The Way of Heaven Rewards Diligence in Film and Television

Seeing Xu Hongdou's belated realization, Lin Yang couldn't help but chuckle.

"It's okay, the phone shop probably won't take your SIM card. And as long as you get to the courtyard and connect to the internet, you can make calls even without a SIM card. It's just that it's inconvenient to contact people when you're outside where there's no internet."

"Oh dear, look at my memory! Ever since I came here, my brain seems to have slowed down," Xu Hongdou slapped her forehead.

"Hehe, it's good to keep up with the pace of life here," Lin Yang said with a smile.

Back in Yunmiao Village, after parking the car in the parking lot at the village entrance, Lin Yang searched through the car and finally found the spare phone and charging cable, which he handed to Xu Hongdou.

"You go back first! I'm going to Master Xie's place," Lin Yang said to Xu Hongdou, then took the things he bought for Xie Heshun and went to his house.

"Master, are you home?" Lin Yang called out as he entered the courtyard, only to see Xie Heshun come out looking rather unwell.

"Lin Yang is here. What's this?" Xie Heshun frowned when he saw the wine and gift box Lin Yang was carrying.

"I went to the ancient city and brought you some things," Lin Yang said with a smile, seeing that Xie Heshun seemed to be in a bad mood. "Master, how about I have a drink with you?"

"Okay," Xie Heshun finally smiled.

Once inside, Xie Heshun prepared a plate of peanuts and a plate of quick-cooked cold dishes, while Lin Yang opened a bottle of fine wine that he had just brought.

"Is there something you need today, Master?" After a couple of drinks, Lin Yang couldn't help but ask.

"Sigh, they're all gone, Xiaxia's leaving too," Xie Heshun sighed. "Lin Yang, tell me, am I a particularly unsuccessful teacher? I've taught so many apprentices, and they've all come and gone. But I can't blame them, after all, they followed me to learn wood carving, yet they can't even make a living. It's my fault..."

"Master, don't say that. It's the decline of the traditional wood carving industry that has nothing to do with you," Lin Yang said. "Actually, I think that sometimes, when we have good products but can't sell them, isn't that also related to our sales methods?"

"As the saying goes, even the best wine needs advertising! Few people know about traditional wood carving, so it's crucial to spread the word and build a reputation. Besides, shouldn't the art of carving also keep up with fashion and trends?"

"Some dolls and the like, like wood carvings, are neither edible nor drinkable, so why do people still buy them? It's because many dolls are based on cartoon characters or other elements, they are famous, and people like them, so they have an audience and people are willing to spend money on them."

"You want me to sculpt cartoon characters?" Xie Heshun frowned.

Lin Yang shook his head and smiled: "That's not what I meant. I was just using an analogy. You can't just sculpt cartoon characters anywhere. If you're sculpting them in bulk to sell for money, it's easy to run into trouble without authorization. What I meant was, we could try sculpting some traditional things, like animals, Buddha statues, or Bodhisattvas..."

"Moreover, it's best to have a series, such as the twelve zodiac animals or the eighteen arhats, auspicious dragons and phoenixes, eight horses, or auspicious symbols like 'immediate promotion to a high rank.' In short, the wood carvings should have good omens and auspicious meanings, so that people will buy them to take home as decorations."

"That seems to make sense," Xie Heshun nodded thoughtfully.

Lin Yang said, "Master, how about this, you first make a batch of unique wood carvings, preferably with auspicious meanings or the kind of cute and fun wood carvings that children like, or some exaggerated and funny ones, like some emojis, the kind that make people want to laugh just by looking at them..."

"Once it's all set up, I'll host a live stream to try and sell it for you. Let's see how it goes first."

"Lin Yang, you've been doing live streams all this time, just so you could help me sell my wood carvings online?" Xie Heshun was touched.

Lin Yang said, "We're just letting them learn about traditional wood carving techniques first. As for whether they can sell, we'll have to try to find out."

