bookcurios Chapter 732 Xie Heshun's Compromise
Chapter 732 Xie Heshun's Compromise
Upon hearing Lin Bufan mention last night, Xie Heshun's face immediately fell, his eyes flickered, and he nodded vaguely, "Um... I... I remember some..."
"Good that you remember! Good that you remember!" Lin Bufan's smile widened, as if a great weight had been lifted from his heart. He tightened his grip on Xie Heshun's shoulder, glanced around the woodcarving workshop, cleared his throat, and said in a tone as if announcing something of great importance:
"Since you still remember, Lao Xie, then it's settled! From today onwards, I, Lin Bufan, am the honorary head of the Yunmiao Village Woodcarving Workshop, its chief strategic development advisor, and the person in charge of its revitalization plan! From now on, all matters, big and small, within the workshop, especially all actions related to the resurgence of woodcarving, will be under my unified arrangement and command! Including you, Lao Xie, and the two of you," he pointed to his two dumbfounded apprentices beside him, "you must all actively cooperate with my work! Let's work together to make the woodcarving workshop regain its glory, break out of Yunmiao, and go global!"
Xie Heshun and his two young apprentices were completely stunned by this "declaration." Their eyes widened and their mouths were slightly open, as if they had heard something unbelievable.
Xie Heshun was the first to react. He shook his head vigorously, broke free from Lin Bufan's arm, his face filled with suspicion and disbelief, his voice rising eight octaves: "Wait...wait! Wait a minute! What honorary master? What head? I...when did I say such a thing? I don't remember saying anything like that at all?"
"Oh my god! My old Xie!" Lin Bufan immediately put on a heartbroken expression, pointing at Xie Heshun with exaggerated disappointment: "This is really not fair of you!"
A man's word is his bond. Yesterday, when you held my hand, you made it crystal clear!
You said you're getting old and feel powerless, and you're worried about the declining wood carving industry!
You said you saw my potential and the mission I bear. You said that for the great revival of our wood carving industry, you are willing to entrust this heavy responsibility to me, so that I can lead the wood carving workshop and lead everyone to forge a new path!
You even said you'd follow my lead in everything in the neighborhood from now on, and you'd absolutely support me! Have you forgotten all that? You…you're not trying to deny it now that you're sober, are you?
Lin Bufan spoke with great detail and sincerity, his expression perfectly conveying the story, as if it were true.
Xie Heshun was stunned by his barrage of words. He rubbed his temples and tried to recall the events of last night, but he could only remember that he had indeed said a lot about the difficulties of wood carving and the departure of his apprentice. However, he had no recollection of whether he had specifically mentioned making Lin Bufan the leader.
"I...I really said that?" Xie Heshun looked at Lin Bufan with a blank expression, then looked at his two apprentices.
The two apprentices looked at each other in bewilderment. They weren't there, so how could they possibly know?
Seeing this, Lin Bufan immediately pressed his advantage. He spread his hands, shrugged his shoulders, and made an extremely helpless and aggrieved expression: "Old Xie, I really didn't expect you to be this kind of person! I was full of enthusiasm and ready to dedicate myself to our wood carving cause, but you turn around and deny it? Fine! If you don't admit it, then there's nothing I can do!"
As he spoke, Lin Bufan turned to leave, muttering in a voice that wasn't too loud, but loud enough for everyone in the village to hear: "Sigh, forget it, it seems I was just being presumptuous. I'll go find Xie Zhiyao, and then go to the village to find a few respected elders to talk things over with, let everyone judge whether I, Lin Bufan, am just making things up, or if some people are bullying honest people... It seems Yunmiao Village doesn't welcome someone like me who wants to do practical things..."
Upon hearing this, Xie Heshun immediately became anxious!
If Lin Bufan really went out and spread nonsense, where would he put his old face? How could he ever hold his head up in the village again? Although he didn't remember saying those things, what if... what if he had said something inappropriate while drunk?
"Hey! No, no, no! Lin... Lin boy! Wait a minute!" Xie Heshun couldn't care less about maintaining his master's airs anymore. He quickly caught up with Lin Bufan, grabbed his arm, and forced a smile that looked more like a grimace: "You... look at you, what's the rush? I... I'm just getting old, my memory isn't what it used to be! Maybe... maybe I really did drink too much yesterday and said some nonsense... Don't take it seriously, really don't take it seriously!"
