Jiang Xuesong asked, "What signature?"
Chen Xinhang said, "The signature on this book. Could you take a look? I've seen quite a few calligraphy works, but this signature gives me a unique feeling."
"How is it unique?"
Jiang Xuesong put on his reading glasses.
Chen Xinhang coughed lightly and said, "Old Master Jiang, my level isn't high enough to articulate it. But I feel very comfortable looking at it. I can get lost just looking at the signature."
Jiang Xuesong smiled and said, "That means your level is decent. Ordinary people see mountains as mountains and water as water."
"You should have reached the second level: seeing mountains as not mountains, and water as not water."
"Let me see it."
Chen Xinhang immediately opened the book.
"Old Master Jiang, this is the signature."
Jiang Xuesong chuckled. "It's Lin Yu. Someone showed it to me before, his calligraphy is quite impressive."
"Eh—"
Jiang Xuesong was taken aback.
He leaned in for a closer look.
One second, two seconds, three seconds...
Chen Xinhang didn't make a sound, he waited quietly. After five minutes, Jiang Xuesong exhaled. "Amazing, Lin Yu's calligraphy is even better than mine."
"I thought I was a bit stronger than him, but now it seems he's broken through to a higher realm."
Chen Xinhang asked, "Mr. Jiang, the realm you're referring to is—"
Jiang Xuesong took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "My calligraphy is decent, and I'm somewhat well-known now, but in the grand scheme of history, I'm nothing."
"Lin Yu's calligraphy is on par with Yan and Liu."
Chen Xinhang exclaimed in shock, "Yan Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan? Mr. Jiang, are you perhaps exaggerating?"
Yan Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan were top-tier calligraphers throughout history, with only the Sage of Calligraphy, Wang Xizhi, above them.
"Not at all."
"Lin Yu's skill truly is that high. But it's strange, I haven't heard of anyone so amazing in the calligraphy world."
Jiang Xuesong asked, puzzled.
Chen Xinhang said, "Old Master Jiang, maybe he's just good at signatures, and his other calligraphy might be so-so."
Jiang Xuesong shook his head, "Xiao Chen, that's impossible. Do you think you can reach this level just by writing more?"
"If you don't have the skill, you won't even understand it when you see it."
Chen Xinhang chuckled awkwardly.
He was one of those who didn't understand.
Jiang Xuesong said, "Xiao Chen, I'm not talking about you. You can tell it's not simple; your level is quite good."
"Where is Master Lin Yu? I'll pay him a visit."
Chen Xinhang quickly said, "Old Master Jiang, you're in your eighties. You shouldn't be traveling so far." He gestured towards Lin Yu. "Lin Yu here is a fairy tale author for our website."
"Oh?"
Jiang Xuesong was taken aback.
"At his level, he's writing fairy tales for you?"
Chen Xinhang nodded. "His fairy tale writing is incredibly good. This is one of his books. It's sold over a million copies in just a few days."
"Sigh!"
Jiang Xuesong sighed.
"Calligraphy doesn't make money, but you people do. There aren't many people in the whole country who truly understand calligraphy at his level."
Chen Xinhang respectfully said, "Mr. Jiang, although calligraphy isn't very profitable, top calligraphy masters have a high status and can even become famous for generations."
Jiang Xuesong said, "It's entirely possible for Master Lin Yu to become famous for generations."
"Someone like me, a half-baked talent, can forget about it."
"Xiao Chen, how old is Master Lin Yu, sixty or seventy?"
Chen Xinhang was taken aback.
Lin Yu was sixty or seventy?
"Mr. Jiang, he's not that old yet."
Jiang Xuesong was shocked. "He's only in his fifties? At that age, with that level of skill, that's amazing."
Chen Xinhang coughed lightly. "Old Master Jiang, please calm down. Lin Yu is only in his twenties."
Jiang Xuesong was stunned.
Half a minute passed, and he shook his head. "Impossible, absolutely impossible. How could someone in their twenties reach this level?"
Chen Xinhang said, "Old Master Jiang, I've seen him. He is indeed only in his twenties."
Jiang Xuesong put his reading glasses back on.
He looked at the signature again.
