These past few days have been exceptionally busy for Chen Lan. She and Wen Rou, mother and daughter, embarked on a zero-contact, thrilling treasure hunt that yielded unexpected and delightful finds.
In Wen Bo, Chen Lan's elder brother's Qing Zhu Xuan, they discovered two boxes of ancient books, paintings, a guzheng, a guqin, three boxes of jewelry, and twenty large gold ingots, each weighing an estimated pound, totaling twenty pounds. There were also numerous gold and silver ornaments, so many that Chen Lan became numb to them and didn't bother counting, simply storing them in the system warehouse.
Beneath the wardrobe in the side room of the two younger brothers' Qing Song Yuan, they found a cellar. Inside, Chen Lan and Wen Rou unearthed two large wooden crates filled with an abundance of bottles and jars, all painted with blue and white, famille rose, and gilded designs.
There was also a large wooden crate of jade. Chen Lan, not having gambled on stones before, was unsure of the type of jade, but she knew it must be valuable, otherwise, why hide it so meticulously? They packed everything away, all of it sent to the system warehouse.
The treasures Chen Lan discovered in Fu Shou Tang, where Wen Rou lived, were truly worthy of the name.
One day, while the two infants were napping longer than usual, mother and daughter went to the main house of Fu Shou Tang to search for treasures. In the small Buddhist altar in the left side room, beneath the offering table, they found a secret room. The door was under the table, and the mechanism was the second table leg from the left. This leg was a lever; turning it three circles to the left and then four circles to the right opened the secret room door. Chen Lan and Wen Rou descended the ladder into the chamber. Upon entering, they saw a rectangular room with wooden shelves lining the walls, stacked two layers high, holding neat rows of wooden chests. Chen Lan counted twelve such chests. She casually picked one, wiping away the dust with her handkerchief. The chest was unlocked. Chen Lan opened it and gasped. "Oh, my heavens!" It was a chest full of gold bars. Wen Rou also cried out.
Chen Lan picked up a bar, feeling its weight. She estimated it to be about a pound. Counting, she found each chest had three layers of gold bars, with twelve bars per layer, totaling thirty-six pounds of gold bars per chest. Chen Lan mused that she seemed to have an inexplicable fate with the number three.
Without hesitation, Chen Lan proceeded to open the other eleven chests. To her surprise, they were all filled with gold bars as well. Chen Lan looked at Wen Rou, who nodded. Chen Lan closed the lids of the twelve wooden chests and stored them all in the system warehouse.
Mother and daughter turned the mechanism to close the secret room door and restored the offering table to its original state before they entered. They meticulously checked everything, ensuring it looked exactly as it had before they entered, then left the small Buddhist altar and returned to Chen Lan's bedroom.
At this point, the two infants had woken up and were crying. Hearing their cries, Chen Lan rushed towards the bedroom.
Upon entering, Chen Lan saw the two young brothers, each holding one infant, patting them gently to soothe them.
Seeing Chen Lan rush in, the two brothers let out a collective sigh of relief. Wen Kai asked, "Sister, where did you go? We heard the cries of the babies even while napping in Qing Song Yuan."
Just as Chen Lan was about to answer, Wen Rou arrived, breathless.
Mother and daughter expertly changed the diapers, while the brothers cooperated seamlessly, assisting by fetching basins and mixing hot and cold water. The final step of washing the babies' bottoms was handled solely by Chen Lan. They attended to the infants until they were comfortably settled in bed, each contentedly sucking on a milk bottle. This marked the end of their task.
Chen Lan went to a side room and, using her mind, opened the system's purchasing function. She quickly bought several large bottles of yogurt and a big bag of milk and bread. She brought the yogurt and bread back to the bedroom, placed them on the table, and called her two younger brothers and her mother to share.
They sat together, eating and chatting. Chen Lan asked Wen Kai whose class it was in the afternoon. Wen Qi eagerly replied, "It's Mother's art class." Chen Lan suddenly remembered she hadn't bought the art class teaching materials. Fortunately, she had asked.
Chen Lan quickly asked Wen Rou, "Mother, what are you planning to teach in your art class this afternoon? What teaching materials do you need? I'll buy them for you right away."
Wen Rou thought for a moment and replied, "Drawing."
Chen Lan continued, "Is it watercolor painting or crayon drawing?"
Wen Rou replied, "Today's class doesn't require teaching materials, and it's neither watercolor nor crayon. Today, I'm teaching them ink wash painting."
Chen Lan responded with an "Oh!" and said to the two brothers, "Today, you two will begin learning 'Shui Mo Dan Qing'. Study diligently with Mother. Once you learn ink wash painting, each of you must paint a picture for me. Big Sister will have your 'Shui Mo Dan Qing' framed and hung in her bedroom."
At this, Wen Rou chuckled and said, "Lan'er, you've got it wrong!"
Chen Lan looked bewildered. "What's wrong?"
Wen Rou explained, "'Shui Mo,' as the name suggests, means ink wash. It's a style of Chinese painting, a form of artistic expression. Simply put, it's painting with water and ink. The variations in ink shades—scorched, thick, heavy, light, and clear—create rich tonal changes to depict objects and achieve unique artistic effects. 'Dan Qing' refers to two colors: 'Dan' is cinnabar red, and 'Qing,' as you know, is cyan. Paintings made with these two colors are called 'Dan Qing.' More colloquially, 'Shui Mo' is the technique, and 'Dan Qing' are the colors. These two are complementary. Therefore, in Chinese painting, using ink as the primary element and 'Dan Qing' colors as a supplement, such a Chinese painting is called 'Shui Mo Dan Qing.'"
After Wen Rou's explanation, the three siblings finally understood. Chen Lan said, "Mother, after hearing your explanation today, I finally understand what 'Shui Mo Dan Qing' is."
"So, 'Shui Mo' is water and ink, and 'Dan Qing' is cinnabar red and cyan. One is a technique, and the other is color," Wen Kai continued.
Wen Qi also nodded in agreement.
Chen Lan seized the opportunity to educate the brothers. "Look, just these four characters, 'Shui Mo Dan Qing,' contain such profound knowledge! Not to mention other things. You must study the essence of it diligently and strive to finish painting for me soon."
The brothers nodded repeatedly.
"It's getting late!" Wen Rou took the two brothers to the front study for their lesson.
The two infants had finished their milk and were kicking their legs and flailing their arms, their bottles discarded on the bed. Chen Lan silently rejoiced, thankful that she had bought modern leak-proof milk bottles. If they were the bottles produced in this era, the entire bed would likely be drenched in the smell of goat milk by now!
While the two infants were playing on their own and not causing any trouble, Chen Lan quickly browsed the system's purchase options for a double-seat stroller for children. After much comparison, Chen Lan settled on a very ordinary, older model double stroller. She placed the order, took it out, and assembled it while referring to the instructions. Once assembled, she placed the two infants in the stroller to lie down.
Chen Lan completed the entire assembly process in one go, feeling quite impressed with herself! She laughed heartily three times.
Chen Lan pushed the stroller with the two infants playing inside to the front courtyard. She walked back and forth in the front courtyard twice, identifying a spot that wouldn't obstruct pathways or traffic, and would receive sunlight all day. She then used her mind to release the high-power solar generator and large-capacity solar RV she had purchased a few days prior.
As she looked up at the high-power solar RV, Chen Lan was startled. It was completely different from what she had imagined from the pictures. Her only feeling was: it's so big! Why is it so big?