Chapter 292: A New Menu
Translator: Xiong Guoqi Editor: DesTheSloth
"Hey, what’s wrong with you?" Ling Hong patted on Wu Hai’s shoulders and asked loudly.
"I’m good," Wu Hai said indifferently while stroking his small mustaches.
"She isn’t here these days, but that doesn’t mean she’s not coming in future," Ling Hong shrugged and said with a relaxed expression.
"Are you talking about Lady Lu?" suddenly a short man asked.
"What? Do you also know her?" Ling Hong asked with interest.
"Of course I do. She’s such a beautiful girl," the short man smiled and said.
"Do you know why she doesn’t come?" Ling Hong asked again with an affirmative tone.
"She moved to another place," The short man said with a regretful tone.
"She moved away? When?" Wu Hai was a little suspicious.
"About one week after you left for your exhibition," The short man thought for a while and then said.
"It has been so long." There were understanding, regret, pity and faint reluctance in Wu Hai’s tone.
"How do you know that?" Yuan Zhou likewise asked suddenly.
He also wanted to know why this regular customer no long came all of a sudden.
"I met her one day on the way and went up and then asked her," the short man said with embarrassment.
"I see." Yuan Zhou nodded his head.
"But I have her new address. Do you want it?" After quite a while, the short man suddenly uttered.
"No need." Wu Hai only answered him after a while of silence.
For a moment, he really wanted to get that address. It might be good choice to say goodbye to her.
The woman that the several people were talking about was exactly the female figure in that painting work. She was also a regular customer of Yuan Zhou’s restaurant, but had moved to another place and no longer came.
Wu Hai didn’t even talk to her while Yuan Zhou at least spoke several words with her. Therefore, they didn’t really know much about her. It was just that she was beautiful.
"Don’t you say a goodbye to her?" Yuan Zhou couldn’t really understand him.
He could tell that Wu Hai had been paying close attention to that woman. Although they didn’t talk before, his sight didn’t cheat.
"No need. I just felt like I lost a source material for my painting," having taken up the cup, Wu Hai drank some water and then said.
"A weird painter." Yuan Zhou came to this conclusion.
"Maybe." Wu Hai was then lost in silence while stroking his small mustaches.
"It’s so nice to be young." The grandpa sighed with emotion smilingly.
People come and go. Someone just moved to another place and then no longer came.
The Master Chef Restaurant just stayed there, unmoved, but people seldom stayed where they had been and kept waiting. Wu Hai knew about that very well. However, it was a feeling that couldn’t be described as love. He just wanted to look at her silently. As time passed by, it was good to see you well every day. That was really enough for him.
Therefore, he didn’t need to say goodbye nor see her again. As a man with small mustaches and with his name unknown, he might be only a passer-by in the memory of that Lady Lu.
...
After the breakfast time ended, Yuan Zhou took out the new menu and placed it together with the invitation card.
"How would I use this invitation card?" Taking the card, Yuan Zhou looked at it again and again.
It was really a tough matter for Yuan Zhou to invite people to eat here. He hadn’t even thought of whom to invite.
Right following that, Yuan Zhou thought of another important question, "System, do the people invited with the invitation card need to pay or not?"
The system displayed, "Same as other customers."
"That’s good." Yuan Zhou got relieved then. It might not be great if they just came to eat but didn’t pay.
As the door of Yuan Zhou’s restaurant was widely open, there entered a person from outside. It was not anyone else but Wu Hai.
"What are you reading?" Wu Hai appeared to be quite normal.
"Nothing important." Yuan Zhou put away the invitation card without trace, but left the menu there.
"Huh, is this the menu?" Wu Hai took the menu and said unbelievably.
"Humm. It’ll be available at noon." Yuan Zhou nodded the head.
"This menu looks really great. The paper is just perfect," Wu Hai picked up the thin paper and said.
"Of course." Yuan Zhou nodded the head deservedly.
