Before reaching the door, a man came out. He was wearing dark clothes and was not conspicuous in the night. If you didn't run into him, it would be difficult to notice him.
The servant let him go first, and when they passed each other, Feng Miao saw his face clearly.
"Zhao Xiu?"
Zhao Xiu paused, and cast a cold gaze on the two of them. After just one glance, he hurried away.
Xu Si was confused. "Who is this guy? Why is he so arrogant?"
Feng Miao snorted, "Just like us, a wanted criminal."
Who is this garden owner? Why does he keep dealing with criminals?
Xu Si realized what was going on and glared at Feng Miao. "Stop talking nonsense! Who is like you? I am an honest citizen!"
Feng Miao smiled sarcastically.
The two followed the servant into a side hall where four or five wealthy young men sat. One of them was holding a portrait, and as soon as the two entered the room, he pointed it at them.
"Look, it's quite realistic."
Xu Si glanced at the person in the portrait and suddenly felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck his head.
He is wanted!
Clouds cover the sky, and the evening sun blocks the setting sun.
Xu Jiang and Xie said goodbye to their neighbors and led the donkey back to the backyard.
As soon as she closed the door, she squatted on the ground, covering her face and exhaling heavily.
The stubborn donkey pushed its head against her hand, signaling her to lead it back to the shed quickly, but Xu Jiang did not move for a long time.
For so many years, she thought she had let it go, but when she saw Xu Dang and Xu Twelve today, she realized that some things can never be overcome, and some hatreds can never be erased.
Although the man who murdered her master was dead, and Xu Dang and Xu Twelve were sentenced to imprisonment, which allowed her to vent her anger, her master would never come back. Her real home had long been burned to ashes in the fire, and it became a graveyard.
Half of her flesh, blood and soul were also buried in it.
The stubborn donkey pushed her hand away, but it got tears in its nose. It then bit Xu Jiang's sleeve, trying to pull her up from the ground.
The sleeves made a tearing sound, and Xu Jiang slapped the dog on the mouth, making it loosen its grip. Then he stood up from the ground and dragged it out of the donkey shed.
Xu Jiang added water to the donkey, slaughtered some food, and then went to the kitchen to cook herself a bowl of soup noodles with two spoonfuls of mushroom oil. She ate until she was sweating profusely.
After eating the soup noodles, I fetched water to wash up, and finally, as the last ray of light sank, I wrapped myself in the quilt and fell into a deep old dream.
In her dream, she was drawing ink lines. Her hands were shaking, and the lines she drew looked like earthworms, crooked and twisted.
When she finished, the paper looked like waves, making the figure on it wrinkled.
She squeezed her little face, drew and redrawn the person again and again, and finally melted the person into a ball of ink with no clear head or tail.
After finishing the painting, she nodded with satisfaction, then held the drawing paper in front of Xu Yuan to show him.
Xu Yuan put down the engraving board in his hand, took it and looked at it for a long time. "What's this drawing?"
Xu Jiang answered loudly, "The master of painting."
Xu Yuan stared at the mess of ink, unable to praise it. He stood up, went into the room, took out a painting, and handed it to Xu Jiang, "Take it and paint according to your example."
Xu Jiang took the painting, opened it, and exclaimed in surprise, "It's Master!"
This is a portrait of Xu Yuan, lifelike and full of charm.
"Go ahead."
Xu Jiang happily ran away with the paintings. In the next few days, she would bring a painting to show her master every day. Those paintings started from a ball of ink, gradually took shape, and then became the appearance of her master.
When she had copied the painting to about 70% of the original, Xu Yuan asked her to return the original. However, when he took it in his hands, he found that the painting had been soaked with ink and was no longer acceptable.
It turns out that such rapid progress is all due to copying from paper.
He roared, his breath sinking into his dantian, "Xu Jiang! Get over here!"
Xu Jiang knelt on the ground with her head down, with the painting she had defaced in front of her.
Xu Yuan pointed at the painting and said, "Is this how you learned? You're being cunning and opportunistic, and you've ruined a beautiful painting."
Xu Jiang was so angry that she said, "A Jiang was wrong. I won't do it again."
Xu Twelve advised, "A Jiang is still young. A little laziness is nothing. Why should I scare her?"
"A tree as big as two men's embrace grows from a tiny seed. We should be diligent and down-to-earth in everything we do. But now, at such a young age, you're already pursuing pleasure and taking shortcuts. If you don't correct yourself now, how can you become a useful person in the future?"
Xu Twelve had originally spoken up for Xu Jiang, but now he was also criticized in a veiled way, so he went out in silence.
Xu Yuan said to Xu Jiang, "Either restore this painting to its original state, or paint me another one that is exactly the same as before. It's your choice."
Xu Jiang wiped away her tears and held the painting in her arms, "I'll fix it."
With her current painting skills, she couldn't even draw it 60% or 70% like it, let alone perfectly. Although restoration was difficult, it was just manual labor. With patience and practice, she would eventually be able to polish it out.
This is what makes Xu Jiang so endearing. She never makes excuses after making a mistake and always admits her fault.
Xu Yuan calmed down and let her get up.
Afterwards, Xu Jiang spent nearly half a month to barely repair the damaged portrait.
After Xu Yuan checked, he felt that it was not satisfactory, so he let the matter go.
After Xu Jiang handed over the painting, she knelt down and kowtowed to Xu Yuan. Then, with a smile on her face, she said to Xu Yuan, "Happy birthday, Master. May all your wishes be blessed with good fortune."
Xu Yuan was stunned for a moment before he walked over to Xu Jiang, stroked her hair, and sighed, "You've grown up." Then he asked, "Are you drawing this portrait as a birthday gift for your teacher?"
Xu Jiang nodded, then said dejectedly: "But I can't draw well, and I ruined Master's painting, making Master angry."
Xu Yuan helped her up, brushed the dust off her legs, and said softly, "If you can't draw well, I'll teach you. If you draw more, you'll naturally get better." Then he said, "Don't worry, Master can wait."
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