Shi An suggested, "Why don't we go out and find a carpenter to make it?"
"Good idea." Su Yu turned to look at Su Shikuan and instructed, "Kuan'er, go out right now and ask around to see if any local carpenter is skilled at making this kind of thing, and find out about how much it might cost."
Hearing this, Su Shikuan bolted out the door immediately. However, not long after, he hurried back in, a look of confusion and helplessness on his face. As it turned out, he had no idea how to express what he needed to others. So, blinking his eyes at Shi An, he asked, "Sister, I know I'm supposed to find a carpenter, but... what on earth does this tofu mold actually look like?"
Shi An tried hard to recall the appearance of the device in her memory, attempting to describe it in detail with words. Yet, after she went to great trouble explaining it, not only was Su Shikuan completely baffled and clueless, but everyone else present also wore blank expressions. Especially when she mentioned that the tofu mold could be disassembled and assembled again, it left them all completely lost in the clouds.
Looking at Su Shikuan's bewildered expression, Shi An couldn't help feeling a bit odd. She furrowed her brows and asked once more, "Could it be that you still don't understand?" A hint of puzzlement laced her voice.
Su Shikuan scratched his head, broke into an honest, goofy smile, and replied truthfully, "Well... I'm still a bit confused."
"Ah? How is that possible?" Shi An widened her eyes, staring at Su Shikuan in disbelief. "Second Older Brother, everyone else already understood. How could you not?"
At that moment, Su Shirong and Su Daya chimed in from the side, "That's right, we don't really get it either."
Su Yu and Deng Xian exchanged glances, both chiming in, "We're completely clueless too."
Seeing this, Shi An let out a helpless sigh. Su Yu took out paper and brush, and said to Shi An, "Xiaoya, you describe it and I'll draw it."
"Oh, okay."
Father and daughter continuously drew and revised. Time flew by, and the span of about a stick of incense had already passed. Fortunately, Su Yu possessed a high level of drawing skill, and after enduring much hardship, he finally managed to produce a drawing that closely resembled Shi An's description—about seventy or eighty percent similar.
Not only that, but Shi An even asked him to draw each individual board separately, complete with detailed assembly diagrams. She did this for no other reason than that she considered Su Yu to be the person with the quickest grasp of new things among all those she had met; yet even he had points he didn't understand, so others would surely find it even harder to comprehend.
At last, Su Shikuan was able to step out of the house holding the blueprint to search for a carpenter. As luck would have it, just two doors down from their home lived a carpenter. In the courtyard was a young carpenter named Chen Dabao, around seventeen or eighteen years of age.
However, this fellow usually neglected his personal grooming and appearance, causing Su Shikuan to blurt out "Uncle" the moment he first laid eyes on him, which nearly infuriated the young man to the point of sending smoke out of his seven orifices.
Chen Dabao glared at him impatiently and snapped, "What do you want?"
"Uncle, are you a master carpenter?"
"Who's your uncle? Are you blind, or can't you see how young your daddy here is?" Chen Dabao really blew his top now, glaring viciously at the other and putting on a posture as if he were about to eat someone alive.
Just then, a middle-aged man walked out of the house to stop Chen Dabao: "Dabao, what kind of nonsense are you pulling? If there's business, speak properly. What are you losing your temper for?" With that, he turned to Su Shikuan and asked, "Little kid, whose child are you?"
"Hello, Uncle! I'm from the Su Family; we moved in next door just a couple of days ago." Su Shikuan answered politely.
Hearing Su Shikuan call him "Uncle," the middle-aged man was tickled pink. "Haha, so you're Scholar Su's kid! What's your name?"
"My name is Su Shikuan."
"Oh, oh! Then I'll call you Kuan'er from now on!" the middle-aged man said with a smile. "You can call me Uncle Chen, and this is my son Chen Dabao—you can call him Big Brother Dabao."
Su Shikuan nodded obediently, then called out sweetly, "Got it, Uncle Chen, Big Brother Dabao."
"Dad..." Chen Dabao watched the scene before him, filled with helplessness. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but found himself completely unable to insert a word into the conversation between his father and Su Shikuan.
Without a second word, Uncle Chen reached out and took the blueprint directly from Su Shikuan's hands, handing it straight to Chen Dabao with a firm tone: "Make this for Kuan'er."
Chen Dabao took the blueprint with a face full of doubt and looked it over carefully. Instantly, he was so angry smoke practically shot from his seven orifices. What kind of genius had come up with such a convoluted and tedious design! However, since Uncle Chen was standing right beside him, he couldn't throw a tantrum, so he had no choice but to swallow his grievance in silence and accept the task.
At that moment, Uncle Chen seemed to see right through his son's thoughts and gently reminded him, "If you really want to take on work independently in the future, just make this thing first. As long as you finish it to my satisfaction, I'll agree to let you fly solo."
Hearing this, Chen Dabao's previously gloomy expression instantly brightened, a gleam of excitement flashing in his eyes as he nodded repeatedly and replied, "Well, that's more like it!"
Su Shikuan, standing off to the side, cautiously chimed in, "Uncle Chen, may I ask how much it will roughly cost to make a tofu box like this?"
Uncle Chen picked up the blueprint, scrutinized it once more, and after a moment of contemplation, replied, "Well, this so-called tofu box is indeed novel and unique in design, and it uses quite a bit of wood to boot. In my opinion, why don't you go back and ask the elders at home if thirty wen works for them?" With that, his sharp gaze landed on Su Shikuan once again.
"Thank you, Uncle Chen. I'll go back and talk to my parents, and I'll be right back."
"Go on!"
Watching Su Shikuan's departing figure, Chen Dabao wore a smile as he turned to his father and said, "Old man, why did you charge such a low price today?"
Father Chen furrowed his brows slightly and replied, "Cheap? These thirty wen are already not a small amount."
Chen Dabao curled his lip, unconvinced, and retorted, "Who are you trying to kid? You're clearly just giving a discount because his dad is a scholar..."
Father Chen glared at him and scolded sternly, "Enough of your wild talk! I've always treated all customers equally in my business; how could I be partial just because of someone's status? Besides, that scholar will likely be a regular customer of ours from now on, so giving him a little discount is only right."
Knowing his father's temper all too well, Chen Dabao dropped the subject, though he still muttered under his breath inwardly. However, he had always taken great care when it came to carpentry work, so he hurried to nod in agreement and said, "Understood! I'll go get the materials ready right now and make sure the thing turns out proper and solid!" With that, he turned around and set to work.