Those who are willing to take the bait
"It's no problem to make the old man happy. I have confidence in my work. But I'm afraid the person who tied the bell must be the one to untie it. What he really cares about are the children." Jiang Liu added sugar and stirred the coffee.
"I think it would be best to get all the partners from the bookstore here to celebrate his birthday with a lively atmosphere," Jian Xun suggested.
The aftereffects of Guan Xueqing's revisiting of the past still lingered in the air. He spoke with lingering fear, as if he were reopening the scars of those kids and turning around to use them for his own purposes.
"You didn't leave any contact information at the time?" Yu Ran asked.
"No, that was the biggest problem. We were all in different grades, and to be honest, we weren't meant to be friends with each other. Also, cell phones were rare back then."
When Jian Xun said this, he felt troubled and regretful, which was as annoying as the bitter aftertaste of the coffee at that moment.
There is no use being anxious, time is not meant to be wasted.
So, the four of them split up into two groups: Yu Ran and Jiang Liu finished the flower ceremony, while Guan Xueqing and Jian Xun tried to find their former companions.
As for planning the birthday and how to convince the stubborn Guan Honglin, it was the "result." The four people had to complete the "cause" first before the logical chain could develop smoothly.
Today is June 16th, Saturday. It's the day to meet Wen Jiaming.
As I reached the corner of the fifth floor, I heard the sounds of moving things and tables and chairs on the sixth floor. A lot of debris was piled up at the door and the stairwell. "Ouch!" Wen Jiaming, holding a broom, was blocked and almost tripped. With nowhere else to go, they used this annoying way to make their presence felt.
It turned out that he and his parents were cleaning. He saw an acquaintance coming to visit, and he couldn't hide the embarrassment of having someone come to visit him after breaking an appointment.
What pushed the awkward atmosphere to its limit was his outfit: his shirt tucked into his trousers, his trouser legs rolled up at one end and one end, and his large slippers, which would make a creaking sound if he turned around and walked into the house, had just stepped on water. Wen Jiaming called out, "Hello, brothers," and his face flushed.
Jiang Liu softened his heart and wiped the sweat off his face. The child's cheek was like an unwaxed and unpolished apple, not found in the mercenary world. It was the most pure and natural sweet fruit.
"Are you tired?" Yu Ran helped to move away the debris blocking the road.
Wen Jiaming smiled in response, saying, "Not tired." His parents asked him to help tidy up his sister's room—"My sister will be home for summer vacation, so we need to clean her room quickly."
This is good news! If Wen Ruiyi could go home earlier, maybe she could make it to Grandpa Guan’s birthday!
"June 30th." Wen Jiaming said with regret.
His parents called out, "Jiaming!" He finally hurried in with a humble expression. Yu Ran and Jiang Liu kindly helped take away the trash. There was also a pile of old books, scattered among them high school exercise books and workbooks. If they were from junior high school, they might be useful to Wen Jiaming, who was about to enter junior high school, but the high school books were of no use at the moment, so they were all cleared out.
Before he even threw it into the neighborhood trash can, Jiang Liu noticed one book among the pile was different: a yearbook with a beautiful cover. He flipped open the first page and saw Wen Ruiyi's name written on the first line of the "My Self-Portrait" section.
It's easy to get what you want! If you can find one or two book friends in the yearbook, you'll be one small step closer to success.
After taking the yearbook away, since they didn't have to accompany Wen Jiaming today, the two returned to the studio to design the flower gift.
"Do you have any ideas?" Yu Ran asked as he brewed tea. Two streams of white smoke rolled out and applied hot compresses to Jiang Liu's lips, which had become dry due to silence.
"No..." Jiang Liu said depressedly.
Guan Shiqian loved flowers, so even a potted plant would have been a welcome addition. Jiang Liu's floral gift was meant to please the old man. Neither the icing on the cake nor the help in need would have been enough to embarrass him. The most challenging task was to achieve both the sublimation of the icing on the cake and the redemption of the charcoal in the snow.
Yu Ran's gaze passed through the fog barrier and he said briskly, "Would you like to hear my thoughts?"
