Rebirth and the Beautiful Soaring

Yu Fei was thrilled and excited at the prospect of finally getting his hands on the landscape painting "Fairy Peak".

He couldn't help but think of the popular tomb raiding novels of later generations, such as "The Grave Robbers' Chronicles" and "Ghost Blows Out the Light".

He may not have been able to understand the mentality of those tomb raiders before, but now he has a better understanding of this unique kind of thrill.

Taking a deep breath to calm his slightly excited emotions, Yu Fei reached out and touched the bottom of the shrine, carefully opening the hidden compartment.

Yu Fei pulled out a black wooden box that resembled a drawer, placed it on the ground, and carefully examined its contents with a flashlight.

The first thing that catches the eye is an old scroll, which Yu Fei knows should be the landscape painting "Fairy Peak".

Besides the painting, Yu Fei was surprised to find a number of "Yuan Shikai silver dollars" inside the wooden box.

There are at least forty or fifty of them, which is quite an unexpected windfall.

It seems that the villager did not give a complete account back then, but rather withheld some details.

However, Yu Fei now thinks about it and realizes that this is actually quite normal.

At this moment, he did not rush to open the scroll to view the landscape painting. Instead, he put it and the silver coins directly into his backpack, then put the wooden box back at the bottom of the shrine. As it was fully pushed forward, Yu Fei heard the sound of the mechanism closing.

Such ingenious mechanical partitions must have been the work of skilled craftsmen, and this niche connected to the rock is also a rare work of art.

Yu Fei recalls that this Buddhist niche was also unearthed when the Fairy Peak Scenic Area was established in later years, and it became a precious cultural relic.

When he went outside, his backpack had forty or fifty more silver dollars, which Yu Fei felt were quite heavy.

The price of Yuan Shikai silver dollars varies depending on the year. Yu Fei remembers that some particularly rare ones could fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars in later years.

However, it was 1996, and the price wasn't that high yet, but it was still very expensive.

Of course, Yu Fei hasn't checked yet and doesn't know the situation, but he imagines the probability of encountering an exceptional one is extremely low, so he can't help but shake his head and smile to himself.

Human greed is innate, and I seem to be no exception.

However, this kind of unearned gain is not the right way to make money, and one cannot have such good luck forever.

Just like those tomb raiders, if you dig up too many graves, you're bound to encounter ghosts eventually.

Two decades of experience navigating the ups and downs of the business world, coupled with a sense of maturity beyond his years, quickly calmed Yu Fei down.

After exiting the cave, he pretended nothing had happened and calmly returned to the nearby orchard.

At this moment, Fang Jianguo was standing next to the King Tree, examining its root system.

Seeing Yu Fei running over quickly, he smiled and said, "Feifei, you're right. The Great Tree King really isn't completely dead. Perhaps next spring, it will regain its vitality and the withered tree will come back to life."

Seeing the radiant smile on his grandfather's face, Yu Fei felt very proud because he had made up for his grandfather's past regrets. He nodded and smiled, "Grandpa, I believe it will definitely happen."

……

After returning home, Yu Fei did not rush to check the year of the Yuan Shikai silver dollar, nor did he open the landscape painting, because he did not want his maternal grandfather and aunt to know.

The reason is actually quite easy to understand. In the eyes of adults, he is still a child. If they knew about these valuable items, the money he was preparing to use as his first pot of gold would be managed by the adults, and he would no longer have the right to spend it freely.

That's the downside of being too young; I don't even have an ID card yet, I'll have to wait until next year to get one, and bank cards are also something that needs to be sorted out.

That afternoon, Yu Fei was, of course, conscripted by his aunt to continue learning ukulele playing techniques.

It must be said that Fang Yi is a well-prepared person.

Long before I asked someone to buy me a ukulele, I had already bought a ukulele self-study tutorial and video CDs, as well as a brand new VCD.

Of course, this was originally intended for her own use, but now it has become Yu Fei's teaching material.

The learning process was, of course, easy and enjoyable.

Yu Fei discovered that as he opened his heart to music, these beautiful notes seemed to take root in his heart and became extremely easy to understand.

When night fell, Yu Fei finally had a good opportunity to examine the landscape painting and the Yuan Shikai silver dollar before going to bed. At this time, his aunt, grandparents and other relatives were asleep, and no one would disturb him.

Although he chose music, Yu Fei did not give up on painting, but he was not prepared to put in a lot of effort to learn it, which made him somewhat carefree and unrestrained.

Therefore, when looking at the painting, Yu Fei had a kind of piety towards art. He carefully opened the scroll, laid it flat on the octagonal table, and then covered all four corners with books before slowly appreciating it.

Yu Fei has painted many landscape sketches of Fairy Peak, but it must be said that his previous works, which he considered quite satisfactory, are inferior to this copy of the fake "Fairy Peak".

The problem with everything is comparison; once you compare, you'll see the difference.

However, Yu Fei also discovered that the works he painted now, such as "You Ten Years Later", "The Tree of Miracles" and "Remembering the Fairy on the Fairy Terrace", were much better than those in his previous life.

Furthermore, his appreciation of paintings seemed to have improved, and he was able to easily see the merits of a painting.

After a moment's thought, Yu Fei realized that he had completely memorized the painting, as if it were imprinted in his mind.

It seems that this is truly a change brought about by rebirth; my memory, musical talent, and artistic talent have all been improved without my noticing.

Yu Fei was naturally very happy about this. With such a good memory, he wouldn't have to spend so much time studying in the future, and he could naturally devote more time to other things.

People who love painting will naturally feel the urge to copy such a wonderful work.

Yu Fei thought it would be very interesting to recreate this landscape painting using pen and ink sketching techniques.

So he immediately took the scroll back, then took out some Xuan paper, laid it flat, pressed it down, and picked up a pen to start drawing according to his memory.

Whether it was the improved skill from appreciating paintings earlier or the subtle effect of painting continuously these past few days, Yu Fei found that his brushstrokes were more free and unrestrained during his creation. The pen seemed to be in a commanding manner, pointing and drawing with remarkable fluidity.

Before long, a brand new pen sketch, "Fairy Peak," was officially completed.

Looking at the beautiful Fairy Peak in the painting, Yu Fei couldn't help but feel a little proud. He realized that he could also paint the landscape of his hometown so beautifully.

Satisfied, Yu Fei put away his painting. He thought it was time for him to get his seals made; otherwise, without a name seal and a leisure seal, he always felt that something was missing from his paintings.