Under Li Yi's flabbergasted gaze, the scholar walked in front of him and cupped his hands in greeting. With a slightly hurried tone, he said, "Brother, I have some urgent matters at home. Could you help me look after this painting stall for a moment? Once I'm done with the matters at home, I'll rush over as soon as possible."
Li Yi could tell that the scholar had really encountered something. Since he had nothing better to do, and he didn't know when Liu Ruyi and the burly man surnamed Fang would arrive, he wouldn't lose anything by helping the scholar look after his stall. He could even find a place to rest, so why not?
Under the scholar's expectant gaze, Li Yi nodded.
"Many thanks, Brother!"
Seeing that Li Yi had agreed, the scholar's face lit up with joy. After saying a word of thanks, he hurriedly left.
After the scholar left, Li Yi walked to the front of the painting stall and sat on a chair. He picked up the book that the scholar had been reading and began to leisurely read it.
After a few minutes, Li Yi shook his head and threw the book to the side.
The book was filled with biographies of some people. It was dry and boring to the extreme. He didn't know how the scholar had read it with such relish.
Li Yi was only a fake scholar. It was difficult for him to sit there and not move while reading this thing.
He looked at the table and saw a completed painting. The painting was of a woman. Her face was like a hibiscus, her figure was slim, and she was quite beautiful.
He casually pulled out a few paper tubes and opened them. They were all completed paintings of people and landscapes. From a layman's point of view, the scholar's painting skills were not bad. However, when he thought about it, it was normal. In this era, even if scholars weren't proficient in poetry and painting, they would definitely know a little. If they didn't have some skill, they would be embarrassed to call themselves a scholar.
Looking at the things like brushes, ink, and paints, Li Yi couldn't help but feel an itch.
Over the past few days, he had also digested quite a number of books on painting techniques. In his heart, he was still thinking that if he couldn't make it in the future, he would learn from this scholar and set up a painting stall on the street. He would definitely not starve to death by selling paintings for a living.
There was no more Xuan paper in the stockade village. Li Yi had never found an opportunity to practice. He rolled up the painting on the table and put it aside. He grabbed a blank piece of Xuan paper and dipped the brush in ink. After thinking for a while, he raised the brush and started drawing on the paper.
Before long, the outline of a woman's face appeared on the paper.
Although the facial features were not drawn, it was not difficult to tell that the person Li Yi wanted to draw was Liu Ruyi based on the shape of the face.
"It's my first time drawing a 3D character, so I'll use her to practice."
Recalling Liu Ruyi's cold expression, Li Yi's face curled into a wicked smile. When he put down his brush, he began to draw the facial features and figure.
3D painting sounded very difficult and pretentious, but it was nothing more than the handling of light and shadow, the difference in proportions, and some techniques of composition. As long as one had a little bit of painting foundation, it was actually not difficult to grasp.
Although it was his first time drawing a 3D character, he had actually practiced it countless times in his mind. He did not stop his brush at all. Not long after, a woman who looked similar to Liu Ruyi appeared on the Xuan paper.
However, it was different from ordinary paintings. The woman in the painting not only had a vivid expression and was no different from a real person, but she also had a little more liveliness, as if she would walk out of the painting in the next moment.
Ordinary 3D paintings were mostly done through the control of proportions and the adjustment of light and shadow. It needed to be looked at from a certain special angle in order to display the 3D effect. Li Yi had slightly weakened this aspect so that the 3D effect was not as strong. He had greatly preserved the good proportions and created a vivid feeling.
Those overly impactful images were not easy for the people of this era to accept. Change had to be done bit by bit, and this was only a small attempt by Li Yi.
After finishing the painting, Li Yi looked at it carefully for a while and nodded, indicating that he was satisfied with his work.
When he looked up, he suddenly saw an unfamiliar face. Because Li Yi's action was too abrupt, the other party did not seem to be able to react. The tips of their noses were only a few centimeters apart. If they were a little closer, perhaps Li Yi's first kiss after coming to this world would be lost.
Especially when the other party was a man. Although this man was a little handsome, if such a thing really happened, he was afraid that he would feel disgusted for at least ten days to half a month.
"Who are you?"
Li Yi suddenly took two steps back and looked at the young man standing on the other side of the table with a look of disgust. He was looking at Liu Ruyi's painting with an amazed gaze and blurted out.
The luxuriously dressed young man, who looked to be about the same age as Li Yi, was still staring at the painting that Li Yi had just completed. He clicked his tongue in admiration. "This painting is so strange. The woman in the painting seems to be walking out of the paper …"
Li Yi curled his lips. Although this guy was dressed decently, he was still a bumpkin who had not seen much of the world. It was just a 3D painting, and he was already so surprised.
"This painting is really strange." The young man murmured. Then he looked up at Li Yi and said with interest, "Use this style and draw one for me."
"No."
Li Yi did not even look at him. He said lightly and sat back in the chair. After standing for so long, his waist was sore. It was still more comfortable to sit.
"Why?" The young man was stunned when he heard this and asked.
"Sorry, my principle is to only paint women, not men." Li Yi said lazily.
The young man raised his eyebrows. He did not expect that a street art dealer would have such a rule. He looked at him from head to toe and suddenly said, "One tael of silver."
"One tael of silver?" Li Yi heard this and was slightly moved.
One tael of silver was almost equivalent to a thousand copper coins. With the current market price, it was enough to buy two meters of rice.
One meter of rice was about 150 catties. Even if they ate rice every day, it would be enough for a family of four to eat for a long time.
Looking at this guy's clothes, he did not look like a poor person. Just the jade pendant hanging on his waist was probably worth a lot of money. He should not be lying.
However, as a man, how could he bend his back for a mere two meters of rice?
Li Yi shook his head and said, "I won't paint for one tael of silver."
"Five taels."
The young man saw that Li Yi was obviously moved and his lips curled into a smile as he spoke again.
"Five taels of silver, ten meters of rice …" Li Yi's expression was conflicted. After a long time, he squeezed out a few words from his throat, "I won't paint for five taels!"
As a man, he would not bend his back even for ten meters of rice!
"Ten taels!"
The young man's expression was calm as he spoke again.
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Yi abruptly stood up from his chair. This sudden action startled the young man. At the sight of this scene, a few figures who were squatting in a corner nearby stood up abruptly, their hands involuntarily reaching for their waists.
At this moment, Li Yi warmly patted the young man's shoulder and smiled, "When I first saw you, I felt a sense of familiarity. Now that I think about it, you look very much like an old friend of mine. Based on this point alone, what harm is there in breaking the rules today?"
Seeing that the scholar in front of him seemed to have changed into a different person, the young man was stunned and could not react for a moment.
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