This wood carving workshop is the culmination of my life's work, how could I... how could I just hand it over so easily, don't you think? Let's pretend we never said anything yesterday, okay?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Bufan's eyebrows immediately shot up. He put his hands on his hips, adopting a "you can't renege on your promise" stance: "Old Xie! I don't like hearing that! What do you mean by 'nonsense'? Haven't you heard the saying 'the truth comes out when you're drunk'? That's your truest thought deep down! It shows that you acknowledge my abilities and believe I can lead the wood carving workshop out of its predicament! Now that you're sober, you want to back out? No way! This matter must be settled! Absolutely!"
"You...you're just being unreasonable!" Xie Heshun was also agitated, his face turning red: "How...how could I possibly hand over the workshop to an amateur like you who's only been here for a day and hasn't even mastered the carving knife?"
"Outsider? Who was it that praised my extraordinary talent yesterday?" Lin Bufan retorted without backing down.
"I...I was just talking nonsense when I was drunk!"
"I don't care! What's said is said, and can't be taken back!"
The two argued back and forth, their faces flushed, neither able to convince the other. Xie Heshun was both anxious and angry, especially since Lin Bufan had seized on his "intoxicated words," and he was terrified that Lin Bufan would go around spreading rumors and ruin his reputation for life. Looking at Lin Bufan's determined expression, he sighed heavily, as if all his strength had been drained, and waved his hand dejectedly.
"Alright, alright...stop yelling!" Xie Heshun gave in, his tone filled with deep helplessness and exhaustion: "I...I won't argue with you anymore. Here's the deal, you tell me first, what exactly are your thoughts? How...how do you plan to revive it? If it makes sense, I...I'll listen. If it doesn't, then you'd better give up on this idea as soon as possible!"
Seeing Xie Heshun agree, Lin Bufan's face immediately brightened, and his smile returned. He leaned closer to Xie Heshun and asked in a mysterious low voice, "Old Xie, let me ask you something first... Do you know how many fans you have?"
"Vermicelli?" Xie Heshun was taken aback, his face full of confusion. He subconsciously glanced at the dried shiitake mushrooms drying on the rack next to him, which he planned to use for cooking that evening: "What vermicelli? Longkou vermicelli or sweet potato vermicelli? We don't eat that here. I only have dried shiitake mushrooms..."
Lin Bufan was so speechless by the answer that he rolled his eyes and almost fainted. He pointed at Xie Heshun and said to his two apprentices who had been eavesdropping, "You two! Who can explain to our reclusive master what online fans are?"
One of the apprentices, Xiaxia, suppressed a laugh, stepped forward, and whispered to Xie Heshun, "Master, the fans Brother Lin mentioned aren't the food kind... they're... they're people who follow you online. Like... many people come to you specifically to have your wood carvings done, and if those people were online, they'd be your fans."
Upon hearing this, Xie Heshun frowned even more deeply. Instead of understanding, his face showed disdain and resistance. He waved his hand, his tone carrying the aloofness of an old-fashioned craftsman: "Oh... those people who just wander around online, watching the spectacle? I thought it was something special. What's the point of all that superficial stuff? We craftsmen rely on real skill; our work speaks for itself! If we honestly carve the wood well, bring out its spirit, people will naturally recognize its value! Going online... to be watched by others, what kind of image does that make? Like a beggar! I can't bear that embarrassment!"
Lin Bufan was so angry at Xie Heshun's prejudiced remarks that he laughed. He crossed his arms, glanced sideways at Xie Heshun, and spoke with utter mockery and undisguised contempt:
"Hey? Lao Xie! You're even more arrogant than I am with athlete's foot? You think you're shameful? Fine, then let me ask you, do you know how many fans I have?"
Xie Heshun curled his lip, unconvinced: "How much could you possibly have?"
Lin Bufan extended his index finger and pointed forcefully in the air, saying slowly and deliberately, "Not many, just over a hundred million!"
"How...how much?!" Xie Heshun and his two apprentices gasped simultaneously, their eyes widening instantly as if they had heard some astronomical figure.
