Early the next morning.
Xia Ya opened the door of the tavern very early, changed her clothes and started making cocktails.
When his cocktail was ready, with the sound of a bell, the door was pushed open, and a familiar figure came in.
Van Gogh walked in, but he was holding a square object wrapped in cloth, which looked like a painting.
However, Xia Ya didn't seem to be surprised by his arrival at all, and just put the wine glass in her hand in front of him.
"Come and try it, it's free."
Van Gogh came to the side of the bar and looked at Char.
"I always feel like you predicted my arrival in advance. It was the same last night. As soon as I came in, you made the cocktail."
"It's just a coincidence." Xia Ya said.
He did know that Van Gogh would come again, not because of his ability to predict, but because he knew that at this moment, Van Gogh was extremely hungry for recognition from others.
He sat down again, looked at the wine glass carefully, picked it up and took a sip, then continued.
"Is this the one you gave me to drink last night?"
"Its name is Margaret." Xia Ya said, "Its creation comes from a sad story, created by the author in memory of his deceased lover.
When they were young, they went hunting together. Unexpectedly, Margaret was accidentally shot by a stray bullet. She lost too much blood and fell into John's arms and died.
John felt regretful afterwards and turned his grief into bartending.
Margarita is mainly made of tequila as the base liquor, because the origin of tequila is the place where they fell in love.
Then orange juice, lime juice and other fruit juices are added to make it.
You can feel the heat of a strong liquor as soon as you enter the mouth, but in an instant, this heat is diluted by the mildness of lime, leaving a light orange aroma in the aftertaste.
This feeling seems to be the same as John and Margaret's love. Very warm, with a touch of sadness. "
After a pause, Xia Ya whispered, "Sometimes, when a person passes away, it is the living people who suffer."
Van Gogh was silent for a moment, then he raised his glass and took a sip. At this moment, he seemed to be able to feel the sadness in the glass of wine.
"Cocktails, like paintings, can express people's emotions." Van Gogh said.
"Human beings are the creatures with the most rich emotions and the best ability to express emotions in this world." Xia Ya replied.
Van Gogh nodded in approval.
After drinking the cocktail, he opened the cloth wrapped around the thing in his hand, revealing the contents.
That's an oil painting.
"This is a painting I painted recently," he said.
Xia Ya looked at the painting quietly. He recognized this painting as "Starry Night on the Rhone" from his favorite starry night series.
The painting depicts a night scene along the Rhone River in Arles, a city in southern France. The painting focuses on the sky and the river.
The sky was twinkling with stars, and the street lights were on along the river bank. The light of the street lamps was reflected on the river. There were two small boats moored on the river bank, and a couple was walking on the river bank.
Although it is not as good as his most famous "Starry Moon Night" in the Starry Night series, it is still a painting that Xia Ya likes very much.
Starry skies are difficult to paint, and his challenge was to capture night scenes illuminated only by gas lighting and a star-filled night sky.
In the painting, the starlight in the sky and the reflection of the lights on the shore echo each other. The stars at night are surrounded by their own halos and form a circle. The picture shows the distance and distance of the stars through the intensity and spacing of the warm light. This way of handling light reflects Van Gogh's unique visual aesthetics.
"What a charming painting."
Xia Ya whispered softly with blurred eyes.
"The cold and charming dark blue short lines cover the entire night sky, and the powerful brushstrokes express the deep mystery and unpredictability of the night.
The microscopic stars dotted on it complement each other with the shadows of gas lamps reflected on the river.
The strong contrast between dark blue and bright yellow makes this work express an inner feeling.
The depiction of lamp shadows on the calm river is a bit childish."
"You are eager to share in your heart, but also very lonely. You are a very straightforward person."
Xia Ya raised his eyes and looked at Van Gogh.
His red eyes were a little absent-minded, and his breathing was disordered. Xia Ya noticed that his fingers were trembling slightly, which was incredible for a painter.
He seemed to have noticed Xia Ya's gaze. He raised his hand tremblingly and wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, choking in his throat.
"Sorry, I lost my temper, it's just...just"
"I understand." Xia Ya whispered.
For a person who has spent most of his life with almost nothing, receiving such a seemingly sparse and ordinary compliment is an extremely luxurious thing.
"I want to buy this painting." Xia Ya said, "How much does it cost?"
"No need." Van Gogh said in a low voice, "This painting is given to you. Only you are qualified to own it."
"Although I don't think the value of art should be measured by price, the artist who created the art is still a mortal body and needs value to survive."
He took a bag out from under the counter and placed it on the table.
"Take this away, you deserve it."
Van Gogh picked up the purse and weighed it. It was heavy. It should have weighed several hundred francs, which was about the same price as his last painting.
Although the price of four hundred francs was not too high in this era, it was not too low either. In fact, he was happy for a long time after the painting was sold.
