Chapter 11.1

Su Ying rested continuously for three days, and the soreness in her body finally subsided.

Her account for renovations had already updated fifteen videos in total, the most recent being about roof repairs. Many wooden roofs like these in the village were handed down from her grandfather’s or even great-grandfather’s generations.

There were even houses in the village over a hundred years old — truly antique-level homes. However, the master craftsmen who pass down these skills were becoming fewer and fewer. Now, only one or two masters in the village still repaired roofs, and they were all at least in their fifties.

In Su Ying’s video, she filmed the entire repair process, including an interview segment. Today she posted the video.

She once asked a master, “Master, is repairing these roofs tiring?”

The master laughed heartily and replied, “Of course it’s tiring. But only we know how to do it. If we don’t repair, no one will. I promised my mentor to carry on the craft properly. But these days young people don’t want to learn—it’s just too tiring.”

With the development of the times, technology advanced rapidly, but many old crafts were fading away. Without successors, these crafts disappear in the tide of time. If people unfamiliar with the traditional skills attempt repairs, it could cause more harm than good.

Like the Iron Lion in Province H — a well-preserved lion that had been passed down for a thousand years with no signs of damage, but after repairs by those unaware of the craft, it was damaged even worse.

History needs to be inherited. Su Ying held this idea while making her videos. After publishing, many people resonated—not just about ancient building repairs, but also various intangible cultural heritage. China’s 5,000 years of profound history holds so much richness, much of which is now only found in history books.

Some countries even claimed these treasures as their own cultural heritage, which is really baffling.

The video performed well, went viral again, and even sparked a trending topic #ThoseDisappearingCrafts. Many bloggers started producing videos spreading intangible cultural heritage and crafts. It was a very good start.

Next in the renovation was soft furnishings, much of which Su Ying planned to make herself.

Wood was easy to buy in the village. The first priority was definitely to solve the sleeping bed issue. Su Ying wanted a large 1.8-meter wide bed where she could roll around freely.

So the bed was made 1.8 meters by 2 meters. Sawing wood started under her dad’s guidance. At first, they used a saw blade that behaved well under her dad’s hands, quickly cutting a board back and forth.

But the saw Su Ying used seemed to be working against her — crooked, stuck, and hard to pull. She got blisters on her hands and decided to upgrade! She opened online shopping and ordered a whole set of woodworking tools.

The tools arrived the next day from a nearby city, expedited by the seller. Her posted video showed her struggling at first and then choosing to let technology improve her life. Many people commented laughing in the comments.

Nowadays, kids can barely use a saw, but it’s okay — there are all kinds of tools to help.

After the machine arrived, her dad first studied the manual carefully, then quickly started using it. He taught Su Ying, and she began cutting wood smoothly. When a board was successfully cut to size, Su Ying felt a mysterious sense of accomplishment.

They cut a lot of walnut wood for the bed frame — sturdy, beautiful dark wood with grain. After sanding smooth, they left it in the sun for a day, then applied two coats of wood wax oil, making it smooth. The holes for screws were also coated.

Next came assembly. It wasn’t difficult: metal plates fixed the sides; the middle slats snapped into place.

Finally, the mattress. Su Ying liked palm fiber mattresses, so she bought one. It arrived folded into a small rectangular box. While the length of 1.8m was fine, Su Ying was curious how a 20cm-thick mattress was folded into that box.

If it didn’t work, she’d have to return it, but luckily it expanded well once unpacked. The mattress was comfortable too. Since the renovation wasn’t finished, she kept the plastic film on the mattress for now.

She also made a wooden bedside table for the right side of the bed, and picked a warm yellow floor lamp online for the left side. On the bedside table was a small eye-care table lamp, perfect for reading in bed.

Then she started renovating the storage area — mainly for clothes. She preferred an all-hanging design so outdoor clothes could be neatly organized. A full-length mirror was also planned for the walk-in closet.

The sleeping area was about ten square meters. The storage was behind the bed; a bookshelf faced the bed, with a wardrobe on the other side. The furniture formed a U-shape along the wall, avoiding the window.

She installed a curtain outside the cabinets for neatness.

The bookshelf was 2.5 meters high, able to hold many books, with the top shelves for decorations.

Past the bookshelf was the storage entrance, with an L-shaped closet space and a row of adjustable cabinets.

The closet was divided by garment type — long dresses, pants, tops, jackets — with a large full-length mirror, a girl’s favorite.

The remaining half of the space was combined office and leisure area.

By the door, Su Ying found a comfy sofa set with two big cushions, adjustable backrests. She made two matching wooden coffee tables, placed a linen rug so people could sit on the floor.

The office area also had a bookshelf facing the workspace, and a desk. She bought a height-adjustable frame and combined it with a wood desktop for a customizable standing/sitting desk. The chair was a comfy ergonomic office chair bought online.

Almost a month passed. The weather turned cold; winter was coming. Su Ying’s room was complete.

The bed was dressed with a bedding set; clothes and tools were neatly stored with clear functional zones.

A compilation video of the room renovation gathered hundreds of millions of views. Su Ying’s followers surpassed 500,000.

The other rooms’ renovations progressed quickly. Tasks she couldn’t do herself she hired masters for; what she could do, she filmed her ideas and processes.

Her followers soon grew past 800,000.

With Lunar New Year approaching, and nearly half a year into making content, Su Ying made a recap video discussing with fans which video made them follow her. She also promised a live broadcast at 7 PM the day after tomorrow to interact.

This was Su Ying’s first official livestream announcement — unlike her spontaneous first broadcast during the harvest festival. Over her renovation journey, she had learned many skills and made several small wooden crafts: a perpetual calendar, jewelry boxes, all delicate and exquisite.

Many fans said in comments they wanted them, so Su Ying decided to do a giveaway during her live stream.