Chapter 57 Our live stream, viewed on foreign websites...
Ren Zhijiao has been riding high lately.
She was assigned to manage the stock market for tourism, and also happened to be in charge of Anping County, which was essentially a setback for her. But when one's career is on a roll, even a disastrous start can't stop it. Soon, Qinghe Ancient Town began preparations for its opening, followed by the recent flurry of media attention.
This is great, it's made it directly onto the national television news.
During the meeting, the bureau chief specifically praised Qinghe Ancient Town, saying it had brought honor to the entire Qinghe City. It's worth noting that making the news for tourism, especially such positive news, is unprecedented for Qinghe City. Consequently, Ren Zhijiao, who is in charge of that area, was also praised.
The people who had been giving her a hard time looked grim after the meeting, and Ren Zhijiao was overjoyed. As soon as the meeting ended, she called Lu Xiaoqi.
Lu Xiaoqi was quite familiar with her now, so she immediately seized the opportunity: "Sister Ren, don't just talk the talk, there's no walking the walk. Doesn't the city offer any concrete support?"
Ren Zhijiao's laughter came through the phone: "I knew you'd ask me this."
Lu Xiaoqi cried out, "There's nothing I can do. Just think about how much pressure I'm under right now, with so many workers and so many projects to start."
Ren Zhijiao earnestly told her, "First of all, don't think about subsidies for now. However, I can guarantee that after you open your business smoothly, you will definitely receive subsidies from the city and provincial intangible cultural heritage. At this point, you don't need to worry about other scenic spots in the city at all."
Lu Xiaoqi already knew this and immediately asked, "And then?"
“Secondly, you can actually make demands in other areas,” Ren Zhijiao said meaningfully, “such as transportation.”
"That's exactly what I was thinking!" Lu Xiaoqi understood immediately. "I'd like to request that the city government open a dedicated tourist bus line from the city center and the high-speed rail station to Qinghe Ancient Town, and also increase the number of bus services from the city to Anping County, adding a stop at Qinghe Ancient Town. That's not too much to ask, is it?"
“A reasonable request.” Ren Zhijiao nodded. “Bring me an application report, and I’ll submit it for you.”
Anping County will be very happy.
"Could the road at the entrance of the scenic area be repaired again? The current width is a bit too narrow for buses to pass through," Lu Xiaoqi continued tentatively.
Ren Zhijiao: "The bureau can study this."
Lu Xiaoqi didn't quite understand these roundabout and bureaucratic phrases at first, but when she heard Ren Zhijiao's relaxed tone, she suddenly understood that there was probably something going on.
"Wouldn't it be reasonable to set up a fire station and a police station at the entrance of the ancient town?" she continued to make her request.
Ren Zhijiao: "...That makes sense."
Even if she doesn't say it, Anping County will probably take the initiative to do it.
Lu Xiaoqi pressed her advantage: "Then, how about tax breaks?"
Ren Zhijiao laughed: "This issue needs to be studied after Qinghe Ancient Town opens. The Culture and Tourism Bureau can only raise it, but has no decision-making power."
Lu Xiaoqi understood. This was a decision made by the city. They would probably have to see how much economic impact Qinghe Ancient Town had brought to Anping County and even Qinghe City, and how many local jobs it had created.
"Then I'll have to trouble you, Sister Ren!" Lu Xiaoqi hung up the phone happily.
Being on TV is so great!
She remembered what she had told her parents last night, and hesitated, taking out her phone to call them. Qinghe Ancient Town was completely different now than before, and she wondered if she should be honest with some things, besides the system.
I have a feeling that it wouldn't be good if Ms. Xiao Meiyun and her father found out about this from other people.
Xiao Meiyun answered the phone, then went back to playing mahjong.
"Ms. Xiao, could you please play less mahjong?" Lu Xiaoqi said helplessly.
Playing mahjong is her mother's biggest and only hobby.
Xiao Meiyun snorted: "You're so far away and you still dare to interfere with me? If you're so capable, get married, have a child, and let your mother take care of it. Then I definitely won't play mahjong anymore."
Lu Xiaoqi: "...Then you can keep playing...Hey, hey, don't hang up. I was just thinking, why don't you and Dad come to Qinghe City for a visit? How about you spend the New Year here this year?"
Xiao Meiyun was a little surprised: "You're not coming back this year?"