It is undeniable that he does need such a sum of money in his current life.
After all, he can't always rely on his brother's relief.
"Come with me to my yard for a drink."
Char took the wine that Semele had left from the counter.
“My yard has a nice view.”
"Okay." Van Gogh said, he was in a good mood now.
Xia took the wine and took him away from here, entered the living room of the castle, and entered the courtyard through the living room.
The courtyard is no different from the past, but Van Gogh can see the careful design here at a glance.
The shrubbery decoration on one side, the flat turf on the ground, and the beautiful flowers planted on the fence in front all show that the owner of this place is a person who loves life very much.
However, the most eye-catching thing is the lake in front of them that reflects the starry sky. The starry sky here is very beautiful, and you can even see the stars. Countless stars are dotted on the sky like diamonds.
There is no such large lake in Provence, so this made Van Gogh doubt whether his mental illness had relapsed.
“This is Selim Lake, the most beautiful lake in the northwest of Beichen, the last tear of the Atlantic Ocean.
I've been here many years ago and it's even more beautiful during the day.
However, the starry sky at night is also unique. "
Xia Ya sat on a lounge chair in the courtyard as if nothing happened, admiring the night sky with blurred eyes.
"If my mind is still clear right now," Van Gogh said, "we should have been in West France just now, not Beichen."
"I'm a magician." Char said, "There's nothing surprising."
“No, that’s precisely the surprising part,” Van Gogh complained.
Charia stood up and opened the cork of the wine, and the rich and charming aroma of the wine spread around. Van Gogh had never smelled such a charming smell in his life.
Char poured the wine into two goblets and pushed one towards Van Gogh.
After Van Gogh was silent for a moment, he stepped forward, picked up the wine and took a sip. The rich aroma of the wine surged in his mouth, but it was not irritating, as if he was lying in a vineyard full of grapes. , intoxicating.
All the pain, troubles and sorrows seemed to be temporarily forgotten at this moment.
There was a little confusion in Van Gogh's eyes. He lay down on the armchair and began to admire the night sky without questioning why they came to Beichen.
He put his hands on his lower abdomen and felt very relaxed.
"You know?" Van Gogh said, "In my opinion, there are many things in this world that ordinary people cannot see.
I always believe that if you look carefully, there will be more wonders in the universe than you can imagine. "
He said with emotion, "We are so lucky to be alive to appreciate such a beautiful world."
"Can you see the world I see?" Van Gogh asked in a low voice, looking at the beautiful starry sky.
"Maybe." Xia Ya leaned on the armchair, and the breeze blew by, causing ripples in the water, which looked very pleasant.
Van Gogh looked at the sky in confusion, pointed at it with his finger.
"Look at the night sky, it's not a featureless pitch black, it's pitch black, it's a deep blue."
He pointed that way.
"And over there, it's a light blue."
He waved his hand to the side.
"And what whizzes past between the deep blue and black is the wind swirling across the sky, and the shining, burning, blooming stars."
He stood up slowly with a smile on his face.
"Can you see the stars as they gallop and roar?"
As Char listened to Van Gogh's narration, he remembered that he had seen another famous painting of his called "Starry Moon Night" in the past.
The sky in front of him seemed to begin to change as he spoke. On the alternating blue and black sky, there were star swirls full of dreams.
"No matter where I look, the magic of nature shines in front of me." Van Gogh whispered.
"I have seen a lot of scenery, my friend." Xia Ya whispered, "But you are right, the scenery in your eyes is unparalleled."
Van Gogh turned his head and looked at Xia Ya beside him, with waves in his eyes, and he whispered.
"You'll be my best friend."
When we left the tavern, it was already dawn the next day.
Char and Van Gogh chatted all night long. They were like good friends who had known each other for many days and talked about almost everything.
When leaving, Van Gogh took away a gift from Char and asked him to open it when he returned home.
He returned home and couldn't wait to open the gift he sent.
It was a canvas painting. As he gradually pulled away the cloth wrapping the painting, revealing the painting inside, his pupils shrank slightly.
It was a landscape painting of a Russian summer palace. It was painted by Char before he painted Catherine II, so the painting style is almost the same.
He stretched out his hand and tremblingly touched the familiar brushstrokes on it, looking at its extreme use of color.
He recognized almost at a glance that the style and brushwork of this painting was almost the same as that of Catherine's portrait, and the calligraphy was almost certainly written by the same hand.
In the corner of this painting, there is a line of words written in small characters.
One day, people all over the world will pronounce your name with different pronunciations - to Vincent van Gogh.
The tie on the money bag he brought back opened itself due to the weight of the bag, revealing the coins inside.
It wasn't the francs he was thinking of, but gold coins. The whole bag was full of gold coins, shining brightly in the sunlight through the window.
(End of chapter)
