Rebirth and the Beautiful Soaring

The villa was soundproofed during renovation, especially the bedrooms and art studio, where the soundproofing is particularly good.

Yu Fei's singing and playing was already quite soft, and with the bedroom door and the first-floor studio door both closed, it was essentially double soundproofing. Yu Hong, focused on seal carving in the studio, couldn't hear a thing.

However, when Yu Hong finished carving the seal and walked out of the studio to the door of Yu Fei's bedroom on the second floor, he could faintly hear a faint singing voice, like the feeling of an earphone being placed outside the ear.

Was Feifei listening to music on the tape recorder? Yu Hong never imagined that his grandson not only had outstanding talent in painting, but also in music.

"Feifei, stop listening to music and open the door!"

Yu Hong's knocking and calling brought Yu Fei, who was immersed in the world of music, back to reality. He quickly stopped singing, put down his ukulele, and opened the door for his grandfather.

"Grandpa, are all the seals I requested carved?"

"Of course! Look at the time!"

"Huh, so fast?" Yu Fei looked at the time on his watch and realized it was already past five o'clock, which meant that he had unknowingly been playing and singing for a full hour and a half.

He hadn't noticed anything wrong with his fingers and throat before, but now that he's looking at the time, he realizes his fingers are sore and numb, and his throat is dry.

If you continue playing and singing, not only will your fingers hurt, but your voice will also become hoarse, which is a big no-no.

Whether studying or working, the key is to proceed gradually and balance work and rest.

At the age of forty, Yu Fei certainly understands this principle.

After welcoming his grandfather into the room and making him sit down, Yu Fei poured him some water. Only then did he begin to admire the seal carvings his grandfather had just completed—six small seals.

When signing or affixing a seal to a painting or calligraphy work, the seal should not be larger than the characters.

As the saying goes, large prints need large seals, and small prints need small seals.

Sketches are generally not very large, and the characters in the inscription are also very small, so the seal naturally cannot be large either.

The name seal "Seal of Yu Fei" is in relief seal script, square in shape, made of Qingtian stone, and carved with a phoenix totem at the top, which looks very elegant.

The seal "Xianyu" is written in intaglio clerical script, square in shape, and decorated with fish patterns, symbolizing abundance year after year.

The introductory seal, "Beautiful Soaring," is written in semi-cursive script, square in shape, and the same size as the name seal.

The corner seal, "Phoenixes in Flight," is in seal script and is also square.

……

The six seals are almost identical in style, so they should be a set.

Although this was a playful creation for his grandson Yu Fei, the exquisite seal carving and the elegant and timeless calligraphy still demonstrate Yu Hong's skill.

"Thank you, Grandpa! Feifei really likes these seals!"

"I'm glad you like it! Actually, there are many intricacies to seals in calligraphy and painting. The size and shape of the seal used for different lengths of paintings are also different. Sketches are generally smaller in length, so the seals are relatively smaller as well. This time, Grandpa will just make you this small set. If you are willing to learn traditional Chinese painting from Grandpa, Grandpa will definitely carve several larger sets for you in the future, and they can be all kinds of shapes. How about it, are you tempted?"

Yu Fei chuckled and said, "Of course I'm interested, but I'm about to start school, so I probably won't have much time to learn traditional Chinese painting. I'll focus on pen and ink sketching for now, and we can talk about it later when I have more ideas."

It seems that his grandfather is already itching to drag him into this, but since Yu Fei has chosen music, he will only treat painting as a hobby, and playing around with sketching or comics will be enough. Learning traditional Chinese painting or oil painting is too tiring.

Yu Hong has always been an open-minded person. Since Yu Fei is not willing to learn traditional Chinese painting for the time being, he will not force him. He smiled and said, "That's fine too. If you can draw pen sketches to a high standard, it will be a wonderful art. Grandpa has high hopes for you!"

With the seal in place, the next step is to apply the seal, and this application of the seal is quite particular in calligraphy and painting.

First of all, the inkpad must be of high quality. You must not use ordinary inkpad for signing and stamping, but rather the special eight-treasure inkpad for calligraphy and painting.

Taking the opportunity, Yu Hong began to explain the taboos regarding stamping to Yu Fei in detail.

In his previous life, Yu Ming had also briefly explained these things to Yu Fei, but not in the same detail as the old man. After listening, Yu Fei gained a lot of knowledge.

Yu Fei stamped his name seal on "On the Love of Lotus". Since the piece is very short, there is no need to use a personal seal.

Only after the stamp was affixed was the pen sketch truly completed, and the whole drawing seemed to be given a new life.

"Different pens produce different effects, and the thickness of the nib also affects the sophistication of the artwork. Tomorrow, Grandpa will take you to buy a set of more professional pens."

"That's great, thank you Grandpa!" Yu Fei was overjoyed by his grandfather's generosity and nodded in agreement with delight.

Yu Hong laughed loudly, "Haha, you little rascal, you don't even know how to be polite."

Yu Fei shrugged and said, "You're my own grandfather, why should I be so polite with you!"

Yu Hong laughed again, "That's true! By the way, Feifei, do you remember Grandma Lou whom we met during the New Year?"

Yu Fei smiled and said, "How could I not remember? Grandma Lou was so good to me."

For Yu Fei, who was reborn, this Grandma Loulan was very familiar, because she later became his grandfather Yu Hong's second wife, and was his grandmother in the true sense.

As for Yu Fei's grandmother, Zhang Ying, she passed away many years ago, which is Yu Fei's regret. If he had been reborn a few years earlier, he would have been able to see her again.

But those who have left are gone, and those who are alive must continue.

Yu Fei, of course, fully supports his grandfather finding another partner and experiencing a second spring in his life.

Just as Yu Fei was thinking, he heard Yu Hong say with a smile, "Your Grandma Lou was very happy to hear that you were coming to visit, and she's going to cook a nice meal for you tonight..."

As Yu Hong was speaking, the phone in the bedroom rang.

Yu Hong smiled and said, "I'm afraid your Grandma Lou can't wait any longer. That's why she called to urge us to come over. Answer it and see if it's her."

Just as Yu Hong had predicted, when Yu Fei answered the phone, Lou Lan's not-so-old voice came from the other end.

"Hey, Old Yu..."

The way she addressed him was a bit teasing, a bit mocking, and a bit affectionate, making Yu Fei want to laugh.

Yu Fei suppressed a laugh and said, "Grandma Lou, it's me, Fei Fei. My grandpa is right here!"

"Oh, it's Feifei! I've missed you so much! Come on over with your grandpa, the food is cooking and it'll be ready to eat by the time you get here."

"Grandma Lou, I miss you too! Grandpa and I will be there right away."

Just as Yu Hong was about to answer the phone, Lou Lan hung up, clearly feeling embarrassed by the earlier "old man" comment.

Yu Fei put down the microphone and chuckled, "Old Yu, the way Grandma Lou addresses you makes me feel like there's something... you know. Are you planning to find me another grandma?"

Yu Hong blushed and glared at Yu Fei, saying, "Go away, you have no manners. How dare you call me 'Old Man Yu'? Let's go, don't keep him waiting too long."

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