That afternoon, Shunwa asked me to engrave the four words "Bada Shanren". I asked who Bada Shanren was, and why the name was still four words. He said he was a painter and very famous. I asked if he was in Baoxing County, and he said he had died long ago.

I asked: "What seal does a dead person need? He doesn't need it anymore."

Shunwa said angrily: "Don't talk too much. Talking less and listening more is the rule for us to do old things. Do you remember it?"

I had to say, "Remember."

I quickly carved the four words "Bada Shanren". Shunwa took the seal from me and looked at it. He thought it was very good, so he asked me to send it to the calligraphy and painting shop next to me.

There was a middle-aged man in the calligraphy and painting shop with two beards, probably the boss, and a young man who was no older than me, probably an apprentice. I explained my purpose to the middle-aged man. The middle-aged man asked me to walk into the counter, open the back door, and walk to the backyard. On the ground in the backyard, I saw a painting covered, which was one meter long.

I asked curiously: "What kind of painting is this? It's so big?"

The middle-aged man said: "This is a flower and bird painting."

I asked, "Who draws it so well. When you look at the birds, you are about to fly; when you look at the stones, you want to touch them."

The middle-aged man said: "Drawn by Bada Shanren."

I thought it was strange. Shunwa said that Bada Shanren had died long ago, so why could he draw such a large painting? Moreover, the paper of this painting was new, obviously it was not long before. Could it be that Bada Shanren is still alive and Shunwa is lying to me?

While I was looking down at this painting, an old man came out of the backyard house. He was thin and small. He pointed at me and asked, "Who is this? What are you doing?"

The middle-aged man said: "It's Shunwa's apprentice, not an outsider."

The old man returned to the room. I thought this old man was quite mysterious. When I read a painting, you would be so angry. As for? I quietly came to the window and saw the old man painting on the desk. He was about to finish painting. The painting spread on the desk was exactly the same as the painting spread on the ground in the yard. They were all the same birds and the same stones.

Oh, it turns out that he is Bada Shanren. Shunwa must have a conflict with this person named Bada Shanren, so he cursed that he had died long ago. But why did he give such a strange name? Moreover, he didn't look big at all and was not worthy of his name.

I am very leisurely at Shunwa every day. Shunwa comes sometimes, sometimes not. When he comes, he doesn’t stay in front of the seal carving stall. Most of the time he goes to that calligraphy and painting shop. When he doesn’t come, I don’t know where he goes.

However, every time Shunwa left, he would give me a reminder: When he saw someone coming to the corner of the city wall, he should tell the calligraphy and painting shop as soon as possible.

What are these people in calligraphy and painting shops doing? Are they just selling calligraphy and paintings? Why are they so nervous?

Half a month after I arrived in Baoxing County, one day, Shunwa took me to an alley in front of Chenghuang Temple and stuffed a long cardboard box wrapped in bed sheets into my arms. He said, "Stand here and don't move." Then he disappeared.

It was the Lantern Festival that day. In front of the Chenghuang Temple, there were crowds of people, juggling, selling snacks and toys. A long string was placed in front of the Chenghuang Temple. Everyone on the street was wearing new clothes for the New Year, everyone was happy, and the children were running around in the crowd; the young man squeezed into the pile of girls; the old lady was leaning on a crutch, looking full of energy, but couldn't move; the old man was holding a dry tobacco pipe in his mouth and smiling.

I was watching intently, and Shunwa came out from somewhere. He quietly told me: "I saw that there were no two people on the left? One man and one woman, the man was wearing a suit and the woman was wearing a trousers."

When I looked to the left, I saw this pair of men and women. They looked like people from big cities in terms of their clothes and expressions. They had fair skin, and the people here were dark because of the wind and sun. When they walked, they held their heads and chests, and the woman stood up very high, trembling, and was not ashamed at all. And when we walked, the people here all raised their shoulders and leaned forward, like gorillas. Moreover, our clothes were very wide and they couldn't tell their body shape after wearing them. So, I could see them from the crowd at a glance.

Shunwa said, "You walked over and sold the painting to them, asking for ten silver dollars, and then you said you stole the master's. Take them to the alley behind you to talk."

I asked, "Which master?"

Shunwa said: "No matter which master you ask you to say that, you just say that."

I asked, "What if they don't buy it?"

