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Ger Yu used the 18 wen to buy a stack of pale yellow cotton paper. He never made white lanterns again.
For Ger Yu’s lantern business, his brother agreed with his plan very much. Not only did he encourage him, but he supported him as well. Ger Yan didn’t help him make lanterns, but added color and ink to the newly made lanterns.
Ger Yan looked at a brush and painted on the lanterns Ger Yan made. Even if his donkeys didn’t look like donkeys and people didn’t look like people…after Ger Yan worked hard for three days, using countless brushes and ink, his painting skills had improved greatly. Although his paintings now weren’t lifelike or ingenious, they were interesting.
In his and Lin Lixuan’s room, Lin Lixuan was reading a book by the window. He turned sideways to look at Ger Yan. At this time, Ger Yan was sitting at the square table. There was a light blue lantern on the brown table. The warm yellow sunlight flowed in from the windows and splashed on the lantern. You could see the bone joints of the lanterns all around. Ger Yan held the base of the lantern with one hand and picked up a brush with the other. He traced around it like delicate cotton paper. His nimble eyes followed the tip of the pen as he rotated it, like a fish swimming in the pool.
Lin Lixuan put down the book and walked over to see what he was painting. It was a lotus flower in a shallow pool. The green lotus plant was in full bloom. With a flick of his wrist, it connected into a lotus leaf. The tip of the pen shook and turned into the lotus heart. The cinnabar mole in the middle of Ger Yan’s eyebrows was bright and red. The lotus image he painted complimented very nicely.
Lin Lixuan raised his eyebrow. He was interested in this. He found a paintbrush and snatched the lantern Ger Yan was painting. Under the blooming lotus, he drew two intelligent and naughty little goldfish.
Ger Yan took back the lantern. His expression was full of dissatisfaction. His eyebrows were twisted in a straight line. “Look at the goldfish you painted. You made my lantern look ugly.”
His newly painted lotus scene, before he could even enjoy it, it was destroyed. It was originally a fresh and refined lotus, but with the two added goldfish, it turned into a more wild scene. Now when someone picked up the lantern, the first thing they saw wouldn’t be his lotus but…
This really made him depressed and angry.
Lin Lixuan hugged him from behind and chuckled in his ear, “How is it ugly? It obviously looks better.”
The painting looked better, but his lotus flower was ugly.
“It’s uglier.”
“Look. This goldfish looks like you, with a round belly and powerful tail.”
Ger Yan said angrily, “The other one is like you with a big head and big eyes… It makes people angry just looking at it.”
Lin Lixuan laughed sullenly while burying his head into Ger Yan’s neck. “How many lanterns did Ger Yu make?”
“This is the tenth one.”
“Oh? That many? Did you also paint ten paintings?”
Ger Yan nodded. “Mn, of course.”
“No wonder my Ger Yan’s painting is getting better.” Lin Lixuan seriously praised his little husband.
The other party’s serious boasting made Ger Yan unable to contain himself. His cheeks reddened.
“I thought of something else while I was watching you make lanterns.”
Ger Yan was curious. “What is it?”
Lin Lixuan thought of something that was made from red thread. That thing was most commonly known as the “Chinese knot”. In front of Ger Yan and with his nimble fingers, he skillfully twisted and flipped the string to make a six-way long knot. In his previous life, his grandfather loved ancient culture and listened to opera. The long knot symbolized the harmony of yin and yang, endlessly and forever. When he was a child, he personally made one to give to his grandfather.
“It’s so beautiful,” Ger Yan praised sincerely, then flicked his fingers and made an even better knot.
The two knots were placed together. One had different length ends, and the other was well-proportioned and delicate looking. Anyone with a discerning eye could see which one was better than the other.
“…” No matter how you looked at it, this was revenge. Lin Lixuan was stunned for a moment. His Ger Yan looked innocent and kind, so he shouldn’t be revengeful like this. His thoughts had turned crooked.
He knew his Shuang’er was clever, but to use his own game to beat him?
