By linking my account to the check-in system, I became a leisurely traveler.

Chapter 72 The Use of Carpentry Skills
Although Jing Chaoyi's work offers relatively freedom, she still needs to meet with clients occasionally, so it's not as completely free as one might imagine. After returning to Zhejiang this time, Jing Chaoyi will be busy for a while longer.

Li Younan, on the other hand, bought a plane ticket to Ningbo and continued his road trip.

The car is still at the airport.

Upon returning to Ningbo, Li Younan immediately found his car. Since he hadn't driven for nearly two weeks, he had preemptively disconnected the battery to prevent it from running out of power.

He reconnected the car battery cables and then opened the trunk to thoroughly inspect it. The trunk was filled with various odds and ends, which he tidied up as he pondered how to proceed with the modifications.

Having experienced resting in the car before, to be honest, putting aside the comfort of sleeping, the act of sleeping in the car itself was quite pleasant for Li Younan.

Last time it was a rainy day, and falling asleep by the lake listening to the rain was truly wonderful. And in the future, there will be many more similar scenes—grasslands, riverbanks, forests—all sorts of idyllic settings.

So, the most important thing is to figure out how to make a bed in the car. The second row of the Land Cruiser can be folded down, but after folding it down, there will be a height difference of about ten centimeters between it and the trunk.

Li Younan stood in front of the trunk, thinking silently for a long time, and then he had an idea in mind.

The best way is to raise the trunk to almost flat with the folded-down second-row seats, and then put a custom-made mattress on top.

The second-row seats are not evenly divided when folded down; the right side can be folded down along with the middle section. If this side is used as the main body of the bed, it can create a small bed that is about 1 meters wide. If the entire seat is folded down, it can create a large bed that is 2 meters wide.

Li Younan thought about it and decided that 1.2 meters was enough, since there was no need to use such a large bed in the next plan.

The next issue to consider is how to achieve a level surface.

Li Younan took out his toolbox, which contained a measuring tape. He measured the space inside the car and already had an idea. He could build a drawer cabinet directly in the trunk, fitting perfectly against it. This would expand storage space, function as a small bed, and wouldn't affect the aesthetics. Of course, more importantly, it would be legal.

Li Younan had previously considered a more comfortable solution: to remove all the seats and install a real bed. However, that would damage the vehicle's structure and was illegal.

For a woodworking professional like Li Younan, there's no need for design drawings; he already has a clear idea in his mind what kind of wood to use and how much wood is needed.

Li Younan messaged Huang Xiaoyang, explaining his needs. Huang Xiaoyang didn't ask Li Younan what the timber was for, simply asking, "Where should I send it?"

Li Younan thought for a moment and recalled the hardware merchant he had previously discussed with, as well as a number of portable woodworking tools, which were also one of his major selling points.

"Send it to Ningbo first."

Li Younan messaged the manufacturer: "Are you still going to accept the cooperation we discussed before?"

The other party replied instantly: "Have you returned to Ningbo yet?" Then they sent a smiley face emoji, "I saw those two videos of you in Xiamen."

Li Younan said, "I'm already in Ningbo, and I can come to see you anytime. This time, I plan to film a video using this set of tools."

The other party sent a questioning emoji and then asked, "Do you need us to provide a carpenter?"

Li Younan said, "This isn't necessary, I can come by myself."

Then the other party stopped replying to messages.

Just as Li Younan finished packing and was about to leave, the other party sent another message. Even through the text, Li Younan could feel the other party's hesitation: "You're using this set of tools yourself?"

Li Younan didn't explain, but calmly replied with two words: "Face-to-face meeting."

After starting the engine and letting the car idle for a while, Li Younan took a deep breath as he touched the steering wheel, which he hadn't driven in a long time. Damn it, it's been so long since I've driven a car, and I feel rusty again.

He carefully drove out of the parking space, circled the parking lot several times, and finally found the direction of the exit.

His mood soured when he saw the nearly four-figure parking fee pop up on the machine after scanning the gate.

Damn, airport parking is so expensive?
……

Li Younan didn't rush to find the hardware store owner immediately. He drove around the city of NB for a while, mainly to regain his driving skills. This was important for someone with average driving ability.

At noon, he casually parked by the roadside, ate a bowl of noodles, and scrolled through his phone. The parkour video, unsurprisingly, went viral. But Li Younan still hadn't expected it to go that far. He rubbed his eyes, making sure he wasn't seeing things—over 20 likes.

He quickly realized that it was clearly paid promotion from the merchant, coupled with the high quality of the video itself. What surprised him even more was that while the video was going viral, more than a dozen items in his shop were also sold.

The cameras themselves were expensive, and the commission was low, only 6%, but each order still brought in a couple hundred yuan. Adding to that the few watches he sold, he earned over 1000 yuan in just a few days. Good news followed: DJI promptly settled the remaining 20,000 yuan payment. This was undoubtedly a win-win situation. Li Younan earned 23,000 yuan, got a free action camera, and continued to receive sales commissions.

