Li Daoxuan needed to go out to have soone create a 200:1 scale model.
But he knew that the world inside the scenic box was set after the end of the Ming Dynasty, so he wasn’t comfortable leaving the box unattended for too long, worried that he might return ho to find the ground covered with dead little people.
He thought for a mont, and an idea struck him like a light bulb lighting up; he moved the Surveillance Cara from his ho close to the scenic box, adjusting the angle to face it directly.
On his phone, he opened the cara app and could clearly see the general situation inside the box.
Now he could go out with peace of mind.
He quickly hailed a cab and rushed to the ho of his friend Cai Xinzi.
Fifteen minutes later…
Li Daoxuan stood in the living room of his friend Cai Xinzi’s ho.
Cai Xinzi was a businesswoman specializing in the model business—car models, ship models, figurines, robots, dinosaurs… in short, any model you could imagine, she made.
So when Li Daoxuan received the scenic box as a birthday present a few days earlier, he imdiately assud Cai Xinzi had given it to him.
Seeing her old friend arrive, Cai Xinzi grinned and chuckled, “Daoxuan, it’s been a long ti since you ca to play here. What are you trying to trick out of this ti?”
Li Daoxuan laughed, “I’m not tricking you this ti; I’m paying to have sothing custom-made.”
Cai Xinzi squinted her eyes, “Stop it. You still haven’t paid for the Liaoning ship model you commissioned last ti. Every ti you visit, you practically rob .”
Without a word, Li Daoxuan took out his phone, transferred 1000 yuan.
Cai Xinzi jumped in surprise, “Holy crap, you transfer money so quickly? Oh dear, what you want must be a pain to make. I won’t accept this order.”
Li Daoxuan teased her, “You, when I transfer money quickly, you refuse; when I don’t transfer money, you don’t seem to care at all.”
Cai Xinzi said, “That’s a rchant’s intuition.”
Li Daoxuan gestured about half a ter in length, “I want a Hakka roundhouse about this big, at a 200:1 scale.”
When his items were placed in the scenic box, they would enlarge 200 tis, so if the model was made half a ter long, it would beco 100 ters long when put into the box, which was almost exactly the length of a large Hakka roundhouse.
Cai Xinzi was astonished, “What do you need this for?”
Li Daoxuan couldn’t tell the truth, so he casually invented a white lie, “Lately I’ve been watching the cartoon ‘Bigfish & Begonia’ and beca fascinated with Hakka roundhouses, so I just want to make a model to display at ho.”
“I see,” said Cai Xinzi, “Then why get it custom-made? I have ready-made ones here, 100:1 scale, they look mighty and imposing…”
“No!” Li Daoxuan interrupted her before she could finish, “I only want it at 200:1.”
Cai Xinzi said, “Too big? I have 144:1 models here…”
“No!” Li Daoxuan said, “I absolutely must have it custom-made to 200:1.”
Cai Xinzi started to waver, “Dammit, I knew a smooth paynt ant more trouble later. Go ahead, besides 200:1, what other specific requests? I bet it’s super complex without even hearing them.”
Li Daoxuan chuckled, “Alright, now I’ll start listing the requirents. The entire Hakka roundhouse must be built with extrely strong material—no thin foam boards, no plastic boards, and wood can burn easily. It should all be made of… uh, what material would work best? I’m not an expert; you help decide.”
Cai Xinzi squinted, “Use composite material boards; they’re strong and lightweight, so you won’t strain your back carrying it ho.”
Li Daoxuan thought for a mont and agreed. Modern composite material boards were indeed great; when placed in the box, their thickness would increase 200 tis, making it aweso. Swords and firearms from the Ming Dynasty couldn’t pierce a composite board thickened 200 tis; even a Frankish cannon might not be able to penetrate it.
Wait!
He couldn’t take the thickening to 200 tis lightly; he needed to ask about its original thickness.
Li Daoxuan asked curiously, “How thin is the thinnest composite panel?”
Cai Xinzi said, “Three milliters.”