Lu Xiaoqi: "I definitely can't go back. Qinghe Ancient Town will probably open before the New Year, and I'll be so busy. Come on, come on, you and Dad come and spend the New Year with me. It would be best if you came two months in advance."
She would act cute, and Ms. Xiao would fall for it.
"Alright, alright, I'll discuss it with your dad. I'll tell you later." Xiao Meiyun said perfunctorily, her mind completely focused on the mahjong game, and hung up after a few words.
Lu Xiaoqi put down her phone and let out a long sigh of relief.
Let's call her over first. This matter definitely needs to be discussed in person, and she needs to think about how to say it.
After resting for a while, it was lunchtime. Lu Xiaoqi ordered takeout; she planned to skip work today and not go to Qinghe Ancient Town. The boss skipping work? That's practically the most natural thing in the world!
However, fate seemed determined to keep her occupied, as Yuwen Kai called.
Lu Xiaoqi was surprised: "You mean people from the Yingfu Wooden Pagoda have come?"
......
Ye Shian and his junior apprentice, Chen Shihao, a middle-aged man, walked in Qinghe Ancient Town.
Area 1 is quite lively now. Besides construction teams specializing in ancient buildings, there are also ordinary construction teams. Qinghe Ancient Town is not a purely ancient building. Apart from a few key buildings such as Qinghe Tower and some courtyard houses that are purely imitation ancient buildings, most of the rest are ancient buildings with modern building cores.
So, they could see a group of workers applying cement and putty.
Having come from Shanxi Province, a province rich in historical sites and ancient architecture, Chen Shihao naturally found it very displeasing and muttered, "How come this is such a mess..."
Ye Shian didn't take it seriously: "It's just a modern scenic spot, not a real ancient town. You can't judge it by the standards of a historical site."
He's not a staunch believer in traditional architecture, but he personally believes that to meet modern standards of practicality and comfort, combining the strengths of both modern and traditional architecture is the right approach. The approach taken by Qinghe Ancient Town is actually quite clever.
Walking a little further in, they reached the river area. A gentle breeze, carrying a hint of moisture, blew by, carrying no fishy or foul smell, only a cool and comfortable feeling. Shanxi Province is dry, while Qinghe City's summer is very humid and hot. This breeze made the two of them feel as if they had returned to the human world.
"This water is excellent," Chen Shihao couldn't help but praise, looking down at the river beside him and the lake not far away. The water was so clear that you could see the bottom, and you could vaguely see the lush aquatic plants underneath.
The water reflects the pavilions and towers on both sides, giving it a unique charm reminiscent of the water towns of Jiangnan, which even he, a long-time resident of Shanxi Province, found distinctive.
Just then, someone rushed up from behind: "Mr. Ye, Mr. Chen, our boss has arrived."
"You want to meet Master Xiang Qi and the others?" Lu Xiaoqi looked at the two people in front of her curiously. She noticed the calluses on their hands and made a decision in her mind. They should be frontline members of the Yingfu Wooden Pagoda restoration team, most likely craftsmen. "May I ask why?"
Ye Shi'an never expected that the person in charge of Qinghe Ancient Town would be such a young girl.
Before he could speak, Chen Shih-hao preemptively said, "When we watched the live stream before, we noticed that the mortise and tenon joints made by Master Xiang Qi and his team were somewhat similar to those on the Yingfu Wooden Pagoda."
Lu Xiaoqi was a little puzzled: "Isn't this normal? The mortise and tenon structure has been passed down for thousands of years."
Su Jun reminded her from the side: "They are probably talking about the lost mortise and tenon joints such as the thousand-petal lotus heart tenon and the scale rod living tenon."
That's why these people are worth making the long journey.
Ye Shi'an nodded and decided to tell the truth: "Boss Lu should know about the Yingfu Wooden Pagoda. Its tilt has been increasing year by year. We have always wanted to repair it but have not been able to make up our minds. One of the important reasons is that its brackets are very complicated. Some of the mortise and tenon structures are worn, decayed and located in a way that makes it difficult to see the whole picture even with modern scanning instruments."
As a national treasure among national treasures, it cannot afford any mishaps, so the decision-makers simply cannot make a decision.
Lu Xiaoqi realized: "The mortise and tenon joints that Xiang Master and the others showed us are exactly one of them?"
"right."
Since it concerned national treasures, she didn't dare to delay and immediately took them to see Xiang Qi and Xiang Ming. Among the craftsmen in Xiangjia Village, these two were definitely the most experienced and knowledgeable.
