Chapter 102
After dinner, Tao Nanfeng went out for a walk towards the north.
The two walked along the path. The countryside was quiet and few people went out at night. The only sound they could hear was the chirping of crickets in the grass.
Looking north, he saw Tao Nanfeng's slightly pouting mouth and knew that she was hit by Fan Zhicheng. He raised his hand and stroked her head, comforting her with a smile.
"You are already very good. Your father is your graduate advisor. He will definitely polish you to be even better. It is normal for him to criticize you and assign you tasks."
Tao Nanfeng raised his eyes and looked at him, and the sadness in his eyes gradually disappeared.
"I've also seen Fan Zhicheng's line drawing album of residential buildings. It's really good. But there's no need to compare others' strengths with mine, right? And you're assigning me a painting assignment... on such a hot day!"
Under the cover of night, the couple was not afraid of being seen when doing any intimate behavior. Xiangbei put his arm around Tao Nanfeng's shoulders, and his left hand gradually slid down her round shoulders. The touch of her smooth skin made him intoxicated.
But Tao Nanfeng was obviously in a bad mood now. Xiang Bei put his hand on her forearm, pulled her into his arms, leaned over and kissed her on the forehead.
"You also have strengths that Fan Zhicheng doesn't have. You have a natural keen sense of structural safety and a natural ability to lay bricks and grooves. In addition, you made him go to high school and college, so his basic knowledge is definitely more solid than his. He learned painting from his father and grandfather since he was a child, so it is reasonable that his line drawing skills are a little higher than yours."
Xiangbei's gentle consolation gradually brought a smile to Tao Nanfeng's face.
"Humph, that Fan Zhicheng... I felt sorry for him because he had been an educated youth on a mountain farm for twelve years. I didn't expect that he would ask my dad to assign me tasks as soon as he arrived. Damn it!"
Xiangbei listened to Tao Nanfeng's information about Fan Zhicheng and seemed to be thinking about something.
"He failed the college entrance exam, but succeeded in the postgraduate entrance exam? It's amazing! He is indeed talented and ambitious."
Tao Nanfeng looked at Xiang Bei and said, "He is really a caring person. He wrote a letter to Director Huang to recommend himself. This is really amazing! Of course... his drawings of buildings and residential buildings are indeed good."
Xiang Bei has rich social experience. Seeing that Tao Nanfeng was compared to Fan Zhicheng by her father because of the appearance of Fan Zhicheng, he slowly analyzed the situation for her.
"From his appearance, he doesn't look like someone who has endured a lot of hardship. You have experienced the hardships of farming. How can he have so much time to paint and collect folk songs after working in the fields all year round? And did you notice that his hands and feet are not thick with calluses, his skin is delicate, and there is no sign of tanning at all?"
Hearing this, Tao Nanfeng exclaimed, "Ah!"
"Yes, I also felt something was wrong when I saw him. From the letters he wrote and the information he introduced, I thought he should be a simple, hardworking, and determined educated youth who went to the countryside. But when I really met him, he was as clean and neat as an office cadre, so I was surprised."
Beautiful, really beautiful. Tao Nanfeng didn't dare to say this, for fear that Xiangbei would be jealous.
Xiangbei said, "Your father is a university professor, so he is very familiar with the school's postgraduate entrance examination. How did Fan Zhicheng know that Jiangcheng University of Architecture was recruiting students and that the department head was Huang Jiafa, and further came up with the method of sending works to recommend himself?"
Tao Nanfeng thought for a moment and replied, "This year is the first year for graduate student enrollment. He may have heard about it from the radio or newspapers. He probably got the contact information of the department director from his family. This explanation makes sense, but I really admire him for sending his works to recommend himself. He has courage, determination, and ideas. Do you know what image came to my mind when I saw the letter he sent to Director Huang?"
Without waiting for Xiangbei to speak, Tao Nanfeng quickly gave the answer.
"Under the dim kerosene lamp, a young man in a patched shirt sat in front of a worn-out table, carefully wrapping up his paintings from the past few years, his eyes flashing with longing for the future.
The light cast his shadow on the earthen wall. He looked at the mud house where he had lived for twelve years and secretly made up his mind to leave this secluded mountain village, go back to Jiangcheng to study, and stick to his dream! ”
Xiangbei sighed and hugged her: "You said it very well."
Tao Nanfeng leaned in his arms, listening to his steady and strong heartbeat, and felt peace in her heart.
"It was because of his passion and dedication to architecture that Director Huang and my father pushed for his admission even though his postgraduate entrance exam results were very poor, and gave up the exemption quota that originally belonged to me. Director Huang and my father did not do it for personal gain, they really value talents and want to train them well."
Look northward at the distant sky, where the stars are twinkling.
"I hope he will not let the professors down." Xiangbei's voice was blown far away by the night wind.
The next day, in order to complete the homework assigned by his father, Tao Nanfeng obediently carried his sketchbook and took the bus to Jiangbei with Xiangbei.
Lifen is a traditional residential building unique to Jiangbei. It first appeared in the concession in the late 19th century. It is a combination of Chinese and Western cultures, a mixture of townhouses and courtyard houses, with two-story brick-concrete buildings, red bricks and tiles, stone pillars and stone doors.
If you want to understand Jiangcheng culture, you can understand it a little bit by taking a walk around Jiangbeili.
Although Tao Nanfeng has lived in Jiangnan for a long time, he is not unfamiliar with this place. When she was young, her parents would hold her hands and come here to collect materials, paint, and chat with the old residents.
