Chapter 83: Past Events (2)

Knowing that fishing is so boring and tedious, children wouldn't like it, Old Master Xu told his grandsons to take their sister out to play, insisting they must not bully her, or else they'd have to serve stir-fried bamboo shoots with meat.

Beside, his close friend heard Old Master Xu's instruction, and the expression on his face became deeply meaningful, as if he were saying, "You spoke too soon; who knows who will end up bullying whom."

…

After they finished fishing, the setting sun already showed signs of sinking, dyeing half the sky red.

The servant carried the afternoon's "spoils of war", which would also be one of the dishes for dinner later—fresh fish soup.

The two people fishing ahead, while taking off their gloves and chatting about something, walked back; when they were about to reach the garden, Old Master Xu spotted from afar his three grandsons squatting on the lawn, surrounding the green belt and doing frog jumps.

Three toads lined up in a row—the sight was hilarious beyond description, and the servant nearby couldn't help but cover his mouth and laugh.

"What are you doing?"

Old Master Xu walked over and asked in a low voice.

One of them looked up, answered his grandfather's question, saying, "We had just been playing a game with Shu Shu; Shu Shu said she could take on all three of us, we didn't believe her, so we made a bet: whoever lost would have to do frog jumps around the garden until dinner."

Old Master Xu was momentarily speechless, then asked, "So, you lost?"

He knew his grandsons were all gaming enthusiasts and quite skilled, so he found it hard to believe.

"Yeah, best two out of three, best three out of five, finally best nine out of ten—we lost all of them." The three kids were still squatting on the ground, near tears: "Grandpa, you're finally back; can we eat dinner now? Can we rest a bit? We're about to die from exhaustion, boo-hoo."

"……" Old Master Xu snorted: "No, keep jumping—it's like exercise."

Beside, the close friend heard this, threw his head back and laughed loudly, patted Old Master Xu on the shoulder, and teased, "Old Xu, I told you when we were fishing that your advice was unnecessary."

Old Master Xu looked around and then asked, "Where is Shu Shu?"

"Oh, she's over in the sunroom, she said she wanted to bask in the sun and take a nap."

Old Master Xu glanced at the time: "It's gotten late, the temperature's dropped; we need to wake the kids up for dinner, lest they catch a chill from sleeping."

…

Old Master Xu also liked sunbathing; he had set up a simple studio on one side of the sunroom in the garden, and whenever the weather was nice he would often bask in the sun and paint.

He brought his close friend to the sunroom to look for his granddaughter.

Upon entering, he saw no one sleeping on the couch, but instead heard a rustling sound coming from the nearby studio.

Old Master Xu immediately went over and saw a small figure sitting cross-legged with her back to him on the carpet, her bun bobbing, one hand holding a brush, making painting motions on the paper on the small wooden table.

Hearing someone come in, she turned around.

"Grandpa, Grandpa Xu, have you finished fishing?"

"Mm-hmm." Old Master Xu replied verbally, but his body unconsciously moved forward, his gaze falling on the girl's hands and the sheets of paper laid out before her.

No, it's not paper—it's—painting.

The paintings were all of his plum, orchid, bamboo, and rock motifs, but they were clearly not his, because there were still wet ink marks on them.

Looking at them one by one, Old Master Xu's eyes lit up repeatedly, and he exclaimed in delight, "Girl, are these, are these all your paintings?!"

The girl glanced at the brush in her hand, then immediately stood up and apologized, "Sorry, Grandpa Xu, I was just so bored with nothing to do; don't worry, I didn't touch anything in your studio—I asked the servant to fetch the brush and paper for me."

"No, no, no need to apologize." Old Master Xu waved his hand, eager to ask her again whether these were her paintings.

"Well, I didn't paint them myself; I'm just copying the ones hanging on the walls of your studio."

Old Master Xu compared the two and saw the copying was virtually identical; he hurriedly asked, "Shu Shu, have you been formally studying painting at home?"

The close friend replied, "Well, sort of—actually it was her grandmother; she and a few sisters signed up for an ink-wash painting class out of boredom, attended a few days, found she couldn't learn it, and didn't want to go on. Shu Shu said, since the money's already paid, not going would be a waste, and since it's summer vacation, she took her grandmother's place in the class—she's been attending for about a month or so."

In just a month or so she could paint like this?!

Old Master Xu looked at the girl's eyes and they practically shone with excitement! This child has talent!

Good, good, really good!

After dinner that day, Old Master Xu made a major decision: he wanted to take the close friend's little granddaughter as his disciple!

But the close friend's family isn't in Gang Cheng.

That's fine; since he wanted to take on a disciple, he needed to show enough sincerity, so Old Master Xu personally made a long trip to their home to express his intention to accept a disciple, even appearing eager to pass on his "lifetime's secret art" now that he had a successor.

Old Master Xu's reputation preceded him, so the close friend was naturally happy to meet him.

But who would have thought, the girl opened her mouth and refused outright, saying, "Grandpa Xu, this is an ancestral inheritance; I'm not a member of the Xu family, so I'd better not."

Afterward, no matter how Old Master Xu tried to persuade, it came to nothing, so the close friend gave him a suggestion: "Have my granddaughter drink another bowl of the fish soup made from your lake's fish, and the matter will be settled."

Old Master Xu eyed him skeptically: "Is it really that simple? You're just trying to fool me."

"It really is that simple; that girl has nothing else she cares about—she's just extremely greedy."

So, Old Master Xu half-believing, half-doubting, invited the girl to his home; he watched anxiously as the girl across from him, eyes narrowed, sipped the fish soup, and said, "Girl, if you become my disciple, you can have this fish soup whenever you want; otherwise, think it over again."

"No need to think it over."

Old Master Xu's eyes dimmed, thinking it wouldn't work again, when he heard the girl say, "I agree to become your disciple."

That day, he was so happy he wanted to set off firecrackers at home.

Afterward, every weekend for two days, Old Master Xu would call a private plane to fetch the girl and bring her to his home in Gang Cheng.

At home, the three boys welcomed Shu Shu's arrival with a literal gauntlet of cheers.

Because of Shu Shu, Grandpa would no longer focus his attention on them, making them draw pictures; and later, when one of them got into trouble, Grandpa would get angry and call Shu Shu in the middle of the night, threatening:

"Grandpa, calm down—Shu Shu is listening, so don't scare her, or else she'll never be your disciple again."

…

Pulling himself out of distant memories, the now-white-haired Old Master Xu felt a dazed moment, staring at the girl before him.

It wasn't Shu Shu.

But she looked, so much like her! Those eyes were practically carved from the same mold!

His voice trembled faintly as he asked Pei Muyin, "Child, how old are you this year—"

Faced with Old Master Xu's sudden outpouring of affection, Pei Muyin was somewhat at a loss, politely replying, "Seventeen years old."