96. My father's legacy
After returning from a business trip to Northeast China, Ling Ling successfully secured the Huangyuan organic rice deal. Upon returning to the office, she didn't even have time to go home to unpack her luggage before she took on the Hemino sausage commercial. Ling Ling, Lu Chong, and Gu Chuqi brainstormed in the conference room, ultimately settling on a graphic design that arranged the sausages into a curved inverted triangle, like the WIF logo. Ling Ling picked up the image she'd casually sketched on a piece of paper and said, "Arrange the three sausages like this, but with different colors flashing to represent their different flavors. What do you think?" "We've seen your hand-drawing skills, and we've realized that Brother Chong's value to our team is truly immeasurable," Gu Chuqi said, his tongue still sharp. Lu Chong said good-naturedly, "Every profession has its specialties. I understand Lingling's idea. I'll make it so that customers can enjoy the beauty of food." Lingling rolled her eyes at Gu Chuqi complacently. Chuqi, not to be outdone, continued to propose a new idea: "The Hemino brand is not well-known in China. Let's put their logo next to the sausage image of the WIF number, so that it can be placed in the upper right corner of the phone lock screen to make it more familiar to the public." Lingling affirmed, "Yes, that's a good idea. But when it comes to increasing Hemino's brand awareness in China, I want to add a catchy background sound to their ads. I mentioned this to Sister Mei before. It should be three syllables, so that anyone who sees their brand can hum along, such as: "Henmino~~" or "Henmino~" Chuqi tapped the table with the tip of his pen, reminding her, "Sister, you're incredibly creative, but consider our meager budget. It's just a spot ad. Even the animated graphics might not be used by the client, let alone turning it from a mute into a vocalist. You'd have to hire a musician to compose the music, choose the instruments, find a studio, record, and mix it. Just three notes, even just one sizzle—how much would that cost? Better to be realistic and hope your father, Akin, lives a long life." Lingling sighed and curled her lips in agreement. Lu Chong turned his hand-drawn sketch in their direction and asked, "So, how about arranging these elements like this? How about a date, like a phone lock screen? Today is the 14th. Does Hemino have any special dates? You can choose one." "But I think too many elements would overshadow the main theme..." Lingling was about to comment when she suddenly realized something: "Today is the 14th, right?!" "Yes," the two men said in unison, confused by her horrified expression. Ling Ling stood up...
After returning from a business trip to Northeast China, Ling Ling successfully secured the deal for Huangyuan Organic Rice. As soon as she returned to the company, she didn't even have time to go home to unpack her luggage before she took on the Hemino Sausage commercial.
Ling Ling, Lu Chong and Gu Chuqi brainstormed together in the conference room, and the image design they finally decided on was to arrange the sausages into an arc-shaped inverted triangle image of a WIFI signal.
Ling Ling picked up the image she had casually drawn on the draft paper and said, "Arrange the three sausages like this, but with different colors flashing to represent their different flavors. What do you think?"
"Looking at your hand-drawing skills, we deeply realize that Brother Chong's value to our team is immeasurable." Gu Chuqi's mouth was still so harsh.
Lu Chong said good-naturedly, "Every profession has its own expertise. I understand Lingling's idea. I will make it so that customers can feel the beauty of their appetite."
Ling Ling rolled her eyes at Gu Chuqi smugly. Not to be outdone, Chuqi offered a new idea: "The Hemino brand isn't well-known in China yet. Why not put their logo next to the sausage image of the Wi-Fi signal, in the upper right corner of the phone's lock screen? It'll make it more approachable to the public."
Ling Ling affirmed, "Well, that's good. But speaking of increasing the popularity of the Hemino brand in China, I want to create a catchy background sound for their commercials. I mentioned this to Sister Mei before, something with three syllables that anyone who sees their brand can hum along, like: "Hen~mino~~" or "Hen~mino~"."
Chuqi tapped the table with the tip of his pen to remind her, "Sister, you're absolutely brilliant for innovation, but look at our meager budget. It's just a spot ad. Even the animated graphics might not be used by the client, let alone turning it from a mute into a vocalist. You have to hire a musician to compose the music, choose the instruments, find a studio, record, and mix it. Just three notes, even just one sizzle. How much does that all cost? Better to be realistic. Hope your father, Elkins, lives a long life."
Ling Ling sighed and curled her lips in agreement.
Lu Chong turned the sketch he had just drawn in their direction and asked, "Do you think this arrangement of elements is okay? How about putting a date, like a phone lock screen? Today is the 14th. Does Hemino have any special dates? You can choose one."
"But I think too many elements will overshadow the main theme..." Ling Ling was about to express her opinion, but she suddenly realized something: "Today is the 14th, right?!"
"Yes." The two men said in unison, not understanding why she looked so horrified.
Ling Ling stood up suddenly, apologized hastily, and asked them to make the draft first. She had something urgent to do and had to leave first, so she couldn't continue working overtime with them.
Ling Ling returned to her workstation, grabbed her bag, and rushed to the subway. She kept looking at the time on her watch and prayed in her heart that the exhibition hall would not close.
While Ling Ling was rushing to 798, she received a WeChat message from Yu Chuanbei saying that he had just gotten off the plane and returned to Beijing after a business trip. She only hurriedly replied, "I'm in a hurry to go to 798," and then had no time to say anything more.
