Chapter 65

Lin Qiangsheng had classes all morning at school. At noon, he found Sun Ying and they had a meal together.

Since the establishment of the Xinda Ya Learning Group, Sun Ying and Guo Yingying had gathered some students interested in reading or foreign language translation. They often organized people to go to the city's bookstores or libraries to organize articles and browse books, making the learning group quite lively.

The group members gathered once a week to discuss and summarize good foreign language words, sentences, and translated articles. Chen Yao recorded these and presented them to Lin Qiangsheng for review.

Lin Qiangsheng held the notebook, feeling very pleased as he read the concise and beautiful sentences and the precise and excellent translations. He smiled and said, "Good! These are all treasures! The essence of human language art!"

Sun Ying let out a quiet sigh of relief when she saw Lin Qiangsheng satisfied. After all, Lin Qiangsheng had provided the funding for the learning group, and he did not want Lin Qiangsheng to think he had wasted money.

Sun Ying nodded and said with a smile, "Many of these sentences and words beautifully express the author's writing style. The translators of these works are also highly literate, being great literary figures and linguists. Their translation techniques and language usage are what we, as foreign language students, need to frequently study and ponder! If we can slightly grasp the thoughts of our predecessors, it will be immensely beneficial!"

"Right, the essence is condensed!" Lin Qiangsheng remarked with a sigh.

He saw that many sentences and words were followed by the source of the work, the translator's name, a brief introduction, and the time and place.

Lin Qiangsheng nodded, patted the notebook, and handed it to Chen Yao, who was sitting beside him, saying, "Keep it well, these things are valuable!"

Lin Qiangsheng secretly smiled, thinking that in the future, when he registered trademarks and domain names, he would rely entirely on them!

Chen Yao nodded, feeling very happy that Lin Qiangsheng had affirmed their work. She asked, "Qiangsheng, why did you call us here today?"

Sun Ying also looked at Lin Qiangsheng. Normally, Lin Qiangsheng wouldn't call him, so this special invitation for a meal must mean something.

Lin Qiangsheng gave an approving look to Chen Yao, who knew how to smooth things over. He smiled at Sun Ying and said, "Senior, I called you here today to ask if you know any students who can paint. Could you introduce me to one or two?"

Sun Ying thought for a moment and said, "I don't know anyone who can paint, but Guo Yingying might. She has a wide range of interests, and she probably knows who in the school can paint."

After finishing their meal, Sun Ying led Lin Qiangsheng and Chen Yao to the girls' dormitory.

The student dormitories at Hei Da were very tight, with fewer than 500 to 600 students in the entire university, all crammed into two two-story buildings.

Sun Ying called out from the bottom of the stairs, "Guo Yingying, someone is looking for you!"

A moment later, Guo Yingying poked her head out of a window on the second floor and shouted, "Wait a moment, I'll be right down!"

Lin Qiangsheng looked up, then rubbed his neck and laughed, "Why not let the dorm manager pass the message?"

Sun Ying asked, "How?"

"Uh..." Lin Qiangsheng thought for a moment and realized he had asked a silly question. There were no phones in the dorms, so they could only shout.

Chen Yao giggled, "The aunt won't care, and boys aren't allowed in, so we often call out from downstairs."

Lin Qiangsheng asked Chen Yao, "Living here is pretty good, it lets you experience collective life."

Chen Yao wrinkled her nose and huffed, "You're the one who sneaks out and goes home every day! The teacher has already assigned your bed to someone else, and you've wasted your money, did you know that?!"

Lin Qiangsheng laughed, waved his hand, and said, "That's great, freedom! No need to squeeze with roommates."

At that moment, Guo Yingying ran out. She smiled and greeted Chen Yao, then saw Lin Qiangsheng and said with a smile, "Junior Lin, it's great to see you. Thanks for letting me read so many books!"

Lin Qiangsheng nodded and praised, "Senior, you've become even more intellectual!"

Guo Yingying chuckled, clearly a bit flustered by Lin Qiangsheng's praise. She had a long black braid, wore a green coat, and had a fair face. In the cold winter, the wind blew her cheeks, making them look as if they were painted with a layer of pink.

Lin Qiangsheng asked, "Senior Guo, I'm here to find someone. Do you know any students who can paint? Could you introduce me to them?"

Guo Yingying said cheerfully, "Yes! A student named Qi Wei from the Chinese major can paint! And he's quite good. Let's go, I'll take you to him."

They went to the boys' dormitory, but Qi Wei wasn't there. Guo Yingying led them to the teaching building and to a hidden corner classroom.

Guo Yingying opened the door, looked inside, and turned back to the group, making a gesture: "Shh, be quiet! This is their studio."

The group nodded, and Chen Yao went in first, followed by Lin Qiangsheng.

"Ah!" Chen Yao immediately let out a soft exclamation when she saw the scene inside the studio.

