Chapter 22: New Job: Your dad might have leverage over you...
The news was dropped in front of Jiang Tong like a bomb, making her head buzz. She was a little dazed, but not confused. She was thinking quickly about the message given by A Qiao.
But A Qiao threw out a piece of news that shocked her even more -
"There's one more thing," A Qiao continued, "I've checked all the debts Jiang Ming has owed over the past two years. This amount is far less than one-tenth of the Jiang family's original wealth."
The idea that Jiang Xuan had lost all the Jiang family's wealth was ingrained in her mind over the past two lifetimes. So when she heard Ah Qiao say this, she subconsciously asked, "Did Jiang Xuan transfer the remaining money to Jiang Huaiyan?"
Ah Qiao shook his head: "I checked, the person who sold the property was not Jiang Ming, but your father."
And since Jiang Ming did not owe such a huge debt, the money from the sale was naturally not used to fill Jiang Ming's hole.
This news completely confused Jiang Tong: "You mean to say that my father took the initiative to give away the family fortune?"
A Qiao's expression was heavy: "Your father might have something on him."
——This handle was so serious that he was blackmailed and lost everything, and that was not the end of it.
A huge shadow covered the sky, blocking out the bright sun. Jiang Tong's sweet dream seemed to be shattered.
Jiang Tong stood there in a daze, opening and closing his mouth, but couldn't utter a word.
A Qiao felt a little reluctant. She had been in all walks of life and had seen all kinds of dark things. No matter how tragic the matter was, she would just treat it as a passing cloud and forget about it.
However, at this moment, seeing her only sister's eyes turn red, she inexplicably felt a sense of empathy and sadness.
But she had been hanging out with men for so long that she didn't know how to comfort a girl. She rubbed her hands on her clothes and pinched the corners of her clothes. Seeing that Jiang Tong still looked sad, she gritted her teeth and patted Jiang Tong's back heavily.
"Don't worry, I'll help you with this. I have a few brothers who are very skilled. Once we find out who is threatening your father, I'll help you take care of him!"
Jiang Tong slapped her several times, causing her back to ache. Her heart almost jumped out of her throat, and all her emotions were swept away in an instant. She rubbed her chest and was about to say something when Aqiao's expression suddenly froze.
"Someone is coming." She flashed out of the house.
The next moment, there was a knock on the gate.
The person who came was Zhao Ji. He was holding a scroll carefully in his hand, and a little girl about ten years old followed behind him.
As soon as he saw Jiang Tong, he said happily, "Miss Jiang, it's time for a job! The damage this time is too severe. I can't fix it. I have to ask for your help!"
"But is it Ma Yuan's 'Treading Song Picture' from the Song Dynasty?" Jiang Tong asked.
Zhao Ji was slightly surprised, but immediately realized: "Yes, was it the girl who introduced him?"
Jiang Tong looked at Su Guanqing, who had just stood up at the kitchen door, holding two empty bowls and listening carefully to their movements with his head tilted. His eyes shone softly and he said, "That's a good introduction from Master Su."
She turned to Zhao Ji again and asked, "Have you identified the material of the painting silk?"
Zhao Ji hurriedly said, "We've done the research, and the ingredients are ready."
He waved back, "Come here, Quesheng, let Miss Jiang take a look."
Jiang Tong took a look and saw that the little girl was skin and bones, and the silk, wooden poles and other miscellaneous things in her hands were almost longer than herself.
"This is..."
Zhao Ji said, "She's my niece, nicknamed Quesheng. My brother and his wife are both dead, so she's the only one left. I couldn't bear to see my niece starve to death, so I brought her home to raise her. Someone needs to stay at the shop to look after her, so I brought her along to help get some ingredients."
Zhao Quesheng walked up timidly and greeted Jiang Tong.
Jiang Tong rubbed her head and said, "Okay, come with me and put the things in the study."
A Qiao stood by the door and mouthed to her, meaning that he would leave first and notify her when there was news. The next moment, he disappeared from the door.
Jiang Tong put his arm around Xiao Quesheng's shoulders and took two steps towards the study. He then turned to Su Guanqing and said, "Guanqing, please boil a basin of warm water for me. Remember to clean the pot and make sure there's no oil in the water."
