I am chasing a rough man in the 80s
Chapter 134 What the hell is this!

Chapter 134: Chapter 134 What the hell is this!

Suizi remembered seeing Yu Jingting’s dad when she was a kid, he was tall and towering, and Yu Jingting obviously took after him.

She couldn’t recall if he was handsome or not, but she did remember he was fierce.

Being timid since childhood, she usually avoided fierce-looking men.

So, when her mother-in-law unrolled the scroll and Suizi saw the person in the painting, she was utterly shocked.

"Is this, is this my father-in-law?"

In traditional Chinese painting, the emphasis is on expressing mood rather than presenting real-life proportions, so it’s not realistic.

It’s understandable that the proportions might be off.

But, even if they’re off, shouldn’t it at least look like a person?

The painting Wang Cuihua brought out, had a big ink-blotted head.

From afar, it looked like Big-headed son from the TV cartoon show ’Big-headed son and Little-headed Father’.

Up close, it rather looked like a giant potato turned into a spirit.

Leaving aside whether it resembles the subject or expresses the spirit.

At least it should look like a human being!

What on earth is this!

"This was drawn by Wu Laer, the best artist in our village. His painting of Zhong Kui capturing ghosts sells quite well at the market."

On hearing this, Suizi held her forehead.

Zhong Kui capturing ghosts is an expressive painting, no wonder her father-in-law was painted like a little demon.

So, every Chinese New Year, the Yu family worships a "Potato Spirit"?

No wonder the potatoes here taste better than the other’s, a blessing from the Potato Spirit, wouldn’t they taste better then!

"Mom, who did my grandfather resemble? Can you tell me more?" Suizi asked.

"He looked somewhat like his late grandfather, but was better looking than him─why don’t you go to your uncle’s house and have a look at the portrait of your grandfather?."

"... Forget I asked."

Probably, the portrait in her uncle’s house would also be an abstract one that wouldn’t resemble any family member.

Does it make sense to draw a potato spirit using a sweet potato spirit as a reference?

"Is there anyone alive who resembles my grandfather? It doesn’t have to be someone from our family," Suizi asked.

"His face shape is like your man’s, his mouth is a bit thicker than Jiaojiao’s, and I’m not sure who his eyes resemble─what are you asking for?"

"I want to try drawing, although my skills might not be professional, but─" Suizi glanced at the "Potato-headed grandfather painting" — "it would definitely be better than this."

"Eh? You can draw too? I’ve never heard your mother mention this, oh right, I just remembered that your mother was an artist too, it’s a shame we don’t know why she stopped."

Wang Cuihua had previously asked Suizi’s mother, Chen Lijun, for help in drawing a memorial portrait, but Chen Lijun said she wouldn’t touch a paintbrush for the rest of her life, so she had to look for someone else.

"Did your mom teach you?"

"Hmm." Suizi answered vaguely, although that’s not exactly the case.

Since Chen Lijun married into Yang Village, she had never touched a paintbrush. There’s no way she could teach Suizi how to draw.

Genetics can be pretty awesome, Suizi enjoyed drawing since she was little.

Every time Suizi drew, she was suppressed by Chen Lijun. Chen Lijun was against her touching these things so much so that she even tore up Suizi’s drawings.

Later, when Suizi had to leave her hometown in opposition, she started to doodle in her free time just for amusement.

Subconsciously, she was trying to completely break away from her birth family. The more her mother forbade something, the more she wanted to do it.

She even found an incredibly talented teacher, who praised her for her talent.

"Dinner’s ready, we can make dumplings at noon, you don’t have much to do now, you can go draw in the West Room."

Wang Cuihua didn’t hold much hope.

Before the school break, Suizi had asked someone to buy study aids, exercise books, and painting tools in the city. She had her eye on Jiaojiao.

From the moment Jiaojiao started scribbling randomly in her textbooks, Suizi could tell that the girl loved drawing.

