Chinatown, a city in the United States.
Tang Kai has been an apprentice at Gu Yanxuan for ten years.
Ten years ago, Tang Kai fainted at the gate of Gu Yanxuan and was saved by the shopkeeper Song Qing.
When Tang Kai woke up, Song Qing asked him what he wanted. He didn't know his name, place of origin or where he came from. He could speak fluent Chinese and English.
Song Qing saw that he was a child of a Chinese family, so he left him to work in the shop, thinking that his parents and relatives would come to find him in the lost place.
This stay is ten years.
No one came to look for the lost child.
There was no news from the police station.
Among the things that Tang Kai carried with him was a brush. The pen pole made of pure gold was decorated with dozens of shining diamonds, and carved with two small characters: "Tang Kai!"
Song and Qing took this as their name and called this amnesia child.
At that time, the Song and Qing Dynasties gazed at this beautifully made and invaluable brush for a long time, and frowned.
When someone asked him what had happened, Song Qing just shook his head, but when nobody was around, he would mutter, "This child's origin must be extraordinary! Is it really..."
For ten years, Tang Kai has been living in the ancient inkstone pavilion, serving as his father and looking at his shop as his home.
To Song Qing's surprise, this child named Tang Kai has amazing talent and understanding ability in calligraphy and painting!
No matter what the Puritanism of Song Dynasty was, he could learn it immediately, draw inferences from one instance, and innovate.
Song Qing soon fell in love with this closed door disciple and tried to train him to be a great calligrapher!
Guyanxuan is a very traditional four treasures of study shop, which mainly sells ink, paper and inkstone, calligraphy and painting mounting, and authentic celebrity works.
Such stores are common in China, but rare in Chinatown in the United States.
Scarcity doesn't mean no business. Thing is precious!
Gu Yanxuan's business is the only one in Chinatown, without a semicolon. It is very popular.
It was August, and it was six o'clock in the evening. Tang Kai stretched to dispel the tiredness of the day's work.
"Xiaokai! Xiaokai!" The familiar cry came from the inner room.
"Ah! Shifu!" Tang Kai agreed and trotted into the inner room.
"Xiaokai. Clean up, close the door and have a rest! Your Shimu has already cooked dinner and cooked your favorite braised fish head. Ah Cai and Ah Wang have already had a drink in it!" Song Qing smiled and reached out to touch the head of this proud disciple.
Tang Kai replied, "Oh, OK, Shifu. I will clean up now."
"Boss! Is the boss there?" In the shop outside, there was a loud shout.
"Ah, here we are!" Tang Kai promised outside and smiled at his master again. "Look, business is really good today. It's so late, and there are still customers coming."
Song Qing said, "Xiaokai, go to dinner first. I'll take care of the guests."
Tang Kai said, "Master, let me do it!" And he had already returned to the counter.
There were three customers, all men.
One of them was a yellow man with black hair. He was tall, big and thick. He wore jeans. He also wore a large steel earring on his right ear.
The man on the left is a white man with yellow hair. He is tall and thin, like a bamboo pole. He wore a short and delicate gold chain on his nostrils, and kept watching his thick right hand, as if it was embroidered with considerable patterns.
The one on the right was a black man, with his hair combed into many small braids, and a small spring knife in his hand, which dazzled him.
"Gentlemen, what can I do for you?" Tang Kai asked in fluent English.
"Kid, where's your master?" The yellow skin with steel earrings spoke the authentic Mandarin.
"Master is inside, and I'm on duty here. Sir, what do you need? Do you want to buy the four treasures of the study? Or do you want to mount calligraphy and painting?" Tang Kai asked.
"Hey hey, kid, we need to buy an inkstone." The steel earrings stretched out their fingers and knocked hard on the glass counter.
Inside the counter, there are various rare brushes, inkstones and other stationery.
Tang Kai didn't think so. He wondered if you were also a member of the painting and calligraphy industry with your clothes like that?
But when you open the door to do business, all the visitors are guests. You should treat them with courtesy. This is Shifu's instruction.
Tang Kai said politely, "Excuse me, sir, what price of inkstone do you want to buy? Here, we have Duan inkstone, She inkstone, Tao inkstone, red silk inkstone, Chengni inkstone, Juque inkstone, Songhua inkstone, jade inkstone, lacquer sand inkstone, Longwei inkstone, Qiyang inkstone, all kinds of famous inkstones, at all prices."
The steel earrings gave a wild smile: "Oh, you little devil, why are you running like a restaurant and reporting the names of dishes? Ha ha!"
Tang Kai politely asked, "Excuse me, what price would you like for your inkstone?"
The steel earrings put a hand on the counter, revealing a thick arm full of tattoos. With a smile, they said: "Just buy the most expensive inkstone here! Snips, take it out quickly!"
Tang Kai said: "Sir, you don't have to buy the most expensive inkstone, as long as it is suitable for you. The inkstone that is too big and expensive is usually used for collection and appreciation, and there are not many really used for polishing ink."
The steel earrings crossed his eyes, raised his eyebrows, and slapped his palm on the counter. The glass cabinet made a creaking noise. He shouted: "I have plenty of money, and I just like to buy the most expensive one! What are you talking about?"
Tang Kai said, "Well, please wait."
He unlocked the counter, took out a beautifully carved Duan inkstone, put it on the counter, and said, "My Shifu brought it from Duanxi in China. It is carved by a famous master. The inkstone is round and round. It is a rare first-class Duan inkstone. Look at the stone eyes on it, so many, so dense, it is very rare."
The steel earring glared: "Stone eyes? Stone still has eyes? Little devil, aren't you bluffing?"
