Chapter 10: Forced Marriage: Make sure your sister's wedding is done properly...
For a whole half month, Jiang Tong did not go out and devoted himself to repairing the paintings.
The steps for repairing calligraphy and painting are simple but not complicated. There are only four steps in total: "wash, peel, repair, and complete".
- Wash away the dirt, peel off the layers of paper stuck on during mounting, fill in the various damages on the painting, and make up for the missing colors and brushwork.
Jiang Tong has completed the first two steps, and the next thing she needs to do is to fix the loopholes.
Jiang Tong had to use a horseshoe knife to scrape the paper at least halfway around the edge of the hole, that millimeter area, and then scrape the edge of the new paper to patch it in half as well. This way, the area where the two pieces of paper were glued together would not be awkward.
The paper itself is already very thin, and to accurately rub off half of its thickness requires great technique.
But for Jiang, the painter, everything was under control. Every time she scraped, the position and force of her knife were extremely precise, never damaging the painting's core, and never leaving any unnecessary marks.
Half a month later, everything is getting better and better.
The damage to the painting was repaired one by one, and Jiang Huaishan's health gradually improved.
Jiang Meng...
I can also get out of bed.
After Jiang Meng got up, he ran to Jiang Huaishan's house to kowtow and admit his mistake, saying that he would reform himself and would never do anything to let down his ancestors or parents again.
Jiang Huaishan leaned against the head of the bed, closed his eyes, and ignored him.
He is already over fifty years old this year, with some gray on his temples and wrinkles on his forehead. Leaning there, he looks older than his peers, and has a sense of being in his twilight years.
Jiang Meng looked awkwardly at Zhong Wanci, who was folding clothes beside him. "Mom, is Dad really awake?"
Zhong Wanci was a little hesitant. Jiang Huaishan had indeed been awake more and more these days, but it was hard to say when he would fall asleep again.
Seeing her reaction, Jiang Meng thought that Jiang Huaishan was still confused, and he felt a little relieved. He had a rib injury and felt uncomfortable kneeling for a long time, so he simply sat down on the footstool beside the bed.
"Dad, I've thought about it. From now on, I'm not only going to be a filial son, but also a good brother. My sister isn't young anymore. I can't let her life be ruined because of me not making progress."
Zhong Wanci paused while folding clothes and looked at Jiang Meng.
Jiang Meng continued, "I think my sister has a wild temper. If she were to marry into an ordinary scholarly family, I'm afraid they wouldn't be able to control her. She doesn't like scholars like Su Guanqing. I think the wealthy Xu family in the east of the city is a good choice. They have a strong financial background. If my sister marries into them, she won't be like her family now, unable to afford a single new piece of clothing..."
This marriage sounded good, but Zhong Wanci felt inexplicably nervous. She clutched the clothes in her hands tightly and looked at Jiang Huaishan for help, but he still had his eyes closed, neither moving nor speaking.
Seeing his reaction, Jiang Ming became bolder and bolder. "If Dad has no objection, I'll take care of this matter. I promise to handle my sister's affairs properly. Then... I'll take this as Dad's agreement."
"Wait!" Zhong Wanci couldn't count on her husband, so she could only speak up. "That Xu family kid, how old is he? What's his character like? What does his family do for a living?"
Jiang Ming had no respect for his young stepmother. He just smiled and said perfunctorily, "Mother, don't you believe me? How can I harm my own sister?"
"It's not that I don't believe you, but I also need to find out what kind of family that is."
"Mother stays at home all day, how can she know what's going on outside? Even if I tell her, she probably won't understand, so why bother asking. Mother, don't worry. The Xu family is in the east of the city, so close to us. When my sister gets married there, she can come back to see us anytime. If we miss out on such a good match, I don't know where to find another one. Are you planning to leave my sister as an old maid?"
The more Jiang Meng refused to elaborate, the more Zhong Wanci felt something was wrong. She almost made a hole in the clothes in her hands. "Marriage is a big matter, and it depends on the parents' wishes. I want to ask what's wrong?"
Jiang Ming simply revealed his scoundrel face: "Mother, do you not trust me, or do you have a way to help my sister find a better marriage?"
Zhong Wanci choked. She was married to Beijing from Suicheng and had no relatives or friends here. Unless she took Jiang Tong back to her parents' home, she would not be able to provide any help in Jiang Tong's marriage.
"If I can't find a good family in the capital, I can just take Tongtong back to Guangzhou to look for one!" Zhong Wanci made up her mind. Although Tongtong wasn't mentioned in the letter from the Zhong family, if she took Tongtong back, would her parents really reject her?
"How can you go to your daughter's parents' house to find a husband? Unless mother sees that our Jiang family is failing and wants to return to the Zhong family to remarry. That's also..." Jiang Meng sighed pretentiously, "After all, mother is not father's original wife. It's normal for each to run away when disaster strikes."
"You! You are talking nonsense!" Zhong Wanci was so angry at this cheap son that her eyes turned red.