Li Daoxuan did a ntal calculation of three milliters multiplied by two hundred tis and froze: Damn, if it went into the box, it beca sixty centiters thick? That thickness took up too much space. If the walls between rooms were that thick, the number of rooms in the Hakka roundhouse would decrease greatly.
He frowned and asked, “Can it not be any thinner?”
Cai Xinzi shook her head and said, “No. To be thinner, we’d have to use iron sheet; there are iron sheets as thin as one milliter.”
Li Daoxuan calculated in his mind: A one-milliter-thick iron sheet inside the box beca a twenty-centiter-thick plate. Perfect, iron sheets were great—they took up less space than pressed panels and were much stronger.
“Alright, let’s use the one-milliter-thick iron sheet.”
Cai Xinzi said, “Hey, a model made of this iron sheet will look very cheap, giving the feeling that—ah—it’s poorly made and cut corners.”
Li Daoxuan said, “I don’t care about the look; I want that cut-corner feel. Also, this model isn’t just about the outside being good; the inside has to be incredibly detailed too. Every room must be done exactly to scale…”
Cai Xinzi said, “That’s impossible! The Hakka roundhouse has over two hundred rooms. With all those tiny doors and windows, if I have to make them all detailed and functional—able to open and close—do you know how much manual work that requires? Add ten thousand!”
Li Daoxuan thought to himself: Damn, so expensive? Might as well skip the doors and windows altogether. Just get the main structure done right; the small things like doors and windows could be handled by the little people themselves.
Li Daoxuan said, “Then skip all the doors and windows; just leave dark holes where they should be. Also, the traditional Hakka roundhouse has flaws in its drainage ditch design; use a modern solution to fix it.”
Cai Xinzi nearly flipped the table: “Fucking idiot, why would a model need drainage ditch design? Using a modern solution ruins the authenticity of the Hakka roundhouse. What collector’s value would this model even have then?”
Li Daoxuan said, “I insist! I’m the client now. However outrageous my demands, you have absolutely no choice.”
Cai Xinzi said, “…”
Speechless and frustrated, Cai Xinzi almost coughed up blood. Rolling his eyes, he muttered sarcastically, “Why not add wheels under the Hakka roundhouse, install a motor and a remote control, so it can plow through everything like a giant tank…”
He was just spouting nonsense to mock the client, but this joke-like comnt hit Li Daoxuan’s ears and made his eyes light up abruptly.
He slapped his thigh: “Damn, Cai Xinzi, you’re a genius! Exactly—add wheels, fit a motor and remote, turn it into a super roundhouse tank that plows unstoppably, unrivaled in the world.”
Cai Xinzi said, “Damn, don’t follow up on that! What results won’t be a Hakka roundhouse; it’ll be a stupid kids’ toy with no display or collection value.”
Li Daoxuan patted his shoulder and laughed heartily: “I want that stupid kids’ toy! Forget display value. Oh, make the tires bigger for light off-roading capability.”
“You want off-roading too?” Cai Xinzi rolled his eyes: “The client is insane! I fucking knew it—since the dawn of ti, no client has ever been normal.”
After grumbling, he added, “For the tires, motor, and remote control, add another thousand yuan!”
Li Daoxuan paid the money, set a delivery date one month later, and then headed back ho.
Reaching the supermarket at his neighborhood’s gate, he casually bought a piece of chicken breast weighing two hundred grams, costing five yuan.
Back ho, he took a knife and cut off a piece of chicken breast, then gently placed it in front of Gao Yiye…
At that mont, Gao Yiye was carrying water from the pond to a vat at ho, balancing two buckets while walking unsteadily. Suddenly, the enormous hand of the Great deity appeared, grasping a massive piece of chicken at. Slowly, it lowered toward her, then whisked it back up to the sky in an instant.
From the sky, the gentle voice of the Great deity sounded: “Reminding everyone: If you eat simple foods often, consuming too much at at once will upset the stomach. Take it easy and eat slowly.”
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