Making Furniture Barehanded? A Max-Level Carpenter's Devastating Strike

Lin Mo carried the worn-out wood-chopping knife and strolled leisurely across the overgrown weeds in the backyard of the old house.

On a bright early winter afternoon, the sun shone brightly, but the wind still carried a damp chill.

In the deepest part of the backyard, there grows a patch of old bamboo from the Jiangnan region that blocks out the sky.

The bamboo forest had been neglected for years, growing wildly, with each bamboo stalk thick and upright, its surface gleaming with a hard, cold blue light.

When the wind blows, the bamboo leaves make a rustling sound.

In the official slow-motion live stream, viewers who had just recovered from the shock of the braised pork dish looked at the tools in Lin Mo's hands and were immediately filled with question marks.

"Is Lin Shen serious? Using this piece of junk to cut bamboo?"

"I'm from the South. This old bamboo is as hard as an iron rod. That broken knife couldn't even scratch it."

"It's fine to look cool, but don't let the blade break and hurt yourself when you slash it."

Lin Mo naturally couldn't see the doubts on the screen.

He walked up to a bamboo stalk as thick as a large bowl and stopped.

They weren't wearing any safety gloves, nor were they making any exaggerated gestures.

He simply lowered his center of gravity slightly, and his large, well-defined hand casually gripped the blackened hilt of the knife.

next second.

Lin Mo suddenly exerted force from his waist core, and a powerful burst of energy flowed smoothly along the lines of his arm, perfectly transmitting to the blade.

Without any unnecessary movements, he found the weak point above the bamboo joint and chopped it down diagonally.

"Knock!"

A dull thud suddenly exploded in the quiet bamboo forest.

The seemingly dull and worn-out old wood-chopping knife, enhanced by Lin Mo's terrifying explosive power, precisely cut into the hard bamboo.

Immediately afterwards, he twisted his wrist and used the skillful force to flick the blade outwards.

"Click—"

A crisp snapping sound echoed through the backyard.

The massive old bamboo instantly lost its support, and its huge body collapsed with a loud crash as the wind howled through it.

Lin Mo didn't even lift his eyelids. He raised his left hand and steadily supported the falling bamboo stalk.

Flowing smoothly and decisively.

It was as if he had just cut open not a hard old bamboo, but a soft piece of tofu.

There was a brief silence in the live stream chat for several seconds.

Then, a flood of exclamation marks and "Holy crap!" appeared on the screen.

Lin Mo dragged three thick bamboo poles and walked steadily back to the front yard.

He found a flat, wide bluestone slab, sat down on it, and laid the bamboo horizontally in front of him.

Jiang Ruoyun was holding a cup of hot water and came over like a curious child.

She moved a small stool and sat obediently next to Lin Mo, resting her chin on her hands, her eyes sparkling.

"Are you really going to make chairs?"

She looked at the bamboo on the ground, a hint of doubt in her voice, "These are all round, how can you sit on them?"

Lin Mo chuckled softly.

He picked up the machete and split a narrow slit at the tip of the bamboo joint.

Grasp both sides with your hands and tear it down sharply, following the natural grain of the bamboo.

A crisp "snap" sound.

The thick bamboo was instantly split in two, the cut surface as smooth as a mirror.

"Just watch."

Lin Mo's voice was steady and relaxed, possessing a magical quality that reassured people.

He flipped the blade and began to remove the hard, green outer skin from the surface of the bamboo.

As the blade moved quickly and rhythmically, the bamboo skin was skillfully peeled off like a thin veil.

"The selection of materials is very important when making bamboo furniture."

While working, Lin Mo spoke slowly and deliberately in his deep, magnetic voice.

It's like telling a story to the girl next to you, or like giving a science lesson to hundreds of thousands of viewers in the live stream.

"Choose old bamboo that is more than three years old and grows in the sun, as it has the toughest texture."

"It's winter now, and the moisture and sugar content in bamboo is at its lowest."

He tossed a piece of peeled bamboo skin aside with a swift motion.

"Bamboo cut at this time is less likely to be infested with insects or crack and deform when made into furniture."

Jiang Ruoyun was stunned.

