Tokyo: The story begins with a confession.

Page 121

Seeing that Uesugi Kenichi was about to make a move, the live stream chat immediately became very lively with discussion.

"A lottery? Oh no, someone as unlucky as me has no chance of winning."

"May Amaterasu Omikami bless me so that I can win the lottery later. I'm going to go wash my hands now."

"To be honest, I've never seen a wood carving done before. I'm really looking forward to it."

Just as the discussion in the live stream was in full swing, Uesugi Kenichi also started to take action.

The first step is to carve a rough shape, which simply means to outline the general shape of the object to be carved. Although a hairpin is a small object, such a small object actually requires a very high level of basic skills.

Achieving a sense of depth, dynamism, harmonious proportions, and a strong overall feel within a small space is no easy feat.

Starting with the surface of the wood, he began to carve deeper and deeper with his carving knife, without the slightest hesitation. Layers of wood shavings fell from his fingertips, and with a gentle movement of his hand, all the wood shavings naturally separated and fell to the ground.

As his carving skills continue to improve, it wouldn't be a problem to call him a carving master. Although his cuts may seem ordinary, his speed is extremely fast, giving a sense of great skill without artifice.

Soon, the audience in the live broadcast room saw the beginnings of a hairpin.

"Holy crap, a tech streamer, I'm following him!"

"You're really skilled. Even I could tell it was the beginnings of a hairpin. Impressive."

"The streamer's skills are superb. He managed to produce the rough blank in such a short time. I thought it would take a long time."

"The shrine maiden of Kanagawa has gifted 100 rockets! Everyone hurry and grab the treasure chests!"

"The Shrine Maiden of Kanagawa: Wow, thank you so much! Is this really going to be given to me?"

"Another rich woman has appeared. Everyone, quickly surround her and don't let her get away!"

"Tsk tsk tsk, what an eye-opener today, rich women are popping up one after another."

After glancing at the live stream chat, Uesugi Kenichi smiled and said, "That's right, this is for you. I hope the old man will like it."

He then lowered his head and continued carving. After the rough blank was finished, the next step was to carve the fine blank, which was a more delicate task. If his hand trembled even slightly, the final product might be very different from what he had imagined.

His knife skills were very smooth; the carving knife in his hand seemed to dance on the wood like a butterfly, creating a beautiful sight.

Even a layman who knows nothing about carving can see how profound his carving skills are.

The details of the hairpin gradually revealed their specific patterns, which was truly amazing.

The numerous viewers in the live stream watched quietly, gazing at the pair of large, well-defined hands. The carving knife seemed to possess a peculiar rhythm, captivating them completely, their minds and bodies immersed in the scene.

"It feels like art; every cut is full of beauty."

"He truly is a master! The title of genius sculptor is well-deserved. No, that's an understatement. This is just the tip of the iceberg. This is far from the full extent of Uesugi-kun's abilities. I really hope he can sculpt a large item."

"Oh my god, my husband is so outstanding, I feel like I'm not good enough for him. Can't he be less outstanding? It puts a lot of pressure on me."

"Upstairs, be more confident and let go of your feelings, okay?"

· ·Requesting flowers· ········

Soon, Uesugi Kenichi finished polishing the entire hairpin blank. He gently brushed away the wood shavings with a small brush and then began to prepare for the most crucial step: shaping!

Tuk-tuk-tuk~

A rhythmic sound rang out softly, and Uesugi Kenichi stared intently at the end of the hairpin, his attention at its peak.

"I feel so nervous. I know he won't, but I'm worried he'll cut off the phoenix's head with one stroke."

"Don't jinx me upstairs."

"This hairpin is one of the few that has been completed so far. Look at the overall pattern of this hairpin, especially those wings. Wow, it's simply a work of art. I never thought I could still see a master craftsman with this kind of skill. It's truly eye-opening," an audience member who knows a lot about wood carving exclaimed in amazement.

....... . ...

"With the craftsmanship of this wood carving, it could easily fetch millions. If it were made of rosewood, I'd swallow this hairpin if it didn't sell for an astronomical price!"

