Chapter 146:115, a painting within a painting! The ‘Yellow Sparrow Painting1 is hidden within the ‘Five Horse Painting’! 3
But for him, three or five in the morning was the time when he felt most energized during the day.
And sure enough.
The call connected immediately.
“Hello, Mr. Lin, any instructions?”
“What instructions could 1 have? 1 was hoping to ask a favor of you. Haven’t you gone to bed yet?”
“No, there’s still work to finish. In fact, today 1 could tell that, even though everyone was celebrating, many actually have their doubts about me. To put it plainly, a lot of them showed up at the celebration dinner just because of you, the investor. I need to work hard not to be looked down upon by them, nor to let down your investment!”
A thirty-year-old man, especially one who hasn’t yet made a career for himself, indeed leads a tough life.
Lin Mo could very much understand Zhang Yihua. If it were his former self, given a hopeful opportunity to climb up, he certainly would have fought tooth and nail to stand out.
Sleep?
Sleep what?
Only people with no value to society would go to sleep!
“I understand you.”
After thinking for a moment, Lin Mo said, “Yihua, don’t mind those people. It’s enough that I believe in you, and 1 also believe that ‘Divine Enthronement’ will surely be a hit. Even if Divine Enthronement’ doesn’t perform well, I’ll still invest in you in the future!”
“Thankyou… old classmate!”
“With your words, I’m all the more determined to work hard!”
Zhang Yihua seemed to have his zeal ignited by Lin Mo.
“No, what I mean is, don’t tire yourself out too much, pay attention to balancing work and rest!”
“Yeah! I will! I don’t want to die suddenly before achieving anything. By the way, why haven’t you gone to bed yet? You’re calling me this late, is something up? Do you want to inquire about that maid I mentioned during the day…”
“Get lost!”
“No?”
“Then what is it?”
“I just wanted to ask if your sister is free tomorrow?”
“Huh? What do you mean… You… You can’t possibly be interested in my sister, can you? But…”
“??????????”
“No, Zhang Yihua, what are you thinking? In your eyes, am 1 that kind of person?”
“Well…”
“Damn! Well you, you blockhead! I’m asking about your sister because my wife wants to go shopping for clothes at Sijiqing tomorrow, but I have to visit Yongshunxiang Antique and Raw Stone Market to pick up some stuff, so I can’t make it. 1 was hoping your sister could accompany my wife.”
Lin Mo suddenly remembered something from two months ago that he had asked Zhang Yihua to help him with.
To cover for him if Li Jinwen called.
Probably from that moment on, in Zhang Yihua’s eyes, he had completely become a scumbag.
What a disaster!
Chen Kainan had to carry this burden!
“Oh, I see, 1 thought…”
“Don’t think too much… Is she available?”
“She should be. She’s not working and has plenty of free time every day. Besides, now that you’ve asked, even if she were busy, she would have to make time. Don’t worry, I’ll talk to her in a bit, tell her to meet Li tomorrow morning. Moreover, she’s quite familiar with Sijiqing.” After pausing for a few seconds, Zhang Yihua suddenly asked, “You’re going to Yongshunxiang to buy stuff? I don’t know if you’re aware, but one of our classmates has a shop there. Maybe you could visit him; it’s good to have someone you know when discussing prices.”
“Thanks for letting your sister help out tomorrow, I’ll treat her to a meal in return!”
“Huh?”
“A classmate?”
It seems there were still some classmates with hidden depths?
When Lin Mo had visited Yongshunxiang that day, he heard vendors talking about the high cost of renting there. Even a relatively poor shop would cost at least 300,000 yuan in annual rent, with bigger and better storefronts demanding higher rents.
Some were even charging several million a year!
Lin Mo couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Who is it, and what’s the name of their shop?”
“Xiang Feiwen. His family used to set up a street stall, but he hit it big in the past two years and made money, so he got a shop. I’ve been there to talk to him about an investment before,” Zhang Yihua paused for a few seconds before continuing, “I don’t know the name of the shop; we met outside the market at that time.”
Xiang Feiwen?
Upon hearing this name, Lin Mo furrowed his brows.
It was only because Zhang Yihua mentioned this name that he didn’t take it too seriously, as Zhang Yihua wasn’t the scheming type.
If it had been mentioned by another classmate, Lin Mo would only feel that he was being teased.
The reason was simple. During college, Xiang Feiwen had also pursued Li Jinwen, but she had ignored him because she had always liked Lin Mo.
