"Geng Lele, you skipped class again!"
Hearing the girl’s voice, Lin Xu instinctively wanted to tease this queen of truancy. However, upon seeing Geng Lishan following behind her, he hurriedly stood up to greet him. "Mr. Lishan, what brings you here? Welcome, welcome! Your presence alone brings glory to my humble shop."
He had just been thinking about how he knew a calligrapher, and then one immediately appeared at his doorstep.
Geng Lishan held a rolled-up scroll. Seeing Lin Xu approach, he handed it over with a broad smile. "I heard from my Lele that your shop, young friend Lin, is undergoing renovations. So, I took the liberty of writing a new sign for your storefront. I hope you won’t mind."
Not far away, Zheng Xiaoguang pinched his thigh. Damn, am I dreaming? Mr. Lishan, such a renowned calligrapher, personally wrote a storefront sign for the owner of Lin Ji’s, and he even seems worried it might not be good enough... If word of this got out, his many admirers would go mad!
Upon hearing that the calligrapher had indeed prepared the sign, Lin Xu quickly accepted it with both hands. "We were just discussing the storefront sign, and Mr. Lishan, you’ve already brought it! Could you be a prescient immortal?"
"Hahaha, young friend Lin, you certainly have a way with words," Geng Lishan chuckled. "I’m just a gluttonous old man. It’s your divine culinary skills that have truly opened these old eyes of mine."
The two exchanged cheerful flatteries, much to Zheng Xiaoguang’s increased astonishment. I heard Mr. Lishan despises sycophants the most, but today... My worldview is truly shaken!
After the pleasantries concluded, Lin Xu, holding the scroll, tentatively asked, "Mr. Lishan, may we unroll it and have a look?"
He felt the information from his senior apprentice-brother was wrong. Such a kind and respectable old man, how could he be described as a cynical old grump? They said he hated people trying to curry favor, that he despised flattery. But the mutual praise just now felt as pleasant as a spring breeze; would an old grump really speak like that?
Geng Lishan waved his hand dismissively. "To say it’s ’eye-opening’ is an overstatement. Just see if it’s to your liking. If not, I’ll go back and rewrite it. That’s about all this old bag of bones is good for."
Tch, such modesty. Lin Xu once again felt misled by his senior. If I’d known, I would have tried to get friendlier during the competition that day; we wouldn’t be so distant now. Sigh! My senior really led me astray!
He untied the string securing the scroll and slowly unrolled it. Then he saw four bold, powerful characters: Lin Ji’s Food.
These four characters weren’t illegibly flamboyant, nor did they feature the showy techniques of some self-proclaimed street calligraphers. Yet, on closer inspection, one could feel a sense of dignified pride emanating from between the lines. Truly a master calligrapher. His skill really is extraordinary.
When he fully unrolled the scroll, he saw the inscription at the bottom: "Presented to my confidant, Mr. Lin Xu. Lishan."
Confidant? Old Sir, did we know each other before?
"Young friend Lin," Geng Lishan said, "like me, you disdain sycophancy and loathe grubbing for personal gain. We could be confidants. Would you, young friend Lin, do me the honor?"
Heavens! No wonder Lele mentioned wanting us to become sworn brothers earlier. So that was the reason.
Lin Xu replied with a smile, "Mr. Lishan, if you put it that way, I’m truly honored."
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, he showed the scroll to Zheng Xiaoguang. "Designer Zheng, would this work for the shop sign?"
"Yes, yes, absolutely perfect!" Zheng Xiaoguang exclaimed. "This is a treasure from Mr. Lishan, worth a fortune!" He then took out his digital camera, planning to photograph the calligraphy and incorporate it into the shop’s design plans.
While Zheng Xiaoguang was busy, Geng Lishan took a look around the shop. Just then, Dundun stirred on the cash register, stretching lazily.
"What an adorable little cat!" Geng Lishan was immediately captivated.
Taking the opportunity, Geng Lele sidled up to Lin Xu. "My grandpa almost made you perform a blood oath ceremony—you know, becoming sworn brothers who vow not to be born on the same day, month, and year, but to die on the same day, month, and year. Luckily, I stopped him..."
Die on the same day? Lin Xu glanced at Geng Lishan, who was over seventy, and then at his twenty-two-year-old self. Heavens, I almost suffered an untimely death!
"He’d written another piece before, but it was too controversial," Geng Lele continued. "I was worried other calligraphers might come challenge you to a real-life showdown, so I made him rewrite it... So, how are you going to thank me?"
Lin Xu was speechless. There were even more complications? Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on N0velFire.ɴet
He chuckled and said, "I’m about to make some Steamed Rice Flour Meat. How about I let you have an extra large portion for dinner?"
After they finished reviewing the preliminary design sketches for the entire shop, the next step was to produce the renderings. Once every detail was confirmed to be satisfactory, Zheng Xiaoguang would develop the actual construction drawings for the construction team to begin. Before that, however, he added some more details to the plans, such as making the kitchen sink larger to facilitate washing vegetables, ensuring ample reserved space for the dishwasher, and ensuring the drainpipe was clear to prevent clogging.
After noting down these and similar details, Zheng Xiaoguang slung his laptop bag over his shoulder and departed.
Meanwhile, Dou Wenjing planned to visit a job fair to recruit one or two clerks. They would handle basic administrative tasks for the company and help sort out its social security affairs.
After Lin Xu saw them off, he noticed Geng Lishan playing with Dundun and asked curiously, "Mr. Lishan, you like cats too?"
"Quite a bit," Geng Lishan replied. "I find cats the most enigmatic of creatures. Sometimes they’re incredibly affectionate, and other times they treat their owners with utter disdain, as if they’re the true masters of the house..."