Chapter 12: A Wonderful New Friendship

  Wu Xin only saw an old man over sixty years old standing outside, with a kind face and a smile. Although his hair was white, it was neatly combed, matching a straight and clean Western-style suit, making him look very spirited at first glance.

  The old man laughed and said, "Old Fang! It's been a long time since I came to visit you. This time, I brought my granddaughter Haiyan over for you all to see. Let's see if she gets along with Little Qin!" As soon as he finished speaking, a girl's head popped out of the small car outside. The girl smiled at everyone and pulled out a long wooden box from the car!

  Wu Xin rushed over to help, but the girl refused him, saying "Am I so useless? Can't even move a small wooden box? By the way, who are you? My grandfather never mentioned you?"

  The old man listened and smiled, saying: "Seagull! Don't be rude!" He turned his head and sighed, saying: "This child has been spoiled since childhood, very mischievous! Old Fang should be more considerate. Besides, I brought you a rare thing, take a look together! By the way, who is this little brother...?"

  Father Fang smiled and said, "You're here, that's all that matters, no need to go to so much trouble bringing treasures for me to see. This child is Xiao Qin's classmate, named Wu Xin, just arrived not long ago. Come on! Everyone go inside!"

  A few people entered the inner room. The old man pulled Wu Xin, who was stunned with a red face, and said softly: "Wu Xin! Just now my granddaughter was really rude to you, don't mind it, I'm Xie Ke, but you can call me Mu Ke! You just need to call me by name!"

  Wu Xin didn't dare to be rude, and hurriedly said: "Thank you, Grandfather. How could I have seen anything strange? Haiyan is very lively and has a lot of strength. It's just that I wasn't careful enough!"

  Xie Ke was very humble and said, "Wu Xin! I'm on friendly terms with Old Fang, so you don't have to call me Grandpa Xie, just call me Uncle Xie!" As soon as he sat down, he opened the red wooden box and took out a piece of calligraphy. Xie Ke said softly, "Actually, it's not anything precious, I just treasured it, that's why I put it in this box, but now it looks shabby."

  Wu Xin took a look and knew it was Wang Xizhi's "Preface to the Orchid Pavilion", his heart skipped a beat, could this really be Wang Xizhi's genuine work, he couldn't help but take a closer look.

  Xie Ke smiled lightly and said: "Wu Xin, you also understand calligraphy?"

  That girl named Haiyan saw Wu Xin's face turn red and didn't say a word, then mocked: "If you don't understand, don't pretend to be fully focused!"

  Xie Ke was about to scold, but Fang Xiaoqin giggled and said: "Haiyan sister! Your words are very insightful, I love listening!" And at the same time, she smiled with her eyes at Wu Xin.

  Wu Xin smiled silently.

  Xie Ke immediately said: "Hai Yan, don't be rude to your brother! Xiao Qin, you shouldn't spoil her either. She's so mischievous!"

  Xie Haiyan made a ghostly face at Wu Xin: "Grandpa! Why are you talking about me like that? Haven't I always listened to you?"

  Xie Ke ignored her and took out the calligraphy, carefully handing it over to Father Fang.

  Father Fang handed it over, but presented it in front of Wu Xin and said softly: "Wu Xin! Come take a look at this character, how is it?"

  This move shocked Xie Ke and Xie Haiyan!

  Wu Xin remained silent, his eyes fixed on the character, and he felt that this character was even more elegant and spirited than the "Preface to the Orchid Pavilion" by Wang Xizhi. He thought of the writer's lively and dancing attitude. After a long silence, Wu Xin said softly, "This is not the true work of Wang Xizhi!"

  As soon as these words came out, several people were greatly shocked.

  "Ah, Wu Xin! Don't get it wrong, this is one of Uncle Xie's treasured rare artifacts!"

  Wu Xin smiled faintly and said: "This must be something Uncle Xie did himself!"

  Several people were shocked and stared at Wu Xin together. Xie Ke laughed and said: "How can you say that?"

  Wu Xin glanced at the crowd and said lightly, "This piece of calligraphy is more spirited and elegant than the current transmission of Wang Xizhi's 'Preface to the Orchid Pavilion', but it's not particularly valuable because this was not written in one stroke!"

