The Romance of a Young Painter

The weather changed suddenly, it rained heavily all night, and in the early morning the whole yard was muddy.

Zhou Nianjiu and Meng Xing had breakfast in the hall, porridge with boiled eggs, and a plate of dried pickled radishes, which was standard at Aunt Li's house.

"There wasn't such a heavy rain in previous years." Aunt Li stood under the eaves and looked at the sky. The thatched house was just planted with new grass a few years ago, but water still leaked in some places, and they were still being drained with pots, ticking.

Zhou Nianjiu said, "Aunt Li, why don't you repair the house and build a tile-roofed house so that you and Grandpa Li can live comfortably."

Aunt Li glanced at the back room, and said a little awkwardly, "Isn't it...not...there are difficulties at home."

"The difficulties that can be solved are not difficulties," Meng Xing, who was peeling eggs over there, said abruptly, "I can provide all the materials, and I can also find workers to start work at any time."

Aunt Li said, "How embarrassing."

Meng Xing said: "Don't be embarrassed, after all, my family is so poor that only money is left."

Zhou Nianjiu felt that this sounded inappropriate, so she quickly pulled him gently.

As expected, Aunt Li's complexion became unattractive, and she said, "Don't think that having a few stinky money is a big deal, who cares."

On this day, she was even more aggressive with Meng Xing, and the work was full, but she was kind to Zhou Nianjiu, and asked him to go up the mountain with her to pick fungi, and take a look at the trees that Kaichun could move to the yard. .

After Meng Xing cleaned the chicken coop, he went to chop firewood. The firewood picked up from the mountain was flammable but not resistant to burning. Aunt Li also prepared half a pile of round wooden piles. Now chopping wooden piles has become Meng Xing's job. Hey, Meng Xing was sweating profusely after a while, but he didn't make a sound, and chopped the firewood evenly and neatly.

"It's a beautiful job." The old man pushed the wheelchair over.

"It's not as good as your rehearsal for this play." Meng Xing wiped the sweat from his forehead, looked at the old man with piercing eyes, and said, "I thought you didn't plan to meet me."

"It sounds like I'm an old man who is unreasonable." The old man said.

"Don't dare," Meng Xing said, "In your position, who would dare to say anything wrong with you."

"I thought there was nothing you didn't dare to do." The old man said, "How's the investigation these past few days? Have you seen any tricks?"

Meng Xing said: "I already know what you want me to know, and naturally I don't know anything you don't want me to know."

The old man said: "Smart answer, if I were a few decades younger, I would probably make friends with you."

Meng Xing said lightly, "I don't make friends, I only find partners."

The old man smiled and said: "If you agree, you will get together, if you don't agree, you will break up. The money and the goods will be the same, and the old and the old will not be deceived. This is a bit like the old Shen's business, not as fussy as the Meng family."

Meng Xing said coldly: "This is my personal principle, it has nothing to do with the Shen family and the Meng family."

The old man changed the subject and said, "Meng Shen plans to send you abroad?"

Meng Xing said: "He has this arrangement."

The old man said again: "I heard that you have made arrangements in advance over there."

Meng Xing was not surprised by the other party's words, he said: "As long as you want to know, I'm afraid there is nothing you can hide from you."

The old man said: "What do you want? It won't do you any good to defeat the Meng family."

Meng Xing said: "If you can't break it, you can't build it. Destroy a decaying building and rebuild a business empire that is completely your own. Sounds more interesting, doesn't it?"

The old man smiled and said, "I said that if I were a few dozen years younger, I would probably become friends with you."

Meng Xing still said flatly: "I also said that I don't make friends, I only find partners."

The old man said: "Meng Shen can't even trust the person next to him. It's difficult to shake his power by yourself. As someone who has experienced it, I would like to advise you that there are many ways to go with more people."

Meng Xing said, "I don't see any reason for you to have to go through this muddy water."

The old man looked helpless and said: "Just treat it as a bad old man who wants to pass the time. The life of an empty-nest old man is very depressing."

Meng Xing said: "You can go back to City B to entertain your grandson, no, it's a great-grandson. I heard that Fang Liye just gave birth to a son."

The old man said: "I've spent most of my life outside, but the number of times I show up at home is not as much as that of the guards. I'd better not go back and be annoying."

Meng Xing said: "You are joking, who doesn't know that the Fang family is in charge of you."

"The Fang family is already managed by Huai Min," the old man said, "To grow old and not die is to be a thief. I believe you know this truth better than anyone else."

Of course, Meng Xing knew that the Meng family respected the strong and the weak, and had a very weak concept of family affection. As long as they were capable enough, no matter whether a legitimate child or an illegitimate child could take power.Meng Shen is the best in that generation. He nip all the threats in the bud early on, and became the prince of the Meng family with absolute advantage. When he reached middle age, Meng Shen wished that the old Patriarch would hand over power as soon as possible, but it was a pity that the old Patriarch was late Refusing to let go, this made Meng Shen aggrieved to the core, and finally plotted the old Patriarch to death.For Meng Xing, that old man was the only one who didn't give up on him when he was young. Although it wasn't all out of blood, it was enough for Meng Xing, after all, he survived.

"Truth is something that the living have the opportunity to say, and it has no meaning to the dead." Meng Xing did not hide the determination in his eyes. What he intends to do now is to give back all the things Meng Shen taught by example, and not to take them away. but total destruction.

The old man said: "Are you planning to stay with Meng Shi forever?"

Meng Xing said: "You're being serious, it's just a trick to change the dynasty."

The old man smiled and said: "It seems that you have planned for a long time, it's okay, the old man is just waiting to see this good show."

After Meng Xing finished chopping the firewood, a string of blisters had already formed on his hands, and he rinsed his hands in ice-cold water as if he didn't feel the pain.

