Republic of China, 1928: Starting from a Wonton Shop

Early spring in Beiping always carries a lingering chill, but in Li Chunsheng's eyes, this chill seems to have become nothing.

Li Chunsheng woke up at five o'clock in the morning. Usually, his wrists would be a little stiff when he got up at this time, but today was different. He rolled out of bed and felt light all over. He shook his wrists and felt no discomfort at all.

He went to the kitchen, picked up a cleaver with his right hand, and grabbed a washed radish with his left.

"Da da da da da"

In just ten seconds, the radish was still the same radish, but when he gently flicked it with his hand, the entire radish instantly disintegrated, turning into thin, hair-like radish strands of uniform length.

"Is this top-notch knife skills?" Li Chunsheng was astonished. His knife skills were already quite good, but after being rewarded with top-notch knife skills yesterday, his first attempt was many times better than before.

"Chunsheng, you're up really early today." Yunniang said, still sleepy as she tied on her apron and walked out of the west wing.

Before she could finish speaking, she froze on the spot, rubbing her eyes: "Chunsheng, what... what did you do last night? How come you look so much more handsome this morning?"

Li Chunsheng touched his face and laughed heartily: "Sister-in-law, good news always puts you in a good mood. After seeing off several gentlemen last night, a weight was lifted off my shoulders, and I slept soundly, so naturally I have more energy. How about Yaya?"

"Just got up, packing my schoolbag," Yunniang said as she walked over, looking at the pile of shredded radish on the cutting board. "Chunsheng, did you cut this?"

"Practice makes perfect, practice makes perfect," Li Chunsheng chuckled.

At 11:00 a.m. sharp, Li's Restaurant opened its doors.

Someone must have leaked the news that Mei Lanfang and his friends had dinner here last night. As soon as the doors opened today, diners, as if they had planned it all along, swarmed in.

"Manager Li, I heard that Mr. Mei and his entourage ate here until midnight yesterday?" Shunzi couldn't help but ask as soon as he entered the room, before he had even settled in.

"Who told you that?" Li Chunsheng asked with a smile.

"Stop pretending! That beggar Gou Dan saw it all last night! Da Hu, you better be honest, tell us!"

Da Hu chuckled, puffing out his chest: "Of course it's true! You know Qi Baishi, right?! He even came last night!"

"Big Tiger," Li Chunsheng called out, "Keep it down, keep it down!"

The people in the shop immediately erupted in chaos upon hearing this.

"Oh dear, that old Mr. Qi rarely goes out!"

Just as the hall was filled with noise, the curtain was suddenly lifted high.

The newcomer was a man around forty years old, dressed in a neat gray silk vest, wearing a felt hat, and carrying a long box wrapped in yellow cloth. Behind him was a young man wearing a blue cloth gown.

As soon as the man entered, he didn't look for a seat. He first looked around and finally his gaze landed on Old Wu behind the counter.

"Excuse me, which one of you is Manager Li Chunsheng?"

Old Wu adjusted his glasses, not daring to be negligent, and quickly came out to greet him: "This is my boss, may I ask who you are?"

"I am here at Hefu, on the orders of Mr. Qi Baishi," the man said, bowing slightly, "to deliver two items to Manager Li."

The previously noisy atmosphere in the store instantly quieted down.

The diners craned their necks, eager to see if Qi Baishi was giving them a gift. This was a rare and unusual event in Beiping!

"Oh dear! My apologies! It turns out it was Mr. Qi who sent the calligraphy and painting!" Li Chunsheng quickly went to greet him, his voice so loud that it could be heard throughout the entire alley.

He Fu politely cupped his hands in greeting: "Manager Li, you are too kind. The old gentleman instructed that he had a very comfortable meal at your place last night and originally wanted to stay a little longer, but unfortunately, the old man is in poor health. So this morning, the old man personally turned down all other visitors and locked himself in his study for a full four hours to prepare these two items."

Li Chunsheng chuckled and deliberately spoke loudly to the stunned diners around him:

"Oh dear, Mr. He, you see, Old Master Qi is really putting this young man too much importance on him! Didn't we agree to send him over after Old Master Qi had rested? We're not in a hurry!"

