Returning to the 82 Mountain Village: An Encounter with the Journey to the West Film Crew at the Beg

The old man glanced at the red stamp, and the serious lines on his face finally relaxed a little.

He stopped asking questions, weighed the small mummy-shaped sand monk in his hand again, and suddenly asked:

"My grandson really likes Sha Wujing (Sandy), he only wants this one, can you give me a discount?"

Zhou Fangyuan understood what was going on after hearing this.

After saying all that, the old man was trying to bargain. He still had a smile on his face, but his tone was gentle yet firm.

"Haha, sir, to be honest, this price of three mao is already the most reasonable one."

You see, this wood is processed by hand, carving it piece by piece. I'm just earning a meager living through hard work, and I sell it to the children for their own amusement.

Your grandson's fondness for Sha Wujing shows that he has good judgment and recognizes Sha Wujing's honest and upright character.

Zhou Fangyuan skillfully steered the conversation from price to the child's preferences, giving the other party a way out while also sticking to his own bottom line.

The old man pondered, and the corners of his mouth seemed to twitch slightly upwards.

He stopped haggling and instead looked down at the Sha Wujing statue in his hand, then glanced at the more exquisite "medium grade" statue next to him.

He let out a soft hum, as if talking to himself, or perhaps to Zhou Fangyuan:

"Six cents...is that for those artsy types? What a waste of money! My grandson loves its simple, honest look! Honesty is everything!"

After saying that, he didn't hesitate any longer and deftly counted out three one-cent bills from his pocket.

With a "smack," it slapped onto the blue cloth with a satisfying force.

Then, in one swift motion, he grasped the wooden carving of Sha Wujing into his palm.

"Alright! That's it!" The old man's serious expression vanished completely.

His brows relaxed, revealing a smile of accomplishment, as if he had completed an important task.

He slightly raised the wooden carving in his hand and nodded to Zhou Fangyuan: "Young man, the craftsmanship is decent, and the price is reasonable. I'm off!"

With a satisfied smile that said, "Finally, I've bought something my grandson likes," and a touch of smugness that "I wasn't tricked into spending too much money," he felt a sense of accomplishment.

He said no more, put his hands behind his back, clutched the gift for his grandson, and turned to merge into the crowd.

After walking a few steps, I could vaguely hear him humming a tuneless but cheerful tune in his slightly hoarse voice, and his steps seemed much lighter.

What seemed like a potential storm turned out to be an interesting interlude.

Seeing this, the surrounding parents breathed a sigh of relief, shook their heads with smiles, and the atmosphere of buying and selling became lively again.

Zhou Fangyuan smiled and put away the three cents, knowing in his heart that the old man wasn't looking for trouble.

He was a witty old man with a cold exterior but a warm heart.

Although she dotes on her grandson, she has her own set of "practical" standards, is experienced in bargaining, and likes to put on a "checking" act when dealing with things.

What started as a false alarm turned into a heartwarming little incident on a street corner in the early morning, adding a touch of vibrant life to this simple transaction.

The school bell rang, the school gates slowly closed, and the bustling streets returned to a temporary tranquility.

Zhou Fangyuan tallied up his morning's gains:

On the blue cloth, 56 of the rudimentary version were sold, and 4 of the medium-grade version were sold.

The canvas bag was much lighter, but the change tucked in his pocket was bulging, mainly in cents and small bills, carrying the warmth of the children's hands.

He packed up the blue cloth, shouldered his bag, and moved on to his next target: the Children's Palace.

Around noon, the atmosphere at the entrance of the Children's Palace was noticeably different.

The parents who came to pick up their children were dressed more neatly; some rode gleaming bicycles, while others carried briefcases.

The conversations mostly revolved around what kind of painting the child had learned and what kind of piano he had practiced.

The children often hold drawing boards and musical instrument cases.

This time, Zhou Fangyuan took out two 1.5 yuan "high-grade" coins, placed the "medium-grade" coins in a more prominent position, and only put a few "small" coins next to them.

