Fox Road Travel Notes

Early the next morning, Wang Heming came over and asked what he was painting today.

He was quite serious about coming out as a liar this time.

It's the first time, who is not full of expectations and fantasy...

Chen Zican was not in the room.

When Wang Heming found him, he was squatting in front of a small dark room used for storage.

Sticking his buttocks out, he concentrated on tinkering with more than a dozen bottles and jars.

In the house, Monk Tong and several strong men had built a stove with green bricks and were carrying a large pot rack on it.

Wang Heming didn't bother him, and just watched silently.

After a while, a fire was lit under the stove and smoke filled the air.

Xun's boy monk looked like Zao Lord Bodhisattva, his face was black and he couldn't stop coughing, and he ran out from inside.

Chen Zican smiled and said, "Why are you running? This cigarette is just right. Go get a bucket of water and pour it into the pot."

Monk Tong blinked his red eyes and didn't want to go in again.

Chen Zican muttered: "Tsk, no future!"

He reached out from his arms and took out a strip of cloth sewn into several layers and covered his face.

The belt behind his head was tied in a knot, Shi Shiran walked in and looked at the fire in the stove.

He shouted: "Please add less wet osmanthus, you are a prodigal!"

"Hurry up and pour the water. You two, bring the shelf over and put the thin bamboo curtain on it..."

After a while, he came out and selected a few jars, picked some powder with a small spoon and sprinkled it into the pot, and stirred evenly with a wooden stick.

Then he scooped up a spoonful, walked to the door, and carefully identified the color of the soup.

Looking up, he saw Wang Heming sitting under the tree, looking here leisurely.

Chen Zican said: "Go get the painting you drew, and go to the kitchen to see if Kou'er's millet porridge is ready. Ask her to bring it over!"

Wang Heming smiled bitterly and stood up.

When I came back with the painting, the water in the pot was already boiling.

Wang Heming also found a piece of cloth to cover his mouth and nose. He stretched his head and took a look. He saw that the soup was turbid and a strange smell hit his nose.

He asked Chen Zican curiously: "Zican, what is this?"

Chen Zican was busy spreading the painting on the bamboo curtain, with several health and welfare announcements underneath.

Hearing this, he said: "White vinegar, Garcinia, Huaqing, Sophora japonica..."

There are many kinds of mineral medicinal materials mentioned.

Then he pointed to several jars on the edge of the stove: "These are gum alum water, bletilla striata water, millet soup..."

Wang Heming felt helpless. This guy always talked like this. He talked in detail, but he didn't listen.

I saw Chen Zican using a large piece of cocoon paper to cover the painting on the shelf, covering the mouth of the pot tightly.

He ordered: "Don't let the fire get too big. Call me in an hour."

He pulled Wang Heming out and said to him: "Today, the painting you are going to paint is quite special..."

"It doesn't matter, just say it!" Wang Heming was eager to give it a try.

Chen Zican nodded and thought for a moment.

"Brother Wang, after living on the water for so many years, you must be able to paint that vast and majestic scene, right?"

"How about we draw another "Dongting Autumn Colors"?"

Wang Heming was a little disappointed: "That's all?"

"Well, I also want to draw a middle-aged Taoist priest, with a yellow crown and a sword, standing proudly on a lone boat."

"You must have the spirit of immortality, and look at it with the ambition to transcend the world..."

Wang Heming pondered for a moment and then asked: "That's all?"

Chen Zican nodded: "That's all."

"Didn't you say that today's painting is different from the previous ones, and that you are going to use shocking methods? This..."

Wang Heming was a little anxious.

Chen Zican smiled: "Of course it's different. Today's painting..."

He leaned close to Wang Heming's ear and whispered a few words.

Looking at the astonished talented man, he ordered: "Except for this, everything else is exactly the same, completely, exactly the same!"

For Wang Heming, the scenery of Dongting has long been familiar to him.

Even if he closes his eyes, he can still draw the artistic conception of waves of smoke and blue sky.

Within an hour, he had already taken the painting and couldn't wait to come to the backyard.

Seeing Chen Zican standing by the pot, he dipped a brush in millet soup and applied a thin layer of steamed paint on it.

Then there is gum alum water, and then bletilla striata water.

When it's done, peel off the drawing paper and let it hang in the house to dry.

Then brush the lining paper below, and then add water again to adjust the color after all is done.

Then put new lining paper on the bamboo curtain and put a new painting...

After finishing his work for a while, he said to Monk Tong, "Did you see everything clearly?"

"Steam three times, brush three times, then dry and smoke, don't stop the fire..."

After explaining clearly, he took Wang Heming out, opened the drawing paper and looked at it.

He exclaimed: "The moon is shaken by the vast expanse of waves, and the shadow of the lake invades the boat. The night air is cool. Brother Wang's painting makes people leisurely and fascinated!"

"It seems that I must visit you and Brother Wu when I have the opportunity to appreciate the scenery of Dongting..."

Wang Heming kept looking at it, and after hearing his words, he felt relieved.

He suddenly realized that he had become so concerned about Chen Zican's opinion since then.

Chen Zican put away the drawing paper and whispered to Wang Heming: "Only you, me, and Brother Tong know this painting."

"Remember, don't leak it!"

Wang Heming nodded, looking at his tired face, and asked, "Doesn't your hand hurt?"

"If you have something to do, just ask them to do it. You still need to rest more."

Chen Zican smiled: "Everything is fine! A few needle holes are actually not a big deal."

"Now, we all need to recharge our batteries and be ready for the next step..."

Wang Heming frowned and said: "The county magistrate has not come for two days this week. Will he become suspicious? When will the next step be carried out?"

"Don't worry, it will be beneficial to dry him out."

"As for the next step -" He patted Wang Heming on the shoulder.

"The secret must not be leaked. When the time comes, we will naturally know."

The next day, Wang Heming still couldn't restrain his curiosity and came to the backyard hut.

I saw the paintings and paper hanging on the stove, and the room was filled with heat and smoke.

Two more were covered with gauze and hung next to them. The boy monk was guarding them outside the house.

When asked about Chen Zican, he said that he had come to see him in the morning and told him not to cease fire, but said nothing else.

On the third day, Chen Zican asked someone to take down the painting. Wang Heming took a look and couldn't help but marveled.

After all this tossing, the ink color of all the paper has become the same as that of ancient paintings.

Putting the things into the study, Chen Zican took out the ingredients that he had prepared long ago.

The two of them worked together to frame the painting, and they were busy until the afternoon.

Chen Zican let out a long breath, picked up the pile of scrolls, put them into the large vat in the corner of the study, and closed the lid.

Wang Heming looked at it in confusion. This large vat was incompatible with the exquisiteness and elegance of the study.

He asked: "This - it seems to be a rice vat?"

Chen Zican smiled: "Brother Wang has good eyesight!"

Wang Heming suddenly realized: "You, you want to make insect eyes, right?"

On the fourth day, when Wang Heming went to find Chen Zican, he was in trance, staring at the copper needle mounted on the wooden frame.

Wang Heming took a glance and saw nothing special.

Chen Zican told him that the time was coming soon.

The next step can be carried out in these two days.

At noon, two yamen servants held Zhou Fengji's greeting card and invited Wang Heming and Chen Zican to the county yamen for a banquet.

Wang Heming can now kill people without shaking his hands or beating his heart.

But as a liar, he was still the first brother, so he couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

Chen Zican smiled and told him that it seemed that the time over there was ripe.

Zhou Fengji must have told Sun Shangshu and Liu Jinshi about the origins of the Xi brothers and the news that they were planning to sell several collections for disaster relief...