When Tan Jing went to his friend for help, the old man chatted with Feng Minghao, who came in but didn't talk much and just worked quietly. After a casual conversation, the old man learned that Feng Minghao was Liu Mingfeng's cousin, and he also learned from the conversation that he was a quiet but upright young man.
Soon, Tan Jing borrowed a cart from his friend and hauled the goods up to the town gate. Tan pulled the cart while Feng Minghao pushed from behind. They quickly arrived at the town gate, unloaded the goods, and left Feng Minghao to watch over them. Tan Jing returned the cart to his friend and then rode a bicycle and pushed another to the state-run restaurant to collect what they needed. They waited together at the entrance for the old man from the village to arrive with his oxcart.
Before three o'clock, the two people waiting at the entrance of the town saw Grandpa Hu, the village's oxcart driver, leading the village's old ox, swaying and staggering towards them. When they got close and stopped the oxcart, Grandpa Hu looked at the pile of things and said to Tan Jing with heartache.
"Why are you making all this stuff, you brat? Don't tire out my ox. You know there's a really steep slope on the road to our village. How are you going to climb it?"
Han Jing grinned and stuffed five or six hard candies into Grandpa Hu's pocket. He promised Grandpa Hu that when they reached the steep slope, the two of them would push from behind and wouldn't tire the precious ox. Grandpa Hu touched the few candies in his pocket and reluctantly helped the two of them load the things onto the ox-drawn cart.
After it was all set up, Grandpa Hu cracked his whip, and the old ox, with a "whoosh," slowly pulled the cart forward. Tan Jing and his companion didn't ride their bicycles; instead, they pushed them and followed Grandpa Hu. Only when they reached a steep slope did they quicken their pace, ride their bicycles up first, and then park them in the woods by the roadside. They then ran off to help Grandpa Hu push the bicycles up the slope.
After arriving in the village, the oxcart headed towards Liu Mingfeng's house. When they reached the door, Liu Xiaobao and Tan Jing started carrying the pile of things inside, piling them all into a corner of the yard. After everything was unloaded, Tan Jing took out a few candies and gave them to Grandpa Hu, along with the money he had paid for renting the oxcart.
After seeing Grandpa Hu off, Tan Jing turned around and went back into the courtyard. When he returned, he saw Liu Mingfeng sitting next to the pile of junk, rummaging through it with his uninjured hand. Upon seeing this, Tan Jing immediately went over and squatted down next to Liu Mingfeng.
"Brother, are these any good? If not, I'll go to the county town in a couple of days and try to find some more for you. The bicycle parts and such that the scrap yard in our town collects are all broken beyond repair, so they're probably not of any use."
"Okay, then go to the county town in a few days and take a look for me. There's really not much of what's left here. Also, get some paint from the furniture factory in the county town. I'll fix that bicycle and repaint it."
After Tan Jing agreed, he helped Liu Mingfeng organize the things. When sorting through the wood, Liu Mingfeng found some rosewood. Although it was broken, it could still be used to make small boxes and bracelets. He even found some sandalwood in the pile of wood. If made into 108-bead bracelets, it could make about two strings. Liu Mingfeng was happy to see this and put it away. He planned to make a string of beads and give it to Wu Qiaoqiao.
After helping Liu Mingfeng pack his things, Tan Jing stood up, dusted himself off, and prepared to leave. Liu Mingfeng asked Tan Jing to bring his grandfather over for dinner that evening, but Tan Jing declined, saying only that they would come over for dinner when Liu Mingfeng recovered. Before leaving, he also told Liu Mingfeng that there were things Nie Hai had asked him to bring in his backpack.
After returning and tidying up his things, Feng Minghao picked up a piece of rosewood slightly larger than his palm from the pile of wood and sat down beside it. He kept examining the rosewood in his hand, probably wanting to carve something, but he was struggling because he didn't have the tools.
Looking at his dejected appearance, Liu Mingfeng felt a pang of pain in his eyes. He had no idea what was wrong. How could someone's personality change so drastically after just one night? He wasn't like this when they first met. Of course, Liu Mingfeng had no idea that the other person had lived a lifetime in just one night.
Liu Mingfeng saw that he probably wanted to carve something. He searched through the original owner's memories and found that the original owner had a toolbox for woodworking. So he told Liu Xiaobao to go to the storage room next to the woodshed in the back and look for it. It was a mahogany box, which contained some chisels, axes and even a small saw needed for woodworking. The three uncles had given money to the original owner to buy these little things because they saw that he really liked them. The original owner had seen them in the storage room when he came back to get married.
At Liu Mingfeng's instruction, Liu Xiaobao carried the mahogany box out of the back storage room and placed it next to Feng Minghao. Feng Minghao, who was in a daze, heard a noise next to him, looked up and saw Liu Xiaobao putting a mahogany box next to him. He looked at Liu Xiaobao in confusion, but Liu Xiaobao did not say anything and pointed at Liu Mingfeng.
Liu Mingfeng said, "Minghao, I've seen you staring at that piece of wood for a long time. Are you planning to carve something? This box contains woodworking tools. Open it yourself and see if there's anything you need."
After thanking Liu Mingfeng, Feng Yunhao opened the box and found several carving knives inside. He took out a small carving knife and started carving on the piece of wood in his hand. Everyone saw how serious he was and didn't disturb him. Only the two children, Tiedan and Daya, found it amusing and each moved a small stool to sit next to him, watching intently.
Liu Mingfeng and Wu Qiaoqiao watched as the woman gradually took shape in Feng Minghao's hands. They didn't say anything, but instead looked through the things Tan Jing had brought with Feng Xiaobao.
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