This suited Li Banfeng’s needs perfectly.
The stall owner hurried over to greet him. "Sir, are you interested in this Beauty Painting? You have good taste. Since I set up my stall today, I’ve sold over a dozen. If you had arrived a bit later, they might have all been gone."
"This painting is usually sold for sixty, but today is your lucky day. I have something urgent and need to close the stall early, so let’s make a deal at fifty-five. What do you think?"
Li Banfeng shook his head. "I’m not here to buy a painting."
Upon hearing this, the stall owner’s enthusiasm waned. "This is a painting stall. If you’re not buying, perhaps check out other places."
Li Banfeng said, "I want to learn painting from you."
The stall owner was taken aback. "Learn painting from me? Are you joking?"
"No joke. Name your price."
The stall owner was in a quandary. "How could I possibly set a price? I can’t paint."
"You can’t? Then who painted these?"
"I don’t know who painted them. Can’t you tell? These are printed!"
"Printed?" Li Banfeng stared at the painting for a long while; it still had the fragrance of ink and didn’t have the texture of a print.
The vendor was relatively honest. "I told you already, I’ve sold over a dozen. How could I paint so many of the same picture?"
Li Banfeng looked at the vendor. "Can you teach me how to print paintings?"
The vendor sized up Li Banfeng. "Sir, are you causing trouble?"
"I’m sincerely here to learn the craft."
The vendor shook his head. "This is my livelihood; I can’t teach it."
Li Banfeng took out a stack of banknotes. "I’m willing to pay."
「...」
Inscription copying, indeed, is a skill.
Inking, laying the paper, peeling the print off—all had their techniques.
But this skill was much easier than painting.
Li Banfeng spent Twenty Thousand Yuan, and after two days of learning from the vendor, he mastered roughly fifty to sixty percent of the inscription copying craft.
The vendor gave Li Banfeng over a dozen templates. Li Banfeng then bought a ream of white paper and two large bottles of ink, and brought them back to the Portable Residence, where he began printing paintings.
Seeing Li Banfeng busy and excited, Clock Pendulum was somewhat worried. "Master, you’re taking shortcuts. Will this really work?"
Li Banfeng, focused on printing, didn’t pay any attention to Clock Pendulum.
Clock Pendulum turned to Phonograph. "Lady..."
HMPH!
Phonograph sneered, "Ignoring the proper path and only exploring these crooked ways will certainly be a wasted effort."
That said, Phonograph didn’t actually know if this method would work.
Although the painting was a print, it was still printed by Li Banfeng himself.
After more than ten minutes, a painting was successfully printed.
Li Banfeng cut the tip of his finger, dropping a drop of blood on the painting.
He focused his mind, waited a moment, and the paper rustled as a Three-Foot Beauty slowly emerged from the painting!
Li Banfeng was extremely pleased; Clock Pendulum, extremely surprised.
"Pour me a cup of tea," Li Banfeng instructed, and the Three-Foot Beauty immediately complied, first putting some tea leaves into the cup, then adding some water.
Although she poured cold water, this intelligence was far superior to the One-Foot-Tall Girl Li Banfeng had created before.
As Li Banfeng drank the tea, he directed the Three-Foot Beauty to do tasks.
Sweeping the floor, dusting—the Three-Foot Beauty could do it all.
Just as Li Banfeng was enjoying his success, he heard a crash; the Three-Foot Beauty collapsed into a pile of paper scraps.
Phonograph sighed, "Oh dear husband, with so little effort invested, the Delicate Lady could only last such a short while."
The lifespan of the paper person, it seemed, was linked to the effort put in.
Li Banfeng glanced at his Pocket Watch; the Three-Foot Beauty seemed to have lasted less than five minutes.
Phonograph reminded, "And this isn’t even battle. If it were, she would fall apart even faster, probably not lasting even a minute."
PS: Actually, a minute isn’t that short.