She usually comes into contact with things like imported Italian top-grain cowhide and Nordic minimalist solid wood furniture.

They don't understand these traditional crafts that carry the fragrance of the earth.

She watched Lin Mo's long, beautiful hands move among the bamboo strips and couldn't help but swallow.

"Lin Mo, how do you even know this?"

Jiang Ruoyun pouted and muttered under her breath, "I feel like an illiterate person who knows nothing in front of you."

Lin Mo's hands didn't stop moving as he quickly broke the wide bamboo stalks into strips of varying thicknesses.

"I used to learn from an old craftsman for a few days when I had nothing to do."

He casually made up a reason, speaking in a nonchalant tone.

"Having more skills is never a bad thing; look how useful they are now."

Pale yellow bamboo shavings, like the first snow falling in winter, fluttered and scattered all over the bluestone slabs.

The only sound in the entire courtyard was the "scratching" of the carving knife scraping the bamboo.

This sound, with its natural white noise quality, is transmitted through the microphone, bringing an indescribable sense of extreme stress relief.

The viewers in the live stream were stunned.

"What the hell did I learn this technique in a few days of my spare time?! It would take at least ten or eight years to master this skill!"

"Lin Shen's explanation is so professional! My grandfather was an old bamboo craftsman, and he said it word for word!"

"What can't this man do? He's handsome, a great cook, emotionally stable, and now he even knows intangible cultural heritage crafts?"

After processing a pile of bamboo strips and soft bamboo slivers, Lin Mo began to build the main frame of the recliner.

He gathered a small pile of charcoal in the center of the yard.

Several of the thickest bamboo stalks were placed over a small fire and slowly roasted.

As the bamboo heats up, a natural, fresh scent of grass and wood gradually fills the air.

Lin Mo gripped the heated bamboo with both hands and slowly applied force.

The sturdy, straight bamboo seemed to come alive under his kneading.

Little by little, it bends into a perfect arc that conforms to the curve of the human spine.

Jiang Ruoyun was so engrossed in watching that she didn't even notice the hot water getting cold.

She looked at the fine beads of sweat on Lin Mo's forehead and subconsciously took out a tissue from her pocket.

Leaning slightly forward, Jiang Ruoyun naturally reached out and gently wiped Lin Mo's forehead.

"You're sweating."

She said softly, her tone carrying a hint of heartache that she herself didn't even realize.

Lin Mo paused slightly in his movements.

He raised his eyelids and looked at the exquisite face so close to his, a smile appearing in his deep eyes.

"It's okay to wipe away sweat."

Lin Mo made a lazy, teasing remark.

"Just don't ruin the face I just managed to save for you."

Jiang Ruoyun was stunned for a moment, then realized that he was talking about how she had gotten her face covered in soot at noon.

She instantly blushed like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, and abruptly withdrew her hand.

"Lin Mo! Don't be so smug!"

She raised her chin haughtily and said stubbornly, "I did that for the sake of the show. Who asked you to meddle?"

Although she said that, she didn't move away and remained sitting close to him.

Like a clingy little tail.

Lin Mo didn't expose her little scheme.

He picked up the machete, and the tip of the blade seemed to transform into a high-precision micro-carving machine in his hand.

Cutting, grooving, and drilling are all done in one go.

He did not use any modern super glue, nor did he use a single nail.

It relies entirely on the oldest mortise and tenon structure passed down from our ancestors.

The size of every mortise and tenon depends entirely on the muscle memory ingrained in his bones.

Exactly.

"Click".

A crisp, clear sound of wood snapping together echoed in the courtyard.

The two bamboo parts were fastened together perfectly, without a single gap, as stable as a mountain.

Jiang Ruoyun's eyes widened, and she couldn't help but reach out and tug at the connection point.

Not moving.

"Wow..."

She let out a gasp of surprise, her eyes practically overflowing with admiration.

After the skeleton was formed, Lin Mo began the most tedious weaving process.

By this time, the afternoon sun had begun to slant downwards.

The golden afterglow spilled into the courtyard of the old house, casting a warm filter over everything.

The soft, slender bamboo strips weave and intertwine with Lin Mo's long, slender fingers.