Making handicrafts was a good way to make money. Throughout the ages, women and children used it to make money. Look at the paper tigers sold on the streets or the candy figurines…Ger Yu had good craftsmanship. Not only could he make lanterns but also dolls. Lin Lixuan made some drawings of the ancient, simplified version of Baymax, Totoro, and Ali.
In addition to these, there were also bamboo umbrellas. No matter how big or small, he could do it. Just like that, Ger Yu’s lantern stall had an additional exquisite pattern. There was one of a small Totoro holding a purple bamboo umbrella.
Ger Yu strung the money he made together with a red string. Today was lucky. A foreign businessman bought up all his goods. The businessman wore a felt hat and was covered with dust. At just a glance, one could tell he was a merchant who traveled all over the world. He was attracted by the umbrella at Ger Yu’s stall. Thinking of his daughter, his eyes softened, and he bought all the delicate objects at Ger Yan’s stall.
“80 wen in total.” Ger Yu held his face, very happy. One day, he would earn back the 30 taels of silver with his own hands.
Ger Yu trotted back to Lin’s Restaurant at a brisk pace. Lin’s Restaurant and Ger Yan were surprised. “Ger Yu, why did you come back so early? Did you already sell out?”
Ger Yu smiled and nodded. “Yes! I sold out. Ge, look at all the money I made here.”
Lin Lixuan warned him, “Ger Yu, hold on tight to your money. You don’t want to be targeted by bad men.”
“Don’t worry, brother-in-law. I won’t go to places with few people.”
“Ge, I’ll help you knead the dough.”
Soon after Ger Yu arrived, a friend they hadn’t seen for many days came to the store. It was Huang Yuan.
It had been a few days and Huang Yuan was still so thin and tall like a bamboo pole. But from his perspective, he carried a strange light. He had a lot of energy. He didn’t see the confusion and muddle headedness that had lived on him before.
He greeted Lin Lixuan with a smile, grabbed some melon seeds, put them in his mouth, and said in a happy tone, “Do you know what I’m doing at home these days?”
His high voice revealed a meaning. It said: I have big news. Hurry and ask me.
Without waiting for the other party to ask, Huang Yuan couldn’t wait to speak. “These past few days, I read a book at home. Mn, it’s…Hmm? Why do you have it as well?” In his peripheral vision, he caught a glimpse of several books on the counter. The title seemed to be “Investiture of the Gods”.
He cried out as if he’d discovered something surprising. “You’ve also read it. Oh, one, two, three…five books. My lord, Brother Lin, I see you in a different light. I also like this book, but who knew you’d be this obsessed…” Buying so many of the identical books was something no ordinary person would do.
“…” These were books Zhao Liniang had wanted for burning. Lin Lixuan palmed his forehead.
Ger Yan, who was on the side, suddenly spoke up, “Brother Huang, you’ve also read this book?”
“Yes. Ger Yan, you know it too?”
“Yes,” Ger Yan replied without thinking, “Lin-dage wrote it.”
“What?” Huang Yuan was dumbfounded. After being stunned for quite some time, he turned his head to look at Lin Lixuan, who was expressionless, then muttered, “I knew it. If you only liked the book, you wouldn’t buy so many copies to collect. It turned out you wrote it. No wonder. If I were you, not just five copies, I’d even by ten, no fifteen. I’d fill up my entire house and slowly admire them all.”
“No, you’re mistaken.” Lin Lixuan had no choice but to inform him of his mother’s plans.
Huang Yuan looked at him with understanding eyes. “I can understand. If it were my mother, she would act even crazier. She’d make sure the entire neighborhood knew.”
“As long as you understand.”
Huang Yuan suddenly started squirming. He looked at Lin Lixuan for a long time. “Hey. After reading the book you wrote, I also have an idea. I think I can also write a story…When I’m done, will you read it for me?”
“Okay,” Lin Lixuan replied with a smile.
“Sure enough, you’re a good friend.” Huang Yuan laughed. After saying this, he felt lighter. At this time, his gossiping heart rose again. “Where’s your store’s Ger Qiu?”
