Almighty painter

Chapter 664 Growing up
Gu Tongxiang slumped on the sofa in the inner room.

His hair was messy, and the small tuft of hair on his forehead was split to the left and right, like cricket antennae. They had obviously been roughly scratched and rubbed by someone before, revealing the yellow scalp underneath.

The old man smoked the cigarette in big puffs, and his ferocious smoking style, to use the words in crosstalk, was like "If you smoke like this, you will get lung cancer after three puffs."

Judging from the old man's appearance, he seemed to have made up his mind to smoke himself to death here.

His entire face was pale, but his eyes were wide open and red. His chest kept rising and falling like a dehydrated fish, and smoke was gushing out, along with a gurgling sound of phlegm coming from his throat.

It also seems to be a cricket.

Awang hated the smell of smoke. He sneezed with a snorting sound, bared his teeth at Lao Guzi, then turned around and ran to the outer room.

Gu Weijing looked at his grandfather.

He remembered that he had cleared out all the cigarettes in the house.

Perhaps Gu Tongxiang had secretly hidden some stock in some corners of his house, or perhaps the other party had temporarily bought the cigarettes from a neighbor.

Now...none of this matters anymore.

Gu Weijing walked over, reached out and took the cigarette box from the old man's hand, and took a light puff.

No twitching.

Gu Tongxiang stared at his grandson with his bulging eyes.

There was almost no life in his pupils, the whites of his eyes were red with yellow, and the black pupils were surrounded by a white film, as if they were blocked by thick haze.

Gu Tongxiang said nothing.

She just stood there in a daze, staring blankly at Gu Weijing.

"Let go, stop pulling." Gu Weijing said.

Gu Tongxiang still didn't move.

Gu Weijing didn't force it.

He no longer tried to take the cigarette box, but took out a cigarette from the box held by Gu Tongxiang, put it in his mouth, and raised his hand to grab the lighter on the table.

"Snapped."

Old man Gu immediately grabbed his grandson's hand.

"Weijing, when did you learn to smoke?" The old man looked at his grandson.

"I haven't learned it, but if you think smoking can solve the problem, then I can smoke with you." Gu Weijing looked straight into his grandfather's eyes.

Gu Tongxiang paused.

He didn't speak.

But the strength that was holding Gu Weijing's arm gradually loosened.

The old man gently threw the crushed cigarette box in his hand aside and leaned dejectedly on the sofa.

Gu Weijing also threw away the cigarette in his mouth, walked over, opened the curtains, and opened the window as wide as possible to allow the night breeze outside to take away as much of the dirty air in the room as possible.

"Wei Jing...your sister, your sister, was kidnapped."

When Gu Weijing turned around to open the window, he heard the hoarse voice of old man Gu behind him, "She...she was kidnapped."

"I know."

Gu Weijing did not look back.

He propped up the window with a support rod, paused, and said calmly again: "I know."

Gu Weijing heard the fear and confusion in his grandfather's voice.

There is so much hidden in that voice.

Gu Lin was kidnapped... Where is she now? How is she? Is she okay? Does she have food to eat, water to drink, is she sleeping now? Is she scared? Has she been beaten? Has she been violated... Is she now...

Are you still alive?
Layer upon layer of fear weighed on the old man's heart.

Mr. Sloth said that in the traditional family education received by senior Western aristocrats, they should not show emotions such as anger.

A true nobleman always shows a lazy and tired look in social occasions.

You have ridden the fastest horse, drunk the best wine, and played with the best women. If you are unhappy, someone will want to kill you. You were born to sit at the top of the world.

So you lose interest in anything.

Louis XIV discovered that his subordinates were disobedient and that some feudal nobles in the provinces of Paris were secretly trying to rebel against him and become emperor themselves.

He showed no anger.

While he sent troops to suppress the rebels, he also summoned all the patriarchs or male heirs of the patriarchs who had ulterior motives to the Grand Trianon Palace, where he held salons and hunting parties with them every day. He led the high-ranking nobles to hold parties all day long, telling those provincial bumpkins -

"Look at the scale of my party. Is it fun? Do you know how to play? You've never played before, right? Are you enlightened? Let me tell you, I'm tired of all these. I'm a Parisian, I've been playing since I was born. I play all day long, holding salons, hunting, playing with women, nothing else!"

