Chapter 5 The Ancient Scholar Used as Cannon Fodder (Part 5) Chu Nanfeng's...
Chu Nanfeng had sold paintings before, but because he was not famous, he only used cheap paints and paper, and the price of a painting was just enough to cover the cost of the brushes and ink.
He didn't have the time or energy to cultivate a reputation in this area, and his family couldn't wait any longer, so he put painting aside and focused on copying books.
Lin You thought of her system shop; she might be able to help with drawing materials and tools.
After Chu Nanfeng fell asleep, the artificial system, which had nothing to do and didn't need to sleep, went up to the roof again and started browsing the system store.
System points are very valuable and can be used to buy almost anything, but the lowest price for everything is 1 point. The system shop has many stores, so the items you can buy with 1 point vary.
For example, the mints she bought before, perhaps because the shop owners are from different dimensions, some shops sell ten mints for one point, while others sell one hundred mints for one point.
What Lin You needs to find is this kind of product that is available in large quantities at affordable prices.
Many people are willing to exchange ordinary items for system points, even if it's just one point. After looking at a few pages, Lin You discovered that many products actually have human customer service representatives, and you can even bargain.
She searched and looked around for a while, comparing prices from different vendors, and finally found a large gift package of ancient paintings just before dawn.
One point gets you a gift package, which includes 500 grams of each of 48 colors of paint, 300 sheets of gold-flecked Xuan paper, 30 calligraphy brushes of different sizes, and 10 palettes. After trying to negotiate the price, the shopkeeper also gave you 10 more calligraphy brushes and 20 ink sticks.
Then, thoughtfully according to Lin You's needs, the items were divided into 10 portions, each packaged in a beautiful wooden box.
If this were in modern times, a box of these would cost several hundred yuan. By that calculation, the ten points she received when she entered the sect would be worth tens of thousands of yuan.
I also found a printing shop where one point can be used to print 1,000 pictures, and you can choose any size and content.
After asking the shop owner if they could help find pictures, Lin You printed out a bunch of photos of landscapes from various parts of her original world, as well as some paintings by famous figures from ancient Eastern times, all in A3 size.
The images were printed very clearly, and the paper was thick. A thousand sheets made up a huge stack, but thankfully each order only took up one compartment.
Lin You selected four paintings and a wooden box, and quietly placed them on Chu Nanfeng's desk while he was asleep.
The rest will be kept in the backpack for now, to be taken out when Chu Nanfeng needs them. If he doesn't need them, he can keep them. Anyway, he'll be doing a lot of missions in the future.
To be honest, Lin Youzhen felt like she was playing a raising simulation game. Unfortunately, she was a poor girl with only a few system points and couldn't afford to spend money to upgrade her baby's items and equipment.
As for directly exchanging points for silver, Lin You had considered it, but this kind of monetary metal seemed to have some circulation restrictions and a uniform exchange rate. One point could only be exchanged for two taels of silver, which was less than a thousand yuan in modern currency, making it very uneconomical.
Lin You had no intention of buying glass mirrors or similar items for Chu Nanfeng to sell for money.
During her days wandering the streets, she witnessed not only local customs and traditions, but also, more importantly, the ancient phenomenon of the strong bullying the weak.
Even if the emperor is now diligent and loves his people, and the country is peaceful and prosperous, the treachery in the streets is far more cruel than in modern times. With Chu Nanfeng's current social status, he cannot protect these things; on the contrary, they will only cause him trouble.
The next day, after Chu Nanfeng got up, he immediately saw the things on the bedside table.
Looking at the paintings on the wooden box, he couldn't help but gasp. One was a desolate snow-capped mountain, the other a delicate pavilion. The brushstrokes were exquisite, the colors rich yet not cluttered, and the composition ingenious. Although he didn't recognize the signature, he knew it was definitely the work of a master.
There were also two paintings unlike any he had ever seen, which were exactly the same as the real scenery. One was a lush bamboo forest after the rain, and the other was a magnificent sunrise over the sea, making people feel as if they were there with their own eyes.
"Miss, these paintings are too valuable, I cannot accept them!" Chu Nanfeng knew without asking that these must have been given to him by the girl who called the system.
