At Qingfan Tower, Shen Yin spent her free time creating calligraphy and paintings, all of which were displayed by the end of April.
On May 1st, the formal opening day, the entrance of Qingfan Tower was bustling. Surprisingly, Shen Yin ran into Fang Ningning.
"Yin Yin."
"Cousin."
Since the original owner married Xu Xiuhe, she had severed contacts with everyone from before. Fang Ningning had been away from Rong City for several years and only returned last year. This encounter was the first time Shen Yin and Fang Ningning had seen each other since then.
Seeing Fang Ningning at the event allowed Shen Yin to vaguely understand the outcome of their blind date. If it had failed, there was no way Fang Ningning would be here.
Ningning began the conversation; "I heard from Chen Siming that the entire decoration design was done by you?"
"More or less. I designed according to the descriptions from several books. For instance, I aimed at 'three-story building with five towers facing each other, each connected by flying bridges, light and shadow working together, pearl curtains and embroidered plaques, lanterns dazzling.' Still, it is probably lacking some feeling that it should have."
"Yin Yin, it feels like you've become more impressive over the years! As expected of a top student in primary school."
"Cousin, your compliment is making me blush." Shen Yin chuckled, well aware of how the original owner had been an exceptional scholar before meeting Zhou Man. Shen Yin wondered why there had been such a drastic change.
"There's a feeling of time travel to the ancient times. This tower, it's somewhat reminiscent of the buildings in 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival.' It's simply breathtaking as a science student; I can't quite put it into words, but it's truly astonishing."
"Have you seen the inside yet?"
Not only did she put effort into the interior decoration, but Shen Yin also paid particular attention to the service and dishes. She manually wrote the menu based on traditional recipes in her memory.
Upon entering Qingfan Tower, one would first see the servers dressed in Song clothes, personally trained by Chen Siming.
With diverse dishes and attentive service, the tower housed numerous private rooms, with every door adorned with Shen Yin's own calligraphy.
What sets Qingfan Tower apart is its dedication to culture. Having decided to capitalize on culture, Shen Yin made sure to spread it as the main positioning of the tower.
One could select from singing, playing Guqin, blowing flute, and periodic performances of dance and song were held.
On this opening day, a variety of song and dance programs were performed. The tower was so crowded that Shen Yin didn’t dare to let go of Xiao Ren. With so many people coming and going, many young people even wore Song Dynasty clothes, mingling among the guests.
For a fleeting moment, Shen Yin felt like she had traveled back to the Dasheng Dynasty, witnessing the bustling and prosperous scenes.
Shu Yi reserved a private room for herself, claiming to support her sister's business.
All she could see was prosperity.
Looking at the full table of food, Shu Yi exclaimed it was the most appetzing feast she had ever seen.
There were roasted, grilled, mixed, fried, boiled, steamed dishes, clams, stir-fried crabs, nutmeg crabs, green onions and rabbits, scorching chickens, roast ducks, all were delicacies from sea and land.
"Girl, you're not telling me you made all of these," Shu Yi said, admiring while peeling a crab
"It's not entirely, just took the old menus from ancient times, researched them a bit and recreated them."
"It’s so delicious. Honestly, even without such a lavish decoration, and all these songs and music dances, the food alone will attract many people over here."
"It’s different. Sometimes, some things need embellishment. Like I’ve always said, it needs to have character. Just having food with character is not enough. The environment needs to have one too." Shen Yin also sat down. Anything that happens outside now is none of her business. She has done all she can.
“I don’t even know how fortunate I am to have met you and to be your friend.”
In front of Shen Yin, Shu Yi behaves entirely like herself, without a hint of the actress persona.
"Are you still going to say that Xu Xiuhe saved the earth in his previous life?"
"How do you know?"
"Because Uncle Chen Siming said so." Even though the little lad was eating his meal, he could hear every word the adults were speaking.
"Uncle Chen Siming is right." Shu Yi pointed a thumbs-up towards the little lad.
"Look at the painting on the wall."
The little lad pointed to the painting on the wall, guiding Shu Yi to look.
It was then that Shu Yi noticed, hanging on the wall was a green landscape painting.
"It was painted by my mom." Xu Yunzheng's tone could not be more proud, as if saying, my mom is the best.
Shu Yi was not even surprised anymore. This woman could stitch such intricate patterns, she totally believed she had a solid foundation in arts.
"Are all of these painted by you?"
"Almost."
Shen Yin replied. Chen Siming had bought some good calligraphy and paintings outside, but after getting home, he told Shen Yin that they could not compare to her own work.
She even joked at that time: "You can give me the money. I can draw better ones than you have."
Chen Siming immediately replied: "I am broke now."
He had promised to give Shen Yin some shares, but after negotiating with Xu Xiuhe, he was already penniless.
At this time, Chen Siming was on the railing of the third floor, overlooking the entire Qingfan Tower. He never imagined he would be able to create such an ancient and classic Song Dynasty tavern.
The tavern was already full of people. Some did not even want to leave and had started lining up.
Chen Siming felt he would strike it rich again. This entertainment hot spot did not lose to Xu Xiuhe's Qingfeng Mingyue at all!
"This tavern you've opened is really good. Feels like we've travelled back in time." Fang Ningning came up next to Chen Siming.
"Yes, your cousin is pretty amazing. From the decoration to the layout, from the dishes to the service, it was all her."
"She always has been fantastic since she was little, and very obstinate. Once she decides on something, no one can change it. She gets good at whatever she wants to learn, didn’t worry her mom a bit. Always the child others want to have. Luckily, I am a few years older than her, or I'd constantly be compared to her."
"You are quite remarkable too. It’s not easy for a woman to be so highly educated." Chen Siming praised.
"Thank you, but that's all I have, highly educated. I know nothing about music, chess, calligraphy, or painting."
"Everyone excels in different areas, perhaps Shen Yin's level in natural sciences might not be as good as yours."
"Hahaha, then you're wrong. You don't know how good her science grades were in high school. If she hadn't lost her way and given into a moment of despair, she could have been a scientist by now. But excellent people excel in every aspect. Even though Shen Yin took a wrong turn, she got back on track. She has a career, a family, and a child."
As Fang Ningning spoke, envy sparkled uncontrollably in her eyes. How wonderful, thankfully she had returned to the right path. Otherwise, we couldn't see such a prosperous restaurant today.