Chapter 181 Antiques Wrapped in Ragged Cloth? The Young Lady's Birthday Gift Anxiety

Two months passed quietly amidst the lively atmosphere of the hutongs.

The capital city welcomed its first snowfall of the winter.

Fine snowflakes drifted down, landing on the dry branches of Nanluoguxiang.

The bluestone path was covered with a thin layer of white frost.

Inside the courtyard of Lin's Restaurant, one could not feel the desolation outside at all. Two octagonal palace lanterns hung under the eaves, emitting a warm yellow glow.

The light and shadows fell on the blue stone water vat in the courtyard, making it appear exceptionally tranquil.

The sliding glass door to the kitchen was half-closed.

The rich aroma of the soup, accompanied by wisps of white smoke, drifted slowly into the courtyard.

Lin Mo stood in front of the cutting board, holding a kitchen knife as thin as a cicada's wing in her hand. On the cutting board was a piece of tender white silken tofu.

"Tap, tap, tap."

The knife sliced ​​through the tofu and landed on the solid wood cutting board with a soft, rhythmic sound.

He was unhurried and focused.

It was as if all the noise and commotion outside had nothing to do with him.

Even if he is cutting a piece of tofu into fine strands like hair into a Wensi Tofu Soup.

In stark contrast was the figure pacing back and forth in the courtyard. Jiang Ruoyun was wearing a long, off-white down jacket and snow boots.

"Crunch, crunch."

She walked back and forth in the snow in the yard, her fair nose slightly red from the cold.

She was like an ant on a hot pan, walking from the east end of the yard to the west end.

He kept muttering to himself.

"No, there's simply not enough time."

"Tomorrow's the weekend, what are we going to do?"

She stopped abruptly, rushed to the kitchen door, and flung open the glass door.

A cold wind, carrying wisps of snow, instantly rushed into the kitchen.

The flames on the stove flickered in the wind. Lin Mo turned his head slightly and glanced at the young lady by the door.

"It's cold outside, close the door."

His tone was calm and even, without much variation.

Instead of closing the door, Jiang Ruoyun squeezed in.

She casually pulled a black card with a cold, gleaming light from her pocket.

A soft "snap" sounded.

She pressed the black card onto the kitchen counter next to the cutting board.

"Lin Mo, stop cutting that piece of tofu!"

Lin Mo didn't stop moving; he flicked his wrist slightly.

The blade lifted the seemingly intact piece of tofu and placed it steadily into a white porcelain bowl filled with clear water.

The originally firm tofu blocks, upon entering the water, bloomed like a white chrysanthemum.

Thousands of threads, each distinct, without a single broken one.

"This soup requires a calm mind; if your hand shakes, the taste will be off."

He took a clean, damp towel and slowly wiped his hands.

Jiang Ruoyun was so anxious that she stomped her feet and grabbed his sleeve.

"This weekend is my dad's 50th birthday. Do you know what that means?"

She tilted her head back, her long hair swaying over her shoulders with her movements, her cool eyes filled with anxiety.

"Although Jiang Jianguo is usually kept very close by my mother at home."

"But when he goes out into the world, he's still a prominent figure in Beijing's business circles."

"All the celebrities in the capital will be in attendance for this fiftieth birthday banquet."

"What's more troublesome is that our Jiang family relatives will also come."

Jiang Ruoyun bit her lower lip, her tone revealing a hint of annoyance.

"My uncles and their families always like to compare themselves with each other."

"When someone buys a yacht or auctions off an antique, they practically broadcast it all over the city through a megaphone."

"If they knew I had a boyfriend who owns a private restaurant, they would definitely make sarcastic remarks about me."

Although she usually bosses Lin Mo around and occasionally throws a tantrum.

But in front of outsiders, she is absolutely protective of her own.

She would never allow those vain relatives to look at Lin Mo with such condescending eyes.

"so what?"

Lin Mo picked up the simmering broth and gently skimmed off the foam from the surface with a spoon.

The broth is crystal clear, yet it exudes a fresh and delicious aroma that hits right to the soul.

"So I checked, and Poly Auction is having an autumn auction this afternoon."

Jiang Ruoyun pushed the black card forward and stuffed it into Lin Mo's apron pocket without saying a word.

"There's no limit to the amount you can spend; go now."

"Just casually photograph a Tang tri-color pottery piece worth several million, or a piece of official kiln porcelain from the Ming or Qing dynasties."

"We can bring it out as a birthday gift at the birthday banquet. At least it will save face and shut those people up."

Lin Mo looked at the black card sticking out halfway from his pocket and sighed softly.

He reached out, pulled the card out, and placed it back in Jiang Ruoyun's hand.

