Chapter 1731 - 1732: Alley

The shop owner was a middle-aged man. Hearing the question, he glanced at the scroll in Zhang Mengyao's arms and instantly

his eyes lit up, and he smiled, "Oh, are you two here to sell paintings?"

"No, just painted it for fun. I want to get it mounted," Lin Xian explained.

Upon hearing that they weren't selling, the owner lost interest and said, "Exit the market, turn left, and there's a small alley about 150 meters away. There are several shops that do mounting there."

"Thanks, boss!"

Lin Xian expressed his gratitude and led Zhang Mengyao out of the store.

All set!

Following the middle-aged owner's directions, the two quickly found the alley.

Compared to the traded market alley, this alley appeared particularly desolate, with hardly any pedestrians to be seen.

Strolling through it, Lin Xian soon discovered a framing shop.

Wenfang Pavilion!

The shop entrance was both unpretentious yet subtly elegant.

"Let's go in and take a look!"

Lin Xian held Zhang Mengyao's hand, guiding her into the shop.

As they lifted the curtain and walked in, a faint and elegant fragrance greeted them.

The incense fragrance was pleasant, subtle and not overpowering, clearly a high-grade incense.

The shop wasn't that spacious, perhaps merely six flats which were divided into two sections by a partition.

Though small, the shop was decorated with a refined, vintage charm.

The section right by the entrance was dedicated to selling the traditional Chinese "Four Treasures of the Study": brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.

The wooden windows in the shop weren't open, thus the interior appeared somewhat dim.

Apart from them, there was another customer in the shop.

She was a noblewoman, though past her midlife, she was well-maintained and exuded a unique charm.

At this moment, she was standing in front of a wooden shelf, selecting inkstones.

"What's the matter?"

At this moment, an aged voice rang out.

Following the direction of the voice, they saw an old man with graying hair, sitting behind a redwood counter, holding an old-fashioned large tobacco pipe.

Zhang Mengyao glanced at the old man and spoke, "Boss, do you do mounting here?"

"Let's have a look at the painting first!"

The old man didn't directly answer if they mounted paintings, instead insisting on seeing the painting first.

Interesting.

Suddenly, Lin Xian became intrigued by this shop.

Zhang Mengyao was slightly stunned, raising an eyebrow, she said, "Why do you need to see the painting? Boss,

can you mount it or not?"

She found the way this owner spoke to be peculiar.

If he could mount it or not, he should just give a straightforward answer, why the need to first see the painting.

The old man took several more puffs of his pipe, leisurely saying, "Whether or not it can be mounted depends

on whether the painting is worth mounting. My Wenfang Pavilion, since its opening, for 180 years, has never

mounted nameless paintings. If the painting catches our eye, we mount it. If it doesn't, it goes back the way it came!"

Such an act, Lin Xian gave it 101 points, the extra point was to let him feel proud.

Zhang Mengyao didn't believe it at all, glancing around the shop environment, she couldn't help but sneer.

Though she didn't say anything, her expression seemed to say, 'what famous painting can such a small shabby shop mount'.

"Hey!"

The old man was instantly displeased, snorted and said, "Do you know the 'Han Xizai Night Banquet Painting'? My master

participated in its restoration and mounting. Have you heard of the 'Luo Shenfu'? The name on the restoration list, first row, second

name is me—if you don't believe, go check at the Forbidden Museum."

"Really?"

Zhang Mengyao looked surprised.

These two paintings were not small names, they were genuine national treasures.

The old man continued to puff on his pipe, pursing his lips, "Why would an old man like me deceive you, a little girl? How novel!"

"Then, old sir, could you take a look at this painting and compare it to those famous ones in the Forbidden City?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Mengyao's eyes lit up, as she stepped forward and spoke.

"Ahem ahem ahem!!!"

The old man choked on his smoke, coughing as his neck stiffened.

Zhang Mengyao's words truly amused him.

Comparing it to the famous paintings in the Forbidden City?

Are you deliberately trying to make me laugh?