Guo Yingying turned and gestured to Chen Yao to be quiet.

Chen Yao covered her mouth and nodded.

Lin Qiangsheng was also very surprised. In the studio, about a dozen students were painting, which wasn't surprising. What was surprising was that on the podium, there was a half-naked young man, draped in a white cloth, one shoulder exposed, looking up and holding a plastic apple in his hand!

The half-naked young man's eyes were focused, as if he had an infinite affection for the fake apple.

"Who are you? Close the door quickly! Our model is cold!" a girl with glasses whispered to the group.

Lin Qiangsheng nodded and pushed the door shut. He turned and saw the half-naked young man, whose skin was covered in goosebumps, clearly not just a little cold!

The room had no heating, and the young man was thin, so it really required some positive energy to endure this!

The group looked at each other, and Chen Yao's face was full of surprise as she stared at the young man. Lin Qiangsheng tried to block her view, but the little girl pushed his hand away and giggled, looking at Lin Qiangsheng.

"Who is Qi Wei?" Lin Qiangsheng asked Guo Yingying in a low voice.

Guo Yingying chuckled and pointed to the young man, saying, "That's him! Don't look at him now as a model; he's actually a very good painter!"

Lin Qiangsheng nodded and said with a smile, "I can tell, he's very passionate about art!"

Guo Yingying nodded and said, "That's right!"

After about half an hour, Qi Wei hadn't moved, maintaining the same pose. Lin Qiangsheng was quite impressed.

The students began to pack up and leave the classroom. A girl quickly put on clothes for Qi Wei, and the two of them looked like a couple.

"Qi Wei, let me introduce someone to you." "Lin Qiangsheng! Do you know him?" Guo Yingying introduced the two.

Qi Wei looked at Lin Qiangsheng, nodded, and said with a smile, "I know! You're the one who always drives to school, right?"

Lin Qiangsheng was very famous at school. In those days, there weren't many people who drove. He was the only one with a car, frequently entering and leaving, so everyone knew him.

Lin Qiangsheng nodded and said, "That's me!"

Qi Wei nodded and smiled, "Pretty cool!" Then he added, "I mean, the car is pretty cool!"

Lin Qiangsheng laughed and looked at Guo Yingying, who quickly said, "Qi Wei, Lin Qiangsheng wants you to paint something."

Qi Wei asked Lin Qiangsheng, "What to paint? Is there a reward?"

Guo Yingying looked at Lin Qiangsheng and stuck out her tongue.

Lin Qiangsheng nodded, thinking Qi Wei was quite straightforward, and said, "Yes, there's a reward. Of course, you have to do a good job!"

Lin Qiangsheng took off his watch from his wrist and handed it to Qi Wei, saying, "Paint this watch! You need to paint it on a large canvas, so it can be seen clearly from fifty meters away!"

Lin Qiangsheng spread his hands to indicate the approximate size, about two meters high and three meters wide.

Qi Wei took the watch and asked in surprise, "A poster?"

Lin Qiangsheng shook his head and said, "An advertisement!"

Qi Wei said excitedly, "Great! I'll take it! But I don't have such good brushes or such a large canvas."

Lin Qiangsheng said, "I'll take care of that, you just need to know how to paint!"

In those days, it was hard to find an advertising company, and printing factories couldn't produce such large color canvases. Lin Qiangsheng decided to have it painted.

Lin Qiangsheng and Qi Wei went to the city's department store to select good pigments. The canvas was already prepared and stored at a fabric store. They also needed to show Qi Wei the specific location where the canvas would be placed so he could have a clear idea.

Qi Wei, who had never been in a car before, said with a smile, "Do you know? Our classmates are all guessing where you got your car from."

Lin Qiangsheng laughed and said, "This is my own car. How about it? Pretty cool, right?"

"Cool?" Qi Wei pondered the word and said with a smile, "Very fitting! Very vivid!"

Lin Qiangsheng nodded and said to Qi Wei, "I hope the watch you paint is also cool! It should look real! Time is tight, it's December 3rd now, can you finish it by the end of the month?"

Qi Wei thought for a moment, nodded, and said, "Like a real one? I'll give it a try! About 20 days, should be enough."

Lin Qiangsheng took out a stack of blue ten-yuan bills, totaling 100 yuan, and handed them to Qi Wei.

"This is the payment. If you make it look real, there's another 100 yuan as a bonus!"

Qi Wei was stunned, holding the money in both hands, and said in surprise, "My paintings are worth so much!" He usually earned only one yuan for a modeling session, enough for a good lunch with his girlfriend. Seeing the stack of money in his hands, he was shocked.

Lin Qiangsheng emphasized, "It has to look real!"

Thinking about it being 1978, if a large painting of a real-looking watch appeared on the street, the effect would be amazing!