"Do you think you can be the best in Paris with two broken guns and a few knights? Don't be ridiculous. Do the local nobles obey you bumpkins? Do you think you can control the situation? Today I will broaden your horizons and tell you something. Don't be convinced. Do you hear me? The monarch of the old Versailles Palace must be a 'person in heaven' like us, only then can he sit there!"

As the longest-reigning monarch in French history, Louis XIV reigned for 72 years, and more than half of his life was spent in various salons and banquets.

Although some scholars believe that the entire Bourbon dynasty actually perished due to the singing and dancing of Louis XIV.

However, in recent years, many studies have pointed out that in addition to being used for enjoyment, the main purpose of Louis XIV's parties was actually a political demonstration.

At the party, he used his luxury, his extravagance, his debauchery and his laziness to demonstrate to all the evil-minded nobles in the empire.

This is the unique pressure that comes from mountains of wealth.

When the young lord from the provinces returned home and secretly wrote a letter to tell his father that the money the king spent on parties every night was more than the total income of their manor for two months, and that the king was not even interested in it, this crushing wealth was enough to make many lords put away their "inappropriate" thoughts.

It was at his banquet that Louis XIV became the first king in French history to achieve absolute monarchy.

Mr. Sloth once told Gu Weijing that when facing people in power, they should try their best not to show their anger.

Getting angry means that you are powerless against life, that the world does not operate according to your will, and that your subordinates will realize... that you are not powerful and invincible.

Gu Weijing turned sideways.

He stared into his grandfather's eyes, and at this moment Gu Weijing suddenly realized that anger not only represents people's helplessness in life.

Fear is actually the same.

If the anger cannot be concealed, it represents the anger and rage of those in power when faced with the offense of disobedience from fate.

The fear that is poured out represents the dejection and confusion of ordinary people when faced with the ruthless and cold crush of fate.

They do not have the power of the Sun King, and they are used to being offended.

Therefore,
They had skipped the shame part and gone straight to the despair part.

When Gu Weijing entered the room, my aunt had been sitting in the shadow in the corner of the room. Her eyes were very red and swollen, and it seemed that she had been crying for a long time.

Perhaps the fear in her father-in-law's words infected her, and she couldn't help it anymore, so she hugged the pillow and cried softly.

"Your uncle, your uncle has booked a flight, and the earliest he can come back is the day after tomorrow morning." Aunt said softly.

Fear is contagious.

Gu Weijing also saw tears flashing in his grandfather's eyes.

This was the first time in Gu Weijing’s life that he saw his grandfather cry.

Even when he was a child, his grandfather didn't cry when his father abandoned his family and flew abroad.

In an instant.

He realized that his grandfather was really old.

Eastern patriarchs rarely shed tears. They may be violent, old-fashioned, "dictatorial", tough and unreasonable, or they may use a cane to force everyone in the family to listen to them.

But they never cry.

Because they are the pillars of the house and the mainstay of the family, they have to swallow all the suffering and grievances in their hearts.

They can't give in to life.

They cried.

The whole family was in a panic.

The old man in the family has been through a lot. He was able to start from scratch and turn his shabby old art shop into what it is today. Compared to those real big galleries, Gu's Book and Art Gallery is still a shabby and unpresentable country shop, but it is already very good locally.

When he was young, he dealt in second-hand art and set up stalls. He was deceived by his partner and taken to the police station. He was even shot by a machine gun while collecting paintings in the suburbs. He was like a ferocious dog eating shit and only saved his life by jumping into a ditch beside the field.

Grandpa also had his own moments of glory.

He had made some considerable sums of money and bought a second-hand luxury car. He once wore a white towel around his neck and played "The Bund" on the stereo. In the high temperature of nearly 40 degrees in Yangon, he wore the same windbreaker as Xu Wenqiang and drove at high speed on the road along the Yangon River with the windows open.

Gu Weijing believed that the old man must not have felt hot at that time.

