Royal Master Painter

Chapter 11 Lin Ancheng

I heard from Lu Daoxuan that there are many mountains in Yunzhou, and all the cities are surrounded by mountains.

Some mountains can undulate and spread for hundreds of miles. The tall ones have white clouds hugging their waists, and the low-lying ones seem to be lying quietly. When viewed horizontally, the peaks on the sides of the mountains are different in distance and height.

It takes at least more than a day to ride a fat tiger, and long-distance driving is the most boring, even the beautiful scenery in the mountains sometimes gets tired of looking at it.

As the evening approached, there were more carriages and horses on the post road, and after turning over the mountain road under his feet, Jiang Li finally saw the appearance of Lin Ancheng.

The setting sun sprinkled the last rays of light on a big city. The magnificent city wall was surrounded by mountains on the left and the river on the right. It was completely different from the primitive villages in Nanping Town.

It was a bit ostentatious to ride a tiger into the city. After Jiang Li took out the scroll, the fat tiger circled around a few times, and even though he was full of reluctance, it finally turned into a scene in the painting.

This fat tiger moved quickly and quickly, but it had a shortcoming that it was also very hungry. Jiang Greed was terrified along the way, for fear that it would swallow him without paying attention.

As a painter, Jiang Greed was unique in being afraid of the painting spirit he created.

Before the city gate closed, Jiang Li strode into the city.

Seeing that it was getting dark soon, but the streets were still bustling with people coming and going, and the lanterns hanging high in the city illuminated the whole city very brightly.

On both sides of the road, there are many hawkers carrying burdens and selling along the street, as well as various shops.

Hurrying on his way, Jiang Li didn't even eat anything seriously. He saw some roadside stalls selling food, so he found an empty table and sat down, ordering some food according to the signboard.

"The boss comes for a bowl of noodle soup"

Soon a bowl of steaming noodles was served, and Jiang Lian tasted it and tasted pretty good. The soup was like some kind of broth with noodles soaked in it.

After eating and drinking two big bowls of soup, Jiang Li burped, and went to pay for the two bowls of noodles, which only cost [-] yuan.

In Xuanguo, one tael of silver is a hundred dollars. It is not easy to save some money as a color tie maker, but it is very fast to spend.

On the first day when he came to Lin'an City, he didn't do anything else, so Jiang Li was going to familiarize himself with the environment here.

In addition to teahouses and restaurants in Lin'an City, there are also many stalls selling calligraphy and painting, as well as the four treasures of the study, brush, ink, paper and inkstone.

Lu Daoxuan had told him not to show off his color-sticking skills in front of others, and his current identity is just a painter.

Jiang Li saw a lot of paintings hanging in front of a booth and took a look. These were all ink paintings, and the brushwork was inferior and the techniques were not worth anything. In the eyes of a real painter, it is a pile of garbage.

The stall owner saw that Jiang Greed only took a cursory look and didn't seem to see anything, so he stepped forward with a smile on his face.

"Xiao Langjun, these paintings are for arty people. If you know how to paint, I have an authentic painting by the great painter Feng Boyong."

"Who is Feng Boyong?" Jiang Greed asked curiously.

"You don't even know about Feng Boyong? That's the principal of our Lin Ancheng Chengjun Academy. His paintings are second to none in the entire Yunzhou."

"Then I'd like to see it"

The stall owner opened a package wrapped several times, and finally took out a scroll of paintings. After unfolding, it was a picture of a tiger roaring in the mountains and forests.

Compared with the hanging ones, the painters are much better, but they are not strong enough, and their techniques have reached the inferior level.

But compared to his own Fat Tiger, it is far behind. If Yuanzheng is at this level, Jiang Li feels that he can be the head of Wenfu.

"This painting is all ink painting, no paint is used"

"This paint is very precious. Generally, painters use ink to hone their painting skills. This painting contains three methods of dot dyeing and five methods of texture. It is very suitable for young people like you to learn. 300 taels isn’t that expensive.”

"Ten taels?"

Jiang Greed was a little surprised, this was faster than stealing money.If this painting can sell for 300 taels, and his own fat tiger can sell for 3 taels, Jiang Li had a flash of inspiration, is this a good way to earn money?

"This is the authentic work of painter Feng Boyong. 300 taels you can't find even if you have traveled all over the city. It was secretly brought out by the servants of Master Feng's mansion, so that's why I sold it to you so cheaply," the stall owner said in a low voice.

People who sell paintings usually raise their value by forging the source and provenance. Of course, such a trick can't be hidden from Jiang Greed.

"Anyone who is a painter should know that ink itself has multiple levels, with five colors, five qualities and five senses. Look here, where the ink should be light, the ink is thick, and here the place where the ink should be heavy is a little clear."

"This young man is very knowledgeable."

"The last time he sold a fake painting to Wang Yuanwai for a total of 9000 taels, and he was black-hearted."

"Walk around, I don't want to sell it to save you, but I want to buy the real work and go to Tongbao Pavilion, I'm afraid they won't sell you"

The onlookers gathered around after hearing this, and the stall owner pulled his face down and rolled up the painting, directly blasting Jiang Lu away.

"Tongbao Pavilion?"

After inquiring about it, Jiang Li found out that Tongbao Pavilion is a bookstore specially opened by Lin Ancheng for painters, literati and scholars. It sells isolated copies of the Four Treasures of Study, Poetry, Calligraphy, Painting, Confucianism, and Confucianism, but the price is of course more worthy of the name.

Walking to the most central part of Lin'an City, a crimson three-story loft is located in the most prosperous part of the whole street amidst the lights.

Others wear swords while walking in the rivers and lakes, but it is a bit ugly to carry a barrel on your back, and you can't throw it away. After all, this barrel will be his food in the future.

Originally, Jiang Li had some complaints about this book tube, but most of the people outside Tongbao Pavilion were dressed as scholars, and many people had book tubes pinned to their waists, because painters need to carry too many pens, ink, paper and inkstones when traveling around the world, so The book tube has become the standard equipment for painters.

Jiang Li's own book tube is as thick as a bowl and is made of half a bamboo tube. Some landscapes are carved on the surface of the bamboo tube, and a seal character 'Lu' is engraved on the bottom of the bamboo tube.

This book tube looks very ordinary on the outside, but the texture is hard on the outside and soft on the inside, and there is a faint fragrance. When Jiang Li tapped it with his hands, it made a sound like gold and iron.

The pen he uses now is even worse. It is a pen that is almost bald, and the paper it uses is cheap and soft.

Jiang Li worked as a paper maker and saved almost 100 taels of silver over the years. If a worker wants to do a good job, he must first sharpen his tools. He gritted his teeth and finally walked into Tongbao Pavilion.

(End of this chapter)