"You've wasted millions on an old piece of porcelain whose authenticity is unknown. You've really squandered your money."

"What should we do then? Go empty-handed?" Jiang Ruoyun asked anxiously.

"If you dare go empty-handed, my dad can definitely use this as an excuse to kick you out on the spot, you believe me?"

Lin Mo turned around and turned down the heat on the stove.

His tone remained as calm and unwavering as ever.

"The face you buy with money is ultimately illusory."

"When it comes to celebrating an elder's birthday, nothing you buy can compare to the sincerity of something you make yourself."

Jiang Ruoyun was stunned and stared at him blankly.

"Make it yourself?"

A picture instantly flashed into her mind.

Lin Mo, dressed in a chef's uniform, carried a steaming plate of braised pork into the banquet hall of a five-star hotel.

"Lin Mo, are you crazy?"

"Are you going to my dad's birthday banquet to cook the dishes live?"

Even if your cooking is the best in the world, serving it to those relatives in that kind of setting will make them laugh their heads off!

Lin Mo didn't respond to her comment.

He took off his apron and casually hung it on the hook behind the door.

"Come with me."

He walked out of the kitchen and headed straight for the side room at the deepest part of the courtyard.

Jiang Ruoyun was completely confused, but she could only follow along with small, quick steps.

The side room was usually used to store miscellaneous items, and the main door was always kept closed.

Lin Mo pushed open the heavy wooden door, and a blast of cool air rushed in.

Lin Mo walked to the corner and reached out to lift a dust-proof cloth covering the area.

The gray cloth was removed, revealing a row of half-person-high celadon wine jars, their mouths sealed tightly with red oil paper and thick yellow mud.

Jiang Ruoyun curiously leaned closer and sniffed the jar with the tip of her nose.

Apart from the earthy smell, I couldn't smell anything else.

"What is this?"

Lin Mo dusted off his hands, speaking casually.

"Three months ago, when we first moved into this courtyard, I asked you to come with me to Xishan."

Jiang Ruoyun nodded, recalling what happened that day.

"I remember, you were like Shennong tasting hundreds of herbs, wandering all over the mountains and fields."

"They insisted on collecting dew from grass leaves early in the morning, which made me covered in mud."

"Those are hundreds of seasonal wild flower petals, plus the pure, rootless morning dew from the mountaintop."

Lin Mo pointed to the wine vat in front of him.

"It is washed, fermented, placed in jars, and sealed according to ancient methods."

"Counting the days, it's been exactly three months today."

As he spoke, Lin Mo casually picked up a small wooden mallet from the table next to him.

He gently tapped the mud seal on one of the wine jars.

A crisp "snap" sounded.

A thin crack appeared in the hardened mud seal.

The moment the crack appeared, an indescribable fragrance burst forth.

That was definitely not the pungent alcohol smell of ordinary baijiu.

Rather, it is a rich, deep-rooted fragrance of a hundred flowers.

The aroma spread rapidly through the air as if it were a tangible substance, forcefully penetrating one's nasal cavity.

At first sniff, it is elegant and refined, but upon closer inspection, it becomes strong and intoxicating.

It's as if the entire summer and autumn seasons, stretching across the mountains and fields, have been condensed into this small wine jar.

Jiang Ruoyun felt a sudden surge of energy.

The anxiety that had arisen from worrying about the birthday banquet miraculously subsided under the soothing aroma of the wine.

Although she herself doesn't drink much.

But Jiang Jianguo has a huge underground wine cellar, which is full of Romanée-Conti and vintage Moutai worth hundreds of thousands or even millions of yuan.

She grew up with her father, and her nose has become quite picky.

However, just considering the complexity and intensity of this aroma...

The so-called top-tier wines that Jiang Jianguo treasures are practically defective products from an industrial assembly line.

The aroma of this wine is simply overwhelming.

"This...this wine..."

Jiang Ruoyun's mouth was slightly open, and she was so surprised that she couldn't speak for a long time.

"Hundred Flowers Wine"

Lin Mo casually picked up a clean piece of red cloth and used it to seal the crack in the jar again.

The aroma of the wine was forcibly cut off.

Jiang Ruoyun felt a strange sense of loss and couldn't help but swallow.

"This is only part of the congratulatory gifts."

Lin Mo turned and walked towards the door. "I'll show you something else."

The two walked through the corridor and arrived at Lin Mo's study, where he usually read and meditated.

The air conditioning wasn't on in the study; there was only a small charcoal brazier lit in the center of the room.

The bright red charcoal wires emitted a steady heat without emitting any smoke.

A faint scent of ink and the distinctive aroma of paper filled the air.

