Chapter 41: Big Carp

Chapter 41: The Big Carp

With more constables out on the streets, both buyers and sellers got a lot more cautious.

At this age, who hasn't done something a little shady over some trivial thing?

Besides, even if someone truly had done nothing wrong, most folks still had a healthy fear and respect for anyone in official robes.

At first, a lot of people didn't dare come out to sell their stuff, and fewer people came to buy, too.

But as time went on, folks realized the constables mostly just walked their beats and didn't bother anybody.

Plus, with the constables around, the street punks and pickpockets had thinned out a lot.

After a while, everyone saw the upside of the patrols and weren't nearly as scared as they'd been at first.

Gu Wen, worried the kids in the back might get spooked, steered the mule cart carefully around the constables and headed for the bookshop.

The shop was called Sihai Bookshop, and word had it the county magistrate's wife was behind it.

Plus, they sold stuff cheap, so most folks came here to shop.

Gu Chaoning was a regular, and being easy on the eyes, the shopkeeper and his assistant both remembered him.

"Well, if it isn't Scholar Ning."

Gu Chaoning bowed to the shopkeeper first, then introduced Gu Wen and Yin Hongxue, and finally pulled out the picture book Yin Hongxue had finished.

"My little brother's finished copying the illustrations for this book. Could you take a look and see if it's up to snuff?"

The shopkeeper remembered Gu Chaoning showing up with two paintings to ask if his skill was good enough to copy illustrations for books.

Painters were already hard to come by, and ones willing to stoop to copying illustrations for a bookshop were even rarer.

The shopkeeper had been waiting for this moment.

He hadn't brought it up before because he was afraid that if he asked too soon and the work wasn't done right, it'd look like he was pushing them.

He grabbed the book and flipped through it carefully.

But the moment he opened the first page, the shopkeeper's eyes lit up.

With skill like this—if you didn't know it was drawn by a ten-year-old kid, who'd ever guess!?

The shopkeeper looked up, a little surprised, at the kid standing quietly behind Scholar Ning, then flipped straight to the last page.

The last page was a snow scene—the hardest part of the whole book.

A sea of white, with even the long corridor a pale gray that was almost white.

Painting a snow-covered corridor in ink—you could tell how tough that was.

But surprisingly, this one was done exceptionally well, even seeming to have more life than the original.

The brushwork on this third one was smooth and steady, a big step up from the first.

The shopkeeper didn't dwell on it and flipped back to the second page.

That's how it was with these books—especially for a first-time job, you had to check things carefully.

After all, these were sold to rich families; if the quality was bad, they'd never come back.

Just looking at the second page wasn't enough, but flipping through the whole book page by page, the shopkeeper felt like he was watching a painter's skill grow.

It was like the skill got better with every single painting.

He looked up at Yin Hongxue once more.

If this kid kept at it like this, his paintings would be worth a fortune someday.

The shopkeeper figured Yin Hongxue must have had a really skilled teacher behind him.

So he had no worries about Yin Hongxue quitting halfway—just the thrill of getting in early with a future big-name painter.

"This, this, this—absolutely gorgeous!"

The shopkeeper made a big show of looking impressed, with an exaggerated face and tone, then hurriedly called for his assistant to go get the money.

The assistant had been craning his neck to peek at the book, but seeing the shopkeeper's reaction, he quickly went to fetch the money instead.

The shopkeeper pressed one tael and two qian into Gu Chaoning's hand.

"This is the one tael we agreed on for the copying, and the two qian is the deposit from earlier."

"Your little brother's work fully meets our requirements. Would you two be interested in taking on another copying job?"

Gu Chaoning looked at Yin Hongxue, whose eyes were shining, and the kid eagerly stepped forward.

"I'm in!"

Doing what he loved and making money for the family—how could he be anything but totally on board?

Inside, besides being happy, he felt a little proud that the shopkeeper said his work fully met the requirements.

He'd painted every single stroke himself!

And without any teacher to guide him!

Hearing Yin Hongxue say yes, the shopkeeper beamed and immediately brought out another picture book and a blank one.

He explained, "This one's a bit harder than the last, so of course the price will be a little higher too."

"So, what does Painter Xue think?"

Painter Xue!?

At that title, Yin Hongxue felt a rush of joy from the tips of his toes to the top of his head.

But even so, he didn't just say yes. Instead, he took the book and looked it over carefully to see if he could handle it.

Yeah, it was a bit harder than the last one.

But he could still do it!

Seeing the look on Yin Hongxue's face, Gu Chaoning and Gu Wen didn't need to ask.

In the end, they naturally took the harder one.

One finished book would earn one tael and half a qian.

And thanks to Yin Hongxue's impressive skills, they didn't even require a deposit.

It wasn't until they were walking down the street that Gu Chaoning handed the silver to Yin Hongxue. Yin Hongxue gave it a couple of admiring looks, then passed it to Gu Wen, who was still in a fog.

In the past, they'd always earned money through backbreaking work. This money felt way too easy for Gu Wen, and he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

If Chen Youyan were here, he'd definitely chew Gu Wen out for thinking like that.

What's all this about easy or hard, steady or not?

If Xue Geer can earn it, then he's got the chops for it.

Not through cheating or slacking off—then it's legit and solid.

Besides, how was any of that easy?

As his father, he'd watched his own son hunched over the table painting nonstop.

At the end of the day, it was all because his son had the talent.

There seemed to be even more constables out on the streets.

He'd originally planned to pick up some pastries to bring home, but seeing all that, Gu Wen got nervous.

Especially with two kids in tow, he was even more on edge. So in the end, he just grabbed five catties of meat from the butcher and headed home.

The five catties were all top-notch pork belly. Back in the day, Gu Wen would've thought twice about it, but today he was in a good mood—they had to celebrate, no matter what.

At the Gu household, aside from Gu Daniu who was out working, Wang Xiuxiu, Chen Youyan, and Gu Muan had been waiting with bated breath.

But Wang Xiuxiu and Chen Youyan were adults, always busy with various tasks.

So the first to notice the three returning was the one with the most free time, Gu Muan.

His eyes were sharp, and he instantly caught sight of the oil-paper package on the cart.

With that wrapping and the dark stains on the twine, that was obviously meat!

"Meat?"

But the oil-paper package was too big, so he wasn't quite sure.

Yin Hongxue waved at him, bright as the sun itself.

"It's fragrant pork belly!"

Gu Muan instinctively wanted to suck on his fingers, but then remembered the sting of Chen Youyan slapping his hand.

But, but...

Gu Muan's little brain couldn't quite wrap around it.

But Xue Age really did seem different than before.

How could selling a picture book change a person like that?

Gu Muan thought hard and decided that the old Xue Age was like a big carp in early spring, wanting to swim upstream but afraid of the cold.

And now, he was like a big carp in full spring, when all the flowers bloomed, happily swishing its tail with pride in the rushing river.

But whether it was this kind of Xue Age or that kind, An Geer liked him all the same!