A group of skinny, dry children hid not far away to watch him, but they did not dare to approach. It's not a way to find it like this, Gu Nianyuan frowned at the garbage under his feet.

When his eyes touched the children on the side, his eyes lit up and he had an idea.

"Little girl, do you have an old gentleman who sells calligraphy and paintings?"

“… Yes... Some. The little girl's face turned red at once, but because her skin was too dark and dirty, it didn't look obvious.

"Do you know where he is now? Can you tell me? Gu Nianyuan was a little happy when he learned that the calligraphy and painting master was indeed at this time, and asked the little girl more and more gently.

"His family lives on the east side of the alley, the second house on the left side of the innermost, I'll take you there." The little girl's face grew redder and she offered to help.

"Thank you very much."

"No... You are welcome. ”

"This is it. Childe, go in by yourself, my mother told me to go. Taking Gu Nianyuan to the destination, the little girl ran away as soon as she slipped away.

A little stunned to watch the little girl run away, Gu Nianyuan turned his head and looked at the crooked grass house in front of him.

This alley is actually a slum, and most people can't afford to eat, let alone get a house. So this alley is full of dilapidated houses. There is no such thing as a courtyard wall at all.

However, in the same alley, the door of this house is not full of garbage like other people's homes. There was only a water tank at the door, which looked like it was regularly cleaned.

Gu Nianyuan got up and stepped forward and knocked lightly on the dilapidated door panel of the earthen and grass house, but there was no response for a long time.

Gu Nianyuan thought that there was no one at home now, although he was a little regretful, he still wanted to leave. Who knew that just as he turned to leave, he actually heard a faint cry for help.

The voice sounded very weak and very quiet.

"Help, help me......"

Gu Nianyuan stopped and carefully identified the source of this voice. When he confirmed that the cry for help came from inside the house, he ignored the etiquette and pushed the door in directly.

There is no windowsill in the earthen house, so it is very dark and dim during the day. Gu Nianyuan narrowed his eyes, allowing himself to adjust to the light in the room.

The inside of the house can be said to be a real home, except for a dilapidated table in the corner, there is only a fire kang, not even a stool, but it is very tidy.

Gu Nianyuan originally thought that the helper was on the kang, but there was no one on the kang, only a spread cover.

Gu Nianyuan frowned, opened the door, and let the light from the outside in, so that he could see the person lying on the ground clearly.

The person on the ground was a middle-aged woman of about forty, and her face was dark and she looked like she had been sick in bed for a long time. Her hair had turned all white, and her exposed wrists were so thin that they were sticking out to the bone.

At this time, she was completely silent, and she lay there silently. Gu Nianyuan was a little panicked in his heart, and he didn't care about anything else, so he directly picked up the woman and put her on the kang.

When he hugged the woman, Gu Nianyuan inadvertently touched the woman's hand, which was cold to the bone. Gu Nianyuan was a little worried, and after putting down the woman, he first stretched out his finger and probed under the woman's nose.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he felt the faint sound of breathing.

However, the woman's situation also made him unable to put his mind at ease. Looking at the woman's dying appearance, Gu Nianyuan was very worried.

Pulling the cover from the side and putting it firmly on the woman, he hurried to the door, took some water from the broken bowl of water from the water tank outside, lifted the woman up, and slowly fed her in.

“… Cough... Ahem, are you? Thank you... Fortunately, the woman slowly woke up after the water was fed, she barely opened her eyes, and saw Gu Nianyuan who was feeding herself water in front of her.

But I realized that it was the other party who was helping me. Although she was very powerless, the woman quickly thanked Gu Nianyuan, and even wanted to stand up and greet him.

"Madame, don't be polite, let's lie down first, your body is important." Gu Nianyuan slowly helped the woman to lie down.

"I don't know who Childe is? Is there something going on with coming to my house? Although she was a little embarrassed, the woman also knew that her health was not very good. I'm afraid of causing trouble to the other party again. She also lay down according to Gu Nianyuan's wishes, rested for a while, and felt better before asking Gu Nianyuan.

"I'm just a student who likes calligraphy and painting, and I heard that there is a gentleman here who is excellent in calligraphy and painting, so I want to come and see it. When he knocked on the door, he heard Mrs. crying for help, so he broke in, and asked Mrs. to forgive him for his faux pas. ”

Although it was forced by the situation, it was still a bit rude to break into someone else's house directly. So hearing the woman say this, Gu Nianyuan quickly got up and apologized.

“… Get up... How much more can I thank you? If it weren't for you, I don't know how long I would be on earth. Maybe... You saved my life. The woman hurriedly told Gu Nianyuan not to apologize, and talked about her father-in-law again.

The woman seemed to have a deep affection for her husband, and when she spoke of her, he smiled and looked a little proud.

