The sun gradually sets westward and night falls.

But for Kaifeng Prefecture, Tokyo, the bustling day was only half over. When the lights were on, the whole city suddenly became excited and messy. With the opening of the night markets such as Zhouqiao Night Market, Maxing Street Night Market, Panlou Street Night Market and other night markets, the entire Kaifeng Prefecture suddenly became a city that never sleeps.

Wu Haogu had already left his home in the First Tianshui Lane and was now sitting in the corner of a foot shop, drinking with Guo Jing and Liu Wuji.

In Kaifeng Prefecture, there are 72 main restaurants and shops, and countless foot shops. The foot shop where Wu Haogu and others are located is the famous "Bozhuyuan". It is located outside the gate of Daxiangguo Temple. When you go out, you can find the Zhouqiao Night Market. Pedestrians and passengers shoulder to shoulder, exuding an extremely prosperous atmosphere.

The "Boat Pig Garden" restaurant is the industry of Daxiangguo Temple. Wu Haogu knew about opening a shop to sell pork in another life, because this incident was recorded in Meng Yuanlao's "Dream of Tokyo".

However, after the Yuanfu period of the Northern Song Dynasty, Wu Haogu realized that opening a restaurant and selling meat and vegetables was only part of the transaction run by Daxiangguo Temple, and it was not a big deal.

There are three main major deals in Daxiangguo Temple, one is the Changshengku. The so-called Changshengku is actually a bank, which is the same transaction as the gold, silver, silk and silk shops in Jiesin Lane.

The second is to operate the Daxiangguo Temple market. The Daxiangguo Temple covers a large area and is divided into eight courtyards. The monk's houses are scattered everywhere. The two wings of the central hall can accommodate tens of thousands of people. Whenever the market is in the market, it will be rented to merchants and travelers for transactions.

The third is to rent houses. Daxiangguo Temple has been continuously renovated and expanded since the early Northern Song Dynasty, and a large number of monks have been built, but not so many monks come to live there, so some of them are rented out.

Today, Wu Haogu closed the Huazhai and moved to Daxiangguo Temple. However, he did not rent a house, but squeezed into a monk's room with his good friend, Monk Fu. So the table of wine in the "Burning Pig Garden" at night can be regarded as a celebration of the housewarming.

At the wine table, Wu Haogu and others whispered to the fake painting activities that were about to begin.

The day before yesterday, Wu Haogu used a charcoal human body sketch to make Guo Jing, Liu Wuji and Monk Fu believe that he could imitate Wu Daozi's paintings, so what we are discussing now is how to imitate them.

First of all, decide what kind of portrait to draw? Are they ladies, emperors, generals, or Buddhists, Taoists and gods?

Since Wu Haogu's figure painting skills are still in photo art, he doesn't have a model or a photo, but he doesn't have a good picture (it's not that he can't draw, but he doesn't have a good picture). He can't find a model that looks like an emperor, and there is no clothes for emperors and generals.

"Lady" is easy to find. Just go to brothels and brothels to find it. As long as you are willing to spend money, you can't even take off your clothes and draw the human body. But Wu Daozi's human body photo is plain... I'm afraid it's too shocking.

To draw pictures of ladies wearing clothes, the style of the clothes is another trouble. Compared with the current era of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, which was active in Wu Daozi, the style of the clothes has changed a lot, and if you make a mistake, it is easy to see through it.

Therefore, the painting of ladies was quickly rejected. In the end, everyone thought that monks among the "Buddha, Taoist, and Immortals" were the best candidates. Because the changes in ordinary monk robes did not change much, there was no need to prepare clothes specially.

Moreover, Wu Daozi once created a large number of murals, so he left behind many "powder copies" (i.e. drafts). These "powder copies" are usually not signed, or just a few words are simply written, such as "Confucius statue" and "Portrait of Heavenly King", and do not need to be printed.

Therefore, it is not easy to miss the painting of "monk portraits" imitating Wu Daozi's style. Just use the "old silk" and "old mo" inherited from the Wu family, and then combine the brushwork, style and painting techniques of later generations of characters to imitate a "pink version" of Wu Daozi.

In the eyes of great experts, such a fine brushwork character who used the painting skills of later generations (Wu Haogu also learned fine brushwork and plain brushwork) is still "not real enough" - Wu Dalang is going to use a strange move this time, not taking the "high imitation" route, but innovating on the basis of "Wu Family" and following the path of "referring to ancient times to deceive people".

Wu Dalang wanted to use the vivid white-painted human body and a small number of "Wu Daidangfeng" pleated lines, plus the simplicity of "old silk and old ink" and other old-fashioned techniques to calm down the masters in Kaifeng's calligraphy and painting professions.