  Xie Ke listened and gave a thumbs up, saying: "Not bad! Not bad! I really didn't expect that as soon as I met a master, I would be lou (overwhelmed)! How did you figure it out?"

  Wu Xin smiled faintly and said, "Actually, I also thought it was a genuine work at first, so I couldn't help but think of the author's spirit when he wrote with his brush. One word and one sentence flowed out from the tip of the pen. At this time, I found the problem!"

  Everyone was excitedly listening to him, with a look of utmost attention.

  Wu Xin said, "When Wang Xizhi wrote the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion, he was inspired by wine and freely expressed his thoughts with a brush. His mind was focused, and his strokes were as if guided by a divine spirit. As a result, his writing exuded a lively and elegant charm, with subtle and profound characteristics hidden within. Although his characters varied in size, they flowed naturally from his hand, but the overall structure of his writing was truly extraordinary. As Emperor Taizong of Tang wrote in Wang Xizhi's biography: 'Carefully examining ancient and modern times, refining his skills to perfection, he achieved ultimate beauty. Is this not the unique quality of Wang Yishao? Observing his skillful use of dots and lines, the wonder of his composition, the misty and mysterious connections between characters, which seem broken but are actually connected, the soaring phoenix and dancing dragon, whose momentum appears slanted but is actually straight, one can gaze at it without feeling tired, and yet cannot grasp its essence. This is the man himself. What need is there to discuss others of his kind?'"

  "This post is different, however. At first glance, the sequence appears to be constantly interrupted, as if it was forced to become this way. Upon closer inspection of the ink quality, I realize that the person who wrote these characters would often rewrite three or four characters after re-dipping their brush in ink. The hand that holds the pen seems to be slightly trembling, and also seems to be using too much force, with a wrist that is not agile enough, resulting in many tiny filling strokes. Therefore, I suspect that this must be the handwriting of Mr. Xie. If I'm correct, Mr. Xie used to like Zhang Fei's 'Eight Mists Mountain Inscription' from the Shu Han period, which has a similar atmosphere and style to this post. As for the method of creating this post, it was probably based on a real model, first lightly sketched with a pencil, then repeatedly copied and carefully drawn according to the impression. To create such a post, I'm afraid it would take at least two or three years! And besides, isn't the original in Mr. Xie's hands?"

  Xie Ke listened and got excited early on, holding Wu Xin's hand and saying: "Wu Xin! How did you know so clearly, I almost missed your expertise! Just now Xiao Qin said you didn't understand, it turns out you were all deceiving me here!" While muttering, asking questions back and forth.

  Xie Haiyan also looked at Wu Xin with a confused expression, and after a while, she said: "What kind of monster are you? Even my grandfather's work that took nearly three years to complete is known to you?"

  Wu Xin's face turned bright red as he smiled awkwardly.

  Xie Ke suddenly remembered something and said: "Old Fang! You won't blame me, will you? I'll show you a fake and inferior calligraphy!"

  Father Fang laughed and said: "Why would I blame you? You didn't say this was a genuine article!"

  Xie Ke smiled faintly and said, "I spent three years tracing it, thinking it was very similar, but unexpectedly Wu Xin criticized it as completely useless! To be honest, this true trace is in my home, you can't tell outsiders. Our Xie family has always kept this post as a treasured heirloom, never letting outsiders know. Even among our own people, only one or two knew about it."

  "If I were to let outsiders know that your family has this treasure, I think your family would be disturbed and unable to rest in peace. There might even be a disaster involving bloodshed!" Father Fang said calmly: "How could I dare? This is after all a rare treasure!"

  Xie Ke's eyes lit up with excitement as he said: "I just mentioned it and then forgot, where is that painting of yours? Let me take a look!"

  Mrs. Fang hurriedly brought out the painting Wu Xin had just made and unfolded it. Xie Ke looked at it, and couldn't help but be overjoyed, saying: "This painting is surely done by a famous artist!" But when he looked for the signature, he found none, and was taken aback. He raised his head to look at Mr. Fang, and exclaimed in surprise: "Could this painting... could it have been just made? Which painter doesn't sign their work?"

