Chapter 56 (Part 1) (2/2)

Shen Fu pulled Lin ShuYi along and laughed as he walked over, “We’re coming. What’s the rush, elder?”

An old grandpa with white hair and beard stood in the corner. Although his hair and beard were white and he was no longer young, he still looked rather energetic. He held a brush with a spirit that was trembling with excitement as he vigorously wrote with great flourishes and good penmanship.

Lin ShuYi thought of the paintings and calligraphies that he saw below. They must be this grandfather’s work.

The two men walked up, yet the elderly man did not lift his head to look at them. It was not until the last stroke of his calligraphy was finished did he hold up his sleeve and put the brush down. Then he sized Lin ShuYi up before looking at Shen Fu, “It’s been a long time since you’ve last came. What are you here today for?”

Shen Fu grabbed Lin ShuYi and pushed him forward, “It’s not me that wants something today. He’s the one that’s here for something.”

“Oh?” The elderly man carefully examined Lin ShuYi again before waving his hand, “Then pick it by yourself.”

Shen Fu laughed, “Elder, you can continue writing. I’ll come over to settle the bill when we’re done selecting.”

Then he pulled Lin ShuYi away to search for the things in the hall.

The decorations of the XiQin Restaurant were simple and unadorned. The choice of ornaments should not only complement each other, but should also be the crucial point that brought the subject to life. He never thought that a restaurant should be plain and stark. On the contrary, he felt that the environment was even more important than the taste of the food.

This was why Lin ShuYi had thought of such an unconventional gambit to make the XiQin Restaurant a private restaurant with its own distinguishing features. Therefore, the decorations were very important.

There was a wide range of both large and small things, including simple and unadorned gold and silver utensils, porcelain ornaments with exotic patterns, and all kinds of strange and interesting little trinkets. Lin ShuYi took a fancy to many items at a glance.

For example, the vase with a wide mouth and middle, which had the images of a few ink plum blossoms and was half the height of a man. Lin ShuYi thought that it would look good at the entrance of the lounge on the second floor if he put a bundle of asparagus fern inside it.

And the bay ceramic horse with a black mane, which seemed to be raising its head for a loud neigh. It would definitely be beautiful to display it at the cash register on the first floor.

There were also those couple of simple and unsophisticated gold and silver cups, which could also be used to add the finishing touch for each side room.

Lin ShuYi pointed out the things he wanted as he walked along. He was truly pleasantly surprised and felt that Shen Fu had really found a good place. Everything here was suitable for the XiQin Restaurant.

Shen Fu beamed as he followed behind Lin ShuYi, remembering what Lin ShuYi had pointed out to inform an attendant to pick those up.

“Why is each object different?”

Except for the pairs of objects which had their respective half, each one really was different from the other.

Shen Fu smiled and pointed to the elderly man in the corner with his finger as he laughed, “Because these porcelains were made by this elderly man himself.”

Lin ShuYi had a whole new level of respect for the elderly man at this time. There were so many porcelains here. They were all made by the elderly man himself? Moreover, Shen Fu seemed to be very familiar with this elderly man.

“Are you done choosing?” The elderly man suddenly spoke. Lin ShuYi looked at what he had chosen and nodded. He was almost done. Anyway, it was all right even if he had too much or too little, as they were used to put the finishing touch on the decoration. However, he unconsciously chose a lot of them because many things really matched his vision.

Shen Fu looked at Lin ShuYi. Lin ShuYi nodded. Then Shen Fu hollered at the elderly man, “We’re done!”

“Come and pay since you’ve chosen it.” Cheng Zi said as he squinted his eyes and smiled while continuing the conversation in lieu of his Grandpa.

Lin ShuYi and Shen Fu walked over together. The elderly man did not even spare a look at the things that Lin ShuYi selected and just carelessly quoted a figure.

He stretched out three fingers.

Shen Fu squinted his eyes, then he laughed after a long pause, “Elder, you didn’t mean it, did you?”

Lin ShuYi did not know what price the three fingers the elderly man stretched out represented. He looked at Shen Fu, yet Shen Fu did not appear to have the intention to explain. Lin ShuYi then decided to ask the elderly man himself.

Who knew that the elderly man would look at him and say, “Write a inscription for the painting of this fan for me, and I’ll give you these things for free.”