"I'll buy this hairpin! How much, streamer, name your price!"

"The Miko of Kanagawa:"? ? ? "

The shrine maiden of Kanagawa said, "No one is allowed to take this from me, or don't blame me for turning against you! And do you think I can't afford it?"

"The shrine maiden from Kanna has gifted 100 super rockets! Everyone hurry and grab the treasure chests!"

Uesugi Kenichi had no energy to pay attention to the noise in the live stream. Finally, when his carving knife landed on the phoenix eye, he stopped, thought for a while, and carefully dug out some wood shavings in the eye socket. He was very careful with his knife, and slowly a small round bead appeared in the eye socket.

That wasn't all. He then tried several different carving knives, and finally stopped carving. He gently blew on the phoenix eye to disperse the wood chips, and surprisingly, the phoenix eye started to rotate as well.

He breathed a sigh of relief, glanced at the phoenix hairpin in his hand, and a smile appeared on his face.

He placed the phoenix hairpin in front of the camera. Under the bright light, the feathers on the tail of the phoenix hairpin in his hand were clearly layered and full of texture. The wings were raised high and flowed gracefully. The phoenix head looked at the sky as if it was about to take flight!

Before anyone could even gasp in amazement, birdsong suddenly filled the sky, and several birds began to fly around the wooden hairpin, seemingly in worship.

Chapter 230: Shock in the Livestream!

"My God, am I seeing things?! Is this for real?!"

"These birds don't actually think this hairpin is a phoenix, do they? That's too outrageous."

"This bird seems very intelligent."

"Did you notice that the phoenix's eyes seem to be moving slightly as well?"

"Holy crap, I didn't even notice until you pointed it out. This skill level is just too amazing."

"I'll buy this hairpin from the streamer for ten million, and I can add more if that's not enough!"

"I'll offer fifteen million!"

After watching the comments for a while, Uesugi Kenji laughed and said, "Alright, everyone, stop worrying about it. I've already promised to give this wooden hairpin to this friend called the Kanagawa Shrine Maiden."

"Add me later and give me your address. I'll mail it to you after today's live stream."

In the massive Shichi-ichi-san shrine in Kanagawa, Hoshiga Shirayuki, the current shrine maiden of Hoshiga Shrine, smiled sweetly when she saw that Uesugi Kenichi hadn't sold the wooden hairpin for a high price.

As a contemporary shrine maiden of a shrine with a thriving incense offering, Hoshiga Shirayuki is a veritable rich woman. Although she doesn't care about paying for the hairpin, she still feels a little smug when she sees that Uesugi Kenichi is so trustworthy and unmoved by money.

"He's such an upright person, and so handsome too." Hoshiga Shirayuki blushed as she glanced at Uesugi Kenichi, a strange feeling she had never experienced before welling up inside her.

"Grandma will definitely like this hairpin, right? Speaking of which, Uesugi-kun is studying in Tokyo?" Hoshiga Shirayuki shook her oversized red and white shrine maiden robes, her face flushed with a sickly red.

Kenichi Uesugi showed the phoenix hairpin to the camera, polishing it and wrapping it in a silk scarf before selecting a piece of wood about 40 centimeters long, wide, and high.

He smiled at the camera and dutifully began his work.

"Let's not discuss that hairpin anymore. If you didn't see it, don't worry, I'll show it to you later. All the carved items will be given away through a lottery after the live stream ends."

"Let's all share our thoughts. Is there anything you'd like to see? Of course, large items won't do, as they take too much time. Your own photos won't do either. Ideally, it should be something that's relatively common."

The viewers in the live stream immediately got excited. Everyone had seen what level that hairpin was at. If they were lucky enough to actually draw it, they could easily resell it for millions of dollars, which is almost equivalent to many people's annual salary.

The comments scrolled by incredibly fast, a dense, white mass that was impossible to read.

"I can't see it at all. Never mind, I'll carve a decorative piece first." After a while, aside from a few troublemakers, Uesugi Kenshin had some good suggestions.

