South China Sea Swell

  After chatting for a while, Zhanziqian felt a bit tired. Yang Suyan ordered the maid to quickly find a stool for Master to sit on. Su You naturally wanted to rush forward to help, but in the end, she couldn't do much to assist.

  "Looking at the horizontal wave painting, people are already calling it done, why not add a few more strokes to complete it?" Zheng Fashi proposed, but then felt a bit embarrassed.

  In the past, people would close their doors when painting to prevent others from stealing their techniques. Now, Zheng Fashi is making such a request to Su You due to curiosity, which is somewhat overstepping his bounds. However, Zheng Fashi immediately let it go, as it was clear that Su You had entered without warning, and the fault lay with him.

  Su You didn't have such awareness, in the past when he was writing or painting at home or school, the more people watching him, the more energetic he became; on the premise that the audience also had the audience's awareness, don't let outsiders direct insiders with seven hands and eight feet, that's the most annoying.

  "Why don't you go and paint, and I'll do another one? Just...” Su You really didn't want to say that the painting materials were actually charcoal, but Xiao Jiu was clever and after Su You whispered a few words to him, he found some charcoal; under Yang Suyan and Zhan Ziping's incredulous gaze, Su You looked guilty and quietly found a scattered wooden board in the hall, and fixed the paper on it.

  Standing in front of the painting board, Su You began to lay out the composition and started working on this "Zheng Fa Shi's Mural Painting". Everything was a sketch of a fixed pattern. From the beginning, Su You entered a state of no man's land with a nervous heart. Half an hour passed, when the painting was almost done, Su You suddenly discovered that Yang Su Yan had been standing behind him for some time, her eyes wide open in apparent disbelief. Zhan Zi Xun, who was standing on one side, kept nodding his head.

  Although only Zheng's back and the unfinished mural on the wall of the main hall are visible, anyone can tell that this is a figure from Zheng, and at this moment, he is highly concentrated on creation, with an undistracted posture that is even more focused and full of spirit.

  The final signature is of course "Nanhai Hengbo", and the iron painting and silver hook are also enough to show Su You's hard pen skills.

  "It's been a long time since I've done anything, and it seems I've gotten rusty. Master Hua must be laughing at me." Su You put down the charcoal and looked at his hands, which were covered in black dust. He couldn't help but smile wryly. Humility was still necessary, even though Su You had never been so serious about drawing a sketch before, and he had never realized that he could actually draw something so lifelike.

  "Not bad, very good, this is extremely good. How about giving this one to the old man?" Zhan Ziyan said with three consecutive praises. The old fellow saw a new technique and seemed to see a road leading to a new world at the same time. His vision and skills seemed to be growing as Su You painted, and he was somewhat eager to go home and try out this painting method. Of course, it would be even better if there was a good reference.

  "I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare. As it happens, I was just thinking of asking for a great work from Master Zhang." Su You was indeed somewhat flattered and surprised, his own paintings were only at an elementary level, yet he had caught the attention of a master-level figure, and amidst the excitement, he felt more unease.

  "What's the big deal? When you have time, just come to my place and take them away." Zhanzi Qian said calmly and lightly, as if Su You originally only wanted to go to his house to pick up two heads of Chinese cabbage.

  Su You really wanted to say that choosing a day is not as good as colliding with a day, but thinking that even if he got his painting, what could he do? Collect it? —— When someone decides to start collecting, in a sense, this is also a sign, —— first marking the ability to survive, and second marking the quality of life. After all, this is cultural consumption rather than a necessity for survival.

  Can it still be sold? Obviously this method is too cheap, at least Yang Su Yan will look down on herself.

  How did he start caring about others' feelings? Su You suddenly felt at a loss.

  Yang Subi and the maid had already supported Zhang Zichen out of the main hall and onto the carriage. Su You finished his daze, didn't even greet Zheng Fashi who was still painting, and slowly walked out of the hall, calling Xiao Jiu to head towards the outer courtyard.

  Su You stood in the jujube forest, the sun shining directly on his body in a mottled pattern. He only felt that this weather was unusually hot, and he also felt somewhat tired, so where was there even half a bit of leisure to appreciate the flowers?

  The two of them left Chongshan Temple and headed east to the market, and it wasn't until they saw a wine shop that Su You realized he was already hungry.

