A Valiant Life

At the Youth Chinese Arts Cup.

At the Shanghai booths.

This time, there were a lot more children that participated in the competition. It was at least two times more than the past years. Initially, they weren’t going to hold the competition here but this time, the number of people hit 500 and the previous small area couldn’t contain so many people. Hence, they could only settle for this place.

The shop owners were waiting outside and they were talking among themselves. Each of them was in charge of two children.

“How did Little Boss train them? They’re so good at drawing at such a young age. It’s impressive.”

“What else? Little Boss is not a simple man. It’s probably easy for him to educate these kids.”

“I hope they can get a good placing.”

“They’ll definitely be able to. Didn’t we go there and see the children draw before? They’re good at it.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

…

Wu You Lan smiled, “Brother Lin, are you nervous?”

Lin Fan smiled and replied, “Why would I be nervous? I’m not nervous at all.”

He was definitely not nervous. Especially when Lil’ Fatty was so gifted in Chinese arts. He was much better than the others and what he did wasn’t just based on practice.

According to the modern perspective, a genius is equivalent to 99% hard work and 1% talent.

However, the truth is, the 1% talent is much more important than the 99% hard work.

The 365 children definitely had no problem clinching the second and third prize. The commendation prizes were not out of reach either. Lil’ Fatty looked to be the most confident to clinch the top spot.

The competition had a three-hour time limit.

The competition ended at 11 am and the kids walked out.

“Let’s go and fetch them,” Lin Fan smiled and said.

There were a lot of children from the welfare organization and Lin Fan was standing at the exit, watching the shop owners bring them out. When Lil’ Fatty walked out, he heaved a sigh of relief. Finally, the last child was out and there weren’t any missing ones.

The other parents asked how did the competition go.

“Dad, it was difficult. I didn’t draw very well.”

“I didn’t even finish drawing when it ended.”

“Mum, I drew pretty well. I drew a lot of flowers.”

The kids were explaining to their parents but they were already very happy to be able to participate in it.

…

Lin Fan said, “Let’s go back to the welfare organization.”

Although everyone was out, the main cook was still at the welfare organization. They would be able to eat an awesome meal after returning back.

To the children, they were still ecstatic.

Lil’ Fatty held onto Lin Fan’s hand, “Uncle Lin, I was really serious today. I drew exactly what I wanted to draw.”

Lin Fan smiled, “Really? What did you draw?”

Lil’ Fatty replied, “I saw it in the books. It had mountains and waters. There were people carrying boats and there were a lot of mountains. I remember it very clearly.”

After consuming the Little Intelligence pill, the memory of the kids had drastically improved. Although they couldn’t remember everything, it was much better than a lot of people.

Lin Fan complimented, “Not bad. Lil’ Fatty is awesome.”

Lil’ Fatty was elated after being praised. To a kid, the best feeling in the world was to be praised. Kids wouldn’t know the meaning of modesty.

After returning to the welfare organization, the kids gathered around and talked about what they had drawn.

The shop owners smiled, “Little Boss, we’re here at the welfare organization again. Could you cook some dishes to let us satisfy our stomachs?”

Lin Fan replied, “I saw that all of you were extremely hard working today. I’m afraid it was all because you wanted me to cook, right?”

The shop owners smiled, “Little Boss, since you already know the answer, you don’t have to ask us. Your culinary skills are really amazing. If you were to open a restaurant, it would definitely be the most famous one in Shanghai.”

“Not just Shanghai. It’ll be the best in the nation. You’ll forget all your troubles after eating his dishes.”

Elder Liang interrupted, “Can you guys be more courageous? It’ll be the best in the world. Do you remember the 1998 Sichuan spicy sauce? Even that mesmerized the foreigners here.”

“Haha, it was just sticky chili bean sauce with some added sugar. With Little Boss’ abilities, he’ll be internationally renown.”

Lin Fan quickly stopped them from praising him, “Alright, alright. It’s just cooking some dishes for you. No problem. Is there really a need to praise me so much? However, there are a lot of people here. I’m a little tired so I’ll only cook a table of food.”

Although he had law-defying culinary skills, he hadn’t cooked in a long time and he wanted to satisfy their needs.

When Lin Fan went to the kitchen, the shop owners gasped.

“I wonder which girl would be lucky enough to be with Little Boss.”

“Yeah, who would leave Little Boss? He has such impressive culinary skills.”

“I think Wu You Lan has the luck.”

Wu You Lan blushed, “Don’t say that. That’s not true.”

“Look, she’s blushing. But You Lan, Little Boss is really decent. If you don’t hold onto him, you’ll regret in the future,” everyone chuckled.

Although Wu You Lan didn’t reply, she listened to their advice. She had to work hard for it. If not, the opportunity would slip away.

Wu Tian He sighed. He had finally secured his daughter’s life. However, he knew that his daughter was going to be in a love triangle. It wasn’t going to be a smooth journey.

He didn’t want to interfere with it as his daughter deserved to live her own life.

After a while, Lin Fan brought out a few dishes.

“It’s here, it’s here to fulfill your requests. You guys are too much. I can’t cook so many dishes,” Lin Fan chuckled. He just wanted everyone to be happy.

The crowd smiled, “Little Boss is awesome.”

“I finally get to try Little Boss’ food again. I didn’t live in vain.”

“Haha…”

Until 2 pm in the afternoon.

Everyone packed their things and were prepared to return to Cloud Street. Lin Fan was going to stay at the welfare organization and teach the children.

Drawing wasn’t just a small part of their lives. The competition was just for the kids to see the world. He didn’t really care if they won any awards.

…

At the Youth Chinese Arts Cup.

The competition had ended and the judges were preparing themselves.

There were five judges and they were going to shortlist artworks to be judged by another panel of judges.

The judges were experienced Chinese Artists. If they weren’t experienced, they wouldn’t have dared to be judges.

In a large basketball court, the tables were filled with artworks.

“Hey, looking at these children’s arts are really torturous.”

“You can’t say that. Chinese Arts is a national treasure. It’s a good thing for the older generations to like it.”

“That’s true.”

“Look, this drawing looks like a scribble. What is he trying to draw? It’s too messy.”

“This is not good too. It’s literally children’s drawing.”

“Hey, this is pretty good. It’s a pass.”

The other workers were following the judges and they would seal up the artworks when the judges said that they were good.

“Fail.”

“Average, fail.”

“This is decent. I didn’t expect to see a good one after only a few pieces.”

“This is decent too. Looks like he was serious about learning it. Although his strokes aren’t as crisp and firm as adults, it is really decent.”