Ye Shian and Chen Shihao came here just to try their luck, and didn't have high expectations. It would be amazing if they knew one or two lost mortise and tenon joints. They couldn't possibly know all of them, could they?
They brought a large number of photos. Seeing the two elderly craftsmen examining the photos on tablets, Chen Shih-hao assumed they hadn't figured anything out and was quite disappointed. He quickly said, "Masters, there's no need to feel too much pressure..."
Unexpectedly, Xiang Ming and Xiang Qi put down their tablets, looked up, and nodded calmly.
"This is it? I know it."
"Take your time to look and think..." Chen Shih-hao was interrupted before he could finish his last sentence. His hand trembled as he took the tablet, and he almost dropped it.
His voice rose eight octaves: "You know?! You all know?!"
Ye Shi'an was also almost caught off guard and looked over in shock.
"I know," Xiang Qi said casually. "It's not something that's difficult to do."
They've all done it, and quite a lot of it.
Ye Shian pressed further, "Do you really know everything?"
Xiang Qi glanced at him, took the tablet, and pointed: "Look, this is a nine-curved interlocking tenon joint, it's very complicated, it takes several months to make one; this should be a modified hull tenon joint, originally used for the bottom of seagoing vessels, for waterproofing and wind resistance; this one..."
“It’s a locking tenon.” Xiang Ming leaned closer and asserted, “You can tell at a glance that this structure is correct.”
Ye Shian and Chen Shihao looked at each other in bewilderment.
A sudden thought flashed through Ye Shi'an's mind, and he asked in a trembling voice, "But it's written in the 'Luban Classic' that 'the window lattice is locked with mortise and tenon joints, so that no gaps can be seen even in the depths of winter'?"
Xiang Ming nodded: "That's right."
His gaze toward Ye Shi'an was filled with admiration; he thought this man was quite good and had some insight.
Chen Shih-hao: ......
Lu Xiaoqi watched from the side, her lips involuntarily curving upwards, barely managing to suppress her laughter.
Xiang Qi commented, "I've heard that the use of the locking tenon in the bracket system is something that was tried when building pagodas in Shanxi in the past, but I've never seen it in person."
The "before" he was referring to was naturally before the Ming Dynasty.
Ye Shian and Chen Shihao exchanged a glance, both somewhat dazed. Was this all resolved?
I also have some doubts.
But judging from the two craftsmen's confident and nonchalant demeanor, they couldn't possibly be lying. Whether they've seen it before or not, whether they can do it or not, they'll know once they make one; lying is useless.
Ye Shi'an felt as if a problem that had troubled him for decades had suddenly disappeared. He was filled with mixed feelings of joy and sorrow, and his words were somewhat halting and difficult to speak: "Master Xiang, you two, could you come with me to Jin Province for a visit?"
Xiang Qi and Xiang Ming refused without even thinking: "That won't do. We're still rushing to finish our work here, so we don't have time."
Moreover, they are not allowed to leave Anping County.
Lu Xiaoqi thought to herself, "This is bad."
Ye Shi'an was taken aback by their decisive refusal and didn't react for a moment. Chen Shihao, whose temper was even more impatient, blurted out, "That's a national treasure being restored! How...how can you be so indifferent?"
Ye Shian quickly shouted, "Shihao, shut up!"
It is a national treasure, that's true, but we can't morally blackmail people just because they can't go there for the time being!
Chen Shih-hao realized he had misspoke and quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, masters. It's just that the Yingfu Wooden Pagoda is indeed in bad shape right now, and I was a little anxious."
Xiang Qiming, whose brows had been furrowed by his words, relaxed: "It's alright, I understand."
However, they really can't go to Shanxi Province. Even with increased freedom, they will definitely prioritize Qinghe Ancient Town, which is not only their workplace but also their home.
Ye Shi'an understood perfectly well; he couldn't very well tell Lu Xiaoqi in front of her that their business wasn't that important and that she should quit.
"How about this?" Lu Xiaoqi suddenly spoke up. "Director Ye, since Master Xiang and the others know about the structure of mortise and tenon joints, could they provide remote guidance if they have time?"
She looked at Xiang Ming and Xiang Qi, seeking their opinions.
