I heard Lu Daoxuan say that Yunzhou is very mountainous, and all the cities are surrounded by mountains.
Some mountains can continuously rise and fall for hundreds of miles. The towering ones have white clouds hugging their waists, while the low ones look like virgins lying in silence. Viewed from the side, they are ridges and peaks with different heights. Jiang Yan couldn't help but admire the miraculous craftsmanship of nature.
Riding a fat tiger takes at least more than a day, and traveling long distances is the most boring thing. Even the beautiful scenery in the mountains sometimes gets tired of it.
As dusk approached, there were more and more carriages and horses on the post road. After climbing over the mountain road at his feet, Jiang Gu finally saw the appearance of Lin'an City.
The last rays of the setting sun are shining on a large city. The magnificent city wall is surrounded by mountains on the left and a river on the right. It is completely different from the primitive villages in Nanping Town.
Riding a tiger into the city was a bit ostentatious. After Jiang Chan took out the scroll, the fat tiger circled around a few times. Although he was unwilling to do so, it finally became the scene in the painting.
This fat tiger moves very quickly, but its one drawback is that it gets hungry very quickly. Jiang Gu was terrified along the way, fearing that it would swallow him accidentally.
As a painter who is afraid of the painting spirit he creates, Jiang Chan is unique.
Before the city gate closed, Jiang Yan strode into the city.
It was getting dark soon, but the streets were still bustling with people coming and going. The lanterns hanging high in the city made the whole city very bright.
On both sides of the road, there are many vendors carrying burdens selling goods along the street, as well as various shops.
Jiang Yan was in such a hurry that he didn't even eat anything seriously. He saw some food stalls on the roadside, so he found an unoccupied table and sat down, and ordered some food according to the sign.
"Boss, please give me a bowl of noodle soup."
Soon a bowl of steaming hot noodles was served. Jiang Yan tasted it and it tasted pretty good. The soup was like some kind of soup stock with noodles soaked in it.
After finishing the meal and drinking two large bowls of soup, Jiang Yan burped and went to pay the bill for two bowls of noodles, which cost only twenty grand.
In Xuanguo, one tael of silver was worth a hundred dollars. It was not easy for me to save some money by working as a color tie maker, but I spent it quickly.
On the first day he arrived in Lin'an City, he did nothing else. Jiang Yan was ready to familiarize himself with the environment here.
In addition to teahouses and restaurants in Lin'an City, there are also many stalls selling calligraphy and painting, as well as pens, inks, paper and inkstones and the four treasures of study.
Lu Daoxuan had told him not to reveal his skills as a painter in front of others, and his current identity was just that of a painter.
Jiang Yan saw a lot of paintings hanging in front of a stall and took a look. These were all ink paintings, and the brushwork was poor and there was no redeeming quality. None of the paintings were good. In short, they were just good enough to fool ordinary people.
In the eyes of real painters, they are just a pile of rubbish.
The stall owner saw that Jiang Yan was just giving a cursory glance and seemed to find nothing interesting, so he stepped forward with a smile on his face.
"Young gentleman, these paintings are for those arty people. If you know how to paint, I also have an authentic work by the great painter Feng Boyong here."
"Who is Feng Boyong?" Jiang Yan asked curiously.
"You don't even know Feng Boyong? He is the dean of Chengjun Academy in Lin'an City, and his paintings are second to none in the entire Yunzhou."
"Then I'd like to take a look."
The stall owner opened a package that had been wrapped several times and finally took out a scroll of paintings. When unfolded, it revealed a picture of a roaring tiger in a mountain forest.
The painters are much better than those who hang them, but they are still limited and their techniques have reached the lowest level.
But it was far behind compared to his Fat Tiger. If Yuan Zheng was at this level, Jiang Gu felt that he could be the head of the Wen Mansion.
"This painting is all ink painting, no paint is used."
"This paint is very precious. Generally, painters use ink to hone their painting skills. This painting contains three spotting methods and five chamfering methods. It is very suitable for young people like you to learn. As long as
Three hundred taels is not expensive, right?”
"Three hundred taels?"
Jiang Yan was a little surprised. This was faster than grabbing money. If this painting could be sold for 300 taels, his fat tiger could be sold for 30,000 taels. An idea flashed in Jiang Yan's mind. Is this just a money grab?
A good way.
"This is an authentic work by Painter Feng Boyong. You could go all over the city and find it for three hundred taels. It was secretly brought out by servants of Painter Feng's house, so it is sold to you so cheaply," the stall owner said in a low voice.
People who sell paintings usually try to increase their value by forging the source and provenance. Of course, such a little trick could not be hidden from Jiang Yan.
"As long as you are a painter, you should know that ink itself has many levels, five colors, five textures and five senses. Look here, the ink is thicker where it should be lighter, and it is a little clearer where the ink should be heavier."
"This young man is so knowledgeable."
"Last time, he sold a fake painting to Wang Yuanwai for a total of nine thousand taels. He was so evil."
"Let's go, let's go. If you don't want to sell it, go to Tongbao Pavilion. If you want to buy an authentic work, I'm afraid they won't sell it to you."
The onlookers gathered around after hearing this, but the stall owner lowered his face, rolled up the painting, and drove Jiang Gu away.
"Tongbao Pavilion?"
After Jiang Qian inquired about it, he found out that Tongbao Pavilion was a bookstore opened by Lin Ancheng specifically for painters, scholars, and scholars. It sold unique copies of the Four Treasures of the Study, poetry, calligraphy, painting, and classics, but the price was certainly more worthy of the name.
Walking towards the center of Lin'an City, you will see a crimson three-story loft amidst the lights, located in the busiest part of the street.
Others wear swords when walking around the world, but it's a bit ugly for him to carry a barrel. He can't throw it away. After all, this barrel is what he will eat from now on.
Originally, Jiang Qian was quite critical of this bookcase, but outside Tongbao Pavilion there were mostly people dressed as scholars, and many of them wore bookcases around their waists, because painters need to carry too many pens, inks, paper, inkstones, and pigments when traveling around the world, so
The bookcase has become a standard accessory for painters.
Jiang Yan's own bookcase is about the thickness of a bowl, and is made of half a bamboo tube. The surface of the bamboo tube is carved with some landscapes, and the bottom of the bamboo tube is engraved with a seal character 'Lu'.
This bookcase looks very ordinary on the outside, but its texture is hard on the outside and soft on the inside. It also has a faint fragrance. When Jiang Yan knocked it with his hand, it made a sound like gold and iron.
The pen he is using now is even worse. It is a pen that is almost bald. The paper he uses is cheap and soft. It can be used for drawing, going to the toilet, and papering.
Jiang Yan had saved almost one hundred taels of silver over the years as a papermaker. If he wanted to do his job well, he must sharpen his tools first. He gritted his teeth and finally walked into Tongbao Pavilion.