Shen Shen Shen doesn't pursue men, only money

Chapter 202 Painter Selection

"If you don't know how to paint, you can't choose?" Shen Shenshen said in a deep voice.

The pretty and downtrodden painter continued, "Second Miss Shen, please forgive my abruptness. I don't know how to paint and cannot tell the difference between good and bad. It's really hard to convince you."

After hearing this, the other painters nodded in agreement.

Another shorter painter stood up and saluted, saying, "I heard that Prince Zhu is proficient in painting, and this Heyin Building is the property of Prince Zhong's Mansion. If it is convenient for us, we will wait for Prince Zhu to make the judgment."

Shopkeeper He was unhappy when he heard this. He had already regarded Shen Shenshen as his master, so how could he allow others to question him?

"Humph, you are a frog in a well! You painters have no idea of ​​Second Miss Shen's abilities."

"Shopkeeper He, it's alright." Shen Shenshen looked around at the painters and said with a smile, "Shopkeeper He invited all of you painters, so I guess your painting skills are all amazing?"

"That's natural."

"How can it be bad? Don't question my painting skills."

"I just want to ask a question. If you can give me a satisfactory answer, I will immediately invite Prince Zhu to come and make the final decision on this selection. If you can't answer, you must listen to me. How do you think?"

The painters looked left and right at each other.

The shorter painter nodded, "Okay."

The downtrodden painter said, "Miss Shen, please keep your word."

The thin painter said, "Second Miss Shen, please speak."

"Quiet." Shopkeeper He called out in a slightly higher voice.

The room suddenly became quiet.

"Everyone, Heyinlou wants to design jewelry. We only have rough ideas for these jewelry at the moment. We need you to draw the patterns in the minds of the craftsmen so that we can make jewelry according to the patterns." She paused and continued, "If I am proficient in painting, I can draw it myself. Why should I spend money to ask you to paint for me?"

"This..." The painters looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Miss Shen Er, I still have the same question. You don't know how to paint, so how can you judge whether a painting is good or bad? If you decide whether to keep or send a painting based on your personal preference, isn't that too frivolous? Wouldn't it be a waste of time for all the painters?" A painter who had never spoken stood up and asked.

This man was in his early forties, with ordinary looks and a goatee. He seemed to be the best dressed among the painters present. He did not salute Shen Shenshen.

When the painters heard him speak, they all nodded frequently.

When Shopkeeper He heard him talking, he immediately whispered in Shen Shen's ear, "His name is Li Tan, and he is the most experienced painter in this place. He is quite famous in the capital. When I invited him yesterday, he kept refusing. I don't know why he still came today."

After listening to Shopkeeper He's introduction, Shen Shenshen said with a smile: "Shopkeeper He, if you are quite famous, why do you come to Heyinlou to be an exclusive painter? Many people are just pretending to be famous, and they have been living in poverty for a long time."

"Miss Shen is right." Shopkeeper He bowed hastily, ready to flatter.

Shen Shen glanced at Li Tan and said calmly, "Why? Just because who can draw the pattern I want the best. Just because I am the boss who pays for the job. Just because I have the final say in Heyinlou. If you still have any objections, please leave. Heyinlou cannot afford you, a big Buddha."

"Humph. If it weren't for the Prince Zhong's Mansion, I would have had a word with Miss Shen." Li Tan sat down indignantly. He wanted to walk away, but according to what Manager He said yesterday, the money offered by Heyinlou was really generous, and thinking of the several mouths at home waiting for food, he sat down anyway.

Shen Shen ignored him. Seeing that no one stood up to question him, he said loudly, "Since no one has any objection, let's start selecting the contestants. Shopkeeper He, tell me the topic."

"Ahem." Shopkeeper He cleared his throat. "Today's competition requires you to draw a peony flower. There is a condition for this flower. The flower must be inlaid with gemstones, and a bee must be drawn at the same time. It must look like it matches the flower. Finally, for the sake of fairness, you don't need to leave your name on your final painting. If you understand clearly, you can start. The time is one stick of incense."

After listening to the content of the competition, the seven painters thought for a moment and then began to paint. For a while, the room was so quiet that the only sound left was the friction between the pens and paper.

Shen Shen stood up and said, "In the interest of fairness, I will leave the room first." She glanced at everyone, "To prevent anyone from saying that I am targeting you. Manager He, after an incense stick of time, put away the paintings and call me back in." After that, she stood up and left the room.