Shunwa said: "It's better not to buy it. You roll up the calligraphy and paintings, put them in a box, wrap them in bed sheets, and let them take them."

I asked, "What if they don't give the money?"

Shunwa said: "Don't worry about that much, just do what I said."

I said, "Okay."

After Shunwa finished speaking, she disappeared. I held the long cardboard box wrapped in the bed sheet and walked over to the man and woman. They were looking around and watching the street view, without noticed that I came to them at all.

I pulled the woman's sleeve, and the woman lowered her head and asked, "Do you want to write or draw?"

Men and women were surprised to see me, and they asked, "Who are you?"

I asked again: "Do you want calligraphy and painting?"

The man asked: "What calligraphy and painting?"

I said, "I don't know, I stole the master's."

The man said, "Let me see."

I held the calligraphy and paintings wrapped in bed sheets and led the man and woman to the alley. The alley was very narrow, with only a few families living in it. At the end of the alley was a small wood, and there were stalls of garbage thrown by the woods. Obviously, few people came here usually.

We came to the woods and spread the sheets on the ground, opened the paper box, took out the roll of calligraphy and paintings, spread them on the sheets, and opened them. I suddenly realized that this was the picture of flowers and birds I saw half a month ago. I just couldn't figure out whether it was the one that was spread in the yard or the one that was spread on the table.

But, it was not right. The paper I saw that day was very new and white; and the paper I painted today was old, yellow and crisp. So, could it be the skinny old man named Bada Shanren painted it a long time ago?

There is a mark on the left side of this painting, which is exactly the mark of Bada Shanren I engraved. I pointed to the mark and said to them like an expert: "Look, this is painted by Bada Shanren."

When the woman heard about Bada Shanren, she exclaimed softly and bent down to take a closer look. The man was also moved, and sparks jumped in his eyes.

I said to them flauntfully, "I saw Bada Shanren painted it, and he drew it very well."

The man and woman laughed out loud, and the woman said, "This little brother is really good at joking. Do you know who Bada Shanren is?"

I said, "Isn't it just a dry and thin old man?"

The woman said: "It's true that it's an old man, but he was the most famous painter in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, and it has been 300 years since then."

Oh, I was speechless. It turned out that Shunwa was right, he had indeed died long ago.

The man stood up straight, and he looked at me with suspicion. I knew I was wrong and didn't dare to say anything more. I pretended to be calm and looked at the pictures of flowers and birds on the ground.

The woman asked, "How did you come from this painting?"

I said, "The master is the one who steals the master. He likes this painting. Every night, he lights up the gauze lamp, takes it out of the cabinet, and takes it carefully."

The woman asked, "Why did you steal his beloved?"

I continued to make up lies: "I worked for him for a year, but he didn't give me wages. I couldn't go home for the New Year, so I just stole his paintings and sold them."

The doubt in the man's eyes gradually disappeared, and he asked, "How much do you want to sell it?"

I said, "Ten silver dollars."

The man said, "There are too many, how about a silver dollar?"

I said, "Not selling."

The man said, "You see, your painting is obviously fake. If it is real, it will be sold at least a thousand silver dollars."

I said, "I don't know whether it's true or not. I'm the one who steals the master anyway. If you say it's fake, I won't sell it to you."

I rolled up the flower and bird picture, put it in a long cardboard box, and then wrapped it in a bed sheet. As soon as the woman and the man exchanged their eyes, they asked, "Do you sell it? Why are you leaving before you finish your words? This child..."

I pushed the paper box wrapped in the sheets to her and said, "If you hesitate, just look at it again."

The woman held the cardboard box.

At this moment, five or six people suddenly rushed over from the alley, and they ran straight towards us. One of the people with a fat face held my neckline and asked, "Didou, did you steal the master's calligraphy and painting?"

I was frightened and didn't know who they were. I looked at the man and woman with a look of help. The man and woman were also bad. They looked pale and they retreated repeatedly.

Those people forced me to walk forward, some pulled in front and some pushed in back. I shouted "Help", and immediately received a heavy slap. The man with a fat face scolded: "If you dare to shout again, you will tear your mouth."

I was frightened and dared not shout.

They pulled me out of the alley and then let me go. The man with a fat face patted my shoulder and said, "Little brother, I'm wronged, go back."

I felt extremely strange. Who are they? Why did they kidnap me but let me go? What medicine do they sell in the gourd?
Chapter completed!