Speaking of statues, sculpting was Zhang Miao's old profession, because before he transmigrated, he relied on this to make a living.
According to the words of the old director of the orphanage who loved him the most, "Three years of drought won't make artists starve to death!"
In fact, when Zhang Miao first learned wood sculpting from the old director, he was taught to make some Buddha statues or something similar. But after mastering how to make them, he found that there were very few people who bought ordinary wooden Buddha statues.
Because rich people generally went for jade or agarwood Buddha statues since they were not short of money anyway, while people without money would buy a printed picture instead. Not only was it cheap, but it could also be hanged on the wall and serve as a wall decoration.
As for those who in between, they were all busy working to make money, so how could they be in the mood to buy a Buddha statue to pay their respects?
Therefore, although Zhang Miao's craftsmanship was good and the Buddha statue he carved was very delicate, even if he lowered the price to 10 yuans, no one still give a damn for his statues.
As the saying goes, "When you are poor, you will forcibly change.", Zhang Miao pondered that since no one bought this Buddha statue, it would be better to sculpt something else!
A certain Jewish man said that in this world, I was the easiest to earn money from children and women, and Zhang Miao deeply agreed, so he set his sight on children and began to sculpt his first work besides the Buddha statue:
Pleasant Goat!
At that time, this cartoon that could be called legendary swept through the entire continent of China, fascinating countless children. It was for this reason that Zhang Miao's Pleasant Goat sculptures sell very well!
Although he earned the first bucket of gold by relying on the Pleaseant Goat, Zhang Miao was not satisfied with it. After all, Pleasant Goat was a character that aimed at children. If it were sold expensively, the parents would not buy it. If he sold them cheaply, there would not be much profit.
Therefore, he turned his eyes to another bigger market - Japanese anime figurines!
As an extension of Japanese animation, the population targeted by Japanese anime was basically teenagers. People like this had a certain degree of financial freedom, so it was naturally better to make a Japanese anime figurine than some goat statues!
In order to research what anime was the most popular and what anime characters were the most loved, Zhang Miao bought a computer with the money from selling Pleasant Goat statues, got an internet subscription, and then plunged into the world of anime.
Zhang Miao found that the most popular anime nowadays was the "Big Three": Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece.
Zhang Miao liked Naruto the most, so he regarded this anime as his goal.
The appearance and attire of the characters from the series were not complicated, and Zhang Miao had a good foundation, so it only took him a few days to figure it out, so he began to pay attention to the poses and actions.
Konoha's 12 rookies, the Legendary Sannins, the Hokages, and even the Tailed Beasts were all sculpted by Zhang Miao, and then he took them to a nearby school to sell them.
However, what Zhang Miao did not expect was that his Naruto sculptures would be so popular, and the students nowadays were so rich!
Thus, his asking price went from 20 yuans at the beginning to 50 yuans per sculpture, and in the end, he was able to sell a slightly flawed Orochimaru sculpture for 100 yuans!
After tasting the sweetness, Zhang Miao became even more interested in the Naruto series sculptures, especially those who sold well. He would carve a few more variations and compile them into a series to sell at higher price!
Zhang Miao's Naruto sculpting business was getting more and more prosperous. There was even a young man who chased him to his house and said that he was willing to pay 200 yuan to let Zhang Miao sculpt a swimsuit figurine for him!
For such a shameless request, Zhang Miao decisively refused!
"How can 200 be enough? A swimsuit figurine costs at least 250 yuans!"
And just as Zhang Miao was looking forward to becoming rich by relying on his Naruto sculptures, then marrying a beautiful woman, and reaching the peak of his life. Thinking about it, he was a little excited, but something unexpected happened:
He crossed into other world!
Thinking of his past that he could not bear to recall,
Zhang Miao suddenly felt even more indignant.
"Damn it, people say that it's good to sleep early and get up early. How did I cross over after a nap? I haven't even reached the peak of my life yet! Damn it!"
Zhang Miao muttered as he waved the Kunai in his hand and slashed the wood in front of him, causing wood chips to fly everywhere.
Fortunately, Zhang Miao already possessed a Jonin-level chakra. With the support of his chakra, he was able to work for more than half an hour. His face was not red nor tired, but his forehead was slightly sweating.
At the same time, the shape of a fox that was more than a meter long gradually appeared from the wood.
This hard wood was as thick as a bucket, so Zhang Miao enlarged the size of the model a little. There were two benefits in doing so. The first was not to waste the wood, and the second was to make the details more delicate.
It was not the first time Zhang Miao had carved the Kyubi, so he was able to be so bold. However, this was only limited to the process' beginning. Now that the wood had gradually shaped, he naturally had to be more careful.
While he used Kunai to modify the details of the model, he said to the stunned Fukuro beside him, "Fukuro, bring me a lamp!"
"Oh, okay!"
Hearing Zhang Miao's words, Fukuro immediately responded. He quickly agreed and went to the room to bring out a lamp and placed it next to Zhang Miao.
"Thank you!"
Zhang Miao thanked him without raising his head and then concentrated on carving the wood in front of him again.
This process lasted for an entire night!
When the sky turned white, Zhang Miao finally stood up and let out a long breath.
"Phew - it's finally done!"
At this time, what appeared in front of him was no longer the ordinary wood from last night, but a round and chubby sculpture of the Kyubi.
That's right, what Zhang Miao carved was the Kyubi's childhood self!
Zhang Miao had sculpted many types of Kyubi before, but the one that sold the best was this Kyubi's chibi form when he was separated from Sage of Six Paths.
Its innocent and teary appearance, who knew how many people had interested in, made them willingly put the red notes with the portrait of a great man into his hands.
Now, it was time for him to show his might again!
Thinking of this, Zhang Miao suddenly grinned at Fukuro who was stunned beside him.
"Haha, Fukuro, it was hard on you last night. I'll have to trouble you one last time. Help me buy a box of paint. I'll go take a nap first. Ah.. I'm so sleepy!"
After that, Zhang Miao picked up the chibi Kyubi sculpture on the ground and went straight into the house.
When Zhang Miao closed the door, Fukuro recovered from his shock and his eyes flashed with disbelief.
"What he carved is... the Kyubi?"
Fukuro had seen the Kyubi, but he could not imagine the vicious monster that appeared in the village as the cute fox that Zhang Miao had carved.
"Maybe I guessed wrong. I should go buy the paint first!"
Thinking of this, Fukuro suddenly shook his head and disappeared using Body Flicker Jutsu.