Just as Zuo Xiaoyao could quickly understand the pain he wanted to express from the old man's unfinished words, when he heard her making excuses again to try to obscure the matter, the old man was quite angry and glared at her and said, "The artistic conception expressed in these four paintings can make people feel deeply. It is much better than the paintings you painted for the sake of painting in the past. Not only as a painter, but as a painter, you should focus on creation. This is a matter of attitude!"
"As for you, you always use those dead pictures as a reference, and then draw batches of them. In the past, it was for your family's financial conditions and for your grandma's hospitalization expenses. I won't say it. Not only did I not say it, but I also helped you sell it! Now that you are less under financial pressure and can indeed draw such good things, why do you still insist on your previous ideas like in the past!"
Afraid that speaking out would add fuel to the fire, Zuo Xiaoyao did not dare to interrupt, so she had no choice but to lower her head and let the old man finish his indignation with a heart full of anger.
"Grandpa Wang, please sit down first, and don't be so angry. I used to paint for money, but now I paint for love. Of course, there are differences in my thoughts, and the differences are huge. But I feel that I only paint for my own needs, not for those who have false reputations. It doesn't matter whether I am a painter or not..."
"I know that your biggest regret is that before I got the name of a painter, you ruined your own career for a little money, and feel sad that I wasted my good talent. But I don't care about those at all, and of course I don't care about what you think I might get and deserve. I don't admit that I have painting talent, isn't it just to make you happy? As long as you think that I am a guy who can't support the wall, you won't always think about dragging me out to show off!"
When it comes to this issue, Zuo Xiaoyao feels that she is quite innocent. Just as it is difficult for the old man to understand why she does not care whether her works can be famous or not, and whether she can be recognized and known by more people, it is also difficult for Zuo Xiaoyao to understand why people care so much about things like illusory reputation and status, and even go to great lengths to deceive and violate their conscience and morality to gain fame and fortune.
Life is limited in this world. As long as you can earn as much as you can for your living needs and live a simple life, there is no need to make your life so complicated and tiring.
On this topic, it was obvious that the two would never reach an agreement. Seeing Zuo Xiaoyao's flattering smile, most of the anger in the old man's heart disappeared immediately. The reason why he valued her paintings was, to a large extent, because of the peace and strength expressed in them. This was her own character trait as an author, so she could inadvertently express it in her paintings, making it impossible for others to copy.
But this quality is precisely what modern urbanites lack. Therefore, in the past many years, even though she used the most disdainful way, using the pictures in books, online or on TV as reference, she painted the same pattern in batches one after another without leaving any marks. The sales were quite good, and some old customers even came to request her paintings regularly.
Even though I know I am angry, it is useless. I am far away.
Even though Zuo Xiaoyao only took four pieces this time, and they were four recently painted non-batch works, it could be seen that her purpose was different from the past, but the old man was still a little puzzled when he heard her answer.
"In the past few years, thanks to the support of three or four old customers, my grandma and I have a secure life... Don't be angry again. No matter what their purpose of buying paintings is, I just have to get the money I want. Thank you for always helping me, so I will give these four paintings to you. Among them, I am most satisfied with this one. I specially wanted to give it to you. Please don't refuse!"
Zuo Xiaoyao pointed to the painting of the setting sun filling the lake with swaying waves due to the breeze, and stressed that unlike the general paintings depicting the setting sun that often express the regret of the sunset, this painting highlights the depth and brilliance of the setting sun.
Maybe her persuasion had an effect. The old man didn't get emotional anymore this time. He just sighed and said, "I know what you mean. In this world, I'm afraid you are the only one who can watch other people gain fame and benefit from their works while still being grateful!"
There were two or three young people who relied on their family's power to participate in competitions with the unsigned paintings she sold and hyped them up as 'famous young painters'. Every time this was mentioned, the old man especially hated him and became furious every time.
After all, these paintings came out through his hands, and he always believed that the fame and fortune should belong to Zuo Xiaoyao, but from time to time he saw people who were content with reputations that were not their own, always showing off on TV, newspapers, and magazines, which made him even more depressed.
It was rare to see that the old man didn't have another attack this time. Zuo Xiaoyao breathed a sigh of relief and joked with a smile, "Grandpa Wang is indeed a modern person who follows the fashion. He comes up with buzzwords as soon as he opens his mouth! Anyway, these are troublesome for you. Who wants to buy something? YouI still know better. The money is based on the old price. You can sell it. I just ask you to make it clear to them. In the future, I will not paint it like I did in the past, and I will not sell it casually. This is my intention!"
"That's right. Don't worry, you will do it as you want. Your grandma is watching from the sky, and she will feel at ease. Over the years, she has not said anything, but she has seen that you went behind her back and ignored your future, exchanging the teacher and her most valued things for money. I always feel that she has delayed you, and I have always felt guilty!"