He showed the piece of wood in his hand, saying, "I plan to carve a small house out of this piece of wood and demonstrate the openwork carving technique to everyone."

"What is openwork carving? Are there so many intricacies to carving?"

"If you don't understand, shut up. Carving is a very ancient craft. In addition to wood carving, there are stone carving, jade carving, ivory carving and many other categories. Openwork carving is one of the carving techniques. It is very suitable for carving detailed items such as buildings. It requires a very high level of skill. The host just used the round carving technique."

"I've learned something new."

After seeing the comments, Uesugi Kenichi was surprised and said, "This viewer seems to know a lot about carving. He is absolutely right. The openwork carving technique is very meticulous and pays great attention to detail. It is often used in architectural carving. The carved objects are arranged in a staggered manner, with one layer after another, creating a strong sense of layering."

"Of course, it can also be used to carve figures."

After explaining the basics to everyone, he prepared to start carving. This time, he planned to carve a house with flying eaves in the style of the Celestial Empire.

He first took out a plane and gently peeled away a layer of the wood's surface, revealing a unique fragrance of yellow pear wood that was utterly intoxicating.

Wood shavings, as thin as cicada wings, gradually fell off and piled up on the ground, like a layer of amber.

As he began to work, the discussion in the live stream gradually subsided, and everyone's attention was focused on the piece of wood that was constantly changing shape.

Kenichi Uesugi took out his carving knife and slowly began to carve, stroke by stroke. The effort required to carve a house was far greater than that required to carve a figurine or puppet.

Attention must be paid to the overall structure of the building and the selection of support points. In Kenichi Uesugi's hands, the wood seemed to have become a lump of clay, constantly changing according to his whims.

His entire focus was on the carving, and he was oblivious to any changes in his surroundings.

As if entering a mysterious state, he hollowed out the middle of the wood, leaving four coiled dragon pillars. The carving knife fell layer after layer on the wood, which is the natural advantage of openwork carving in architecture.

Next are the eaves, the roof...

Most master carvers would consider it remarkable if they could carve four layers using openwork techniques, but Uesugi Kenichi carved a full five layers!

Nearly an hour later, Uesugi Kenichi finally put down his carving knife, which he could barely hold steady.

He lifted a house, about 30 centimeters long and 40 centimeters high, from the table and placed it in front of the camera.

In an instant, all the viewers in front of the live broadcast room held their breath, quietly watching the exquisitely beautiful room that exuded an indescribable aesthetic.

It felt as if I had truly arrived in the Jiangnan water towns of China, stepped into the long river of history, and felt the atmosphere of people living thousands of years ago.

The camera zooms in, revealing all the buildings of the house. Every detail is perfect, and even a small area the size of a fingernail has incredibly beautiful patterns.

After a long silence, the viewers in the live stream all gasped in astonishment. Even if the 1.8 scale model were a real house, it wouldn't be as exquisite as this piece. Every line on it was filled with an indescribable beauty, making one want to reach out and caress it.

"666666"

"**"

"..."

"I really don't know how to express my amazement. It's so beautiful, not just in terms of the beauty of the carving, but also in the beauty of the craftsmanship. With just a few simple tools and a piece of wood, the final result is such a wonderful picture."

"Mr. Uesugi, your carving skills are so good that you probably can't find anyone in all of Japan who can compare to you. You should be called a master!"

"Just a quick question, is this piece really not for sale? I love it so much, I'm willing to offer 5 million, please part with it!"

Chapter 231 Lottery!

"Hello, Professor Uesugi. I am the curator of the Tokyo Museum of Art. I would like to bring this piece of your work into the museum so that more people can see it, and I also hope that this piece can be protected."

"My dad said if I can't bring this piece home, he'll break my legs! Master Uesugi, help me!"

Countless comments kept scrolling by, and while many people wanted to buy the artwork, many viewers were also protesting.

They all just heard Uesugi Kenichi say that everything carved today would be used for a live giveaway. If they bought it all, what would be the point of the giveaway?

Although the odds of winning are extremely slim for so many people, it's still better than having no hope at all.