"Ah, this isn't a real painting. It's just a reproduction printed using modern machines. It's not worth much. You can see if you can use this to learn to paint."
After explaining, Lin You felt a mix of amusement and inexplicable joy. Her mission target was a gentleman, which was wonderful.
"The box below contains paints and other art supplies, which are from later times. They might be different from the paints here. See if you can use them!" Lin You reminded him, seeing him holding only those few pictures with amazement in his eyes.
Chu Nanfeng carefully placed the painting on the bed, picked up the wooden box on the table. The dark red wooden box was polished to a very smooth finish, retaining the original grain of the wood. It looked simple and elegant, and was a delicate object.
Chu Nanfeng sighed inwardly, feeling that he owed the other party more and more. Since things had come to this, he didn't pretend to refuse. He reached out and opened the wooden box, which contained paints and paper he had never seen before, but it was clear that each item was a fine piece.
Straightening his clothes, Chu Nanfeng clasped his hands in a fist and bowed deeply to Lin You, thanking her, "Thank you for your help, young lady!"
Whatever she is, she must have paid a price to obtain these things; otherwise, given her personality, she probably would have already given them up.
Chu Nanfeng really wanted to help her, but he didn't know how he could help her.
"No need for that, little one, you're too kind. Try it yourself first. I'm going out to play." Lin You was startled by his sudden bow and immediately ran out.
Once outside, she realized what she had said. She awkwardly touched her nose. Calling someone her age "baby" seemed, perhaps, a little too inappropriate.
She was just imagining the simulation game she played before, and got so engrossed in it that she blurted it out without thinking. Chu Nanfeng probably won't mind.
Lin You peeked out from the doorway and saw that Chu Nanfeng looked normal and was tidying up his paints to prepare for painting. Then she slipped back in without making a sound.
She'd been wandering around outside for days and wasn't interested in anything new anymore. She'd rather watch her own kid... cough, her mission target was drawing. Anyway, as long as she didn't make a sound, he wouldn't know where she was.
Chu Nanfeng was stunned by the other party calling him "baby," but then he suddenly realized that the other party's tone before was exactly how she was instructing him to take care of her as a junior. So, although her voice was as clear as a young girl's, she was actually an elder.
The young man's mind was filled with complex thoughts, but he showed no sign of it on his face. He lowered his eyes, cut the Xuan paper to the appropriate size, dipped his brush in ink, and with swift strokes, a spring mountain landscape appeared before his eyes.
The pigment in the porcelain bottle is in paste form, with vibrant and rich colors; just a little bit is enough to make half a cup of tea's worth of colored ink.
The Xuan paper is smooth and delicate, soft and not brittle, and the brush is sharp, round, even, and strong, possessing all four virtues, making it a smooth experience he had never had before.
Chu Nanfeng's thoughts flowed like a spring, and he painted four pictures in a row before stopping. All four pictures were mountain scenes, similar in layout to the snow mountain painting, but depicting the scenery of the four seasons.
The birdsong and fragrant flowers of spring, the lush forests of summer, the red maple leaves of autumn, and the lonely snow of winter—Lin You doesn't understand traditional Chinese paintings, but she finds each one pleasing to the eye.
Chu Nanfeng washed his brush and palette, and after the ink dried, he carefully rolled up the painting and put it away. This was the most unrestrained painting he had ever done since he started learning to paint.
Lin You finally couldn't help but ask him, "Chu Nanfeng, how much can we sell these paintings for?"
"Aunt, Nanfeng was rude earlier." Upon hearing that she had returned, Chu Nanfeng quickly bowed and greeted her, already placing himself in the position of a junior.
Lin You's lips twitched. After explaining to the other person that they were the same age and that her previous use of "baby" was just a joke, or whether to accept the nickname directly and probably be greeted by the other person every day from now on, she decisively chose the former.
Listening to her explain the whole story in a somewhat awkward tone, Chu Nanfeng showed no displeasure and gently indicated that he didn't care.
He didn't care about how she addressed him, but he gleaned some information from her words that Lin You had inadvertently revealed.
Her name is Lin You, and she comes from a world where women can also take the imperial examinations and become officials, similar to Han Qige's previous world. The "system" is just a title similar to a professional title.
