Back to the 60s: The Struggle Career of a Charmed Wife -
Chapter 931 - 0921: Making up One’s Mind 3
Chapter 931: Chapter 0921: Making up One’s Mind 3
Wen Ruyu knew that Feng Qingxue was quite busy, and instead of blaming her for not coming to fulfill her duties as a student for several consecutive days, he handed her some written essentials of painting he had recently composed.
"You’d better find me some more paper and brushes. While you are at home, and I still have energy, I will transcribe all of my unpublished manuscripts that I have not brought out before. When you return to the army, and I’m not by your side, you can study my works and practice on your own."
As a grandmaster of the painting circle, Wen Ruyu had authored more than a dozen works on the appraisal and techniques of calligraphy and painting, some of which had been published and widely known, while others were unpublished manuscripts that were still being sorted out and had been destroyed in unfortunate circumstances. He did not want to see the efforts of his life vanish, which is why he started thinking about rewriting them after he took Feng Qingxue as a student.
With great respect, Feng Qingxue responded, "I will bring them to teacher tomorrow. Do you prefer using a fountain pen or a traditional brush?"
"Of course, a traditional brush. I’m not used to fountain pens; no matter how I try, they just don’t feel right." He had used traditional brushes all his life and only recently turned to fountain pens to write self-criticisms, but he deeply resented them.
"Then I’ll prepare a traditional brush and ink for you."
Wen Ruyu stubbornly insisted, "I don’t want bottled ink; the characters written with it never look good. Do you have an inkstand? Do you have an ink stick? The ink ground from an ink stick is much better than the one in bottles."
Feng Qingxue replied with a smile, "I have all of them; if not, I’ll find a way to get them for you."
In her possession, indeed, were such treasures: an inkstand worth a fortune and centuries-old pine soot ink, both obtained from the black market. There might be good-quality brushes; as she remembered, her father had once granted her a set of the Four Treasures of the study. If those were not available, she could purchase them from old stores, which were mostly out of business due to the rejection of old beliefs, yet their merchandise hadn’t been completely destroyed.
Pleased, Wen Ruyu nodded in approval and, holding the flashlight Qingxue had brought, carefully examined a fine-brush painting line by line, furrowing his brows involuntarily.
Qingxue casually mentioned Wen Ruyu’s Fine-brush Ladies’ Picture.
Wen Ruyu suddenly realized, "I was wondering why this painting looked so familiar. It turns out to be a copy of the Ladies’ Picture I painted in my middle age. I remember gifting the original to someone, and I have no idea where it has ended up. Where did you see it?"
Qingxue replied with a smile, "What do you think Ajiang and I have been busy with lately, rather than coming to learn from you? We have been sifting through the city’s junkyards in secret, extracting antiques and cultural relics that ended up there, then hiding them away in desolate places. Spending money is the least concern; it’s mainly a matter of being exceedingly mindful and frightening. I found your painting in a pile of waste paper, it’s just slightly damaged, so it needs to be restored later on."
Stunned, Wen Ruyu soon vocalized his immense admiration, "That’s right, that’s right. At such times, learning is a minor concern; salvaging our national cultural heritage is a major concern! A major concern! Our time for studies is long, no rush, no rush. As long as this old man is alive, I will wholeheartedly teach you. But those cultural relics... once they enter the factories, they are truly gone."
At this point, the old man’s eyes brimmed with tears, his face etched with heartfelt sorrow, "Your Uncle Huang Qinghong, a specialist in ancient culture and an employee at the Historical Museum, saw his entire collection of precious books go up in flames!"
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