Thus, the relationship between Lin Mo and Xiang Feiwen couldn’t really be described as awkward; it was more accurately extremely awkward.
Most classmates knew about this, but Zhang Yihua, having been obsessed with anime and novels, mostly holed up in his dorm and probably couldn’t even remember all the names in his class, had no interest in these kinds of rumors.
No one would bother to tell him, either.
Not knowing was normal.
“Uh, him… We have a disagreement, so 1 won’t be looking for him.”
Lin Mo decisively rejected Zhang Yihua’s suggestion, and then added, “Okay, you should get some rest early. Tomorrow you’re accompanying me to Yongshunxiang, you need a break too. How can you stay in that studio every day? What if you suddenly die? Wouldn’t my investment be in vain?”
“But, over here…”
“What buts? The investor has spoken, you’re taking the day off tomorrow.”
“Uh… alright then, I do want to take you for a good stroll. I’ll pick you up from the hotel tomorrow morning!”
“Mm, see you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow.”
After hanging up the phone, Lin Mo smiled and said, “Okay, wife, it’s settled. Yihua’s sister will come to pick you up tomorrow. You two will go shopping for clothes at Sijiqing, and 1’11 head to the antique city with him.”
Li Jinwen had heard Xiang Feiwen’s name just now, but after so many years, she didn’t pay it any mind.
What she was concerned about was something else. “Lin Mo, I hadn’t realized… Zhang Yihua seems to ‘understand’ you quite well?”
“Ah?”
Lin Mo was momentarily confused.
“All this talk about maid cafes, and liking this and that… Tell me the truth, did you mess around the last two times you came to Yuhang?”
Li Jinwen sat up straight and pinched the flesh on Lin Mo’s waist.
“Ow!!”
Lin Mo cried out in pain, “My conscience is clear, as clear as heaven and earth! How could someone like me, Lin Mo, possibly be that kind of person! It’s all Zhang Yihua’s wild guesses! He’s the one who likes that sort of thing, then he assumes I’m the same!”
“Really?”
Li Jinwen narrowed her eyes.
“Absolutely true!!”
Lin Mo pleaded, “Wife, please let go, it really hurts!”
“Hmph!”
“If I find out, you’re done for!”
Li Jinwen finally released her grip.
“That’s impossible! With such a beautiful wife, what could I possibly be unsatisfied with?”
“Smooth talker!”
“No, really, this is the truth!”
“Pfft.”
“Wife, I’m not kidding you, all I’m thinking about now is making money. 1 have no other thoughts! Not now, not ever! Once we’ve made money, life will get better, and we can go travel around the world!”
“Sounds nice— You’ve got to work hard then, we’re about to have another Construction Bank soon!”
“Don’t worry, wife, you can count on your husband!”
“Mm, I believe you!”
“Who knows, I might make a fortune tomorrow!”
“Yeah, yeah, you’ll pick up a huge bargain tomorrow and then come home with io million!!!”
“Great!”
“Great my foot! If you really manage to find a huge bargain and bring back io million, I’ll… even if I’m pregnant…”
“Even what?”
“Ugh! Stop it, you! Let’s see if you can bring back io million first!”
“Hahaha ”
“Though, husband, if we really had io million, that would be so wonderful, wouldn’t it? I’ve heard that even if you just put io million in the bank, you’d earn a decent amount of money each day!”
“We will! Before, we had no such hope, but now we will, Tai is a big shot, and he values me a lot. I’ll work hard to learn from him, and our days will keep getting better! Not just io million, but even a ‘small target’ could be possible!” “Mm!! Husband, I need a hug!!”
“Come here, it’s getting late, let’s go to sleep hugged up-—”
“You should go to sleep too, you’re exhausted from the day.”
“Hmm… I’ll look up some information for a bit, and then go to sleep…”
The two chatted for a while longer.
Li Jinwen fell into a deep sleep.
Lin Mo slowly withdrew the arm Li Jinwen was lying on, propped up the pillow, took out his phone, and continued to search for some general knowledge about antique paintings and related information on ‘painting within a painting’.
It must be said, there’s no wrong in spending money,
for the answers received from paid consultations are much more comprehensive and targeted than those casually found on search engines.
When it was about time, Lin Mo also opened Douyin and consulted the host Hai Dong for quite a while.
He gained a lot of useful knowledge.
He even added Hai Dong on WeChat so he could consult with him anytime if he had any questions.