books44 Chapter 255: Building a Snowman
Chapter 255: Building a Snowman
Chapter 255: Building a Snowman
That's why Ji Meiqing was so surprised when she saw it, and said to Lu Yu, "This is the first snow of the year, it's so beautiful." Because the snow was falling heavily, everything outside was already white, but the snow showed no signs of stopping.
Looking out the window at the white expanse, Lu Yu said, "Yes, at this time last year, life was very difficult for us. Time really is precious."
Ji Meiqing ignored Lu Yu's words and went to get a broom and dustpan. She then went to the kitchen and grabbed some vegetables, looking as happy as a child. Seeing Lu Yu still sighing, she interrupted him, saying, "Oh, Brother Lu, stop looking! Let's go build a snowman!" She pulled Lu Yu outside as she spoke. Lu Yu indulgently let her lead him. Because of the snow, the restaurant was nearly empty, but this didn't dampen Ji Meiqing's spirits.
Seeing her so happy, Lu Yu asked, "Do you really like snow?" Ji Meiqing replied, "Yes, I used to be too busy to have time. I really love the purity of snow. If people could be like that, why would they need to scheme against each other? Here, take this." The two walked into the yard, and Ji Meiqing gave Lu Yu a broom.
"I...I've never built a snowman before," Lu Yu said somewhat embarrassedly.
"Haha, I don't want you to build a snowman, I want you to clear the path first, so that it won't block our way and we can sweep the snow into a pile." Ji Meiqing carefully directed and explained.
Lu Yu did as she instructed, and the two of them were remarkably efficient, quickly clearing paths in the yard. Some employees offered to help, but Ji Meiqing sent them away, explaining that they needed to attend to customers and that she and Lu Yu could handle these small tasks themselves. The employees, knowing Ji Meiqing was genuinely happy to do it, stopped trying to help.
Ji Meiqing stopped and, seeing the results of her and Lu Yu's work, exclaimed, "Alright, Brother Lu, you can go rest now. Leave the rest to me." She then ran to the small pile of snow she had swept together and patted it left and right. Lu Yu, leaning against the table, was initially happy watching her work so diligently, but after a while, he noticed Ji Meiqing constantly blowing on her hands. He realized she had been touching the snow with bare hands, and seeing that her hands were already bright red, Lu Yu went inside with a cold expression. When he came out, he was carrying a small hand warmer.
He walked over to Ji Meiqing, interrupted her, and shoved the hand warmer into her hands. "How could you be so careless? It's my fault too, I only just realized it." Lu Yu scolded her, then turned to blame himself.
Ji Meiqing looked at the hand warmer in her hand and understood what Lu Yu was referring to. She replied, "Brother Lu, I'm fine. I was so happy to see Xue that I forgot about myself. Don't blame yourself. I'm fine now."
Knowing that what had happened couldn't be blamed, Lu Yu draped his coat over Ji Meiqing's shoulders before saying, "Let it go this time, but don't pile it up yourself, I'll help you." Ji Meiqing agreed and was about to squat down again with the hand warmer when Lu Yu stopped her, saying, "I mean you direct me, and I'll touch the snow." Seeing his insistence, Ji Meiqing agreed. She said, "Wait a minute," and ran off with the hand warmer.
When she was in front of Lu Yu again, she handed him something. "Here, wear these. They're homemade gloves, waterproof, though a bit rough around the edges, but they'll definitely keep you warm." Due to time constraints, the gloves Ji Meiqing made were quite ugly.
Lu Yu took the gloves, put them on, and replied, "No, I think it's excellent." He then let Ji Meiqing give instructions from the side.
With warm clothing and the fact that the two of them were building the snowman together, it was much faster. Before long, their masterpiece was finished, and Ji Meiqing attached the last part—the nose. The two looked at their creation and smiled at each other.
Ji Meiqing said, "It's possible that there are no cameras in this era, otherwise we could have taken pictures." Hearing the new word she used, Lu Yu asked curiously, "Camera? What is that?" Ji Meiqing decided not to just laugh it off, so she explained, "A camera is something that can record and capture beauty."
Lu Yu asked, "Where can we find it?" Although Ji Meiqing explained what she had said, she was not yet planning to reveal her secret, so she said, "You will find out later."
Seeing that she didn't want to talk about it, Lu Yu didn't insist on asking. However, seeing how much she liked the scenery, he still made a suggestion: "Although there is no camera here as you mentioned, if you really want to preserve this beautiful scenery, there is a way. We can find an artist to paint it."
Ji Meiqing clapped her hands and said, "That's right, we can draw it! And we don't even need to find an artist. The maze just finished recently, and Shen Qing is still idle at the restaurant! Such a good resource, let's go find him now."
The two went upstairs and arrived at Shen Qing's door. Ji Meiqing knocked on the door, and after hearing Shen Qing say "Come in," she pushed the door open and entered. Shen Qing was cleaning up the maze. When she saw Ji Meiqing and Lu Yu arrive, she put down what she was doing and went to the table to pour each of them a cup of tea.
Shen Qing looked at the two of them and asked, "I wonder what you two were doing just now? Why are you both so red from the cold?"
Ji Meiqing took a sip of tea to warm it up and said, "Oh, I was so happy to see it snowing today, so I dragged Brother Lu outside to shovel some snow and build a snowman. I know the snow will melt sooner or later, but I want to preserve this beautiful scene, so I thought of you. Could you draw it for me? Anyway, you don't have anything to do right now."
Upon hearing their purpose, Shen Qing said, "Boss, who said I have nothing to do? I'm currently cleaning up the maze. You know, if this isn't done well and something goes wrong with the maze, no one will be able to take responsibility."
Ji Meiqing was unaware of all this; she only felt that Shen Qing was making excuses, so she ignored Shen Qing's advice and pulled him away, saying, "Alright, cleaning up the mess is just a small matter. You can take a little time out of your busy schedule now."
Shen Qing was naturally talented at drawing, and now, after drawing the blueprints for the maze, he has been practicing drawing frequently, so his skill level has improved even further. It took him a whole day to finish the drawing.
Ji Meiqing, holding the painting, exclaimed in amazement, "It's practically indistinguishable from a photograph! The only downside is that your ink painting lacks color." Shen Qing was too tired to speak; after all, creating a good painting requires a great deal of effort. Seeing his reaction, Ji Meiqing said she wouldn't disturb him any longer and went downstairs.
Downstairs, Lu Yu had already laid out the dishes and was waiting for her to eat. He saw her coming down happily with a painting in her hand and said to her, "Put the painting aside, wash your hands, and come eat."