Chapter 235: Brewing Wine with Pine Flowers, Boiling Tea with Spring Water, Who Wouldn't Be Envious?

The live stream camera zoomed in, and then zoomed in again.

On the screen, the spot Ning Fei had repaired was enlarged to the maximum, completely filling the entire display.

Everyone watched with rapt attention, afraid of missing a single detail.

"Truly divine. I can't see any trace of a repair at all."

"Indeed. It's exactly the same as the original painting."

"Is this the spot that was repaired? Did the camera point to the wrong place?"

"A true master. Enlarging the painting to this degree, and there still isn't a single flaw."

"The ink charm and textures of this ancient painting are so beautiful."

The scroll was only broadcast for a dozen seconds, as it still required further professional treatment to help the newly painted ink blend seamlessly into the rest of the artwork.

A painting that was half a meter tall and twelve meters wide had an area of roughly six square meters, equating to sixty thousand square centimeters.

The spots they repaired were each around five square centimeters. Added together, they totaled ten square centimeters. Compared to the total size of the painting, this area was merely a drop in the ocean.

However, for an ancient painting of this caliber, completeness was the ultimate pursuit. Two damaged spots would always detract from its beauty.

Now that Ning Fei and Lin Shanhe had perfectly completed the restoration task, it was considered a great merit.

"Viewers, the restoration work for the traditional Chinese painting is finished. The next step is the mounting of the scroll. The Palace Museum has the most professional mounters for this, so there is nothing left for us to do."

After finishing the repair of the traditional Chinese painting, Ning Fei felt an unprecedented sense of relief.

His interest piqued, he continued in a gentle tone:

"As the old saying goes, 'Remounting an ancient relic is like seeking a doctor for an illness.' Therefore, master mounters are also called 'painting doctors'."

"If the doctor is skilled, the patient recovers with a wave of their hand. If the doctor is unskilled, the patient dies from the remedy."

"Both mounting and restoration work are very particular processes that require the utmost caution. Just as Zhou Jiazhou of the Ming Dynasty once said: 'If you do not meet a skilled craftsman, it is better to leave the old artifact as it is.'"

"Every piece of artwork requires a different method of restoration. If repaired improperly, it could likely lead to the fading of the image, and a full fill-in can distort the painting's very fortune."

"There is profound knowledge involved in this."

At this time, over ten million people across Huaxia were tuned in, watching this traditional Chinese painting restoration process.

Younger people loved to watch live streams, while the older generation enjoyed watching this kind of art. Thus, whether it was the channel on the Douniao Live Platform or Huaxia TV Channel 3, the popularity of Ning Fei's broadcast was incredibly high.

At this very moment, Ning Fei gave them a wonderfully unique impression.

A handsome Daoist priest in a white robe stood within a mysterious room deep inside the Forbidden City, having just finished repairing one of the Top Ten Ancient Paintings of Huaxia, and was now quietly sharing knowledge about the restoration of ancient art.

His expression, his posture, his bearing—all of them were extraordinary.

Every gesture and movement carried a natural, flawless charm.

"Where did this Taoist priest... come from?"

Someone could not help but exclaim in awe.

Because Ning Fei was simply too breathtaking today.

Even Lin Shanhe, the grandmaster of traditional Chinese painting standing by his side, seemed to have been reduced to his foil.

"Everyone, that will be all for today's live stream."

"Thank you all for watching."

Finally, Ning Fei spoke to the netizens in the live broadcast once more. Lin Shanhe also bid everyone goodbye, and then Ning Fei turned off the stream.

"Excellent! Absolutely beautiful!"

As soon as the stream ended, Wang Xu, the curator of the Palace Museum, hurried over with a beaming smile.

He had just carefully verified the results of the restoration of A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains. There were no problems whatsoever; the two damaged spots had been perfectly patched up.

The massive boulder hanging in his heart finally dropped.

"I've already prepared the celebration banquet. We are just waiting for you two masters."

"Additionally, I've already transferred both of your wages into your accounts. You can go ahead and verify the payment."

Wang Xu added with a laugh.

Repairing cultural relics, especially one on the level of A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains, came with a hefty appearance fee.

The funding of the Palace Museum was quite sufficient. The remuneration for the two men was five million yuan each. It was worth noting that ordinary staff restorers on the payroll did not receive extra money for repairing artifacts.

Of course, this also had to do with the immense difficulty of repairing A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains. Ordinary restorers genuinely wouldn't dare guarantee they could perfectly restore this painting.

Afterward, the news of Ning Fei restoring the cultural relic caused a massive uproar on the internet.

Discussions regarding A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains surpassed a million mentions in a short amount of time, rapidly approaching the ten-million mark.

Baidu search indices for related keywords also broke past a million searches within a single day.

The netizens truly had their eyes opened.

This was the first time they had seen the restoration process of a traditional Chinese painting from such a close distance.

And the person who enabled them to witness such a scene was none other than Ning Fei.

"Right now, the only difference between Temple Master Ning and a veteran artist is the word 'veteran'."

