Chapter 74

Ye Yu smiled faintly at the corner of his mouth, put down the last stroke, and then raised his head, saying, "It's just a random doodle to pass the time. If the master doesn't mind, I will gift this painting to your temple as a token of my connection with Buddhism!"

"Excellent, excellent! Young benefactor, your profound understanding of Buddhist principles is truly remarkable. This old monk admires you!" Hu Tong bowed solemnly to Ye Yu, which left the surrounding people quite astonished.

"Master, you are too kind. I must take my leave!" Ye Yu first bowed, then turned to leave.

However, Shi Wansong and Yang Wanli were still stunned. Ye Yu said very calmly, "Buddha has no form; the masses are the form. Painting is not about skill, but about intention!"

After saying this, he ignored everyone and left in his wheelchair. At this moment, no one tried to stop him, as Hu Tong's words and actions had already given the answer.

What the crowd didn't understand was why a painting with average technique could be so highly praised by Master Hu Tong.

Yang Wanli and Shi Wansong, both knowledgeable about art, naturally thought more deeply. They looked at each other in silence.

But Ye Mingzhi felt very disappointed and pointed at Ye Yu's painting, asking indignantly, "There is no Buddha in the painting, how can it reveal the nature of Buddha?"

Hearing this, Hu Tong laughed heartily and then shook his head, explaining, "Amitabha, on the birthday of the Buddha, I used the theme of Buddha's nature to promote Buddhism. Although there is no Buddha in the painting, the dozens of ordinary people in the painting are all performing good deeds.

Although the brushwork is somewhat rough, this is precisely the natural and unadorned skill! It does not focus on the minutiae but presents the big picture! It is vivid and lifelike, and it also conveys the truth that everyone has the nature of Buddha, and all people can become Buddhas..."

Master Hu Tong's explanation left Ye Mingzhi stunned. Yang Wanli, stroking his short beard, suddenly realized, "Where there is goodness, there is Buddha. Without a single word or form, a few dozen people reveal such a profound theme, with deep and lasting meaning!"

His words enlightened the crowd, who were both amazed and sighing.

Yang Wanli, holding the ink-still-wet "Good Deeds of the Masses," said to himself with admiration, "We are obsessed with Buddha, but we don't realize that the masses are Buddha. I am ashamed! I am not as good as him..."

As the crowd savored the "Good Deeds of the Masses," Ye Yu had already left Mount Langya. On the way, Su Yueyun's face was filled with joy, and she even laughed to herself from time to time.

Qiu Lan, on the other hand, spoke more casually, pushing the wheelchair and praising Ye Yu, "Young Master, you really made that old man feel good!"

"Little sister, you shouldn't speak like that. Shi Fuzi is a renowned scholar at the Jianghuai Academy. How can you call him an old man?"

Qiu Lan was a maid, and Su Yueyun was a young lady, so there was a clear hierarchy. However, Su Yueyun affectionately called her "little sister."

This was not only because they were familiar and had a good relationship, but mainly because of Ye Yu's attitude toward Qiu Lan.

How could Su Yueyun not see the importance of Qiu Lan in Ye Yu's heart? Therefore, although she was a well-bred young lady, she treated Qiu Lan, the maid, as a sister.

Moreover, she was not a capricious person, which made their relationship even closer.

Qiu Lan didn't care about what Su Yueyun called "Fuzi," pouting and saying, "What's a Fuzi? Isn't it just something to feed pigs?"

"Ha! Fuzi... you mean bran!" Ye Yu didn't want to join their conversation, but this time he was really amused by Qiu Lan.

Seeing that Su Yueyun, the young lady, didn't understand what Qiu Lan meant, Ye Yu explained with a smile, "Yueyun, Fuzi is the outer shell of wheat that is ground off... it is indeed used to feed livestock!"

Su Yueyun said "Oh" and then covered her mouth and laughed, "Little sister, you are so funny!"

"What's a Fuzi or not, isn't it just that my young master 'beat' him to a pulp?" Qiu Lan raised her face proudly.

"Little sister, it's 'beaten to a pulp'..." Su Yueyun tried hard to suppress her laughter and corrected Qiu Lan by her ear.

This correction made Qiu Lan's face blush, and she stammered for a while before arguing, "Without water, how can there be a flow? What I said is also correct!"

"Ha ha ha! Brother Yu, Little Sister Qiu Lan has really learned from you!"

Hearing their banter, Ye Yu's face was full of black lines, and he was speechless.

Finally, he cleared his throat and asked seriously, "Just because he is renowned, should he force others to do what they don't want? As a scholar, he should have a broad mind. To reveal his true nature as a wolf over a painting, humph! He is not much of a scholar!"