All the painters suddenly felt that regardless of whether Second Miss Shen understood painting or not, the fact that she did not leave her name, did not look at people's appearance, and did not consider their family background was very fair.

After one stick of incense, all seven painters had finished their works. When Manager He put away the paintings, he called Cuiling to call Shen Shenshen into the house.

Shen Shen carefully examined each painting, evaluating it in her mind. Finally, her eyes stopped on one of the works.

The peony flowers in this painting are gorgeous, with sparkling gemstones inlaid on their petals, making them lifelike. The bees next to them seem to be collecting nectar, which complement the flowers and form a perfect painting.

"I like this painting very much." Shen Shenshen pointed at the work and said, "I wonder which painter created it?"

A young painter who had been silent from the beginning to now stood up. He had a handsome face and wore a washed and bleached outer robe. There were traces of patching on the cuffs of the robe. I guess his life was not going well. At this time, his face was filled with a somewhat excited smile. He must be in great need of the well-paid and respectable job at Heyinlou.

"It's me." He bowed and said, "Yu Qinghe, greetings to Second Miss Shen."

"Congratulations, you passed this competition." Shen Shenshen said with a smile, "Next, Qinghe will be temporarily appointed as the exclusive painter of Heyinlou. It is a temporary appointment, and it will take several trial paintings before deciding whether to retain him as a long-term painter. Of course, if he is not retained in the end, Heyinlou will still pay for the trial paintings. I hope you can maintain this level and don't let me down."

"Qinghe will definitely live up to your trust."

"These other two painters can also be retained." Shen Shenshen pointed to the other two paintings.

The ones who stood up were the young painter who had questioned Shen Shenshen just now and an older painter, both of them had expressions of joy and excitement on their faces.

Then Shen Shen looked around and said, "The other painters have worked hard today and delayed your time for a day. Heyinlou will give you 20 silver coins per person plus an extra snack from Zuiyuelou as your reward for today. Thank you all for coming to the competition."

Several painters felt that the competition was fair, so they took their rewards, stood up, bowed, and said goodbye to Shen Shen.

"Hmph. A woman who doesn't know how to paint and chooses people at random. It seems that Heyinlou is not far from bankruptcy." Looking in the direction of the voice, the person who spoke was the self-righteous Li Tan.

Shen Shen didn't want to pay any attention to him and was ready to continue informing the three selected candidates about the subsequent daily painting content.

Li Tan thought Shen Shen was guilty, so he spoke again: "As expected, it is not good for women to do business."

Shen Shen turned and looked at Li Tan, with a slight smile on his face: "Master Li, if you have the time to sow discord here, you might as well improve your painting skills. After all, strength is the only way to go."

After that, he ignored Li Tan and turned to the three people, "You will come to Heyinlou to officially start work tomorrow. Manager He will inform you of the specific work details."

The three of them bowed and said, "Thank you, Second Miss Shen."

Shen Shenshen was about to leave the room with Cui Ling. Li Qin, who was angry at the loss of this lucrative job, became more and more aggressive and spoke without restraint.

“Don’t be too proud too soon. I’m a famous painter in the capital. I’m not someone who can be trampled on at will by Second Miss Shen who relied on her relationship with the prince to rise to power.” Li Tan shouted at Shen Shenshen’s back.

Shen Shen stopped, looked back at him, and sneered, "Li Qin, I respect you and call you Master Li. You have seen that the entire competition selection was fair. Tsk tsk tsk, if you don't hurry back and practice your painting more, you will only hold me accountable. This is why you lost. It's no wonder that you are doing so badly. Also, you, a commoner, actually spoke ill of the Crown Prince's Consort of Prince Zhong's Mansion. You don't know the difference between respect and inferiority. Believe it or not, call the guards to beat you out with sticks."

"Humph, Miss Shen, I am afraid..."

"Manager He, beat him out for me, beat him hard."

"Yes. Someone come."

When Li Qin saw that Shen Shenshen and his servant were serious, he was so scared that he ran out of Heyin Tower. From time to time, he could hear "Stop hitting you, stop hitting you" and the sound of sticks hitting him.

"Hmph, coward, he's lucky he ran fast." Shen Shen curled his lips.

The three painters were surprised when they saw the scene. It turned out that she was Zhu Yanxiao's wife. No wonder she had the final say in Heyinlou. At the same time, they admired the courage of Miss Shen Er.