Chapter 65 Riding a Horse (Revised) It seems the lady was traveling on horseback and had drunk too much…
"Another characteristic of his paintings is that all the scenes are close to everyday life. Whether it's waiting quietly at the door or dining under the lamp, they give people a feeling of 'I've experienced this too,' naturally drawing them into the artistic conception of the painting," Manager Fang sighed.
"This Xiaohe is definitely a thoughtful person. If she didn't pay attention to everything in life, how could she create such a moving painting!"
Zeng Zhengqing nodded secretly upon hearing this. Indeed, just listening to the girls describe the scene had already given him a sense of familiarity and warmth, not to mention the buyers who saw the painting in person. They probably felt even more connected to the man in the painting.
He muttered the name "Xiao He Fan" several times. This person is really something else!
“If I have the opportunity in the future, I would like to meet with him to discuss long-term cooperation,” Zeng Zhengqing said.
Shopkeeper Fang said with difficulty, "Master, I have never seen him before. The person who came here to deliver the painting and discuss the sale was a middle-aged woman, who must be running errands for him. It seems that he does not want outsiders to know his identity. But don't worry, I will convey your message truthfully, see what he thinks, and then get back to you."
He added, "Of course, I will do my best to keep him here. Since he chose our shop as the first to cooperate with us, it must be because of something about our shop that attracted him. Compared to other shops, that's our advantage."
Zeng Zhengqing remained silent. Based on his years of experience, he had a vague premonition: this painter had both keen insight and novel creative perspectives, as well as exquisite painting skills. Given time, he was likely to stand out in the future, and perhaps he could lead his Mingzhu Painting Shop to make a name for himself.
This opportunity is not to be missed; we must facilitate a collaboration with him as soon as possible!
*
Before they knew it, the day of departure arrived. Just before leaving, Zhengji suddenly said that he had important business to attend to and had to leave later, asking Zeng Zhengqing and Qingduo to take the servants ahead. Although the two set off first, they deliberately slowed their pace, waiting for Zeng Zhengji to catch up.
On the way, Zeng Zhengqing rode a horse while Qingduo sat in the carriage. Although Fangqing accompanied her, as time went by, the joy of going out faded, and she increasingly felt that the carriage was small and stuffy.
Qingduo lifted the curtain at the window and saw Zeng Zhengqing riding leisurely on horseback. She was immediately furious. Pointing at him, she shouted, "Fine! So that's why you didn't ride in the carriage with me this time! You left us cooped up in the carriage while you went off to have fun on horseback! That's not fair! I want to ride a horse too!"
"Why not?" Zeng Zhengqing said with a smile. "Get down, and I'll ride with you!"
He carefully helped Qingduo onto the horse, and just as he was about to mount himself, Qingduo suddenly tightened her wrist, gripping the reins tightly. The horse neighed and bolted forward, carrying Qingduo away in an instant. Zeng Zhengqing broke out in a cold sweat. In his panic, he instinctively ran after the horse, but how could a man catch up with a horse? He could only shout loudly to Qingduo, "Azhao! Hold on tight! Don't let go!"
Seeing that the horse showed no sign of stopping, Zeng Zhengqing turned around, snatched the horse from the servant, and leaped onto it. Just as he was about to gallop away, he suddenly heard the sound of rapid hoofbeats from ahead, accompanied by Qingduo's loud laughter. He was startled and looked into the distance. He saw that Qingduo had driven the horse around in a circle and was coming back.
She slowed down, and seeing Zeng Zhengqing's still-shaken look, she smiled and said, "I can ride a horse, you didn't expect that, did you?"
"Don't underestimate me! I learned a lot of skills when I traveled around with my dad!"
Zeng Zhengqing's face turned ashen: "You can't scare me like that again!"
Qingduo knew she was in the wrong, but she was unwilling to let him get away with it. She made a face and, just as he was about to speak, changed the subject, saying, "Come on! Let's have a race and see who has better riding skills and whose horse runs faster! The loser has to treat everyone to lunch!"
Zeng Zhengqing knew that she wouldn't give up until they had a competition, so he said, "Alright, let's compete then," pointing to a ginkgo tree in front of them, "How about we go to that tree?"
"Hehe! I'm going ahead!" Qingduo squeezed her legs together and ran towards the ginkgo tree.
"Giddy up!" Zeng Zhengqing cracked his whip and laughed as he scolded, "You're cheating!"