"But..."

"There is no 'but.' If anyone humiliates my friend in front of me, I will not let them off, no matter who they are!"

Ye Yu's words deeply moved Su Yueyun, but she then sighed slightly, "Yueyun just doesn't want this small matter to affect you, Brother Yu. Although Shi Fuzi is just a professor at the academy, he is a highly respected scholar."

"Ha ha! A so-called scholar is indeed better than me, a merchant with a body full of copper stench..."

Thinking about this, Ye Yu laughed bitterly and shook his head, saying nothing more. Seeing Ye Yu's expression suddenly darken, Su Yueyun realized her words had hurt him. But she didn't know how to comfort him and could only follow silently into the city.

On the way, the three of them seemed to have nothing more to say. Qiu Lan tried several times to start a conversation, but it only led to silence. Ye Yu thought for a long time about what Su Yueyun had said, which indeed had stimulated him.

Since he decided to rise up, his goal was just to live a good life. He won the favor of Su Quanzhong by waiting for the right price. Then, to avoid depending on others, he resolutely took over a bankrupt dyeing workshop and eventually achieved his own success.

He had no grand ambitions to serve the country or reunify the north, as these were far beyond his reach, like a fairy tale for a small person.

Moreover, with his disabled body, he couldn't even participate in the imperial examinations, let alone influence state affairs.

So, what seemed easy in web novels was like a high mountain for him, difficult to climb. After starting from scratch and building his own business, his goal was to reclaim what he had lost.

Developing soap, shampoo, and other side products was to rapidly expand his fabric business and fulfill a promise.

Now that the situation was favorable, his goal was to use these businesses as a foundation to try to destroy Ye Mengxin's commercial defenses.

He planted and processed famous tea in Huizhou and took over a mine in Yixing to produce purple clay teapots, all with the aim of specifically targeting Ye Mengxin.

He believed that before long, Ye Mengxin's tea and porcelain businesses would collapse and face bankruptcy.

On this journey, every time he reached a new level, he set reasonable goals and strategies based on the environment, never blindly setting grand plans, as that was unrealistic.

However, despite this, Ye Yu still harbored a hidden desire to enter the court and contribute to the precarious Song Dynasty.

This desire was caused by the suppression of historical studies in his later life and the sorrow he saw in Guo Xiaotian and Lu Fan.

But his situation destined him to not achieve his wish, and commerce was not his strength, nor his ultimate goal. Therefore, this unattainable contradiction and pain were always sealed away by Ye Yu, unwilling to be easily touched.

Now, Su Yueyun's vague words made the sensitive Ye Yu feel the sting. Yes, even if he had boundless wealth, what was he but a merchant with a body full of copper stench, not as good as a scholar with a pen and a mouth!

If Shi Wansong wrote an article to mock him, he would probably be unable to defend himself! Because no one would believe a merchant, but would rather believe the hypocritical scholars.

However, Ye Yu also knew that he had no choice now. Since he had chosen this path, he could only continue to walk it silently. On the way, Ye Yu thought a lot and finally laughed bitterly to himself.

He wondered why he thought too much. If he had a heart for the country and the people, his success in business could also benefit the people. Wasn't his agreement with Liu Yuanshan about this?

...

Time still flowed like water, and Ye Yu no longer cared about what a "Fuzi" or "Fuzi" was, focusing instead on the Yixing pottery kiln. After the kiln was completed, many people were worried about recruiting workers.

After all, the workers in the pottery kiln were not just anyone. The technical requirements were quite high. Ye Yu had already planned for this and even had a candidate for the kiln master.

In the study, Ye Yu sat at the desk, still practicing calligraphy with the "copper coin hanging pen" method. Two years of hard practice had already shown significant results, though not at the level of a master, he had certainly improved.

In front of the desk, two people were waiting. One was the steward, Uncle Sun, and the other was a younger man with a dark complexion, looking quite resolute.

The man stood quietly, his breathing slightly suppressed but steady.

"Are you Uncle Sun's cousin, Gong Hong?" Ye Yu continued to practice his calligraphy seriously, asking casually.

The dark-faced man hurriedly bowed, "This is Gong Hong, meeting Young Master!"

Ye Yu smiled and then asked, "Can I trust you?"

Uh!

After asking, Ye Yu didn't look up, continuing to practice his calligraphy, but this left Uncle Sun and Gong Hong quite astonished.

Although Gong Hong was surprised and troubled by the question, he still paused for a moment and then responded solemnly, "Young Master, yes!"