Chapter 44 II Departure from Montparnasse to join the war (2) Love at first sight

He was alone, with thick brown bangs on his forehead, synthetic resin glasses, a red and white checked cotton shirt, an M-shaped mustache, a very beautiful suit of British fabric... Yogi Desnos Father Libion, with a faint beard, stood behind the bar counter of Luo Tongde Tavern, watching everything around him vigilantly.Bryce Sandras, who had changed countless hotels one after another, had no choice but to move again.He had just entered Luo Tongde with a suitcase in his hand, and went straight to Max Jacob who was concentrating on copying a manuscript for Mr. Doucet, a tailor.Sandras was probably dressed as Leoto described: pumps with torn heels, thick lined socks, faded and pitifully short trousers, a short jacket tightly wrapped around the body, and a hat covering the With thick dust.

He sits on a chair at random.Max Jacobs begins to tell him about the fight between Levedi and Diego de Rivera over a disagreement about Cubism: The Fight Between Painter and Poet Begins with Leonce Rosenberg During his invitation to dinner at La Perouse's, he ended up among the bric-a-brac of Louis-Philippe at Lot's.Regardless of the face of other painters present, Levedi tried his best to maintain the Cubism of Braque, Gris and Picasso.Offended, Rivera slapped him.Levedi grabbed the opponent's hair and wanted to throw him outside... The people in the hall were in a mess, and Libion ​​couldn't hear what they were talking about for a while.He noticed half a dozen pro-Cubist policemen standing up around the tavern and gathering around the tavern door.

Suddenly, a particularly loud voice was heard shouting, "Catch!" People are indifferent to this because it is something they are used to and are used to.These gentlemen from the police station have been frequenting the Rotonde Tavern since Russian revolutionaries and pacifists of all colors chose it as their headquarters.Anyone who opposes war is considered defeatist.If Marshal Joffre's words are to be believed, the word "defeatism" does not exist in French. The French do not believe in defeat, but they must be vigilant against it.Because of this, for several weeks, Libion ​​posted many patriotic posters on the walls around the tavern, hoping that they would prove his patriotic stance in the tavern.Since the beginning of the year, people have been reporting and exposing, and plainclothes police have set up guards around suspicious departments, institutions and units. Luo Tongde is listed as the first person under surveillance, and Dom and Lilac are not far away. The gardens are on the watch list.A little less pressurized is Batty's, opposite them, whose snow-white tablecloths and dishes, though rather expensive, still please diners.

Another group of heavily armed men suddenly appeared at the door of the tavern.Table by table they check the IDs of customers who are eating there, and no one can expect to slip away from here.If anyone still has the luxury, there's no doubt that a fleet of bikes gearing up on the pavement will hunt you down in no time.But this time, the people present were very lucky: check the documents on the spot instead of asking you to go to the police station. The gendarmes surrounded a small Japanese man in a crimson robe and a glittering necklace around his neck.The pair of heavy earrings on his ears made him look very strange and different.

"Is this a woman?" "It's a gentleman," replied the Japanese. "It has yet to be confirmed." "I have been married once, and the second wedding will be held soon." The Japanese explained cheerfully. As he said this, he pointed to another young girl standing not far away who was talking to a woman next to her.But the girl paid no attention to the people who were watching her. "Gentlemen, it was love at first sight between us." "Please show your ID." He handed over the documents.The policeman bent down and looked carefully: Fujita Tugularu, born in Tokyo, Japan in 1886.

"What is your father's occupation?" "A general in the Imperial Japanese Army." "When did you come to France?" "1913...but I've been to London since then." "What are you doing there?" Fujita glanced at the unknown woman with probing eyes (but the woman didn't realize that he was looking at her at all), and then turned back to answer the police's question. “I was painting there for a painter, and we made it together. He just signed the works I made and sold them without paying me.” "Then why are you there?"

"To make money and live." The policemen frowned. "If you want to know, I will tell you the truth, I was raped..." "We would like to know everything, please tell me in detail." "This artist owns an estate and a stable." Fujita explained solemnly, "The problem is that he can draw anything but horses. So I only draw horses, and he is responsible for the rest: grass, Sunrises, sunsets, those lovely fences and beautiful idylls, plus signings of course... One day he went out to sell something we had created together and never came back.” "That's how you came to France, didn't you?"