At this moment, a junior employee in a long gown couldn't help but interject:

"Manager Li, this...this is the calligraphy and painting that Mr. Qi gave you? Could you please let us uncultured folks see it?"

He glanced at the junior employee, deliberately slapped his forehead, and loudly replied:

"Oh? How did you know that Mr. Qi Baishi wrote an inscription for me? My goodness, my friend, your information network is amazing!"

The junior employee was stunned, thinking to himself, "Didn't you say that yourself?"

He gave an awkward laugh and asked, "Manager Li, what I mean is, was this really written by Master Qi himself?"

Li Chunsheng raised his voice again:

"Oh? How did you know that Old Qi ate here until midnight last night and didn't want to leave, insisting that he wanted to come again next time?"

The junior employee was utterly exasperated, thinking, "Damn it, who asked you that?!"

Li Chunsheng completely ignored their reactions, turned around, and bowed deeply to Butler He Fu again, his voice echoing throughout the hall:

"Mr. Qi is too kind! I told him my little shop couldn't accommodate his masterpiece, but he insisted on giving it to me! Come, come, Da Hu, Mr. Wu, get ready to receive this treasure!"

The diners in the hall all stood up at this moment, some even jumping onto the benches.

He Fu smiled slightly, not revealing anything, and with the help of the young man, slowly untied the yellow cloth and opened the wooden box.

The first thing taken out was a horizontal scroll.

Everyone held their breath as the Xuan paper slowly unfolded, revealing only two large characters.

"Li Ji"

The characters were written with vigor and strength, and a large red seal in the lower left corner, "Seal of Qi Huang," stood out prominently on the plain white paper.

"Beautiful handwriting!"

Someone shouted first, and thunderous applause immediately rang out in the hall.

"My goodness, it really is Master Qi's calligraphy! From now on, the name 'Li Ji' will be a golden brand in Beiping!"

"Manager Li, his calligraphy is one thing." He Fu then took out another scroll from the bottom of the box. "This is what the old gentleman has put the most effort into."

As the second scroll slowly unfurled, the painting revealed not the fish and shrimp that Qi Lao was most skilled at, but a splashed-ink landscape painting.

In the center of the picture is the old locust tree in the backyard of Li's Restaurant. Amidst the dappled shadows, an exquisite wooden private room is faintly visible. This is the newly completed Liuxianglu.

The painting technique is simple, with just a few strokes, yet it captures the charm of the scene after a snowfall, with snow still clinging to the branches.

In the upper right corner of the painting, there is a line of inscription:

"In the first month of the year Ji Si, Wan Hua led the way to Li Ji's restaurant, where I discovered a flavor beyond the ordinary. This is a gift to celebrate the completion of the private room. Bai Shi Shan Ren."

Qi Baishi not only named the restaurant, but also personally painted the scenery of the restaurant into his paintings!

"Manager Li, this painting! If this painting were taken to Liulichang, it could probably be exchanged for two houses, right?" Shunzi's eyes widened.

The news that Qi Baishi had given his calligraphy and paintings to a small restaurant outside Qianmen quickly became the hottest topic of conversation in teahouses and alleyways within three days.

"Have you heard? Not only did Mr. Qi inscribe the name of that Li family's business, but he also personally painted their backyard!"

"That's right, I heard that painting has already fetched this price in Liulichang!" The speaker made an astonishing gesture.

"The key point is that it was Mei Lanfang's boss who led the way, and even President Feng of Xinhua Bank often ate there!"

When these rumors reached Qi Baishi's ears, the old man was sitting in his studio, drinking tea with a plate of peanuts. He Fu was vividly describing how Li Chunsheng had performed in the lobby that day, which made the old man laugh heartily.

"This young man is certainly not one to suffer a loss," Qi Baishi stroked his beard, his eyes full of laughter. "He's hiding two tricks. First, of course, it's to increase his fame. Second, he's afraid that my calligraphy will attract thieves, so he's deliberately making a big fuss to deter those who are eyeing his shop from taking action."