"Go on. You're grown now; Mother can't worry over every little thing for you!" Wang Zhengfei's mother nodded and asked, "Besides, Mother doesn't understand painting. Whatever ideas you have, just say them. Let Mother hear them first! Could it be that you no longer like painting?"
"Mother..." As Wang Zhengfei spoke, he pushed his bowl aside, stood up, and said, "Your son naturally likes painting. But after what happened at Master Wang's house yesterday, I feel that painting alone is useless. Even if I become Pingxi City's greatest painter, like Father was, wouldn't I... wouldn't I still be unable to control my own fate?"
As he spoke, Wang Zhengfei stole a glance toward the inner room. Though his mother had never told him how his father had died, he had heard bits and pieces from the villagers. His father had likely been as straightforward as he was and had offended the powerful over some matter, hadn't he?
Wang Zhengfei's mother fell silent. How could she not know these things? But what could she do?
Not knowing what his mother was thinking, Wang Zhengfei hurriedly explained, "Mother, perhaps you still don't know the details?"
After Wang Zhengfei clearly explained the entire course of events, he continued, "Mother, look. Facing nothing more than a country bumpkin of a rich landlord, the moment I resisted a little, they seized you, threw you into a dog cage. Did they treat human lives as lives at all? In the end, even though I risked my life and won the wager, I still had no choice but to yield. If I had refused, even if they said nothing about today's affair, they would inevitably make things difficult for us later. We... are fish on the chopping block!"
"And yesterday, if not for that kind-hearted young lady