Just as the brother and sister were about to look at it, Gu An'an snatched the booklet away.
"Do not look at what is improper; you cannot look at what is on this."
Jiang Mingzhu didn't quite understand. "Why?"
Jiang Mingyi coughed lightly, "If Mother says you can't watch it, then don't watch it. Don't you believe Mother?"
Jiang Mingzhu didn't understand, but she still nodded in agreement.
Gu An'an stuffed the small wooden board back in, "Try it again."
As for the booklet, she kept it clutched in her hand, not intending for the brother and sister to see it.
Jiang Mingyi tested the sound again, and the tone of the piano changed slightly, no longer as harsh as before.
"That shopkeeper Lin was far too sloppy when buying the zither."
Who doesn't try out a piano before buying it?
It's a good thing he was leaving Anping County, otherwise I really would have gone to settle accounts with him.
Gu An'an didn't think so.
Manager Lin had no reason to deceive him. He had already said that the Lin family had sent him a message by carrier pigeon a few days ago, asking him to go to Jiangzhou Prefecture.
In other words, there was no indication that Manager Lin had left before.
He certainly wouldn't buy a subpar instrument to fool himself.
So, this little picture book was given to me by Manager Lin?
But what is he after?
If the sound of the zither is always dull and harsh, the zither will definitely be thrown away, and ordinary people will not try to take it apart to see what the secret is.
No, the lacquer on this zither is completely natural; it's not new lacquer at all.
This hidden compartment has been there for a long time.
Perhaps even Manager Lin was unaware of the secret behind it.
Or perhaps the person who sold the instrument was a highly skilled musician who used his technique to mask the problem with the sound, and Shopkeeper Lin didn't notice it.
Gu An'an was filled with many thoughts, and when she came to her senses, she saw the brother and sister carrying the zither and leaving.
Jiang Mingxu and Bao'er are still sleeping; playing the piano here would be too disturbing.
Of course, going to the east wing would also disturb the neighbors.
Fortunately, the children slept soundly as usual, seemingly undisturbed by the strange noise.
Gu An'an carefully took out the picture book.
There are thirty-two pages in total.
Each page features a small portrait.
The young woman, as pure as a lotus emerging from clear water, initially had a youthful innocence in her eyes and brows, but as time went on, she became more and more radiant and captivating.
The woman in this picture album bears a striking resemblance to Jiang Mingzhu in her features.
There are indeed similar coincidences in this world, except that the zither and the painting album both ended up in my hands.
Gu An'an couldn't help but feel that it was too much of a coincidence.
She thought for a moment and then put the small picture book away.
The capital city was too far away from her, and she didn't think about traveling thousands of miles to find someone.
Perhaps we can go into town tomorrow to find Manager Lin and ask him about it.
But to Gu An'an's surprise, Manager Lin had already left.
The waiter at Taibai Restaurant pointed upstairs and said, "Manager Lin left yesterday afternoon because they were pressing us hard. Manager Bai is now in charge of our restaurant."
Yesterday, Manager Lin did give a reminder, saying that we should be careful when dealing with the new manager, Manager Bai.
Gu An'an didn't intend to deal with Manager Bai, after all, the saying "a new broom sweeps clean" applies everywhere.
As for making money by selling recipes, she's not in a hurry, since she hasn't come up with any new recipes yet.
Just as Gu An'an was about to leave, a soft laugh came from the stairs, "Is this Madam Gu? It's an honor to meet you."
Before she arrived, her voice preceded her. The warbling of a nightingale was like a silver bottle suddenly breaking. Gu An'an turned around and looked at the young woman in the bright red spring dress, and was somewhat surprised.
Manager Lin didn't tell her that the new manager of Taibai Restaurant was actually a young and beautiful woman.
The young woman slowly descended the stairs, but didn't come all the way down. She stopped at the top of the stairs and looked down at Gu An'an. "Bai Qiaoyin, Madam Gu, just call me by my name."
That's certainly a fitting name for him.
Gu An'an wasn't that overly familiar. "Manager Bai has only been here a short time, so he must have a lot of things to take care of. I won't bother you any longer."
Without giving anyone a chance to stop her, Gu An'an left, causing the smile on Bai Qiaoyin's face, who was leaning against the stair railing, to slowly disappear.
I had heard of this Lady Gu's reputation before I came, but I didn't expect her to use the "playing hard to get" tactic on me.
"She is quite familiar with the Sixth Young Master?"
The waiter hesitated slightly upon hearing this, "It's alright, I guess. It's just that I've run into them a few times by chance." This was the third time Manager Bai had asked him about this.
He already said that it's always Young Master Lin who's being unreasonable and argumentative; in fact, Madam Gu doesn't really want to pay attention to him.
But Manager Bai seemed not to be listening.
“That’s quite a coincidence,” Bai Qiaoyin laughed. “I’ve never run into Sixth Young Master so coincidentally before when I was in the capital.”
The waiter didn't dare say anything more, only watching as the new manager swayed away gracefully, her figure extremely alluring.
He quickly looked away, reminding himself not to look around.
...
Gu An'an didn't expect to run into Bai Qiaoyin again so soon. But since people are Gods who pay money, how could she refuse when she was standing there?
When you open a business, you can't turn away customers, especially since they're not causing any trouble.
"Does Madam Gu not like me?"
Gu An'an laughed, "How could that be? I welcome all customers who are willing to eat here, I just didn't expect Manager Bai to grace us with his presence."
The woman in red at the food stall and the proprietress busy at the stove—aside from the little girl helping out, these two women each have their own unique charm.
The diners sitting there forgot that there was no soup left in their bowls, and they ended up drinking something that felt empty.
However, this female customer seems to be not easy to deal with, and it's unclear whether the proprietress can handle her.
Amid the "concern" of the diners, Gu An'an added, "This is just a small food stall. If it can attract the esteemed manager of Taibai Restaurant, I'll have to make a signboard for it. This is my golden signboard."
Bai Qiaoyin smiled insincerely upon hearing this, "Isn't this all because Madam Gu is good at business? It's always difficult for us women to make a living in this world, so of course I have to support Madam Gu."
This statement is contradictory. He clearly meant to say that it was improper for a woman to show her face in public, but then he said something in support of her.
He is a complete hypocrite.
He's quite comparable to Lin Zixing.
However, Taibai Restaurant is a property of the Lin family, so Bai Qiaoyin is probably very familiar with Lin Zixing.
No wonder.
When going out to do business, Gu An'an naturally wouldn't rashly cause trouble.
"Manager Bai is truly kind-hearted and a good person." Having stopped praising him, Gu An'an asked with a smile, "I wonder what kind of food Manager Bai likes?"
Bai Qiaoyin glanced at the pots and pans; they were all properly prepared.
She looked at Gu An'an with a smile, "I'll have a bowl of each, I want to try them all."
Gu An'an frowned slightly upon hearing this. Business people naturally wouldn't turn away customers, but what if the customer had ulterior motives?
What should we do then?
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