"good."
After entering the study, Zhao Ji, under Jiang Tong's instructions, spread the scroll flat on the long table.
"Girl, are you going to start repairing it now?"
Jiang Tong nodded slightly.
Zhao Ji said shamelessly, "The customer wants this painting urgently, and I thought I could be your helper, so it can be done faster."
Jiang Tong looked at him with a half-smile.
Zhao Ji was embarrassed for a moment, and waved his hands repeatedly to explain: "I am not stealing your skills, I am just helping you. If the critical moment comes, you can just let me go."
"If you want to stay, then stay. I've never been afraid of anyone stealing my skills. If you can learn some of this skill, it's your destiny. Unless—" she changed the subject, "You're not staying to steal my skills, but you don't believe I'm the one who repaired the painting and want to see it with your own eyes?"
Zhao Ji was overjoyed when he heard she was willing to teach him, but when he heard her turn of events, he immediately broke out in a sweat and smiled shyly, "No, no, no, how could I doubt your skills?"
Jiang Tong ignored him and gently unfolded the scroll, carefully examining the damage.
The moment she encountered the ancient painting, she immediately cleared away all the emotions in her heart. Even if the sky fell, it would not affect her work.
At the same time, Zhao Ji waved to Zhao Quesheng and asked her to go out.
Zhao Quesheng didn't dare to disobey. She lowered her head, opened the door and walked out. The moment she turned back to close the door, her eyes fell on the long table, and a hint of reluctance flashed in her eyes.
Jiang Tong didn't even notice that someone was missing from the room. After carefully examining the painting, she said, "There are too many stains. We need to wash the painting first. Let's wait for the water to come."
"Hey!" While Jiang Tong was looking at the paintings, Zhao Ji quietly looked around the entire study and found that there were no unusual tools in the room, except for the long table where the paintings were placed, which was quite different.
The shape is quite ordinary, but it is longer and wider than ordinary desks. The only thing is that the color is a bit strange.
It’s red, but not a real red. At least not the kind of red you’d see in furniture.
Zhao Ji made small talk: "The color of this long table is quite unique, young lady."
His words were extremely subtle.
If someone were more straightforward, they would probably say directly that the red color is too glaring.
This long table was not originally available, but was custom-made by Jiang Tong.
When she directed Su Guanqing to help her carry it back, she attracted a lot of attention on the street.
Even Su Guanqing heard other people whispering and asked her if the long desk was particularly ugly.
Jiang Tong glanced at Zhao Ji. He was not much younger than the apprentice of the painter Jiang. In this situation, Jiang Tong felt a bit like she was back in the days of training apprentices. She sneered, "You can say that, you still have a lot to learn."
Her words sounded a bit arrogant.
Zhao Ji didn't feel offended. Instead, he immediately grasped the meaning behind her words: "So, the young lady chose this color for a reason?"
"Of course," Jiang Tong said, "Think about it, why did I choose this color?"
"Uh...this..." Zhao Ji walked to the desk, touched it, frowned and began to think, but he couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he tried, and he started scratching his belly anxiously.
Jiang Tong had many apprentices, and seeing Zhao Ji's appearance, she knew how talented he was. She taught everyone without discrimination, and suggested, "You've been immersed in Chinese painting for decades. Have you ever seen a painting using red like this?"
"No!" Zhao Ji answered simply.
"Have you ever thought about why?" Jiang Tong guided calmly.
"Uh... this red, it's really not a pretty color. If I used it in a painting, it would look very abrupt."
"You're thinking about it from a painting perspective. It's actually not that complicated. It's simply that traditional mineral pigments can't produce this red."
Zhao Ji suddenly realized, isn't it just that it can't be adjusted?
"That……"
"I want a color that can't be mixed."
Zhao Ji's expression became even more confused. He knew that Jiang Tong had already given him a lot of hints and the answer was obvious, but he was not young after all, and his mind was not that flexible, so he could not figure it out for a while.
