Chapter 129 The Beauty of Returning to Simplicity and Innocence in Art.
Before leaving, Huang Boyuan gave a cookbook to young Li Qingfeng, saying, "This is a family heirloom cookbook, but it's not very useful now. Let the child take a look and learn from it."
"Xiaoyun said she likes the dishes that Brother Qingfeng makes."
Qin Xiangxiang: "???"
There's even an old cookbook! Is it for Little Fatty? "Thank you, quickly thank Uncle."
Little Fatty exclaimed excitedly, "Could this be a royal chef's recipe?"
"Mom, do you think I have a chance to become a chef for state banquets in the future?"
Qin Xiangxiang was barely breathing. She thought to herself that you probably couldn't even reach the level of a cafeteria chef.
After the Huang family left, Li Jianzhi remarked with emotion, "I did a simple good deed, but I ended up taking quite a few good things from them."
"The most valuable thing is Master Huang's exquisite peony painting. If we leave it to our grandchildren, it will be worth at least eighty-one million in the future."
Qin Xiangxiang was speechless: "I think you and your son are both quite the dreamers."
"One million? Do you think that's possible? We both only earn a hundred yuan a month!"
Li Jianzhi laughed and said, "You're talking about forty or fifty years from now. Maybe it won't even take forty or fifty years, twenty or thirty years will be enough. Conditions are tough now, but things will definitely get better and better in the future. In prosperous times, antiques are valued; in chaotic times, gold is valued. By then, these masterpieces will be worth a lot of money."
Qin Xiangxiang was stunned: "What you said makes some sense."
"And this recipe book is also an ancient book. The Huang family is really kind. We should keep in touch more often in the future."
Little Fatty intended to cook according to the recipe, but... it was difficult to find all the ingredients for most of the dishes on the recipe. These days, many things are hard to buy, and ordinary people are not as wealthy and extravagant as the high-ranking officials of the past.
The simplest thing to do is try the recipe for steamed bun filling and braised meat.
Little Fatty made steamed buns according to the recipe. After the whole family ate them, they all thought the filling was very fragrant and the way the buns were made was excellent.
Li Jianzhi exclaimed, "These steamed buns are good enough to open a shop; they're delicious."
Qin Xiangxiang said, "Our son can finally make something edible."
"So this so-called master only sent a piece of calligraphy as a token of gratitude? My God, how stingy! What use is his calligraphy to me? Can calligraphy put food on the table?"
When Old Mrs. Chen learned that the Huang family had given Zhao Yangyang a piece of calligraphy as a token of their gratitude, she was furious. She looked down on the so-called master's family for being so poor and giving her worthless calligraphy instead of something good.
"They just casually draw something to appease beggars! Luckily, we kicked that mute out that day, otherwise he would have been eating our food for free."
Zhao Yangyang carefully put away the master's calligraphy, saying, "This is a work by a master; it will definitely be very valuable in the future."
"Value? Heh, what is value? Even the emperor's calligraphy is just feudal waste paper used to wipe his butt! What is a master like him?
Chen Ruifeng: "Yangyang, keep this safe. Our family should collect the works of great masters."
“Mom, he’s a renowned master. So many people want his calligraphy and paintings but can’t get them. These are things that money can’t buy.” Chen Ruifeng whispered, “Many leaders like calligraphy and paintings. If we happen to meet one, we can cater to his tastes.”
Hearing this, Old Mrs. Chen was taken aback. "In that case, how can one painting from the Huang family be enough? They should send several more."
Zhao Yangyang rolled her eyes, completely unwilling to talk to the old lady.
“Son, this painting isn’t worth much, but listen to your mother, sell that imported watch you’re wearing. This so-called ‘Old Li’ watch… Our family name is Chen, so if anyone’s going to wear a watch, it should be an ‘Old Chen’ watch!”
Zhao Yangyang almost burst out laughing; this old lady was really funny.
However, Zhao Yangyang was quite supportive of her mother-in-law, thinking that it would be better to sell this damn imported watch and instead convert it into a savings account for peace of mind. She suggested finding someone in the family compound to take over the sale, saying that they could at least get a thousand yuan for it.
Chen Ruifeng objected: "Why should I sell watches?"
Grandma Chen actually disapproved of her son wearing such expensive things. She thought to herself, "You've become successful, but what about the people in the village? What about your relatives and friends? What about your younger siblings? What kind of skill is it to just wear a thousand-yuan watch like Old Li?"
“Listen to your mother, sell this old Li watch, and with the money we can go back to our hometown at the end of the year to build a house. The money will be just enough to repair the house and also to repair our ancestral graves.”
"If our ancestral graves are well maintained, our family will prosper in the future!"
Zhao Yangyang was speechless at this point. Go back home and build a house? It would be better to keep that cousin. Building a house in the hometown would be a waste of money.
She wasn't worried about her mother-in-law persuading her husband; given how much Chen Ruifeng treasured his watch, there was no way he would agree to sell it to build a house.
If I sell the watch, how can I brag to my comrades?
"Mom, don't come up with that idea. The watch is very important to me, and I would never sell it."
"We sailors need these imported watches to keep track of time! I can only succeed if the time is accurate to the millimeter, do you understand?"