"Over a hundred million! Did you hear me clearly?" Lin Bufan looked at Xie Heshun's speechless expression of shock and shook his head smugly: "Over a hundred million people, they don't need to do anything else, just one spit from each of them—"
He paused deliberately, his gaze sweeping over Xie Heshun and the not-so-large woodcarving workshop, before slowly, with a mischievous tone, continuing, "—I could drown you, along with your precious woodcarving workshop! Do you believe me?"
Xie Heshun stared at Lin Bufan with his mouth agape, then at his two equally terrified disciples, unable to utter a single word for a long time.
After a long pause, Xie Heshun finally stammered, his voice trembling, "Really...really? Over a hundred million? You're not kidding me..."
"Of course it's true!" Lin Bufan pulled out his phone, casually opened his social media profile, and shoved the long, dizzying number of followers in front of Xie Heshun: "Look, it's in black and white, you can see it clearly, right? Old Xie, times have changed! This isn't the era where you can just bury yourself in carving wood and wait for someone to appreciate it. Even the best wine needs advertising! We have to take the initiative to go out and let more people see the beauty of wood carving, and see your skillful hands!"
Xie Heshun stared at the string of numbers, blinking repeatedly behind his reading glasses, seemingly still processing this astonishing information. His lips trembled a few times, still stubbornly insisting, "But...but what good is all that fluff online? You can see it, but you can't touch it..."
"How is it useless?" Lin Bufan put away his phone and gestured with his hands: "Old Xie, think about it, how many guests can you receive in Yunmiao Village a day? At most a dozen or so, right? But if I start a live stream and broadcast your carving process, tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands or millions of people will see it at the same time! If even one percent, no, one in a thousand of them are interested in your craft, want to buy your work, or want to learn from you, what does that mean? You really need to replace the door frame of your wood carving workshop!"
Seeing that Xie Heshun was still frowning and seemed unmoved, Lin Bufan decided to try a different strategy.
He sighed, a helpless expression on his face saying, "I offered my heart to the bright moon," and slowly pulled his phone out of his pocket, swiping his finger across the screen:
"Old Xie, I don't really like forcing people to do things against their will. But yesterday you pulled me aside, crying about the difficulties of passing on the tradition and worrying about the lack of successors. I was truly moved by your heart, so I thought I had to help you. But if you really think that things on the internet are not respectable and are unwilling to accept new things, then there's nothing I can do..."
Upon hearing this, just as Xie Heshun was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Lin Bufan suddenly changed the subject, his tone becoming somewhat "regretful": "It's just a pity... I have a bad habit of recording particularly touching scenes. Just yesterday, before Master Xie passed out, he said those heartfelt words about the wood carving being ruined, his apprentices all running away, and his bitterness... I accidentally recorded a short clip."
Lin Bufan waved his phone, revealing a thumbnail of Xie Heshun's drunken pleas to him from the previous night. Xie wore an innocent smile, but his tone carried a clear threat: "Master Xie, what if I accidentally send this video to everyone in the village… Master Xie, wouldn't your dignified image as the number one woodcarver in Yunmiao Village be somewhat diminished? Wouldn't everyone think that our Master Xie is actually quite… well, soft-hearted?"
"You...you!" Xie Heshun's face flushed red instantly. He pointed at Lin Bufan, his finger trembling, his beard almost bristling with anger: "You...you dare! You're...you're being a scoundrel!"
"How am I being unreasonable?" Lin Bufan said innocently. "I'm just recording your true feelings so that everyone can understand you more fully! So, Master Xie, do you want to embrace the new society, connect the wood carving workshop with my 100 million fans, and usher in a new era? Or do you want to stick to the old rules and wait for me to share your softer side with everyone? You choose one!"
Xie Heshun looked at Lin Bufan's smug "I've got you figured out" face, then glanced at the damned video thumbnail on his phone. His chest heaved violently a few times, and finally, as if all his strength had been drained, he slumped down on the wooden stump next to him, waving his hand weakly.
"Fine...fine! You're ruthless! I...I'll do as you say! Let's do it! Let's do that...live stream!" He squeezed out these words through gritted teeth, his face full of frustration and reluctance.
"Hey! That's right!" Lin Bufan immediately beamed, his expression changing faster than flipping through a book. "This is what they call 'a wise man submits to circumstances'! Don't worry, Lao Xie, with my top-tier influence, I guarantee our wood carving workshop will become a sensation across the entire internet!"