On the bustling street, Lu Chi’s calligraphy and painting stall didn’t have a single customer, looking rather pitifully cold and deserted.

The wonton stall next door was completely different—busy and bustling with activity. Shi Fa Ke watched with some envy and ran over to buy two bowls, then asked the proprietress to help carry them to Lu Chi’s stall.

“Thank you! I’ll return the bowls after we finish eating.” Shi Fa Ke said with a bright smile.

“No rush, take your time.” The proprietress said cheerfully before going back to her work.

Shi Fa Ke turned back to call Lu Chi, “Come eat quickly! Their wontons are so delicious—I can eat a whole big bowl every time!”

Lu Chi obligingly picked up a bowl and used a spoon to scoop up a large, plump wonton, taking a bite.

The wrapper was thin with generous filling—wild vegetables and pork. It had the fresh fragrance of wild vegetables and the unique aroma of pork, rich but not greasy.

“How is it? How is it?” Shi Fa Ke asked with an expectant face.

Lu Chi looked up and smiled slightly at her. “Mm, very delicious.”

Shi Fa Ke was somewhat dazed by his smile, murmuring in admiration, “Good-looking people even look especially good when eating…”

Lu Chi, who had just lowered his head to sip some broth, suddenly choked and sprayed.

This spray victimized a painting spread out nearby. The painting depicted a willow tree with branches swaying in the wind, extremely lifelike. Just this single willow tree seemed to capture a corner of spring scenery, but now it was spotted with droplets of broth, creating a mottled mess.

“Oh no!” Shi Fa Ke quickly pulled out her handkerchief to wipe it. Though she tried her best to remedy the situation, the areas stained with broth had started to blur and spread. Watching the painting being ruined like this, she fretted, “What should we do…”

Lu Chi scooped another wonton into his mouth, his cheeks bulging. He glanced at the painting without much concern. “It’s fine, no one was buying it anyway.”

“But it’s painted so well—it’s such a pity to ruin it like this.” Shi Fa Ke frowned, looking troubled.

Lu Chi glanced at her and sighed deeply. “It’s okay, it can be saved. Finish eating first, then we’ll talk.”

Hearing this, Shi Fa Ke stopped worrying about the painting and became curious about how such a damaged painting could be salvaged. She quickly finished her wontons in a few bites, returned the bowl, then trotted back to Lu Chi’s calligraphy and painting stall.

By this time, Lu Chi had already ground fresh ink and was sketching with just a few strokes. The blurred ink transformed into misty rain of Jiangnan, into a pond with ripples, into the slender silhouette of a girl holding an umbrella by the shore…

Shi Fa Ke was amazed, her mouth agape.

Divine skill!

Lu Chi completed the painting in one fluid motion. When he finished and set down his brush, he turned to see Shi Fa Ke beside him, stunned speechless. He smiled and asked, “How is it?”

Shi Fa Ke swallowed and looked up at him with starry eyes, nodding vigorously, her face written all over with worship.

Lu Chi laughed helplessly, suddenly feeling an itch to pinch her somewhat chubby little face, but ultimately restrained himself… silently reciting “men and women should not touch” a hundred times in his heart.

Clearing his throat lightly, Lu Chi pointed at the painting. “Do you like it?”

Shi Fa Ke was still immersed in admiration, nodding continuously.

“I’ll give it to you then.”

Shi Fa Ke’s eyes sparkled as she looked at him. “Really? Is that okay?”

“No one was buying it anyway. Consider it thanks for treating me to wontons.” Lu Chi smiled.

“That’s because they have no taste!” Shi Fa Ke looked at the painting, absolutely delighted. After that “rescue,” it somehow seemed even more beautiful than before.

Shi Fa Ke actually couldn’t understand painting technique, but she simply found it beautiful—not a single element out of place.

As she looked, Shi Fa Ke suddenly noticed a small seal on the right side of the willow tree. It looked somewhat familiar. Looking closer, wasn’t it the characters “Lin Yuan”!

“Eh? Master Lin Yuan?” Shi Fa Ke was startled.

Lu Chi was also taken aback. “You know of him?”

