1327: Chapter 1242: It’s Ti to Head to the Headquarters!
(Wishing all book friends a joyous and peaceful Mid-Autumn Festival!) 1327: Chapter 1242: It’s Ti to Head to the Headquarters!
(Wishing all book friends a joyous and peaceful Mid-Autumn Festival!) (Wishing all book friends a Happy Mid-Autumn Festival filled with joy, peace, and family happiness~O(∩_∩)O)
…
Bai Xiaosheng and Li Ni stood facing each other, separated by a mahogany table.
On the broad surface of the table, there were so partially processed clay materials, which Li Ni inspected.
His excited eyes shone as he looked on with utmost satisfaction.
To the left and right of the mahogany table, there were complete sets of gold and wooden teapot-making tools, all old but polished to a bright sheen.
These must be the heirlooms of Li Ni’s family, Bai Xiaosheng thought to himself.
“This is the clay I’ve been dreaming of.
Co, sit down!” Li Ni gestured for Bai Xiaosheng to take a seat.
“Next, we will begin the official teapot crafting!”
Bai Xiaosheng nodded.
He had been waiting for days, just for today!
“Bai Xiaosheng, when I, Li Ni, craft teapots, it is always a one-man job,” Li Ni said after seating himself straight-backed and with an extrely serious deanor, as if on a pilgrimage, “First, I enjoy solitude and dislike interruptions.
Second, even though my own skills are diocre, my standards are very high, and I consider it a desecration for others to touch my clay!”
Bai Xiaosheng nodded, indicating he understood.
“Today, I am allowing you to craft teapots with out of respect for you and in recognition of the profound knowledge and talent you’ve shown these past days.
There is also an elent of gratitude in it,” Li Ni admitted.
Then, Li Ni’s voice took on a cold tone, “But now, with this clay before us, I am no longer myself, and you are not you.
We have no personal connection, and we shall only speak of craftsmanship!”
As Li Ni spoke, his entire aura changed, resembling that of a supre monarch.
Dominant, “overbearing.”
Bai Xiaosheng knew that Li Ni had “entered the zone.”
This was a person’s display of ultimate confidence and “selfishness” in their most proud domain.
Bai Xiaosheng respected Li Ni in this state and nodded solemnly.
“Very well, next, you’ll ‘knead the clay.’ If you earn my approval, you’ll stay.
Otherwise, I’m sorry, but I won’t show rcy; please leave and let finish the creation myself!”
As Li Ni spoke, he picked up a lump of clay, cut it with a wooden knife, and then carefully passed the piece of clay to Bai Xiaosheng.
Bai Xiaosheng knew that allowing him to work directly with this precious clay indicated that Li Ni had high expectations of him.
“No problem.
If you feel I’m not helpful, it’s only right to ask to leave,” Bai Xiaosheng took the clay and placed it on the table in front of him.
The lump of clay was heavy in his hands, its surface smooth and polished, hardly resembling mud at all but more like a naturally perfect treasure.
“Red Lotus, retrieve the purple clay teapot crafting techniques, assist operation, increase adrenaline, enhance my reaction…” Bai Xiaosheng muttered to himself.
This was the first ti Bai Xiaosheng wasn’t facing an opponent but was instead crafting an item, yet he used such comprehensive and high-level assistance.
If one had to compare it to a combat situation, the level of assistance would be akin to engaging in a life-or-death battle with Lei Ying.
Only, what was before him now was just a lump of clay.
“Understood, Master!” Red Lotus promptly replied.
In just a few breaths, Bai Xiaosheng felt a difference; everything before his eyes beca incredibly clear.
He could even see the delicate grain of the table, his mind was clear and unclouded by drowsiness or distractions.
Bai Xiaosheng even felt as though ti was slowing down.
He could even sense and keep pace with Li Ni’s subtle breathing across from him.
Not only that, but a vast amount of information about teapot crafting flooded Bai Xiaosheng’s mind as if he himself had crafted with his own hands countless tis before.
Bai Xiaosheng’s hands even began to itch slightly.
All this happened in a re dozen seconds or so.
Li Ni watched Bai Xiaosheng closely, and even he seed sowhat astonished at the end.
In front of him, Bai Xiaosheng was still Bai Xiaosheng, the person the sa, but the aura he emitted was strikingly different!
Li Ni even felt as if he was in the presence of an elder craftsman from his family who had passed away, one who had honed their craft over a lifeti.
“Is this still Bai Xiaosheng?
He…” Li Ni marveled in secret.
At this mont, Bai Xiaosheng had already started.
The first step in making a teapot was to process the clay into flattened pieces or strips.
Bai Xiaosheng began with the strips, using a wood “mallet” which had been worn smooth and darkened by the hands of old craftsn.
This tool was traditionally called a “Mallet.”
The shape was that of a log split into two at the center, with half of it fitted with a long wooden handle.
The “striking surface” was slightly convex in the center, dipping towards the edges, smooth and fine.
Bai Xiaosheng executed the movents fluidly, unhurriedly applying force with the mallet with unparalleled evenness.
To others, it was just ordinary kneading of clay strips, simple and straightforward, with no complex techniques or difficulties.
But to Li Ni, it was astonishing.
The simpler the task, the more it reveals true skill!
Leonardo da Vinci, cited in elentary textbooks as “the perfect representative of the Renaissance,” supposedly spent years drawing eggs, honing his basics.
Regardless of the story’s authenticity, it reflects a truth—
The most basic and simplest of foundation exercises are what distinguish a master from an ordinary person.
Li Ni silently observed Bai Xiaosheng knead the clay strips and pieces.
In the end, he had only one thing to say, “The clay here is half yours and half mine; let’s craft the teapot together!”
This was the highest form of recognition from Li Ni!
Bai Xiaosheng smiled.
Li Ni also nodded at him, then went back to his own work.
Even though Bai Xiaosheng’s operations were flowing like clouds and water, and his fundantals matched Li Ni, he did not rush to continue but instead observed Li Ni’s operations.
Bai Xiaosheng certainly did not think that just because he could craft smoothly and match Li Ni in the basics, that teapot making “wasn’t difficult.”
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