  Su You walked into the small shop very naturally, and immediately ordered two small dishes and two liang of Huanggui thick wine; Xiao Jiu also got on the table in a half-push-half-just manner, and called for a bowl of Tangbing (noodles), and the two sat silently eating this little food that didn't know whether it was lunch or dinner.

  After drinking the wine, Su You inevitably had that determination to improve tea and wine again, but a thread of self-reproach quickly flashed through his mind. His son's life or death was still uncertain, yet he was planning how to enjoy life? Was he still human? —— It would be better to find his son as soon as possible, but in this era, there were no newspapers, and even printing had not been invented, so it was impossible to post a "missing person notice".

  In the midst of boredom, Su You saw several poor scholars sitting at the next table, chatting idly about "this and that". He couldn't help but think to himself, "I wonder what kind of content is tested in the imperial examination?"

  "Where is someone who understands Confucian etiquette, has read many books, but still can't find their place in the world?" Su You thought for a moment and asked Xiao Jiu instead.

  "Of course it's Shizi Street, which is not far from here. Every inn is filled with such people." Xiaojiao replied, and again felt that Su You's question was very strange.

  "What I mean is that kind of older person, who has been dismissed from office, is struggling to make ends meet, and may never be employed again." Su You said with a smile, feeling as if he was describing someone like Kong Yiji or Fan Jin.

  "Yes, there was a famous but fallen scholar named Liu in Yongning. In the 12th year of Kaihuang, he entered the imperial court to participate in compiling national history and revising astronomical laws. He used his talent to forge over a hundred volumes of books, titled "Lianshan Yi" and "Lu Shi Ji", which he sold to the government. Later, when exposed, he almost lost his life. Afterwards, he was sent by Your Majesty to serve as a gatekeeper in the Southwest King's residence. Only after the Southwest King's downfall did he return to the capital, without any official position or title, relying on friends' charity to get by."

  Xiao Jiu spoke in a winding and twisting manner, as if telling a legendary story of a talented but unfortunate young man with many ups and downs. If there was a damsel in distress to save him, the story would be perfect. But since the protagonist's name is unknown, it can also be considered one of Venus' arms.

  How can there be such a person? Plagiarizing others' articles and signing one's own name is called plagiarism! The literati of this era actually wrote books without writing their own names, what kind of spirit is this? —— This is a purely noble, high-minded, detached from lowly tastes, selfless and altruistic person.

  "In ancient times, knowledge was more valuable the older it got; secondly, there was no copyright system, so inventions and creations were not valued, and intellectuals had a hard time making a living." Su You couldn't help but sigh again.

  If Su You was a historian or had studied the history of Confucianism, he would certainly know who this weirdo was who wrote books but used someone else's name. In the Sui Dynasty, there were two famous Confucians known as "Liu Liu" - Liu Zuo and Liu Xuan. The one that Su You couldn't figure out was actually Liu Xuan, also known as Liu Guangbo.

  Guan Tong was intelligent and capable, able to draw circles with his left hand while drawing squares with his right. When Qi Zhenli wrote the preface to "Shi Tou Ji", he praised Guan's skill, saying "Huang Hua's two brushes, left wrist can be regular script, right wrist can be cursive" - a truly divine technique. However, this was just one of Guan Tong's minor skills; in his youth, he and Shi Yuan studied the Book of Poetry under Liu Jingsi, studied the Zuo Zhuan under Guo Mao, and asked about the Rites under Xiong Ansheng. He once debated with a group of Confucian scholars at the Imperial Academy alongside Shi Yuan, earning their envy and suffering from slanderous rumors. His main works include "Lun Yu Shu Yi" and "Chun Qiu Shu Yi", and was praised by Ye Shi as "the most erudite and knowledgeable scholar in hundreds of years, with no one able to surpass him".

  "Go, I must go." Su You made up his mind and urged Xiaojiao to lead the way. However, when they arrived at Liu Xuan's door, he suddenly felt hesitant and wanted to turn back. This was indeed the first time in his life that he had gone to visit a stranger so impulsively, what was he thinking?

  Meet a celebrity? Or ask someone for advice, discuss some knowledge? Or go and pay respects as a teacher?

