Chapter 140 The young lady visits the set, where did you find this free labor?

When Wang Cunzhen heard the words "begging," his old face, which was covered with architectural formulas, instantly turned a deep liver color.

He is the head of the Department of Architecture at Tsinghua University, and he usually frequents national-level laboratories and sits as the chief of the academic committee.

Now, he's being mistaken for a homeless man in the alley by a pretty young girl?

Wang Cunzun subconsciously puffed out his chest, trying to project the air of a grandmaster.

But he glanced down at it.

The cuffs were covered in black mud left from picking cabbage roots, and the white shirt was splattered with milky white soup stains.

There was a suit jacket lying at his feet, which he had been using as a rag.

To make matters worse, he still had the last piece of pork fat residue in his mouth that he hadn't had time to swallow.

This appearance is indeed a far cry from that of an "expert".

He opened his mouth, about to say something in his defense.

But when he glanced sideways, he saw Lin Mo's calm, still eyes.

And then there's the magnificent Tang Dynasty-style horizontal beam overhead, a true work of art.

Wang Cunzhu swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue and swallowed the piece of pork fat.

In the face of true divine skill, a professor's title is utterly useless.

As long as I can stay and watch Lin Mo's construction work, I'll be a homeless person if I want.

Lin Mo patted the sawdust off his hands and slowly walked down the steps.

He took the two cups of milk tea from Jiang Ruoyun's hand with remarkable ease, their fingertips touching, bringing a touch of warmth.

Looking into Jiang Ruoyun's big eyes, which seemed to say, "Are you bullying me?"

Lin Mo raised her other hand and smoothed the few strands of hair that had been ruffled by the cold wind in the alley.

You mean him?

Lin Mo's voice sounded particularly relaxed in the late autumn afternoon, exuding a sense of steadiness.

"We've just hired a dishwasher. It's a free job with room and board included. His name is Wang Zuncun, you can just call him Uncle Wang."

Wang Cunzhuan listened nearby, his eyelids twitching.

But he didn't refute it; instead, he even cooperated by giving a simple (and humble) smile.

Jiang Ruoyun was shocked.

She glanced at the old man who had licked the bowl clean, then at Lin Mo, who remained calm.

"Lin Mo, you're getting more and more adept at playing the capitalist card."

Jiang Ruoyun muttered something under her breath, but her tone didn't carry much blame; instead, it was tinged with indulgence.

"You're going to exploit men this age? How can you do that?"

Lin Mo didn't answer, but simply inserted the straw and held the slightly sweet milk tea to her lips.

Jiang Ruoyun obediently took a sip, and the sweet taste instantly dispelled the chill in the alley.

As she sipped her milk tea, she began to look around the courtyard house, which had undergone a dramatic transformation.

She has a good eye for aesthetics.

As the eldest daughter of the Jiang family, she has seen countless top-tier mansions.

But those places are mostly piled with expensive stone and cold metal.

But this little courtyard now gives her a completely different kind of shock.

The originally dilapidated beams and pillars were repaired by Lin Mo using minimalist techniques.

The wood grain itself has a warm, matte sheen under the late autumn sun.

Every joint is perfectly fitted, exuding a geometric beauty that transcends millennia.

Although it's not completely finished yet, and there are still some weeds in the yard that haven't been cleared, the sense of high-class elegance that's hidden in the city is already overwhelming.

"Did you do all of this by yourself?"

Jiang Ruoyun put down her milk tea and reached out to touch a pillar that had just been varnished.

The wood has a smooth, silky texture, without any burrs.

She turned around, and in her eyes as she looked at Lin Mo, there was not only the usual affection, but also a hint of surprise.

Lin Mo's hands seem to have the power to turn the rotten into the miraculous.

"That's about it. All that's left is some soft furnishings."

Lin Mo sipped his milk tea, his tone as calm as if he were saying, "I just swept the floor."

Jiang Ruoyun, however, had already comfortably taken on the role of "boss lady".

She walked around the courtyard with her hands behind her back, like a leader inspecting work.

"An old-fashioned kerosene lamp should be hung here; the light shouldn't be too bright, but rather warm."

"In that corner over there, you can put a nicely shaped potted deadwood tree that comes back to life."

Jiang Ruoyun pointed and gestured, while Lin Mo listened quietly from behind, nodding occasionally.

Wang Cunzun squatted down beside them, watching the two young people "show affection" as if no one else was around.

He suddenly felt that the empty bowl in his hand was a little heavy.

This isn't a dishwasher; this is clearly a third wheel who's been fed a mouthful of dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing a romantic relationship).

"Oh, right."

Lin Mo suddenly grabbed Jiang Ruoyun's wrist and led her to the front door of the main house.

He raised his long, slender finger and pointed to the area above the door.

A long, narrow wooden board has already been hung there.

The wood is of excellent quality; under the sunlight, one can vaguely see golden threads emerging.

That was a piece of old Phoebe zhennan wood that Lin Mo had very luckily managed to dig out from that pile of waste.

