Daily synopsis: My superpowers are updated every season.

Chapter 1467: The True Story of the Mortal Shen Lei and the Fairy's Marriage!
From that day on, Shen Lei changed from secretly observing Master Zhou's restoration work and figuring it out on his own to a teaching model where he would ask questions and Master Zhou would answer them.

Master craftsman Zhou had no intention of keeping anything to himself.

He would answer any question Shen Lei asked.

After all, it's not outside.

In this kind of workplace, as long as you don't work yourself to death and maintain a normal mindset, you won't experience work anxiety.

There's no such thing as a disciple starving his master.

At least not in this matter.

Master Zhou, who had spent most of his life repairing old and worn-out archives, had long given up any hope of advancement; this was how his life would be.

As long as you can keep a stable mindset, you can live a very comfortable life.

He desperately wants someone to learn from him.

Not only do skills need to be passed down, but when the workload suddenly increases, having an apprentice to help is definitely better than working overtime alone.

Now that I'm getting older, I'm always on edge during my annual company physical exams. The results aren't good, and I never know when I might get sick and have to be hospitalized.

If he gets sick or has an emergency at home, he will fall behind at work. He can't even handle family matters or be sick without being urged by his superiors to come back to work.

If someone could help share the workload, in an environment where there's no "teaching a disciple and starving the master" situation, it would be incredibly convenient.

He had noticed before that his young colleague Shen Lei liked to watch this and seemed interested in it, but he only allowed Shen Lei to observe and learn without ever offering any advice.

Why?

Because it's difficult to bring up this kind of thing.

Shen Lei, a graduate of a prestigious 985 university, is considered a young colleague with the potential to advance. Although he seems laid-back and unambitious now, he might suddenly decide to pursue his goals one day.

Even if you don't want to, your family, especially your wife, might, and they'll pressure you to be more ambitious.

If, when that time comes, Shen Lei happily follows suit and embarks on this path because he brought it up, completely severing ties with progress and causing family problems, he cannot bear that responsibility.

If it weren't for the recent emergence of He Chen, such a versatile newcomer in the craft circle, stirring up the hearts of these veteran craftsmen, he still wouldn't have taken the initiative to talk to Shen Lei, who was observing.

He was also stirred up by the idea of ​​becoming a master.

I've been observing Shen Lei, this colleague, for a year now. He has no shortage of interest and perseverance. If he turns out to be a peerless genius like the all-around craftsman He Chen, it would be a real pity to let his talent go to waste.

So now his thinking has changed, and as long as Shen Lei wants to learn and ask questions, he will give him pointers without reservation.

Shen Lei became even more enthusiastic about learning.

From childhood to adulthood, he has always been a well-behaved child, following the expectations of his parents and relatives, and has gradually come to where he is today. He has always been the "other people's child" and can be considered very successful.

He was admitted to a prestigious 985 university in Beijing through the national college entrance examination, stayed on to pursue a master's degree after graduation, took the civil service exam after graduation, and was directly hired as a civil servant. At these key junctures in his life, he can be considered a winner, outperforming more than 95% of his peers through his abilities.

However, after starting work, this sense of accomplishment from success began to disappear rapidly.

Their workplace is a secure job with easy hours, 9 to 5, and weekends off. They have everything except for a low salary, but there's no way to advance or feel a sense of accomplishment.

He desperately needs a strong sense of accomplishment.

The sense of accomplishment he craved came from the feeling of being a 'restorer of cultural relics' in the Forbidden City, and from having real work to do at his workplace, being needed by his superiors and colleagues.

He wasn't unaware that he might have to do this for the rest of his life.

He's a master's graduate from a top-tier 985 university, how could he not be smart enough? It was precisely because he knew and had thought about it that he observed for a full year.

Because he had already figured it out and seen through it all.

Without connections and in a workplace with virtually no upward mobility, no matter how hard you try, your chances of advancement are slim.

Not to mention that he doesn't naturally like to scheme and plot so desperately.

This stability, coupled with a sense of accomplishment, is the positive feedback loop that he has enjoyed learning and succeeding from childhood. This is the work-life balance he needs.

Then, that year, a major change occurred in the family. His mother-in-law was diagnosed with cancer and came here for treatment. He took care of her with all his might, spending all his past savings and even incurring some debt.

The impact on him led him to realize that being healthy, safe, and happy is the most important thing.

I'll just leave buying a house to fate.

Even if I wanted to buy, I've already spent all my savings that I could use for a down payment, so I'd better not think about it for now.

With this in mind, Shen Lei quickly found himself enjoying himself.

His mother-in-law passed away, and he no longer needed to take care of her at her bedside every day. His wife was in a bad mood and was working overtime every day, so they didn't communicate much. The atmosphere at home was very oppressive. He needed this kind of positive feedback when he was home alone on the weekend.

The smile on his face never faded as he was able to follow Master Zhou to meet those masters he had previously only seen in documentaries.

Happy!
I'm so happy!
Of course, he could also see the feelings he had when he saw these masters, just as they were all gathered around a handsome young man.

This handsome young man is He Chen, the all-around skilled newcomer that Master Zhou had mentioned before.

He also went with Master Zhou to get to know He Chen. Listening to Master Zhou and He Chen discuss some difficult document repair techniques, he truly admired this young man, He Chen.

He really loves this atmosphere of loving learning and discussing how to improve together.

Not long after, Master Zhou fell ill and was hospitalized for surgery, which delayed his work. When the section chief came over and worried that the work could not be completed on time, Shen Lei volunteered to take over.

"You?" The section chief was surprised.

"I've learned a bit from Engineer Zhou, so I can start with something simple and see how it goes." Shen Lei was quite confident, but he didn't take on too much responsibility. Instead, he humbly said that he was just trying it out and it wouldn't matter if he didn't do well.

He has been a top student since childhood, with exceptional learning abilities. In this kind of technical job, as long as you are good at learning, patient, and have experienced mentors to teach you, you can easily get started, even if you don't necessarily need talent to become proficient.

Shen Lei has everything, so he naturally has some confidence.

And if he really encounters something he doesn't know how to do, you can always call for backup.

Master craftsman Zhou is sick and hospitalized, so it's not good to bother him. But he can ask He Chen, a genius student he just met but who he gets along with well, for advice.

Of course, the work has a certain degree of confidentiality, which is why the section chief was worried about not having enough time and why hiring external experts required too much of a review process, but was willing to let him give it a try.

But he only asked about technical aspects, and then there were no problems.

"Okay." The section chief knew that Shen Lei was a reliable person, so he was naturally happy to hear him say that and readily agreed.

After the simple repairs were completed, the section chief was even happier when he saw that it looked good and entrusted the task to Shen Lei with peace of mind.

Shen Lei was really into his work. He worked during work hours, and after get off work, he would first cook nourishing soup and dishes for his wife, and then start practicing his skills with the old books he had bought. If he didn't understand something, he would call He Chen for advice.

But this annoyed his wife, Xie Meilan. After he excitedly linked this to "restoring cultural relics at the Forbidden City," she scoffed, "What others restore are priceless cultural relics! What is this? By the way, does your unit pay you much for this job?"

(End of this chapter)