The Residence of Zhu, a Painter

  (Celebrating this book officially entering A-sign status today, an extra chapter is added)

  After getting off work, Ye Ziran rode his bike and had just driven out of the rural government gate when Zhang Liren grabbed the handlebars of his bicycle and scolded: "Damn it! Are you robbing me?"

  "Robbing you of your big-headed ghost, go and drink!"

  "It's a bit awkward now," said Ye, "Let's just forget it for today. I didn't greet Old Ye and Uncle Cai has already prepared dinner, he'll scold me."

  Zhang Liren burst out laughing and said, "You little stinker, are you worried that the beautiful woman will scold you? Don't use Ye Lao as an excuse, you're a leading cadre, can't be infatuated with beauty and neglect friendship. Hurry up and make a phone call to ask for leave."

  “······” Ye Ziran hesitated, looking at Zhang Liren. In the afternoon, he was in the same car as Ma Yanli, and unintentionally, the beautiful woman's aura triggered a certain reaction in him, making him particularly want to see Zhang Nianyue. Although there had been no substantial development between him and Nianyue, being with her made his thoughts feel at home, even if they just sat together in silence, he could still feel happy.

  "Don't be dazed, go quickly." Zhang Liren urged.

  "There must be a reason for drinking, right? Who's with you?" Ye Ziran asked.

  "Liu Bing from the police station and Zhu the painter." Liu Bing is a subordinate of Zhang Liren's, with a relatively close relationship.

  "Zhu the painter?" Ye Zhen knew that there was a middle-aged painter named Zhu in Ma Shi Township, who was very famous but lived permanently in the provincial city.

  "I'm telling you this on our way here, go make a phone call to ask for leave first, otherwise the beauty will get angry and you'll regret it." Zhang Liren said with a smile.

  On the way, Zhang Liren told Ye Ziran that Zhu Huajia was originally a fellow villager of Liu Bing and had some old relationship. In recent years, Zhu Huajia's reputation in the painting world has risen rapidly, and many people have come to his home to ask for paintings. In the provincial city, there are more people with status, and it is not possible to simply push things away, so he is a bit annoyed. So he wants to build a big house in his hometown, thinking that when he wants to be quiet, he can hide in the countryside and engage in creation. Liu Bing knew that he was close to Ye Ziran, so he asked him to come out and invite everyone to have dinner together.

  Ye Ziran thought for a moment, this wasn't a difficult matter, the approval of rural homesteads was his responsibility, and Zhu Huajia was a famous person in Changja County, so it was reasonable to approve a slightly larger homestead.

  Arrived at "Wangshan Building" second floor small package room, Liu Bing and Zhu painter have been seated. Liu Bing stood up to introduce Ye Zhenran: "Ye Chang, this is Zhu painter."

  Ye Ziran saw Zhu Huajia's broad forehead shining with oil, his long hair combed back neatly, and he had a rather artistic temperament. He walked quickly to Zhu Huajia's side, grasped his hand and shook it lightly: "Zhu Huajia, I've long admired your great name, you're a famous person in Changsha, I've wanted to meet you for a long time."

  Zhu had met many officials, and Ye Ziran's rank was not in his eyes, but he was humble and courteous, saying: "Little Ye is good, young and promising."

  Ye Ziran smiled and said: "I don't dare to accept your praise, Master Zhu. Please sit down." After that, he sat down beside Master Zhu.

  Zhang Liren had met Zhu before and shook hands with him, exchanging a few pleasantries before sitting down between Ye Ziran and Liu Bing.

  While Liu Bing was ordering food, Ye Zhenran said to Zhu Huajia: "Zhu Huajia, I saw your works exhibition when I was in college and had a deep impression of your landscape paintings. I think your landscapes perfectly capture the elegance and refinement of Jiangnan's small bridges, flowing water, green mountains and villages. This kind of Jiangnan charm is not something that ordinary people can paint."

  Zhu said with a smile: "Xiaoye has also learned Chinese painting? You can see the essence of Chinese painting in its depiction of spirit through form, which shows that you have a high level of artistic accomplishment."

  "I just like traditional Chinese painting more and have seen a lot of it, but I wouldn't say I'm cultured. However, Zhu's works are all masterpieces, even students who don't study art can tell at a glance that they're exceptional."

  Zhu painter smiled and waved his hand, saying: "It's still early to be a master, I just liked it since childhood, painted for decades, and was also guided by the famous Chinese painter Wu in my early years."

  Ye Ziran knew that Zhu's paintings had been rising in price over the past few years, and a five-foot full-open landscape had already sold for over 500,000 yuan, ranking among the top ten living artists in China. After Zhu paused for a moment, he changed the subject to housing prices.

  "Master Zhu, on the way here, Zhang Shuo has already roughly told me about the situation. You want to renovate the old house, no problem with that. May I ask if you plan to demolish and rebuild on the original foundation or change to a new one?"

  Zhu painter nodded slightly to Zhang Liren and said: "I want to rebuild the old house, but the foundation is a bit small, it needs to be expanded."

  "What is the situation next to your old house now? Is it someone's home or empty land?"

  "On both sides there is a neighbor's house, all are four open old houses, the same as Zhu's family." Liu Bing added.

  The old house is small in size, with a width of about 12 meters for the four rooms. Ye Zhen estimated that after Zhu's old residence and the left and right neighbors moved away, there would be a width of about 37 or 38 meters, which would be enough to build a large house, but it would be severely over the limit. After being reviewed and approved by the village, it would also need to be reported to the county land bureau for special approval.

