Chapter 14: Wang Qiang's Surprise

"I wonder how that kid has been doing these past few days?" Walking down the hallway, Wang Qiang couldn't help but think of Liu Dong, whom she hadn't seen for nearly ten days. Especially when compared to the greed, cunning, and lust she had just seen in Xie Zhonglin, Liu Dong's simplicity, honesty, and shyness seemed even more vivid and lifelike in her mind.

Thinking about this, a strong desire to see her adorable little roommate suddenly arose in Wang Qiang's heart, making her steps involuntarily quicken.

Looking at the familiar door, Wang Qiang's face lit up with a joyful smile. She quickly took out the key from her small bag and skillfully inserted it into the lock. With a soft 'click,' she pulled her suitcase and was about to push the door open.

"Hmm, what is that smell?" Before Wang Qiang could take a few steps inside, a foul odor of rotten vegetables and fruits completely overwhelmed her.

At that moment, she didn't care about her appearance and quickly dropped her suitcase, running a few steps into the hallway. After taking several deep breaths of fresh air, the feeling of nausea in her stomach gradually subsided, and she felt a bit better physically.

However, the lingering stench still made her feel like vomiting.

"What has that stinky Liu Dong been up to while I was away? How could he turn the house into a pigsty, making it so smelly!" Wang Qiang complained to herself.

"Better not let me find out it was him, or I'll make him pay!"

With various thoughts of punishing Liu Dong swirling in her mind, she left the door open to ventilate for half an hour. When the originally nauseating smell had become very faint, Wang Qiang finally had the idea of stepping back into the house. However, she had already prepared herself. A small handkerchief drenched in perfume was tightly clutched in her hand, covering her mouth and nose.

First, she cautiously stood at the door, taking a few breaths of the air inside. Feeling that there was no more foul smell, she finally breathed a sigh of relief, pulled her suitcase into the house, and quickly went to the living room, kitchen, bathroom, and her bedroom, opening all the windows.

Then, she came to Liu Dong's room and knocked a few times. Hearing no response, a hint of hesitation appeared on Wang Qiang's face. Although they had been living under the same roof for nearly half a year, this bedroom had become Liu Dong's private space since she rented it to him. Without his permission, it wouldn't be right to barge in, even if there was a reason.

However, she had already determined that the source of the foul smell was likely in Liu Dong's room. If she didn't find and remove it immediately, she didn't know how she could continue living in this room.

"Knock, knock! Liu Dong, are you in there?" After knocking a few times, Wang Qiang called out loudly. Although she hadn't interacted much with Liu Dong before, she knew that at this time, he was probably out selling his wooden carvings and not at home.

After a while, as she had expected, there was no response. Wang Qiang slowly pushed open Liu Dong's door. When she saw the inside, even though she had mentally prepared herself, she couldn't help but frown tightly.

Except for the bed, bookshelf, desk, and two bedside tables, which were relatively clean, the rest of the roughly eight-square-meter floor tiles were covered with leftover instant noodle bags, empty bread boxes, various fruit pits, crumpled paper, and a pile of wood shavings. Of course, there was also Liu Dong, who was lying on the bed, snoring loudly, with his upper body bare and only wearing a pair of boxers, revealing his well-built physique from regular exercise.

At this moment, she finally understood why the house was so smelly. With so much leftover garbage not cleared out and the high temperatures of July, it would be strange if these things didn't rot and stink.

However, instead of bursting into anger and immediately waking Liu Dong to clean the room, Wang Qiang didn't do so. Unconsciously, she even let go of the fragrant handkerchief covering her mouth and nose.

"His wooden carvings are really this good!" Looking at the wooden carving on the desk, which was black with a deep, restrained yellow luster, and whose figures and lines were so lifelike, Wang Qiang was somewhat incredulous.

Wang Qiang could appreciate the quality of the wooden carving on the desk mainly because of her work. The company she worked for was a very famous jewelry company in Dongshan Province. As the sales manager, she often came into contact with the company's jade carvings and appraisers, so although she didn't know much about carving, her eye for quality was quite good.

Although wooden carvings and jade carvings were different, the criteria for appreciation were almost the same.

Looking at the wooden carving on Liu Dong's desk, although she knew that Liu Dong made a living from hand-carving, Wang Qiang never imagined that a 20-year-old like him could create such perfect wooden carvings. In her mind, such skill should belong to those experienced woodcarvers in their forties or fifties.

"Who would have thought that this usually quiet guy is so talented!"

Looking at such a fine wooden carving, although Wang Qiang wanted to walk closer and examine it carefully, the foul smell from the garbage on the floor made the usually clean-loving Wang Qiang hesitate.

However, the environment before her suddenly reminded her of the "Ode to the Lotus" by Zhou Dunyi, which she had learned in junior high school: "Rising from the mud but not stained, washed in clear water but not vulgar." At this moment, this exquisite wooden carving, like the lotus in the ode, overshadowed the dirty and messy environment in Liu Dong's room.

"Ah, Sister Wang, you're back?" Liu Dong, who had been sleeping lightly, opened his eyes and immediately saw Wang Qiang standing by the door, wearing a black collared work uniform, with a determined look on her face, about to step inside.

"Liu Dong, did you really carve this Guan Gong wooden carving?" Wang Qiang, ignoring the garbage on the floor, pointed to the polished wooden carving on the desk.

Following her slender, fair finger, Liu Dong saw the camphor wood that had been carved into the image of Guan Gong.

Seeing the result of his hard work over the past ten days, Liu Dong couldn't help but feel satisfied. The carving level of this piece was definitely beyond his usual skill. The entire block of wood was carved using the round carving technique, making the image of Guan Gong very full. Especially the long beard on Guan Gong's chin was meticulously detailed, and the armor patterns and clothing lines on his body were particularly smooth. The Green Dragon Crescent Blade in his right hand was held behind his back, and his right foot was forward, giving the entire image of Guan Gong a dynamic beauty that was captivating.

The entire Guan Gong statue, without the base, was about one foot and three inches tall. The remaining wood, which formed the base, was carved into rocks and plants using the half-round carving technique. On the base, Liu Dong used micro-carving, openwork, and through-carving techniques to depict twelve scenes from Guan Gong's life, including the Peach Garden Oath, the Three Heroes Fighting Lu Bu, the Battle of Yan Liang, the Five Passes and Six Generals, and the Defense of Jingzhou.

The inspiration for this carving came from the micro-carvings on the octagonal stupa by Uncle Wang. However, this carving also made the entire Guan Gong statue even more full and lifelike!