After getting off the subway, she needed to ride a shared bike to get to the 798 Art Center. Ling Ling kept checking her watch and finally arrived at the German Artists Exhibition just before closing time on its final day.
She was panting as she searched for something in the hall, which seemed out of place in the cold and solemn exhibition hall.
She finally found a work by her father Lingxu, but there was only one piece, and it did not include his representative works from various periods as previously advertised.
Ling Ling stood before the enormous painting, slowly calming her breathing. The fluttering red flags painted the gray sky a bloody crimson. The gray-green crowd beneath looked like a vast ocean of weeds swirling in a raging wind. In the center of the painting stood a bound man, his back hunched, kneeling on the ground.
Immersed in this intense and infuriating painting, Ling Ling felt as if she were having a conversation with her father—as an adult, a conversation with a father who died young. Now, she finally understood his thoughts and aspirations, their souls merging in the coarse and delicate ink.
"Sorry, ma'am, our exhibition is about to close." The speaker was a uniformed staff member.
Ling Ling looked at her hesitantly, slowly withdrawing from the painting. She wanted to explain, wanted him to let her stay a little longer, wanted to ask if she could buy the painting and take it away, wanted to tell him that she was Ling Xu's daughter.
But she opened her mouth and only said one sentence: "Okay, I'm leaving now."
After leaving the exhibition hall, she heard the click of the door lock behind her. For the staff, it was the pleasant sound of leaving work. But for her, it was another farewell to her father.
She knew she could never afford the painting, and even if she did, she would have nowhere to hang it, not even in her own house. Just like the year her parents had passed away, when all the paintings in her mountain home were snatched away by the villagers, she was left with nothing.
As for the fact that she was Lingxu's daughter, the staff would probably just treat it as a joke. In the business world, the only realistic relationship between people is that of the financial sponsor's father.
Ling Ling paced towards the entrance of 798 in a daze. The old factory area, which had been decorated with art, looked like an old man who had been injected with a strong injection in the twilight, with a red face and heavy breathing.
She seemed to see Yu Chuanbei in the twilight. He was wearing an indigo coat and looked exhausted.
"Lingling." He was calling her name.
She finally confirmed that it was really him, and they quickly walked towards each other. "Why are you here?" she asked.
"I missed you so much that I couldn't wait to go home, so I rushed to see you directly from the airport," he said.
Ling Ling threw herself into his arms, her cries muffled in his chest, leaving only sobs in the empty garden.
"What's wrong?" Yu Chuanbei asked worriedly.
"I came to see my dad," she sobbed.
He found the exhibition sign on the roadside and saw Ling Xu's name on the promotional poster, and immediately understood.
When Ling Ling had cried enough, he brushed away her hair that was stuck to her cheeks and asked her softly, "Have you had dinner?"
Ling Ling shook her head weakly.
"I saw a Japanese restaurant at the door. I haven't eaten yet. Let's go together." Yu Chuanbei held her hand tightly and took her to eat.
Ling Ling didn't have much of an appetite, so they finished their meal hastily. As they were about to leave the shop, Ling Ling noticed a portrait of a man hanging behind the cash register, which she hadn't noticed when she entered.
"Where did you get this painting?" Ling Ling suddenly widened her eyes and leaned over to the front desk to ask.
The cashier girl was a little scared by her. She didn't dare to say anything as she didn't understand the situation, so she turned around and called the boss.
The boss came out and kindly explained to her, "I bought this painting two weeks ago. A man from Hebei heard about an exhibition of a German artist here and said he had the original. He wanted to sell it to a gallery. But the gallery authenticated it and said it wasn't authentic. He wanted to take it back, but the travel and shipping costs alone were too much. We had a good chat while we were having dinner here, and I really liked the style of the painting, so I bought it to hang in the restaurant."
"Then... can you sell it to me?" Ling Ling asked timidly.
Seeing that they looked like tourists strolling around, the boss couldn't offer a good price, so he said awkwardly: "The style of this painting suits our restaurant very well, and I didn't buy it cheaply, so I really don't want to sell it." Then he turned and walked into the inner hall.
Ling Ling stopped struggling and prepared to leave in disappointment.
Yu Chuanbei grabbed her sleeve, put the car keys in her palm and said, "The car is parked at the door. It's cold outside. Go wait for me in the car. I'll come find you after I pay the bill."
Ling Ling nodded silently and walked out.
It was a chilly late autumn night. Ling Ling sat in the driver's seat and turned on the heater in the car, but her heart still felt empty, as if she were a withered duckweed.
Not long after, Ling Ling saw Yu Chuanbei walking out of the Japanese restaurant with a two-meter square painting in his arms.
Ling Ling hurried out of the car, walked towards him and asked, "What is this painting?"
"The painting you just mentioned, I bought it from the boss." Yu Chuanbei said proudly.
Ling Ling unfolded a corner of the coarse cloth wrapping, and it was indeed the man's self-portrait. "This painting was indeed not painted by my father. In fact, it was my mother who painted the portrait of my father. I still remember those days when my father was the model and my mother was painting wholeheartedly."
"Then let's take this painting home, and our family of four will go home together." Yu Chuanbei said in a relaxed tone, trying to make her laugh.
"Why does it feel a bit weird!" Ling Ling said with a frown.
"Shouldn't it be warm?" Yu Chuanbei smiled at her.
They put the painting in the back seat of the car, fastened their seat belts, and went home together.
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