So, might their claims that this affected their business be true?
"Did you come here alone?"
"Are you looking to stay? How many days?" The smile on the middle-aged woman’s face grew thicker.
Chiang Xiao turned her head again to look at the painting, seeing the old man still standing motionless in front of it, and asked, "Auntie, is the ’Big Master’ okay?"
"That’s my dad." The woman pouted, somewhat sullenly said, "The things you said just now probably struck him a bit, because he spent five hundred yuan on that painting."
Chiang Xiao thought she had misheard, "How much?"
"Five hundred." Perhaps the woman was too bored, and having just discovered that Chiang Xiao had insights about the painting, she didn’t hide it from her. Leaning on the counter with her elbow, chin propped up in her hand, she glanced at her father again, "Not cheap, huh? As soon as we hung up this painting, business at our guesthouse really did start to dwindle. I tell you, quite a few people came in, glanced at it, and then turned around and left."
"Then why not take down the painting?" Chiang Xiao asked.
"Five hundred yuan we’re talking about, our house doesn’t have a wall big enough to hang such a large painting. And to tell you the truth, there was a big patch broken behind this wall. We patched it with cement, but it doesn’t look nice, and you can’t paint over it smoothly. We thought hanging a painting would be just right to cover it up."
So that’s how it was.
Chiang Xiao nodded and said, "Didn’t you see it clearly when you bought the painting?"
"How could we not? We did see it, but that friend who went with him kept saying it looked good, and mentioned that the painter was quite famous, from the G Province Painters Association, so my dad, on a whim, bought it."
From the G Province Painters Association?
Could it be referring to the same association that Kuang Yun Xian was part of?
The woman shook her head again and said, "The old man would only waste money like that because he has money to spare."
Chiang Xiao was somewhat speechless after hearing this.
This auntie really didn’t hold back, even mentioning that her dad had money to spare.
"Young lady, you haven’t answered how many days you’re staying when I asked just now. Are you over fifteen? How come you are out alone?"
"Um, I’ve come to the county to take care of some business," Chiang Xiao deliberately obscured the question about her age. After all, she was tall for her age, and could probably pass for fifteen. "I’ll stay for one day first."
She didn’t know how many days she would need to stay here. She had already seen that there was a phone on the counter, and if she needed anything, she could use it to call Hu Xibing and ask him to relay a message in Osmanthus Alley.
"Let me register you." The female owner took out a register and began to sign her in while asking for her details, "Tell me your name, and then where you’re from."
"Chiang Xiao, from Peace Town."
Just as Chiang Xiao was registering for her stay, two more people came in, a young couple. Upon entering, the woman, like the others, was drawn to the painting. After a brief look, she tugged at the hem of the man’s shirt and whispered, "Liangzi, let’s look for another place."
The ’Big Master’ who had been silent heard them and immediately stopped the couple.
"Comrade, could you tell me why you don’t want to stay here?"
"Nothing much, it just feels gloomy. I prefer brighter places," the woman said as she pulled her husband and turned to leave.
Chiang Xiao and the female owner exchanged glances.
The latter was clearly embarrassed, worried that Chiang Xiao would also change her mind and leave.