I Have a Countryside Gourmet Restaurant

While they waited, everyone went back inside the shop to take another close look at the painting.

Of course, everyone now knew that Guyi had critiqued the painting on the spot.

After looking at it for a while, the customers began congratulating Ling Xiaoru one by one.

Even though they weren’t part of the Art World, they all understood what a critique from Guyi meant for a painter’s work.

This was a heaven-sent opportunity!

Ling Xiaoru thanked the customers one by one.

Time slowly passed, and soon it was five in the afternoon.

From the direction of the gorge, the figure of an old man appeared in everyone’s sight.

The customers grew excited instantly. Someone asked, "Boss, is that the Ancient?"

Li You nodded. "That’s the Ancient."

They finally got to see Guyi in person. The customers were both excited and satisfied.

Then, they realized Guyi looked just like an ordinary old man, with no imposing presence or sharp aura.

If they hadn’t known beforehand, they never would have guessed he was the contemporary Painting Saint.

If they had met him on the street, they would have certainly thought he was just an ordinary old man.

’Why is that?’

Without a doubt, it was because Guyi’s edge was completely restrained. He had reached the highest state of being a master hidden in plain sight, having returned to simplicity.

’This is a true master hidden in plain sight!’

The customers were all filled with emotion.

As for Li You and Ling Xiaoru, they had, of course, long since felt the same way.

Li You and Ling Xiaoru went forward to greet him, and all the other customers followed suit.

"Ancient Guyi, are you satisfied with the scenery at Jiulong Gorge?" Li You asked with a smile.

Guyi smiled faintly. "The scenery is very beautiful, one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. And its aura is magnificent, its terrain varied—a truly rare and beautiful sight!"

Hearing Guyi say this, not just Li You and Ling Xiaoru, but all the other customers were quite happy.

For the contemporary Painting Saint to offer such praise was a great source of pride for them as residents of Wenxian Town.

Afterward, Li You briefly introduced the customers present. He explained that everyone had specially come to see Guyi in person after learning he was here.

The crowd of customers all greeted Guyi.

Guyi responded with a smile.

After the lively exchange, everyone returned to the front of the shop.

They chatted and laughed in front of the shop for a while longer, and the time reached half-past five in the afternoon.

It was time for dinner.

Ling Xiaoru hoped to treat Li You and Guyi to dinner.

Guyi readily agreed. But Li You had to be busy in the kitchen, so he told Ling Xiaoru and Guyi to eat first and not to worry about him for the time being.

Since Guyi was eating, the other customers naturally began ordering food as well.

"Ancient Guyi, what should we eat?" Ling Xiaoru asked Guyi.

Guyi said, "Spicy crayfish. You young people like it, and I actually quite like it myself."

Ling Xiaoru said, "So you like crayfish too, Ancient Guyi. Then let’s have spicy crayfish tonight. You’ll still be drinking, right? I can have another bowl with you."

Guyi smiled faintly. "Miss Xiaoru, you already had a bowl at noon. Can you still drink tonight? If you can’t, you absolutely must not force yourself."

Ling Xiaoru said, "It’s been a long time since then; I can drink again. Don’t worry, Ancient Guyi, I know my limits."

Guyi nodded. "That’s good, then."

Ling Xiaoru ordered six and a half pounds of spicy crayfish, and the other customers had all placed their orders as well.

The dishes were served one after another, and the wine had been poured.

Liu Yiquan, Deng Luping, Zhao Yu, Zhang Qinghe, and any other customers who were drinking all picked up their wine bowls and walked over to the table where Guyi and Ling Xiaoru were sitting.

They wanted to toast Guyi together.

This made them excited and thrilled, because the opportunity to toast Guyi was a rare one.

Countless people longed for a chance to toast Guyi but never got one.

Guyi gladly accepted, smiling as he thanked everyone and said he was very happy to be drinking with them tonight.

Hearing Guyi say this made the crowd even more excited and thrilled.

Everyone drank the wine from their bowls in unison.

A moment later, Guyi raised his own bowl to toast the crowd in return, thanking them for their enthusiasm.

This left everyone feeling overwhelmingly flattered, and they repeatedly said they weren’t worthy.

’How could they dare let Guyi toast them!’

Guyi smiled and said, "The fact that we can all drink together in the boss’s shop today is a kind of fate. As for our status, there’s really no difference between us; we just do different things. So, there’s no need to talk about who dares and who doesn’t. Please, don’t stand on ceremony."

Hearing Guyi say this, the customers were all overjoyed. If that was the case, then they would be so bold.

And so, everyone raised their wine bowls again and once more drank the wine in unison.

The atmosphere in the entire shop was excellent.

After Li You finished serving all the dishes, he also joined Guyi and Ling Xiaoru’s table to eat crayfish and drink.

"By the way, Ancient Guyi, where will you be staying tonight? If you don’t mind, I have a room upstairs where you can rest," Li You said to Guyi.

Guyi said, "Thank you for your kind offer, Boss. But I’ll just find a hotel in town later. It’s more convenient that way, and I won’t have to trouble you. Besides, when I passed through town this afternoon, I met a motorcycle taxi driver on the roadside and got his number. I can call and ask him to come pick me up."

"So you’ve already made arrangements, Ancient Guyi," Li You said with a laugh.

Since that was the case, Li You didn’t insist.

They continued to eat crayfish and drink.

Gradually, everyone in the shop had eaten and drunk their fill.

When the customers learned that Guyi was also heading to town, they all told him there was no need to call the motorcycle taxi driver. Some of them had motorcycles and hadn’t been drinking, so he could just ride with them.

Guyi didn’t refuse their kind offer.

Afterward, Guyi and the customers said their goodbyes and left together.

Only Ling Xiaoru didn’t leave. She was feeling a little dizzy and planned to rest for a bit before going.

’In the end, I still drank a little too much.’

Li You looked at Ling Xiaoru. He had also been drinking. Otherwise, he could have given her a ride back on his motorcycle.

But now, that wasn’t an option.

But by the time Ling Xiaoru’s head wasn’t spinning anymore, the sky would probably be completely dark.

Besides, it wasn’t a good idea to ride an electric scooter after drinking.

It wasn’t a good idea even if she wasn’t dizzy.

’What should I do?’

Li You thought for a moment and said, "Why don’t you just stay the night upstairs? There’s a spare room you can use."

"Th-That would be too much trouble for you. I’ll just rest for a bit and head back on my scooter before it gets dark," Ling Xiaoru said.

Li You said, "After drinking, it’s best not to even ride an electric scooter. I’ll feel more at ease if you stay here. And it’s no trouble at all; everything is already set up."

"But..."

Ling Xiaoru thought for a moment, then nodded. "Then I’ll have to trouble you, Boss."

Li You smiled faintly and said, "It’s no trouble. Come on, I’ll take you up now. You can rest in the room."

Ling Xiaoru nodded. "Thank you, Boss."

"You’re welcome."

Afterward, Li You led Ling Xiaoru upstairs. He pointed to the room rented out to Ye Shengge and said, "That room is already rented to a beautiful woman."

Then he pointed to his own room and continued, "That’s my room. Aside from these two, you can choose any of the other three. If you want to take a shower, the bathroom is over there."

Ling Xiaoru nodded, then casually pointed to a room and said, "Then I’ll take this one."

Li You nodded. "Alright. Go on in and get some rest."

"Okay. Thank you, Boss!"

After thanking him, Ling Xiaoru walked to the room, pushed open the door, and went inside.

Li You went back downstairs.

It was just a little past seven in the evening; there would probably still be more customers coming for dinner.

’Time to do a little more business.’

...