Even the noblewoman, who had been quietly selecting inkstones, couldn't help but turn to look at them.

After a while, the old man finally stopped coughing and jokingly said, "This little girl is quite funny."

"Who's joking, just see for yourself!"

Zhang Mengyao, not backing down, walked to the redwood counter, gently unfurling the painting on the desk.

The old man put down his large pipe and reached to turn on the desk lamp.

This lamp seemed to be professional, with bright yet non-glary light, somewhat resembling a medical shadowless lamp, which softened the shadows on the painting.

After doing this, he finally looked at the painting on the desk.

At first glance, he was stunned.

"Ah!"

A moment later, the old man drew in a deep breath, shock etched on his face as he looked at Lin Xian and inquired:

"Young man, did you paint this?"

Had it not been for the paint still not dried on this painting, he wouldn't have believed it was done by the young man before them who looked barely in his eighties.

However, the various details in the painting proved that it was indeed painted by Lin Xian.

First of all, the woman in the painting was exactly this young lady.

Secondly, the bottom left blank space on the painting clearly noted, 'Written at Liuxin Pavilion, Purple Gold Mountain,

Gift to girlfriend Zhang Mengyao, Happy Birthday—October 18, 2015, Lin Xian'.

He had been into this field since young, the number of paintings he had seen was beyond count, thus he could naturally tell at a glance,

the paint was not dry, meaning the painting time should not exceed two hours.

Combining the intimacy between the two young people, it wasn't hard to guess that the painter was Lin Xian.

It's often said that old people are shrewd, and Ghost Elder is smart, this saying is truly not false.

Seeing his astonished expression, Zhang Mengyao smugly smiled, "Old sir, how about it? I wasn't lying to you!"

"This little girl indeed didn't deceive me!"

After speaking, the old man looked at Lin Xian, and said earnestly, "How should I address this young gentleman?"

The "gentleman" he mentioned wasn't the common modern-day term for Mr. or Ms.

but rather a term of respect.

This kind of address was very common during the Republic of China period, where people highly respected scholars

of high morals and profound knowledge by addressing them as 'gentleman'.

The difference between these two kinds of addresses is quite clear.

The modern address is usually the surname followed by Mr. For instance, Mr. Lin, which is a commonly used modern-day

term merely out of politeness.

In contrast, a respectful address adds the term 'gentleman' after the full name.

For example, Mr. Lin Xian, Mr. Qi Baishi, Mr. Zhang Daqian…

Lin Xian naturally understood his meaning and modestly said, "I don't deserve to be called a gentleman, just call me Lin Xian."

But the old man shook his head, his expression serious, "A master in one field is a teacher; Mr. Lin Xian,

with such a talent, is worthy of being addressed as a gentleman by this old man."

Hearing Lin Xian being praised, Zhang Mengyao felt as sweet as though drinking honey, utterly delighted.

Holding onto Lin Xian's arm, she eagerly asked, "Old sir, what do you think of this painting in comparison

to those famous ones in the Forbidden City?"

Upon hearing this, the old man lowered his head, carefully appreciating the painting, while saying, "Although this is

a Western painting, art is common ground. Disregarding historical and cultural factors, purely from an artistic level,

I personally think it is on par, if not slightly better than those famous paintings."

Zhang Mengyao's smile grew wider, her eyes full of happiness.

Meanwhile, the noblewoman on the side was slightly stunned, then couldn't help but step forward to the redwood table.

Better than the famous paintings in the Forbidden City?

And the author of this painting is a young man not even 20 years old?

This…

To be honest, if it weren't for her being acquainted with the shop owner, she might assume they were colluding in a set-up.

After all, such tricks are not uncommon in antique shops.

Driven by intense curiosity, the noblewoman slightly leaned in to look at the painting on the table.

Beautiful.

Extremely beautiful!

The girl in the painting was beautiful but not ostentatious, exuding a lively spirit.

The subtly uplifting corners of her mouth made one involuntarily smile heartily.

The brilliance in her eyes brought the whole painting to life.