Chapter 49

If Su Ye were working alone, she wouldn’t need to take any wages at all. However, helping villagers sell tea leaves to raise money was a different matter compared to providing educational assistance. It wouldn’t be right to have the students help out without even giving them a small tip.

Su Ye began contacting factories to print tea packaging boxes. She still had the contact information from the last selection of outstanding individuals, so she made a few calls, took some detours, and finally obtained the contact details for the printing factory.

However, Su Ye’s plan was thwarted. She had underestimated the efficiency of machines in this era. Printing one packaging box was shockingly expensive! Each box printed by a machine cost 2 yuan.

Hiring someone to paint the design by hand would probably cost even more than the machine printing!

An idea flashed through Su Ye’s mind. If the machines were expensive, why not hire someone to do it by hand? Hand-painted designs weren’t hard to make. In later years, anything labeled “handmade” was considered expensive, but at that time, manual labor was as cheap as cabbage.

So, Su Ye decided to look for a few art students from the university.

Coincidentally, the next morning, Ning Xingdou arrived early at the building where they lived and invited Su Ye and her husband to dinner at the Ning family’s house that evening.

Ning Xingdou’s father was named Ning Qian. The character was based on a real-life national treasure-level figure, so the author couldn’t make him completely fictional. Ning Xingdou’s father, Ning Qian, shared many similarities with a national treasure-level figure in terms of his name, family background, and education.

“Xiangqian, don’t cook tonight. Come to my house to eat, my mom’s got everything ready, just bring your appetite!” Ning Xingdou called out loudly.

Gu Xiangqian nodded, “Alright, please thank Uncle and Aunt for me.”

Su Ye was a little surprised when she heard the news. She paused for a moment, but then, thinking about the relationship between Gu Xiangqian and Ning Xingdou, it made sense for them to go to the Ning family for dinner. But this was a personal invitation from Professor Ning and his wife—this was different!

The chance to meet a big figure had finally arrived!

That evening after work, Su Ye pulled out her meat coupon to exchange for a pound of pork at the canteen. However, before she left, she remembered how Ning Xingdou had visited twice: once to deliver alcohol and once to invite them to dinner. His careful and polite behavior likely indicated that his parents didn’t want to owe anyone any favors, so giving them pork might become a burden for them.

Su Ye decided to bring a pound of rice instead, not too much or too little, following the standard of what others brought when invited to dinner.

But even though it was the same one pound of rice, there was a difference between brown rice and white rice. Su Ye was used to refined grains, and it had been a long time since she had brown rice at home.

At 6 o’clock, Mother Ning had steamed the rice, sliced thin pieces of sausage and cured meat, and made a savory cured meat rice dish. For the first time, she used three eggs, chopped chives, and made fragrant chives and egg-filled pancakes.

Eggs were a rare delicacy in such difficult times! Three eggs were already considered a month’s worth of nutritional support for a university professor. Fortunately, Ning Xingdou’s nutritional support was relatively good. He could receive six eggs a month, or else he couldn’t afford to waste them like this!

Ning Qian’s former students would occasionally send him local specialties—dates, peanuts, beans, and other things that farmers grow themselves. Being meticulous and skilled, Mother Ning chopped the peanuts and used a bit of flour to make crispy, fragrant peanut cakes.

The dates were chopped into a paste, and after soaking them in water, they tasted sweet as if sugar had been added. This was a completely natural sugary drink.

When Su Ye and Gu Xiangqian arrived at the Ning family home, as soon as they stepped inside, Mother Ning playfully scolded, “You child, didn’t we say not to bring anything?”

The Ning family’s house was clearly bigger than Gu Xiangqian’s large suite. It was a rectangular large suite, separated in the middle by a screen, with a very elegant and tidy layout. Housing was tight at this time, and only leaders at the brigade level or higher could have a second house. However, due to Ning Qian’s high position, their family was assigned a large suite, no smaller than a two-bedroom apartment.

Before dinner, Ning Qian asked about Gu Xiangqian’s health, exchanged some pleasantries, and then looked at Su Ye for a while before asking, “Xingdou said you have a question you want to ask me.”

Su Ye had originally said this just as a polite remark!

She could definitely dig through her thoughts to find something he might be interested in, but in front of such an idol, there was no room for pretense. Right now, with her “primary school education,” if she were to discuss profound topics with a big shot, it would be quite embarrassing.

After thinking for a moment, she decided to be honest and said, “I’m looking for a student who is skilled in painting and art. I’m not sure if Uncle Ning knows anyone who could be recommended.”

As a university professor, Ning Qian was much more likely to find a suitable student for Su Ye. Besides, anyone with a name in front of such a big shot would surely have the necessary skills.

Ning Qian didn’t immediately respond, instead saying to Su Ye, “I can’t think of any student right off the top of my head who is particularly good at painting, but I’ll ask around for you. I’ll get back to you tomorrow.”

Su Ye was very pleased. “Thank you, Uncle!”

Ning Qian nodded and gently replied, “No need to thank me. You and Xiangqian often help Xingdou, and we are quite ashamed of it. I’ve heard from Xingdou that you’re very eager to learn, so if you ever encounter any difficulties with your studies, feel free to come here and ask your uncle and aunt for help.”

Although the words were filled with regret, Ning Xingdou, who was standing nearby, could hear the hint of relief and happiness in his father’s tone.

Mother Ning called out, “Come and eat, don’t chat so much that you forget the time.”

