Closer to Revealing My True Self
Chapter 304 - 228 Model Making_1

Chapter 304: Chapter 228 Model Making_1

After being home for two days, Feng Yi enjoyed a relaxed and well-fed feeling.

He left home at noon, detoured to the main branch of the Ancestral Factory, and then took the expressway back to Li City where his assignment was based; it was already evening.

Feng Yi and Jia first went to have dinner before returning to the monitoring station.

The monitoring station was some distance from the city center, and in the past, the surroundings would be very quiet at this time of the day, but now, there were occasional vehicle lights and voices scattered around.

Fishing boats had just arrived at the shore, and one could hear the difficult exchange between local and foreign accents.

When Feng Yi entered the monitoring station, he happened to meet Zuo Di, who had just returned from dinner, holding a box in his hand with the aroma of food wafting from it.

"On duty tonight?" Feng Yi asked.

"Yeah. I heard you took a couple days off, just got back? This is some pastry I bought, want some?" Zuo Di lifted the box he was carrying.

"No thanks, I just ate."

There was a rest room on the first floor of the dormitory building, along with other activity rooms, where staff on duty would sometimes rest.

Feng Yi walked towards the dormitory building with Zuo Di.

Zuo Di’s gaze fell on the watch on Feng Yi’s wrist, "Is that the super expensive watch people were talking about online?"

Feng Yi paused, remembering that the watch had been discussed by netizens, "Right."

The photo with the sea snake that had been uploaded online had been seen by many.

And, a highly noticed photo, is never without people who scrutinize its details.

The half-exposed watch on Feng Yi’s wrist in that photo was enough for people to dig up information about it.

It was a birthday gift from Feng Chi, but it wasn’t a good time to reveal much about it now. Feng Yi didn’t want to continue the topic, and glanced at a room on the first floor of the dormitory building, "Is someone drinking over there?"

The room Feng Yi mentioned was normally used for temporary meetings and the like; it was slightly spacious and had tables and chairs. He could smell alcohol from there.

Zuo Di glanced over, "Oh. Some appraisal experts came to discuss issues there. They got so caught up in their conversation that they missed dinner, so someone ordered some dishes from a nearby restaurant, and then someone brought wine from the dormitory, and they just got carried away. That place doesn’t have a strict rule against drinking."

Feng Yi, curious about the indistinct voices coming from inside, said, "I thought that kind of academic debate would involve drinking tea."

"Then you don’t know," Zuo Di gave him a meaningful look, "if the debate goes sour, fists fly, and afterwards, they blame it on the booze."

Feng Yi: "..."

Okay then.

Back in his dorm, Feng Yi opened the chat app to let his housekeeper know he was safe and to reply to Feng Chi’s message.

During his trip back to Yang City, Feng Yi had dinner with Feng Chi at their secret base and also talked about building his personal museum, which was related to how to deal with Feng Chi’s "ancient giant snake."

Yi was in charge of choosing the location for the museum. Since the Rong City house renovation already had a clear plan and didn’t require both of them to oversee in person, leaving Ding to handle it was sufficient, and Yi could focus on the museum affairs.

In addition to the museum location, Feng Yi was also looking for reliable model makers.

He planned to display models of all the snakes he had caught in the museum. Since he couldn’t use live specimens to make models, there were higher requirements for craftsmanship and realism, as they were meant for collection.

The candidate was recommended by Feng Chi, having previously made anime character figurines for him.

Feng Chi: "His name is Guan Lin. He used to work in a figurine studio. Later, he had his own ideas, decided to work independently, but he didn’t have IP rights. He mostly made animal models, starting with small educational figurines, later expanding to a wide range of commissions, including personalized models that could be made to look exactly like real people. Now he focuses on detailed, collectible-grade pieces. His prices aren’t cheap, but there are also many who are willing to pay. He seems to have just finished a job and has some spare time to make videos and post online. If you’re not in a rush, you can let him give it a try."

The models in Feng Chi’s collection, which he had sent photos of to Feng Yi, were really well-crafted.

"Will the production cycle be very long?" Feng Yi asked.

"That depends on your requirements. The higher the demand, the longer the production cycle, of course. It probably won’t take too long though; his skills are reliable, and he has taken on two apprentices. However, if you require a large number of models, then it will certainly take longer. To be honest, his craftsmanship is truly remarkable, and he has high standards for his work. If you’re willing to pay more, he can work more efficiently.

"Isn’t there 3D printing technology and the like? According to Guan Lin’s standards for models, this technology only replaces some steps in the model-making process but, in the future, who knows? Guan Lin wants to earn more money while 3D printing technology hasn’t swept in. Otherwise, once technology advances, costs decrease, imperfections become less, and efficiency improves, machines will replace more manual labor, and he’ll be out of a job."