After walking out of the Zhengxin Painting and Calligraphy Studio and putting an end to her painting-selling career, Zuo Xiaoyao stopped by and strolled around the nearby clothing market. After her grandma left, her dressing style also changed drastically. She no longer liked wearing those colorful clothes and always dressed very inappropriately.Chang Suqi is basically in black and white, so the old clothes in her wardrobe rarely have these two colors, because grandma feels that bright colors will make Zuo Xiaoyao more energetic and unique to young people, and will make her look much younger.
The clothes in this market are all medium and low-end, and the bidding prices are not low, but in front of experts, they can even be cut off by two-thirds. Zuo Xiaoyao has no ability to talk to others, so she always cuts them in half, buys when they are sold, and leaves when they are not sold. Even if she leaves, most of the time she will be stopped by the store, and then she turns around and buys.
Of course, this is the situation when faced with clothes that can be bought or not. If she really likes the clothes, she has always been direct and doesn't bother to hide herself since she was a child. Even if the store doesn't give in, as long as it is within the budget, she will basically buy it. After returning home, she will suffer a big loss when listening to Zijia's jokes.
This time, she was buying clothes for the purpose, and she didn't enjoy shopping and choosing clothes. She basically bought those without complicated patterns, simple and elegant styles, black or white. If she didn't accept half-off bargains, she would immediately change to another store. It only took the time of most shopping girls to walk through one or two stores, and she returned with a full load without spending much money.
After returning home and eating some instant noodles, she was not in the mood to surf the Internet or watch TV. Facing this house with an area of less than 60 square meters and divided into two bedrooms and one living room, Zuo Xiaoyao once again took out the "dowry" her grandma had left her to find, which was what her grandma had told her before she died, and she was in a daze, imagining how her grandma felt when she first saw them among the many betrothal gifts.
These three things are obviously a set. They are all made of materials that are neither gold, silver, copper, nor wood. Their styles are extremely simple and must have been around for a long time. The exquisite patterns carved on them are very complicated and even have a vague sense of mystery. However, the overall feeling is quite good and they look very beautiful.
Unlike the fuzzy bronze mirrors commonly used in the past, this palm-sized mirror can illuminate people very clearly, and it can illuminate people from both sides. Considering the ancient technical conditions, the workmanship can be said to be quite superb. Compared with the surface, the style of this hairpin is relatively ordinary. Except for the same complicated pattern on it, there is nothing outstanding. It looks simple and elegant, which is Zuo Xiaoyao's favorite style.
After pondering for a moment, she picked up the last item in her dowry - the grate comb. This kind of comb with teeth on both sides is rarely used by modern people, but Zuo Xiaoyao is very familiar with it. Because of her grandmother's influence, the combs she commonly used since childhood were basically this style of grate comb.
She has very straight and smooth long hair, which is very natural and has never been permed, dyed or pulled. Ever since she can remember, her grandma has always liked to comb her hair. She uses a wooden comb with sharp teeth, but her movements are very gentle and will not hurt her scalp at all. She will comb her hair very loosely and then braid it into various patterns.
Thinking of this, even though she knew that she should regain her past strength, tears kept flowing down of her own accord. The sadness and pain of losing a loved one was really unforgettable. It was not until she experienced it personally that Zuo Xiaoyao truly understood how painful this pain was!
When she was feeling sad, her hand inadvertently held the grate comb tightly. Even though her fingers were pricked by the thin comb teeth on one side, blood flowed, and Zuo Xiaoyao, who was in so much pain, didn't notice it at all. Instead, the pain in her hand relieved some of the sadness in her heart.
When the blood mixed with tears touched these three things, the strange sight of being completely absorbed by them did not attract her attention. As the three things absorbed more and more blood and tears, they gradually glowed purple, and their own colors began to gradually change.
It wasn't until the light began to become a bit dazzling and enveloped Zuo Xiaoyao's whole body that she tried to raise her head and realized that something was wrong. She lowered her head in confusion, only to find that even the comb she was still holding tightly in her hand, these three things had turned purple. This scene was definitely quite weird in the eyes of modern people who advocate science.
In shock, she subconsciously let go of her hand, only to see the comb, mirror and hairpin floating in a row in front of her. The scene was so fantastical that Zuo Xiaoyao even doubted whether she was in a dream. She was about to raise her hand and pull down her hair to see if it hurt. At the same time, three things shot out three rays of light almost at the same time and completely covered her, making her unable to move at all while keeping her hand raised. Fortunately, she could still breathe freely.
The time when her body was out of control didn't seem to last long. When Zuo Xiaoyao, whose eyes were wide open and her eyes were narrowed, stared blankly at the three things that quickly sank into her eyebrows, her hands finally dropped down, but then she herself fainted!