Our Rise Era

Chapter 6 I pave the way for your art!

The evening breeze blows through the distant streets.

There is a lot of hustle and bustle and traffic.

Old Lu was sitting on the chair with half of his buttocks in a stiff manner, with a look of panic on his face.

He came from a remote countryside and had been working with straw mats and baskets all his life, doing the most simple craft.

In the past, craftsmen with superb skills were respected wherever they went. When Old Lu was young, he was respectfully called "Master" and was well fed and well housed.

However, no one had expected that the wave of industrialization and mechanization would develop so quickly. The mat baskets that once took several days to weave can now be completed in just a few hours. Moreover, as lightweight plastic products became all the rage, bamboo products were soon forgotten and lingered on in the corner of history.

There are fewer and fewer customers in the past, and the former "Master Lu" has slowly become "Old Lu" in the children's mouths.

Old Lutou has also tried hard!

Make your work better and better, and the price will be lower and lower!

However, personal strength is really insignificant in the face of the trend of the times. Things that are carefully polished cannot withstand the flashy mechanical products and will eventually be drowned in the waves of the times amid waves of sighs and become "outdated goods."

"A bamboo craftsman is a stickler. His work may seem monotonous, but it contains endless patience and ingenuity. Every bamboo needs to be carefully polished; every weaving is a challenge of repetition... Mr. Lu, when we first met, we felt that your work should be seen by many people, and should be understood by more people!"

In a grocery store.

The aroma of tea overflows.

When the young man with glasses said these words in a voice of great admiration, Old Lu felt as if something had stabbed him in the heart, and he felt mixed emotions.

He smiled innocently, but became even more reserved.

Over the years, he limped through the streets carrying small items, but in return he was met with sighs and strange looks. Indistinctly, many people almost equated him with beggars.

Even those who bought his things only did so with the intention of giving alms.

It was by chance that Old Man Lu met Zhang Yang and Yuan Wang. He was passing by the grocery store and sat down on a stone to rest tiredly.

Zhang Yang felt sorry for him and thought his gadgets were really good, so he discussed it with Fatty Yuan. The two of them paid together, bought a basket of gadgets, and asked for his contact information.

later……

Old Man Lu hadn't heard from the two men for a long time. He just heard that the two young men seemed to be speculating in stocks and lost a lot of money, so much so that the store was about to be lost...

"Boss Zhang, I... I'm not that great... I'm old, and I don't have any other ideas. I just want to make a living. Really, I'm still very grateful that you can take some things from me. Otherwise, I would still be carrying things on my shoulders and shouting on the streets every day..."

Old Man Lu was still half-sitting on the chair, but his voice was very excited, his hands were shaking and his eyes were slightly red. He was about to stand up and say something, but was quickly stopped by Zhang Yang: "I said that there is no high or low in art, no seniority or inferiority. I don't want to criticize the clowns in the hall and the masters wandering like others, but I am sure that Teacher Lu, we can stand higher, we can even stand in the hall!"

Zhang Yang's voice was very sincere, but Old Man Lu smiled bitterly after listening to it: "I, oh, such a lame old man..."

"You need a step..."

"What stairs?"

“Take your hard work and move forward step by step, slowly climbing higher and higher, to a place where more people know you and look up to you…” Zhang Yang poured another cup of tea for Old Man Lu and narrowed his eyes.

Old Man Lu lowered his head and instinctively laughed at himself. He wanted to say something, but Zhang Yang spoke again: "Old Man Zhang Shi was born in poverty. He worked as a farmer and a carpenter. He had a rough life and was often ridiculed, but he always adhered to the Tao in his heart. Finally, in his later years, he became a world-renowned Tao. His paintings now stand in London and are sold at a sky-high price of hundreds of millions! The famous French painter Henry taught himself oil painting at the age of 41. He experienced ridicule and discrimination. He bent down several times to pick up the paintbrush, but he never gave up. Finally, in his later years, he won applause, which has been passed down to this day! There was also a German sewer worker who had a dream of becoming a sculptor. Countless people advised him to give up, but he always believed that he could succeed. Later, no one would have thought that he would be the most outstanding sculptor in the th century..."

