Chapter 41

Feng Wei knew that when Lu Weiguo encountered Shi Tingyu’s matters, it was unreasonable.

Quickly, he piled on the compliments for Shi Tingyu.

Lu Weiguo glared at him, “Boring.”

With that, he carefully packed up the painting, preparing to take it back.

On the other side, Shi Tingyu took advantage of the available time to sketch out the draft and roughly laid out the colors.

With a clear plan in mind, she began preparing to paint the mural.

The school’s perimeter wall was over two meters high.

Principal Ren had managed to borrow a scaffolding from the engineering corps.

Shi Tingyu glanced at the scaffolding in silence.

Most of the scaffolding nowadays were made of wood, and she gave it a sturdy shake.

Seeing Shi Tingyu’s actions, the soldiers assisting in setting up the scaffolding patted their chests and assured her, “Sister-in-law, rest assured, I’ve set up this frame absolutely sturdy. Even Battalion Commander Lu can climb up without a problem.”

Then they said, “Sister-in-law, try climbing up.”

For convenience, Shi Tingyu wore a short-sleeved shirt, long pants, and a pair of Liberation shoes.

She also wore an apron.

This was clearly an unconventional attire, but on her, it exuded an indescribable artistic temperament.

The soldier scratched his head with a silly grin, thinking, Battalion Commander Lu’s wife looks really good.

Shi Tingyu cautiously climbed onto the scaffolding, testing its stability by leaning forward and sideways; the scaffolding held firm.

However, Principal Ren still had some concerns. What if she accidentally fell? They needed some safety measures.

He asked the soldier beside him, “Comrade, do you have any sponge mats over there? Should we lay them around for Teacher Shi?”

Shi Tingyu turned her head and saw the young soldier nodding unexpectedly. She quickly spoke up to stop him, “No need for sponge mats. Paint will splatter everywhere, and it’ll be hard to clean if it gets on the mat.”

She glanced at the height of the scaffolding, “This is only about one meter high. Even if I accidentally fall, I’ll only sprain my ankle at worst.”

Finally, despite Principal Ren’s insistence, he did not actually manage to borrow any sponge mats.

The mural was painted in sections. At Shi Tingyu’s request, Principal Ren found a lot of large cardboard boxes to lay flat. When there weren’t enough, he glued together pieces of old newspapers to create a surface, preventing excessive paint from splashing onto the ground.

Shi Tingyu also cleaned the wall surface, dealing with some dirt and damage.

When everything was ready, Shi Tingyu stood not far from the school wall, observing the mural.

Principal Ren was quite interested in Shi Tingyu’s painting. He didn’t leave but stayed nearby, watching.

Usually, murals started with pencil sketches on the wall.

Considering Shi Tingyu’s current level, she didn’t need to sketch too detailed.

She used chalk to outline a few strokes on the wall, marking a few points.

In any case, Principal Ren couldn’t understand what she was doing.

He had seen people write slogans on walls before, and most of them required a frame, although some talented individuals could start freehand, but they were all experienced masters.

Moreover, writing and painting were different. Such large-scale painting was obviously more challenging. Even on paper, one would need to make a draft first.

But he didn’t dare say anything, nor did he dare ask.

After marking the points, Shi Tingyu adjusted the paint, pouring it into a basin, gesturing a few times on the wall, testing the strength.

Then she splashed it towards the wall.

With a swoosh.

The white wall was covered by a long arc of bluish-gray paint.

Principal Ren suddenly stepped back, nearly getting splashed.

Now he understood why Teacher Shi wore an apron.

Even so, Shi Tingyu’s arms and hair had some colorful traces.

Seeing her hair getting in the way, Shi Tingyu picked up a brush, gathered her hair, circled it a few times, and pinned it firmly behind her head with the brush. Principal Ren was amazed.

At this moment, some people who heard the news also came to watch.

Nowadays, with few entertainment options, the elderly in the family courtyard or some wives with children came over.

Gradually, quite a few people gathered around the school’s outer wall.

Next, watching Shi Tingyu’s actions made their heads spin.

She adjusted one color and splashed a bit, then another color, making the whole wall look chaotic.

People started to comment.

“What is she painting?”

“Isn’t this just messing around? Can this Battalion Commander’s wife really paint?”

“Who knows, look at this perfectly good white wall being ruined.”

But there were also differing opinions.

“She’s just starting. This wall is so big, splashing might be easier.”

After covering a large color block, Shi Tingyu adjusted the palette and brushed it onto the wall.

Brushing here and there.

As the sun began to set, the school bell rang for dismissal, and people finally started to see something.

“Don’t say anything, but now, it’s starting to take shape.”

“Is that a student she’s painting?”

“Why do I feel like that bluish-gray color looks like a snake or a dragon?”

“Is that red the national flag?”

By now, Shi Tingyu herself had become quite colorful, but thankfully, after covering the large color blocks on the wall, the overall outline was emerging.

She wasn’t just splashing paint for show.

Every stroke she made had its purpose.

She even considered how the color dripping down would interact with the colors below.

After the students came out, the family members who had come to watch saw their children and decided to stop watching the fun, taking their children home to cook.

But many children ran over to see Shi Tingyu painting. They bombarded her with questions, almost overwhelming her.

As the sky slowly darkened, Shi Tingyu also wrapped up her work.

Some parents, seeing their children not returning home, came looking for them.

Among them was Lu Weiguo, who had just finished training. Finding no one at home, he guessed she might still be at school and came to pick her up.

Lu Weiguo immediately spotted Shi Tingyu surrounded by children.

She was covered in paint, looking messy, yet exuding an indescribable atmosphere.

Shi Tingyu tossed brushes, scrapers, and other tools into a bucket, preparing to clean up the newspapers and cardboard on the ground.

Her classmates were eager to help.

“Teacher Shi, let me help you.”

“I want to help too.”

Parents couldn’t just stand by either. Once one started, others quickly pitched in, soon tidying up the place.

Lu Weiguo folded up the remaining scaffolding and put it away in the school’s equipment room.

Shi Tingyu thanked the parents and students who had helped.

Just then, Lu Weiguo returned after dropping off the equipment. Seeing him, everyone hurriedly left.

Not only were the children afraid of him, but their parents were a bit apprehensive too.

Shi Tingyu glanced at Lu Weiguo teasingly. “Is Battalion Commander Lu so intimidating?”

Lu Weiguo sighed softly, picking up the bucket of brushes. He didn’t discuss whether people feared him or not but asked, “Do these need to be washed?”

Shi Tingyu nodded. “Yes, otherwise, they’ll be difficult to clean tomorrow after they dry.”