A thousand enlightenments in one night, starting from being a menial apprentice.

Chapter 35 Flower Shadow Tower

As soon as Duan Rong returned to the dormitory, he lay down on the bed. The scorching afternoon sun shone through the carved window covered with a thin cloth onto Duan Rong's face. Duan Rong picked up a small stack of rice paper, covered his face with it, and fell into a deep sleep.

In his dream, Duan Rong saw a tall and thin young man with tied hair, who was working hard and practicing his painting skills in a dilapidated courtyard.

He kept copying and tracing, and as the years went by, his worn-out brush tips piled up in a small basket...

Two hours later, Duan Rong suddenly woke up.

He recalled the experience of the thin scholar in his dream and felt quite emotional.

Although he is poor in literature and rich in martial arts, the spirit of climbing is consistent.

In that dream, Duan Rong clearly felt a determination to not accept his fate and to climb upward. Although the scholar did not become a great man, at least he had provided his family with food and clothing with his own hands...

“Life is not easy…”

Duan Rong suddenly felt hungry. He left the dormitory and looked at the sky. He estimated that it was around 11 p.m., which was past the time for lunch in the cafeteria.

Duan Rong had no choice but to leave the escort agency and order a bowl of wontons and two sesame cakes on the street, which he ate voraciously.

After Duan Rong finished eating and drinking, he felt warm in his stomach. He paid the bill and went straight back to the dormitory of the escort agency.

After lighting the oil lamp, mixing the dye, spreading the rice paper, they began to work.

Duan Rong spent another night painting. When the sky was slightly bright, he finally looked at the two paintings in front of him and laughed.

There were still two full-length portraits of Xiao Zongting and his daughter Xiao Baiqiao, but these two were obviously improved compared to the previous two.

Not only is the artistic conception profound, but the characters are also more lifelike, as if they have souls.

Duan Rong's brushwork combines the elementary levels of Danqing Miaobi and Yunbi Rushen, and coupled with his modern PS aesthetic concept, it can be said that he has completely overcome the technical barriers.

"Having overcome the technical barrier, the next issue is the application scenario..." Duan Rong rubbed his fingers subconsciously. In fact, he already had the answer to this question.

However, he was still a little hesitant.

Although the easiest way to make high profits is to make money from rich people, after all, there are a lot of troubles outside a brothel!

Duan Rong's eyes narrowed, and he seemed to have made up his mind. "High risk, high reward!"

Duan Rong put away the rice paper in front of him, and took out a piece of white paper. Holding the brush, he ran it on the rice paper with his wrist suspended in the air. For about half an incense stick of time, Duan Rong looked at the simple lines on the rice paper, smiled slightly, put down the brush, rolled up the rice paper, and walked out of the dormitory.

Duan Rong first had breakfast on the street, and then went straight to a carpenter's shop at the corner of the street.

As soon as Duan Rong arrived at the shop, he saw an old man with a clear face sitting in front of the door drinking tea.

This carpentry shop, named Li Ji, was opened by a father and son named Li.

My son Xiao Li is about 30 years old. He is tall and strong.

My father, Lao Li, is over 50 years old. His hair is gray and his back is a little hunched due to years of hard work, but he is in very good spirits.

The man drinking tea in front of the door is Lao Li.

Duan Rong walked over quickly and said, "Boss, come and take a look. Can this thing be made?"

Duan Rong handed a rolled piece of rice paper to Lao Li.

Old Li was stunned. He didn't expect that there would be business coming to his door so early in the morning. He took the roll of toilet paper and said with a smile, "Sir, please sit down and have a cup of tea first."

Duan Rong sat down on a rattan chair without any courtesy, but he did not drink tea. Instead, he stared at Lao Li.

Old Li slowly unfolded the rice paper and saw a diagram of the structure of an object drawn in simple and clear strokes on the white paper.

But Lao Li, who has been a carpenter all his life, has never seen this thing before. "Sir, what is this thing? The structure is not complicated. But I am sorry that I have never seen this thing before." A strange look flashed in Lao Li's cloudy eyes.

"Boss, this thing is called a sketching stand. Just follow the instructions." Duan Rong replied with a chuckle.

Old Li took a look at Duan Rong. The boy had a square face, bright eyes and a dark complexion. He looked young, but his expression was calm and he answered questions freely. He was not like those dull and honest children from other families.

"Okay...Okay..." Old Li nodded in agreement. "But...it's just that it takes a while to get started with this raw thing...I'm afraid it will take some time..."

"That's fine. I'll come over at 5 pm this afternoon. Can I get it done?"

"Shen Shi, that will definitely work."

Seeing that Old Li readily agreed, Duan Rong smiled and said, "It's settled then. I'll come over at 3 p.m."

"But... sir, the shop requires a deposit when you place an order... you see..." Old Li looked at Duan Rong and said sincerely.

"How much is the deposit?"

"For an old item of this size and complexity, it would only cost two taels of silver, but for a new item, one tael more would be charged, for a total of three taels of silver. One tael is the deposit, and another two taels are paid upon delivery."

Duan Rong paid the deposit, gave Lao Li a few instructions, and left.

Duan Rong left the carpenter shop and returned to Yuanshun Escort Agency, where he practiced standing meditation in the martial arts field for an hour and a half.

Duan Rong's power was dispersed, his eyes looked somewhat listless, he wiped the sweat from his forehead, and he could clearly feel the exhaustion in his body.

Unlike the first stage of practicing internal energy, every time I dispersed my energy, I felt refreshed. Although my body was tired, I could feel an inner vitality gushing out.

Duan Rong took a rest and had lunch, then read some miscellaneous books in the dormitory. At 3 p.m., he left the escort agency and headed for Li's Carpenter Shop.

When Duan Rong arrived at the shop, the sketching stand had already been made. Duan Rong tried it out and found it to be of first-rate workmanship and made of top-quality wood.

One stack, one stick, easy to carry.

This sketching stand is actually just a folding tripod with a drawing board, and it is not very complicated to make.

Duan Rong paid the balance and spent a dozen cents to buy a small folding stool. He folded the easel and the stool together, held them with one hand, and walked back to the escort agency.

Huayinglou is the largest brothel in Xiangu County.

The two-story wooden tower has flying eaves and carved beams and painted buildings. At night, it is brightly lit and filled with music and singing.

This is a place of ecstasy and also a den of money-spending. Young gentlemen who spend money lavishly and old perverts are everywhere.

The owner and madam of Huayinglou is named Hu Huanhuan. She was originally a famous prostitute in the city.

But that was more than 20 years ago.

Hu Huanhuan is now old and no longer as pretty as she was in her prime.

However, it is said that she was the most popular courtesan in Yuanyang Prefecture for ten years and was the most popular person at that time.

Later, when she lost her beauty and grew old, she returned to her hometown where she had wandered in her childhood and opened this flower photo studio.

Hu Huanhuan is an expert in the art of seduction. Over the past few years, she has cultivated four major flower shadows: Lotus Shadow, Plum Shadow, Chrysanthemum Shadow and Orchid Shadow.

This has caused countless young men and sex-hungry ghosts to fall under the spell of the four beautiful women and become willing to be their slaves.

The reputation of Huaying Tower has spread far and wide to nearby prefectures and counties.

I don't know how many wealthy families have lingered here, and how many playboys have lost their families...

(End of this chapter)