Chapter 12 beauty of crab

The snow that fell at night stopped in the morning.The reflection of snow makes people and houses more beautiful and adds a layer of brightness.The two of them were sitting in a carriage, driving on the street where the new snow had not been cleaned in February this year, and the neat poplars on both sides pointed directly at the sky.Julian wears a black coat and black fedora, while Min is wearing a peach-colored skirt and a maroon cloak. Her hair is all buttoned up in the hat.Maybe the snow light is cold, maybe because of the nourishment of the sun, her cheeks are more youthful.Two people, one black and one red, wore gloves, one black and one red.

Before going out, Julian sat at the table the night before and this morning, dipping in ink and writing poems, throwing balls of paper all around the table.The winter vacation is coming to an end, and the day to return to Qingdao is approaching.Min wants to go home and arrange for a servant to buy a return train ticket. Very well, Min remembered the day when she went back to Qingdao, and she was making the arrangements herself.If she didn't mention it, Julian didn't want to, as if it hadn't happened, as if their time together would never end.Qingdao's responsibilities such as family and work do not exist at all.

Snow's whiteness and Min's redness all over his body caught his eyes very much. Acton sighed from the bottom of his heart: Beijing is the last paradise on earth!Thinking of this, he glanced at the snowman made by the children on the side of the road. It was too big and was gradually falling down.Turning from the main street into the alley, it is quite a spacious alley, there is a busker leading a monkey to play tricks, and the monkey is wearing a weird floral dress. "Are you a monkey?" For a few days, Min was very happy. "Could it be that I don't want peace by nature and want to toss all day long?" Julian said.

"Huanwan Shanyi, a monkey..." Min lowered his voice, "A monkey is eight years younger than me!" What does she mean? Julian didn't answer. What was she implying?During the whole time in Beijing, she was happy and optimistic, very cute, except for the scene of splitting the coffin, which was an exception.However, they never talked about the long term.This, on the contrary, made him a little uneasy.He can't take the initiative to talk first, what does Min think?Did she just wait for him to talk first? Can't guess. This Min Zhen can hold his breath.He didn't need to ask her, he knew that of course she wanted to talk, but the more she wanted to talk about the topic, the more she could keep her mouth shut.

The Chinese really only care about sweeping the snow in front of their own houses, the snow piled up beside the courtyard walls is very high, the alleys branch off, the footprints of people walking are dark and deep, and the snow has begun to melt in some places.A vendor selling candied haws passed by, stepping on the muddy snow.Min asked the coachman to stop, and she bought two strings, one for Julian. Julian took a bite and it was sweet and sour.Min laughed and said that she knew he liked this kind of sweets, and that only those in Beijing were really delicious in the whole country. The carriage drove away and took Min home.From the entrance of the alley, Julian walked in according to the house numbers.

Sir Harold Acton was waiting at the gate of the compound, wearing a pink woolen scarf.Julian, a little disturbed, stood at the door and waited: they had agreed to wait inside. Acton said it occurred to him that the servant did not know Julian and would not let him in. The old man Qi Baishi, the owner of this compound, said, "Old Baishitou, he has a strange name, right? Germans appreciate his paintings the most, and he is the number one master of Chinese painting in this century." When Julian knocked on the door, the servant opened the door and saw him, but he ignored him.Seeing Acton behind him, he quickly nodded and bowed, and apologized, saying that he didn't know that the foreign devil was Acton's friend, so please forgive me for being negligent.

Over drinks that day, Acton bragged about his collection to Julian.He suddenly said that he could take you to meet someone, Cézanne from the East and Matisse from China, who live nearby.And the best thing is that the price of this Matisse is not too high, you can buy some gifts for your family.Julian has bought too many Chinese handicrafts, probably enough to furnish an entire gallery.The price is not expensive, no wonder so many Westerners spend money on porcelain, jade, and genuine and fake antiques as soon as they arrive in China.But unable to withstand Acton's blowing, Julian agreed.Bloomsbury shocked the artistic interest in Britain because of his post-impressionist exhibitions twice, and became the spokesperson of modernity.Perhaps, he can make the same big discovery.

