Chapter 67: Daddy’s Little Girl is a Bit Rebellious

Chapter 67: Chapter 67: Daddy’s Little Girl is a Bit Rebellious

"Remuneration for my calligraphy... actually isn’t that important," Chen Jingle thought. "Art is all about giving it to someone who appreciates it. And who would that be? Naturally, someone who understands and respects art! Since we’ve hit it off and she’s being so humble, everything is up for discussion. So, beautiful lady, how much are you willing to pay?"

Chen Jingle subconsciously grinned, wondering how he could get her to offer a price first so he wouldn’t seem like an amateur. After all, he knew absolutely nothing about the current market rates in the calligraphy circle. He could only base his expectations on the prices of writing couplets or thank-you letters on the street.

"It has to be at least this much, right? Any lower, and I might as well just give it away for free," Chen Jingle thought, flexing his fingers.

Right then, Li Beixing must have guessed his thoughts, as she offered, "How about ten thousand? But I get to decide the content, size, and font style."

"How much?!" Chen Jingle thought, freezing with wide eyes. "Are all you rich people this wealthy? It’s just a single piece of calligraphy, yet it can cover my living expenses for more than half a year!"

He had originally figured that a red envelope of five hundred yuan as a token of appreciation would have been pretty good, considering he wasn’t exactly a famous master. Even though he wasn’t part of the professional circle, he knew that aside from the works of deceased masters with rare surviving pieces, most contemporary calligraphers relied heavily on commercial operations to sell their work at high prices. They participated in various exhibitions, won awards, and hyped up their reputations. Once their fame rose, their prices followed suit. It was the exact same playbook used by celebrities in the entertainment industry to climb the ranks.

Chen Jingle’s current status was akin to a complete amateur. Even though he had the looks, the physique, and the acting chops—he was still a nobody. No matter how incredible he was, he had to play by the established rules. Any random influencer could easily crush him. This was the reality of all these circles nowadays.

Chen Jingle hadn’t expected her to be so generous with her offer. "Is my calligraphy really worth ten thousand?" he couldn’t help but ask.

It was as if Li Beixing could see his shocked expression through the screen, and the corners of her lips curled up. "I think your handwriting is beautiful, and it’s exactly the style I like. It’s definitely worth ten thousand."

Uh, Chen Jingle really couldn’t argue with that reasoning. Since preference was entirely subjective, money couldn’t buy what the heart desired. He could only conclude that it was truly great to be rich. However, he didn’t agree immediately. After some thought, he asked, "If I may ask, Teacher Li, how much do the works of your calligraphy teacher cost?"

Li Beixing replied, "About 3,500 yuan per square foot. Even though Teacher Xie’s skills might not compare to the presidents of the provincial or national calligraphy associations, his advantage lies in his many years of teaching. His students are spread across all fields."

One square foot was equal to 1,108.89 square centimeters, and one square meter was equal to nine square feet. By that calculation, rounding up, he was practically on par with the big shots. Chen Jingle was surprised, feeling a surge of secret delight.

"Are you sure about ten thousand? I have absolutely no reputation right now, you know," he said. He wanted to urge her to think it over carefully, but he was also afraid she might actually change her mind. He was quite conflicted.

"Not having one now doesn’t mean you won’t in the future. As long as you keep writing, getting famous is only a matter of time. Besides, for this ten thousand yuan, I’m going to make a lot of demands. I couldn’t be this demanding if I hired a famous master," Li Beixing said with a faint smile.

Ten thousand yuan wasn’t a lot to her. She didn’t usually have any major expenses, and she always stashed her parents’ allowance in her secret savings. After saving for so long, she easily had over a million yuan tucked away. It was rare to find a calligraphy piece that suited her tastes so perfectly. Spending a little pocket change to buy it and make herself happy was completely normal. If she could afford five- or six-figure luxury bags and watches, she could naturally afford a piece of calligraphy art.

"So, what do you want me to write?" Chen Jingle decided to accept the commission.

"Just write the poem ’Langtaoshan·Beidaihe’. Use the style of the Shusu Stele, and give it plenty of momentum."

Li Beixing directly transferred the ten thousand yuan over to him. She was truly straightforward.

