reach of the lamp, a huge black shadow had appeared on the snow-white wall.
As Chen Feng crossed his hands and moved his fingertips rhythmically, the dark shadow transformed into an "eagle" that was slowly flapping its wings.
As his knuckles trembled, the eagle on the wall seemed to come alive. It proudly looked down at the crowd below, the patterns on its wings appearing exceptionally realistic in the dim light, as if it were about to pierce through the wall and fly into the night sky outside.
"Wow! An eagle! What a big eagle!" Mengmeng's disappointment vanished instantly. She clapped her hands and jumped around trying to catch the shadow.
"Hey, watch this! Is the eagle afraid of the big crab?"
Seeing this, Zhang Qiang no longer cared about the pile of collapsed wood.
He imitated Chen Feng, bringing his large, thick hands close to the light.
His movements were far less agile than Chen Feng's. He struggled with his fingers for a long time before finally projecting a domineering "monster" with two huge pincers onto the wall.
"Godfather, is that a crab or a giant spider? Why does it have so many legs?" Mengmeng tilted her head, laughing at the twisted black shadow.
"It's a crab! The kind that walks sideways!" Zhang Qiang shouted, while trying to control his two fingers to mimic the opening and closing of pincers, repeatedly trying to "pinch" Chen Feng's eagle-like tail.
"Watch my golden scissor hand! Fengzi, don't run away!"
Su Chen watched the two children bickering like children, and couldn't stop smiling.
He casually put down the wooden plaque he hadn't finished carving and put his hand into the circle of light.
Sculptors are born with an extreme sensitivity to form.
He simply crossed his hands, slightly raised his thumb, and a lifelike "little rabbit" with long, upturned ears, chewing a carrot appeared in the corner.
"I'm the adorable rabbit officer, in charge of patrolling. Crabs are not allowed to cross the border." Su Chen deliberately lowered his voice, imitating the serious guard tone from the cartoon.
Mengmeng laughed even harder, turning to tug at Xingruo's sleeve: "Sister Xingruo, come on, come on!"
Xingruo looked at the dancing shadows on the wall, her eyes sparkling with the innocent charm of a young girl.
Encouraged by Su Chen and Zhang Qiang, she timidly stretched out her slender hands.
She lacked Chen Feng's vigorous strength and Su Chen's precise grasp of form.
Guided by Mengmeng, she slowly overlapped her palms, her fingertips spreading slightly to the sides.
"Master...does this look like a flower?" Xingruo asked softly, her eyes sparkling as she looked at the wall.
"It's just like it, very much like it." Chen Feng replied gently. His "eagle" landed right above the "shadow flower" at that moment, as if sheltering it from the wind and rain.
In this shop filled with the aroma of dried tangerine peel, four big kids and two little kids huddled around a dim lamp, creating a world full of heroes, rabbits, flowers, and fairy tales on the white wall.
The world is a dark shadow, but at this moment it has become a beacon in everyone's heart.
"Alright, Shadow needs to sleep too."
After a while, Chen Feng gently patted Mengmeng's little head.
Although Mengmeng was still a little reluctant to leave, she obediently followed Xingruo upstairs after being gently coaxed by her.
"Young Master Su, will you be able to finish carving this wooden plaque by tomorrow?" Zhang Qiang asked casually, withdrawing his hand.
"Yes." Su Chen picked up the carving knife again and focused on carving under the light. "I guarantee you'll see a satisfactory sign before we open tomorrow morning."
Zhang Qiang smiled, yawned widely, picked up the two empty beer bottles, and stood up unsteadily.
"Fengzi, I can't take it anymore, my eyelids feel as heavy as if they were filled with lead."
"Young Master Su, you should get some rest too. We're counting on you to attract customers tomorrow."
Su Chen polished the wooden plaque in his hand, and replied without looking up, "Brother Qiang, you go to sleep first. I'll finalize the names of these plaques to avoid a scramble tomorrow morning."
"Well, everyone's hardworking, except for me, the only lazybones." Zhang Qiang chuckled, slipped on his slippers, and went home.
The shop fell silent once more.
Xingruo had already taken Mengmeng upstairs to wash up, and the sound of light footsteps could be heard occasionally from the floor.
Chen Feng walked to the table, picked up the blue-and-white porcelain teapot, and found that the tea had gone cold. He then turned around and went into the kitchen to replace it with a hot one.
"Have something hot to drink." Chen Feng pushed the cup towards Su Chen's side.
Su Chen put down the carving knife, picked up the cup and took a sip. The warm tea went down his throat, making his tense spine relax a little.
He pointed to several wooden plaques on the table whose outlines had already been carved, his tone serious.
"Brother Chen, look at this piece. I've shifted these characters slightly to the left, and I want to carve a small stove in the blank space on the right."
When we open tomorrow, I plan to go to the back alleys of the old street and get some fresh moss to stuff into the cracks in this wood; it'll definitely feel different then.
Chen Feng looked down and examined it closely. There were still some wood chips under Su Chen's fingernails, and her fingers even had a few small cuts and bloodstains.
"If you had shown these things to your dad before, what would he have said?" Chen Feng asked abruptly.
Su Chen's fingers holding the carving knife stiffened slightly, then he chuckled self-deprecatingly and lowered his head to continue carving the "curly little pig" pattern.
"Him? He'd think I'm crazy. In his eyes, these rotten logs are meaningless."
He would ask me, "Su Chen, will carving these things bring any profit growth to the family?"
They would also say that if it weren't possible, it would be a waste of time and a disgrace to the Su family.
Su Chen's voice was calm, without any hint of resentment, but rather a sense of relief and indifference.
"But with you, Brother Chen, for the first time I feel that my hands can still do something real."
"Look at this wood. With each cut I make, it transforms. That's much more reliable than those fancy financial charts."
Chen Feng didn't reply, but just silently drank his tea.
"Brother Chen, do you think those people don't find life tiring?" Su Chen suddenly looked up, his eyes shining.
"Today, Han Lulu clearly loves to eat, but at first she insisted on pretending to be a fan while holding her nose."
I've seen many people similar to her before. But today, sitting by the construction site, watching Brother Qiang and his brothers drink red bean paste, I suddenly realized that being a person means being honest with yourself.
"Everyone has their own destiny." Chen Feng put down his cup. "But not many people can live the life they want. You're one of them now."
Su Chen chuckled, revealing a row of neat white teeth. "Brother Chen, your way of praising people is quite unique."
He was about to bend down and continue working when he suddenly stopped.
Su Chen's ears twitched, his brows furrowed slightly, and he looked towards the door with some suspicion.