Xiang Ming and Xiang Qi pondered for a moment, and finally Xiang Qi nodded: "Okay, if you have any questions about mortise and tenon joints, we can make one and let you see if it is any different from the one on the wooden tower."
Xiang Ming hesitated, but ultimately remained silent.
Ye Shian and Chen Shihao were overjoyed: "Then we'll have to trouble you two masters."
"Let's make this clear beforehand," Xiang Qi said calmly, "our most important task in the next year or two is to renovate Qinghe Ancient Town. We can only do it in our spare time, and we can't guarantee the time."
Ye Shian immediately replied, "No problem! We are already very grateful as long as the two masters are willing to do it."
Lu Xiaoqi planned to have Chen Yingying discuss the consulting fees with them, since they couldn't let the two mentors work for free.
Both sides were satisfied with the outcome of the negotiation. Ye Shi'an and Chen Shihao immediately stayed at the construction site of Qinghe Tower, watching Xiang Qi and Xiang Ming work and occasionally lending a hand. Seeing their engrossed expressions, Lu Xiaoqi didn't mention that they were guests from afar and suggested they rest, letting them go as they pleased.
These two are renowned figures in the field of ancient building restoration. Craftsmen from other construction teams who recognized them were all astonished upon seeing them. These two big shots were actually so polite to Xiang Qi and Xiang Ming, even showing a hint of deference.
this......
Xiang Qi and Xiang Ming's status in the hearts of the craftsmen was quietly raised another level.
Meanwhile, Lu Xiaoqi and Su Jun returned to their office.
Su Jun asked her, "Do you really hope that Master Xiang and the others can help repair the Yingfu Wooden Pagoda?"
“Yes.” Lu Xiaoqi nodded. “Of course, it also depends on their thoughts. However, if it can help, I would hope they will. You don’t know the status of Yingfu Wooden Pagoda among ancient buildings in China. It is the tallest and oldest existing Liao Dynasty wooden pagoda, an absolute national treasure. It would be a real pity if it collapsed.”
Su Jun raised his eyes slightly and said calmly, "The Liao Dynasty..."
Lu Xiaoqi choked and, caught off guard, began to cough violently.
Su Jun pursed his lips, wanting to pat her back but then hesitantly withdrew his hand, and said slowly, "When I have the chance in the future, I must go and see this wooden tower."
Lu Xiaoqi was somewhat surprised to hear his calm and composed tone, and his gentle expression, which did not seem sarcastic. She raised her eyebrows in surprise.
Su Jun chuckled: "You don't need to look at me like that, and you don't need to be so careful about this in the future. Since it's history, it's all in the past."
He genuinely wanted to see the wooden tower that had witnessed the history of his era.
Lu Xiaoqi patted his shoulder with relief and didn't say anything more.
After finishing their work, Ye Shi'an and Chen Shihao reluctantly left Qinghe Ancient Town and went to a hotel in the city. They planned to check out of the hotel the next day and stay in Anping County, wishing they could be as close to Qinghe Ancient Town as possible.
Xiang Qi and Xiang Ming went back to Zone 4 together.
"Didn't you have something you wanted to ask me?" Xiang Qi glanced at Xiang Ming sideways.
Xiang Ming laughed: "You really do understand me... I just wanted to ask, are you planning to pass on all these skills?"
Not every imperial craftsman can master so many mortise and tenon joints; several of them are the Xiang family's unique skills. In the past, even ordinary disciples might not be able to learn them; only the younger generation of the Xiang family could learn them, making them a family-inherited craft.
"The master leads you through the door, but the cultivation is up to you. You know this stuff, even if I taught you, not just anyone can do it." Xiang Qi paused, then sighed, and turned to Xiang Ming with a serious expression, saying, "Junior brother, times have changed."
In this day and age, artisans are dwindling, being replaced everywhere by modern materials and techniques.
Xiang Qi was always shocked by what he saw.
"If we keep clinging to the old ideas, we might end up with nothing. Yes, those of us who have mastered the skills might be more sought after then, but what's the point?"
When the entire industry is in decline, it's meaningless no matter how outstanding an individual is.
"Moreover, it's like rowing against the current; if you don't move forward, you'll fall behind."
His words startled Xiang Ming.
Xiang Ming suddenly remembered the teacher Lu Xiaoqi had hired for the people of Xiangjia Village. The people here were so selfless in imparting knowledge; his grandchildren were about to start school, whereas in their time, this was a privilege reserved for a select few.
