Four paintings of the Four Gentlemen of Flowers were displayed on the desk, which caught Ruan Fang's eye. Ruan Fang was very knowledgeable and had a good understanding of calligraphy and painting.

The paintings in front of me are of a very high standard.

"Mr. Yu, are all of these your creations? I have never seen such high-quality works before."

"You flatter me, Mr. Ruan. These are all works from my early years. I haven't created a single painting in the last two or three years."

Ruan Fang vaguely knew the reason: Yu Jie's wife died in childbirth, and even after so many years, he had not completely emerged from the shadow of that tragedy.

One can imagine how deep the relationship between Yu Jie and his wife must have been back then.

"Mr. Yu's calligraphy and painting works enjoy a very high status in Da Beichao. Now that Mr. Yu is teaching children and his life has become more stable, he should rekindle his hobby and continue to create paintings."

As Ruan Fang talked, she admired Yu Jie's paintings and forgot about the time she had come to invite Yu Jie to the restaurant for dinner.

Seeing that Ruan Fang was carefully appreciating his work, Yu Jie also became interested, opened the paintings one by one, and began to introduce them in detail.

Yu Jie introduced his works with great interest, seemingly becoming a different person. Ruan Fang then began to consider whether she could help him overcome his inner turmoil through his calligraphy and painting.

Thinking of this, Ruan Fang spoke up:

"After the Spring Festival, some well-known academies in the county will organize their headmasters and teachers to come to Wufang Academy to exchange information on the candidates for the provincial examinations held every three years next year."

After the annual county examination and the twice-every-three-years prefectural examination, many students from Wufang Academy have passed the county-level examination and become Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations).

In addition, there were some scholars who came here to study, so Wufang Academy had many scholars who would participate in the provincial examination to be held in Huizhou Prefecture next August.

This exchange activity was organized by the county's Confucian Studies Office, and representatives from neighboring county Confucian Studies Offices will also participate. The current aim is to help students in this county achieve good results in next year's provincial examination.

I would like to take this opportunity to hold an exhibition of calligraphy and painting works, and to display Mr. Yu's works at the exhibition. I wonder what Mr. Yu's opinion is.

Upon hearing this, Yu Jie was stunned. He hadn't expected Ruan Fang to have such an idea. Who wouldn't want their work to be recognized and collected by the world?

Yu Jie is only in his early thirties this year, just past the age of thirty. He had a lot of passion when he was young, but the death of his wife was a huge blow to him, and he has been depressed for many years ever since.

I can't keep going down this path. Yu Qianwen is already six years old. My current state is not good for his development. I must pull myself together and live a decent life.

Thinking of this, he bowed deeply to Ruan Fang and said:

"Thank you so much, Headmaster Ruan, for giving me such a great opportunity. I need to hurry up and organize and frame the paintings, and at the same time create some new works for exhibition."

Ruan Fang was very pleased to see that Yu Jie was willing to exhibit his work. The exchange meeting would be held after the Lantern Festival, and there was still a month to prepare. That should be enough time.

At this moment, Ruan Fang looked at the paintings of the Four Gentlemen of Flowers on the desk and asked:

"Mr. Yu, are you taking these four paintings out to have them framed?"

Yu Jie nodded and recounted what had happened that morning, explaining that he planned to frame the four paintings and present them to Shan Jindou.

I see. If these four paintings were framed, they would be a top-notch set, and would definitely be a classy gift.

Just then, Yu Qianwen ran over and said:

"Father, the gentlemen are waiting for you to go eat. Why aren't you going yet?"

Upon hearing this, Ruan Fang couldn't help but laugh and said:

“Mr. Yu, I originally invited you to a restaurant for dinner, but after seeing these paintings, I forgot about dinner.”

"Alright, let's go then. We can't keep the gentlemen waiting."

The two quickly arrived at the restaurant, where there was a charcoal stove in the middle of the table. The burning charcoal was crackling and popping, and a ceramic pot on the stove was steaming, containing a pot of pork head meat.

Around the charcoal stove, some side dishes were placed, but they had already gone cold.

"Mr. Yu, please sit down and have a meal. The wine is warmed up. Have a couple more cups to keep warm. You've been writing couplets all morning, you must be freezing."

Seeing that the old gentleman had already warmed the wine for him, Yu Jie felt a little embarrassed. Although he was not old, the old gentlemen in the academy cared about him a lot.

Next, everyone started eating. Eating piping hot pig's head meat and drinking some wine in the winter was truly a pleasure.

After lunch, everyone left the restaurant and got busy again.

Several elderly gentlemen came to the market to buy red paper, which they would then cut into paper for couplets. They planned to go back to the market the next morning to write couplets and sell them.

Yu Jie also went to the market and bought some calligraphy and painting mounting supplies in preparation for mounting his paintings.

After a busy afternoon, the four paintings were finally framed. The framed paintings and calligraphy gave people a high-end and classy feeling.

The next morning, light snow was still falling, but it did not dampen the enthusiasm of the old men selling couplets.

When they arrived at the market, Shan Jindou was already waiting there.

Upon seeing Yu Jie, Shan Jindou quickly went to greet him.

"Manager Shan, I apologize for keeping you waiting. I spent the whole afternoon yesterday framing these four paintings. My skills are limited, and these works are hardly worthy of being displayed in a grand hall."

As Yu Jie spoke, he opened the long cloth bundle he had brought and took out four paintings from inside.

"Mr. Yu is too modest. Your calligraphy skills are evident, and your painting and calligraphy must be even more superb."

Dan Jindou accepted the calligraphy and painting handed over by Yu Jie, carefully opened one of them, and was stunned when he saw it.

This is a painting of plum blossoms. It feels like an ink wash landscape painting, or a poem. The plum blossoms in the painting are proud of the snow and frost, blooming alone in the cold, giving people a sense of perseverance.

After viewing the painting of plum blossoms, Shan Jindou couldn't wait to open the other three paintings and carefully appreciate them.

The orchids in the painting are serene and elegant, the bamboo is verdant and upright, and the chrysanthemums stand proudly against the frosty sky. Although each of these four paintings has its own characteristics, they form a harmonious whole.

Shan Jindou was still intently admiring the paintings, completely unaware that many people had come to admire them and were praising them.

Several other people picked up the paintings and pointed at them, which terrified Shan Jindou. He quickly took the paintings away and put them away carefully, as he would be heartbroken if they were damaged.

Although Yu Jie had said that these paintings were a gift to him, how could he accept them for nothing? Putting aside the value of the paintings themselves, the framing alone was worth several taels of silver.

When it comes to acquiring paintings he likes, the cost is secondary. He has made a lot of money in his business over the years, and he is never stingy when it comes to things he loves.