She believed that if the creator of this painting she held could stick to this style, he would definitely secure a place in the future art world, possibly achieving greater success than many present—fame was certain, but excellence depended on fortune.
Thus, she said nothing, merely committing this painting to memory, thinking of how many would want to buy it at the upcoming Qingmei Biennale.
This would also gauge how many people shared her views, appreciating the cathartic release she experienced.
In the second round of selections, many pieces that initially seemed decent but lacked a certain essence for her were chosen by other judges.
It was becoming difficult for her to be picky.
As she raised her head and massaged her back, a male judge suddenly turned and handed her a watercolor painting:
“Teacher Bai, what do you think of this watercolor painting?”
“Ah, it’s actually watercolor? I thought it was gouache at first glance,” Teacher Bai raised an eyebrow, suddenly intrigued.
She was surprised to see a watercolor plein air painting that employed many gouache techniques, which was quite fascinating.
“This student must have switched from gouache to watercolor,” the male judge speculated, raising an eyebrow, “How could there be such a student? Quit gouache halfway?”
He thought this painting, “The Carpenter,” was done by a college student, usually sticking to one specialty without switching randomly.
“Interesting,” Teacher Bai took over, examining it closely.
She found that indeed, the artist had used many gouache colors and strokes in this watercolor painting, creating an unconventional but intriguing effect.
From the painting, it was clear that the artist was not yet masterful with watercolor techniques, even appearing somewhat crude. However, a particularly prominent feature was the especially bright and rich color palette.
Most watercolorists pursue a clear and clean feeling, often diluting paint with water to achieve the desired effect.
However, in “Carpenter,” the artist used watercolor paints liberally, smearing paint directly onto the canvas without sparing any water at all.
But this also gave the watercolor painting a distinctly different kind of heaviness.
This mismatch, under the artist’s prominent sense of color, skilled sketching, composition, and color application techniques, became very interesting, and even evoked an artistic sensibility that Teacher Bai found hard to describe.
She felt that if this painting technique were to continue to be developed, it might well become a new style, potentially making a sudden and significant impact on the art world.
Moreover, from the composition of the entire painting, she inexplicably felt a sense of happiness.
This feeling was completely different from the earlier “Sunset Over Snowy Mountains,” resembling the tranquil and peaceful flow of a gentle stream, with the warm sun softly shining, bringing comfort and happiness.
The room in the painting was clearly not large, but the environment filled with carpentry tools was transformed under the artist’s hand into a space filled with order, neat and comforting.
The movements of the middle-aged man and the boy showed their excellent cooperation, and the interaction between multiple people in the scene added dynamism and a sense of story to the painting.
“Interesting,” Teacher Bai found it more and more intriguing as she looked, thinking to herself how fortunate it was that this male teacher had spoken to her, otherwise she might have had difficulty realizing that this was not a gouache painting, but a very special watercolor painting.
“I like the treatment here,” the male teacher pointed at the hands of the young carpenter and the middle-aged one, “One is rough and covered with calluses, clearly the hands of someone who has been a carpenter for half a lifetime.”
“The other is strong yet finely detailed and attractive, obviously very well cared for.x
“Moreover, from many details such as the clothing, hairstyle, and expressions, it’s clear that the young man’s life has been very privileged, not like a child from a poor family who has had to take on adult responsibilities early.”
“If you look at the overall scene, in such a small house, a father with such rough hands of the working people, yet he protects his son so well, like a pampered young master.”
“This kind of fatherly love is not shown through common actions like hugging, patting on the head, or handing over money, but through such profound details integrated into the painting, which require you to look very carefully and thoughtfully, to understand and guess. This ability to express is quite strong.”
“…Yes, this is a painting worth savoring, with a story and emotions,” Teacher Bai nodded seriously, then tucked the painting into her coat, placing it alongside “Sunset Over Snowy Mountains.”
“…Ah…” The male teacher paused at her actions, then seeing that she had chosen only two paintings, pursed his lips and showed a tolerant smile, turning to continue looking at other paintings.
Well, since Teacher Bai had taken a liking to it, he was willing to part with it.
The two teachers analyzed the painting deeply and thoroughly for a long time, yet little did they know that this “Carpenter,” created by Hua Jie, was not actually a portrayal of a father and son.
….
In the biting cold of winter, the days grew increasingly shorter. By around five o’clock, the sky over Jinsong City had already darkened.
People began to flood back to their homes or to restaurants for dinner, and finally, the crowds at Dahua Furniture started to thin.
Father Hua and the others breathed a sigh of relief, their muscles, tense all day, finally relaxing.
Taking advantage of the lull, everyone started cleaning up, readjusting misplaced furniture, and checking for any damage or missing items.
Hua Jie checked the cash register, counted the money that had been stored away and the cash in the drawers, and quietly locked the drawer again. As she raised her head to look at Shen Mo, her expression was dreamlike.
