CH 83.1

No Money (1)

The Lunar New Year was drawing nearer with every passing day.

It was a week before Lunar New Year’s Eve and the weather was clear and sunny, but as it turned out, the massage shop was a little less crowded than usual.

It was always like this before the Lunar New Year, with people busy shopping for Lunar New Year gifts. The barber and beauty salons usually did better than usual, but the massage shop business was a little slower on the other hand as many of the people working in the shops nearby had all gone back home.

The business was slow in the morning and Xiao-Yun had a rare moment of leisure, sitting with the sun on her at the door. A small table was placed in the corner behind her, out of the direct sunlight, and Xiao-Zhuang was doing his homework carefully on it.

Mu Wanli passed by them and was shocked when she took a glance at the little guy’s homework. “Aiya. He can already add and subtract up to the tens?”

Xiao-Yun couldn’t see her brother’s homework. She pursed her lips and smiled gently with her disoriented eyes half sideways. “The special school’s teachers are all amazing. When we tried to teach him before, Xiao-Zhuang couldn’t even count to ten.”

Mu Wanli slapped her thigh. “No matter how amazing the teacher is, Xiao-Zhuang is also smart. Didn’t you hear the teacher when they called? They said his math basics is a little behind other kids of the same age, but he has definitely seen vast improvement!”

The little mute raised his head, blinked his big eyes a few times, and suddenly pointed his finger at the room he shared with Ruan Qingmu, aggravatedly pouting his mouth with a loud “ho ho” sound in his throat.

Mu Wanli helplessly stroked his little head. “Your Mu Mu-ge is like you. He’s occupied with his homework and can’t play with you right now.”

Xiao-Yun hurried to say with a smile on her face, “Li-jie, ignore him. He just likes to bother Mu Mu. Mu Mu is going to have to take the college exam. It’s only right to let him study peacefully.”

There were two beds in the small, locked room.

It was possible to sleep on the floor in the summer, but the cold made it impossible to sleep on the floor in winter, so Mu Wanli went and bought a small bed for Ruan Qingmu. It was arranged side by side with Xiao-Zhuang’s bed, so Ruan Qingmu could take care of Xiao-Zhuang at all hours.

Ruan Qingmu leaned over a small table, sitting upright with a pile of Chinese ink paints spread out in front of him.

He drew one stroke at a time, meticulously sketching, and had already completed most of the painting on the Xuan paper*, with only the details of the close-up scene remaining.

*T/N: Xuan paper, also known as Jingxian paper, was originally produced in Jingxian County, Xuancheng, Xuan paper is an advanced art paper mainly used for Chinese brush painting and calligraphy as well as for framing, topography, and watermarking.

After painting for a while, he switched to another brush, dipped it into the cinnabar paint on one side, and began to draw carefully.

It was silent all around him and he had no idea how long he had been sitting at the small table before he finally stopped his brush.

Standing up, he took a moment to examine the painting and stretched his body in satisfaction.

After waiting until the painting was dry, he carefully picked it up and turned around to open the door.

“Mom, I’m going out to do something. I will return before noon!” he explained to Mu Wanli, ran out of the alley in a flash, took a taxi, and headed straight to the place he had searched for on the Internet earlier.

There was a cultural street behind the city museum, which sold the Four Treasures of the Study* on half of the street and gouache oil paints on the other half. In some of the shops, some students from the Academy of Fine Arts also brought their lesser-known paintings to sell on consignment.

*T/N: The Four Treasures of the Study: unique Chinese calligraphy and painting tools, namely brush, ink, paper, and ink stone.

As the Lunar New Year was fast approaching, many shops closed early. Ruan Qingmu did a thorough search and finally settled on one.

The shop was well-lit, but the back half of the shop was quite dark. An old, fat man lounged on a chair at the junction of light and dark, lazily taking a nap.

When he heard someone enter, he opened his eyes.

Ruan Qingmu opened his bag and took out the picture scroll. “Hello, Shifu*. Can you help me mount this painting before the new year?”

*T/N: 师傅: master; qualified worker; a respectful form of address for older man.

The teacher took a casual glance. “Four feet? Do you want to mount it manually or with a machine?”

Ruan Qingmu smiled. “Didn’t I enter your shop to have it done manually? If I wanted to do it with a machine, which shop can’t do it?”

These words were cleverly spoken and sincere. The old man’s half-closed eyes immediately widened. He lifted his eyes and took a closer look at Ruan Qingmu.

“You’re a good talker despite being young. Were you recommended here by someone?” he mumbled, his expression becoming friendlier.

Ruan Qingmu looked at the finished picture scrolls and calligraphy on the wall around him. “I searched for this place by myself. I walked from the entrance to the end of this street and thought your craftsmanship was very good.”

The old man looked at him suspiciously, not really believing that he could really tell what was good or not. “Why don’t you tell me what’s good about it?”

“Chinese painting and calligraphy is three parts painting and seven parts mounting. I don’t think the ones I just saw are good. The damask silk and multi-layered paper are inferior and the craftsmanship isn’t good enough.” Ruan Qingmu calmly pointed his finger at a sample next to him. “Shifu, please mount it according to this technique.”

The old man immediately sat up, his eyes widening. “Ah! Can you tell this one used the best materials and that I spent more time on it?”

Ruan Qingmu blinked. “Yes, ah.”

The old man became lively. “Here, here. Take out your painting for me to see.”