Jiang Liu obediently held the tea and moistened the person's throat.
"The old man is good at recognizing people, but not at remembering names. So we matched each person's name with a flower, and that's how we selected the flowers."
Yu Ran took the teacup, and what he drank was not tea, but acacia honey.
"How about making a big wreath? Then have all the children come and present it. Let's make it bigger, and then have the Guan family father and son wear the wreath together, symbolizing that their hearts are connected and there are no barriers between them."
Jiang Liu's mind was opened up, and inspiration suddenly surged:
"I think it can be combined with books. For example, put a lot of books together and hollow out the middle to use as a container; flowers can gush out from the books, or flow out continuously. Then use books or flowers to create a background next to them. Finally, add a glass cover outside and display it as a handicraft!"
Jiang Liu talked incessantly, and Yu Ran and he were bathed in the frenzy of joy.
So this gift is divided into two parts: one is the shape of the flower, and the other is the shaping of the vase, that is, using the book to make the vase. Of course, two people have to divide the work and cooperate.
Yu Ran confirmed with Jiang Liu the desired overall effect and height. If they used books the thickness of an encyclopedia, they would need three. However, if the books were thicker, the overall appearance would appear abrupt and lack a sense of flow. Therefore, not only the height had to be considered, but the pages also had to be wider.
Yu Ran suddenly seemed to remember something and drove hurriedly to Xunfeng Garden...the trash can downstairs.
For the first time in his life, he had the experience of snatching something from a garbage truck. It was a close call, just one step away. After all, the huge garbage truck was inconvenient to enter and exit, and he wasted time when drifting through the corners, and Yu Ran got the upper hand.
Ideally, I would just need a few dictionaries or encyclopedias, but those useful ones were definitely left behind, and this pile is full of exercise books, tutorial books, and functional books.
Unable to conceal his excitement, Yu Ran carried the pile of junk back to the studio. To his surprise, there was a set of high school tutoring materials, six or seven books in total, covering all subjects, and the size was as expected.
He tore off the covers of the selected books, stacked them together, and placed a thick piece of corrugated cardboard underneath as a foundation; after confirming the height was correct, he split another book in half along the book's length, and sandwiched the scattered pages one by one into the whole book, manually extending the plane to create a slope.
He first brushed a coat of glue around the four edges of the book, not too much; it simply ensured the book wouldn't move while the hollowing process was underway. The clear glue made everything appear even clearer. Yu Ran, however, realized that the entire book wouldn't stand on the ground relying solely on the spine. So, he placed two semicircular lumps of floral clay beneath the two wings of the soft "V." The clay supported the pages, making it much more stable.
Yu Ran picked out a cylindrical vase, compared and determined the size and depth of the groove, then took the utility knife he usually used to unpack floral materials, and lay on the ground, carefully cutting each page one by one.
Cutting the pages disturbs the fibers of the textural fabric, and the aroma of pulp and ink bursts forth with each stroke. The feel is like slicing through the thinnest rind of a watermelon, like "early spring ruby," or even a candied orange—a truly novel experience.
After the entire piece was cut, he placed it on the rooftop of the studio to dry, and had to go buy white glue and acrylic paint as soon as possible.
There were two rooms on the second floor. He came out and turned to the door of the other room, his gentle eyes surging. Jiang Liu always had his back to her, otherwise he would have fallen for her, not knowing how to swim.
While Jiang Liu was flipping through Wen Ruiyi's yearbook, he asked in the group of four people if they had found any results in their search for someone.
"We found two. They're kids from the same neighborhood. Luckily, today is Saturday, so their high school is closed."
"What's your name?"
"Yan Cailu and Wu Yurui. I've already contacted them and they will be there on time."
Morning glory is also known as "morning glory", which means collecting morning dew, which is very consistent with the artistic conception of the first girl's name.
The name of the flower itself is Wu Yurui, but the Yurui flower is hard to find at this time of year. Jiang Liu wrote it down on a piece of paper and planned to go to the flower market in the next two days. He might as well ask the flower farmers on WeChat to help keep an eye out.
