There is a painter in Jinsecheng East Street. He is forty years old, with a full beard and a straight nose, like the paintbrush he holds in his hand. He was very focused on taking pictures of people. Opposite him was a wooden bench with two people sitting on it, one old and one young. The old man had white hair, was listless, and moaned from time to time. He was obviously a sick old man;
The young man with blond hair held his back filially, fearing that the old man would fall over and did not dare to relax. Suddenly a young man came over, looking furious. He wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead, panted and looked at the painter who was painting the old man's picture and said, "Master painter, the two people sitting on the wooden bench, you When will the painting be finished? The painter looked up and glanced at him and said, "Just wait!" At first, I only painted longevity pictures with this old man, which took at least an hour.
If I ask you to draw two people, won't it take two hours? The young man put his hands on his back and speculated.
of course. The painter straightened up and looked at him again and asked, "You said you asked me to draw two people. Besides you, is there another person?"
The young man didn't answer for a while, then he hesitated and drew a picture of a beautiful girl.
Why don't you bring that pretty girl? The painter who asked the question hunched over and painted on a piece of rice paper without looking up.
If you can’t bring it, just draw it based on your imagination! The young man said this with some lack of confidence.
How can that work? I have no basis and no look for how to draw. If I don’t draw well, you or the girl will pick on me. Besides, I can’t draw because I’m afraid that if I draw tigers, I’ll be wrong about dogs, which will make me a joke and ruin my reputation (in the painting world). The painter stopped his brush and explained the stakes to him clearly.
You don't have to worry about me or that girl getting into trouble. I'll tell you the general image of that girl, and you just draw it based on what I say! The young man was about to continue talking when the painter made a gesture to stop him. He said, wait an hour and come back to talk to me about this matter! The young man said yes, walked a few steps away and asked again, Master painter, let me ask you again, how much does it cost to draw a portrait?
50 yuan. After an hour, you can come back and prepare enough money. The painter's answer was clear.
That young man was Dong Pai. He came to find a painter to paint their portraits according to Li Yu's instructions. He took it seriously as if he accepted and performed the mission.
At this moment, Dong Pai thought to himself: It is more expensive to get a portrait from this artist than to take a picture in a photo studio. Why don't I take pictures at the North Street Photo Studio? Just let the painter paint a portrait of the invisible Li Yu and pay him 50 yuan.
Dong Pai hurried to the North Street Photo Studio again. Seeing that the photo of red-tailed carp posted on the wall a few days ago was gone, he asked the female boss. The female boss said she didn't know who had taken it away. Dong Pai smiled strangely and thought: I have it here. He reached into his pocket and dug it out, but it was gone.
Suddenly, I heard another voice whispering in my ear, "Don't cause trouble. I'll keep the photos you put in your pocket." Dong Pai lowered his voice and said, Oh, sister Li Yu, are you following me quietly? Li Yu, who was not visible, said "Hmm" and said, "Don't ask any more questions, just take a picture of yourself. After taking the picture, remember to burn your picture together with my picture to be painted."
Dong Pai said okay and went to the studio to let the photographer here take pictures of him.
On East Street, the painter just finished painting an old man's birthday. Dong Pai came over and asked the painter, "Master painter, are you done?" Draw a picture of a girl named Li Yu!
The painter looked at him and said, "If you don't call Miss Li Yu, how can I paint?" Dong Paidao, didn't I tell you that you should try to draw based on what I said about Li Yu's appearance? The painter asked Dong Pai to describe her characteristics: a pair of slender braids, a crimson skirt, and a pair of watery eyes...
Dong Pai couldn't continue talking. Because he had never seen Li Yu's face clearly. Even if he quietly looked at Li Yu from the window once, he only saw her profile. As for what Li Yu's face looks like, I can't tell.
The painter put down the brush in his hand and said, "You can't even tell what Miss Li Yu looks like. How can I paint her?" Why can't I just draw her skirt and braid, without her head? Wouldn't that make him a monster?
Dong Pai smiled and thought to himself: You are right, she is a carp spirit, a monster, but a kind monster. She cooks with me every day quietly!