  "Are your neighbors willing to demolish and rebuild their houses?" Ye Zhenran asked Liu Bing.

  "I've asked them before, the two families originally wanted to build houses, Zhu painted a suitable supplement to some of the relocation fees, now they all agree to rebuild in other places in the village."

  "That's good." Ye Zhenran nodded and turned back to Zhu Huairen, saying: "You must definitely negotiate well with both families, can't afford any extra trouble."

  Zhu said: "This is no big deal, both neighbors on the left and right are old friends, they won't make things difficult for me."

  Ye nodded and said: "Alright, Zhu the painter, let me explain the procedure again. Here's how it works: after they demolish their houses, you submit a report to the village, and once the village agrees, you report back to me. I'll review it and then submit it to the county land bureau. Since your house foundation exceeds the standard by too much, we also need to file an application for land use. I suggest you apply under the name of building an art institute, that way it's easier to get approved."

  "Alright, Xiao Ye, that's troubling you." Zhu the painter saw that Ye Ziran didn't decline at all and was very pleased.

  After the serious talk was over, everyone relaxed and opened a bottle of wine, filling their cups to the brim. Zhu, the painter, didn't have too much of a literary air about him, and he drank with great abandon.

  Ye Ziran suddenly remembered something and asked, "Zhang Suo, have you heard any news about the two Lis recently? The rumors outside are really unreliable, one moment they say they appeared in SH, the next moment they say they escaped to XJ, leaving traces everywhere."

  "These two are really something!" Zhang Liren cursed, using Ye Zhenran's catchphrase. "They've made the entire national public security system restless. The provincial bureau, municipal bureau, and county bureau all have special spirits coming down every week, requiring us to be on call 24 hours a day. Our department has even assigned someone to be on duty specifically for this, and as soon as there's any wind or movement, we must report it immediately - better to report mistakenly than not at all."

  The police officer said: "I hope we can catch him soon and give everyone a peaceful day."

  Everyone nodded in agreement.

  With wine and food aplenty, the four of them bid each other a pleasant farewell.

  Ye Ziran agreed to meet Zhang Nianyue after dinner, with a clear direction. On the summer night, the moonlight was bright and clean, and the light music floated over in the evening breeze, making him feel extremely happy with a slight drunkenness.

  "Wood, how much have you drunk?" Zhang Nianyue opened the small gate of the courtyard and saw Ye Zhenran standing outside with a silly expression, his bicycle leaning against the wall of the courtyard in a precarious manner, looking displeased.

  "Not drunk, Nian Yue." Ye Zhenran chuckled and said, he saw Zhang Nianyue wearing a white-based floral dress, which set off her skin's fairness, the whole person under the moonlight was truly white as snow, elegant and graceful. Ye Zhenran's gaze towards her became somewhat ardent.

  "The smell of wine is overwhelming, it's nauseating! You're not allowed in today." Nian Yue got a bit angry.

  Looking at her slightly angry and displeased face, Ye Zhen felt a ticklish feeling in his heart as if hundreds of ants were crawling around. He deliberately called out to Qu Di: "How can that be? You yourself said on the phone that you would come even after drinking."

  "Smelly wooden head, today this girl is in a good mood, so I'll let you off the hook. Come on in." Zhang Nianyue saw that he was somewhat anxious and smiled, stepping aside to let him pass.

  Ye Ziran pushed the car into the small gate and asked: "Where is Old Ye? Has he rested?"

  "Grandpa is resting, let's sit in the front room for a while and chat," said Zhang Nianyue.

  As they entered the front room, Zhang Nianyue handed him a towel and said, "Wipe yourself down, you're all sweaty."

  Ye Ziran said "thank you" and took it to wipe his face, his mouth involuntarily let out a belch, earning him a white eye from Nian Yue.

  Ye Ziran had always been taking Nian Yue's white eyes as a tonic, and now he couldn't help but laugh. He handed the towel that had wiped his face to Nian Yue. The moment his fingers touched her slender fingers, it was as if all the nerve cells in his body were concentrated at the fingertips, feeling extremely sensitive.

  "Sit down, let's have a talk." Nian Yue said after taking over the towel.

  In Nian Yue's considerate and meticulous care, Ye Zhen Ran felt a sweet pleasure surging up in his heart, and his young heart quietly sank deeper into her gentle affection. In a slightly intoxicated state, watching Nian Yue walk back and forth wiping towels, hanging towels, he felt that every move she made was a beautiful embodiment. "Nian Yue, today I had dinner with Zhang Li Ren, Zhu Hua Jia and them." He reported truthfully.

  "Zhu the painter? I've heard of his name, what's he got that you're inviting us to dinner?" Zhang Nianyue asked in puzzlement.

  "Zhu the painter lives in the provincial city, and over the years his reputation has grown a lot, so have the number of people coming to ask for paintings, affecting his creation. He wants to go back to his hometown to build a big house, where he can hide and seek quiet, but the foundation exceeds the standard by a lot."

  "So he's treating you to a drink? Wooden head, you're being a bit bureaucratic." Nian Yue was somewhat displeased.

  "He is a well-known painter, if he applies in the name of the painting institute, it should be fine. Painters like him have many students and need space for private tutoring." Ye Zhenran explained.

  "Do we have to talk about this until so late?" Nian Yue was still dissatisfied with his explanation.

  "We drank and chatted casually after finishing our business, I also found it very interesting listening to Zhu the painter's anecdotes about the art world."

  "Oh, tell me one and let me hear it." Nian Yue sat down beside him, gazing at his eyes with her beautiful eyes.

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