Tang Kai said: "The stone eye is a unique feature of Duan inkstone. It is a stone core that naturally grows on the inkstone like an eye. The Duan inkstone with stone eyes is very valuable and rare. According to the Inkstone Manual, those with eyes on the Duan inkstone are the most expensive. Stone eyes can only be seen in a few inkstones of Shuiyan, Kengzi Rock, Mazi Pit and Meihua Pit, and Song Pit inkstones are also occasionally found. This precious inkstone of our family is produced in the pits of Song Dynasty! It's a quality Duan inkstone, very valuable! "
The steel earrings waved impatiently and said, "Don't pull these things. Is this the most expensive one in your shop?"
Tang Kai said, "Yes, this inkstone is worth 300000 dollars."
The steel earrings were stunned for a moment, touched his chin, stared at the inkstone, and said: "Little devil, I was really frightened by you! Such a stone is worth 300000 dollars?"
Tang Kai said with a smile: "Sir, you don't know that the price and size of the raw materials of the inkstone and whether they are carved by famous masters directly affect the price of the works. In China, some rare inkstones are carried by collectors and players to tens of millions, even hundreds of millions. This is an art treasure, 300 thousand US dollars, which is not expensive. If you collect it for ten or twenty years, the price will double. "
The steel earrings sneered: "Little devil, let me ask you, how old is this inkstone?"
Tang Kai said, "This is what my Shifu brought back from home five years ago. The year of finished product is about ten years."
The steel earrings slapped the container hard and angrily said: "You bear child! You've been playing with me for a long time. What I want is the most expensive inkstone in your shop! You fool me with a modern product? Take out the ancient inkstone of Jin Dynasty in your shop!"
Tang Kai said with a smile, "Mr. Gu inkstone of the Jin Dynasty, I have worked here for ten years. Don't mention seeing it, or even hearing about it. We don't have such goods in our shop. Please move to other places to buy them!"
The face of the steel earrings becomes extremely violent. If you grab the precious inkstone, you will fall.
Tang Kai was horrified and reached for it: "Sir, sir! This is the treasure of our shop. You can't break it! Give it back to me!"
At this time, Master Song Qing's calm voice came over: "Xiaokai, go into the inner room! I'll talk about this deal."
Tang Kai said, "Master, they insist on the ancient inkstone of the Jin Dynasty, or they will destroy our shop treasure!"
Song Qing waved his hand: "Xiaokai, you go first."
The steel earrings sneered: "Old Man Song, you are willing to give up? How about it? Do you want to hand over the treasure or do you want us to do it?"
Song Qinggong bowed his hand and said, "My bosses, all the inkstones in our shop are in this counter. There is no stock at all. You can buy whichever you like."
The steel earring spat, and a mouthful of phlegm fell on Song Qing's face.
Tang Kai saw that the newcomer was not good, and he was afraid that Shifu would suffer, so he did not go in.
He couldn't stand it anymore and shouted, "Hey, how can you do this? If you don't leave, I will call the police!"
Song Qing waved his hand and said, "Xiaokai, there is nothing for you to do here. Go in!"
Tang Kai pulled out two pieces of facial tissue paper: "Master, let me help you wipe off the dirt on your face."
Song Qing said calmly, "Xiaokai, do you remember an idiom I told you? It's called" self inflicted "
Tang Kai glanced at the steel earrings, tried to suppress his anger, and replied respectfully, "I remember, Shifu."
With a sneer, the steel earrings suddenly raised the store treasure in their hands, aimed at the glass counter, and suddenly fell down!
"Wow!" The glass counter was smashed, and the treasure of the shop was also broken into several pieces.
"Don't you dare smash the shop!" Tang Kai shouted from inside, "Brother Cai! Brother Wang! Come out quickly, someone smashed the shop!"
As he shouted, he reached out to grab the collar of the steel earrings.
The steel earrings sneered and turned to Tang Kai's arm.
Tang Kai felt a burning pain in his arm.
Song Qing said in a deep voice, "Let go of the child!" He stretched out his right hand to pull Tang Kai.
The steel earrings pushed Tang Kai away with a forceful push, and then raised one foot to kick Tang Kai in the stomach, kicking him to the ground.
Tang Kai felt pain and dizzy, but he could not move when he thought of it.
He opened his eyes and looked at the steel earrings sticking out his left hand, which caught his master Song Qing's throat.
"Old man Song, do you want Jin Yan or death?" The steel earrings pressed their fingers and asked.
Song Qing puffed his eyes, ignoring them, and shouted to Tang Kai, "Xiao Kai, do you remember the formula I taught you to write? Come on, read it and do it at the same time!"
The steel earrings sneered: "Your life is at an end, and you still have the pithy formula to teach your disciples to practice calligraphy!"
Tang Kai struggled hard, thinking of helping Song Qing.
Song Qing snapped, "Xiao Kai! Didn't you hear me?"
Steel earrings hit Song Qing's head with a fist, and then asked: "Where is the ancient inkstone of the Jin Dynasty?"
Song Qing had been beaten to pieces and his face was covered with blood foam, but he still ignored them and didn't say a word to them.
Tang Kai tried hard to stand up, but just after he got up, he got a few more feet on his back and then on his neck.
He fell to the ground again! But he mustered up his strength and gritted his teeth desperately to stand up and help Shifu!
"Go away!" The steel earrings hit Tang Kai and kicked him upside down, hitting a corner of the counter.
Tang Kai did not move, his eyes gradually blurred, and finally he could see nothing. What flashed before his eyes was only the formula taught him by his master.
Over the past ten years, he has read these pithy formula thousands of times every day, which has long been integrated into his blood
