Chapter 98 - 84: The Master is Dumbfounded! New Feature Upgrade

Chapter 98: Chapter 84: The Master is Dumbfounded! New Feature Upgrade

Seeing that she had made her choice, Lin Haida picked up a nearby piece of bamboo and began to work on it.

"I can’t believe Li Yuan Farm’s bamboo products are actually made on the spot." Jiang Sisi was genuinely surprised. She immediately pointed her camera at the working Lin Haida.

When she glanced at her livestream chat, she was even more astonished.

The number of current viewers had already surpassed 100,000+.

This gamble had really paid off.

The audience in the livestream was also extremely surprised at this moment.

"They’re actually making it live! I thought they just sold finished products!"

"I thought they sold finished products too. This way, there’s no way they can fake it!"

"Yeah, we’re about to find out just how good Li Yuan Farm’s bamboo crafts really are."

"..."

The livestream audience grew even more expectant.

If this craftsman could really make a bamboo fan as exquisite as the one in the promotional video, live on stream, it would be incredible. Master Zhao probably wouldn’t be able to sit still.

If he couldn’t, then Li Yuan Farm would just be slapping itself in the face.

「Elsewhere.」

One of Master Zhao’s sons also saw Jiang Sisi’s livestream.

Ever since last night, he had been keeping a close eye on any related news. After all, it concerned his father’s status and reputation, as well as his family’s quality of life.

So, he immediately took his phone to find his father. "Dad, quick, look at this stream! A craftsman from Li Yuan Farm is making a bamboo boat for a tourist on the spot. The stream has over 100,000 viewers right now. That craftsman probably has no idea so many people are watching him."

Hearing his son, Master Zhao leaned over to look at the phone and, sure enough, saw a man carving a piece of bamboo.

Recognizing the man’s status, Master Zhao dismissed him. "He’s no famous artisan. I have no impression of this person at all!"

The art circle of their bamboo craft industry was small, but that meant everyone knew all the famous masters and celebrities, or at least had met them before.

’Therefore, there’s no way he can produce something on the level of the promotional video. Otherwise, he would’ve been famous long ago.’

After saying this, Master Zhao paid it no more mind. Once his son left, he started fiddling with his own phone and began a livestream.

’Since that guy is making a bamboo boat, I might as well make one too. I’ll let everyone see what a truly exquisite, live-made bamboo craft looks like. I can even attract a wave of new followers.’

Since he was also caught up in the hype surrounding Li Yuan Farm, many viewers flooded into his stream the moment he went live.

He deliberately picked up several pieces of bamboo, comparing them back and forth, putting on a show of being highly selective.

In reality, there was no difference between mature bamboo stalks when used for making bamboo boat-type crafts.

But he had to give off an air of profound, impressive skill to display his status as a master.

The viewers who poured into his stream also started chattering excitedly:

"Master Zhao is live too! Looks like he’s going head-to-head with Li Yuan Farm!"

"Master Zhao really has the air of a master!"

"Can someone tell me what the difference is between the bamboo stalks he’s picking through?"

"..."

Back at Li Yuan Farm, Lin Haida was oblivious to the online drama. He was focused on his work, having already sliced the chosen bamboo into strips. With no wasted movements, he quickly used a fire brazier to bend the cut pieces into the shapes needed for the bamboo boat’s structure.

Jiang Sisi watched from the side, finding herself inexplicably drawn in.

The effect of the "Participation Fun +1" attribute was subtle and silent.

Even though it was just a simple bamboo boat, she was incredibly interested and wanted to get involved. She started asking Lin Haida about the key points of making one and even picked up a heat-shaped bamboo strip to examine it with great interest.

As the bamboo boat slowly took shape, Jiang Sisi’s eyes filled with utter delight.

The more complete the boat became, the more exquisite it looked.

When it was completely finished, after the craftsman applied a protective oil and dried it again by the fire, the bamboo boat placed before her was like a work of art.

That’s right, it could only be described as a work of art. It was exactly like the one in Li Yuan Farm’s promotional video, with no exaggeration whatsoever.

"Oh my god, it’s so beautiful!" Jiang Sisi couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.

It wasn’t just her; the audience in her livestream was also stunned, finding it absolutely incredible.

To be made so exquisitely on the spot—there was truly nothing fake about it.

The final step, naturally, was to carve the inscription.

As Jiang Sisi carried the bamboo boat to the engraving room, she noticed that other tourists had also finished their bamboo crafts. One of them had a bamboo fan, which, being simpler to make, was completed faster even though they had started later.

