The next day, Chen Xihua took Chen Xiaoliu to Old Man Qin's house again to learn calligraphy and traditional Chinese painting. When they arrived, Old Man Qin looked at Chen Xihua with a displeased expression.
What's wrong? She doesn't seem to have offended Old Man Qin, Chen Xihua thought to herself, tilting her head, her forehead full of question marks.
"Chen Xiaowu, you've been on vacation for several days now, why are you only starting to study today? Are you trying to slack off again?" Old Man Qin frowned slightly, displeased, and got angry at her feigned innocence.
Now, Old Man Qin no longer calls her Xi Yatou. He's heard "Chen Xiaoliu" so many times that it sounds nice, so he calls her Chen Xiaowu instead.
"Teacher, you've wronged me. I was just going outside to carefully observe the beautiful scenery so I could properly learn the essence of traditional Chinese painting, wasn't I?" Chen Xihua changed the subject, shrugging casually.
"You're just talking nonsense. Well then, you'd better draw properly today. If you don't draw a picture of the beautiful scenery you've seen, you'll be drawing until dark." Old Man Qin didn't bother arguing with the girl anymore and directly assigned her homework, speaking seriously.
Then, his expression instantly changed, and he smiled gently at Chen Baohua, saying...
"Sixth Sister, you should focus on practicing calligraphy first. Try to surpass your fifth sister. She's a lazy girl, don't be like her."
Chen Xiaoliu straightened up and said in a very obedient voice, "Okay, Teacher Qin."
"This old man is not cute at all." Chen Xihua slightly raised her eyelids, her lips twitched slightly, and she muttered softly.
"Little Six, what did your Fifth Sister just say?" Old Man Qin turned his head and glanced at Chen Xihua. He couldn't quite hear what she said, but it sounded like she was complaining or something. Then he asked Chen Little Six directly.
"Teacher Qin, my fifth sister said I'm a little cutie," Chen Baohua said earnestly, without batting an eye.
"Is that so?" Old Qin raised an eyebrow, but he had a feeling that it wasn't true. Chen Xiaoliu had also gone astray, and Chen Xiaowu must have been cursing him.
Chen Xihua suddenly covered her mouth to suppress a laugh: Yes, Xiao Liu, you are such a cutie.
An hour later, Chen Xihua couldn't continue painting. Old Qin kept interfering with her, saying that the colors were wrong, too bright, or too rough and inconsistent.
"Teacher, this is messy beauty, art, this is art... You just sit over there on your 'throne' and wait to inspect my finished product." Chen Xihua lazily moved her shoulders, speechless. This old man Qin was sincere; he didn't want to finish the painting himself.
No, today Old Man Qin seems a bit impetuous, not like a scholar or professor who should be calm, composed, and unhurried.
"Teacher, are you upset?" Chen Xihua raised an eyebrow and asked uncertainly.
"No, that's not true. I was just giving you pointers. Since you find me annoying, then draw it yourself." Old Qin's eyelids twitched, and he walked away, feigning displeasure.
"Fifth Sister, I know..."
"Chen Xiaoliu, have you finished writing?" Old Man Qin immediately interrupted Chen Xiaoliu.
Hearing Old Man Qin raise his voice slightly, Chen Baohua quickly shut up.
He came to practice calligraphy a couple of days ago, and the primary school also has an early holiday.
Yesterday, Old Man Qin listened to a radio news report related to culture and remained silent for a long time.
It seems to be about Professor Ye from the provincial capital, who recently took on a disciple named Zhou Qingfeng. Zhou is sixteen years old and has shown great talent in traditional Chinese painting. He won first place in a youth painting competition that just ended in the provincial capital last month.
"Teacher, is something really wrong? Please tell me. Or I can ask Xiao Liu when I get back?" Chen Xihua wasn't one to pretend she didn't know; unless she was kept completely in the dark, she was the type to gossip to the very end.
"I won't tell you. If you want to ask Xiao Liu, then ask." Old Man Qin's face fell. He didn't even look at Chen Xihua. Did he expect him to admit that he was unhappy because someone else had a good student?
Moreover, Chen Xiaowu often taught Chen Xiaoliu not to envy, be jealous of, or hate others, but to just do her best.
