Shen Mizhi

In the blink of an eye, more than ten days had passed!

Over those ten days, Duan Rong practiced horse stance and painted portraits, living each day to the fullest!

Old Xiao's prescription really worked wonders!

Duan Rong practiced horse stance for a full nine hours every day. Not only did his body feel no depletion, but his spirits never flagged either.

And at the Shen Hour every day, Duan Rong appeared punctually beneath the Old Locust Tree diagonally across from Flower Shadow House, grinding ink and painting portraits for the young men and women who came drawn by his fame!

After ten days, his purse had grown plump, and his total assets had surpassed two thousand taels. He could now be said to possess a modest family fortune.

But as he painted that day, Duan Rong suddenly noticed that there were only eight people in line.

This was the first vacancy since he had begun painting!

It was naturally a sign, foretelling that it was time for him to change locations.

Xiangu County was not, after all, the internet of his previous life. The population of its urban area was only some three or four hundred thousand.

And among them, there were truly only a limited number of households able to spend ten taels of silver on a portrait.

While painting, Duan Rong had been considering his next move. By the time he delivered the final portrait, he had already made up his mind.

Duan Rong pasted a fresh sheet of Xuan paper onto the wooden board nailed to the Old Locust Tree. Dipping his brush in ink, he wrote: "For portrait queueing, please go to the crooked Willow Tree diagonally across from the Crude Drug Store on West Avenue!"

There had originally been a wonton stall beneath that crooked Willow Tree, but the Old Man who sold wontons had caught a chill the month before last. He never recovered, and then he was gone.

The spot had thus been left vacant!

Duan Rong happened to put it to use!

At the Shen Hour, it was dusk. The setting sun in the west was red as a ripe persimmon.

The tall, thin middle-aged clerk of the Crude Drug Store had just seen off an esteemed customer when he spotted a figure walking through the afterglow of the sunset, covered from head to toe in all manner of belongings.

Duan Rong walked up to the entrance of the Crude Drug Store and smiled at the tall, thin middle-aged clerk, revealing gleaming white teeth.

Duan Rong often came here to buy medicine, and the two had gradually become familiar with one another.

He already knew that this tall, thin middle-aged clerk was named Ma Chu and was the most senior clerk in the Crude Drug Store.

Ma Chu had assumed that Duan Rong was coming in to buy medicine, so he waited at the doorway, ready to welcome him inside.

Unexpectedly, when Duan Rong reached the entrance, he turned his steps and walked past, stopping beneath the crooked Willow Tree diagonally opposite.

At noon, Ma Chu had noticed a line of Servant Boys and maids standing beneath the crooked Willow Tree across the street.

At first, he had thought some wealthy household was training its servants. But upon closer inspection, that did not seem right either. The Servant Boys all wore entirely different clothing, clearly not from the same household. Ma Chu had been puzzled ever since.

Duan Rong reached the crooked Willow Tree, set up his easel, then hung the shoulder satchel from a branch beside him. Only then did he smile at the people in line, take out ten palm-sized wedge-shaped Wooden Drawing Tokens, and hand them out one by one. "These Wooden Drawing Tokens have numbers on them. Once you've taken a number, you don't need to wait here anymore."

"As long as you bring your number before the You Hour, I'll paint you whenever you arrive. I recognize the number, not the person!"

The Servant Boys and maids who received the Wooden Drawing Tokens were immediately overjoyed. Six or seven people promptly dispersed from the line.

Duan Rong had thought of this method of handing out Wooden Drawing Tokens the previous evening. He had also made the ten tokens that very night and personally written their numbers on them.

Ever since the Devour Artifact Spirit had absorbed the brushwork of the great beauty Exquisite Erotic Hands and the Thin Scholar, his calligraphy had acquired considerable artistic conception and distinctive character. It was not easily imitated.

And in the terminology of his previous life, this method of distributing Wooden Drawing Tokens was called improving the user experience.

As dusk gathered on all sides, Ma Chu stood in the Great Hall of the Crude Drug Store. Looking across the street at Duan Rong, who painted tirelessly beneath the crooked Willow Tree opposite by the dim yellow glow of lanterns, he clicked his tongue softly. "Though Xiangu County is small, it truly is a place where outstanding people gather and spiritual earth thrives!"