When technology leaps over a milestone, it doesn’t give people extra time to prepare.

You can tell the model maker is keenly aware of the crisis.

After getting his contact information, Feng Yi added Guan Lin as a friend and explained his requirements.

1:1 scale models.

Realism-oriented.

Snakes.

Of course, Guan Lin was eager to take on the job. It was a big commission, and the client was Feng Yi, with the added bonus of celebrity impact. He knew without thinking too hard that this would bring him a lot of benefits!

Guan Lin: "Which snake models do you want to make?"

Feng Yi had already listed them.

For instance, the two-meter white-tailed green bamboo viper (Trimeresurus albolabris) from Yue Mountain, the blind snake, five-paced viper, green keelback, bamboo pit viper, and king cobra from the Nan Chong mountain range that were caught during scientific expeditions, the Zhoushan cobra, the king cobra that chases people, and the silver ring snake that he had once grabbed by its tail, among others.

And let’s not forget the hissing viper and the giant anaconda caught in the state of Florida, among other specimens from abroad.

Also, the sea snake caught recently that is suspected of being a new species, as well as any others he had encountered.

He also sent some photos to Guan Lin.

Videos with clearer and multiple angles of each snake type would only be provided after the contract was signed. Before that, Feng Yi only sent pictures from online news.

Guan Lin looked at the list of snakes provided by Feng Yi while searching for information about each species online.

It was only after he looked them up that Guan Lin exclaimed, "Wow!"

From a few centimeters to several meters, poisonous and non-poisonous, worm-like and caterpillar-like—the range was vast!

Even though Guan Lin’s own studio was not just a one-man operation and he had apprentices and other staff, facing the list Feng Yi had compiled still felt daunting.

These models couldn’t be completed in a short period; turning them into exquisite, lifelike collectible models would take a considerable amount of time. Accepting Feng Yi’s order meant he could hardly take on anyone else’s.

However, he had to take this order.

Aside from bringing in money, a large order could also boost his reputation, and of course, Guan Lin wouldn’t miss this opportunity!

After some thought, Guan Lin decided to visit in person to discuss the deal.

Feng Yi also asked Yi to make time to come over, as Yi was a professional when it came to discussing collaboration and drafting contracts.

Guan Lin arrived at the Li City observation station two days later because he had brought several models made from different materials for preparation and to explain their respective advantages and disadvantages to Feng Yi in person.

After detailed discussions,

Feng Yi flipped through the photos on his phone: "First make me a... silver ring snake. If I’m satisfied, we’ll continue with the rest."

"Sure! I’ll make it and show you when it’s done," Guan Lin readily agreed.

To land Feng Yi’s big order, it all came down to actual skills. Talking wouldn’t prove anything without a physical demonstration of his work.

Previously unfamiliar with snakes, Guan Lin had specifically taken his apprentices to observe silver ring snakes at a reptile house for materials dedicated to this order from Feng Yi.

When Feng Chi called to check the progress, he even suggested laughingly,

"Apart from the real ones, make some that don’t exist too. I don’t mean archaeological ones; I mean fantasy ones! Like, make a model out of that Photoshopped greeting card image I sent you. In your own collection, put some personalized items, right? Make it really authentic, to scale. When it’s placed in your museum as your pièce de résistance, with the lighting focused on it, it’ll scare away evil spirits!"

Feng Yi joked back, "Alright, but I need to find someone to edit the picture; the one you Photoshopped is too rough!"

The tail wasn’t long enough, the color was off, the scales weren’t the right shape or shiny enough!

And there were no details in the eyes, teeth, and other parts!

If Feng Yi was going to make a life-size, true-to-form model, it had to be perfect.

If it’s going to be realistic, it needs to be thorough!

Once the model was completed, it would be placed front and center in the museum.

Who would believe that’s really how he looked?

Nobody!

Feng Yi had also talked about the museum with his butler, even mentioning his life-size model.

Butler: "I’ll do it."

Feng Yi: "What?"

Butler: "Your life-size model, I’ll make it!"

After thinking it over, Feng Yi agreed.

When he was away on missions, the butler was bored at home, and having something to work on would make his days feel fulfilling.

The butler had plenty of time to prepare, from scratch if necessary, and Feng Yi wasn’t pressuring him to finish by any particular time.

After all, there was no rush.

Even if it didn’t turn out well, Feng Yi wouldn’t mind; as long as the old man was happy, that’s all that mattered.