Chapter 197: A Unique Way to Decompress

In the morning, Ning Fei hoisted the house he had built for Dark Circles onto his shoulder and headed straight for the back mountain.

When netizens opened the live stream and saw this, they were completely dumbfounded.

"Holy shit! What's going on?"

"Is Temple Master Ning this hardcore?"

"That's made of solid wood! It's heavy, at least nearly two hundred jin, and he's actually just carrying it on his shoulder like that!"

"Only two hundred jin? Who are you looking down on?"

"Is this something a human can even fucking do?"

"With that kind of strength, it's really a shame he isn't hauling bricks."

The house was already as tall as a person; with Ning Fei carrying it, it looked even more massive.

This visual impact made the viewers cry out in disbelief.

Usually, the morning comments were peaceful and quiet, and everyone just enjoyed chatting with one another.

When the broadcast started this morning, the tone of the comments completely changed.

"Good morning... Holy shit! What is Temple Master Ning doing?"

"Wife, come look at this macho man!"

"!"

"No wonder he could take down a black bear. Who could withstand that?"

Carrying the wooden house, Ning Fei didn't feel like he was exerting much effort. He walked all the way to the back mountain, heading straight into the bamboo forest.

"Dark Circles!"

Ning Fei called out loudly.

It didn't take long before a rustling sound came from the bamboo forest, and Dark Circles poked its head out from the stalks.

Ning Fei found a suitable spot surrounded by bamboo, with just enough space in the middle to set down the wooden house.

He grabbed a shovel, dug a shallow pit to seat the wooden house in, and then leveled the dirt around it to secure it firmly in place.

Dark Circles quietly watched him from the side.

"I made you a house. If it gets cold in the winter, you can go inside to escape the chill."

Ning Fei crouched down and rubbed Dark Circles' head.

"Ah, ah~"

Dark Circles cried out twice in its milky voice, clearly delighted, and then crawled curiously toward the wooden house.

It squeezed through the entrance. The inside was quite spacious, and Ning Fei had thoughtfully laid down a woolen blanket, making it incredibly comfortable for Dark Circles to stay in.

Dark Circles looked thrilled, rolling back and forth excitedly inside the house.

Seeing its antics, Ning Fei also smiled.

After all, it was still a giant panda cub, brimming with adorable energy.

The netizens also found the scene beautiful, exclaiming one after another, "This old man's girlish heart is about to be melted by Dark Circles' cuteness."

Ning Fei and Dark Circles played around for a while, both human and bear having a great time.

"I'm leaving now. I'll go find some good bamboo for you in a few days."

Then, Ning Fei said goodbye to Dark Circles, waved his hand, and left the back mountain.

Returning to the courtyard, Ning Fei began to prepare for his second task:

Building a wooden boat of his own.

The design of the wooden boat wasn't complicated. It was just a common type of wooden boat, shaped like a long leaf.

However, while it looked simple, actually building it was much more difficult.

First came making the parts. The dimensions, size, and curvature of every single piece had to be extremely precise, fitting together seamlessly. The slightest error, and the wooden boat might fail.

Ning Fei had also made thorough preparations.

A bench vise, saw, rasp, electric drill, screwdriver, pliers, right-angle ruler, pen, resin, and so on—the tools were fully stocked.

"Starting today, I'm going to build a wooden boat."

"I chose natural Chinese fir. Chinese fir has excellent material qualities and strong toughness, so the boats made from it have high buoyancy and can carry heavy loads while remaining lightweight, agile, sturdy, and durable."

"Because it's a wooden boat meant for one person, it isn't very large."

"The middle cabin is six chi long, the hatch width is four chi, the bottom width is two chi and five cun, and the sides are one chi and three cun high."

"First is the initial step: splitting the boards. This means crafting the planks that will be nailed together to form the boat, with a thickness of around two and a half centimeters."

With that said, Ning Fei got to work.

Carpentry work had always been physically demanding, and manual crafting was even more difficult.

Throughout the entire morning, Ning Fei focused intently on measuring dimensions, sawing wood, and polishing. He would occasionally take a break, sip some tea, tease Little Dog for a bit, and then resume working.

Building a boat was never a simple matter.

"If it were a dugout canoe, it would be simpler. You just buy a thick log, hollow out the middle, and shape it. But the limitations of a dugout canoe are quite significant. It isn't as spacious as a wooden boat made from spliced parts, and it's somewhat lacking in comfort."

"Dugout canoes have appeared all over the world. They were the aquatic transportation used by our human ancestors in primitive societies for hunting."

