Chapter 34: Sign-In Failed
After Ning Xiyue had finished taking everything useful from Aunt Qiuju’s house, she planned to head to Aunt Qiuju’s great-uncle’s place to exchange for some furniture.
As for what to do with all the household goods she had just traded for, she had barely glanced at them before Aunt Qiuju immediately understood and said:
“If you trust me, just leave these things here for now. We’ll go pick out the furniture first. I have a handcart at home, so transporting everything will be easy. Once we’ve picked out the furniture, we’ll load all these household goods and the furniture together and take them back in one trip. It’ll be quick and won’t delay you setting up your room.”
Ning Xiyue grinned broadly and agreed at once. “Alright, thank you, Aunt Qiuju — you’re a big help.”
Since it was more convenient for her, of course she agreed. These household items weren’t worth much anyway, and if there were any issues with them being swapped out for lower-quality goods, it would give her a good read on a person’s character. Besides, she believed Aunt Qiuju was a smart woman.
Hearing Ning Xiyue’s words made Aunt Qiuju feel even more at ease. After saying a quick word to her daughter-in-law, she happily led Ning Xiyue toward her great-uncle’s house.
On the way, she told Ning Xiyue about him.
The old man, in his younger days, used to make furniture for wealthy city families. His craftsmanship was exceptional, his workmanship delicate and precise. After the Liberation, he returned to his hometown and became a renowned carpenter within hundreds of miles. Young couples would always seek him out when getting married and commissioning furniture because his beautiful, finely crafted pieces made for perfect dowries and wedding gifts.
Hearing this, Ning Xiyue’s expectations grew. An old craftsman from the Republican era, and one who made custom furniture for the rich — if what Aunt Qiuju said was true, then her great-uncle’s skills might well be at a master level.
She wondered if she could “sign in” at this place. If she could, the rewards would surely be extraordinary.
Ning Xiyue knew that master craftsmen often kept their most prized creations hidden away for their own enjoyment. She didn’t expect to receive some priceless heirloom, but even signing in and getting a piece of good furniture would make her happy. A set of woodworking tutorials, like the weaving ones, would also be great — she could even start doing a bit of carpentry herself.
Then she could start decorating her own dimensional space.
Full of anticipation, Ning Xiyue followed Aunt Qiuju to her great-uncle’s house.
Aunt Qiuju called out toward the tightly closed gate, “Uncle, are you home? Uncle!”
After a while, the sound of wood shavings being pushed aside stopped, and a loud, powerful voice replied, “Come in yourselves.”
Once they stepped into the backyard, Ning Xiyue saw wood shavings scattered everywhere — and, more importantly, a familiar figure standing there.
“Yechu?”
“Xiyue.”
Chen Yechu pointed at the furniture the old man was working on, indicating that she was there to order some furniture too.
Ning Xiyue was a little puzzled. Hadn’t they said the old man was difficult to approach? That during such a sensitive period, he was being extremely cautious? She believed that completely.
Ah, right — the outline said that the heroine Chen Yechu’s future career would be in the home furnishing industry, and that she would become a leader in the field.
It seemed the old man’s skills were indeed superb — Yechu must have already won him over.
Tch, as expected of the heroine. Using her charm and knowledge from her previous life, she had come early and managed to get the old man on her side.
And they’d already started on custom furniture. Things were moving quickly.
Ning Xiyue had to admit she admired Yechu’s speed — and the fact that she’d be able to build a career from this was impressive. Even being reborn wouldn’t help if one didn’t have real ability.
Still, Ning Xiyue decided to try signing in anyway. There hadn’t been any prompts, but the joy of becoming rich easily was always worth a shot.
“Sign in.”
[Sign-in failed. This location is not a sign-in point. Please find the correct location.]
Hearing the system’s clear failure message, Ning Xiyue finally gave up hope. She had still been clinging to the fantasy that maybe the system had crashed or was delayed, so it hadn’t prompted her yet — but with this confirmation, it was clearly a no-go.
Fine, she thought. She’d just honestly exchange for some furniture here. Having that weaving compendium was already great — why ask for a bicycle on top of it?
The old man continued planing the wood, and the three of them didn’t interrupt him, standing quietly to the side.
Once he finished a section, he looked over at the three of them with a stern expression and snorted. “What’s so special about today? Why are you all showing up here?”
Aunt Qiuju stepped forward with a cheerful smile. “Uncle, this is Comrade Little Ning — a new educated youth who just arrived in our brigade. She wants to get some furniture for herself. We hit it off, so I brought her here to see if you’d trade some for her.”
Then Aunt Qiuju pulled the old man aside and said something quietly. Whatever it was, when they returned, his expression had softened considerably as he looked Ning Xiyue up and down.
Ning Xiyue stood there calmly and greeted him politely.
“What are your requirements?” the old man asked.
It took Ning Xiyue a second to realize he was asking if she had any specific requests for the furniture. She quickly shook her head. “None.”
“Come along then.” With that, the old man turned and headed toward one of the rooms.
Aunt Qiuju winked at her. “Little Yue, hurry and follow.”
Chen Yechu glanced over at Ning Xiyue with a hint of envy as she went to choose furniture. But when she turned back to look at the custom piece being made for her, she felt much better. She was about to own a completely custom set of furniture, designed entirely according to her own vision.
Meanwhile, Ning Xiyue followed the old man into the furniture storage room — and was absolutely stunned. It felt like stepping into a massive furniture showroom.
Her eyes couldn’t take it all in.
Everywhere she looked, finely crafted, varnished pieces were neatly arranged side by side. Some of the larger pieces even had intricate carvings — birds and beasts, flowers and trees — all kinds of patterns.
She didn’t know what types of wood they were made from, but they all looked luxurious and elegant, filling her with joy. It was obvious the old man was a true master craftsman.
“Master Chen, can I choose from all of these?” Ning Xiyue asked eagerly.
The old man pointed toward a corner with large pieces. “Anything but those big ones over there.”
“Got it.”
Ning Xiyue wasn’t disappointed at all. Even though she couldn’t pick from the finest batch, the rest were still excellent — and the educated youth courtyard didn’t need high-end furniture anyway.
She also made a mental note: before leaving the Daliu Brigade for good, she would come back and buy a batch of fine furniture to store in her space. Then, when she eventually bought a siheyuan courtyard house, she could use them to furnish it.
And once Chen Yechu’s business really took off, old Master Chen’s furniture would probably become even harder to come by.
As she picked out furniture, Ning Xiyue couldn’t help but think all this through.