Although Chen Jingle was tempted, he wasn’t in a hurry to collect the money. He first laid out a fresh sheet of paper, then silently recited the poem to brew his emotions. When he felt ready, he decisively dipped his brush in ink and began to write—

"Heavy rain falls on Youyan, white waves surge to the sky..."

The brushwork for this poem was completely different from the previous two. The poet’s works were always majestic in momentum and broad-minded in spirit, so his brush strokes couldn’t be hesitant or overly cautious. They had to be confident! They had to be unbridled! They had to have forceful, impeccable strokes!

Swept up by the grand momentum of the entire poem, Chen Jingle radiated heroism from start to finish. His movements were as smooth as flowing water and drifting clouds, entirely unconstrained. As the final punctuation mark was set down, followed by his signature, the entire piece was officially complete.

Chen Jingle was incredibly satisfied. The whole process had taken less than half an hour, most of which was spent brewing his emotions. The actual writing had been remarkably fast. He set his brush aside, took a photo, and sent it to his client, waiting for her confirmation.

When Li Beixing saw the photo, she was instantly stunned. "You’re way too fast!"

The key point was that the quality of this calligraphy piece, created in just half an hour, was frighteningly high. It perfectly met all her requirements, and she fell in love with it at first sight.

What a top-tier speed demon!

Chen Jingle felt a bit embarrassed. "Do you feel like it wasn’t worth the ten thousand yuan?"

"Ugh, if I had known, I would have dragged it out for a few more days so the client would feel like her ten thousand yuan was truly put to good use," he thought ruefully. "Now look what happened. She might actually back out."

"Not at all. I was hoping to get the finished product sooner. It’s so well written! This is exactly the feeling I wanted!" Li Beixing decisively transferred another ten thousand yuan. "Write me another one."

"You want another one?" Chen Jingle was dumbfounded.

"Yes!" Li Beixing said. "But we’re not doing a poem this time. Write the four characters for ’Heaven Rewards the Diligent’. It needs to have a majestic and vigorous momentum!"

"Ten thousand yuan for just four characters? This money is way too easy to earn!" Chen Jingle thought, feeling quite embarrassed. "’Heaven Rewards the Diligent’ is probably going to be a gift for an elder. After all, ordinary young people don’t typically hang something like that in their bedrooms or studies."

"Sure!" Chen Jingle agreed readily, laying out another fresh sheet of paper. As for momentum, didn’t that just come naturally as long as he used his hands? His only problem was that he didn’t have a large-sized calligraphy brush. He could only make do with the one he currently had. However, as long as his technique was solid, the end result wouldn’t be bad.

He finished just as quickly, took a picture, and sent it over, waiting for the client’s confirmation.

"Great! Absolutely fantastic!" Li Beixing couldn’t help but clap her hands. She felt it was vastly superior to the one her dad had bought for tens of thousands of yuan.

Chen Jingle secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He could finally accept this twenty thousand yuan with a clear conscience. He also reminded her, "By the way, I don’t have a personal seal right now. I’ll get one made later, stamp it, and then bring the pieces to you."

"Alright. You can just let me know when they’re done, and I can come pick them up," Li Beixing replied.

How could he let a distinguished client come all the way to his door to pick up a delivery? Chen Jingle firmly said, "I’d better deliver them to you."

"That works too." Li Beixing was a little disappointed. She had wanted to take the opportunity to do a surprise home visit on Chen Qiyun.

The family banquet ended, and everyone went their separate ways.

Holding the photos of the semi-finished works Chen Jingle had taken, Li Beixing went to show off to her dad.

"Dad, how does this ’Heaven Rewards the Diligent’ compare to the one in your office?"

Her dad took the phone and scrutinized it for a long time before asking curiously, "It looks very impressive. Which famous master is this Chen Jingle?"

Li Beixing immediately looked smug. "I’m not telling you!" But then she added, "I bought it for you for twenty thousand yuan. What do you think?"

Her dad nodded. "Not bad at all. I feel like it’s better than mine. You’ve got quite a good eye."

"So...?"

"Alright, I’ll reimburse you later."

"Thanks, Dad!" Li Beixing beamed, her eyes crinkling into crescents.