  Although Su You has never been in the officialdom, but as a person who has lived for two lifetimes, at least he should know that if he wants to mix well in the officialdom, it's not the best way to approach those with higher positions. Instead, he should help those who are pursuing power and may succeed; But now this Liu old man? He is just a loser, or just a fallen scholar, such a person will bring bad luck to whoever gets close to him.

  Su You had an idea similar to Confucius visiting Laozi, but it withered away after his own careful consideration.

  "What's wrong with me?" Su You hesitated, but after meeting Xiao Jiu's inquiring gaze, he said, "Shouldn't we prepare some visiting cards and gifts? At the very least, we should bathe and change our clothes."

  "Well, let's go back and take a look at the almanac or something?" Xiaojiao rolled her eyes and casually agreed with him.

  As the two of them were about to leave Yongning, they saw a Taoist priest walking towards them with a divination sign in his hand. Just as the three of them were about to pass each other, the Taoist priest said, "Sir, please stop for a moment."

  "What instructions does the Taoist have?" Su You stopped in his tracks and carefully looked at the Taoist, who also had some elegance to him, and asked.

  "I see a calamity surrounding you, sir. You will definitely encounter two great waves." The Taoist priest declared categorically.

  "What are the two big waves?" Su You remained silent, but Xiao Jiu asked with a laugh, clearly showing that he had never had a good impression of the half-immortal on the street.

  "This, of course... please have a seat, and let me give you a thorough reading. For just ten cents, the price of a meal, I can help you turn bad luck into good fortune. Such a great opportunity is not easily come by." The Taoist priest spoke persuasively, but Su You remained unmoved.

  "Is this guy also a crosser? How did he end up like this?" Su You thought to himself, then asked, "Do you know about washing machines, refrigerators, airplanes, cannons and tanks?"

  The Taoist priest shook his head and remained silent. Su You pulled Xiao Jiu to hurry away, leaving the Taoist priest standing there like a utility pole.

  Little Nine walked and asked: "Sir, what is Xi Yiji, Shop Bin Xiang..."

  "This is 'Two yellow orioles sing in the green willow, a line of white egrets rise to the blue sky.' What a great poem!" Su You hastily changed the subject, reciting two lines of poetry and praising himself.

  "What's all this fuss about? It's actually a good poem." Xiaojiao muttered.

  "Two orioles chirped in the green willow, speaking unknowingly; a line of white egrets soared into the blue sky, deviating from the topic by ten thousand miles. This is the most effective way to deal with those fortune-telling half-immortal Taoist priests." Su You smiled slyly and chuckled a few times, seeing that he was already not far from his home.

  Su Xue returned home, as if possessed by a demon, writing repeatedly on paper, striving to invent movable type printing. Nowadays, scholars are distressed that their works cannot gain fame; if I were to invent advanced printing techniques at this time, allowing their works to be published and enabling them to live worry-free by writing books, wouldn't that count as some kind of social progress?

  As for the development of printing, Su You can be said to have a rough idea. In his memory, Bi Sheng of the Song Dynasty invented movable type with clay, which was later transmitted to Korea, and then Koreans invented bronze type and lead type printing technology. However, Koreans invented too many things, and Su You really didn't know what was true and what was false.

  Perhaps the biggest obstacle to inventing printing in this era is still paper - the current paper absorbs water too much, and the ink will definitely be a mess when printed. I wonder if oil-based ink would work better? Then Su You thought of helping his teacher write on wax paper with an iron pen in middle school, but that wax was really not easy to handle...

  Su You spent a day in this aimless state, and on the third day when he went to the East Palace for his morning shift, he heard that both Yang brothers had gone to Ren Shou Palace. This news was undoubtedly good news for Su You, who couldn't wait to stay at home all day and idle away until death.

  He was extremely bored, so Su You also practiced horseback riding and archery. He knew that it was a bit late to start seeking fame and fortune on horseback, but having an extra skill would provide an extra layer of security; even if he couldn't ride horses to kill enemies, at least he could ride horses to escape, right?

  More importantly, Yang Guang's era is about to arrive, which will be the best of times and the worst of times.

  "Heroes from all over the world come to pay homage, with golden armor and iron horses, rising together on the mountain top, contending for hegemony......" Su You thought of this and couldn't help but shiver.