As soon as Jiang Ruoyun entered the room, her eyes were drawn to the wastepaper basket in the corner.

The bamboo basket, which was about half a person's height, was now stuffed with wads of crumpled Xuan paper.

Even on the blue brick ground around the wastebasket, dozens of wads of waste paper were scattered.

She walked over and casually picked up a crumpled ball and unfolded it.

The paper is extremely tough and has a fine texture, clearly the top-grade Chengxintang paper that is hard to find even at a high price on the market.

The paper was covered with densely packed calligraphy characters.

But in the middle of each one, a rough stroke of ink was mercilessly crossed out.

It is clear that the person who wrote the calligraphy was not satisfied with these finished products.

"You've been locking yourself in your study late into the night these past few nights, is it because you've been writing this?"

Jiang Ruoyun was somewhat stunned.

In her memory, Lin Mo was someone who could do everything with ease and was even somewhat laid-back and indifferent.

This was the first time she had ever seen Lin Mo meticulously refine something to such an almost demanding degree in private.

"come over."

Lin Mo stood behind the large rosewood desk and waved to her.

Jiang Ruoyun put down the scrap paper in her hand and quickly walked to the desk.

On the table, a flawless sheet of three-foot-long Xuan paper lay flat.

The ink on the paper had dried completely, giving it a deep and dark sheen.

This is a painting titled "Crane Soaring to the Sky - A Birthday Celebration".

Jiang Ruoyun studied abroad from a young age and did not have a deep understanding of traditional Chinese calligraphy.

She couldn't distinguish between the strength and elegance of Yan Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan, nor did she understand the difference between the styles of Zhang Xu and Su Shi.

But the moment she saw the words on the paper, she couldn't take her eyes off it.

The handwriting was slender and crisp, with the side strokes resembling orchids and bamboo, revealing a sharp and upright edge between the strokes.

But beyond that sharp edge, there is also a subtle, gentle depth.

It's like a peerless swordsman steadily sheathing a blade powerful enough to split mountains and cleave seas in an ancient scabbard.

Its sharpness is concealed, yet its presence is impossible to ignore.

Every character on the Xuan paper is like a meticulously crafted work of art.

The entire work was completed in one go, and its natural and sophisticated beauty is so stunning that even laymen can't help but hold their breath.

"This character..."

Jiang Ruoyun stretched out her fair fingers, wanting to touch the paper.

But he pulled back mid-air, afraid that the sweat on his hands would damage this rare treasure.

"This is called the Slender Gold style of calligraphy."

Lin Mo washed the wolf-hair brush beside him and hung it steadily on the brush holder.

"I haven't touched a calligraphy brush in a while, so I'm a bit rusty."

"I wasted a lot of paper just to barely recapture a bit of the feeling from back then."

Jiang Ruoyun glanced at the mountain of waste paper in the wastebasket, then at the almost perfect calligraphy on the table.

The anxiety and worry in my heart vanished instantly.

"It's safe now, absolutely safe!"

Jiang Ruoyun clapped her hands excitedly, and a bright smile finally appeared on her face after many days.

She excitedly walked around the desk twice, already starting to plan the subsequent packaging.

"Such beautiful calligraphy should never be taken out casually."

She bit her finger, her cool eyes sparkling with excitement.

"I'll call the best framing master in Liulichang right now and ask them to expedite the process."

"The core must be made of aged Phoebe zhennan wood."

"We also need to order a custom-made rosewood box worth several hundred thousand yuan!"

"Yes, the clasp of the wooden box should be inlaid with a few pieces of mutton-fat jade, so that it will be worthy of your calligraphy!"

Jiang Ruoyun became more and more excited as she spoke, and had already taken out her phone to make a call.

Lin Mo listened from the side, his brows furrowing slightly.

"A sandalwood box? And inlaid with jade?"

His tone carried an undisguised hint of disdain.

"Too hypocritical, and too troublesome."

Truly good things rely on their inherent qualities, not on flashy packaging.

Jiang Ruoyun was stunned for a moment, her hand holding the phone frozen in mid-air.

"What should we do then?"

"We can't just roll it up naked and take it over in a supermarket plastic bag, can we?"

Lin Mo shook his head.

He bent down and rummaged through the bottom shelf of the bookcase where miscellaneous items were piled up.

The study was quiet for a few seconds.

Then, Lin Mo straightened up.

He was holding a crumpled old newspaper in his hand.

The paper even still had a lingering smell of cheap ink.

He casually spread the newspaper on the desk, speaking in a very natural tone.

"What kind of packaging? This one is fine."

Jiang Ruoyun stared at the copy of the Beijing Evening News, her eyes wide as saucers.