The servant accompanied them and led them into the courtyard. Pass through a winding corridor, turn left and right, and finally arrive at the studio of old man Baishitou.It's not as big as Western painters', but it's not as messy either, it's extremely bright and neat.I heard that the old painter was seventy years old, and Julian admired it at first glance. His face had a kind of strong strength, a thin long beard, not white at all, a melon cap, and glasses. wrinkle.There were several other men and women in the room, all of whom seemed to be assistants or students, watching with respect and humility.

The old man did not speak. Acton asked Julian to speak Chinese, but he stuttered and only had a few words, so he simply let Acton speak. Acton is fluent in Chinese, speaks a Beijing accent, and speaks a lot of compliments. This trick was very effective, the old man stopped smiling, asked the assistant to spread out the rice paper on the spot, and asked the guest what would he like to draw? "Flowers, birds, fish and insects, crabs and shrimps, chickens, ducks, monkeys and snakes, optional." Julian thought he was joking, and said, "A pair of crabs." The old man's assistant pressed the paper with a paperweight, rubbed the ink and served.The old man held the brush and rolled up his big sleeves.Sure enough, right in front of them, two crabs appeared alive and well, one was slightly lighter and the other was thicker.Sixteen feet and four claws, with teeth and claws, are different.

Acton said, "One male and one female, what are you doing?" The old man laughed and did not answer. Instead, he picked up a fine brush, dipped it in thick ink, and tapped it lightly. Two crabs were eyeing each other.Julian's eyes widened, and Acton clapped with joy.Is this China's Matisse?It can be performed in class, unlike Western painters who may have to struggle for several weeks to paint two crabs. "Can I buy it?" Julian asked. "Sure, six dollars a foot." This is Acton's face, otherwise, it would not be this price to buy.Acton proudly murmured to Julian that the old painter's way of making money was a bit peculiar, more characteristic than his painting style. The price of paintings was measured by a ruler, and paintings were sold by size.