That bamboo fan was also incredibly exquisite, indistinguishable from the one in the promotional video.

And this was made by a different craftsman.

If only one person was this skilled, you could say he might be a hidden master among the people.

But if the others were this skilled too, then it was truly mind-boggling.

Jiang Sisi saw that her livestream chat had completely erupted:

"This is insane! Li Yuan Farm’s promotion wasn’t false advertising at all!"

"I just had a thought. Maybe we were using the wrong person as a reference? We shouldn’t assume Li Yuan Farm’s craftsmen can’t make something this exquisite just because Master Zhao’s work is what it is."

"The person above has a point. Maybe Master Zhao’s skills aren’t actually that great, and he’s just famous because of hype."

"It feels a bit like the entertainment industry. A lot of famous people have no real talent, while many who aren’t as well-known are actually phenomenal actors."

"How awkward must this be for Master Zhao?"

"..."

At that moment, Master Zhao wasn’t embarrassed at all. In fact, he was rather proud.

He was about to finish the bamboo boat in his hands, and he was very satisfied with the result. It was a perfect display of his skill level.

’In the bamboo craft art industry, this level of technique is already top-tier. This will give the livestream viewers a clear comparison with the one from Li Yuan Farm.’

Just then, his son rushed in, his face full of panic. "Dad! Dad! The bamboo boat at Li Yuan Farm is finished... Dad, why are you also livestreaming yourself making a bamboo boat?"

"What’s wrong with me livestreaming?" Master Zhao was clearly displeased with his son’s behavior. "So impatient. How old are you? Can’t you be a little more mature and composed?"

His son was speechless at the rebuke and could only say miserably, "Dad, you should just see what’s happening online!"

Seeing his son act this way, Master Zhao sensed something was wrong. He took the phone and saw that his own stream had over 100,000 viewers.

’Not bad. So many viewers. This time, they’ll all know how skilled I am.’

’I’m about to gain a ton of followers.’

But when he looked at the bullet comments, the happy expression on his face instantly vanished, replaced by an extremely ugly one:

"Fake master!"

"Fake master +1"

"It’s the same kind of bamboo boat, but the one from Li Yuan Farm is way more exquisite than yours!"

"It’s not just one person at Li Yuan Farm who’s better than you! And you call yourself a master?"

"Some ’master’!"

"..."

The more Master Zhao read the comments, the uglier his expression became. "This must be a water army, right?"

He immediately clicked the ’X’ to close his livestream, went online to search, and quickly found the picture of the finished bamboo boat from Jiang Sisi’s stream. In that instant, he was dumbfounded.

"Impossible. They made this boat on the spot?" Master Zhao looked at his son in disbelief.

Though reluctant, his son could only nod sheepishly.

"This..." For a moment, Master Zhao stood frozen.

...

Zhang Lin naturally found out about the online commotion very quickly. The moment he arrived at the steel-paneled office, Lin Muxue sent him a WeChat message to tell him.

So, with Li Yuan Farm’s current popularity, they didn’t even need to lift a finger to deal with the issue of proving the Bamboo Culture Park’s products weren’t false advertising.

Just then, he received a bank transfer notification.

"Account ending in 62122... Deposit: 10,000,000.00. Balance: 12,135,977.07 yuan."

This was clearly the 10 million prize money from the *Super Brain* program arriving!

Then, his attention was drawn to a game notification that suddenly appeared:

[Congratulations, upgrade conditions met. Level up to LV4!]

[Congratulations, you have leveled up. You have gained: Buildable Structures +1.]

[Congratulations, you have leveled up. The Procurement Market has refreshed with a new purchasable product: Special Sunshine Rose Seeds (Quality 1). Daily refresh quantity: 10 jin!]

[Congratulations, you have reached Level 4. A new Event Notification function has been unlocked. When specific events occur within the farm’s boundaries, a special notification will appear!]

Zhang Lin was a little surprised by the last upgrade reward.

It wasn’t a crop reward, a seed reward, or a construction scroll reward.

Just as he was wondering what this special notification function was all about, two consecutive prompts appeared on the game map:

[Congratulations, a special sweet potato seedling seems to have appeared in your special Fertile Land. The special fertilizer must have taken effect!]

[Due to the farm’s popularity and the great success of the Bamboo Culture Park, you have attracted a low-profile visit from government officials. The officials are already on their way to the farm!]

Almost as soon as this notification appeared, his phone rang. The call was from none other than Zhao Han, the director of the tourism bureau.