Chapter 133: Ghost Work Ball
Red heart sweet potatoes grow shorter and fatter than white heart ones, but they are delicious and soft when roasted.
As for the purple heart sweet potatoes on the other side, they are smaller, even smaller than the red heart ones, and their yield is not as high.
Yun Jiao only dug up two plants, but there were already about ten.
She couldn’t carry them all at once.
Her snow-white little face was smudged with some mud, making her look a bit dirty, but it didn’t detract from her good looks.
“Grandpa Mu, throw down a basket for me.”
“Trouble,” Old Man Mu said, but he directed Big Black to carry a basket over.
Big Black didn’t throw the basket down; instead, he carried it to Yun Jiao’s side, wagging his tail happily.
Yun Jiao petted his head: “Good Big Black.”
Then she put several sweet potatoes into the basket.
She picked up her small hoe and walked upwards, with Big Black carrying the basket beside her.
“Where are we going to roast sweet potatoes?”
Old Man Mu glanced at her: “Go wash your hands and face.”
“Oh.”
She obediently listened and even brought the sweet potatoes along to wash.
When they returned, Fourth Brother came out of the house holding a small stove.
“Jiaojiao, Master wants you to roast sweet potatoes up here. I’ll get the fire started for you.”
Sweet potatoes need to be steamed to be fully cooked.
Coincidentally, Old Man Mu used this small stove for roasting sweet potatoes and potatoes.
Although Old Man Mu lived alone, his days were quite enjoyable.
Once the stove was ready, they put the prepared sweet potatoes inside, covered it, and waited.
“Where’s Grandpa Mu?”
Yun Chenbei clapped his hands: “Master went into the house.”
As they were speaking, he came out.
He was still holding something in his hand.
Looking at the item in his hand, not only Yun Jiao but also Yun Chenbei’s eyes suddenly lit up.
Both the big and small ones, with matching expressions, leaned in.
What Old Mu was holding was a white spherical object.
But the spherical object was carved with countless exquisite floral patterns, so intricate that they were complex at first glance.
Most importantly, inside the sphere, there were several layers of rotatable spheres, also with complex floral carvings.
Yet, the inner spheres were not just inserted; they were carved from the inside out, layer by layer, while maintaining the integrity of the entire object.
“So beautiful.”
This was the most beautiful handicraft Yun Jiao had ever seen, apart from pearls and gemstones.
It was a visual feast, different from the beauty of natural pearls, achieved through carving and polishing.
Old Mu sat down, put on his glasses, and picked up a carving tool that looked like a hairpin, continuing to carve inside.
Yun Chenbei watched, completely captivated.
Yun Jiao cupped her small face and watched with great seriousness.
This item was called a “ghostly work ball,” deriving its name from its otherworldly craftsmanship.
It was made by carving a sphere from ivory.
To carve such a small ivory ball into multiple layers, with each layer being circular and adorned with exquisite, beautiful floral patterns, and still be able to move, could indeed be called ghostly work.
Old Man Mu carved very slowly: “I’m old and no longer useful. Now, I need over a year to finish just one such ball.”
However, it wasn’t actually because he was old, but because his hand was injured.
Before his hand was injured, he could complete a fifteen-layered ghostly work ball in just five to six months.
After his hand was injured, for these fine carving techniques, he had to rest after every short period of work, thus requiring more time.
But the money he earned from taking on these jobs could support him for several years.
This was why, even though he was a carpenter, the villagers rarely saw him doing woodworking, and he didn’t go tide pooling or do much other work, yet he could still support himself.
He was not just a carpenter but also a craftsman.
“You like it.”
Old Mu looked at Yun Jiao.
Yun Jiao nodded honestly; of course, she liked such a beautiful thing.
“If you like it, have your brother learn quickly, and he can carve one for you in the future.”
“This one belongs to someone else, it can’t be yours.”
Yun Jiao mumbled, “I didn’t ask for it anyway.”
“Brother, you must learn diligently.”
Yun Chenbei nodded, his eyes shining as he stared at the ghostly work ball.
Clearly, even if Yun Jiao hadn’t said it, he would have learned it himself.
The aroma of roasted sweet potato wafted over, and Yun Jiao trotted over to look.
Yun Chenbei, fearing she might get burned, walked over to help.
“The sweet potatoes are ready.”
The fragrant roasted sweet potatoes felt soft when cooked through.
They took out the roasted ones and set them aside; they were too hot, so Yun Jiao would put her hand to her ear after touching one.
Although she didn’t know the principle, putting her hand to her ear really cooled it down quickly.
“Grandpa Mu, eat roasted sweet potato.”
Old Mu: “Wait for it to cool.”
The roasted sweet potatoes were very hot fresh out of the oven. After they cooled down, they sat down and each ate one.
Yun Jiao directly broke hers in half, and the beautiful orange-red flesh emitted a sweet scent.
One bite was soft, glutinous, and sweet; it was extremely delicious.
These were even more satisfying to eat in winter.
Yun Jiao divided one each for Big Black and Cat Leader.
Big Black ate quickly.
But Cat Leader sat to the side with its paws tucked.
A cat’s tongue is very sensitive, and the current temperature of the sweet potato was still a bit too hot for it; it would wait until it cooled down more.
After Yun Jiao finished eating the sweet potato flesh, she threw the skin to Big Black.
She threw it, and before the sweet potato skin even hit the ground, Big Black caught it with ease.
Big Black also finished the sweet potato skins from Yun Chenbei and Old Man Mu.
“Let me try the purple one.”
This was the first time she had seen a purple heart sweet potato.
After breaking it open, the inside was indeed light purple.
It wasn’t as soft and glutinous as the red heart ones, but this one was powdery and fluffy when eaten.
Yun Jiao quite liked this texture.
“Brother, try this, it’s delicious!”
“Grandpa Mu, when these purple heart sweet potatoes are harvested, please save some seeds for me, so I can ask Mom to plant some too.”
Old Man Mu grunted in agreement.
Although Old Man Mu’s place wasn’t as lively as the Yun family’s, the atmosphere was very warm.
In fact, if Yun Jiao hadn’t come, it would have been quite deserted here.
Yun Chenbei was a person of few words, and Old Mu had a peculiar temper; he tended to scold, but only those foolish apprentices.
Yun Chenbei had also been scolded when he first arrived, but he had great talent and automatically filtered out Old Mu’s scolding, only listening to the guidance within the tirades.
Any normal person would not have been able to tolerate his scolding.
Later, as Yun Chenbei’s talent became apparent, and his work was both fast and good, Old Man Mu gradually stopped scolding him.
Moreover, he preferred quiet and was actually very impatient with children.
This was because most children couldn’t control their tempers and would cry and fuss at the slightest provocation.
Fortunately, Yun Jiao was not like that. After a few meetings and interactions, Old Mu gradually grew fond of the well-behaved little girl.
“Old Man Mu, Old Man Mu, is he home?”
A voice called from outside. Old Mu directly instructed Yun Chenbei: “Go see what’s happening outside.”
Yun Chen left and returned with three people.
A couple, and a youth about the same age as Yun Chenbei.
Their purpose was simple: they had brought their child to apprentice.