Sitting at the intersection of Minzhu Road, Tao Nanfeng placed the drawing board on his legs, pulled out a piece of A4 white paper and clamped it tightly, then he held the pen in his right hand, his eyes gradually brightened, he concentrated and calmed down, and began to paint seriously.
Xiangbei watched from the side for a while, and seeing that Tao Nanfeng was painting seriously, he didn't dare to disturb him.
There is a shade under the sycamore tree at the intersection, where there is a stall renting picture books.
The two flat wooden boxes opened to become two small bookshelves, with various comic books placed layer by layer. A cotton thread in the middle held down the books to prevent them from falling.
There are a few small stools aside. When someone comes to rent them, they can find their favorite book on the bookshelf, take it aside, and sit on the stool to read.
It only costs one cent to rent a book. Two children came over to rent a book. Reluctant to spend money, they rented one for two people. They read together with their heads and shoulders touching, and discussed the books as they read.
Next to the comic book stall was a stall selling herbal tea. There was an old, greasy table with a dozen cups of herbal tea in front of it. The cups were in transparent glass and bright red tea color. A glass plate was covering the top to prevent them from being dirty by mosquitoes and dust.
The tea vendor wore a torn white vest and a pair of large shorts. He waved a large palm-leaf fan and called out from time to time: "Herbal tea... selling herbal tea... two cents a cup."
Xiangbei bought two cups of herbal tea and handed one to Tao Nanfeng.
The two sides of Minzhu Road are lined with plane trees, providing shade in the summer. Tao Nanfeng was sitting under the shade of a tree, painting with great concentration. When he saw the herbal tea appear in front of him, he took it and drank it all in one gulp.
The old man renting comic books was smiling as he solicited customers: "Comic books, good comic books. For those who like to read about war and espionage, there are "Heroic Courage", "Gunshots on the Plain", "Lin Hai Xue Yuan", and "The Eternal Wave". For those who like to read ancient stories, there are "Rouge", "Judging the Wife", "Life and Death Cards", and "The Peacock Flies Southeast"... "
Xiangbei found what he heard interesting, so he walked over quickly and asked, "Uncle, give me a copy of the battle story."
Both adults and children love to read comic books. The old man didn't think there was anything wrong with Xiangbei coming to rent books. He happily took a copy of "Crossing the River Reconnaissance" from the shelf and handed it to him.
Xiangbei joined the army before he graduated from high school. He had to learn culture in the army, so he had no pressure at all to read a comic book. He took the picture book, sat on a small stool, and began to read it attentively.
What child doesn’t like stories? He had no storybooks to read when he was in school, and he had no time to read when he joined the army. Today, he relived his childhood dream and was fascinated by the storybooks.
After reading one book after another, the old man was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling.
"Young man, are you a soldier? I have some martial arts stories here, would you like to read them?" After saying that, he handed over a book called "The Divine Whip".
Tao Nanfeng was painting while Xiangbei was reading picture books. The two of them were doing their own things, but there was an indescribable sense of quiet beauty.
A sharp cry came from the other end of the alley, waking the two people from their concentrated state and making them look up at the same time.
Tao Nanfeng looked towards the north who was sitting on the small stool. His tall figure formed a contrast with the small bench under his buttocks. His long arms and legs seemed to be placed far away. In his big palms was a picture book. When he was suddenly startled, there was a trace of confusion on his face, which was completely different from his usual calmness and composure.
A tender feeling rose from his heart, and Tao Nanfeng suddenly felt that he looked extremely cute. An idea popped up in my mind unconsciously: giving birth to a smaller version of Xiangbei, who would be cute and silly and would be very interesting.
Tao Nanfeng's gaze was so scorching that Xiang Bei reacted quickly. He put down the comic book in his hand, walked up to her, squatted down and looked at her: "What's wrong?"
Tao Nanfeng pursed her lips and smiled, her eyes sparkling with light. She raised her hand and stroked his face, whispering, "I love you."
Xiangbei looked into her eyes, and time seemed to stop at that moment.
Everything in the world quickly faded away, the colorful lights lost their color in an instant, and the area behind Tao Nanfeng became desolate. Only her smiling face and the corners of her lips were left, emitting a charming light that made Xiangbei's heart beat faster.
The sharp cry rang out again, making people's ears hurt.
Xiangbei was pulled into reality and looked towards the source of the crying. It was a deep alley.
The old man who rented the comic books shook his head: "What a sin!"
Xiangbei stood up and protected Tao Nanfeng, then asked the old man: "What's going on? Who is crying?"
The fat tea seller was an aboriginal. He fanned himself with a palm-leaf fan and said, "What a sin~"
The old man looked at Xiangbei with a righteous expression, lowered his voice and pointed to the end of the alley and said, "That's the dormitory of the Fine Arts Publishing House. These few days, a rural woman came from nowhere and howled there every day. She cried like a pig being slaughtered. It was scary."
The tea vendor shook his head and said, "I heard that the pretty boy from the Fan family finally returned to the city. I guess he is the one who brought bad luck to the relationship. Alas! I believed him. Being too pretty is not a good thing."
Fine Arts Publishing House, Fan Family, and Pretty Boy.
——Why are these three keywords so magical when put together? Could it be referring to Fan Zhicheng?
Just as I was wondering, a woman walked out backwards in the alley. From the back, she seemed to be short, dressed simply, and had a strong build.
She was carrying a cloth bag in her hand and wearing a pair of open-toed Liberation shoes. She was shouting and cursing in a thick accent.
Tao Nanfeng listened carefully, trying to hear clearly what she said. It's a pity that she grew up in school and communicated with her parents in Mandarin. She couldn't even speak Jiangcheng dialect, let alone understand the girl's dialect.
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