How similar this is to the problems we are facing now!
He gave a wry smile and bowed to Xiang Qi: "Senior brother, thank you for enlightening me."
Xiang Ming rarely called Xiang Qi "Senior Brother" because the two of them had been apprenticed to each other by less than five minutes, and he felt resentful about it. But now, he called him "Senior Brother" with genuine respect—a senior brother is indeed a senior brother, his perspective is definitely broader than his own.
The next day, Ye Shian and Chen Shihao arrived at Qinghe Ancient Town early and even made it to the cafeteria for breakfast, showing more enthusiasm than the other employees who rushed to clock in.
After spending the morning at Qinghe Tower chatting happily with Yuwen Kai, Ye Shi'an found Lu Xiaoqi.
Upon hearing his purpose, Lu Xiaoqi raised her eyebrows and couldn't help but repeat his words: "You want to bring your team to the ancient town to help?"
“It’s not a free favor,” Ye Shi’an said with a smile. “But I can offer you a friendly price. Mr. Lu should know the capabilities of our team.”
Upon hearing the price he quoted, Lu Xiaoqi took a deep breath. This was truly a friendly price, practically free.
"You're absolutely welcome!" she immediately agreed, her eyes shining with even more enthusiasm as she looked at Ye Shi'an. "Director Ye, you can send as many people as you like! Our Qinghe Ancient Town will definitely welcome you."
She now has a certain understanding of the ancient architecture circle. The maintenance team of Yingfu Wooden Pagoda is actually a formal organization. Apart from maintaining some key national cultural relics, they never take on outside jobs, which also represents the national level.
This is like a windfall; only a fool would refuse.
On the other hand, Ye Shian was also very satisfied.
He could bring some of his craftsmen over to learn from these master craftsmen, and it would also allow Qinghe Ancient Town to be completed sooner—a double win. He had discovered that Qinghe Ancient Town was full of hidden talents; he wondered where they had found such a group of extraordinary individuals. The old man he had talked to today, who shared the same name as the ancient architectural master, was also incredibly skilled; he almost thought it was Yuwen Kai from history who had traveled through time.
Ye Shi'an felt that this was all his wife's fault. She always liked listening to audiobooks with stories about time travel, which made him so imaginative now.
Yuwen Kai was naturally delighted to welcome another highly capable team of ancient architecture builders. Considering the year-end opening, the construction schedule was actually quite tight, and they were only able to make up for it thanks to the system taking on a significant portion of the work.
The theater's special renovation card can still be used.
In the past few days, Yuwen Kai had all the houses around the theater demolished by excavators at lightning speed. Then he built a simple fence around the area, intending to "steal" space and get away with it.
Lu Xiaoqi stood in front of the small theater and clicked to use the renovation card.
Please select one of the following: Theater, Library, Art Gallery, Museum.
She decisively chose the theater.
[Players, please select the buildings you wish to modify.]
A sand table model of Qinghe Ancient Town appeared in front of her in the system space.
The crucial moment has arrived.
After carefully examining the area for a while, Lu Xiaoqi finally found the location of the opera house in the ancient town. To her surprise, the model accurately included the entire open space, including the surrounding walls, as the opera house's area.
Successfully stole extra space!
As she made her choice, the special card glowed and quickly disappeared into the system space.
At the same time, just like when the VR holographic experience center was built, a blue curtain rose from all sides in front of Lu Xiaoqi, completely enveloping the building that was about to be transformed.
Yuwen Kai: "Tomorrow I will have someone guard this place, and no one may enter without permission."
Lu Xiaoqi nodded, overjoyed: "We'll see results in three months."
"Don't worry, young friend. Anything produced by the system is guaranteed to be of the highest quality." Yuwen Kai chuckled. "The water in this town is much cleaner now; it's a delightful sight."
The waterways in the town are now so clear that you'd want to swim in them. And the maintenance isn't finished yet. Lu Xiaoqi is incredibly excited about the final result; maybe the water itself could become a major attraction of the ancient town.
Lu Xiaoqi feels incredibly lucky, as Mercury retrograde may be coming to an end soon.
She was still basking in the joy of the smooth progress of all the renovations when Liu Chan brought her more good news the next day.
"Our live stream that time actually got a huge number of views on foreign websites!"
Lu Xiaoqi looked bewildered: "...The external network?"
Do they have an external website?