"Well, I have some clues here. Do you think there are any familiar names?" Jiang Liu took pictures of the yearbook one by one and sent them to the group.
Back to the flowers. Speaking of the Wen family siblings, the elder sister uses "Yixin Grass" as a symbol, while the younger brother is best suited to "Gloriosa Lily." This flower's petals curl gracefully, like a newly lit flame, still small but full of hope. This is exactly the feeling Wen Jiaming gives people.
As for Jian Xun, it's honestly a bit difficult to find a name. There are so few flowers with similar names. Jiang Liu thinks he could start with the artistic conception of the name. Daisies and four-leaf clover represent "simple, unadorned, and pure." For a more creative approach, lily of the valley and jasmine might also be good options, embodying the meaning of "simple yet sophisticated." He sent a WeChat message asking for advice, but Jian Xun hasn't replied yet.
Guan Xueqing and Zhao Jinnuo were a perfect match, and the Albizia Julibrissin was the most suitable flower. However, the Albizia Julibrissin and the Bardsonia dasyphylla had some similar shapes. Roses and lilies were also considered by Jiang Liu, but Guan Xueqing finally settled on lilies. "Everything is harmonious and beautiful," she said. She yearned not only for a happy love life, but also for the happiness of her family.
As for the highlight, what kind of flowers should be used to represent the father and son duo Guan Shiqian and Guan Honglin?
Is Guan Shiqian a gladiolus, a Clivia, or a sunflower? Or perhaps the Chinese character for "chun" (Chunxuan bingmao) is used, and the Chinese toon leaves are used to express a wish for the health of his aging father?
As for Guan Honglin, Jiang Liu had a good idea—Strelitzia reginae. The crane and the flying geese are auspicious animals; the crane bones symbolize Guan Honglin's character, the orchid fragrance symbolizes Guan Shiqian's spirit, and the word "望" (look) in the Chinese character evokes the feeling of a son looking up to his father's lofty and majestic spirit! Not to mention, Jian Xun had already decided on Strelitzia from the beginning!
There were nearly ten varieties of flowers, but even with so many, the number of people wasn't enough. He had already asked several flower growers for help and was designing the flower shapes and colors on paper.
Jiang Liu had just gone to peek at Yu Ran's progress. When Yu Ran went out, the big book was painted with a second coat of waterproof glue and hung on the roof to dry.
At the end of the day, Jiang Liu and Yu Ran's group made smooth progress, while Guan Xueqing and Jian Xun's results were not so good.
"I've contacted Ruiyi, and she's helping me find people. I added the contact information from the yearbook one by one. Many of the accounts have been closed or stolen, and the remaining ones are basically Ruiyi's classmates, not her bookstore partners."
Guan Xueqing said, "I looked through my grandfather's collection of books, and there aren't many left. There's no trace left in them. I'm not sure if he has any photo albums. He's asleep now, so I'll ask him tomorrow."
Jiang Liu was prepared for the shortage of people, but there was a solution. He would plant a few more of each type of flower, and if there were not enough varieties, he would make up for the lack of quantity.
I have to go to the flower market again tomorrow anyway.
"Still working on it?" Jiang Liu paced beside Yu Ran and squatted down to look at the hard stone book. The glue had dried up, and the light brown acrylic paint was the color of the pages. Yu Ran was still drawing it in detail.
Seeing Jiang Liu, Yu Ran stretched out his body, his joints crackling as he stretched. He even hated the odor of glue and paint that covered his body.
"I really want to rest..." Yu Ran seized every opportunity to close his eyes and take a nap.
"Oh, then you should have a good rest tomorrow." Jiang Liuyan smiled, meaning that you might miss something if you rest.
Yu Ran was hooked, a croaker, and he took the bait willingly. He was just a fish that had swum from a volcanic pond into the flowing waters of the Qingjiang River. "When I'm resting, who will fetch you water, feed you, drive you, entertain you, and give you advice..."
"Who wants you to feed me? If you're tired, I'll drive tomorrow."
"Where are you going?"
"Flower market."
Yu Ran really became a fish swimming in the water.
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