One hundred and twenty-eight thousand three hundred sixty-six yuan…
In one day, nearly everything they had displayed was sold.
Orders, big and small, were booked up until the end of March, and they had collected a pile of deposits.
So much money???
She had severely underestimated the spending power of the millennium-era people in Jinsong City and the market demand.
In her previous life, she really had been utterly impoverished, completely unaware of the wealth in Jinsong City.
Swallowing hard, she took a deep breath.
With so much money, one could do so many things in this era.
It seemed that overnight, she was no longer the poor girl, nor the country bumpkin secretly ridiculed by her classmates.
Her father was rich!
Though buying a big car, purchasing a shop on the first floor of Fuyun Building, and expanding production might spend it all in the blink of an eye.
But, it was still amazing!!!
If only they could make this much money every day…
She giggled stupidly, and with an excited expression, she said to Shen Mo:
“Shen Mo, my family might be getting rich. Do I look the part of a rich second generation?”
Saying so, she straightened her chest and put on a proud expression.
Pretentious yet adorable.
Shen Mo looked around, seeing that Father Hua and Mother Hua were not looking their way, he quickly flicked her nose gently, then patting her shoulder while pretending to appraise her up and down, he laughed and said:
“Rein it in a bit, that’s enough.”
“Is it enough?” Hua Jie seriously re-evaluated herself, then lowered her raised chin and relaxed her stiff chest.
“Yeah, that’s about right now,” Shen Mo nodded earnestly.
The two of them performed their little act in perfect harmony, exchanging looks and laughing together without prior agreement.
Sales clerk Xiao Li, carrying a broom, turned the corner from the kitchen showroom and caught sight of the boss’s daughter and her boyfriend gazing at each other, smiling so sweetly it was almost cloying.
Silently turning around, Xiao Li carried her broom towards the side bedroom showroom.
The boss’s family is really liberal, aren’t they? Teenagers can openly date in public now?
With their parents right there, they dare to flirt so openly?
So blatant? Why don’t you two just kiss in public?
Xiao Li, who was in her early twenties and had never been in a relationship, swept the floor angrily.
She thought to herself: It’s not that she’s jealous or envious, not at all.
She just can’t stand this kind of immoral societal behavior! Humph!
A little later, Hua Jie pulled some oranges out of a fruit bag given by some uncle, placed them into a small plastic bag along with a few bananas.
She peeled an orange, broke it in half, and handed it to Shen Mo, then tied the small plastic bag to Xiao Li’s bag under the counter, smiling as she said:
“Sister Xiao Li, I’ve put some fruit in your bag for you to take home and eat tonight.”
“Oh, no need, no need…” Xiao Li waved her hands shyly, her face flushed, feeling awkward about accepting the boss’s fruit.
“It’s fine, the uncles and aunts brought so much fruit today, we couldn’t possibly eat it all, you’d be helping us out by taking some,” Hua Jie said cheerily, making it sound like Xiao Li was doing them a favor by taking the fruit.
“Thank you so much, I really appreciate it…” Xiao Li said timidly, clutching her broom.
“Don’t mention it, Sister Xiao Li,” Hua Jie waved dismissively.
As Xiao Li moved with her broom towards the living room showroom to sweep, she thought to herself:
If a girl is this beautiful and sweet, if I were her parents, she could do whatever she wants, even if she asked for the moon, I’d fetch it!
What’s the big deal about puppy love?!
If sweet little Hua Jie wants to date, let her date whoever and however she wants, as early as she wants!
It’s all about her happiness!
While sweeping, Xiao Li silently reflected, her broom strokes growing even more vigorous.
…
…
That evening, Mr. and Hua’s mother hosted a dinner at a restaurant, thanking the many friends and relatives who had supported them today.
While Hua Jie stayed behind to watch the store and didn’t go for the feast, she and Xiao Li bought boxed meals from across the street at Fuyun Building.
Young Master Shen Mo deigned to lower himself to join in a meal of boxed lunches, eating with a disdainful expression and a twist of his mouth.
Hua Jie promised that next weekend she would cook a meal at his house as a guest for him and Teacher Shen, which finally made Shen Mo raise his eyebrows and drop his disgusted expression.
After finishing the boxed lunch, seeing that Hua Jie had time to look after Huanhuan, Shen Mo handed over the dog and left with his bag.
After dinner, there was another surge of customers, but it faded within an hour.
In the small city of the new millennium, there was still no habit of nightlife; most shops started closing around 7 PM.
Fuyun Building closed at 8 PM, while Dahua Furniture and Xiaohua Furniture began their final clean-up and inventory at 7:30 PM, locking up and closing by 7:50 PM.
Father Hua, not trusting the security at Fuyun Building, deposited all the earnings in the bank before closing, leaving only some change in a well-locked drawer.