At this moment, Jiang Huaishan, who had been resting with his eyes closed, spoke:
"I've only heard of one wealthy family in the east of the city, the Xu family, who owns a brothel. Mr. Xu is a widower in his sixties and has no children. Are you talking about Tongtong marrying that old man who's a few years older than me?"
Jiang Huaishan had been seriously ill for a long time. When he spoke, his words were a little unclear, but he was obviously clear-headed and his tone was majestic without being angry.
Jiang Meng was so frightened that he rolled off the pedal and knelt down in front of his father.
Jiang Huaishan's angry rebuke came from above: "That's your sister. Even if she's not your biological sister, you all have the blood of the Jiang family. How could you be so cruel!"
"Dad, I, I'm really thinking about my sister. Our Jiang family is in decline. The people we used to interact with are all opportunists and don't interact with us anymore. The Xu family is the most affluent family I can find. Could it be that Dad could bear to see my sister marry a poor scholar and suffer from hunger every day after marriage?"
Jiang Huaishan snorted coldly: "Thank you for your trouble."
"It...it should be." Jiang Ming's voice became smaller and smaller.
"Tongtong is my daughter. I have my own arrangements for her marriage. You don't have to worry about it. Go out." Jiang Huaishan said, closing his eyes again, as if he didn't want to talk to Jiang Tong anymore.
"Yes." Jiang Ming agreed, lowered his head to hide the anger in his eyes, and retreated silently.
After Jiang Tong left, Jiang Huaishan opened his eyes and said to Zhong Wanci, "Go and call Tongtong over. I have something to say to her."
"What about Tongtong's marriage..."
"I have my own plans. Go ahead."
Jiang Huaishan waited for a while, but saw his always obedient wife just standing there, pursed her lips and said nothing.
He was already irritable during his illness and was about to lose his temper, but thinking of his wife's careful care these days, he couldn't help but soften his voice: "Don't worry, I will carefully choose Tongtong's marriage and won't let Ah Tong do whatever he wants."
Zhong Wanci was finally satisfied and turned to look for her daughter.
Jiang Tong has repaired all the damage and wormholes in the painting.
The paper used is naturally provided by the owner of the mounting shop, and the year, thickness, etc. are very similar to the painting.
But no matter how similar the two types of paper are, the color of the newly added paper will definitely be different from the troubled center of the painting. If the color is not completed, the picture will be full of spots at a glance.
Before adding full color, you must first place a layer of paper on the center of the painting.
Jiang Tong dyed the paper a color slightly lighter than the center of the painting, stuck it to the back of the center of the painting, and then put the entire painting "on the wall" - that is, pasted it on the paper wall.
When the whole painting is almost dry, you can add color to the front of the center of the painting.
Jiang Tong dipped the brush into the paint, mixed it into the appropriate color, and gently dotted it on the color-missing areas.
The key to this step is that the tip of the pen must be applied accurately to the paper to be filled. Once it goes beyond the boundary and touches the original center of the painting, the color will be darker.
It's like it's pointed out to people, look! This is where it's been patched up!
Then the entire repair work of the painting center would be wasted.
After Jiang Tong mixed the colors, she held her breath and concentrated, tapping the brush on the drawing paper one by one. The holes were quickly filled with color under her hands, but she never went beyond the boundaries.
When Zhong Wanci came over, Jiang Tong had already finished patching the last hole.
She stepped back and looked at it, then looked at it from the side. She found that the parts that she had touched with a brush showed no signs of repair with the naked eye. Only then did she nod in satisfaction.
Jiang Tong put down her brush and looked up, only to find a figure moving outside the door. She raised her voice, "Who's outside?"
Zhong Wanci was lingering at the door of the study, hesitating whether to knock. Upon hearing this, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief: "Tongtong, it's me."
Jiang Tong opened the door: "Mom? What's going on?"
"Your father has woken up, so I'll let you go over," Zhong Wanci said, and then added a worried reminder, "Your father is still sick and can't stand any stimulation. Just agree with what he says and don't talk back to him."
When Jiang Tong gave her this instruction, she remembered that she also had a "contribution" to Jiang Huaishan's illness.
At that time, she was angry that Jiang Xuan lost the family business, and she resented Jiang Huaishan's unscrupulous protection of this so-called incense. The father and daughter quarreled to the point of almost breaking up.
As he was getting old, he had no family and his two children became his only support. Jiang Huaishan couldn't catch his breath and fell ill.
In his previous life, Jiang Huaishan fell down and never got up again, leaving Jiang Tong with only regret and longing.
Decades have passed, and the resentment between father and daughter has long since dissipated in the separation of life and death.
Jiang Tong stood in front of Jiang Huaishan's bed again, looking at his father with gray hair in a daze, not knowing what to say for a moment.
Jiang Huaishan didn't say anything either, but just leaned against the head of the bed and looked at his daughter kindly.
He was almost forty years old when he had this daughter. He loved Jiang Tong as if she were the apple of his eye, and the relationship between father and daughter was very good for a time.
But since when did this child, the apple of his eye, the child who would lie on his lap and act coquettishly with him, have nothing to say to him except quarreling?
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