The Great Ming in the Box-Chapter 99: Giving Some Benefits to the Old Man
“The blogger is too funny. They actually attached wheels to the base of the Chonglin Family Manor model. There must be motors and stuff inside too, right? Probably remote-controlled. This kind of model has no collectible value at all; it’s purely a prank!”
“No, no, you’re focusing on the wrong thing! Watch the video: it starts with an aerial view, dives straight into the village, and zooms right onto the old man. The transitions are fantastic! It’s one continuous shot from start to finish, no cuts at all. How did they do that?”
“Exactly! The old man is probably a real actor, but the video shows him sitting inside a model weaving a bamboo basket in one seamless shot. The video quality is consistently amazing!”
“That’s why I keep watching his videos. His effects aren’t cheap visual effects.”
“In this last segment where the old man weaves the bamboo basket, that’s real skill. He’s not acting; he’s genuinely weaving.”
“That bamboo basket looks so well made! I want to buy one.”
“Where can’t you buy a bamboo basket?”
“It’s not an ordinary bamboo basket I want. It’s the bamboo basket from the Tiny Kingdom!”
Li Daoxuan read these comments and had a sudden thought. Interesting. I found work for the sculptor, helping them earn good money. The village’s blacksmiths, carpenters, and paper makers have also earned extra rewards by providing labor for other villagers. It’s time I showed some care to the Old Village Chief now.
He spoke down at the box, “Yiye, go to the Village Chief and bring some bamboo handicrafts – some bamboo baskets, bamboo hamper, bamboo chairs, things like that. I want to show them to other friends.”
Gao Yiye hurried off. When she explained her purpose to the Old Village Chief, the old man was instantly overjoyed. He never imagined something as insignificant as his little creations could catch the Deity’s attention, let alone be shared with other heavenly beings! So, of course, he quickly offered them up.
Soon after, Li Daoxuan reached his hand into the box, very carefully picking up a pile of the offerings placed beside the Village Chief.
The Village Chief himself was just 0.8 centimeters tall. His woven bamboo hamper was only two millimeters in diameter, the bamboo basket about the same size, and the bamboo stool measured just three millimeters long. Only the bamboo chair was slightly larger, about one centimeter.
This heap of tiny bamboo crafts rested in his palm, utterly adorable and miniature.
Li Daoxuan edited the video, adding the clip of his hand taking the bamboo items, and uploaded it to TikTok. He pinned it with the Little Yellow Bike function: “Handmade bamboo handicrafts ‘grabbed’ right out of the Tiny Kingdom. Crafted by the Tiny Kingdom’s Village Chief! Miniature art showcasing traditional culture’s charm.”
The video went viral instantly.
“Wow, this video… Holy crap! That huge hand just snatched the items made by the little folk in the Tiny Kingdom!”
“The visual effects are incredible!”
“Is this stuff really for sale? How big actually is it?”
“Didn’t you see the final shot? The tiny things are laid out in the creator’s palm – seriously that small!”
“The workmanship is so fine! Is it really woven from individual bamboo strips? At that size?”
“Too cute! I want one!”
“Checking the price… Whoa! One set for 1,288,888 yuan? Can’t afford that!”
Li Daoxuan hadn’t dared to set the price too high. Selling something at that price on TikTok was already outrageous. To truly fetch a high price, he’d need specialized art sales channels or auctions, but that wasn’t simple. He decided to just list one set experimentally.
Sure enough, the price was shockingly high for TikTok viewers. A day passed with zero purchases; though the Little Yellow Bike was clicked countless times, not a single person paid.
Ironically, the Ningyang Toy Company’s plastic houses and plastic miniature furniture, priced at only a few dozen yuan and also featured under the Little Yellow Bike, were selling like crazy.
Li Daoxuan thought for a moment. Forget the two-millimeter bamboo baskets and hampers. He’d leave them listed at a high price. He decided to sell the one-centimeter bamboo chair separately.
He listed it at 88,888 yuan!
This time, it worked. After about fifteen hours, the one-centimeter bamboo chair sold.
Li Daoxuan called the courier pickup service downstairs to collect the item. Then he looked down at the box, “Yiye, tell the Village Chief that the bamboo chair he wove was very much liked by my friend here. I specifically reward him…”
He was about to say ‘reward him with some rice, flour, oil, and salt,’ when he suddenly reconsidered. The Old Village Chief is part of the ‘original management team.’ He’s already received quite a bit of extra stuff from me and is relatively well-off.
Stacks of rice, flour, oil, and salt filled his house like mountains. He probably wasn’t very interested in those anymore, right?
What reward could I give him?
Something that would bring him joy and contentment.
He scanned his desk, and suddenly his eyes lit up: chocolate, smooth milk flavored.
Heh!
This was it.
He sliced off a tiny piece of chocolate, scooped it up on a fingertip, and gently placed it before the Old Village Chief.
The Old Village Chief only saw a huge, black, strange object plunging from the sky to land in front of him, about one circle larger than his own body. He was utterly bewildered: “Deity, what thing is this?”
Li Daoxuan: “Try eating it.”
The Old Village Chief fetched a chisel, chipped a small flake off the massive chocolate chunk, and popped it into his mouth.
Instantly, the old man’s expression became extraordinarily animated.
“Wow!”
“So delicious!”
Just like any child tasting chocolate for the first time, the worn face of the Village Chief broke into a joy-surpassing-smile grin.
“This humble one has never something so delicious in his life. It’s truly celestial fare, heavenly Deities must eat this! It really is incredibly tasty, and it doesn’t tire the teeth—an old fellow like me can eat it too.”
Li Daoxuan: “This large piece is all yours. You can distribute it or handle it as you wish. Oh, and about that bamboo chair… make a few more when you have time.”
Village Chief: “Many thanks, Deity.”
With such a commotion, it wasn’t long before everyone in Gaojia Village knew the Village Chief’s creations had won the favor of a sky deity, who specially rewarded him with something delicious only immortals got to eat.
The villagers of Gaojia quickly gathered around.
Zheng Daniu, the most gluttonous, piped up: “Village Chief Grandpa, could this immortal treat be sampled by this little one too?”
The Village Chief chuckled wryly: “How could you get to taste it for free? Knead the muscles of this old man’s legs, then maybe a small morsel shall be bestowed upon you.”
Zheng Daniu immediately switched into dutiful-grandson mode and began massaging the Village Chief’s legs. Before long, the chief was thoroughly pampered and blissful, finally handing Zheng Daniu a minuscule piece.
Zheng Daniu tossed it into his mouth, and his expression instantly exploded: “Aaaaahhh, this tastes way better than happy fat water!”
The Village Chief was immensely pleased: “Hahahaha, delicious, right? Gone! None more for you!”
Zheng Daniu: “I’ll trade! I’ll trade everything edible in my house!”
Village Chief: “Not trading!”
“Exchange it, exchange it!” Zheng Daniu persisted: “I still have a very large piece of cured meat over there! I’ll give it all to you! Just grant me another tiny piece… a really tiny piece will do!”
The other villagers suddenly realized what to do. They hurried home to find their extra items and flocked to the Village Chief’s place hoping to trade, turning his home into a bustling marketplace-like scene.
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Chapter 99: Giving Some Benefits to the Old Man
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