Now, if I were to say that I'm an old man and I envy others, that I can't compare to a little kid like Chen Xiaoliu?
"Xiao Liu, give me a hint," Chen Xihua actually asked.
"Professor Ye's student won first place in the traditional Chinese painting competition in the provincial capital." Although Chen Baohua was a little afraid of Old Man Qin, he also listened to his fifth sister.
"Oh, is that so... It's Zhou Qingfeng? Teacher, what do you think of my talent for traditional Chinese painting?" Chen Xihua understood whether Old Man Qin was envious or resentful, and after a pause, she asked again.
But she knew her own level. She was okay at sketching and watercolor, but she really couldn't reach the level of a great painter in traditional Chinese painting. She wasn't some kind of genius.
If it were that easy, everyone would be a master.
"Not good at all, much worse than your own calligraphy!" Old Qin said irritably. This girl is just lazy.
"As for calligraphy, you'd better practice properly. If you dare to slack off, I'll deal with you. You also need to practice traditional Chinese painting from time to time. I don't need to be excellent, but don't let people say that my student can't even do the basics of traditional Chinese painting. Wouldn't that be a joke?"
"Yes, ma'am!" Chen Xihua replied immediately, afraid that he would keep harping on her. "Or, teacher, why don't you find a student who studies traditional Chinese painting?"
Chen Xihua knew that neither she nor Xiao Liu had much talent for traditional Chinese painting; they were only decent at calligraphy. Xiao Liu wasn't even interested in painting at all.
Old Man Qin: "We'll see."
In the following days, Chen Meihua and Chen Xiuhua, who were studying at high school in Jiang City, also returned home for the holidays, with the eldest sister, Chen Chunhua, being the last to arrive home.
The day her older sister arrived home was already July 19th. Chen Chunhua said that after the school holiday, she stayed at school for a week to do campus practice activities.
The morning after Chen Chunhua returned home, after Chen Lao Er and his wife had gone to the pastry shop, she held a small meeting with Chen's siblings in the dining room.
The Chen siblings were all a little curious. Had their eldest sister also started a family meeting? They all sat upright around the round dining table. Chen Xihua watched as her eldest sister stood up, looking serious, as if she had something to say.
"Sisters, and Xiao Bao, Xiao Wu used to help us make money. At Fanghua Apparel Co., Ltd., we could get 8% of the profits. Now that the company is growing bigger, we are taking advantage of Xiao Wu more and more."
We didn't actually do anything; we just helped out while we were knitting the bags.
It was also because Little Sister Wu was generous that she said she would give us dividends like this, and since we didn't really understand it, we accepted it without any qualms.
When Fanghua held its year-end summary meeting, Xiao Wu showed me the financial statements, and I felt that we could no longer take it for granted.
I reminded Xiao Wu, but she clearly stated that this was how Fanghua Company distributed profits. So, I let it go. However, Xiao Wu will likely establish more companies in the future, and as the eldest sister, I won't participate in other companies or receive profit sharing.
"Also, when you asked me to register the Nanhua Investment Company before, I filled in that each of us would hold 2%, totaling 10%, while Xiao Wu would hold 90%."
"Big sister, why didn't you tell me? Didn't I tell you to keep it at 8% per person?" Chen Xihua was a little surprised; she really didn't know that.
Because Chen Xihua used the money from the dividends of Fanghua Company from her sisters to invest in Boss Lei's construction site, and there wasn't enough money at the time, she had budgeted for the No. 2 Garment Factory.
"Xiao Wu, no, we can't. We can't help Nanhua Investment Company at all, and we don't know anything about it."
Also, if you start any other companies in the future, don't share any of our profits. The dividends from Fanghua Company are enough for us.
If it weren't for you, we wouldn't even have two hundred yuan to ask our parents for now.
Xiao Wu, you like making money, and you must have a lot of ideas, but we can't keep taking it for free.
During her first year at university, Chen Chunhua had learned a great deal about this subject, and she gradually realized how much Xiao Wu had taken advantage of her and her sisters.
After Chen Chunhua finished speaking, she looked at her younger sisters and brothers.
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