She created the system after she died, and was only two years older than me when she passed away. She came here to complete a mission, and this mission was closely related to me.
"Since you are two years older than me, may I call you 'elder sister'?" Chu Nanfeng asked softly, a slight smile playing on his lips.
"Okay." Lin You agreed with a little helplessness. Although the other party was unwilling to call her system, calling her sister was better than calling her aunt.
"What is the task you mentioned, Sister? Is it difficult? Is there anything I can help you with?" Chu Nanfeng lowered his eyes slightly, subtly probing.
Lin You was completely unaware of his probing. She then checked the rules of the main system and discovered that the system's tasks required informing the target of the task.
Lin You awkwardly touched her nose before continuing, "The mission is to ensure you don't get killed by Han Qige, and then reach the rank of a first-grade official. Hmm, that's all."
"So it has something to do with me? I've already taken precautions against Han Qige, so he's nothing to fear. I'll do everything in my power to secure a first-rank official position. Is there anything else?" Chu Nanfeng sensed her unspoken words and continued to press for answers.
After understanding what "cannon fodder" meant, Chu Nanfeng knew that he would likely suffer a terrible fate later on. Looking at these missions now, he guessed that the reason he became cannon fodder was most likely caused by Han Qige.
Lin You hesitated for a moment, but still told Chu Nanfeng about the cheat system. Although she didn't intend for him to compete for favor in the harem, this cheat system could test favorability, which would be helpful for his future official career.
"You don't need to worry about the name. This is a cheat code I randomly got in a lottery. Just play with it. It also comes with a shop where you can exchange items using the emperor's favor, but a lot of them are not very useful."
Lin You concealed the consequences of failing the cheat-like mission and bound the cheat-like ability to Chu Nanfeng, letting him take it and study it himself.
Chu Nanfeng was caught off guard by this unexpected cheat code and was stunned for a while before he came to his senses. He took a deep breath and tried to accept this strangely named and strangely used cheat code.
Can it display how much other people like him/her?
The degree of liking? This term is a bit strange, but it's quite simple and easy to understand. But can liking be measured?
The cheat system has a separate system page that both Lin You and Chu Nanfeng can open, along with a simple user manual. It displays the favorability rating as positive or negative, and Chu Nanfeng will need to figure it out himself.
As for the task of gaining 100 points of favor with the emperor, there's nothing we can do for now. We'll see what happens later. And as for gaining favor, it doesn't necessarily mean you have to compete for the emperor's favor in the harem, as the name of this cheat system suggests.
After studying the cheat system for a while, Chu Nanfeng packed up the paintings and planned to go to the bookstore to ask how much they could sell for, and also to test the effects of the cheat system.
Lin You transformed back to her original height of one foot and sat on Chu Nanfeng's shoulders, hitching a ride along to take a look.
When he left, his other two roommates were also there. Liu Shusheng, who liked to take advantage of others, greeted Chu Nanfeng with a smile, while Zhang Shusheng glanced at him and then ignored him.
Chu Nanfeng cupped his hands in greeting to Liu Shusheng, and upon opening the cheat code page, he saw that Liu Shusheng's favorability towards him was 9, while Zhang Shusheng's was 0.
The display of the cheat code is generated based on the user. Lin You's page shows Arabic numerals, while Chu Nanfeng sees his usual counting method, which is quite thoughtful.
When Chu Nanfeng encountered passersby on the street, he would try to check their favorability rating. For people he had little interaction with, the favorability rating was basically 0, while for shop owners he had bought things from or scholars he had met once, the favorability rating was 2 or 3.
It seems that Liu Shusheng had the highest level of favorability towards him, which was somewhat unexpected for Lin You.
Chu Nanfeng explained to Lin You, "Although this scholar Liu likes to take advantage of small things, he is very good at dealing with people. I have never heard of him having any conflicts with anyone. He is also a warm-hearted person. Otherwise, those people would not have brought him along when they held poetry gatherings."
Lin You understood. Although Liu Shusheng had some cunning, he wasn't angry because he couldn't gain any advantage. On the other hand, Zhang Shusheng, who seemed gentle and refined, was actually cold-hearted. After living together for more than half a month, they acted like strangers.
Human nature is indeed a very complex thing.
A note from the author:
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