Grandma Chen paused for a moment, then said, "But...you can also wear a domestically made watch."
"The family member of the neighbor next door, Xiao Yezi, said that your name is Chen Ruifeng, which belongs to the metal element. Ruifeng means you should stay away from water. There is water all overseas, and if you are in too much water, you will rust!"
Zhao Yangyang: "Pfft—"
"Then Chen Ruifeng shouldn't have joined the navy; the sea is all water."
Chen Ruifeng: "..."
"Mom, there's absolutely no way I'll sell my watch. Don't try to persuade me anymore, and don't listen to that woman next door's nagging. If she were really that capable, her husband wouldn't have been demoted."
"What?!" Old Mrs. Chen exclaimed in shock: "Her husband was demoted? Then I'd better stay away from her and not talk to her at all, lest I get tainted by her bad luck."
Chen Ruifeng rubbed his temples. "Mom, when are you and my little sister going back?"
"I'll go back after I see your sister get a job at the textile factory." Old Mrs. Chen brought her youngest daughter here to find a husband for Chen Xiaomei. But now that she's here, she's heard that the textile factory is hiring, and that it's specifically for military dependents. So she's not in a hurry to find a partner for her youngest daughter; instead, she wants to send Chen Xiaomei to the textile factory.
I heard that a regular female textile worker can earn forty or fifty yuan a month! Chen Xiaomei couldn't miss such a good opportunity.
Grandma Chen: "You must make it clear to Director Qin downstairs that our little sister is a military officer's sister, and she should be given preferential treatment!"
Chen Ruifeng: "Everyone is treated equally."
"How can you treat everyone the same! Xiaomei has an older brother who's a military officer!"
Chen Ruifeng: "What happened to my sister? The other family members are all officers' wives."
Grandma Chen: "..."
"We live upstairs from her, so we must take care of her!"
"What did those two female family members say?"
Huang Boyuan said, "There's an interesting female relative, the one who took Xiaoyun in at the end. She even wants you to paint a picture for her."
Master Huang shook his head. Over the years, many people have asked him to paint, but he no longer has the heart to paint.
I'm tired of it.
Thinking of the plight of many people, Old Master Huang sighed and lamented that fame and fortune were no longer important to him; being able to live a peaceful life was more important than anything else.
Huang Boyuan: "She wants you to paint a picture of a salted fish basking in the sun, preferably with a line that says, 'Stealing half a day of leisure from a busy life.'"
Old Master Huang was stunned for a moment, then laughed. For the first time in so many years, he was in the mood. He had painted flowers, birds and landscapes all his life. When people asked him to paint, they mostly wanted him to paint mountains and rivers, galloping horses, or peonies of national beauty.
This was the first time someone had asked him to draw a "salted fish" sunbathing.
"This request is interesting; it's given me an interesting question."
Once Mr. Huang set his mind on it, he immediately threw himself into it. An art master like him, once fully immersed in his work, disregards everything else.
About ten days later, Qin Xiangxiang received a framed "Salted Fish Picture". It really was a salted fish in a peaceful state. Although the strokes were simple, it depicted a peaceful and contented charm.
"This is amazing! The lines are alive!"
"This master is indeed a master."
Just looking at the salted fish in the painting, Qin Xiangxiang could imagine the lazy and comfortable feeling of lying in the sun.
"Art can indeed bring people wonderful experiences!"
Qin thought for a moment: "I want to hang it in the office, but I'm afraid someone will steal it—let's hang it in our bedroom instead, so I can admire it every day."
Li Jianzhi: "We need to put a glass cover over it. This thing must be well protected."
Qin Xiangxiang said, "Just keep that master's exquisite peony painting safe. I want to admire this 'little salted fish' every day!"
"Antiques are valued in prosperous times, and gold is valued in chaotic times. No matter how prosperous the future may be, this salted fish will not be worth much."
In Qin Xiangxiang's eyes, this painting of salted fish is not as good as Master Huang's masterpiece of peony painting, but she likes it very much and wants to keep it as a personal collection.
Li Jianzhi shook his head: "Then you don't understand the logic of collecting. Things are valued for their rarity. If this exquisite peony painting can sell for millions in the future, then this 'salted fish painting' with the master's signature can sell for tens of millions."
Qin Xiangxiang: "???? Isn't this ridiculous? What collector would collect this?"
Li Jianzhi: "Things are valued for their rarity. Master Huang has left behind too many peony paintings, so they might not fetch a high price. But this salted fish painting is unique. Would you say it's valuable or not?"
Qin Xiangxiang: "..."
Li Jianzhi: "Don't underestimate this 'Salted Fish Picture' just because it's simple. I think it's a masterpiece by a master. It's exquisitely painted and returns to simplicity."
"The beauty of art."
"Worth savoring."
Qin Xiangxiang blinked: "Are you serious, you deadbeat man? You're not kidding me?"
“No, it’s not.” Li Jianzhi met her suspicious gaze and immediately chuckled: “These kinds of masterpieces have amazing lines. If I give them to you, they are yours. Art transcends national boundaries.”
"Didn't Manager Meng from the foreign trade company invite your factory to participate in the Canton Fair? Why don't you try printing a salted fish on the front of your T-shirts and see if foreigners like it?"
Qin Xiangxiang: "??????"
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