Mother Ning had prepared stir-fried eggs with chives, sauerkraut with cured meat, steamed rice with cured sausage, and crispy peanut cakes fried in lard, along with a light and healthy red date sweet soup. It was clear that she had put a lot of thought into it—two meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, and a sweet soup, all elegantly presented.

The sauerkraut was crispy and refreshing, absorbing the richness of the cured meat, making it appetizing and not greasy despite its fattiness.

Su Ye had never had pure cured sausage rice before. The cured sausage was sliced thin, mixed with rice, and steamed. The oil and fragrance of the sausage seeped into the rice, making it delicious and fragrant, with a lingering taste on the lips.

Since the pork was provided by Su Ye, it tasted especially good. Professor Ning felt like it was New Year’s Day, and in fact, it was even better than a New Year’s meal! Everyone, from the hosts to the guests, enjoyed the meal, except for Mother Ning, who felt a bit sorry about using so much meat.

Professor Ning acted quickly, and the next day he had indeed found a student who was “skilled in painting.”

After work, Su Ye saw a tall, thin young man wearing a white t-shirt and cotton-linen pants. He adjusted his thick glasses and asked, somewhat awkwardly, “Excuse me, are you Comrade Su? Teacher Ning asked me to come and paint for you. My name is Feng An.”

Su Ye nodded and took a piece of paper from her bag. “Did you bring your paints and brushes? I’d like to see your work.”

Feng An readily took out a pencil and quickly drew a sketch from life. Su Ye furrowed her brow. “Wait, I’d like to see your traditional Chinese painting and watercolor pieces.”

Without saying anything, he took a brush from his bag and, in just a few minutes, swiftly painted a simple ink sketch of bamboo, orchids, and chrysanthemums.

His skills were solid, and Su Ye was quite pleased. Although his clothes were clean, the pants had faint signs of being mended, and his shoes were quite old.

Su Ye got straight to the point. “Perhaps Professor Ning didn’t tell you, but I’d like to hire you to do some painting. I’ll pay you for your work.”

Feng An suddenly seemed a bit awkward. He put away his brushes and tools. “Teacher Ning is a very kind person. He introduced me to you, and I don’t need any payment.”

Su Ye shook her head and joked, “The task is not a small thing, so don’t be in a rush to refuse. Let me explain what you’ll need to do.”

Fortunately, Su Ye worked quickly. She had already picked up a sample of the tea packaging boxes from the paper box factory.

It was a rectangular box, measuring 60x40x15, made from relatively stiff material. Since Su Ye didn’t have money to print a design, she could only order a batch of plain white boxes from the factory. However, she had made a circular hollow section on the front of the box to allow for the later addition of a painted design.

She pulled out a piece of cardboard from the front of the box and handed it to Feng An. “I want to make a batch of tea packaging boxes with elements of Chinese painting, aiming for something visually pleasing. I’d like you to paint on this cardboard. I’ll give you the boxes. Think about how to design something nice and bring it to me tomorrow.”

Feng An was quite surprised by this. What he was holding felt almost like a hot potato. He rubbed his hands nervously. “Is this… okay? Will it work?”

After a long moment, he finally looked up at Su Ye. How could anyone ask for such a thing? It didn’t seem like a legitimate task.

Su Ye picked up on his caution and concern. He probably thought she was asking him to do something dubious or shady.

She chuckled helplessly and said, “Just focus on painting, I promise I won’t take advantage of you.”

She saw Feng An’s distrustful gaze and thought for a moment before saying, “If you don’t trust my character, you should at least trust Professor Ning.”

The next day, Feng An indeed brought the boxes. He had also made several other pieces of cardboard of the same size in colors like powder pink, moon white, cinnabar, bamboo green, etc. On these, he had painted scenes of the bright moon over his hometown, a crane with a long neck, proud bamboo, and elegant women dressing up.

He inserted the painted cardboard into the front of the box, and a beautifully crafted Chinese-style tea box was completed.

He decorated the pure white box with gold powder, applying it delicately so that the brush strokes were almost invisible. In the blank space, he wrote a line of poetry in cursive: “No way to hold a bowl, so I send it to the tea lover.” He used the white space skillfully, creating an indescribable poetic effect.

His cursive script was also beautiful, making the entire tea box appear even better than if it had been printed. Su Ye was momentarily at a loss for words to praise it.

Professor Ning really was a big shot, the talent he introduced was just as impressive! To think that unpaid work could be done so meticulously exceeded Su Ye’s expectations. She glanced at Feng An, who looked malnourished and frail, and it was hard to imagine that such a piece had come from his hands.

People in this era really seemed to survive on a touch of celestial energy and hard work, if this were in later times, it would be considered a work of art!

Su Ye happily gave Feng An his payment. “This is really good. If you can maintain this level, I can pay you 0.5 yuan per box.”

Such beautiful work deserved a beautiful price.

To be honest, Feng An didn’t expect to be paid for such a task. He was stunned and hesitated for a moment before saying, “No need for payment. How could I accept money when Teacher Ning is just helping me?”

However, it was clear he wasn’t entirely confident when he said this. Moving from the countryside to study in the city wasn’t easy. Although there were allowances for university students these days, Feng An’s family was very poor, and there was a famine in the countryside. Studying art was expensive, and without Professor Ning’s support, Feng An had already planned to drop out and become a high school art teacher.

If he accepted 0.5 yuan for painting a box, did that mean he could continue studying art with dignity?

Feng An was still wrestling with his thoughts when Su Ye made the final decision. “I’ll pick up 100 boxes, take your time to paint them.”