If there were enough tutoring classes, Suizi would have enrolled her sister-in-law in all the music, chess, book, painting classes in one go.

If the conditions were favorable, nurture it; if not, create the conditions to nurture it.

Just as Yu Jingting returned, smelling of fireworks and burnt paper money from the cemetery.

"Stand still." Suizi held up her paintbrush, making comparisons with his head.

"What are you doing with that pen, going through all those odd movements, like you’re setting up an altar or something?"

Yu Jingting wanted to share the fun he had in the cemetery.

Today he managed to irritate his two uncles quite a lot.

Especially his second uncle, he was hopping mad upon seeing him blocking the drainage with cement. His reaction was even funnier than his mother producing spirit tricks.

"Saving a potato..."

Thinking about what her mother-in-law had said, her father-in-law’s face shape was similar to Yu Jingting’s.

With a handsome angular face, he could pull off any hairstyle, including his current vicious looking buzz cut.

"In the future, let your hair grow a bit longer, a layered, slightly curly medium-length style would suit you very well."

"Why would a grown man grow long hair?!"

Suizi didn’t look up, brushing her pen on the paper.

"During fights, you can tie up half, leaving the other half loose─also handsome." Imagining that image, Suizi felt a bit flushed.

This guy really knows how to make himself look good, just throw anything at him and he looks dashing.

She lowered her head to draw, disguising her fluttering thoughts.

Yu Jingting squinted his eyes and leaned over to see her masterpiece.

Suizi had already sketched the basic proportions of the face.

Yu Jingting took a look and was furious, it certainly wasn’t him!

"Who’s this wild guy you’re painting! He’s so ugly!"

Tell him who it is, and he’s ready for a duel with him using a fire poker.

"Our dad."

"..."

Yu Jingting decided to take back his words about the "wild guy".

"Can’t say it doesn’t resemble him, but it’s totally not him."

He pointed out a few places to Suizi.

Suizi edited those places according to his instructions, and it started to bear a slight resemblance, but it was still far from good.

Without the physical reference, just based on someone’s verbal description, it’s impossible to get it right.

Having this slight similarity was already quite an achievement, much better than the Potato Spirit anyway.

Suizi sat down with regret, casually placing the drawing board on the kang bed.

She initially thought she could come up with a decent painting and replace the Potato Spirit’s.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

Yu Jingting’s gaze made Suizi feel puzzled.

"How many more things can you do that I don’t know about?"

He had known that she was talented when he married her. But it’s only after they started living together that he realized she was far more capable than he had imagined.

Normally, Suizi could retort back for anything he said, but today, for some reason, without thinking, she replied to his question:

"I give you a lifetime to understand everything about me."

This sentence lit the fuse, blowing his reasoning sky-high like a monkey.

Yu Jingting held the back of her head, ready to nibble on her.

"I’m still here?" Jiaojiao protested.

Is this something minors should be exposed to?

The protest disappeared under her brother’s palm.

While Yu Jingting held his wife’s head with one hand for easier access to nibble on, his other hand, as if it had eyes, accurately blocked Jiaojiao’s vision.

Jiaojiao was caught off guard and got a full face of the public display of affection.

When Yu Jingting let go after satisfying his nibble urge, Jiaojiao covered her eyes and bounced around the room.

"Stinky brother! You’ve messed up my eyesight!"

Today was the 30th, and they were going to make dumplings at noon.

Yu Jingting went out to play mahjong, and Little Fatty stood outside the Yu family’s door calling Jiaojiao out to play.

Jiaojiao bounced out, ran a few steps, and then came back in.

Taking advantage of Suizi wrapping dumplings in the east room, she ran into the west room and sneaked away Suizi’s unfinished painting and hid it in her padded jacket.

Little kids are a bit vain, Jiaojiao wanted to show off Suizi’s amazing drawing to her friends, show off a bit, then bring it back.

Little did she know, this move would unleash a storm in the future.

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