Zhang Yang turned his head and looked at the bustling crowd outside the window: "How do you know that a nobody today won't become famous in the world in the future?"

The grocery store suddenly became quiet.

Fatty Yuan was breathing heavily and clenching his fists, his blood boiling as he listened.

Old Lu kept his head down. No matter how much Zhang Yang spoke, he remained silent.

When he was young, he was also so high-spirited.

But...what now?

Reality slapped him in the face again and again, making him tremble, draining away his courage, and bending him over, turning him into a worthless old man...

After a long while, Old Lu sighed: "I just want to eat a meal..."

"I'll give you 2,000 yuan a month!" Zhang Yang closed his eyes for a moment, then finally opened his eyes and stared at Old Man Lu.

When Old Man Lu heard this, he was stunned for a moment, staring at Zhang Yang: "You look like a madman."

Zhang Yang still narrowed his eyes: "I am just extremely confident in my own vision!"

Old Man Lu lowered his head and took a sip of tea, as if he was thinking about something.

After an unknown amount of time, he looked up and asked, "Do I need to do anything?"

Zhang Yang stood up silently and looked at the sky: "Teacher Lu, you don't need to make anything! I just want you to stand up straight, don't have to please anyone, and don't have to bow your head for life. You can make whatever you want, whether you make thirty pieces a month or one piece a month. I will help you sell anything you make!"

"So simple?" Old Man Lu widened his eyes and stared at Zhang Yang in disbelief.

He really couldn't believe that this pie in the sky was happening.

He was sure that either he was crazy or the young man was completely crazy.

Unexpectedly, this crazy young man smiled: "Teacher Lu, you pursue your art, pursue your art and your passion to the extreme, and leave the rest to me!"

After a long silence, Old Man Lu looked up and asked, "Why did you do this?"

He looked at Zhang Yang looking into the distance, then took out a copy of Yilin magazine: "Whether you believe it or not..."

"I just feel that although the craftsmen in the streets and alleys are gradually disappearing in the tide of the times, our Chinese classical skills are rare and are the precious heritage we leave to future generations... In those years, the West plundered our material and money generation after generation. In recent years, they have used various channels to corrupt the hearts of our next generation and even subtly destroyed our intangible cultural heritage, replacing it with expensive so-called [Western art luxury goods]..."

“The traditions and skills left by our ancestors are disappearing. If no one keeps this spark alive, then everyone will think that the West is the birthplace of art and the true temple of art…”

"..."

After Zhang Yang finished speaking, his eyes were fixed on the book "Yi Lin".

It was as if a flame was burning around everyone.

Old Man Lu remained silent.

Fatty Yuan was stunned!

After a long time, Zhang Yang sighed and pointed at Yilin: "In a few days, Mr. Lu, your work will appear in this book!"

"Perhaps, this article I wrote also has some intention of worshipping foreign things... But now the situation is so strong that we are controlled by all the publicity gaps. We have no choice but to try every possible way to leverage our power to keep us alive. As long as we are alive, there is hope!"

"..."

"We are climbing higher and higher step by step, and more people know us. Only when we are at the highest point can we be the center of attention and tell everyone what we are doing, what we have paid for, and what we want to show. But during this period, Mr. Lu, we can only bear with it for a while..."

"..."

"But being wronged is not lying, nor is it deceiving the world and stealing reputation. Teacher Lu, you said that your ancestors once opened a shop in France and sold bamboo products. However, I don't know the name of that shop, and it has been closed for a long time..."

"..."

“It doesn’t matter what the store was called before, but I hope that from now on, that store and this store will be [ZY]!”

"..."

(End of this chapter)