As if Commanding One's Own Arms and Fingers

The living room.

Xie Yuling had changed into a refreshing set of loungewear. Shuffling in her slippers, she darted to the sofa in a few steps and plopped down, causing the entire sofa to bounce.

She stretched out a fair hand, spreading her five fingers, and righteously held it out in front of Lin Mo.

"Little Mozi, where is the tribute? Returning from your royal tour without presenting gifts, what kind of manners is this!"

Lin Mo didn't even bother to lift his eyelids. He slowly pulled out an antique-looking rectangular wooden box from the bag by his feet.

With a click, the lid opened.

Inside, lined with soft velvet, lay several exquisite and petite ceramic dolls. Each had a different expression and looked incredibly lifelike.

Leading the pack was, astonishingly, a little ceramic figure wearing suspenders and making a strange hand gesture.

"What is this?" Xie Yuling's eyes lit up. She pinched the little figure, examined it carefully under the light, and couldn't suppress the corners of her mouth from rising.

"This is a doll I shaped myself, called Kunkun."

Besides Kunkun, there was an adorkable duck tilting its head, and a few endearingly clumsy little rabbits.

"I stayed in Dejing Town for a few days. Watching the old masters fire porcelain was quite interesting, so I casually made a few," Lin Mo's tone was flat, as if he had just done something trivial. "They came out looking alright, so I brought them back for you."

After leaving Hero City this time, he wasn't in a hurry to return, but went alone to several surrounding cities.

There were no thrilling adventures, nor any romantic encounters with beautiful confidantes. He was just like the most ordinary backpacker—eating alone, enjoying the scenery alone, and strolling along unfamiliar streets alone.

Finally, in Dejing Town, he found a moment of peace. The weather wasn't cold, nor was he in the Northeast, but he played with mud.

"Wow, this craftsmanship is amazing! It's cuter than the ones sold in stores!" Xie Yuling fondled the Kunkun ceramic, unable to put it down, though she didn't know what its posture meant.

Lin Mo ignored her antics and took out another slightly larger box, handing it to Zheng Yuan, who had been watching them with a smile.

"Aunt Zheng, this is for you."

"Although it's not an antique from the Shang or Zhou dynasties, it's a craft that just came out of the kiln last week," Lin Mo explained in advance. "I noticed you like tending to flowers and plants, Auntie, so it should be nice for flower arranging."

Zheng Yuan carefully took the porcelain vase. Her gaze treated it as something even more precious than a rare treasure.

She stroked the vase, took out her phone, and snapped a flurry of photos of it.

The next second, she opened her WeChat group.

"Sisters, sisters, look at this, it's ceramics from Dejing Town."

After sending the message, Zheng Yuan put her phone away in satisfaction. When she looked up at Lin Mo, the contentment in her eyes practically overflowed.

Xie Yuling, playing with the ceramic dolls, suddenly leaned over and asked, "Wait, why did you come back so soon? I thought you were having so much fun you'd forgotten about home."

"I came back for the competition. I have to participate in a competition in a few days, some Southern Olympic Contest, anyway, it's those math, physics, chemistry, and biology competitions."

Lin Mo wasn't lying; the school really had arranged a competition.

Hearing this, Zheng Yuan's newly risen joy faded a bit, revealing a hint of regret.

"I was thinking that since you're back, you could take our Yuling out to play."

"It's fine, Aunt Zheng, the competition is only for a few days."

Lin Mo smiled and waved his hand, then, as if remembering something, he started pulling things out again. "Oh right, I also brought some local specialties."

He pulled out a large transparent bag filled with dried goods.

"Dried silver fish from Poyang Lake. They're especially delicious for making soup or steamed eggs."

Zheng Yuan took it, looked, and blurted out, "Isn't this the whitebait we have around here?"

"They look similar, but they're different," Lin Mo explained patiently. "The whitebait in Yangcheng is a marine fish that migrates. The Poyang Lake silver fish lives its whole life in freshwater, so its meat is thicker and plumper."

"Oh! I see." Zheng Yuan nodded, seemingly understanding.

Before she finished speaking, Lin Mo grunted and hoisted a massive ham out of that travel bag, which could practically be called a treasure chest.

The ham was wrapped in oil paper and emitted a rich, meaty aroma.

"This is Anfu ham, one of the top ten famous hams in our country."

Zheng Yuan was startled by the size of the ham. "Oh my! Such a big one! Little Mo, how are we supposed to store this? With Yangcheng's hot and humid weather, it'll spoil in a few days."

It wasn't that she had never bought such cured meats before, but storing them in Yangcheng was indeed a huge problem. Even if stuffed into the freezer, the flavor would be greatly compromised.

Zheng Yuan thought for a moment and asked somewhat embarrassedly, "Little Mo, look... is it okay if we share some of this ham with the neighbors? We can also send some to Yuling's uncle. Just our family alone wouldn't be able to finish it in a donkey's years."

"You can arrange it however you see fit, Aunt Zheng."

Lin Mo shoved the ham into her hands, his attitude very casual. "I gave it to you, so it's yours. You don't need to ask me."

"Alright, alright, stop studying that leg!"

Zheng Yuan wanted to offer a few more polite words, but Xie Yuling could no longer hold back. She shoved the ceramic doll back into its box, then suddenly grabbed Lin Mo's wrist and yanked him up from the sofa.

"Let's go, let's go! I'll take you to see something good—my latest research result!"

The girl's eyes were sparkling, revealing an unconcealable excitement and pride. Without allowing any room for argument, she dragged Lin Mo toward the stairs leading to the rooftop.

Watching their retreating backs, Zheng Yuan merely smiled.

Upon reaching the rooftop and securely closing the door, the young girl threw her arms open. Seven or eight folded paper cranes flew out of her pockets.

They then shuttled back and forth around the girl.

"Ta-da! See how amazing I am!"

She indeed had a bit of a beginner's touch. As expected of someone who could see ghosts and monsters with just her naked eyes.

She could be considered to have the innate physique of a spirit medium.

Clap, clap, clap!

Lin Mo applauded.

"That's truly impressive, but you need to keep this skill well hidden."

Xie Yuling crinkled her nose. "Of course. I'm not Nobita. If I accidentally expose it, I'll just say it's a magic trick!"

Lin Mo gave her a thumbs-up.

He casually pulled out a sheet of A4 paper. "Here, pierce through this paper."

Xie Yuling didn't recall the paper cranes, but merely looked at the A4 paper in Lin Mo's hand.

Rip!

A hole appeared in the middle of the A4 paper.

"Hmm, you've got something there, but it's not enough."

As he spoke, the A4 paper in Lin Mo's hand turned into a wooden plank.

"Pierce through this plank. This isn't one of those fake Taekwondo boards, mind you."

Xie Yuling froze for a moment, then focused her mind, sending her spiritual sense crashing fiercely against the plank.

The plank remained completely unscathed. Xie Yuling let out a soft hmph, "Swap it for a Taekwondo board, and I'll definitely break it for you!"