On the way home, Father Hua led the way on his motorcycle, with Mother Hua and Hua Jie leisurely trailing behind on their bicycles.
As soon as the family of three entered the house, their shoulders slumped; it’s inevitable to feel exhausted after a long day.
Hua Jie returned to her room, studied for a while, and then began to nod off heavily.
She had no choice but to wash her face with cold water to stay awake and continue studying.
…
“Xiaohua Furniture’s sales also doubled today, significantly influenced by Dahua Furniture,” Mother Hua commented.
“It might also be because it’s Sunday, and there’s a higher foot traffic,” Father Hua speculated.
“Yes, it could be both.”
“Yes… Some customers might find Dahua Furniture’s items expensive and walk further in to see what else is available.”
“They wander around and end up buying the lower-end furniture from Xiaohua Furniture,” Father Hua tried to guess the customers’ mindset.”
“Mm-hmm,” Mother Hua agreed.
The couple repeatedly checked the ledgers they brought back, chatting idly as they compared figures.
Father Hua marked all the custom orders, drew up a schedule, and filled it in one by one.
He also arranged the deliveries for the next day, planning the delivery routes more efficiently to save time and avoid redundant circuits within Jinsong city.
He hadn’t learned to drive yet, and since the family didn’t own a large truck, he planned to ask Yao Nan’s father for help during his free time, offering some payment for the ride.
Once the existing stock was delivered, the shop would be emptied—something they hadn’t anticipated, as business had been better than expected.
With the stock gone, Dahua Furniture would be left with just an empty shell…
Father Hua scratched his head; he needed to quickly lease the ground floor space to use as a warehouse to store sufficient furniture stock.
Then everything in Dahua Furniture could be used as display models, for customers to view but not for sale.
However, should he take his daughter’s advice and buy the property?
He propped his chin and fell into deep thought.
A few minutes later, he decided to inquire about the price tomorrow before making any plans.
Then he began to plan how to complete all the ordered furniture as quickly as possible. It was truly a massive project.
The quantity was so large that he had to keep working to keep up with the schedule.
It was truly distressing when sales were slow, and anxiety-inducing when they were too brisk.
It’s true, it’s hard for people to stay calm.
While Hua’s father busied himself with planning, Hua’s mother prepared breakfast for the next day while occasionally spacing out.
Once ready, she sat at the table and occasionally opened the passbook to look at the numbers, always dazzled and counting the digits in front of the decimal point.
Was it really hundreds of thousands?
It was unbelievable.
After finishing his work, Hua’s father put down his pen, rubbed his eyes, and was so tired that he almost collapsed on the desk to sleep, yet his brain was inexplicably buzzing.
He looked up at his silly wife and chuckled, “Counting the money?”
“Um… how did you make so much?” she asked blankly, then couldn’t help but laugh after asking.
Hua’s father took a sip of water and suddenly remembered something that happened during dinner.
“Time flies so fast, it’s been so many years.”
“Today at the dinner table, Daqiang got drunk and called me a daydreamer for spending so much on a furniture shop instead of buying an apartment or saving for our child’s college education…”
“He’s not doing well either. He opened a restaurant for his wife, and it didn’t break even in a year, with daily expenses on renovations and staff. Eventually, it failed, and he even ended up owing money.”
“He even borrowed money from me back then. Our family was planning to buy a house and didn’t have any spare cash…”
“When I think about it, if it weren’t for our daughter’s furniture designs and the 90,000 yuan she earned from selling her paintings, I’d still be swaying on a train.”
“…” Hua’s mother, faced with her husband’s sudden emotional outburst, didn’t know what to say, just patted his hand and shook the passbook again, unable to suppress a laugh.
All this talk about how much they owed to their daughter, how others were doing, how the years had flown by—she had no time to think about any of that. Her mind was filled only with the numbers on the passbook, nothing else mattered.
Even as the couple lay in bed, Hua’s mother was still enveloped in happiness. She pinched her husband’s arm, “When you wake up tomorrow, will it feel like a dream?”
“Get some sleep, I’ve got a ton of work tomorrow, and you have to go to the bathhouse for work…” As soon as Hua’s father’s head hit the pillow, he felt sleepy.
Hua’s mother was also tired, but her mind was too excited.
Lying in bed, her mind kept replaying everything that had happened throughout the day. After she had thought through today’s events, she began to think about last week, and then the month before…
Her brain just couldn’t calm down.
For a woman who had never seen a four-digit figure in her bankbook in half her life, everything that happened today was too stimulating.
December 24, 2000, was a day of miracles for this ordinary woman.
…
On such a night, Hua Jie also had trouble sleeping.
However, her excitement wasn’t solely due to the prosperous opening of the family shop during the day, but also because she had prepared a gift for Shen Mo, which he would see and use tomorrow.
She was really conflicted.
She didn’t know if he would like it…