He didn't shout loudly; he simply placed the two most exquisitely carved and skillfully colored high-quality wood carvings separately in front of him.

Let the midday sun clearly illuminate their delicate textures and vivid expressions.

Sure enough, the attention it attracted was different.

"Wow, this wood carving is quite interesting." A mother carrying a dark canvas bag squatted down.

She picked up a mid-grade Wukong and examined it closely.

"The expression is captured perfectly, full of dynamism. Was it hand-carved?"

"It's all handmade, carved stroke by stroke," Zhou Fangyuan nodded.

A boy of about ten years old standing next to them had his eyes shining.

"Mom, I want this! Our art teacher said that good sculptures are all about the lines and the spirit!"

"Okay, 6 cents, right? Not expensive. It's more lifelike than the clay figurines in the store."

The mother paid readily; to her, it was not just a toy, but more like a small work of art that could cultivate her child's aesthetic sense.

Another father, dressed in a Zhongshan suit, was particularly fond of the simple and honest appearance of Zhu Bajie (Pigsy).

"This is good. It's simple and interesting, and it would be a nice little thing to put on your bookshelf at home."

"Give me two, one Sun Wukong and one Zhu Bajie, make me a pair."

Here, mid-grade products have almost become the main focus.

Just as Zhou Fangyuan had thought, the parents here valued craftsmanship, fun, and a touch of artistry.

The price of 6 cents doesn't seem out of place in their investment in their child's education and interests.

The simple and crude small size attracted few inquiries, with only two sold sporadically.

It was for my younger siblings who simply wanted to look after someone from TV shows.

At noon, when we closed up shop, the results at the entrance of the Children's Palace were excellent: 24 medium-sized items and 7 small-sized items were sold.

These two trips yielded a total profit of 32.9 yuan. This is before even selling high-quality ornaments at the university's campus, and it's already equivalent to a month's income for an average person.

Zhou Fangyuan packed his things, touched the banknotes of different denominations and from different scenes in his pocket, and felt at ease and warm.

He not only sold the wood carvings, but also seemed to have gently touched two equally sincere joys in two different worlds.

One type is the simple joy of children in the hutongs when they receive their favorite toys.

Another type is the silent support from parents outside the children's palace for their children's interests, a more subtle form of satisfaction.

Perhaps this is the most solid and rewarding thing life itself can offer.

In the afternoon, Zhou Fangyuan carried his old cloth bag to a quiet place in the west of the city, near a certain engineering college compound.

The red brick buildings here exude a sense of composure, and those coming and going are mostly respectable people dressed in Zhongshan suits or Dacron shirts, carrying briefcases or cloth bags.

The bicycle bells sounded less urgent.

Zhou Fangyuan took a liking to a small open space not far from the entrance of the compound, next to the bicycle shed.

People come and go here, but it doesn't get in the way and won't cause any unnecessary trouble.

This time, he didn't bring out those relatively rough small wood carvings.

He knew that the people living here were generally well-off, and more importantly, they valued "decency" and "taste".

If something is too cheap or too rough, people might think it's not presentable and worry about what their neighbors will say if they buy it.

The wood carvings sold here are meant to showcase value and artistry.

Therefore, he only displayed two categories on the blue cloth.

The one on the left is of "medium quality," with exquisite carving, some coloring, and neatly arranged.

On the right, however, is his true main force on this trip.

Those are high-quality wood carvings made from the finest catalpa wood, infused with the most painstaking effort, and exquisitely carved and colored.

In the test episode, Sun Wukong, dressed in a tiger-skin coat, is agile and brave, while Zhu Bajie is endearingly clumsy.

In the afternoon sunlight, the wood is warm and smooth, the painted decorations are calm and understated, and the details are clearly visible.

It certainly exudes a sense of "craftsmanship" and even "artistic flair" that is different from ordinary toys.