Chapter 332: Chapter 173: Grand Opening_1
Second watch, requesting pink.
********
Shanyuan was a short, elderly monk with a kind, benevolent face. His voice was soft and his tone gentle.
"A year, isn’t that too long? Shouxin, that house is empty, and no one else needs to use it. You can rent it for however long you like," Shanyuan said.
With the monk speaking in this way, it was clear he did not oppose the idea.
"Then we’ll write that into the contract, a lease term of one year," Lian Manman said. "We’ll pay two months’ rent upfront, and thereafter pay monthly."
"No rush, no rush," Shanyuan chuckled.
"Well, let’s draft the contract then," Wu Lang arranged the writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone on the table.
"Yes," Lady Zhang was rather anxious, "Shanyuan Master, let’s get the contract written. We need to take a look at the house and do some cleaning and tidying. If all goes well, we plan to open the day after tomorrow."
"It’s all the same to me, with or without a contract. I trust you folks," Shanyuan replied. Although a monk, he did not refer to himself as ’this humble monk.’ It seems Xiao Tanzhi’s not so monastic origins had a backstory, Lian Manman thought to herself.
"Since we have the paper and pen ready, let’s write it," Lian Shouxin said. He had conducted a few business deals and had become accustomed to using contracts to secure and constrain both parties’ actions.
Who should write the contract? Lian Manman’s gaze turned to Wu Lang, who blushed. Although he had been diligent, his days spent learning to read and write were too few to draft a contract. Lian Manman then turned her gaze to Shanyuan.
"My handwriting isn’t presentable," Shanyuan waved his hand dismissively, "Is your elder brother at home? Oh, he’s not. Then let your father write it."
Lian Manman thought it over, and Old Master Lian was indeed the right choice. Even if they could find someone else to write the contract, not inviting Old Master Lian to the event would look bad in the eyes of the villagers.
"Then I’ll go ask my father to come over," Lian Shouxin’s remark seemed directed at Shanyuan but was actually seeking the opinion of Lady Zhang and the children.
"My mother just said we should prepare a meal to thank Abbot Master for choosing the day for us. Even if we don’t write down any agreement, we’ll invite my grandpa to join us for the meal," Lian Manman said.
Lian Shouxin observed that Lady Zhang looked extremely pleased.
"This is a big event, we should also extend invites to Lizheng and the others," Lady Zhang discussed with Lian Shouxin about whom else to invite.
In the village, whenever there was a significant event, such as the last time Lian Shouxin separated from the household, it was customary to invite Lizheng and several other respected figures from the village to be present.
"Great Master," Lian Manman spoke to Shanyuan, "let’s have the banquet in the temple. Great Master, please give us the key to the house so we can cook and prepare the food in that room."
"Good, good, good," Shanyuan repeated the word. It took him a moment before he remembered to summon Yuan Tan for the keys.
"Master, I’ll take them to see the house," Yuan Tan took the keys and said.
"Go ahead," Shanyuan agreed.
The family split into two groups, Lian Shouxin and Wu Lang went to invite Old Master Lian, Lizheng, and others, while Lady Zhang, Lian Manman, Lian Zhizhi, Lian Yeye, and Xiao Qi followed Yuan Tan towards the gatehouse.
The Earth God Temple’s gatehouse consisted of three rooms, arranged differently from the typical farmstead homes. One would enter from inside the temple into a kitchen space where two large stoves stood side by side, each topped with iron pots even larger than those at the Lian Family’s home.
Doors on either side of the kitchen led to two other rooms.
To the right of the kitchen was a small room, which contained a mud platform bed connected to the outer stove. The bed was covered with a mat that was torn in places. The room was otherwise unfurnished. It was meant for those who tended the temple gates, but since the temple received few worshippers, no monks resided there.
To the left of the kitchen was a spacious room without a bed, it was furnished with tables and chairs against the wall. This room also had another door which opened onto the main road leading to Qingyang Town.
Lian Manman inspected each room and was very pleased. They could set up tables and chairs in the large room to serve breakfast to customers. The kitchen would obviously serve as the cooking area, and the adjacent small room could be used as their rest area. The house was perfect for a breakfast establishment, requiring no remodeling, just some cleaning.
All three rooms were covered with a thin layer of dust, clearly indicating that no one had lived or cleaned there for a while.
"No one has lived in this house," Yuan Tan seemed a bit embarrassed, "My master didn’t have anyone clean it, so I only come to sweep once a month... I’ll clean it up right now, it won’t take long," he said.
