Chapter 584: Jar

Mo Yuan greeted them, turned and introduced to the students: "This is the old house in the village; now it's the village cultural room."

It houses quite a few local folk artifacts, which should help you with painting folk subjects.

The students entered the courtyard one after another and began to look around freely.

Jiang Liangjin and Mu Youyu stood in the courtyard for a while, and Mu Youyu was drawn to a pottery jar in the corner.

The jar wasn't large; its body bore a few rough blue floral strokes, the lines also quite casual.

She crouched down to examine it closely, her fingertip lightly touching the rim; the jar felt icy cold and had a coarse texture.

Jiang Liangjin crouched beside her, knowing she sometimes studied such things when bored, and asked gently: "Do you like it?"

Mu Youyu said seriously: "The pigment for this blue-floral decoration is probably made from local ore, different from the industrial pigments we use now."

She had seen such jars before while sketching, but had only focused on her own paintings and never studied them; now seeing one, she felt a rare spark of interest.

Jiang Liangjin also studied it for a while, found nothing, and asked: "Want to buy it?"

Mu Youyu stood up, shook her head: "Never mind, I was just looking."

A few children behind them peeked at their posture, then crouched as well; one child said: "Isn't that the jar your grandfather fired?"

Hearing the child's words behind her, Mu Youyu's motion paused.

She turned around, crouched again to be at the same level as the children, and politely asked: "You said this jar was fired by your grandfather?"

The leading boy, about seven or eight years old, had skin tanned to a wheat color.

He nodded vigorously, pointed at the jar, and spoke loudly with pride: "Yes! My grandfather used to fire kilns! His jars were beautiful—everyone within ten li knew them!"

Jiang Liangjin followed the boy's pointing direction; the jar in the corner had a warm, lustrous glaze, painted with different flowers. He turned to the child and asked: "Does your grandfather still fire now?"

The boy shook his head: "No, he doesn't anymore."

Several people crouched by the jar talking, eventually attracting other children to gather and watch.

Several other children chimed in: "His grandfather can also mold little clay figurines!"

"He can also paint flowers!"

"He can also make new clothes!"

"He can also make tasty food!"

The boy, proud from his companions' praise, lifted his face: "Yes! My grandfather can do anything!"

Mu Youyu looked at his dirt-smudged face and smiled: "Have you ever learned to fire kilns from your grandfather?"

The boy scratched his head embarrassedly: "I only know how to play with mud."

Jiang Liangjin tilted his head; the two exchanged a silent glance, each understanding the other's thoughts.

Mu Youyu stood up, brushed dust from her hands: "Could you take us to see your grandfather?"

The boy hesitated, then looked back at his playmates, as if seeking some confirmation.

His playmate gave him a push: "Go on, go on—they look like good people at a glance."

Only then did the boy step forward, eagerly saying: "Come on! I'll take you there!"

Several kids sprang up with a clatter and rushed toward the inner part of the house in a bustle.

Mu Youyu and Jiang Liangjin followed behind, crossing the courtyard, going past a blue-brick screen wall, and entered a dimly lit side room.

The room wasn't large; against the wall stood an old wooden table holding a few unglazed clay blanks, plus several simple carving knives.

An old man was wearing reading glasses and mending clothes; hearing the movement, he looked up and saw two finely dressed young men and women, and was momentarily startled.

He quickly reacted, recalling that the villagers had said today some out-of-town students would come to the village.

The old man set down his needle and thread, sat up, and said: "You must be the students here for sketching? Come, have a look—these are just some old junk."

The boy had already run to the table, tiptoed to reach the topmost blank, and called: "Grandfather, grandfather, older brother and sister want to see your jar!"

The old man smiled and didn't stop them: "Go ahead, take a look—these are just old things."

Mu Youyu stood by the table for a moment, scanning the blanks and tools, her fingertip lightly sliding along the edge.

Jiang Liangjin asked on behalf of his fiancée: "Grandfather, excuse me, we'd like to ask how you used to mix that blue-floral pigment."

The old man hadn't expected him to ask that, paused a moment, then replied: "That one? It's made from local ore, ground up and mixed with the glaze; the proportion is judged by feel."

As he spoke, he gestured: "Too much turns black; too little makes the color float, and the fired result looks bad."

After hearing that, Mu Youyu said: "We'll be sketching here these few days; if it's convenient, could we come talk with you about these things?"

The old man hadn't expected her to say that, waved his hand: "What's inconvenient about that? If you want to come look, just come anytime."

The next afternoon, village children still came in crowds to watch them paint.

Mu Youyu and Jiang Liangjin also handed out some unopened snacks to them, but with so many people, some still didn't get any.

She recalled that over the past two days she hadn't seen any young people in the village, and quietly asked: "Where are their parents?"

Jiang Liangjin: "I don't know."

Mu Youyu had nothing to say, pulled him a few steps, and went to the old person's home that she knew through Uncle Mo.

From him she learned that most of the village's young people had gone out to work, leaving behind mainly the elderly and children, with many families relying on farming for a living.

After hearing that, Mu Youyu felt rather uneasy.

Over these two days, perhaps because Mu Youyu gave out many snacks and also because she's pretty, several kids who came to watch the fun kept circling around them.

Another part were talking with the other students.

There was a little girl who consistently stood quietly behind Mu Youyu, on tiptoe, watching the colors on her sketchboard spread bit by bit.

After she finished a painting, the girl stepped forward, eyes sparkling: "Sister, you're really beautiful, and your painting looks great too."

Mu Youyu smiled: "What's your name?"

The girl blushed a smile: "I'm called Guihua."

Mu Youyu nodded, pointing at her own work: "Do you want to learn this from sister?"

"I want to!"

Jiang Liangjin handed over another unused palette of his own, and also gave her a clean brush, "Use this."

Mo Yuan stood to the side watching, and silently nodded.

Several classmates nearby also noticed the movement here.

A classmate put down his brush, feeling kindly, waved at Guihua, "Little sister, do you also want to come over here and have a look?"

Guihua looked at Mu Youyu, then at that classmate, tightened her grip on the brush, and didn't move.

Mu Youyu smiled slightly, "It's okay, go on, go on."

Over the next few days, Mu Youyu and a few others gradually became acquainted with the villagers.

The villagers gathering in front of the old house grew more numerous; the elders, seeing her sincerity, also brought out their cherished old porcelain to show them.