A Billionaire CEO Brings His Child Home: The Awakening of the Stay-at-Home Dad System

"Here it comes!"

"A bid has been placed! 1100!"

"1200!"

"1500!"

"2000!"

"3000!"

"5000! Don't even think about taking it from me!"

Chen Zhenhua took out his phone at some point and went to Chen Hao's Douyin (TikTok) profile.

He noticed that there was a new item up for auction in the shop, with a starting price of 1000 yuan and a current bid of 5000 yuan.

He swiped his finger across the screen, refreshing the page.

Current bid: 8000.

It refreshed again—12000.

Refreshed again—15000.

Refreshed again—20000.

His expression changed.

It wasn't mockery, nor was it jealousy; it was a feeling of being struck in the chest by something.

He watched the number jump from 1000 to 20000 in less than two minutes.

He looked up and glanced at Chen Hao—

Chen Hao was looking down at his phone, his expression calm, as if he were looking at something that had nothing to do with him.

He looked at the painting again—

It's still the same piece of paper, the same ink and paint, the same mountain, the same waterfall, the same bridge, and the same few thatched huts.

"They're all crazy, completely crazy," he muttered.

The bids in the live stream are still rising—

"22000!"

"25000!"

"28000!"

"30000! I'm definitely buying this painting, streamer!"

"32000!"

"35000!"

"38000!"

"40000!"

Chen Zhenhua's fingers were trembling, not from fear, but from that number—40,000.

His son runs a processing plant in town, earning more than 20,000 yuan a month. It would take him three months to earn the same as Chen Hao painting a picture in just over an hour.

He took a sip of the herbal tea, and the bitter taste burned in his throat.

"45000!"

"48000!"

"50000!"

"52000!"

"55000!"

"58000!"

"60000!"

In the live stream, a viewer with the ID "Jiangnan Gallery" bid 60000.

The comment section was quiet for two seconds, then another user with the ID "Ancient Painting Collector" added another comment—

"62800!"

The "antique painting collector" has added another piece of the pie—"65800!"

The live stream went silent.

Five seconds, ten seconds, fifteen seconds, and no one raised the price again.

[Ding! Auction ends!]

[Transaction Price: 65800 yuan]

Buyer: Antique painting collector

When Chen Zhenhua saw that number, he almost dropped his teacup.

Sixty-five thousand eight hundred yuan.

More than an hour.

A paper.

Mountains and water drawn with just a few strokes.

He looked up at Chen Hao, his lips moved several times, but he didn't say a word.

Chen Hao was slightly shocked when he saw the transaction price.

He anticipated that someone would buy it, but he didn't expect it to fetch over 60,000.

He took a deep breath and sent a message using his mind—

"Thank you to 'Ancient Painting Collector' for your support, and thank you to all the friends who participated in the auction. I will frame this painting carefully and then send it to the buyer."

"Framed? The streamer can frame things?"

"Framed items are a skill, do you really know how to do it, host?"

"The streamer has been proven wrong too many times. I don't question anything anymore. I'll just wait and see."

Chen Hao put down his phone and rummaged through the pile of tools to find the framing materials.

Mounting materials include Xuan paper (also known as mounting paper), silk, paste, brushes, paper cutters, rulers, spray bottles, palm brushes, and mounting boards.

He bought these things at the stationery store today. He didn't plan to use them right away, but now he's using them.

His god-like painting skills made him proficient in the entire process of mounting calligraphy and paintings—mounting, cutting, backing, hanging, and scrolling.

He knew that each type of painting had a different mounting method; landscape paintings were suitable for mounting on silk, with their antique colors and elegant texture.

[Ding! God-level painting skill triggered - Mounting materials preparation: Use double-layer pure Xuan paper, use antique colored brocade silk, and use handmade paste with appropriate consistency.]

Rating: Excellent.

Chen Hao first turned the painting over, with the back facing up, and laid it flat on the worktable.

He used a spray bottle to evenly spray a layer of water mist on the back of the painting, making the paper slightly damp and smooth.

Then he dipped a brush in paste and applied a thin layer of paste to the back of the painting.

Too much, or it will seep through to the front; too little, or the fate paper won't stick properly.

His technique was very skillful. He brushed the paste from left to right and from top to bottom, overlapping each brush stroke by half of the previous one, so that the paste was applied evenly without any accumulation or missed spots.

[Ding! Mounting and plastering completed. God-level painting experience points +134!]

Shen Xiaoting leaned on the edge of the table, watching her father brush a layer of white stuff onto the back of the painting, and asked curiously, "Dad, what are you doing?"

"Dad is dressing up the painting," Chen Hao said as he brushed the paint. "This 'clothing' will help the painting last longer and prevent it from getting damaged."

"Wear clothes?" Shen Xiaoting tilted her head and thought for a moment. "Does painting need clothes too?"

"Yes, paintings also need to be dressed up. The clothes that paintings wear are called mounting."

Once it's worn, you can hang it up; it won't break for many years.

Shen Xiaoting suddenly realized and clapped her hands: "Dad is so smart!"

Chen Hao smiled and continued framing.

He aligned the life paper—a piece of clean Xuan paper slightly larger than the painting—with the edge of the painting and gently covered the back of the painting, which had been coated with paste.

Then use a bristle brush to brush from the center outwards to remove air bubbles between the backing paper and the drawing paper, allowing the two layers of paper to adhere tightly together.

When brushing, apply even pressure. Don't brush too hard, or you'll tear the paper; don't brush too lightly, or it won't stick properly.

[Ding! Back cover completed. God-level painting experience points +142!]

After covering the back, he turned the painting over so that the front was facing up and let it dry on the worktable for a while to allow the paste to dry slightly.

Then he cut two pieces of antique-style floral silk, each ten centimeters wider than the width of the painting, and pasted them on the top and bottom ends of the painting—the top being the top edge and the bottom edge being the bottom edge.

The ratio of the top margin to the bottom margin is 6:4, which is the traditional ratio for mounting calligraphy and paintings and is the most pleasing to the eye.

[Ding! Completed the silk edging; God-level painting experience points +138!]

Finally, the shaft is installed.

He used a paper cutter to make a slit in the silk fabric at the edge of the field, inserted the wooden shaft, and secured it with glue.

A thin wooden strip was also installed above the ceiling for hanging.

The two ends of the shaft protrude two centimeters, are polished smooth, and coated with a layer of wood wax oil.

[Ding! Mounting completed. God-level painting experience points +146!]

The mounting is complete.

Chen Hao held the painting up and hung it on the clothesline in the yard, letting the paste dry naturally in the shade.