Qingduo giggled from the front: "You've been riding for so long and you're so good at it, while I've only just started. Of course you have to let me go a few steps! That's the only fair thing to do!"
*
When they arrived at a small town, it was noon, and everyone was hungry and tired, so Qingduo and the others chose a small restaurant to eat and rest.
They settled into four tables, and the proprietress courteously served them tea, asking, "Sir, what would you like to eat? We have..."
Zeng Zhengqing said bluntly, "No need for introductions. Just bring one of each of your six most expensive dishes for each table."
The proprietress beamed and replied repeatedly, "Yes! Yes!" Turning to the kitchen, she called out, "Old man, squirrel-shaped mandarin fish, boat-shaped duck, Dongpo pork, beggar's chicken, and..."
She suddenly stopped and said to Zeng Zhengqing, "Sir, it's all chicken, duck, fish and meat, which might be too greasy. How about we change the rest to a vegetable dish and a soup?"
Zeng Zhengqing said indifferently, "As long as it's expensive, everything else is fine."
The proprietress smiled and said, "Our customers usually order to save money, so it's rare to see you specifically choosing the expensive items. But don't worry, our food is delicious and inexpensive, and we won't charge you a single extra penny! Besides, how much more expensive can a vegetable dish and a soup be?" With that, she went to the back of the restaurant.
As soon as Zeng Zhengqing looked away, he met Qingduo's gaze. She was staring at him angrily, biting her lip so hard it turned white.
He pretended not to understand: "Huh? Why is Madam unhappy? Ah, that's right! Madam was the one who treated us to lunch, and none of us expressed our gratitude. That was indeed very impolite."
He then turned to the crowd and said, "Why don't you all hurry up and express your gratitude to the young mistress?"
The servants knew perfectly well why the young mistress was angry, and they also knew that the young master was just teasing her. So, one by one, they suppressed their laughter, stood up, and bowed respectfully to express their gratitude: "Thank you, young mistress!"
The young mistress's cheeks puffed out even more.
Qingduo pointed at Zeng Zhengqing, choking with anger: "You you you you you you..."
Zeng Zhengqing interrupted her, exclaiming in surprise, "Oh dear! It must be that Madam caught too much wind while riding her horse earlier."
"Look! Her face is all puffed up!"
He suppressed a laugh, reached out and pinched Qingduo's chubby cheek, and said with a serious expression, "I'm helping Madam relieve her gas!"
Qingduo could no longer bear it. She knocked his hand away and then snatched his chopsticks, angrily saying, "Everyone else can eat, but you can't! Humph, you even laughed at me for 'drinking too much wind,' now I'll let you have a good drink of this northwest wind!"
When Zeng Zhengji entered, he witnessed this scene: everyone was either burying their heads or turning their faces away; some were biting their lips, others were covering their mouths with their sleeves, as if their noses were blocked and they were breathing rapidly, their shoulders trembling. His elder brother appeared calm, but he also covered his mouth with his fist, though he couldn't hide the smile in his eyes.
The most outrageous thing was that of his sister-in-law, Qingduo. She was tightly clutching something under her left arm—Zeng Zhengji looked closely and realized it was just a pair of ordinary chopsticks. But her right hand gripped the tips of the chopsticks, and her eyes were glaring at his brother. The way she held them made it seem as if she wasn't holding a pair of chopsticks, but a sharp sword, ready to be drawn and stabbed into her brother's face at any moment.
He hesitated for a moment, unsure whether he should join this "battle".
Just as the retreat was gaining the upper hand, Zeng Zhengqing caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of his eye and gestured for him to sit down. Before he could even sit down, Qingduo couldn't wait to complain to him, "Brother-in-law, your brother is too much! He's so glib and annoying!"
Zeng Zhengji was surprised. He glanced at his brother and saw that his brother looked embarrassed. He didn't agree with what others said about his beloved brother, so he couldn't help but speak up for him: "Sister-in-law, there may be a misunderstanding. My brother is prudent and kind, he is not that kind of person."
"Come on! Look at how arrogant he is now! What's so great about him! He just beat me at riding a horse! Pshaw! It's not fair for someone like him who rides regularly to compete with someone like me who hasn't ridden in a long time! If you're so capable, let's have two more rounds! Best two out of three to decide the winner! You just wait until I've practiced enough these next few days!" Qingduo said angrily, pointing at Zeng Zhengqing.