At this moment, Dong Pai didn't know what to do, so he said, just draw a beautiful face. The painter picked up the brush again and asked: Is it a square face, a long face, or a round face? Or is it an oval face, an oval face, or an apple face? Dong Pai couldn't answer again, so he was about to make an estimate.
Suddenly, I smelled a faint fishy smell, and then a small voice sounded in my ears, Brother Dong, I'm here. Now the painter asks you, just say whatever I tell you to say. Dong Pai said yes. But the painter heard it and said, "What's good?" You didn't explain clearly, how should I draw?
At this time, the invisible Li Yu stood next to Dong Pai, holding a vaginal mirror in his hand to look at his face shape, and then told Dong Pai that I have an oval face with dimples on my face, a garlic nose, and a straight nose. ; A pair of silkworm eyebrows, and a pair of watery eyes under the eyebrows. You guessed the last point right.
Dong Pai repeated what she said. The painter wrote down what he heard in his notebook, and then immediately started painting. Instead, he tilted his head a few times and watched Dong Pai talk. He had no reference and just painted based on his impressions. The phase is quite difficult. Since it is difficult, the price is also high.
Dong Pai was a little nervous, because he was short of money, and now he only had 50 yuan left in his pocket, so he asked, I said the price is high, how high is it? The painter said that if it was twice as high, it would cost 50 yuan to draw a head portrait with a reference. Now, without a reference, painting a head is still the head of a girl. Without 100 yuan, it is impossible to negotiate.
Dong Pai was dumbfounded and couldn't take it out. He was about to say, wait a few days, I will go to the mountain to cut firewood and sell it. After I collect enough money, I will ask you to paint. Before these words were spoken, he heard the sound of coins being scratched in his pocket. He reached out and took it out, and there was a handful of money inside. He clearly remembered that there was not so much money, so how could there be so much money all of a sudden?
He took out a handful of money and counted it, plus what he had already, it was exactly 100 yuan. Dong Pai knew that the money must be given to him by the transformation of the carp spirit, Li Yu's sister. Fortunately, I gave it, otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to finish the painting if I was short of money. When he was happy, he said to the painter, "If you have money, go ahead and paint!" After you draw a portrait of Miss Li Yu, I will give you money.
In less than an hour, the painter painted Miss Li Yu's head on a piece of rice paper. Dong Pai took a look and praised, Sister Li Yu is so beautiful. The painter grabbed the top of the painting with both hands, tightly, as if he was afraid that Dong Pai would snatch it away, and urged, "Give me the money!"
Dong Pai happily threw the 100 yuan he had prepared on the drawing board. The painter put the money in a small pile under his armpit, bent over and sorted out the money and counted the tickets. If it was good, he put it into his chair. The iron box was locked, and then the portrait of Miss Li Yu was handed to Dong Pai.
Dong Pai admired it for a while, and did not take the painting away. Instead, he combined it with a photo he took out of his coat pocket and placed it on a bluestone on the side of East Street. When the painter saw that the face on the photo was Dong Pai, he asked puzzledly, why did you put it here? Dong Pai didn't answer, looking mysterious.
A breeze blew by, causing his photo and Li Yu's portrait to tremble and almost be swept away. Dong Pai crouched and held it down with a slap, then freed up one hand to take out a lighter from the left eyelet of his trousers, ignited the flame, and burned Li Yu's paintings first, and then his own photos.
Along with a burning smell, two black butterfly-like ash fragments appeared, fluttering in the wind. The painter looked at Dong Pai and muttered, "You spent 100 yuan to draw a portrait of a girl and your photo. It should be said that you also spent the money to take a photo. Why did you burn them all?" How strange!
Dong Pai stood up straight and said, "Don't ask anymore." But the painter couldn't stop talking, and continued, "Maybe the girl you asked me to paint is no longer alive. No wonder I asked you to call that girl as a reference for the portrait, but you refused." Even so, you should not burn your own photo with the portrait of the girl who is no longer alive! That would be bad luck. Dong Pai stopped him in annoyance, "If you don't know clearly, just stop talking nonsense, okay?"