"Impossible."
"Could someone else have signed it for him?"
Jiang Xuesong said, a little disbelieving.
Chen Xinhang said, "That's probably impossible, right? His fairy tale writing is incredibly strong; there's no need for him to fake this. If it were discovered, it would be a huge stain on his reputation."
Jiang Xuesong said, "Little Chen, can you contact him? Can you ask him to write a piece of calligraphy for me? I'll pay 300,000."
"I'll ask him for you now?" Chen Xinhang replied.
Jiang Xuesong nodded. "Yes, have him write the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion."
Chen Xinhang dialed Lin Chen's number. "Lin Yu, are you available right now? I have something to ask you."
Lin Chen's voice came through, "Yes, I am. What is it?"
Chen Xinhang said, "Lin Yu, I know a calligraphy enthusiast who thinks your signature is excellent. He wants to commission a piece from you for 300,000."
"Is that alright?"
Lin Chen was surprised. "Three hundred thousand?"
He had originally thought he could make a lot of money from calligraphy, but after getting into it, he realized he'd been a bit naive.
There were so few people who understood calligraphy these days.
With the prevalence of computers and mobile phones, many people's handwriting was getting worse and worse.
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You say you write better than them?
The average person wouldn't be able to tell!
"Yes, he wants a Preface to the Orchid Pavilion, is that alright?"
Chen Xinhang asked.
Lin Chen smiled. Three hundred thousand.
He couldn't pass up that kind of money.
He used to make only a few thousand a month. Three hundred thousand would take him years to earn!
"No problem. I'll send it to you by express delivery when it's done."
"Great, great."
After hanging up the phone, Chen Xinhang said, "Old Master Jiang, I'll deliver it to you as soon as I receive it."
"Alright."
Jiang Xuesong nodded. "I'll transfer the money to you. You give it to him first. You have to pay for the artwork upfront."
Soon, Jiang Xuesong transferred three hundred thousand to Chen Xinhang.
He lived in a villa worth tens of millions, and he had tens of millions in the bank. Three hundred thousand wasn't much to him.
It's not bad that calligraphy can earn money while you're alive.
Lin Chen murmured to himself.
Taking Lin Xiaoxi with him, Lin Chen went to a shop specializing in the Four Treasures of the Study and bought everything he needed. He bought the best brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones.
Since someone was paying three hundred thousand, he couldn't just mess around.
Maybe they could even buy them back?
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Although fairy tales earn a good amount, it's still not fast enough.
"Dad, what are you doing?"
Lin Xiaoxi asked, puzzled, when she got home.
Lin Chen smiled and said, "Dad is writing. Xiaoxi, you haven't seen Dad write much before. Dad is writing now, you watch carefully."
"Mmm, hmm."
"Dad, I'll be very good."
Lin Xiaoxi said, sitting on the dining chair.
Lin Chen unfolded the paper, mentally reviewing the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion.
His calligraphy was now at the Grandmaster level, and he had mastered all the different scripts. Of course, he knew Wang Xizhi's running script.
His understanding of the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion was also extremely high.
"In Yonghe's Ninth Year, the year of Guichou, at the beginning of late spring—"
He dipped his brush in ink and began to write with a flowing motion.
Lin Xiaoxi watched Lin Chen quietly.
Lin Chen's current concentration and spirit were extraordinary.
When signing his name, Lin Chen had been casual, using an ordinary pen, and hadn't fully displayed his skill.
Now that someone was sincerely asking to buy it, he couldn't just rush it.
"Phew!"
Lin Chen breathed a sigh of relief after finishing all three hundred-plus characters.
After checking it once, a smile appeared on Lin Chen's face.
Even though it was his first time writing it, the system made him feel as if he had written it a thousand times, and there were no problems with the work.
"Lin Chen!"
Lin Chen signed his name.
"Daddy, you're so handsome."
Lin Xiaoxi looked at Lin Chen with adoration.
Lin Chen ruffled her nose and chuckled, "Xiaoxi, you're so young. What do you even know about what's cool?"
"Hehe, anyway, Dad's the coolest."
Lin Xiaoxi said with a sweet smile.
-----------------------
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