Pick, press, weave, lock.

He seemed to be performing a silent dance with his fingertips, his movements full of the unique rhythmic beauty of Eastern intangible cultural heritage.

The originally scattered bamboo strips transformed into a dense, sturdy bamboo mat with intricate herringbone patterns at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Time passed by, second by second.

During the long, high-exposure shots that lasted for several hours, not a single viewer left the live stream.

Everyone seemed to be frozen in place, immersed in the awe-inspiring transformation of the mundane into the miraculous.

The moment the sun completely sets.

Lin Mo casually brushed off the bamboo dust that clung to his dark trousers and slowly stood up.

A large, beautifully designed bamboo chaise lounge with incredibly smooth lines stands quietly in the center of the courtyard.

The backrest of the recliner has a perfect streamlined shape, as if it can steadily support every tired bone in a person's body.

Next to the recliner, he even casually used scraps to weave a small, rustic-style tea table.

This set of furniture looks like it was taken directly from a national intangible cultural heritage exhibition hall.

It exudes the aesthetic appeal of a high-end craft.

Inside the hidden surveillance vehicle at the village entrance, a deathly silence fell.

The chief director, Li Lin, was holding his ever-present thermos.

As he stared intently at the monitor screen, at the bamboo furniture that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere like a work of art.

Li Lin's hands jerked violently, nearly spilling the goji berry water onto the expensive control panel.

He sprang up from the director's chair as if he were on a spring.

His chin dropped dramatically, and his eyes widened in shock.

"To build a set of haute couture furniture by hand without using a single nail?"

Li Lin pointed at the screen, his voice trembling violently from shock, even cracking.

"Is he here to film a dating reality show, or to test his skills as a descendant of Lu Ban (a legendary master carpenter)?!"

The assistant director next to him swallowed hard and muttered something under his breath.

"Director, if this chair were auctioned off, it would probably fetch more than the sponsorship fee for this episode..."

In the courtyard of the old house.

Lin Mo picked up the heavy bamboo chair with one hand, turned around and walked towards the century-old camphor tree in the corner that blocked out the sky.

Place the chair securely in the most sheltered position.

Then, he pulled a soft, thick cashmere blanket out of his suitcase.

It was carefully laid out on the newly made bamboo chair.

After doing all this, Lin Mo walked towards Jiang Ruoyun, who was still standing there in a daze.

He pressed his hands on her thin shoulders and, without saying a word, pushed her into the bamboo recliner covered with a blanket.

Jiang Ruoyun sank into the soft blanket.

The curves of the bamboo chair perfectly conformed to her back, and the just-right support made her sigh with comfort.

This is a hundred times more comfortable than the imported genuine leather sofa in her home that costs hundreds of thousands of yuan.

"How are you feeling?"

Lin Mo looked down at her, a hint of a smile in his eyes.

"It's...it's alright."

Jiang Ruoyun was so comfortable she was almost asleep, but she still refused to admit defeat.

"It barely meets my aesthetic standards."

She stretched her limbs, like a lazy Persian cat, her eyes brimming with undisguised joy.

As night fell, the old house was lit up with dim, yellow lights.

Lin Mo used the leftover scraps to start a fire, and the two of them simply reheated the leftovers from lunch.

The first day of clearing the wilderness ended amidst this extremely warm and tempting aroma of food.

After dinner, the two of them washed up separately.

The old house only had one wooden plank bed that was barely slept on.

Although we had brought our own clean sheets, the simple environment still felt somewhat cold and desolate.

It was late at night.

Lin Mo lay on the outside of the wooden bed, breathing evenly, and soon fell into a deep sleep.

Jiang Ruoyun wrapped herself tightly in the blanket, turned her back to him, listened to his steady heartbeat, and wore a relieved smile.

Everything seemed so peaceful and beautiful.

However, no one expected this.

It was at 2:30 a.m.

The air pressure in the once quiet Jiangnan village suddenly dropped.

"Waaah—"

A sudden gust of wind howled through the mountains and forests outside the window, slamming hard against the old wooden window frame of the old house.

The windows were being blown around violently, making a creaking sound as they struggled to keep up.