Chapter 46: Teacher 2

Chapter 46: The Teacher 2

Gu Chaoning glanced at Yin Hongxue, gesturing for him to hold off.

The two of them then looked together at Gu Wen, waiting to hear what he had to say next.

"These past few days, we've been making trips back and forth to town, even checking in with the folks we'd worked for before. And you know what? Town folks, they get news fast..."

Turns out Gu Daniu and Gu Wen got a tip that day from a family they'd worked for before.

There were actually two painters who were really good.

The first had spent two years traveling and studying when he was young, and after he came back, he threw himself entirely into painting.

But this guy was quiet and steady, and didn't take on any students.

The second one did take students.

When he was young, he'd spent some time in the capital, and was most skilled at painting birds—with feathers so fine and lifelike they looked real.

But the guy was a bit of an oddball and a slob. With no wife or kids, he drank up whatever he made each day.

The second Gu Daniu and Gu Wen heard that, they figured it was a no-go.

But after scouring the place for days without finding a truly skilled painter, the moment they caught wind of this lead, they figured they'd go check it out, good or bad.

The father and son talked it over, got the second guy's address, and headed over.

The place was in a good spot—Hulu Lane on Dongzou Street.

When they got there, sure enough, the painter wasn't home.

Standing at the door, Gu Wen glanced around—dead tree stumps and oil paper tossed everywhere—and felt a knot in his stomach.

Just then, a neighbor came out to dump some water, saw these two strangers, and started chatting them up.

When the neighbor heard they were looking for that sloppy painter, he pointed them somewhere.

A wine shop on the corner of Linan Street.

And from what the neighbor hinted, if the guy wasn't home, eight times out of ten he'd be at that wine shop.

That's where they'd find him, no doubt.

The more Gu Daniu and Gu Wen heard, the more uneasy and doubtful they got.

With Yin Hongxue's painting tucked in his coat, even their steps felt shaky.

Gu Wen looked at Gu Daniu: "Dad, can a drunk painter like this really teach Xue Geer?"

Gu Daniu was just as worried as Gu Wen, but as the dad, he forced himself to keep it together.

"We've come this far, so let's just go see."

So the two of them kept going.

But wouldn't you know it—just as they hit Linan Street, before they even got to the wine shop, they heard a ruckus up ahead.

Then a scruffy-looking guy got hauled out of the wine shop.

When they asked around, turns out that guy was the painter.

The painter, drunk as a skunk, had been hitting on the wine shop owner's old dad. The old man was red in the face with rage, swearing he'd never serve him again.

That little scene made the two of them stop dead in their tracks.

Gu Wen and Gu Daniu looked at each other, and both could tell this was a dead end.

Without a word, they both turned and headed back.

Halfway back, Gu Wen suddenly remembered Chen Youyan had asked him to pick up some sweet dried apricots.

She'd said Xue Geer always sipped tea while painting and couldn't sleep at night, and Chen Youyan had heard from the village head's wife, Madam Cui, that soaking some sweet dried apricots in water might help.

Madam Cui had given her the address too.

It was on Hongxing Street, Sweet Apricot Lane, the house with a big painting of apricots hanging by the door.

With all the running around just now, he'd almost forgotten.

Hearing that, Gu Daniu turned around and headed with Gu Wen toward Hongxing Street.

On Hongxing Street, just about every house had apricot trees.

Walking toward Sweet Apricot Lane, they passed stalls selling dried apricots, apricot preserves, dried apricot blossoms, apricot wine, and all kinds of apricot stuff.

Just as they reached Sweet Apricot Lane, before they could even go in, they heard a little girl crying.

Gu Daniu and Gu Wen followed the sound and found a little girl crouched behind an apricot tree.

The girl couldn't have been more than four or five, clutching a wooden toy and wiping her tears.

Poor little thing—the moment Gu Wen saw her, his heart went out to her and he walked over.

When he asked, he found out she'd been playing with other kids and broke the wooden toy in her hands.

The toy had been bought for her that very day by an older relative, and scared of getting scolded, she'd hidden outside to cry.

Lucky for her, Gu Wen was a carpenter. He looked at it for a moment and saw the toy had broken from the fall because it was meant to be taken apart and put back together.

Gu Wen helped the girl put the toy back together, and only then did her tears turn to smiles.

The girl thought it was amazing and kept pestering Gu Wen to explain how he did it.

But since Gu Wen and Gu Daniu were strangers on Hongxing Street, someone had already gone to get the girl's parents in that short time.

To avoid any misunderstanding, Gu Wen quickly explained what had happened.

As they talked more, the girl's father noticed the painting Gu Wen was holding.

As they got to talking, it turned out the girl's father was a painter himself—and he invited the two back to his place to show them his work.

The painter gave Yin Hongxue's painting a quick look and agreed on the spot to take him as a student.

The whole trip had been full of twists and turns, and Gu Wen still felt a bit emotional as he finished the story.

The moment Yin Hongxue heard Gu Wen mention Hongxing Street, Sweet Apricot Lane, his heart thumped hard.

As soon as the story was done, he asked quickly, "Dad, Grandpa, what number is the painter's house on Sweet Apricot Lane?"

That was what he wanted to ask—and what everyone else was wondering too.

At that, everyone turned to look at Gu Wen, and even Gu Daniu, who already knew the location, looked at Gu Wen too.

Gu Wen mulled it over, paused for dramatic effect, then smiled and said, "It's 8 Sweet Apricot Lane, Red Apricot Street!"

Aha!

Yin Hongxue shot to his feet, thrilled.

Everyone was confused by his reaction. His face flushed as he whipped around excitedly to look at Gu Chaoning.

Gu Chaoning slid the paper across the table to the older man.

"My teacher kept me after class today to ask about finding a teacher for Xue Geer..."

Gu Chaoning then relayed what his teacher had said.

Chen Youyan listened carefully, then couldn't help grinning.

"It's fate that brought Xue Geer here—and it's Xue Geer who made it all come together."

Gu Wen laughed too. He stood, grabbed the teapot, and poured a cup for everyone.

"Come, try this water steeped with those all-important sweet dried apricots."

After all, if they hadn't bought those sweet dried apricots for Xue Geer, they'd still be running around in circles.

Gu Wen only figured this out after he got home.

Given how detailed the painter's work was and how pricey his belongings looked, he seemed like a skilled artist who wasn't hurting for cash.

Maybe he was one of those brilliant painters who never took on students.

But no need to bring that up.

The next day, the folks in Xiaohe Village saw the whole Gu Daniu family heading out, young and old, all beaming.

Word also got around that Chen Youyan, Wang Xiuxiu, and the others had picked up six kinds of gifts for the ceremony—dried meat, celery, lotus seeds, and such.

A little more digging revealed that Gu Daniu's family really had found a teacher for Xue Geer and were getting ready for the formal ceremony.

People felt a pang of envy, and a few families with young boys or girls started getting ideas.

Yin Hongxue was learning painting, and they heard that Gu Muan was also planning to learn a craft.

Could their children learn a craft too?

A few families had kept their sons out of the village school to save on tuition.

After getting ribbed by the villagers, they felt humiliated and sore, quietly nursing a grudge against the Gu family and Yin Hongxue.