What dripped on the white towel was not sweat, but the elegance and passion of his prime years.

He even had several opportunities to develop in Hong Kong, Japan or the mainland, but gave up because of family reasons.

In the past, Old Man Gu always boasted that if he had agreed at that time, he would have been a "great painter" now.

Gu Weijing believed that the old man was speaking from his heart.

The title of “great painter” may have some exaggeration, but it is not difficult to live a better life than now.

Old Man Gu is a typical "capable person" in small places.

They may not have been to university, have little education, or knowledge, but they have their own wisdom and unique philosophy of survival, and can withstand the storms and endure hardships.

It has a slippery side, but also a side that is as stubborn and hard as a rock.

They have a breath in their hearts to fight for their lives and earn a better life.

As long as this spirit exists, they will always be the majestic elders and the majestic helmsmen of the family boat.

and so.

When Gu Tongxiang saw Gu Weijing's father leaving, he would stiffen his neck, bang on the table, and roar, "If you dare to take Gu Weijing away, I will jump into the Yangon River tomorrow."

and so.

Over the years, although Old Man Gu is bald, bedridden, and likes to watch those embarrassing short videos of elderly people tapping their toes.

But whenever Gu Weijing saw his grandfather fixing his hair in front of the mirror, putting on a three-piece suit, drinking tea and posting on WeChat Moments to show off, he would feel that his grandfather was actually quite young.

However, when people get old, they are old people after all.

That breath that could withstand anything and endure any anger finally dissipated.

Gu Weijing didn't know what the old man would do if he encountered such a thing now that he was twenty years younger.

Maybe now Gu Tongxiang has already put on a suit, taken the car keys, carried gifts, and tried every means to find someone through his connections. No matter whether he has connections or not, no matter whether he has to spend all his money or not, he will do everything he can to get Gu Lin back.

Or maybe, Mr. Gu would rely on his "street wisdom" to realize that this would be a bottomless pit, and throw his phone into the Yangon River with red eyes. He held, tied, and tied up my aunt, and pulled me onto the plane that Uncle Sakai was waiting for at the airport.

Leave this sad place and never come back.

But now, Mr. Gu just sat there, smoking one cigarette after another.

He just cried there.

It really seems like some magical technique from some strange novel.

Some oriental men.

They seemed to be frozen in time at the age of 36. The gods on the mountain said that it didn't matter how much sweat and blood they shed, and even if their hair was bald, they could apply hair growth agents and hope it would grow back.

The only taboo is tears.

As long as a tear of fear flows from the corner of the eye.

then.

In an instant, the magic will be broken, the illusions created by the magic power will all disappear, and the power of the past time will be doubly manifested on them.

For an instant.

They went from being a strong thirty-six-year-old to a wrinkled, red-eyed, decrepit, feeble old man of sixty-three.

If your hair is falling out, you can apply hair growth agent.

My heart is broken.

No amount of minoxidil spray will bring it back.

They look sixty years old, yet as frightened and helpless as a lost six-year-old child.

"do not Cry."

Gu Weijing said softly.

My aunt and grandpa were still crying there.

"I said, stop crying." Gu Weijing emphasized, "Smoking is useless, crying is useless!"

Gu Weijing discovered that he could hear his own voice.

Of course, people can hear the sound of their own voices.

but.

The voice of him speaking in my ears at this moment seemed to sound different from before.

Gu Weijing was like a bystander from a third-party perspective, quietly listening to the recording playing on the radio.

really weird.

Gu Weijing discovered that his voice was so calm.

He clearly thought there was some impatience in his tone, but he actually didn't sound angry or impatient at all.

It was a clear commanding tone.

The tone is neither urgent nor slow.

Calm and solemn, without shouting but full of majesty, as if he were a monk preaching.

Maybe grandpa grew old in an instant.

From being the pillar of the family, he became an old man and a confused child.

So he must not be angry, nor be afraid.

Take your time.

Calm and composed.

Be the person in the family who remains calm and dignified in the face of fate.

Some people grow old overnight.

Some people grow up overnight.

(End of this chapter)