"My grandson's calligraphy and painting are indeed okay, son, you saved me, wait for him to come back, and let him send you a few pairs of calligraphy and paintings, he knows that you like him, calligraphy and painting must be very happy."

At this point, the woman was a little depressed. How much does his husband like calligraphy and painting, he is excellent in both calligraphy and painting skills.

Don't look at the woman's down-and-out appearance, she is also a serious official woman who has gone to women's school. When her husband was demoted, her family originally wanted her to go home, but she refused. The family also felt that she was disobedient, and they were afraid that her husband would ignore her again.

To get back to the point, although the woman's calligraphy and painting are not as good as her husband's, she still has the ability to appreciate them. She thinks that her husband's calligraphy and painting are not bad compared to those others. She had seen a painting of everyone before, which was said to be worth a thousand gold, and she felt that it was far inferior to her husband's.

But the more this is the case, the more sad she feels for her husband. Because he was degraded, no one appreciated his husband's calligraphy and paintings, no matter how good they were. It was not that there were no people who thought that their husband's calligraphy and painting were good, but when they knew that their husband was a degraded concubine, they immediately hid away.

After the scholar knew about his husband, he would not buy his paintings again, and his husband could only sell his paintings and calligraphy to the common people. But where do ordinary people have so much money? Not to mention selling for thousands of gold, even a thousand pieces of writing are impossible.

It's a blessing that a painting can sell for hundreds of dollars, and no one even buys a pair for many days. And his body is useless, and the money he finally sells is not enough for a pair of decoctions. Thinking of this, the woman's heart became more and more sad.

But even though she was very short of money, the woman still said to Gu Nianyuan.

"I don't know... Does Childe know about his grandson..."

"What?" Gu Nianyuan pretended to be puzzled and asked.

"My grandson was originally a Jinshi, but he was demoted to a concubine because he was involved in officialdom... Childe may not know this before he came to buy his grandson's calligraphy and paintings... Childe is a good person and saved me. I can't hide my son..."The woman choked up a little, but she still told Gu Nianyuan the whole truth.

"So? So? What does this have to do with the fact that I want to see my husband's paintings and calligraphy, and I want to collect them? Gu Nianyuan asked rhetorically.

After asking, without waiting for the woman to answer, Gu Nianyuan said again.

"Madam, I heard that Mr.'s calligraphy and painting are unique, and it has nothing to do with other things. Whether to buy or sell under the next will only be related to the painting skills of the gentleman, and other things will not affect the decision of the next one. ”

Gu Nianyuan's words were loud, and the woman looked at his serious eyes, and her heart was moved and pity, she thought that her husband must be very happy to hear this speech.

"Good! Well said! With a hearty laugh, a tall figure walked in.

"Husband?" The woman's eyes widened in surprise at the sight of the visitor.

"Ma'am." Nodding at the woman, the visitor smiled at Gu Nianyuan very excitedly.

"You're a nice young man, what do you call it? Did you pick up the word? ”

"Under the surname Gu, the name Nianyuan. There are no words taken yet. The person who came must be the legendary master of calligraphy and painting, Gu Nianyuan looked at the scrawny but tall man in front of him.

He was dressed in white-washed clothes with many patches, and there was even a hole in his shoes. His hair was not as white as the woman's, but it was half gray.

However, although his face was very haggard, his eyes were very energetic, and even looked a little afraid to look at him directly.

"Okay, Gu Nianyuan, I'm Yi Ju'an. Are you here to buy my paintings and calligraphy? Yi Ju'an stared at Gu Nianyuan with his very sharp eyes, with appreciation and inquiry in his eyes.

"Yes and no, I heard that there is a very good gentleman here who paints and paints, come to find out. If it really lives up to its name, I do want to collect some of it. Gu Nianyuan looked at Yi Ju'an without being humble or arrogant.

"Haha! You're a funny kid. Come, let's see, can the old man's calligraphy and painting be in the eye? Hearing Gu Nianyuan say this, Yi Ju'an was not angry, but laughed out loud and pulled Gu Nianyuan to the desk in the room.

"Come on, boy, help me carry this out." Yi Ju'an said that he had already pinched the other side of the table with both hands.

Although he didn't understand what the other party wanted to do, Gu Nianyuan still raised the desk as he said.

Lifting the desk outside, Yi Ju'an put down the basket he was carrying behind him, took out the calligraphy and paintings inside and laid them on the table one by one.

"It's too dark inside the room to taste, but the light outside is good, come on boy, take a look." Yi Ju'an put the calligraphy and painting in place, and beckoned to Gu Nianyuan to come and see.

Only then did Gu Nianyuan understand the other party's intentions, and he did not shirk to take the painting from Yi Ju'an's hand, and slowly unfolded it and carefully tasted it. The painting is titled Mountain Snow Night, and it depicts the scenery in the mountains after a snowy night.