"I came to France after working as a fashion designer for Gordon Selfritz's in London for a while. I design a lot of the clothes that are sold there now." The policeman's eyes were on the burgundy robe he was wearing. "Then, is this also your work?" "I hand sewn this...does any of you like a short dress in the same color?" The police quickly retreated towards the door.Libion ​​stood behind the bar with his arms akimbo.The police told him that if someone exposed them in the future, the tavern would be closed down. The police leave.When only Fujita was left alone, he looked for the woman who fascinated him sitting three tables away from him.She is only 25 years old, with smiling eyes, short hair, an upturned nose and a penchant for copying Parisian jokes.She turned and glanced at him once, not seeming to notice his fuchsia robes.Having just arrived in France, he walked with Isadora Duncan and her brother who promoted the restoration of Greek ideals. He wore a turban on his head, a short cape with buckles on his shoulders, and a thick necklace with large gemstones around his neck. Holding a women's handbag and bare feet.Such an outlandish attire did not prevent hordes of girls from falling at his feet.This did not surprise the young Japanese in the least.

After careful consideration, Fujita admitted that they taught him a lot, and he was very grateful to them: Marcelle taught him not to make a sound when eating soup, and not to lick a spoon when eating dessert; Marguerite taught him the art of kissing; Renee taught him how to watch movies to evade fares; Margo taught him all the words to call people as beasts; Than had taught him how to sleep in his underwear and keep them crisp...and what could this girl be teaching him?What is her name?This must be clarified first. Fujita stood up, walked up to the girl, and bowed respectfully to pay her respects.After they talked briefly, the Japanese left the tavern.

The next day, he returned to Luo Tongde.He finally got the girl's name—Fernand, and her address—Rue de Rambe.So when he came in again, he already had his latest prey on his arm, with a victorious smile on his face, majestic and full of air.And she also seemed madly in love with the Japanese guy who had hunted her down with just a shirt.She was wearing the little blue bodice he had given her with as much pride as a princess, and he had been able to do so in less than an hour after he had managed to get her address near the Dome the day before. Fujita, who sewed a jacket, spent an entire evening making the present, which he delivered to Fernand's residence this morning.After presenting her with this handmade gift, he told her how cold his little room was.Overwhelmed by his hospitality, Fernand Barre took an ax and with his own hands chopped up his only wooden chair, and immediately lit a fire to keep him warm.

Thirteen days later, they registered their marriage at the Paris 14th arrondissement office.Fujita borrowed six francs from a waiter in Luo Tongde to announce their marriage, and then painted a portrait of the waiter's wife to pay off the debt.They chose one witness, but since there must be two, they temporarily recruited a professional witness in front of the district government to make up the number. A few weeks later, Mrs. Fujita left her residence, the couple's new house, with a portfolio, and went to the right bank of the Seine, where most art dealers are located.Due to the heavy rain on the way, she went into Cheyron's shop, exchanged two watercolors for an umbrella, and then returned to Montparnasse. However, this trip was not in vain, at least she recognized Xie Long.For, having carefully studied the two watercolors, the merchant hurried across the Seine to the Rue de Rambe.Instead of admiring the rugs on the floors of the shops in the street, the lamps with ideograms, the tables with jagged legs, the real bathtubs, and all the unheard-of luxury sights, he just went around to ask who the artists who painted those watercolors were, Where are his paintings.Xie Long decided to buy all the paintings: 7 francs and 50 centimes each, and promised to buy at least 450 francs of his paintings every month.From then on, Fujita and Fernand not only had money to buy spinach, but also butter. To celebrate this exciting news, Fujita gifted his wife a canary with an exquisite cage.Then, he combined Japanese traditional art with European avant-garde art, and opened up a new painting art that no one can imitate.In view of limited financial resources, he was limited to using watercolors and colored chalks to draw birds and beasts, flowers, birds, fish and insects.Since then, Fujita has been able to buy oil paints and brushes that he has been lacking in the past.He sat in the old stable on Delambe Street that had become his studio, surrounded by all kinds of oil paints he needed, and began to paint oil paintings seriously.In the near future, his oil paintings will be popular throughout Paris. After Van Dongen, even in the era of Picasso, Fujita also tasted the rich pleasure.Money and fame are rolling towards him unstoppably.