Chapter 6

Qin Shaou opened the plastic bag in a flurry, and because it was well sealed, the paintings were in good condition. He opened one and saw a grove of poplar trees. It was a sketch, and the poplar trees were drawn quite well, giving a vivid sense of the trees swaying in the wind.

First, Qin Shaou looked for the artist's signature on the sketch. There was no name, only the letters 'A.A.P.'

"Who is this A.A.P.?" Qin Shaou was puzzled.

He then flipped through several more paintings and finally learned the full name of A.A.P. The artist was Arthur-Ashod-Pinajian, also known as Arthur Pinajian.

Qin Shaou gave up, realizing this person was definitely not a master. It wasn't because he hadn't heard of the name, but because he found another painting signed by the same artist, which depicted a highly stylized red-haired woman!

The woman was beautiful and had a fiery figure. Pinajian's comic-style drawing was excellent, and even a simple portrait made Qin Shaou feel a stirring desire, showcasing his skill.

However, Qin Shaou had never heard of any master like Picasso, Van Gogh, or Monet who also drew comics.

Qin Shaou sighed, and he looked through all the paintings. They were all by this Arthur Pinajian, a collection of over twenty works, including landscapes, portraits, and comics. The styles varied, from sketches and watercolors to oil paintings and abstract art.

Just as Qin Shaou was feeling disheartened, a pleasant surprise came unexpectedly. When he opened the last painting, he saw a field of blooming sunflowers, with a note beside them: "To my wandering life, Vincent-William-Van Gogh!"

The sunflowers were like a blazing fire, the style was so magnificent, and the colors were so intense. When Qin Shaou saw the signature, his heart burned with excitement: This was Van Gogh!

Qin Shaou vaguely remembered that Van Gogh's "Sunflowers" series consisted of more than twenty paintings, some of which were lost. To confirm this, he tried to search online, but the town's internet signal was terrible. After ten minutes of refreshing the page over a hundred times, he couldn't find any information.

With no other choice, Qin Shaou called Mao Weilong. Fortunately, he had activated international roaming before coming, otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to call back home.

It was already 4 PM in Canada, which was dawn in China. Mao Weilong was still half-asleep: "Damn, you're really a beast. Why are you calling at this hour?"

Qin Shaou, anxious, said, "Be serious, damn it. Quickly look up how many 'Sunflowers' Van Gogh painted and what they look like. I found one in Canada!"

"Impossible, how could such a masterpiece be so easily found? Are you that lucky?" Mao Weilong asked.

Qin Shaou, in a hurry, said, "Quickly check. If it's real, I'll sell it and buy you a Chevrolet Camaro!"

"I don't want a Camaro, I want a Grand Cherokee!" Mao Weilong quickly bargained but finally woke up, and the sound of a computer turning on could be heard.

Qin Shaou, frustrated, shouted, "I'll buy you twenty! You can form a fleet and drive in S and B shapes. Deal?"

"Deal!" Mao Weilong laughed.

Mao Weilong then sent Qin Shaou the information he needed. Van Gogh's "Sunflowers" indeed numbered more than 11. In his letters to his brother, he mentioned painting 24 in total, with 12 sunflowers representing the 12 apostles. He also set the number of members in the Southern Studio to 12, plus himself and his brother, making 14, and he painted 14 more.

Qin Shaou was excited; his painting might be real.

With a heart full of anticipation, Qin Shaou opened the larger wooden box, hoping to find the other 12 "Sunflowers." However, he was disappointed to find only a bronze sculpture inside.

The sculpture was not small, over a meter tall, depicting a muscular youth holding a knife in his right hand and a human head in his left. His left leg was bent, and he stood on the body of an enemy, looking fierce.

Unfortunately, the oak box had been submerged in water for too long and was waterlogged. Although the bronze sculpture had been waterproofed, it was still covered in rust. Qin Shaou estimated that even if he sold it for scrap, it wouldn't fetch a good price, so he placed it on the windowsill as a decoration.

It was getting late, so Qin Shaou called Albers and said, "Old man, I won't be staying at the hotel tonight. I'll stay in the small building on the fish farm. Also, I found some interesting things in my grandfather's room this afternoon. I hope you can come and take a look tomorrow."

