She wouldn't dare pull up a weaker tree like that!
Of course, she didn't want any other trees that hadn't become spirits.
Grandpa Guo's lips twitched; this mutual praise was completely unnecessary!
Grandpa Guo waved his hand, "Alright, the tree's been pulled up, now you can leave."
He has guests coming soon, so he needs to quickly fill in the hole in the yard and clean up the scribbles Qiqi drew in the study, lest others see them and think he's lost his creative talent.
Hearing him shoo them away, Grandma Wen scolded him a couple more times before finally seeing Madam Huo and the others out.
Grandpa Guo didn't see him off. He filled the hole in the crabapple tree behind him, sighing as he did so. For some reason, he felt as if a piece of his heart was empty.
The hole was filled in, but before I could even deal with the scribbles in the study, someone came to knock on the door.
Mr. Guo is highly accomplished in painting and often sells his own works. One of the people who came this time was a gallery owner he often collaborates with.
Grandpa Guo led the person into the study, and was just about to tidy up the pile of scribbles when the person saw them.
"Grandpa, did you just draw this?"
Some simple, strange lines, like earthworms, are odd.
The gallery owner had seen many of the old man's paintings, but this was the first time he had ever seen one so strange.
Is the old man... trying a different style?
However, he wisely refrained from asking the question.
Grandpa Guo didn't answer, but turned around and took out several paintings he had prepared in advance from the box and handed them to him.
"Here, these are the paintings we agreed on beforehand."
The gallery owner took the painting, his gaze still lingering on the few scribbles. His eyes flickered. "Old sir, could you give me one of your new paintings?"
This gallery owner isn't very eloquent, but he's extremely savvy when it comes to business. He's the one who discovered Mr. Guo and single-handedly brought him to prominence.
He made a lot of money from the old man. Since the old man wanted to change his style, he needed to take the paintings back and think about how to plan the subsequent promotion and publicity strategy.
Old Master Guo saw through his thoughts at a glance. Businessmen value profit, and Old Master Guo had the pride of an artist at heart, but he also knew that he was not a bad person. Even if he valued profit, he would acquire it in a proper way, so he did not dislike him.
Seeing that he wanted it, she didn't say much, just picked up a picture and handed it to him, "This isn't one I drew, but if you want it, I'll give you one."
The gallery owner assumed that he was just not ready to admit his style yet and happily accepted the gift.
The two chatted for a while longer, and seeing that Mr. Guo looked tired, the gallery owner tactfully took his leave.
After returning home, he handed the old man's painting to his staff, instructing them to frame it quickly and hang it on the wall for sale. Then, he took the scribbles home alone, intending to study the packaging strategy. However, for some reason, he suddenly felt sleepy, so he casually placed the painting on his bedside table, climbed into bed, and prepared to take a nap.
Half-asleep, a chilling hand suddenly reached up from behind.
"Brother Gang, I'm back."
***
Ever since being provoked by Grandpa Guo, who said her scribbles were ugly, Qiqi returned to the Huo family and began a period of diligent study and practice.
She even temporarily put the matter of finding the Xuanyuan Sword out of her mind.
She refused to believe that she couldn't draw well.
Seeing that the little girl was upset, Madam Huo and Madam Ji started praising her. Huo Yusen also did his best to practice with her, correcting and instructing her. However, the little girl's posture remained as straight as an earthworm, no matter how she practiced.
In order not to dampen the girl's enthusiasm, everyone praised her blindly. Only Huo Yuwei, who came back late and was unaware of the situation, told the truth.
"Who drew this mess of scribbles? It's awful. Why did they draw so many?"
Qiqi had already gained confidence from all the praise today, but hearing these words shattered her heart instantly.
"Brother Huo, is this painting really that ugly?" The little girl looked up at Huo Yuwei earnestly.
Everyone was winking and giving Huo Yuwei meaningful glances, but the clueless guy couldn't see through it at all. He was holding a pair of paintbrush, his eyebrows furrowed, and he looked disgusted.
"Yes, very much so!"
Qiqi's little head drooped instantly. "It seems I really don't have any talent for drawing!"
"Qiqi, these... you drew them all?" Huo Yuwei finally realized, biting his lip in annoyance.
Oh no, did he just hurt the girl's feelings?
Huo Yuwei was just about to say a few words to salvage the situation when the doorbell suddenly rang.
The maid led Grandpa Guo and Grandma Wen in. Huo Yuwei was a little surprised to see them. "Grandpa, Grandma, why are you here so late?"
Huo Yuwei was tall and immediately noticed that there was a young man following behind Grandpa Guo.
He had met that young man twice before at his grandfather's house. He seemed to be the owner of an art gallery. He didn't know why his grandfather would bring him here so late.
The man huddled behind Old Master Guo, looking timid and dazed, which made Huo Yuwei take a second look at him.
He had very dark circles under his eyes, and his eyes betrayed his panic. He looked like a frightened bird, and his behavior seemed quite abnormal.
Faced with his eldest grandson's question, Grandpa Guo seemed a little embarrassed to speak. His lips moved a few times, but in the end, Grandma Wen asked, "Xiao Wei, is Qi Qi here?"
Huo Yuwei was somewhat surprised that his maternal grandparents knew about Qiqi, but then he thought that since Lao Jiu's leg had healed, his grandmother had probably taken people to his maternal grandparents' house to share the good news.
"Here I am."
As Huo Yuwei answered, the little girl peeked out from behind him, "Grandma, you were looking for me?"
Grandma Wen pointed to the young man who came in with them, "It's not your grandmother who's looking for you, it's this uncle."
Qiqi glanced at the young man who was hanging his head and not saying a word, and immediately realized that he was surrounded by ghostly energy.
Grandma Huo and Madam Ji came out when they heard the commotion.
"Old Guo, Old Wen, what brings you here? Is something the matter?"
Old Master Guo glared at the man behind him. "You tell me yourself."
The man looked at him with a pained expression, pleading, "Old Guo..."
Old Master Guo was speechless, unsure how to begin. Finally, with a stern face, he said, "This is Li Gang, the gallery owner I usually work with. Yesterday, after you left, he came over to pick up some paintings and happened to see a few of Qiqi's paintings in my study… He thought they were a change in my style and wanted to take one back to study. But…"
Grandpa Guo's lips trembled a few times, as if he really didn't want to say what he was going to say next, but he still angrily squeezed out a sentence, "He insisted that after he went back, he encountered a ghost, and it was because of Qiqi's ghost drawing talisman."
Grandpa Guo was truly furious!
The boy asked for the painting himself. Putting aside whether ghosts really exist, what power could a three-year-old girl's painting have? Could it really attract ghosts?
Are you kidding me!
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