Jiang Tong wasn't impatient, nor did she tell him the answer directly: "Think about it for a while. I'll remind you again when we get to that point. You know how to uncover the past, right? Come on, and I'll see how you do it."
Zhao Ji was startled, then realized that Jiang Tong was really willing to teach him. He was overjoyed and quickly and obediently began to prepare to uncover the old story.
…
In the kitchen, Su Guanqing was boiling water.
Zhao Quesheng was driven out and had nowhere to go, so she came to help boil water, but Su Guanqing refused to let her do it, so she had to squat in the corner.
The little girl was petite to begin with, and she shrank into the shadows, seemingly disappearing out of thin air.
When Zhong Wanci hurried in, she didn't see her and went straight to Su Guanqing:
"Guan Qing!"
"Aunt?" Su Guanqing asked, tilting his head. "Put the dishes there. I'll clean them up."
"Don't worry about washing the dishes for now! Guan Qing, who was that person who just entered the study?"
"It's Shopkeeper Zhao from the Qiao Workshop."
"What did that person go in for?"
"There's a painting that needs restoration, and they..."
Before she finished speaking, Zhong Wanci's face changed. "How can you let a man from outside stay in the same room with Tongtong, and with the door closed? If this ruins her reputation, how will Tongtong get married in the future? Oh! Guan Qing! Hurry up! Go inside and guard!"
"Yes, that's right." Su Guanqing agreed quickly, scooped a basin of warm water from the pot, and went to the study.
In the study, Jiang Tong had just instructed Zhao Ji to carefully remove the old mounting on the painting and pointed out a few problems with his technique when he heard Su Guanqing's voice at the door.
"Tongtong, the hot water is here."
Jiang Tong opened the door and saw that it was Su Guanqing standing outside with a basin of steaming water.
"You didn't bring a bamboo stick? Aren't you afraid of falling?" Jiang Tong got anxious on the spot. Pouring that basin of hot water on yourself is no joke!
"It's okay. Our house is small. The kitchen is just a few steps away. I can find the way," Su Guanqing said as he stepped in. "Where should I put it?"
"I'll do it, I'll do it!" Although Zhao Ji was not quite clear about the relationship between Su Guanqing and Jiang Tong, but by watching the two of them get along, he could judge that this handsome young man must be a very important person to Jiang Tong. He immediately came forward with great insight and took the wooden basin.
"Just put it on the table. It's time to start washing the painting," Jiang Taidou said solemnly. "Close the door."
"Hey!" Su Guanqing closed the door and locked himself in.
The author has something to say:
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Next door "Hong Kong Gold Medal Screenwriter" please collect ~
Yan Shaowei traveled back to Hong Kong in the 1940s.
She was penniless, living on the streets, and had two dependents following her around.
As a god-level online writer in his previous life, Yan Shaowei could do nothing but tell stories.
She banged on bowls and became a street storyteller, filling her stomach by telling stories.
Later, she started to return to her old career, writing novels, writing screenplays, and making movies.
Soon, the people of Hong Kong discovered that there was a writer in the newspaper whose stories were all interesting.
At the same time, everyone also discovered that a talented screenwriter had emerged in a certain opera troupe.
That year, Yan Shaowei, with his profound writing skills, portrayed the image of an optimistic and strong street boy in his new book "The Story of Gou Wa", which brought tears to the eyes of Hong Kong readers.
Her books were adapted into radio dramas, sung on the streets by storytellers, and even turned into major plays...
That year, Yan Shaowei's play "The Substitute Bride" made the opera troupe, which was unable to sell tickets and was about to disband, become popular in Hong Kong.
The critics were impressed: "She is like using a pair of scissors to precisely cut out the dregs in traditional opera. What a keen eye! And what courage!"
That year, the movie written and directed by Yan Shaowei broke out of Hong Kong, broke out of Asia, and broke out into the world.
After watching her performance, a famous director from Europe and America wanted to become her apprentice: "She has already mastered the techniques and paths that we are still exploring!"
ps:
1. Main career line.
2. They cannot write about historical figures and real events, they just make them up.
3. The protagonist’s name is taken from “The three-foot sword in the box, the Shaowei star in the sky”.
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