Riding the wind of rebirth

"Your fortune is good for making money, right?" The fourth cousin found Zhou Zhi funny when he saw him. "How come we can find a Ming Dynasty palace painting deep in the Daliang Mountains?"

"Xiao Miao, have some snacks." My cousin's mother called Mai Xiao Miao, "That's the sweet-scented osmanthus cake made by my cousin, Elbow. It's made with sweet-scented osmanthus flowers harvested this year and chewed with sugar. It was made just two days ago."

"It's delicious." Mai Xiaomiao took a bite of the sweet-scented osmanthus cake and said, "Are people like my cousin and Elbow really good at cooking?"

"What kind of person?" My cousin's mother was a little confused.

"They are people who have studied traditional culture deeply." Mai Xiaomiao said: "Grandpa Wang, my fourth cousin, pork elbows, they all eat very well."

“Hahaha…” Fourth Aunt was amused by Mai Xiaomiao’s naive idea: “But there are still many great writers who have never done any literary work. They just have too many interests and hobbies, and cooking is unfortunately one of them.”

"What about you? What are your hobbies?"

"My hobby is... solving math problems, right?" Mai Xiaomiao thought for a moment and said, "Now there is one more thing. I am picking up stones with Elbow by the river. Look, this is what we picked up by the Meigu River. Elbow made this for me."

"Wow, this string of water seeds is so beautiful!" The fourth cousin was looking at some things he had recently collected with Zhou Zhi. He looked up and saw the bracelet in Mai Xiaomiao's hand: "Is this the brocade red material?"

"That's about right." Zhou Zhi nodded: "By the way, Xiao Miao, take out the gifts for your cousin and aunt."

“Oh.” Mai Xiaomiao opened her schoolbag and took out a brocade box from it: “Uncle, aunt, this is a gift that Elbow prepared for you two.”

"Oh? Take a look." Fourth aunt took the box and opened it. Inside was a pair of brands of persimmon red southern red. The material had three different shades of red, persimmon red, brocade red and rose red, distributed in the shape of clouds. The jade craftsman carved a pair of dragons and phoenixes with extremely shallow techniques. Only the heads and necks of the dragons and phoenixes were very obvious and delicate, and the rest of the parts were integrated into the natural color distribution of southern red, creating an effect of flying out of the clouds.

"Su craftsmanship is so delicate..." My fourth cousin took the dragon plaque and said, "This is much more delicate than traditional Su craftsmanship, and... the creative technique has also changed."

"Yes." Zhou Zhi nodded: "Just like the changes in porcelain plate painting to the Eight Friends of Zhushan, I think the works of the masters have also undergone this profound and huge change since last year. It is not an exaggeration to say that a revolution has been launched."

"The craftsmanship is still the same as in the early days. But the way it is expressed is completely different." Fourth Aunt: "The work has shifted from the completion of the subject matter to the pursuit and delivery of artistry. In this sense, what Elbow said is absolutely correct. This is the change that occurred after porcelain painting reached the Eight Friends of Zhushan."

“Thank you, Elbow.” The fourth cousin put away the Nanhong Dragon and Phoenix brand and smiled at Mai Xiaomiao, “Thank you, Xiaomiao too.”

At the Rongshan Town Central School, the eldest lady is still guarding her small wooden building and small garden. However, I heard that the central school is about to be expanded, and this wooden building, the woods behind it, and the abandoned dormitory of the former supply and marketing cooperative, which is Jiang Shuyi's earliest home, are also within the scope of demolition and reconstruction.

The aunt was reluctant to leave, but there was nothing she could do. On the contrary, the cousin was very happy because he could now take the aunt to live in the Sichuan Tianhua dormitory.

Not to mention anything else, the electric heating equipment in Sichuan Tianhua’s dormitory is kept running in the winter, and this alone is more friendly to the health of the elderly in winter.

"I just can't bear to part with the Milan tree in my garden. I worked so hard to grow it so big."

"I'll trade with you." Zhou Zhi knew he could only go along with the old lady and said, "I just passed by Jiachuan Flower and Bird Market and picked up a pair of munias. I was planning to bring them back to my grandma, but since she has no experience raising munias, why don't I trade with the eldest lady?"

"I'll give you the munia, and I'll take the Milan back to Manzhou to plant in my parents' yard." Zhou Zhi smiled and said, "They only have honeysuckle now in the summer, and they just need a good Milan." When they came out of Rongshan Town, there was a big Milan behind the guards.

"The eldest lady is very powerful."

"Ok?"

"The power of silence." Mai Xiaomiao said, "She lives her life quietly. Miss Da is a very powerful person."

"Yes, I think so too." Zhou Zhi nodded in agreement: "There is a strength in the eldest lady. Even if life is just average to her, she still has the tenacity to be gentle to life."

"Actually, my aunt was like this before, but it's not obvious now."

"Where are we going now?"

"Let's go to my grandma and mom's hometown, which we call our old home. My mom's brother and my fifth uncle are still there. There's also my youngest uncle who retired and returned to my hometown. He's an elder from another branch of the Su family and he often took care of me when I was a kid, so I have to go meet him, too."

“It seems so complicated.” Mai Xiaomiao felt a little overwhelmed.

"My father's side is relatively small, but my mother's side is a large family with five branches in total..." Zhou Zhi had nothing to do along the way, so he taught Mai Xiaomiao about China's five-degree family relations and clan traditions.

The traditional Chinese medicine clinic run by my uncle and aunt is still doing very well. My aunt is still in charge of the shop while my uncle makes the medicine. The couple's business is a good match. They are both energetic and radiant, and they are the best living advertisements for the clinic.

"You two elders are so energetic and healthy." Zhou Zhi felt envious when he saw it: "How do you maintain such good health? Auntie, if you have a secret recipe, you must keep it secret!"

"Work more and use your brain more." Auntie smiled and said, "Eat well and rest well. I'm just afraid you can't do it."

"Is this Xiao Miao?" Although the uncle had retired from the position of being in charge of a region, he still paid close attention to national news, especially those related to Zhou Zhi. He followed up even more diligently than his father and knew more about many things than his father: "The person in charge of the national research project undertaken by your group and the neural network laboratory? He is really a promising young man!"

"Yes!" Zhou Zhi said, "Report to my uncle that our laboratory has made some achievements. Now it can provide computing resources for some national projects, which can be regarded as preliminary application."

"That's amazing!" The youngest aunt praised, "Elbow is also a standout among the young people. But compared with Xiao Miao, he is outdone."

“No, no, without your help, our laboratory could not be built so quickly.” Mai Xiaomiao waved his hands quickly, somewhat embarrassed.

"I came back this time mainly to attend a classmate's wedding. It was very hasty. My father's old friend is a navy uncle who used to work in the dormitory of Zaolinqiao Cotton Mill. He is now the director of the Navy Ship Power Research Institute. They have a project to be applied to our computing system, so we have to rush back. This time I came just to see you."

"Qin... Haifeng," the youngest uncle asked, "Is that the name?"

"Yes, that's him." (End of this chapter)