At this point, he turned his head toward Uncle Lee and said, "Congratulations, Old Lee, the Welcoming Pine that Xiao Chiang painted for you is going to soar in value. That thousand bucks you spent was well worth it!"
Meng Xinian added with a low voice, "That pretty girl, Xiao Chiang, she painted a picture for Uncle Lee and sold it for a thousand bucks?"
He gave her the money, didn’t he? And she still needs to sell paintings to make money?
Moreover, when did this happen?
Is Uncle Lee from the capital of G Province? So, Chiang Xiaoxiao might have come to the capital?
So she comes to the capital but doesn’t tell him, and she doesn’t look for him either?
Chiang Xiaoxiao, I think your skin is really itching for trouble.
"Yeah, that’s right, that’s right," Uncle Lee apparently didn’t notice anything off with Meng Xinian, as he was in a good mood. He had always felt that the thousand yuan was well spent, and now that Xiao Chiang was going to be famous, the price of her painting would surely increase. This was definitely something to be happy about, "I’m going to ask Xiao Chiang to paint another one for me later!"
"Does Uncle Lee know where Xiao Chiang is? I’d like to find her to get a painting as well."
Good, as someone’s fiancé, he was now asking strangers about the whereabouts of his fiancée.
This realization made Meng Xinian’s face darken another shade.
The pent-up frustration inside him, who knows when it might explode.
Uncle Lee shook his head and said, "I can’t get in touch with her right now, I don’t know where she’s gone. Let’s talk about it when I do."
"Okay, thanks, Uncle Lee."
Meng Xinian clenched his teeth.
As expected, it was Chiang Xiao’s painting that won the first prize in the competition, with a prize of eight hundred yuan, and another painting to be given to her. Since Xiao Chiang wasn’t there, Kuang Yunxian accepted the prize on her behalf.
And holding that patched-up Autumn Scenery Picture, Kuang Yunxian’s back was also coated with a thin layer of sweat.
Initially, the copied Autumn Scenery Painting was ruined by the rain, and they couldn’t think of a good solution. In the end, it was truly the Painters Association members who had seen the Autumn Scenery Painting that came together to paint and hurriedly replaced it with another.
But everyone has their own style, and the most detailed parts, truly, no one could remember. So the painted Autumn Scenery Picture, anyone from the industry could tell at first glance that something was not right.
The agreed outcome was to first present it publicly just to maintain appearances and then discuss privately with the award-winning painter to see if any compensation could be offered.
But now that the winner was Chiang Xiao, Kuang Yunxian thought of speaking with Meng Xinian about how the initial painting had been ruined, which the two of them knew about. He figured that Chiang Xiao would not give them too hard a time.
After all, it was to protect the reputation of the Painters Association.
They had already agreed that the first-place prize money, which was eight hundred yuan, would be increased to one thousand five hundred for compensation, and the Autumn Scenery Painting pieced together by their mimicry would also be gifted to the winner. Also, the painter would be invited to join the G Province Painters Association.
It’s just a shame that they couldn’t find the person now.
After the award ceremony, Chairman Zheng stayed to represent the Association in interviews, while Kuang Yunxian quickly walked over.
"Xinian, have you found the person?"
Meng Xinian shook his head and glanced at Uncle Lee and He Jin who had gotten up to continue appreciating the paintings. He tilted his chin slightly, pointed to He Jin, and asked, "He Jin, do you know him?"
Kuang Yunxian looked surprised and glanced over, "So that’s He Jin? I’ve long heard the name but never met him."
"What, he’s quite famous?"