“Of course I do.” Shi Fa Ke blinked, showing off her newly acquired knowledge. “Master Lin Yuan is a very famous great painter. It’s said that even His Majesty praises his paintings! Unfortunately, no one has seen Master Lin Yuan’s true face, and very few of his paintings are in circulation, so now people say it’s harder to obtain one of Master Lin Yuan’s paintings than to find a thousand taels of gold…”

Saying this, Shi Fa Ke couldn’t help but glance at the pile of paintings stacked on the table that no one was interested in.

Lu Chi’s expression became somewhat strange.

“Actually, I didn’t know about this before…” Shi Fa Ke chuckled, being completely honest. “But when I went to the He family today, Ketian was admiring one of Master Lin Yuan’s paintings called ‘Forest Sea.’ She treasured it greatly, saying her brother specially brought it back from the capital for her—it cost thirteen hundred taels!”

Hearing this, Lu Chi looked again at the pile of unnoticed paintings on his table, feeling somewhat dejected.

“But I think you paint much better than that Lin Yuan master!” Shi Fa Ke suddenly patted his shoulder, speaking with great loyalty.

“Ah?” Lu Chi stared at her blankly, feeling his thought process couldn’t quite keep up with her speed.

“It’s okay, painting replicas isn’t shameful. I believe that given time, you’ll definitely become an even greater painter than Master Lin Yuan.” Shi Fa Ke smiled encouragingly.

“…”

“I’ll have this painting mounted and hung in my room. When you become a great painter in the future, this painting will definitely be very valuable!” Shi Fa Ke said with a face full of anticipation.

“…”

Lu Chi’s mood was rather complex.

Just then, someone approached.

“Young man, selling paintings?”

“Yes, are you looking to buy a painting?” Lu Chi quickly collected himself and asked with a smile.

“Uh, no… I saw you had ground ink and wanted to ask if you could help write a letter?” the person asked.

“…That would be possible.”

So Lu Chi’s calligraphy and painting stall’s first business was ghostwriting a letter, earning five copper coins.

Looking at the five copper coins in his palm, Lu Chi’s expression was somewhat complex.

Once there was one customer, there were more. Lu Chi’s business gradually picked up—all letter-writing services. Seeing him become busy, Shi Fa Ke helped by grinding ink.

After Lu Chi finished writing a letter and saw off a customer, he turned to see Shi Fa Ke standing nearby grinding ink. Her somewhat chubby little face had several black ink spots on it without her knowledge, looking adorably amusing.

As if sensing Lu Chi’s gaze, she looked over.

Lu Chi suppressed his laughter. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Shi Fa Ke smiled at him, showing a row of neat little white teeth, making those ink spots look even more endearing.

Lu Chi couldn’t help but turn his head away with amusement, only to see a little chubby boy standing in front of his stall—he didn’t know when he had arrived. The boy looked about seven or eight years old, wearing a pea-green short jacket with a gold collar around his neck.

“Hey, do you do copying?” the little fatty asked.

“I do copying.” Lu Chi nodded.

The little fatty pulled out a copy of “Mencius” from his sleeve and threw it on the table. “Help me copy this five times.”

Lu Chi raised an eyebrow.

“One tael of silver per copy! Five copies means five taels!” The little fatty held up one chubby paw, making a very domineering gesture of five.

Shi Fa Ke was shocked. Goodness, whose little spendthrift was this? Five taels of silver was quite a lot for ordinary families.

“Come back in five days to collect it. Deposit of two taels.” Lu Chi remained calm and composed.

The little fatty was satisfied upon hearing this, nodded, pulled out two taels of silver and tossed them to Lu Chi. Then, looking around furtively like a thief, as if confirming safety, he scampered away.

Shi Fa Ke watched with twitching temples. Whose little brat was this… He was having his teacher-assigned homework ghostwritten!

Glancing at Lu Chi, who had already settled down to begin copying “Mencius,” Shi Fa Ke remembered He Ketian’s words and couldn’t help wondering what the real Master Lin Yuan must look like.

“Hmm?” Lu Chi looked up at her.

Only then did Shi Fa Ke realize she had accidentally spoken her thoughts aloud. She smiled somewhat awkwardly. “Nothing, I was just thinking about what He Ketian said earlier. She thought Master Lin Yuan should be a well-read, learned, and very refined gentleman.”

Lu Chi couldn’t help but sit up straighter, asking with a smile, “What do you think?”

“I think…” Shi Fa Ke pondered, “he should be an old gentleman with a full beard!”