Just as Xu Ke was squatting on the ground watching, the door silently opened behind him without him noticing, and the man who had just walked out appeared behind Xu Ke.
With his head lowered and an unclear expression, he looked at Xu Ke squatting on the ground and asked in a slightly cold voice, "What are you looking at?"
Xu Ke was deep in thought, and the sudden voice from behind startled him so much that his heart skipped a beat, a chill ran down his spine, and he almost punched the man behind him. Fortunately, his last bit of rationality stopped him.
"I'm looking at this cabinet. Did you make this yourself? I've never seen a cabinet like this before. Our cabinets back home are made of industrial materials. They're nice to look at but feel cold and lifeless, not as vivid as this one, which immediately shows a sense of life." Xu Ke stood up from his squatting position, lovingly gazing at the cabinet, even touching it a couple of times, truly looking as if he adored the cabinet.
"Can you make another one like this? I want to buy one." Xu Ke turned around, looked at the man, and said sincerely.
He then suddenly remembered something and asked with some confusion, "Do you take cash? Or do you want me to pay in grain or daily necessities?"
Xu Ke's question was genuine, and the man's gaze softened a bit as he looked at Xu Ke, though he couldn't help but feel a bit puzzled. His eyes drifted to the square, sturdy wardrobe he made and asked, "This wardrobe I made, you really like it? It doesn't have any patterns, just four wooden boards put together. What do you like about it?"
"You don't understand, this is called a piece of art, it's the return to simplicity. Nowadays, wealthier families outside value this kind of thing. You might not think much of it now, but when it's sold outside, the wealthy really like it, especially those rich elderly folks. They love this kind of thing. And of course, if you can carve patterns into it, the price of this wardrobe could go even higher."
The man had never been outside and didn't know the situation there. Seeing Xu Ke's heartfelt sincerity, he believed what Xu Ke said and the last bit of doubt in his heart disappeared, replaced by some other careful thoughts.
He hesitated a bit and asked Xu Ke, "How much do you think this wardrobe can be worth?"
Xu Ke pretended to look it over carefully and then said, "There's knowledge in this cabinet too. The material of this cabinet is ordinary, and it doesn't have any patterns. If I were to buy it, it would be this amount." As he spoke, Xu Ke held up one finger.
"One hundred?" the man asked uncertainly.
"What are you thinking, brother? How could this cabinet be one hundred?" Xu Ke laughed, patting the man's shoulder.
"Right, I also think it couldn't possibly be that much. How could such a shabby cabinet be worth one hundred bucks?" The man chuckled at his own wishful thinking.
"No, you misunderstood. I wasn't saying one hundred was too much, but too little. If you sell this cabinet outside, it could definitely fetch at least a thousand." Xu Ke explained.
"How much did you say? Over a thousand? This cabinet alone over a thousand?" The man finally showed a startled expression, pointing at the cabinet in front of him, eyes wide, as if confirming with Xu Ke that he was serious.
In this village where annual incomes generally ranged from one to two thousand, a thousand bucks was a huge sum for them, so it was no wonder the man overreacted.
"Yes, this cabinet is worth that. If you can carve some beautiful patterns into it, the price would at least be this much." Xu Ke nodded, confirming what he had previously said and showing another hand gesture to the man.
This figure was even larger than before. The man forgot to breathe for a moment, staring blankly at Xu Ke's hand, then took a deep gulp, like a thief, he walked to the door, peeked outside to make sure no one was around, quickly shut the door, paused a bit at the door, and then strode back to Xu Ke.
The man's voice was slightly trembling, not from fear, but from excitement. With eyes shining, he looked at Xu Ke and said, "If I am not mistaken, the number you just gestured is… five thousand?"
"Yes." Xu Ke nodded, affirming the man's guess.
"Are you sure you didn't make a mistake, really five thousand?" The man asked once more.
"I'm sure, it's five thousand."
Hearing Xu Ke's confirmation once again, the man was so overjoyed he was almost speechless, his mouth opening and closing several times but no sound came out, like he had lost his voice.
Xu Ke patiently waited for the man's happiness to subside, and then saw him nervously lean in to ask in a low voice, "About the wood, the part you mentioned, what kind of wood would bring the price to how much?"
"Well, there's quite a lot to consider. The texture of the wood, the craftsmanship, whether the patterns are exquisite, so it's hard for me to estimate accurately. But one thing is certain, if the material is even slightly better, the price could go upwards of ten thousand, and if the wood is rare and uncommon, prices of over a million are possible."
Xu Ke replied with an air of authority, leaving the man feeling exhilarated, almost eager to run to the mountains to find a rare piece of wood, chop it down, drag it home, and turn it into a wardrobe to sell.
Seeing the man was now fully absorbed in thinking about making wardrobes, completely forgetting his previous behavior, Xu Ke heaved a sigh of relief.
He had a bad feeling and only needed confirmation now, if his suspicions were right, the people of this village might not even benefit from the changes brought by his donations.
The man's excitement lasted until dinner. Xu Ke sat on a kang, eating corn porridge and a few unknown pickles, while listening to the man's chattering.
The corn porridge had very coarse grains, but the aroma of corn filled his mouth in each bite, tasting better than the ones bought in supermarkets. However, the pickles were rather disappointing, as it seemed an excessive amount of salt was used. A bite of the pickle nearly took Xu Ke's life. He didn't eat any more pickles, relying only on the half bowl of porridge to suppress the salty taste.
After just one bowl of porridge, Xu Ke set down his bowl.
"You're done eating with just one bowl?" The man looked at Xu Ke, slightly surprised, as he stopped eating after just a bowl of porridge.
"I'm not very hungry, I'm already full," Xu Ke explained with a slight smile.
"You city folks have such a small appetite, just one bowl of porridge fills you up. If you go out at night to relieve yourself, there would be nothing left in your stomach." The man muttered softly and then added, "We only have this one meal at night, if you don't eat more, there won't be any food if you get hungry later."
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