Zeng Zhengqing laughed and said, "I only know that on the battlefield, victory or defeat is determined in one fell swoop. The enemy will not give you a second or third chance. Do you think they will show mercy just because you are unfamiliar with the game? So the outcome is clear. Losing is losing, and winning is winning. Why bother with a second or third round?"
“Madam, you’re a man of your word. Please give me back my chopsticks!” Zeng Zhengqing spread his palm on the table.
Zeng Zhengji nodded secretly, finding his brother's words to be entirely reasonable. Looking at his sister-in-law, he saw her tilting her head, squinting as she carefully examined his brother. He expected her to argue, but to his surprise, she nodded and said frankly, "So that's how it is!"
He was taken aback, turning to see his elder brother's astonished expression, clearly surprised by his sister-in-law's agreement. Before they could even process what she meant, she slowly said, "If the enemy won't give me a second or third chance, and you're unwilling to compete with me a second or third time, then you're essentially my 'enemy'."
A sly glint flashed in Qingduo's eyes: "Hmm! What you said makes so much sense! If the 'enemy' won't show any mercy to me, then I shouldn't be lenient with the 'enemy' either."
"I can't give you the chopsticks! To be merciful to the 'enemy' is to be cruel to oneself!"
She slammed her hand on the table and declared decisively, "Hehe! I'm going to starve my 'enemy'!" With that, she strode forward, full of fighting spirit, grabbed Zeng Zhengqing's chopsticks, and sat down at Fang Qing's table, leaving the Zeng brothers staring at each other in bewilderment.
Seeing his brother's stunned expression, Zeng Zhengji almost burst out laughing, but he quickly covered his mouth with his hand as his brother's gaze swept over him.
He was used to his brother's calm and composed demeanor. His elder brother had long since shouldered the heavy responsibilities of the family, and even when faced with difficult situations in business, he was always composed, articulate, and eloquent, which was impressive. But today, his usually eloquent brother was outmaneuvered by his sister-in-law.
This was the first time he had ever seen such a scene.
However, to be fair, it wasn't that the brother was incompetent. His sister-in-law's way of thinking was unique, and he certainly couldn't handle it. Looking around, those who could keep up with her unconventional thinking were probably few and far between in the entire world!
*
The group set off in the afternoon, with Qingduo and Zeng Zhengqing riding separate horses. Zeng Zhengqing approached the lady, offering a few words of concern and hinting at a romantic connection, but Qingduo saw through his intentions, glanced at him sideways, and said:
"Hmph! Where did this spy come from? Trying to gather intelligence on our side? No way!" Then he rode forward without looking back, keeping a certain distance from him.
Everyone understood and looked away, so Zeng Zhengqing had no choice but to awkwardly step aside. But he was not discouraged and tried again and again.
After this happened several times, Qingduo suddenly dismounted and got into the carriage. Zeng Zhengqing thought she was just annoyed with him, sighed silently, and wisely stopped bothering her. He thought to himself that it was inconvenient to be in front of so many people at the moment.
Let's wait until evening! Then there will be only the two of them in the house, and I can lower myself and apologize properly. I think I can win her back.
They found an inn to stay in that night. When Zeng Zhengqing returned to his room after making the arrangements, he saw Qingduo lying flat on the bed, looking like a roast duck hanging on a grill.
This scene looked very familiar. Zeng Zhengqing couldn't help but recall the first time he took Qingduo to see his mother. Qingduo fell and, because of the bruises on her buttocks, chose to kneel in the carriage when they returned.
Remembering that Qingduo had gone to rest in the carriage that afternoon instead of riding a horse, he suddenly realized and asked, "You haven't ridden a horse in a long time. Are you sore from the bumpy ride?"
Qingduo vehemently denied it: "No! Absolutely not!"
Zeng Zhengqing then asked, "Then why are you lying down?"
"I...I...I...oh, here's what happened! I rode a horse today! The wind blew all the way, but my butt was underneath the whole time, so I was letting it get some fresh air!"
Zeng Zhengqing found her stubbornness amusing. Pretending not to know, he went along with her words: "I see. The front is well-ventilated, so the dust has been blown away. The back is not well-ventilated, so there must have been a lot of dust accumulated. Let me dust it off for you, Madam!"
Before Qingduo could even react, he reached out and gently patted her bottom twice.
"Aww—"
Qingduo let out a howl, her body leaping up like an oil droplet hitting water. Clutching her backside with both hands, she angrily shouted, "Zeng Zhengqing! You did that on purpose!"
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Author's Note: Next update will be at 7 AM on Sunday morning.
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