Chapter 395 My Mother Didn’t Faint

Wei Yiming arrived on time.

I made some tea, and he took it with both hands, looked at me and said, "Teacher, you look a bit like a Chinese from Singapore."

I laughed and said, "After you've been to Singapore, you'll feel that Chinese people abroad are a little different from us. Their skin color is a little darker."

"Yes, sunbathe every day."

"Let's take a look at your paper cutting first."

Wei Yiming took out a large album from his backpack, walked to the center of the room, placed the album on the ground, and opened it. When it was opened, the album was two meters long.

I clasped my hands behind my back, bent over, and slowly read from right to left. The first page was titled "Dongli Market." The second page began with scenes of the market.

One group is: the owner of a roadside rice noodle shop, customers buying rice noodles, and diners sitting by the stall eating rice noodles.

Another group is: watching the dragon boat race on the old bridge, the crowd leaning on the railings, there are several boats in the river, the people rowing the dragon boats are paddling hard, the man at the stern of the boat is bending over to steer, and the person beating the drum in the boat is holding up the drumstick high.

The third group is: the scene of setting up stalls, some people bending over to choose goods, and children squatting on the ground to choose toys.

The fourth group is: side profile portraits of several girls.

"Put it away. Has Mr. Tang from Singapore seen these paper cuttings?"

He answered as he collected the pages, "I didn't bring them with me. I took a photo and sent it to him after I came back."

"Sit down."

We sat down again. I said, "From my perspective, it seems impossible to edit these complex scenes. What method did you use?"

Wei Yiming said: "The girl's head was cut out. Those who came to the market first took a picture with a camera, then traced it on paper, and then used a knife to file it out slowly."

"Since you can draw, why don't you paint? It's more direct and simpler."

"I'm not very good at drawing, so I just need to draw the outline."

I took a sip of tea and said, "I understand what you mean. If you paint, you can't compare to others, and the paintings you produce are just so-so. But if you file it into paper cuttings, it becomes a rare form of artistic expression."

His face turned red.

"Can you sell this for money?"

"I can't sell it for much. I'm just helping Grandpa Liu next door. He's famous and has people who specialize in buying it."

"Oh—I have two things to say to you. The first is to get out right away and contact Mr. Tang as quickly as possible. The sooner the better. The second is that when you get there, specialize in figure paper-cutting. The exhibition hall is often visited by people, so you can cut portraits for them.

I won't say anything else. Let's take it one step at a time. But you absolutely must go out there. You didn't tell me you had this skill at first. If you had, I wouldn't have asked you to open the Broken Hearts Museum.

He said a little embarrassedly: "I was just here for consultation."

"Contact Mr. Tang immediately. I just got back and have a lot of things to deal with. I won't talk much, just a few words will be useful. I won't keep you talking for long."

He stood up, bowed earnestly to me, and left.

I sat in the room for about ten minutes, gathering my thoughts. Then, I picked up the cup of tea and drank it in one gulp. Let's go back and discuss the most difficult thing in the world with Xiaolin: dividing the money.

When I got home, as soon as I walked in, my mother said, "Wow, you're home so early tonight?"

I smiled and said, "When parents are still around, don't travel far. Make up for it after traveling."

My father waved. I sat down. He said, "You make 4 million, you're being too generous. Ten thousand yuan per person. Money isn't a good thing; it's a curse."

Yifan gave it all. Will your three uncles give it? Xiao Shitou gave it, will your father-in-law and mother-in-law give it? If they did, ten or twenty thousand is not enough, right?

My mother brought the tea over and placed it in front of me. "Your father is right. It doesn't count as family money. Last night, you gave 50,000 to Yifan, Xiao Shitou, and your sister's family. You gave us 300,000. 100,000 from your mother-in-law's family isn't too much, is it?

"I have three uncles and one aunt, should I give them money? I have to add 40,000 to them. So, it's 500,000 or 600,000. You haven't been the head of the family, so you don't know how expensive firewood, rice, oil and salt are."

