I listened to my sister's words today.

Yun Yiruo sat on the old lady's lap, her small body curled up like a furry cat, holding an old wooden box tightly in her arms.

The surface of the wooden box has been polished to a slightly shiny finish by time, and you can still faintly smell the faint fragrance of the wood.

Two little hands held the lid of the box, a face full of curiosity and excitement, as if he had discovered a priceless treasure, and he carefully searched through the various wood carvings in the box.

The old lady squinted her eyes, a kind smile on her face. She stretched out a wrinkled hand and gently patted Yun Yiruo on the back.

"Turn it over slowly, don't get dust on your face."

There are many types of wood carvings, and each one exudes an indescribable aura.

At the top is a row of small animals of various shapes, including cats with their tails raised high and cute puppies.

There are even a few birds spreading their wings, ready to fly, the carvings so delicate that even the texture of their feathers is clearly visible.

Yun Yiruo excitedly picked up a cat and exclaimed, "Wow!" "Grandma, this cat seems to really move!

The old lady was amused by her childish talk.

"You haven't found anything interesting yet. Look around, there are even more amazing ones down there."

He kept the secret on purpose, with a hint of pride in his eyes.

Just then, Yun Yiruo turned over a wooden sculpture - a strange-looking guy holding a weapon.

"Granny! This is weird, it looks like Baltan!"

As he spoke, he held the wood sculpture high up, his voice full of surprise as if he had discovered a new world.

He couldn't help but look up at the old lady and asked expectantly, "Is there any Ultraman?"

The old lady raised her hand and ruffled her hair, her tone teasing: "Ultraman? Your sister Ye threw it away a long time ago."

"When your sister Ye was little, she insisted on me carving a complete set of Ultraman. It was so precious back then that I insisted on showing it off to school."

"What was the result? He lost most of it when he came back! Hahaha, that kid is really infuriating and funny."

Hearing this, Yun Yiru couldn't help but open her eyes wide, with her mouth slightly open, as if she was imagining Sister Ye showing off a bunch of wooden Ultraman sculptures when she was a child.

I couldn't help but giggle.

Deep within the wooden box, there were even more treasures hidden. Yun Yiruo dug out several more exquisite wooden carvings.

There's a puppy with its paw on its face, a kitten that seems to be stretching, and even a baby squirrel lying on a branch.

Each of them is so small that it is only the size of a finger, but it is so lifelike that it seems as if it will come to life in the next second.

"Grandma, you're amazing! How can you carve it so realistically?"

Yun Yiru continued to ask while fiddling with the wood carvings.

"How did you come up with these little animals? They seem to actually have souls!"

The mother-in-law smiled slightly, took a wooden sculpture from Yun Yiru's little hand, stroked it gently, and there was a hint of nostalgia in her eyes.

"These are what I saw when I was young and lived in the village with your uncle."

"The village?" Yun Yiruo tilted her head, not quite understanding what he was saying. "Is it a very, very far place?"

"Yes, very far away."

The old lady nodded, her voice tinged with tenderness as if by memory.

At that time, there was a large forest behind the village.

Every morning, we can hear birds singing on the branches, and little foxes and squirrels occasionally run through the woods. The brave ones will stop to look at us.

Your uncle always likes to take me for a walk in the woods. He says it’s a walk, but actually he’s taking me for a walk to find inspiration.

"He said that everything has its own form, and if you look carefully, you can carve it into your mind and then carve it into wood."

"Uncle, can you carve these too?" Yun Yiru blinked curiously and gently poked the kitten's tail with her finger.

Hearing this, the old lady looked up out the window, as if recalling something, and sighed softly.

"Yes, your uncle is much better than me."

“The things he carved, even I thought they moved.”

"He also taught me a lot, such as how to use the texture of wood and how to make the carved animals more spiritual."

"But..." She paused, a look of loss in her eyes, "Later, his health deteriorated, so he stopped carving."

Yun Yiruo was fascinated by what she heard, her little face full of longing.

"Are the little wooden animals carved by that uncle even more amazing than these?"

The old lady smiled and reached out to gently scratch Yun Yiru's nose.

"Just look it up and you'll see for yourself how amazing it is."

"Uncle's wood carvings are all at the bottom of this box."

Hearing this, Yun Yiruo was suddenly ignited and hurriedly peeled off layer after layer of wood carvings.

As the treasures in the box were gradually revealed, the styles of the wood carvings became more and more peculiar. Some looked like farm tools in the village, and some looked like huts in the mountains.

There is even a palm-sized bridge with tiny human figures carved on it, leisurely fishing on the bridge.

"Wow!" Yun Yiruo couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, and finally found a unique wood carving from the bottom of the box.

It was a deer with its head held high, its long antlers spiraling upwards, and its body texture seemed to be covered with a layer of soft hair.

The most surprising thing was the deer's eyes, which seemed to be filled with warmth as it gazed at Yun Yiru in his hands, as if asking, "Who are you?"

"Grandma!" Yun Yiruo shouted excitedly, "This deer is so beautiful, its eyes really look like the real thing!"

The old lady was slightly stunned, then slowly took the wooden deer sculpture, gently stroking its body with her fingers, her eyes filled with tenderness and emotion.

"This was carved by your uncle the last time he worked with his knife."

"At that time, his hands were shaking a little, but he said he wanted to keep the most beautiful deer in his heart. Look at its eyes, he said, it hides our home."

Yun Yiruo seemed to understand what she heard, so she hugged the old lady's arm and looked up and asked, "Home? Can a deer's eyes hide home?"

The old lady lowered her head and smiled: "Yes, this is not an ordinary deer, it is the 'spiritual deer' in our hearts."

"Ever since we left the village, it has been reminding us that no matter how far we go, we must always remember where home is."

After listening to this, Yun Yiruo stared blankly at the wooden sculpture of a deer, as if she saw some distant and warm place through it.

After a while, he carefully put the deer back to the bottom of the wooden box and patted the lid gently with his hand, as if he was protecting a priceless treasure.

"Grandma, I also want to learn how to carve wood in the future. Is that okay?" she asked, blinking her big eyes.

The old lady was slightly stunned, then she smiled with satisfaction: "Of course."

"When you grow up, grandma will teach you so that you can also carve out what's in your heart and leave it to your future little baby."

Yun Yiru nodded, her face full of determination, and her little hands hugged the wooden box again.