Julian suddenly hesitated a little. Of course, this is not Matisse, it's just a fun sketch.Besides, it's too weird to sell paintings like this, selling paintings now.But God knows, Chinese art, Chinese artists, and Westerners can't understand it. "Could you write a check?" Julian grumbled. The answer is no problem, Mr. Ai is a regular customer. There was no pen in the room, so Julian dipped a brush into the ink to write the check, and wrote it carefully with clumsy fingers.The old man gave Acton two small paintings with his inscription.When they were about to say goodbye, Acton said to Julian, "That woman in the room with a Western-style jacket and thick lipstick has a strange light in her eyes. Don't look, don't look." They walked out of the room, and the old man greeted them courteously, but only to the door of the room.Acton is really amazing. He has only been in Beijing for four years, and he has become a man in Beijing. He is very experienced in China, and he can say compliments to the old man every few steps. After leaving the gate, Acton said that the woman was the old man's concubine, a gift from a friend, who gave birth to six children in just seven years, and gave birth to another one just now.After the calculation, the old man should be seventy-two years old, and he is really prolific and blessed. Julian froze now.The scroll in his hand seemed to become heavy with spirits. This oriental Matisse could live for at least thirty years and have a batch of children.His crabs, his fast-growing crabs, are also products of intercourse? Acton said, "There are paintings of this old man in the house, so be careful to prevent theft." The next day, when Min came to the hotel, she looked at the paintings that Julian bought, and said with a smile, "It's worth it, the old man Baishitou's paintings, and your descendants will definitely make a fortune from them." But she stopped immediately. up.Julian glanced at her, children and grandchildren, etc., too close to the taboo subject of the two. After the sun rises, the snow melts quickly, but remains on the roof tiles and branches.Because he was going out, Min deliberately chose a cheongsam with a silvery emerald blue satin surface and a purple-blue background, with a peacock wool waistcoat.Julian had seen her ears pierced earlier, but this was the first time she had seen her wearing earrings. Each earring consisted of two sapphires, one large and one small, connected by silver lace, matching the purple and blue. The two of them came to Donglaishun for dinner.The hot-boiled mutton in this store-a strange way of eating, a copper stove with charcoal fire in the middle, surrounded by soup, fresh and tender mutton as thin as a sheet of paper, scalded in boiling water, dipped in the sauce on the plate , the taste is excellent.Scallions and fresh Chinese cabbage lettuce leaves shredded on a plate. At another seat, Julian found a pair of long-haired and bearded waterfowl painted on the back of the chair. Min said, "This kind of duck is called mandarin duck in Chinese, 'love birds', because they cuddle up to each other forever." The two ate slowly, drinking white wine and talking about literature.Min said that her novels were too narrow in subject matter, and not worth reading according to the current standard of popular literature.She thinks that novels are art, but she can only write about her own life experience, wife, miss, master, degenerated into a rebellious youth. "Like me?" Julian laughed, jokingly, and took the page out of his pocket. Min grabbed it and wanted to read it, but Julian said it was better to read it or not. Min understood at a glance. after copulation Across, across, tangled mosquito nets, Fragile Venus, bewildered Mars, The pit has stretched its iron net, Rust-stained, like tidal stars. Nature still allows penetration, Only in front of a layer of skin, Ink-painted arthropods can reproduce: In the crackling fight. Crab legs clasped in the embrace of the sea Salty slime, sinking to the depths "After mating," Min covered her mouth and laughed, "the title of this poem is too revealing. Cuttlefish, crab, cricket, you brought the whole set of old man Baishitou." For the whole poem, she did not show Qiu Leanne's expectant appreciation, "Oh, how bad it ended!" she joked willingly. "Not good? Don't like it?" Julian couldn't help it. Min said: "Why don't I like it? I am the cuttlefish, which travels by absorbing water; I am the deep sea, which accumulates salty slime. I am the crab, entangled in your slime, and will go deep into the deep sea." "So, what about the poem itself? If it has nothing to do with you?" "That's too sexy." Min said, "However, you have shown this poem to other women, and you wrote it for her." Julian turned pale. "How is it possible? It's not that you don't know, I wrote it when you were away last night." "That is, when you wrote to your mother last night." Julian was silent.The sensitivity of a woman is as thin as a hair, and Min has fully understood his dependence and trust on his mother. He is not so much a son as a permanent platonic lover.Min made this point. At this time, the host brought some wild game: black fungus, matsutake mushroom, purslane, sweet potato, bamboo core, and ginseng slices. After a while, Min said earnestly, "I really hope that I can fall in love with your mother too and share your intimacy." These few words made Julian's head pound and he was blinded.No woman has ever figured out the relationship between these layers.Even he himself couldn't make it clear in concise words, but this Chinese woman made the key point in her poor English. "There are four lines left in this poem," said Julian. "Who is it addressed to?" He took a page from his pocket. Escape, the sea breeze flies through the cold Crimson sunset, black broken tree Steep cliffs of birdsong in England; till old Tangled across the sand, we slept. As Min was reading, tears suddenly welled up and flowed down his face without making a sound, and he didn't even use a handkerchief to wipe it off.Julian's heart ached when he saw it, and he walked up to her and hugged her tightly.Although he originally didn't want to show Min the four lines, he felt he wasn't sure yet, showing feelings so clearly.But at this moment, Min's reaction was so strong that it was difficult for him to hold the line of defense. Min pushed Julian away a little, took out a handkerchief to wipe himself clean, looked at him and said: "It's all right, I know you're writing poetry. But for your 'until we're old, we'll sleep', I'll give you a little reward. I'll take you to a place where you'll be grateful to me for the rest of your life, and you'll never I will forget it, and I will never die." When the two black doors closed behind them, just as the sun was just setting in the west, the noise from the street was almost blocked out of the door at once.When Julian thought of this day later, he had only indistinct memories and deep regrets.The appearance of this compound is not eye-catching, perhaps only with a camera can we have a clear impression. He couldn't forget everything that happened after entering the second door. Indeed, in Min's words, even when he died, he did not forget.