My father said, "The main thing is that if we give it to them this time, they will have greater expectations next time."

I smiled and said, "I understand what you're talking about. It's actually a little more than 4 million."

"More? Are you hiding it from us?" My mother put down the cup.

"Tell me the truth. I'm afraid I'll say too much. Dad, you have high blood pressure, Mom, you have a heart disease. You won't be able to handle it for a while."

My mother said excitedly, "Why can't we accept it? It wasn't stolen or robbed. It was earned honestly. How can we not accept it?"

My father had been a cadre, after all. He stammered, "Is it US...dollars...4 million?"

My mother couldn't figure out what the US dollar and the RMB were. She reached out and hit my father's hand and said, "It's either 4 million or more than 4 million. What US dollars? One hundred US dollars is still one hundred US dollars. His bills are bigger, right?"

This sentence made my father and I laugh so hard.

She looked at us father and son in surprise, her face bewildered.

I said, "Mom, I have one of their tickets."

I took it out and handed it to her. She looked at it from left to right and said, "It's so small, much smaller than ours. It's also a hundred yuan?"

My dad said, "You said last time that if you were educated, you could have held that position at the helm of either Mr. Chen or the Hongyuan Group. You just haven't been educated enough. Don't get excited. This note of his is worth six hundred-yuan bills."

My father didn't tell me it was worth more than six in order to make it easier for my mother to convert it.

My mother counted on her fingers, mumbling something to herself. She looked up at me with an expression of disbelief. She wasn't thinking it was a lot of money, but rather why I was giving it to her. How could I possibly have that much money?

When she blurted out all these questions, my father said, "Why give so much? First, he is rich, and second, his life is valuable, and Shanhong saved his life."

My mother kept shaking her head and sighed, "This recipe was taught to you by Mr. Dong. You should share some with him."

My father said, "Your mother is right."

I nodded: "I will discuss it with Xiaolin."

My mother said, "What are you discussing? Call her out. Xiaoyu should be asleep. I'll talk to her in person."

I walked over and opened the door. Xiaoyu was indeed asleep. Xiaolin was sitting at the head of the bed, looking at her phone. She had one advantage. When I talked to my parents, she usually didn't listen.

If it was a small talk, she would sit down; if it was a discussion about family matters, she would leave.

I waved, and Xiaolin got out of bed. I whispered, "Just nod your head, don't be surprised, and don't say anything."

Xiaolin came over and sat down. My mother said, "Xiaolin, it's a good thing that Shanhong can make money. But he used to be a noodle maker, and the little money-making skills he has are all learned from his master and the masters who came after him.

This money isn't just his, he should use some of it to express his gratitude. You should listen to Shanhong when it comes to distributing the money. Don't hold on to it too tightly and be reluctant to take it out once it's in your pocket.

When I was a mother in the countryside, I gave what I needed and paid what I needed. The neighbors all said I was a good person. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to support a family of four with your father's meager salary.

My father continued, "Every word your mother said was true. She would rather suffer a loss herself than mistreat others. That's why we have the blessing we have today."

Xiao Lin nodded and said something to reassure them: "He earned the money. He can divide it however he wants."

My mother gave him a thumbs-up: "Although he's not my biological child, his style and manners are still like mine. He's very generous."

My father was embarrassed because he didn't like my mother taking all the good things on herself.

I said, "It's all because of my parents who set such a good example."

My mother said, "Let's buy a bigger house and hire a nanny. It will make life easier for me. Xiaolin will also have to work in the future."

Xiaolin smiled and said, "I agree."

My mother stood up and said, "Go to bed early. I'll take care of Yuyu."

My mother took Yuyu away. I took a good bath and went to bed.

I said, "Let's talk about buying a house and a car, and how to allocate the money."

She snuggled in my arms happily and said, "Hubby, I'll listen to you."

As for me, I was perfectly clear-headed. The person in my arms might not be a sheep, but a tiger. So, I could only guide her slowly. I absolutely couldn't discuss the money right away.