A Maid's Survival Story in a Noble Family Mansion? Rich Landlords Are More Appealing.

Chen Wanxing led the people into the courtyard, where Chen's mother had already cleverly brought over stools and poured tea.

Lin Wei sat down next to Chen Wanxing familiarly, while the craftsman sat down slightly to the left.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Chen Wanxing cut straight to the point without beating around the bush.

She first took out several carefully drawn patterns of simple lotus scrolls and variant auspicious and longevity characters and handed them to the craftsman.

Then he took out the wooden board with its surface planed smooth and its bottom carved with shallow meander patterns.

"I would like to ask the craftsman to carve some similar concave molds based on these patterns."

She pointed to the groove on the wooden board, "The material should be fine and dense, carved deeper and neater than this, so that it can be easily demolded."

Master Liu took the wooden board, carefully examined the crooked groove, and then flipped through the pattern. He measured the depth of the groove with his finger and said:

"The pattern is simple and the lines are clear. For the wood panel, boxwood or jujube wood will suffice. If you want to use stone, it will take more work, but it is more durable than wood. Moreover, this kind of intaglio carving is easier than openwork or round carving."

"If we try carving three or five different patterns first," Master Liu estimated, "the process of preparing materials, roughing out the blank, fine carving, and polishing will take about two or three days to produce a rough draft. The young lady can take a look at the rough draft first and then decide whether to continue with fine carving or adjust the depth."

Chen Wanxing nodded: "That's great. As for the wages..."

The foreman waved his hand: "Once we have a rough draft and the young lady is satisfied, we can discuss the quantity and working hours later."

The matter was settled in just a few words, with the direction, materials, and approximate construction period all agreed upon quickly and efficiently.

Seeing that he was straightforward, Chen Wanxing felt a little relieved and took out another stack of papers, spreading them out on the table.

This time, however, the drawings on the paper were no longer regular patterns or words, but rather a few extremely simple outlines, even with a touch of childlike charm.

A chubby rabbit with round ears and a short tail, a small fish with its tail sticking up and its body round, a little dog sitting down with only a few lines outlining its adorable appearance, and a cat with its back arched and its tail curled up in a circle.

Each design is only the size of a palm, with exaggerated and adorable shapes, completely different from the realistic flower and bird designs currently popular.

"Master," Chen Wanxing pointed to the sketch, "can you make a mold based on this shape?"

It's not a flat, concave pattern; it's like when we make regular round cakes, using a mold to shape it, except we've replaced the round mold with this rabbit-shaped one.

Master Hu followed her finger and looked at the paper. He paused for a moment, then raised his eyebrows high, his eyes instantly filled with genuine curiosity and surprise, and he even seemed to hold his breath for a moment.

"What, what is this?" He almost thought he was seeing things, so he grabbed the drawing closer and examined it closely. The thing drawn on the paper had a round head, two long, drooping ears, a chubby body, and a fluffy little tail.

It was indeed clear that it was a rabbit, but this rabbit was completely different from any rabbit he had carved, seen in paintings, or even those that roamed the mountains.

Without detailed hair texture or lively eyes, it only has a few simple, rounded lines to outline a cute and somewhat silly silhouette.

It looks childish, but it's strangely endearing.

"A rabbit can look like this?" Master Hu muttered to himself, his fingers unconsciously tracing the rounded lines, his eyes widening as he traced them.

The design was excessively simple, yet incredibly vivid—a vividness he had never seen before in any sculpture, painting, or even children's doodles.

Lin Wei was drinking tea when she heard this and curiously peeked over. When she saw the pattern on the paper, her eyes widened and she couldn't help but exclaim "Ah!" She reached out and gently touched the outline of the chubby rabbit.

"What kind of painting style is this? It's so interesting, it makes me happy just looking at it." She picked up the little fish, looked at it from left to right, and couldn't put it down.

"Sister, although this fish painting doesn't look like a real fish, its silly appearance makes it even more endearing."

Seeing the two of them so delighted and reluctant to part with the item, Chen Wanxing wanted to laugh. She secretly breathed a sigh of relief and felt a sense of joy in her heart.

It seems that this timeless cartoon aesthetic still has a powerful impact. She said it herself: something so popular in modern times shouldn't be out of demand here.

"Master, this doesn't need to be too big. Just small and exquisite, so that people can recognize it as a rabbit or a small fish at a glance. I just wonder if it's technically feasible to carve the inner cavity mold from wood or stone for this shape? Would demolding be easy?"

Master Hu looked down at the drawing again, tapped his fingers unconsciously on the table, and pondered, "If you want to make such a round and smooth shape without any sharp edges into a hollow one, you really need to carefully consider the direction of the knife when hollowing out the inner cavity."

Especially for the delicate details like the ears and tail, sufficient space must be left, but the mold itself cannot be too thin and easily damaged. Demolding is also crucial; even a slight deviation in angle can easily cause breakage or deformation.

He paused, then spoke frankly, "Most importantly, this is the first time I've ever seen something like this. I really can't guarantee it will work, let alone say that I can make a usable one in one go."

It requires repeated trial cuts to adjust the curvature of the inner cavity and the draft angle of the demolding. If you're not in a hurry, may I first use some scraps to try making one or two of the simplest shapes?

However, this work will likely take much longer than making the concave mold, and the wages will naturally be calculated separately.

Hearing his honest words, Chen Wanxing felt reassured. Knowing the difficulties made a solution possible.

She nodded and said, "Master Hu is absolutely right. Then, as you said, we'll work on the concave mold first. As for the shaped mold, please use the scraps to make one or two of the simplest ones first."

For example, let's see if this little fish or rabbit can be formed. A longer production period is fine; the most important thing is to make it reliable and usable. We can discuss the payment after we see the prototype.

And so the matter was settled.

Master Hu carefully put away all the drawings and the wooden board used as a sample. He then arranged a time with Chen Wanxing to see the rough sample of the concave mold and to make a trial model before taking his leave.

Lin Wei personally escorted him out of the village. When she returned, her face was still flushed with excitement. She pulled Chen Wanxing and said, "Sister, are these the patterns that you didn't describe to me in detail before?"

Seeing this today, it's really hard to describe. But sister, how did you manage to draw such a wonderful picture? The little animals you drew are so well done. Even Master Hu said he'd never seen anything like them before.

If it could really be made, oh my god, I can't wait to see little fish swimming out of the pastries and rabbits jumping out!

Chen Wanxing was also infected by her emotions and smiled, "I hope Master Hu's skills are excellent and he can make it happen."

However, for now, let's take it one step at a time. Once the concave mold is finished, we can start trial production of the new pastries. So you also need to hurry up with the shop's setup.

"Don't worry, sister, I know."