"In Huaxia, dugout canoes can be traced back to the Neolithic Age. Remains of dugout canoes or paddles have been unearthed in the Jiangsu-Zhejiang regions, Fujian, and Guangdong."

"These relics already have a history of 5,000 to 9,000 years."

Ning Fei slowly recounted the history of wooden boats.

In that era when technology was still undeveloped, wooden boats were the first step humanity took toward conquering the waters.

In ancient naval battles, wooden warships were arranged in rows on the water, charging at each other. When the bows of the two armies collided, soldiers wielding blades would leap between the ships, slashing and killing in what was an incredibly shocking spectacle.

Huaxia in that era was truly at the pinnacle of the world, its shipbuilding techniques unparalleled. The craftsmanship of those wooden warships was so complex that even from the perspective of modern people, one would marvel at the wisdom of the ancients.

As technology developed, the large ships forged by the steel industry replaced wooden warships. Only the craftsmanship of small boats was passed down continuously.

Ning Fei had already produced several long wooden planks. For each piece, he used a combination of rough planing and fine planing to smooth the sawn surfaces.

Such calm, focused craftsmanship was already very rare to see.

By the time the wooden planks were finished, the sky was already starting to darken.

Other than spending some time eating a meal at noon, Ning Fei had completely thrown himself into the work of making the wooden planks.

During this period, Teacher He, Teacher Huang, and Zhang Xiaofeng all found time to come over for a visit. Seeing Ning Fei busily and single-mindedly working, they didn't bother him too much.

As for Peng Xiaochang, as Mushroom House's designated "coolie," he still had a lot of things to do and simply couldn't find the time to come over.

After finishing the planks, Ning Fei stood up, stretched lazily, and flexed his muscles and bones a bit.

"Little Fox, come here."

Planning to take a break, Ning Fei called out.

Little Fox had been lying nearby. Upon hearing Ning Fei's call, she immediately ran over.

Ning Fei sat on the ground and hugged Little Fox in his arms. As he stroked and scratched her, Little Fox cried out happily.

This could be considered Ning Fei's unique way of relaxing and relieving stress.

Everyone had a different way of relaxing.

Some people loved to smoke, enjoying a puff after finishing a task to feel comfortable and refreshed.

Some people loved petting cats, enjoying trips to cat cafes and similar places.

Some people loved playing video games; especially right after finishing monthly, midterm, or final exams, their minds were solely focused on playing games all day long.

At this moment, Little Fei happened to fly onto the courtyard wall. Seeing it, Ning Fei also called out, "Little Fei, come here."

Little Fei immediately and obediently flew down.

Ning Fei caught it in his hand. Now, Little Fei's yellow fuzz had faded away, and the feathers on its body appeared white. Compared to other roosters, its biggest distinguishing feature was its sharper gaze, making it look much less foolish.

Little Fei was now capable of taking off from the ground up to places like the roof and the courtyard wall, though it was still a long way away from soaring through the skies.

However, compared to its own kind, it was already outstanding enough.

Daoist priests and roosters were considered a standard pairing—though mostly in novels about subduing monsters and exorcising demons, where rooster blood was a spiritual substance that could reveal the true forms of demons, making it a common tool for Daoists.

"Its wings are larger than an ordinary rooster's. It looks promising for flying."

Ning Fei closely inspected Little Fei's condition and muttered to himself.

After petting the fox and the chick for a while, Ning Fei felt he had rested enough, so he stood up and continued working.

Looking at the sky, there was still some time left. Ning Fei said to the netizens in the live stream, "The boards are all done. Next is the second step: splicing the boards."

"When I was prepping the materials just now, I pre-drilled nail holes in all of them. What comes next is nailing the wooden boards together, splicing them into the sides, the bottom, and the bulkheads of the boat."

As Ning Fei explained, he began hammering with a heavy mallet and nails.

He stacked two pairs of bricks on the ground, then placed a large wooden board over them, setting up the boat frame on top to carry out the splicing.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Ning Fei hammered the nails, the crisp sounds echoing out from Qingfeng Temple and drifting into the depths of the mountain.

The drone opportunistically pulled the camera back, zooming out far into the distance.

On the live stream interface, what the netizens saw was a panoramic view of Qingfeng Temple.

Ning Fei was prying wood outside the courtyard wall, Little Fox was lying not far from him, the little falcon would occasionally take flight and then land on top of the wall to watch over Ning Fei, while Little Dog and Little Fei were playing and wrestling in the courtyard.

Occasionally, a clear breeze would blow by, making the tree leaves rustle. A few falling leaves would swirl around Ning Fei in a circle before drifting off into the distance.

Qingfeng Temple remained just as it always was—tranquil and beautiful.