MTL: Transmigrated as the Male Lead's Young Stepmother [60s]

Chapter 81-90

"Free is fine, but there's a condition: you need to give me these design drawings," Xie Laosan said in a half-formed Mandarin, clearly someone with a bit of knowledge.

Lu Nong was surprised. Every era has its own aesthetic. The furniture design drawings she brought were of a modern minimalist style made of natural wood, including a sofa and a cloud ladder coffee table for the living room; a side storage cabinet, rectangular dining table, and chairs for the dining area; and a bed with a desk and wardrobe for Pei Zheng and Gu Huai, along with various other small pieces.

Functionally and design-wise, these natural wood furniture pieces were vastly different from the styles favored by rural families in the 1960s.

In this era, people had rigid and conservative views, appreciating traditional, grand, and luxurious furniture. Even if more creatively designed furniture were placed before them, they would still choose the old-fashioned items, showing little acceptance for new things and often opposing them.

Lu Nong's designed furniture was distinct from existing styles, being overly simplistic yet highly designed.

She had thought the carpenter would question her; she had mentally prepared for that. To her surprise, he directly expressed his highest acknowledgment—he wanted it.

This gave Lu Nong a great fondness for Xie Laosan, who was an open-minded and perceptive carpenter.

"Master Xie, do you want to recreate the furniture from the drawings and sell them?" Lu Nong asked curiously, not worried that no one would want to buy them?

However, Xie Laosan shook his head. "These furniture designs are too unique; even if I made them, most of them wouldn't sell. I just enjoy collecting and studying them."

Lu Nong nodded; that was the normal answer. The fact that they wouldn't sell was very realistic.

But speaking of which, Master Xie was indeed impressive with a sharp eye. Now Lu Nong believed Director Leng's words; there are masters among the common people. She was filled with anticipation for Master Xie's craftsmanship.

Seeing Lu Nong nodding without saying whether she agreed or not, Xie Laosan thought she was unwilling to give him the drawings. He gritted his teeth and said, "I'll make the furniture for you for free, and I'll also give you an additional twenty yuan."

Director Leng: "......" Is Xie Laosan out of his mind!?

Lu Nong: "......" That really isn't necessary.

Director Leng was astonished. Bringing Lu Nong to make furniture, not only did she spend no money, but this old miser, Xie Laosan, was even offering to pay Lu Nong an extra twenty yuan.

Little Lu was impressed; she really wanted to see what kind of designs Lu Nong had drawn for Xie Laosan that made him willing to offer money for them.

Of course, Lu Nong couldn't take that money. In her view, having someone with vision that transcended the times was something to be happy about. Moreover, Xie Laosan knew full well that the furniture designs on the drawings wouldn't sell for a profit, yet he insisted on wanting to buy them, which could only come from a place of passion.

To others, Xie Laosan was just a carpenter, but to Lu Nong, he had now become a craftsman, someone worthy of respect.

"Master Xie, you can have the drawings. You don't need to give me extra money. Earlier, you said you'd make the furniture for me for free, so how about this: I'll only pay for the wood materials, and we can exchange the labor costs for the drawings. What do you think?" Lu Nong said.

"Really?" Xie Laosan asked in surprise. For someone who was very stingy, spending money felt like cutting off flesh. To be able to avoid spending money after initially thinking he would have to was like a huge windfall dropping from the sky.