"Did you draw it by yourself?" Looking carefully at the lotus flower pattern on the menu, Wu Hai asked in surprise.
"No." Yuan Zhou directly denied it. Wu Hai must be joking. He didn’t know how to paint at all.
"The painting isn’t made by machines." Wu Hai had a pair of sharp eyes.
"Besides, the handwriting is also very nice." Wu Hai didn’t know much about calligraphy, but it also belonged to the arts, so he could at least tell whether it was good or not.
"Anything from this restaurant is definitely the choicest goods," Yuan Zhou said primly.
"Er..." Wu Hai choked then.
"Why did you come so early?" Yuan Zhou changed the subject.
"Guess," suddenly, Wu Hai said with a prim manner.
"No." Yuan Zhou refused flatly with a speechless manner.
"I want to hang a painting work in your restaurant." Wu Hai didn’t ridicule him anymore, but straightway brought out his purpose.
"Why?" Yuan Zhou stared at Wu Has and revealed a curious manner.
"It’s suitable." Wu Hai didn’t give the reason directly.
"Sure. Except the place beside the price list and the ceiling, you can hang it wherever you want," Yuan Zhou pointed at the two places and said seriously.
"You are afraid that it will affect people seeing the price list if I hang it there, right?" Wu Hai uttered with an expression of suspicion.
"No, you can’t cover the price list." Yuan Zhou didn’t answer him directly, either.
"Then can I hang it beside the price list?" Wu Hai pointed at a place next to the price list and asked.
"No, you can’t. It will affect the overall taste of my restaurant," Yuan Zhou said firmly.
"Ho Ho. Then I’ll hang it over here." Wu Hai was too lazy to argue with him about the value of the painting work.
He pointed to the wall right in front of the sergestes scenery wall and confirmed the position of the painting work.
It was naturally his painting of All Sentient Beings Passing that had been previously sold out. After careful consideration, Wu Hai was reluctant to sell it and hence rushed back overnight yesterday to redeem it. Of course, Zheng Jiawei hadn’t got the news at that time.
Wu Hai took out the painting work of which the name written on the blank space had been changed to People Passing by A Small Restaurant. Originally, the name of All Sentient Beings Passing was proposed by Zheng Jiawei. At that time, Wu Hai felt it inappropriate and hence didn’t write it on the painting work.
Not until he returned to Yuan Zhou’s restaurant did the inspiration hit him and he write the name down on it. He felt it was more appropriate to use this name.
"It’s a wonderful piece of art," Yuan Zhou watched Wu Hai take out the painting work and said sincerely.
"Humm." Wu Hai looked at the painting gently as if he were facing his own child.
"Hang it, please." Yuan Zhou and Wu Hai worked together to take the oil painting and prepared to hang it on the wall.
Once it was hung, the restaurant instantly gained a more spiritual atmosphere. It seemed to bring about the vestiges of daily life and made the place cozier.
"It really matches the surroundings well. Ok, that’s it," Wu Hai clapped his hands and said generously.
As for Zheng Jiawei’s roar with anger, it was another matter in the future.
"Humm." Yuan Zhou nodded his head.
...
During the business time at noon, everybody noticed the new painting work on the wall first. Regular customers found their own images in the painting while others that came for the first time would see themselves in the painting subconsciously.
The painting seemed to have some magical power that made people feel the greatness of Yuan Zhou’s restaurant.
"It turned out to be a master-class painting," even the grandpa that came for lunch couldn’t help saying that.
"As far as I know, your paintings were sold out." Ling Hong asked with puzzlement.
"No, it’s a rumor," Wu Hai said firmly.
"After it was sold for millions of RMB, you say it was a rumor? Your agent is going to cry." Ling Hong gloated.
"You are wrong. He agrees to me." Wu Hai revealed a well-deserved manner.
While Wu Hai and Ling Hong were arguing, the grandpa caught sight of Yuan Zhou’s new menu first and shouted in surprise.
"Wow, what’s this? It’s surprisingly a menu?"
...