  Wu Xin thought to himself that this was not good, earlier he had been in a rush and had forgotten about this matter. Just as he didn't know how to respond, he heard a burst of laughter. It was Xie Haiyan laughing so hard she was shaking all over, saying "Grandfather! You've been tricked, the real thing is here! Haha, this is interesting!" Wu Xin looked and only then discovered that earlier Fang Xiaoqin had forgotten to put that painting that couldn't be shown in public on the small sofa beside her, but it had been found by Xie Haiyan.

  Fang Xiaoqin's face turned red with embarrassment, and she scolded: "Haiyan sister! Stop messing around, this is mine!" Just as she was about to roll it up, Xie Haiyan dodged away. Xie Haiyan quickly ran to Xie Ke and unfolded it.

  Xie Ke looked at the painting in his hand, then at the "counterfeit" product, and couldn't help but sigh: "Exquisite! Exquisite! But I don't know who made it?" His eyes were fixed on Father Fang.

  "Ha ha, it's not someone else, guess who?" said Father Fang.

  Xie Ke glanced at several people, his eyes stopped on Wu Xin's body, and said lightly: "Could it be you?"

  Xie Haiyan was stunned again and looked at Wu Xin in disbelief.

  Wu Xin nodded slightly and said: "I was momentarily confused, so I made a painting for Xiao Qin!"

  "Xiao Qin?!" Xie Haiyan giggled and asked: "Sister Xiaoqin, is he your boyfriend?"

  Fang Xiaoqin listened and blushed, saying: "What nonsense are you spouting, you little kid!"?

  Xie Haiyan turned to Wu Xin and said, "Then you also make a copy for me, okay? I want it to be exactly the same as this one! Even the framing has to be the same!"

  Wu Xin smiled wryly and said: "How is this possible?"

  Xie Ke, however, said with a serious expression: "Wu Xin! Why don't you create a few more pieces? We can take these paintings to an exhibition and who knows, it might cause a sensation among people! You won't have to worry about making money again!"

  "Wu Xinzhen said seriously: 'Thank you, Uncle! I didn't paint for the money, it's just that I suddenly had the interest and did it for Xiao Qin. Otherwise, I wouldn't have done it!'"

  Everyone listened to him speak sincerely and secretly admired him. Fang Xiaoxin was even more delighted in her heart, but she wouldn't make a scene in front of outsiders, only gazing at Wu Xin with deep affection.

  Xie Haiyan looked at the two of them and smiled: "You guys really look like a young couple!" Everyone burst out laughing!

  Xie Ke sighed and said: "What a pity! People like us, old bones, have no talent but are very enthusiastic. Only today did I realize that there is a sky outside the sky and a person above others. I've become a frog at the bottom of a well! Wu Xin, why don't you write a calligraphy piece for me to hang in my study? Your handwriting looks great, almost as good as Wang Xizhi's!"

  Wu Xin nodded and took up his brush and ink, and in a moment he had finished a piece of calligraphy, which was Liu Yuxi's "Inscription for a Humble Abode":

  A mountain is not great because of its height, but because it has a spirit. A river is not deep because of its depth, but because it has a dragon. This humble abode is only fragrant with my virtue. The moss on the steps is green, the grass color enters the window screen blue. Talking and laughing with Confucian scholars, coming and going without ordinary people. Can tune the qin, read the golden scriptures. No disturbance of silk and bamboo to the ear, no labor of the body from documents. Nanyang Zhuge Liang's hut, Western Shu Wang Xizhi's pavilion. Confucius said: What is humble about it?

  Yi Zanxie Ke Gao Feng Liang Jie. Xie Ke Zi Shi Xi Bu Zi Sheng, Mang Xie Ge Bu Jue, Yan Jing Que Zhuo Na Fu Zi Fa Liang.

  Everyone chatted and laughed for a while, until deep into the night.

  Xie Ke and Xie Haiyan didn't leave, so they stayed at Fang's house. Originally planning to go home, but was repeatedly persuaded by Xie Ke and Fang's father, and then suffered from Fang Xiaoqin's soul-stirring, affectionate gaze, Wu Xin had no choice but to stay. Xie Haiyan even became close friends with Fang Xiaoqin, constantly talking about Wu Xin's affairs, making Xie Haiyan dazed. Wu Xin simply ignored them.

  Chapter 12