She recalled that when she and Liu Chan finalized their social media promotion strategy, they didn't consider overseas websites because Qinghe Ancient Town's main customers were domestic and they didn't have enough manpower at the time.
After asking around, Lu Xiaoqi learned that there were some bloggers who specialized in copying content from domestic video platforms to YouTube, and they edited the highlights of the live stream into a video and copied it over.
The title is simply "The Magical Moments of Eastern Architecture".
Then, the video went viral, garnering over two million views. While it couldn't compare to the channels of those big internet celebrities, it was far ahead of the rest of that blogger's channel.
Liu Chan: "As a content reposting blogger, his output is already quite good. A preliminary calculation shows that it can bring him at least five thousand US dollars in income."
He lamented, "We should have planned our external network accounts much earlier."
Lu Xiaoqi also felt a little heartbroken, as if her money had been taken away by someone else: "It's not too late now. Register all the foreign websites for me. Maybe we can attract some foreign tourists."
"Okay." Liu Chan remembered and quickly asked, "Should we ask him to take this video down?"
This kind of reposting without the original author's consent is essentially an infringement.
"Keep it." Lu Xiaoqi waved her hand weakly, still immersed in the disappointment of losing a sum of money. "At least he helped us promote it. Send him a private message and tell him to remember to come back for authorization in the future, and to include our account. We can cooperate with this person long-term in the future."
If reposting is completely prohibited, the content creator will actually lose their own traffic. Moreover, this content creator even added their own English explanation and created a short animation to demonstrate the principle of mortise and tenon joints. It wasn't just mindless reposting; they put in a lot of effort.
Lu Xiaoqi cheered herself up, opened the comment section of the video, and then her mood immediately plummeted.
On foreign websites, after years of prejudiced propaganda, the image of Chinese people is deeply ingrained. No matter what the theme of the video is, there will be a large group of idiots showing off their already scarce intelligence, which is very annoying to watch.
"Find some people to scroll down these comments, and report them all if possible," she said bitterly.
Liu Chan accepted the order and left.
Lu Xiaoqi kept refreshing the page with a blank expression, deeply convinced that she absolutely could not give up on the promotional platform on foreign websites. This was not just for making money; even if it didn't make money and she had to lose money, she had to do it no matter how difficult it was.
......
Beautiful country.
Benjamin is a software engineer working at a major Silicon Valley company, an IT guy in every sense of the word. But his hobby has nothing to do with his job—in his spare time, he loves to work on various wooden products in his garage.
Doing handicrafts can calm his irritable mood caused by work pressure.
He always felt that he should have studied engineering.
However, his skills were mediocre, and the things he made were only good for his own amusement. In order to improve his skills, Benjamin followed a lot of master carpenters on YouTube and learned from them.
It was a Saturday, and Benjamin went to the garage as usual.
He recently planned to make a chair, but after almost half a month, he hasn't even reached halfway.
While I was intently planing wood shavings, I suddenly saw a message from my friend Justin, which included a YouTube link: "Look, this is definitely for you."
Benjamin thought it was some kind of video featuring beautiful women, but when he clicked on it, he found a group of Asians gathered in an Asian building, seemingly doing something.
My goodness, this is such a beautiful building.
As a wood enthusiast, Benjamin has a natural fondness for Eastern architecture. He also spotted a wooden object placed in the room.
It is so charming, constructed from straight pieces of wood, layered and connected, with a spatial aesthetic full of order.
"It's so beautiful!" he couldn't help but murmur to himself.
He had to admit that although there were many wooden houses on the North American continent, these people from the East were the true masters of wood.
At this moment, the content creator's passionate explanation rang out: "Without a single nail or a drop of glue, watch how the magicians of the East use the amazing mortise and tenon technique to make the pure wooden brackets support the weight of three adult elephants, which weigh over ten tons!"
Benjamin's eyes widened in surprise.
Not a single nail or drop of glue? And it weighs over ten tons? It seems unbelievable, practically an impossible task.
But he did see the hydraulic press in the footage.
Are you serious?
Benjamin was immediately captivated. Moreover, he seemed to have heard the somewhat tongue-twisting term "mortise and tenon" before. With his exceptional memory, Benjamin watched the video intently while racking his brains to recall any memories related to "mortise and tenon."
But as he looked at it, he forgot all about recalling it.