In truth, Duan Rong had put considerable thought into moving his painting spot to the area diagonally across from the Crude Drug Store on West Avenue.

He himself had deeply experienced just how expensive medicinal tonics could be.

The Crude Drug Store served an upscale clientele, and these people were precisely the potential customer base for his business.

Thus, he had chosen to set up his stall diagonally across from the Crude Drug Store. This was called seizing the secret code of traffic.

Moreover, West Avenue had always been Xiangu County's widest and most prosperous street. Not only did it have the largest Crude Drug Store, the largest silk shop, and the largest restaurant, but the Yuan Shun Escort Agency, the county yamen, and a branch of Cloud Water Bank were all located on this street. It could be called Xiangu County's CBD.

This street had also once housed Xiangu County's largest brothel—Spring Intoxication Brothel. But after Flower Shadow House rose to prominence, the Four Flower Shadows beat Spring Intoxication Brothel so thoroughly that it had no power to fight back. Day after day, its building stood empty and its patrons scattered!

Having suffered enough to reflect deeply, the Madam of Spring Intoxication Brothel promptly cut her losses. She directly renovated the establishment and renamed it Spring Breeze Inn.

In a single transformation, she went from being the Madam of a brothel to the female proprietor of Spring Breeze Inn.

And would you believe it? From then on, business actually picked up.

When pressed by poverty, one changes; when one changes, one finds a way through!

Several days after Duan Rong moved his stall to West Avenue.

At dusk that day, Shen Mizhi and her maid Qiu Hen passed along West Avenue.

Shen Mizhi held a longsword, its scabbard of dark-red snakeskin and its pommel adorned with a tassel. Her waist was straight and supple, her steps light and swift. She walked at merely an ordinary pace, yet Qiu Hen had to jog to keep up.

"Miss, slow down! I can't keep up with you!" Qiu Hen pouted and grumbled.

Just as Shen Mizhi was about to stop and chide Qiu Hen a couple of times, she suddenly saw a dark-skinned, square-faced youth with short brown hair beneath the crooked Willow Tree across the street, painting with focused concentration before an easel.

A puzzled expression appeared on Shen Mizhi's tender white face, like a freshly peeled egg. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly as she asked, "Qiu Hen, what is that over there?"

Seeing that Shen Mizhi had finally stopped, Qiu Hen immediately halted behind her. The ache in her tightly tensed calves finally eased a little. She glanced across the street before smiling. "He's a portrait painter. He's become quite famous lately! Young ladies and gentlemen from all the great households line up to have him paint them!"

"Is that so?" Shen Mizhi blinked her clear bright eyes, looking unconvinced.

"Miss, why don't you have one painted too...?"

"Why get involved in something like that?" Though Shen Mizhi was a woman, her Dao heart was quite resolute. She had always disliked all sorts of miscellaneous trifles.

"But..." Qiu Hen seemed to weigh her words. After a brief pause, she said, "Miss, if you go to Taiyi Sect next year, you won't be able to return to Xiangu County easily. If there is a portrait, then if Master and Madam ever miss you, it may at least ease the pain of their longing!"

Shen Mizhi was slightly startled, and somewhat ashamed as well. She was competitive by nature and had indeed been somewhat indifferent when it came to family affection. Qiu Hen had thought of this point, yet she herself had never considered it.

"I wonder how skilled this painter is?"

"One portrait costs ten taels, and so many people still line up for one. His skill must naturally be good!"

"Ten taels per portrait?"

"Yes."

It was not that Shen Mizhi could not afford the silver. Ten taels meant little to her. She merely found it quite surprising that a street-side portrait painter could charge such a price.

"Then go join the line for me." Shen Mizhi glanced at Qiu Hen as she spoke.

"That will have to wait until tomorrow. This painter only does ten portraits a day. He starts at the Shen Hour and packs up at the You Hour. There are no spots left for today!"

"Only ten portraits?" Shen Mizhi had never heard of such a thing, and surprise flashed through her beautiful eyes.

"This gentleman certainly puts on grand airs!" Shen Mizhi had now truly developed some interest in the unremarkable portrait painter sitting beneath the crooked Willow Tree.