After all, none of them have ever seen such realistic portraits, and the activities of calligraphy and paintings not only depend on the artistic and appreciative nature of the paintings, but also on the importance of rare things.

A realistic and plain portrait of "no difference in the world", coupled with Wu Daozi's brushwork and style, combined with the effect of making aging, and finally a beautiful story, can basically recognize this painting as a rare treasure... Even if it is not a work by Wu Daozi when he was successful in his later years, it must be the masterpiece of a disciple of the Wu family who was outstanding.

However, before starting to create, Wu Dalang encountered a small problem.

"Dalang, since you need a real person to show off to draw, it's best to find a monk with a little momentum to show off."

Guo Jing and Liu Wuji were drinking while giving Wu Haogu an idea.

Liu Wuji said: "It would be better to have a bit of arhat spirit. A young monk like Brother Fu cannot do it."

Guo Jingze said: "In addition, Dalang's portrait is so similar..."

"Isn't it good?" The little Taoist Liu Wuji did not have as long as Guo Jing's private teeth on Panlou Street, and his experience was naturally not as good as the latter, so he asked this question.

"It's not bad, but it doesn't look like the picture of the Drawing Saint, and the picture of the Drawing Saint is not that similar."

Liu Wuji smiled and said, "Isn't it more like a painting saint than a painting saint?"

"You can't say that," Wu Dalang shook his head, "A painting method is not only realistic, but also freehand. The portrait of the saint of painting is semi-realistic and half freehand, and is also extremely vivid.

It's okay to ask me to copy his portrait, but it's not easy to imitate it. So I'll just do it better than the blue..."

While Wu Dalang was talking, he saw Monk Fu and another man walking quickly. With Monk Fu, he was a fat monk, tall and fat, with his thick beard like a steel needle. If he hadn't shaved with scars, he was wearing a gray monk's rosary and a string of rosary hanging on his chest, looking like a brave warrior fighting on the battlefield.

Seeing this fat monk, Wu Haogu's eyes lit up. This monk was tall and mighty, with a big beard on his face, and he was like a Vajra Arhat who killed demons and eliminated demons. If he was brought to silk cloth, it would be a "Vajra Arhat Picture" written by famous Tang Dynasty masters.

"Dalang, third brother, Xiao Yi, come and see my master."

It turns out that this monk is actually Monk Fu’s master, Shaozhuyuan monk.

"Small di to meet with the master."

“Have you met the master.”

All three stood up and saluted the monk.

"Haha, Master Shidi, I am just a monk who roasts pork."

The monk seemed to have just drunk wine, and he opened his mouth and squirted out a strong smell of alcohol. He pointed at Monk Fu, "My unscrupulous apprentice told me, are you painters?"

Wu Dalang bowed, "Wu Dalang has learned some fine brushwork and painting."

"Okay," the monk nodded and touched his naked head, "But do you want to find a mural in Daxiangguo Temple?"

The Daxiangguo Temple is not only rich, but also spends money like water. The biggest expense is the expansion of the Zen temple. Since the early Northern Song Dynasty, it has been a long time of great work. The temples and temples in the Song Dynasty like to decorate with murals. When Emperor Zhenzong of Song Dynasty was building the Zhaoying Palace in Yuqing during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of Song Dynasty, he summoned 3,000 painters from all over the world and selected hundreds of people to be responsible for murals.

As the Daxiangguo Temple has been engaged in great work, it is natural that a large number of painters are needed to be responsible for the painting of murals.

"That's right," Wu Dalang responded immediately, "Little Di Youshan's statue of Buddha and Taoism, and wants to find an activity in Daxiangguo Temple."

"Is that?" the great monk laughed, "If you really have some skills, I will recommend you to the Merit Academy, so that you can also establish a foothold in Kaifeng Prefecture, and you will always have a chance in the future."

In the eyes of monks, building a temple is a "merit", so Daxiangguo Temple calls the department in charge of the project "Merit Academy". Making paintings for the Merit Academy of the Daxiangguo Temple is also a means of making a living for many young painters who have not yet become famous in Kaifeng City.

Because Kaifeng Prefecture is crowded and buoyant, housing prices are like those of the metropolis in later generations. Whether buying or renting, they are quite high. If you can get a call to paint murals for Daxiangguo Temple, you can live in the temple for free and get free vegetarian food. For foreign painters who have no real estate in Kaifeng and have no wealth, it is a way to gain a foothold in Kaifeng Prefecture.
Chapter completed!