When he saw those wooden objects, made without nails or glue, standing firm under the heavy pressure of the hydraulic press, he couldn't help but widen his eyes. When he saw the brackets he made for his family finally withstand nearly seventeen tons of pressure, he seemed to be there, and he jumped up from his chair and excitedly punched the sky.
"This is a miracle!"
This is a miracle achievable through human skill and ingenuity. These artisans from the East have truly accomplished it!
He spoke at length to his friend Justin, showering the artisans with praise and thanking Justin for sending him such a wonderful video.
Justin: "I knew you'd like it the moment I saw it. Dude, did you see that animated demo at the end? These Chinese people are really too smart to come up with such a method."
Benjamin nodded: "That lotus-shaped thing, not only do you have to make it, but you also have to embed it. It's really amazing, unbelievable!"
He couldn't even imagine how happy he would be if he could do that.
While chatting with Justin, Benjamin opened the comments section, hoping to find like-minded people.
[That's amazing. I visited China ten years ago and was deeply captivated by the exquisite ancient architecture. The existence of such things in the world is truly a glory for all humankind.]
[A very good video. The craftsmanship of Chinese artisans is superb.]
The Chinese have a history of five thousand years, and they have preserved their traditional culture very well. In contrast, many things about us have been lost.
I'm a carpenter too, and to be honest, mortise and tenon joints are incredibly difficult. I still can't make a simple one. These craftsmen have incredibly skillful hands; they're absolute masters.
There were many praises and compliments, but also many strange and malicious comments:
Do you know why these craftsmen are so skilled? Because China is a sweatshop; they are locked in factories, working non-stop every day. If you worked like that, you could also have such excellent skills.
I've been to China; it's so backward, dirty, and poor. I'll never go there again in my life.
The world's most beautiful wooden buildings are in Japan. Kyoto is truly the most beautiful city I've ever visited.
Isn't mortise and tenon joints a Japanese invention?
【Our Gyeongbokgung Palace in South Korea is the most beautiful. Mortise and tenon joints are a masterpiece of carpentry art that we've applied for UNESCO World Heritage status! These shopkeepers are nothing but plagiarists and shameless thieves!】
......
Benjamin was used to this kind of situation. YouTube is a global video platform, and it's perfectly normal for users to have different opinions from all over the world. Moreover, this always happens with videos related to China.
Benjamin had neither a good nor a bad impression of China.
His education taught him that China has a long history and has experienced rapid economic and internet development in recent years. However, many news reports he encountered made him feel that China was a very authoritarian country where people lacked freedom.
Whenever I think about it, I always picture a gray, gloomy sky.
Of course, Benjamin didn't really care what the truth was.
After all, it was a country thousands of miles away, what did it have to do with him?
However, the comment mentioning Japan suddenly reminded him of when he had seen an introduction to mortise and tenon joints. He scrolled through his social media and indeed found many of his browsing history entries related to Japanese woodworking techniques, which were very similar to mortise and tenon joints.
He and Justin even argued about it.
“I think this is Japanese,” Benjamin believes. “Modern Japanese architects also use mortise and tenon joints in building houses.”
“Dude, you should study history,” Justin laughed. “The mortise and tenon joint was definitely invented by the Chinese. And if you know anything about East Asian history, you should know that Japan was greatly influenced by China at that time; they even sent many students to study there.”
Benjamin was defeated.
“Whatever,” he shrugged, then teased Justin, “You’re such a China fanatic, Justin.”
Justin: "I just think it's very interesting to study an ancient civilization. And I'm planning to go to China next year to take a look."
Benjamin was somewhat surprised: "Why not go to Japan?"
He had to admit that he still had a better impression of Japan. It was clean, elegant, had a high level of public civility, and boasted unique scenery and culture.
Justin didn't care: "I'll go too. I'll take the opportunity to travel all over East Asia."
He invited Benjamin to come along, and Benjamin was somewhat tempted, but still had some reservations: "I'll think about it and get back to you later."
......
When Lu Xiaoqi launched her external account in Qinghe Ancient Town, she also enjoyed a rare moment of leisure.
She and Sister-in-law Song had arranged to go to a restaurant in the city for a tasting. They planned to spend the day eating, shopping, and enjoying the good life.
I ran into He Guihua as soon as I went downstairs.
He Guihua was overjoyed to see the two of them. After greeting them, she leaned closer and whispered, "You know, right? That young couple who ripped you off before, their shop is almost going out of business!"
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