The old man suddenly asked: "For you, is Xiao Zhou who came with you a partner or a friend?"

"It's nothing, shouldn't you know that?" Meng Xing pointed to a corner of the opposite eaves, where a camera was installed, and the lens was aimed at the inside of the house. The camera was hidden so well that most people couldn't find it.

The old man said: "Looks like old Zhao is too big. He also said that no one can see this thing. Next time I have to talk to him carefully. I can't be too proud of being a man. Meng Xing, I think Xiao Zhou is a good person this time. If you want to make friends someday, he is a good choice."

Meng Xing asked: "In what capacity are you telling me this? Senior, or elder?"

The old man said: "Let's forget it for now. When you live to my age, you will know that there is nothing more precious than a pure heart."

Meng Xing said noncommittally: "Then wait until I really need a friend. Of course, the premise is that his innocence can be maintained until then."

The old man said: "Some people are pure in nature and difficult to be corroded by darkness. I think Xiao Zhou is such a person."

Meng Xing said: "Anyone can be changed. If there is no change, it's just that the external force is not strong enough."

The old man shook his head with a smile, and said, "I'm very accurate in judging people, just wait and see." He lightly tapped on a certain position of the wheelchair, and soon a middle-aged man came to push the wheelchair away up.

As Meng Xing deduced, the old man doesn't usually live here. When he returned to his usual residence, the middle-aged man couldn't help but say:

"Old Fang, Meng Xing is young and has such a heavy heart, can he be trusted?"

"Growing up in a place like the Meng family is certainly not a simple role," the old man said, "You have seen it these days, he is smart enough, calm, careful and never touches the bottom line, there is almost nothing from the beginning to the end. Flaws, such a person will be a good move if he uses it properly."

The middle-aged man said: "There are almost no flaws, so there are still."

The old man said: "That's right, he is still too young, he thinks that his destiny is all in his own hands, he doesn't know that there are some things that cannot be countered with reason, this kind of overconfidence will become his weakness."

The middle-aged man asked, "Will this affect your plan?"

"If you don't even take this into account, then you can just wait for that position to be replaced when the term is changed in three years," the old man said with a smile, "It's the best if Meng Xing can do it. The last trick. And I hope he has weaknesses, a fearless person is either a lunatic or a heretic, and I don't want the grandson of the Fang family to become a public enemy."

The middle-aged man nodded and said, "Don't worry about this, our people will watch Meng Xing's movements. Also, An Hai's son is now working in a technology company. Judging from the direction of his independent research and development, it should be an Internet information security system. "

The old man nodded, and said: "The child has experienced such a thing at a young age, and he can still act calmly without a trace of hostility. This is better than Meng Xing."

The middle-aged man said: "Then do you think the meeting in March needs to pave the way for him in advance?"

The old man said: "No, with his ability, there should be no problem. Taking action rashly will only make him discover your existence prematurely."

The middle-aged man said: "It's still you who have considered it thoroughly."

The old man sighed, and said: "In the end, I owe him a debt. If you want to help, help him where it is most important."

The middle-aged man said: "Meng Xing is still investigating Zhou Nianjiu and the people around him. He pays special attention to Wen Juan's news. Does he already know something?"

The old man said: "After so many years, the traces that should be dealt with have already been dealt with cleanly. As long as Meng Shen doesn't say anything, he can at most find out Wen Ju'an's life experience. This will not hinder what we have to do .”

The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment, and said, "Old Fang, I don't understand why he has paid so much attention to Zhou Nianjiu all these years?"

The old man said: "I'm afraid I have to ask Meng Xing himself."

Zhou Nianjiu, who was busy picking fungus, knew nothing about what happened down the mountain.

After the heavy rain, a lot of mushrooms appeared on the mountain. He and Aunt Li learned to identify which ones were poisonous and which ones were edible. Although he had no experience at all, his observation skills and memory were top-notch, and he quickly mastered the trick.

"Xiao Zhou, it's almost enough," Aunt Li called Zhou Nianjiu, who was still going up, and picked out the mushrooms in his basket again. After finding that there was no problem, she said, "It's been hard these days, let's go down the mountain in a while." I will cook some good dishes to reward you. The roasted chicken with mushrooms is fresh, and the sand from the snail dug the day before yesterday is almost vomited. The fresh snail meat is served with perilla peppers. It’s just right for dinner. By the way, can you eat it? hot?"

"It's edible," Zhou Nianjiu followed Wenmingyuan and ate all the restaurants in the north and south. Generally, the spiciness is within the acceptable range, but he was still a little puzzled by Aunt Li's enthusiasm, and asked, "Aunt Li, today is so rich, why is there a happy event?" ?"

Aunt Li said: "I've tormented you for several days, not to give you a good compensation. Our old man said that starting from this afternoon, you don't have to suffer here. He will arrange another place for you."

Zhou Nianjiu said, "Is there something I didn't do well?"

Aunt Li smiled and said: "Nothing, our old man is very satisfied with your performance. But you have also seen that the house is leaking, and even we have to move to another place. And in the next few days, the old man will move to another place. There is a mission for you."

Zhou Nianjiu let go of half of his heart, and asked again: "What about Meng Xing?"

"Meng Xing's old man has other arrangements," Aunt Li said, "He's very capable, so there's no need to worry about him."

Zhou Nianjiu heard the sting in her words, so she couldn't help explaining for Meng Xing: "Aunt Li, Meng Xing usually talks like that, but there is nothing malicious about it, so don't take it to heart."

"It's okay, I don't think people will appreciate it," Aunt Li said with a smile, "Don't worry, I won't bother with him. Let's go, eat bitter vegetables for a few days, this time I will show you See my true craft."