Albers asked about his health, and after confirming he was fine, he hung up.

Qin Shaou tried the utilities and found that the water and electricity were working. When he turned on the Samsung TV in the bedroom, a program was already playing, and the cable TV was also working.

He quickly cleaned up and moved into the small building, so he could explain the origin of the paintings the next day.

Dinner was easy to prepare. The kitchen was fully equipped, and Qin Shaou went to the town's supermarket, which, though small, had everything. It was well-stocked with seafood, vegetables, and meat.

Of course, there were many types of fish, including Atlantic salmon, Chinook salmon, and silver salmon, as well as trout and Arctic char. There were also oysters, Dungeness crabs, and Alberta steaks.

Most of the fish were cheap, about one to two pounds for one Canadian dollar, and they were fresh.

What puzzled Qin Shaou was that the supermarket didn't have any grass carp, carp, crucian carp, or black fish, which were common in Treasure Lake. He saw garlic, ginger, and chili peppers in the vegetable section and decided to catch a large carp from Treasure Lake to make a fish soup to warm his stomach—he didn't know how to cook salmon.

Since he couldn't eat much, Qin Shaou wandered to the fruit section and picked some blueberries, cherry tomatoes, apples, and North American black grapes.

The cashier said the blackberries and apples were wild, and although Qin Shaou didn't know if it was true, the fruits looked tempting and were reasonably priced, so he bought a little of each and a bottle of salad dressing to make a fruit salad.

Borrowing the owner's pickup truck, Qin Shaou went to Treasure Lake. As soon as his consciousness entered the lake, a large carp about half a meter long swam by. That's the one!

When Qin Shaou focused on capturing the carp, the wild fish immediately calmed down and was pushed to the shallow water by the current. Qin Shaou realized the power of his consciousness.

The half-meter-long carp weighed about 15 pounds. Qin Shaou cut a piece of the fish, made a simple stir-fried fish slice, and boiled some soup.

After tasting it, he found it delicious and fragrant. The carp was wild, unlike the farmed fish in China.

After enjoying a fragrant dinner, Qin Shaou prepared to sleep. However, he noticed a small water tank near a maple tree outside the window and decided to test if his consciousness could enter any body of water.

Sure enough, he could control everything in the water tank. He sensed a small squirrel with a big tail washing itself in the tank.

Qin Shaou focused his consciousness on the squirrel and felt he could influence it. Feeling a bit tired, he withdrew his consciousness and fell asleep.

At 6:30 AM, as the sky was just beginning to lighten, Qin Shaou woke up. He stretched, opened the window, and breathed in the fresh sea breeze, feeling refreshed.

Taking advantage of the early morning, he walked around the fish farm and then returned to the small building to simmer the fish soup.

After that, he washed the fruits, cut the cherry tomatoes and apples in half, mixed them with black grapes and blueberries, and added salad dressing and syrup to make a fruit salad.

The fish soup was just starting to emit a fragrant aroma when Qin Shaou returned to the bedroom with the fruit salad, turned on the TV, and switched to the Newfoundland classic channel. A movie was playing, and he recognized it as "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," one of his favorite American TV shows from college.

As he watched the movie and ate the salad, the glass of the bedroom window suddenly started to tap. He turned around and was surprised to see a small squirrel curiously standing outside, gently tapping the glass with its head.

The squirrel was young, about the length of his middle finger, with bright black eyes and a reddish-brown coat. It was squatting on its hind legs, its front paws resting on the glass, almost pressing its face against it. Its reddish-brown tail was swishing back and forth, looking like a fluffy ball tied to its bottom.

Qin Shaou walked over, and the squirrel quickly jumped to a branch of the nearby maple tree, then swished its tail and nimbly disappeared into a small tree hole, peeking out curiously.

Qin Shaou laughed, realizing this was his neighbor. The squirrel must have made its home in the maple tree and was likely the same one he had encountered in the water tank the previous night.

He opened the window, returned to bed with the fruit salad, and continued watching the movie. Soon, a fluffy tail swept over his head, and he turned to see the squirrel sitting on his bed, holding its paws and looking up at him curiously.