The Road to the Imperial Examination for Poor Children"

61-65

, he planned to go there the day before the exam started.
　　Lin Yuanqiu and five other Class A students came to the door to see them off.
　　When the carriage was about to start, Zhou Zixu poked his head out of the window and smiled at Lin Yuanqiu, "Brother Lin, wait."
　　Lin Yuanqiu didn't react for a moment, waiting? What are you waiting for? What are you waiting for?
　　The daze only lasted for a moment, and Lin Yuanqiu soon understood what Zhou Zixu meant. He was waiting to eat Zuixianglou's signature dish.
　　It is said that morale is affected by fighting, and the same goes for exams. Lin Yuanqiu had a strong hunch that based on Zhou Zixu's full confidence when he spoke just now, he would definitely pass the county exam this time.
　　The absence of his roommate gave Lin Yuanqiu space to paint again, and he felt that the fatigue of doing exercises all day long could be relieved to a great extent after painting an ink painting.
　　Lin Yuanqiu was funny. He was learning how to make money at the same time.
　　After saving six paintings, Lin Yuanqiu took the time to go to Hexi Street. From the enthusiasm on Shopkeeper Hu's face, Lin Yuanqiu could guess that his paintings should be among the best-selling ones.
　　Six four-foot landscape paintings were sold for a total of three to six dollars. When he came out this time, Lin Yuanqiu took all the money with him and planned to ask the shopkeeper to exchange them for silver notes.
　　I originally thought that ten taels of silver was the minimum denomination of the banknote, but shopkeeper Hu told Lin Yuanqiu that there were still five taels and two taels of silver. In the end, Lin Yuanqiu exchanged two pieces of five taels of silver.

　　"I wonder if your uncle can help me draw a portrait of Bodhisattva?" Shopkeeper Hu asked.
　　Bodhisattva portrait? Lin Yuanqiu didn't understand. Okay, why should I help draw the picture?
　　Seeing Lin Yuanqiu stunned, shopkeeper Hu realized that he had not spoken clearly and hurriedly explained, "It's like this. A few days ago, a customer came to the shop and ordered a picture of Bodhisattva..." Lin Yuanqiu suddenly realized that the calligraphy and painting shop can also be private
　　. Customized.
　　However, painting a picture of a Bodhisattva definitely requires colored paints, and Lin Yuanqiu, who has enjoyed a fortune in selling ink paintings, has no plans to spend more than a tael of money to buy paints yet, so he will definitely not be able to accept this order.
　　But before Lin Yuanqiu could shake his head and refuse, shopkeeper Hu took out all the supplies for painting from the counter, including paper, brushes, inkstones, color palettes, and more than a dozen kinds of paints including cinnabar, as well as sandalwood. Three.
　　Only then did Lin Yuanqiu know that in the Dajing Dynasty, painting Bodhisattva portraits was very particular. All painting tools must be new, and before painting, you must wash your hands and burn incense to show respect for the Bodhisattva.
　　After hearing that the salary for this Bodhisattva painting was five taels of silver, Lin Yuanqiu was already deeply moved.
　　In order to add some motivation to himself, Lin Yuanqiu pointed to the brushes and inkstones, as well as the paints in the dozen small porcelain boxes, and asked, "What about these..."
　　Sure enough, he heard shopkeeper Hu say, "These are all counted. It's just that if you don't use enough paint, you have to buy it yourself."
　　How could it not be enough? Lin Yuanqiu looked at the paints again and felt that there would be no problem in painting six or seven Bodhisattva statues.
　　Therefore, if he accepts this order, not only will he get five taels of silver as wages, but all the used painting tools, including the remaining paints, will belong to him.
　　Lin Yuanqiu felt that only a fool would refuse such a great thing.
　　So, after paying a deposit of twenty taels of silver, Lin Yuanqiu put everything into the book box. Since he was carrying money today, Lin Yuanqiu came here carrying the book box.
　　Looking at Lin Yuanqiu's retreating back, shopkeeper Hu was really relieved.
　　You know, this Bodhisattva portrait has been ordered for more than ten days. Shopkeeper Hu has asked many people in the past few days, but no one is willing to take it. In fact, I don’t blame them. It’s really that the old lady outside the member Lu is too picky. She had ordered this Bodhisattva portrait from another shop before, but the painting did not satisfy her. In the end, she didn’t even want the painting, and she didn’t pay the remaining wages.
　　If the store clerk hadn't taken the order without knowing it, shopkeeper Hu wouldn't have done such a business even if he beat him to death.
　　Shopkeeper Hu originally thought that if no one picked up after today, he would be shameless and give the deposit to Mr. Lu and return it.
　　Unexpectedly, by such a coincidence, I met this boy selling paintings today.
　　Thinking of his "uncle's" painting skills, Shopkeeper Hu felt that he might be able to look forward to it.
　　Lin Yuanqiu would definitely not know about these twists and turns.
　　After dinner, he went directly back to his dormitory, planning to paint the Bodhisattva statue while his creative urge was overwhelming.
　　On the way back from Hexi Street, Lin Yuanqiu began to conceive of this picture, including the look of the characters, the layout of the entire painting, and the color combination.
　　It can be said that at this time, Lin Yuanqiu already had a complete picture of Bodhisattva in his mind.
　　When drawing a picture of a Bodhisattva, the most important thing is definitely the facial expression, especially the eyes, which must be separated by two parts and closed by eight parts. Such eyes imply two parts for looking at the outside, eight parts for looking at the inside, two parts for looking at the world, and eight parts for looking at oneself.