Chapter 446: You Better Call An Ambulance In Advance.

Early in the morning, Li Daoxuan dialed Cai Xinzi’s phone number.

“Hey, Old Cai, I want you to custom-make something for me again.”

Cai Xinzi chuckled: “Got tired of ship models? What do you want play with this time?”

Li Daoxuan: “I want to custom-make that kind of thing… a realistic doll that can move freely. One with a mouth that can open and close, eyes that can move, and limbs that can move freely. The material should be as close as possible to a real person… oh, right! What’s it called? I remember now—’silicone’.”

Silence fell on the other end of the line. Cai Xinzi actually didn’t speak for quite a while.

Li Daoxuan: “Hey? What’s up? Bad signal?”

Cai Xinzi let out a long sigh: “Pal, you should just find a girlfriend. Playing with dolls too much is bad for your health.”

“Pfft!” Li Daoxuan: “What the hell are you thinking about?”

Cai Xinzi: “I’m thinking about your physical and mental health. You’re only thinking about it looking good, being convenient, helping you deal with loneliness anytime, anywhere… but you haven’t considered the side effects. Brother, think carefully!”

Cai Xinzi: “I know, this can also be considered a legitimate toy. We shouldn’t discriminate against people’s needs for such things. It’s much better than going out carousing… Alright, whose face do you want? Some female celebrity? I’ll try my best to make it realistic for you. Please don’t tell me you want the face of Thirty-Two Middle School’s school beauty… that’d be a bit awkward… she’s married with kids now, a mother of two. If you made a fake version of her and used it for… ahem… that’d be immoral. Brother, I can’t help you with that.”

“Stop!”

Li Daoxuan said, torn between tears and laughter: “I want to make it look like my own face.”

Cai Xinzi gasped in astonishment: “What? Playing with yourself? Brother, how did it come to this? Does not having a girlfriend for a long time really lead to such a twisted personality?”

There was simply no reasoning with a guy who had no common sense.

Li Daoxuan: “The doll only needs to be three or four centimeters tall! It’s not for the perverted use you’re imagining.”

Cai Xinzi gasped in astonishment again: “So small?”

Li Daoxuan: “……”

Cai Xinzi: “What’s wrong? Why aren’t you saying anything, brother?”

Li Daoxuan: “Wait at home. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes to beat you half to death. You’d better call an ambulance in advance.”

One day later!

Li Daoxuan received a doll. It was four centimeters tall and made of silicone.

This material was indeed quite similar to human skin. From a distance, it looked entirely real; you had to touch it to feel the slight difference from human flesh.

The advantage of it being four centimeters tall was that Cai Xinzi could perform some very detailed work on it. For example, he incorporated a metal skeleton inside the doll, and the joints of this skeleton could move freely.

This kind of skeleton was difficult for an ordinary person to create, but for Cai Xinzi, who had long worked on models, it was easily done.

Cai Xinzi also made the doll’s face resemble Li Daoxuan’s. However… crafting a skeleton for a four-centimeter figure was relatively simple, but crafting a face was too hard. Cai Xinzi wasn’t skilled in micro-sculpting—the face ended up incredibly abstract, with indistinguishable features… not good-looking at all.

But that wasn’t a problem. Li Daoxuan removed its head and gave it to Gao Yiye, instructing her to have a sculptor re-carve its face into his own.

Besides this four-centimeter doll, Li Daoxuan also got a small chunk of silicone from Cai Xinzi, roughly one centimeter square. He gave this to Gao Yiye too, telling her to have the sculptor create another life-sized statue.

Two statues, one large and one small, started construction simultaneously.

The Spring Festival of Year Four of Chongzhen arrived.

A new year, new festivities!

The current Gaojia Village was scarcely comparable to what it had been during Year Seven of Tianqi. Back then, it only had forty-two villagers, trembling under the threat of bandits. Now, it had nearly ten thousand residents. It could no longer be called a village; it was practically a city.

The actual center of Chengcheng County was no longer the county seat where Liang Shixian resided, but Gaojia Village where Thirty-Two held sway.

But an interesting oddity occurred.

During the Spring Festival, Gaojia Village became much quieter than usual.

The workers from various villages and towns didn’t stay in Gaojia Village for the New Year. Instead, they packed up the money they’d earned that year, bought New Year goods, boarded the small train, and happily returned to their hometowns.

Their hometowns weren’t far—just the surrounding small villages. Thus, all those surrounding villages bustled with activity, festooned with red decorations and lanterns, leaving Gaojia Village strangely quiet in the middle.

Naturally, some didn’t return to their hometowns.

For example, Song Yingxing didn’t go back. Returning to his hometown would require months of travel. In these troubled times of war and chaos, traveling for months back to Jiangxi Province would be perilous. It was much better to stay in Gaojia Village working on his strange inventions.

However, as he was directing the craftsmen staying behind to repair a steam spinning machine inside the artisans’ well, he suddenly felt something was off. Why was Young Master Bai also here in the artisans’ well?

“Young friend Bai, aren’t you going back to Bai Family Fortress for the New Year?”

“No!” Young Master Bai chuckled heartily: “My steam small train is about to start trial runs! At this critical juncture, I don’t want to waste time on social rituals.”

Song Yingxing smiled: “Is that so? Well, I find that train quite intriguing myself.”

As they spoke, their gazes involuntarily drifted through the window. Outside the village, right beside the colorful small train placed by the Deity, now stood a black, clumsy-looking engine.

In terms of appearance, it was leagues behind the Deity’s electric small train, its workmanship extremely rough. Crucially, it held nothing provided directly by Li Daoxuan. Every single component had been forged by the small ironworkers, hammered out by hand.

This was a real steam small train, governed by physics, not divine power!

Tracks had already been laid at its feet. Of course, the test track wasn’t very long—less than half a kilometer.

Song Yingxing: “How much longer until this thing can be tested?”

Young Master Bai: “Heh heh, at most five days! We’re in the final inspection phase right now.” He turned to an ironworker and asked: “Can you finish the cabin door within five days?”

The ironworker replied: “Guaranteed.”

Song Yingxing broke out in a cold sweat: “The door isn’t even finished?”

Young Master Bai said sheepishly: “We focused on the core functions first… didn’t get around to the door… Oh, and the chimney isn’t properly done either. The coal smoke is billowing wildly right now, really smoky. Needs a proper chimney.”

Song Yingxing: “…”

He covered his face with his hand: And here I was looking forward to it. Looks like five days isn’t happening at all.