"This is what a true grand artist is."

"He can paint the spring snow and white tunes, and he can perform the rustic songs of Ba. Temple Master Ning is truly a god among men!"

"Brewing wine with pine flowers, boiling tea with spring water... Who wouldn't be envious of a life like that?"

Praise for him flooded the internet.

Ning Fei discovered that after restoring the cultural relic, his System's Popularity Points were also rapidly increasing.

It seemed this event had caused the netizens' fondness for him to skyrocket.

By the time the restoration of the traditional Chinese painting concluded, it was already nine o'clock in the evening.

The Palace Museum arranged for him to stay in a guest house. The environment of the guest house was excellent, not inferior to a grand hotel in the slightest.

However, as Ning Fei stayed in his room, his mind was entirely occupied by the little ones back at the Daoist temple.

'I prepared plenty of food today, so they shouldn't go hungry.'

'The people delivering the materials for the wooden cabin should have arrived today. I gave them the address for South Lake and asked Old Li to help sign for the delivery. I wonder if Xiaoxiong was frightened by them.'

Ning Fei thought to himself.

Having just finished the ancient painting's repair, Ning Fei knew the internet had to be swarming with news about him.

But he wasn't interested in that news. All he thought about was his Daoist temple.

That evening, Liu Tianzhi visited his room to consult him on a few questions regarding traditional Chinese painting.

The man was very humble and polite, so Ning Fei readily provided straightforward answers to his inquiries.

Liu Tianzhi learned a great deal more before taking his leave.

The next day, Ning Fei boarded an early flight from Jingdu to Qincheng, then rushed all the way back to Qingfeng Temple.

He turned on the live stream before entering the Daoist temple.

Ning Fei unlocked the padlock with his key and pushed open the front doors of Qingfeng Temple.

The moment he opened the doors, the four little ones—Little Falcon, Little Fox, Little Dog, and Little Fei—were standing in a neat row, waiting for him by the entrance.

Xiao Feng was also hovering not too far away.

Who knew how long they had been waiting.

Hearing the noise outside earlier, the little ones had gotten very excited. Now that the door was open, Little Fox leaped right into Ning Fei's arms, Little Dog wagged its tail furiously, and Little Fei ran around Ning Fei's feet, chirping happily.

Little Falcon landed on one of Ning Fei's shoulders, and Xiao Feng alighted on the other.

The little ones of Qingfeng Temple gave Ning Fei a warm, enthusiastic welcome.

Ning Fei held Little Fox in his arms and stroked her fur. Then, amidst the welcome of the little ones, he set down his luggage, intending to rest for a moment.

Seeing this tranquil and beautiful scene, the netizens were incredibly envious.

"I have a Golden Retriever at home. Every day when I go to work, my dog lies by the door waiting for me. It feels so good to see it the moment I get home."

"Keeping pets comes with a lot of trouble, but compared to the joy you gain, what does that trouble even amount to?"

"I'm so jealous. Being greeted by so many little guys right upon returning to the Daoist temple."

"Little Fox and the others still don't know just how massive a sensation Temple Master Ning caused yesterday."

"No matter what Temple Master Ning does in the outside world, to Little Fox and the others, he is simply their one and only master."

"Yeah, animals won't love their master more just because they're amazing outside, and they won't abandon their master if they end up penniless. Their hearts never change."

Inside Qingfeng Temple, Ning Fei played with the several little animals. The live broadcast remained the familiar, comforting scene the netizens knew so well.

Ning Fei fed the little ones, then went to the kitchen to cook a large meal for himself. After resting for a bit, he planned to take the little guys for another trip to South Lake.

It still wasn't very peaceful outside. It was quite noisy; it seemed those fans still hadn't left.

Before long, two workers knocked and entered. Ning Fei had contacted a surveillance equipment shop in Qincheng to install two security cameras in Qingfeng Temple: one facing the outside of the front door, and another overlooking the entire courtyard.

He would be able to check the real-time feeds of both cameras using his mobile phone.

His reason for installing the cameras was twofold. On one hand, Ning Fei worried that with so many mixed crowds outside, some overly bold individual might try to scale the wall and break in. The cameras would serve to deter such petty thieves.

On the other hand, whenever Ning Fei was away from home, he wanted to be able to see what his little companions were up to.

The camera installation was swift, finishing up in essentially just an hour.

A few people dropped by to visit Ning Fei during the process, and he responded to them politely.

While the cameras were being installed, Ning Fei also packed his things into the off-road vehicle, intending to stay at South Lake for a period of time.

"We'll be living at South Lake for the next few days. You guys better not run around recklessly."

Ning Fei instructed the little ones.

Hearing his words, Little Fox twitched her ears, immediately dashed into her pet house, and ran back out carrying the Luo Xiaohei Plush Toy in her mouth.

By the looks of it, Little Fox wanted to take the doll along for the vacation.

Ning Fei took the plush toy, looked at Little Fox, and smiled gently.

"Alright, if any of you have something you want to bring, take it along."

"Every member of Qingfeng Temple is going on vacation!"