"Okay, let's give it a try. I'll design it later and think about what to carve. I'll also get my old buddies to come and give me their advice," Xie Heshun said with great enthusiasm.

As dusk approached, Lin Yang left Xie Heshun's house and returned to Youfeng Courtyard.

Seeing that Master Ma and Xu Hongdou were sitting in the tea room drinking tea and chatting, Lin Yang also went over.

"Hey, Mr. Ma, talking about life again?" Lin Yang said with a smile as he sat down next to Xu Hongdou.

Master Ma shook his head and smiled: "Today, Hongdou has really taught me a lesson."

As he spoke, Master Ma poured Lin Yang a cup of tea.

"Really?" Lin Yang raised an eyebrow and smiled at Xu Hongdou.

"No, no, it was Master Ma who taught me a lot," Xu Hongdou said modestly with a wave of her hand, but her phone suddenly rang. Someone was calling her on WeChat voice.

"Excuse me," Xu Hongdou said, and hurried out to answer the call.

"It seems Nana was right, you treat Hongdou differently. This morning you cooked porridge and made steamed buns, and you didn't even call me to eat," Master Ma couldn't help but say after Xu Hongdou left.

"But you have a good eye, kid. This Xu Hongdou is really quite good. She's thoughtful, insightful, and very perceptive!"

"It seems Master Ma didn't mention her!" Lin Yang laughed. "Hongdou used to be the front desk manager of a five-star hotel, so naturally she's eloquent. A person with ideas won't be so easily swayed by your rhetoric."

"What do you mean by bewitching?" Master Ma asked, dissatisfied.

"Hehe, Mr. Ma, to be so eloquent and able to be a life mentor to others, one must also be able to enlighten oneself. Only then can one truly possess great wisdom and profound understanding!" Lin Yang said with a smile.

"Great wisdom is enough; there's no need for profound enlightenment," Master Ma said, waving his hand.

"I thought Master Ma had seen through the illusions of life and was about to become a Buddha!" ​​Lin Yang joked.

"Alas, true freedom is hard to come by!" Master Ma shook his head and sighed.

"Is it really that hard to find? I feel pretty comfortable right now!" Lin Yang said with a smile.

"You're even more scathing than a red bean," Master Ma said, somewhat helplessly and hurt.

"The truth is what's truly painful," Lin Yang said. "Master Ma, forgive my bluntness, but this place is not your refuge. As long as there's something you can't let go of, you'll have to go back and face it sooner or later."

"To put it bluntly, you just lack the resources to turn your life around. If you need it, I can invest in you as long as you have a good project."

Master Ma's eyes lit up: "Is that true? How much can you bet on me?"

"That depends on what kind of project you can come up with," Lin Yang said noncommittally.

"Alright, then it's settled," Master Ma said excitedly.

While the two were talking, Xu Hongdou finished her phone call and returned.

"Haven't you told your parents that you've resigned yet?" Lin Yang asked. He had good hearing and had vaguely overheard that people from Xu Hongdou's hometown wanted her to help them book a hotel.

Xu Hongdou shook her head and said, "I didn't tell them because I was afraid they would worry."

"Have some tea, have some tea, don't bother me with anything else," Master Ma said repeatedly.

"No, I still need to arrange things at the hotel," Xu Hongdou said.

After Xu Hongdou left, Lin Yang smiled and said to Master Ma, "Come on, Master Ma, let me drink with you! We just drank quite a bit with Master Xie, so tea will help sober you up."

"Master Xie? Oh, his wood carving workshop must be having a tough time, right? Almost all his apprentices have left," said Master Ma.

"They've all run away. They all think wood carving has no future, but outside, most of them are just doing odd jobs. What kind of good future can they have?" Lin Yang shook his head and said.

Master Ma sighed, "Yes! I once caught the wave of the times, but now, I can't see the road ahead!"

Lin Yang remained noncommittal: "The road ahead can only be seen by venturing out..."