"The basic structure of the house is finished, and I plan to open for business in a few days."

Lin Mo looked at Jiang Ruoyun, a barely perceptible smile flashing in his eyes.

"Miss Jiang, would you be interested in writing a name for our shop?"

Jiang Ruoyun was stunned.

She looked at the priceless blank signboard, then at her own hands.

She knew her handwriting.

Within that circle of socialites, her handwriting was described as having "a strong wild and untamed aesthetic."

In layman's terms, it means crawling like a dog.

Are you sure?

Jiang Ruoyun puffed out her chest a little guiltily and stubbornly said:

"My writing fees are very high, can you afford them?"

Lin Mo thought about it seriously for a moment, then nodded.

"We really can't afford to hire her, so we can only use the boss's wife's position to pay off the debt."

Jiang Ruoyun's pretty face instantly turned red to the roots of her ears.

She spat lightly, but still obediently followed Lin Mo into the house to discuss the details.

Wang Cunzhu watched the two people's backs, then looked at the piece of golden nanmu wood.

He trembled with heartache.

This is a national treasure-level material, and you're here flirting and discussing how to write on it?

A few days later, in the early morning, the sky over Nanluoguxiang was still tinged with a hazy blue.

The alleyways are starting to fill with the lively atmosphere of early risers.

The four powerful characters of "[Lin Family Restaurant]" are firmly hung above the door.

The words were written by Lin Mo himself at the end.

After trying several versions, Jiang Ruoyun was ultimately rejected by Lin Mo because her writing style was "too direct".

The four characters written by Lin Mo are restrained and profound, carrying a kind of open-mindedness that has seen through the ways of the world.

It perfectly complements this quaint little courtyard.

These past few days, Wang Cuncun has been wearing a faded work shirt.

Holding a large bamboo broom, he was diligently sweeping the fallen leaves in front of the door.

He is now fully immersed in the role.

Who would have thought that this academic giant's current dream is to be able to drink a bowl of cabbage soup every day?

However, time passed day by day.

The courtyard has been gradually restored and improved, cleaned and tidyed up, and everything that needed to be prepared has been prepared and tidied up. It will soon open for business.

The sun rose directly above the east end of the alley and reached its zenith.

On its first day of opening, the area in front of the store was bustling with people, with tourists taking selfies as they strolled around.

Strangely, not a single person pushed open that black lacquered door all morning.

There wasn't even a single person peering inside.

Lin Mo sat in a rocking chair in the courtyard, holding a book in his hand.

He wasn't in a hurry, as if he had anticipated this situation.

Wang Cunzun, however, was getting restless.

He dropped the broom, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and ran to Lin Mo's side.

"Ms. Kobayashi, something's not right."

Wang Cundu lowered his voice, looking puzzled.

"With our storefront and our style, those artsy young people should have rushed in to take photos long ago."

"I just took a walk around the alley entrance and noticed that everyone was looking at us strangely."

Lin Mo turned a page of the book without even lifting his eyelids.

"Have you bought the groceries?"

Mentioning this made Wang Cundu even more depressed.

"Don't even mention it. I went to three different farmers' markets, and as soon as they heard I was buying groceries for that newly opened restaurant in Nanluoguxiang, they all shook their heads like rattles."

"In the end, I rode my tricycle to a suburban market ten kilometers away to get this little bit of radish and greens."

Although Wang Cunzhen was obsessed with academics, he was not stupid.

This comprehensive blockade is clearly the result of someone making threats behind the scenes.

Lin Mo gently closed the book in his hand and looked at a corner outside the courtyard wall. The sky there was exceptionally blue, but it also exuded a sense of oppressive chill.

At the entrance of the alley, several old men carrying birdcages were huddled together, whispering to each other.

"See that? That newly opened little restaurant is really weird."

An elderly man wearing a red armband lowered his voice and said mysteriously:

"I heard from my nephew who works at the Urban Construction Bureau that someone above has given a death order."

"Within a radius of ten miles, from large suppliers to small customers, anyone who dares to enter that shop will not be allowed to pass."

The old man next to him gasped.

"What kind of powerful figure has this young man offended? With this kind of fuss, they're trying to starve him to death in the yard!"

"I think this restaurant won't last more than three days before it has to close down."

At this moment, in the Jiang family mansion a few kilometers away from the alley.

Jiang Jianguo was sitting with his legs crossed in front of a row of monitoring screens.

The screen showed the extremely deserted entrance to Nanluoguxiang alley.

From morning until now, his surveillance footage hasn't shown a single cat entering that store.

Jiang Jianguo picked up a cup of top-grade Da Hong Pao tea and gently blew away the foam.

He looked at Lin Mo on the screen, who was sitting in a rocking chair, "pretending to be something he'd do."

Suddenly, as if he had thought of something extremely funny, he burst into a hearty laugh.

"You little brat, you think you can mess with me?"

Jiang Jianguo took a sip of tea, his eyes revealing the cunning of an old fox.

"I bet you can last a few more days with that cabbage soup of yours!"