The slight anxiety I felt earlier because of insufficient funds in my bank account vanished instantly. Wow, being a livestreamer is such a lucrative business!

Li Younan put away his phone and was about to eat his noodles when he suddenly saw a policeman taking pictures of the cars parked on the side of the road, while also waving a machine that prints parking tickets.

He quickly put down his chopsticks and rushed over, saying, "Officer, don't worry, I'll be right there!"

……

Li Younan, we arrived in the afternoon. The hardware tool dealer's place is not far from a furniture industrial park, so it makes perfect sense to open a hardware tool store here.

Pushing open the door of that hardware store, the shelves were full, and in addition to the usual items, there were also a lot of new gadgets hanging on the walls—electric drills, electric screwdrivers, brushless angle grinders, and a rather small track saw, all looking quite neat.

The boss, Mr. Wang, who was standing behind the counter, was tall and thin with neatly combed hair, but his temples were even grayer.

When he saw Li Younan, his eyes lit up, and he put down his tablet: "Oh my! The anchor has arrived! Your presence on QQ is an honor to my humble shop!"

"Switch q?" Uh... that's such an outdated joke.

Li Younan smiled and said, "Mr. Wang, you're too kind. Let's get down to business." He shook hands with him; the man's hand was strong and a bit rough.

"Haha, teacher, you know your stuff! Come, come, have a seat!"

He pointed to an office chair with wheels across from the counter, "Want some water? YYDS purified water, a whole bottle?"

That's an old-fashioned term.

"Plain water is fine, thank you."

Li Younan sat down; the chair was quite comfortable. His gaze swept over the new power tools on the wall; their casings were made of engineering plastic and were brightly colored.

“Okay, let’s get straight to the point.” He opened a bottle of water for Li Younan and sat down himself. “I just wanted to ask you for a favor. I’d like to hang these new power tools in your shop window to help sell them. Young people these days trust you livestreamers; traffic is king! It’s much better than this old guy standing behind the counter shouting.”

“Selling products is no problem, boss.” Li Younan picked up a brand-new brushless electric drill from the counter. It was all black with a non-slip rubber handle. He weighed it in his hand; it was very light. He then looked at the battery compartment. “But just hanging it in the display window might only give people a superficial impression. My idea is to shoot a short video?”

Mr. Wang's smile visibly froze for a moment, and he didn't speak immediately. He rubbed his chin, looked at Li Younan, then at the obviously expensive electric drill in Li Younan's hand, and something in his eyes darkened.

"Teacher..." he drawled, tapping his fingers lightly on the table, "...making videos...the idea is good, it's visually appealing. But..."

He paused, seemingly choosing his words carefully, "These new gadgets look lightweight, but they are, after all, high-speed rotating iron machines, incredibly powerful. Look at this electric drill, its highest speed is tens of thousands of revolutions per minute, and this rail saw, its blade is as thin as paper, yet it cuts wood as fast as tofu. If you're not careful, or your hand slips, ruining the wood is a minor issue, but injuring someone is a serious matter! When you do live streams, you use a mobile phone, which is so much easier, but this thing... it's different."

His gaze fell on Li Younan's hands holding the electric drill. Li Younan's hands weren't particularly delicate, but her nails were neatly trimmed, and they didn't look like hands that were constantly in construction sites or carpentry workshops.

“Besides,” he leaned forward, lowering his voice as if speaking frankly, “there’s a trick to operating these new tools. Look at this electric drill, it has a torque ring, speed settings, forward and reverse rotation, and you have to know how to install the drill chuck; and that rail saw, how do you align the guide rails, how do you adjust the cutting depth, how do you push it so it doesn’t jam or burr… Without some practical experience, just reading the manual won’t get you anywhere…”

As he spoke, his eyes glanced at Li Younan's hand holding the electric drill, the meaning of which was crystal clear.

"Mr. Wang, I understand safety."

Li Younan spoke calmly, not in a hurry to explain, his finger unconsciously flicking the speed control switch on the drill. "I usually pay attention to the parameters of these tools. As for operating them... it does require some experience. How about this, I'm not prepared today, I'll come over tomorrow and we can set it up on-site then..."

Li Younan gently placed the electric drill back on the counter. "Let me show you whether I can actually touch the door. If it really doesn't work, then we'll do as you said and just hang it in the window, no forcing it. Is that alright?"

Mr. Wang watched Li Younan put down the electric drill, and the doubt in his eyes hadn't dissipated.

He was silent for a few seconds, his fingers tapping faster on the table, as if he were calculating. Finally, he sighed, as if making a decision.

"Sigh... Teacher, your attitude is quite sincere."

He stood up and came out from behind the counter. "Okay, let's leave it at that for now. Give me a call tomorrow when you're free."

(End of this chapter)