Going home for the New Year during the winter break, I encountered a cool school girl on the high-sp

Chapter 229 A Gift for Lin Muxi’s Father (Thanks for Reading~)
“I have a lot of hobbies…”

Chen Chen narrowed his eyes slightly and fell into a brief period of thought. After a while, he slowly spoke:
"This makes choosing a gift a bit difficult. Just knowing his hobbies isn't enough; you also have to choose one that touches his heart, otherwise it's all in vain.

Tell me, among these hobbies, which one does your uncle like the most?"

Lin Muxi tilted his head and thought carefully, then said:

"Although my father has many hobbies, he is particularly obsessed with calligraphy. Whenever he has free time, he will paint. We even set aside a study room at home as his calligraphy studio."

Chen Chen's eyes lit up after hearing this, and his eyes were full of confidence:

"Calligraphy? That's an idea! Let's start with that. Find him a valuable calligraphy piece by a famous artist, or a set of high-quality study accessories. What do you think?"

Lin Muxi shook his head slightly and said with some concern:

“However, calligraphy works by famous artists are generally very valuable, and it is difficult to distinguish the real from the fake.

My dad has bought quite a few of the four treasures of the study before, and I don’t think ordinary ones would catch his eye.”

This is true.

Since it's a hobby.

Naturally, there are quite a few private collections.

If you buy something of poor quality and create a bad first impression, it will not be worth it.

The first option passes.

Chen Chen scratched his head, feeling a little distressed:
"You're right, this is indeed a problem. It seems we need to find another way..."

Suddenly, a light bulb went off in his head, and he said excitedly:
"Hey, how about we change our thinking? Since Uncle likes to create his own calligraphy, why don't we give him some special tools to help him with his creation, like a custom-made paperweight, and then engrave meaningful patterns or words on it? What do you think?"

Lin Muxi's eyes lit up, and then he hesitated:
"A custom paperweight sounds like a great idea, but how do we choose the pattern and text so that it reflects our intentions and my dad will like it?"

This is another question.

Chen Chen thought and said slowly:
"As for the pattern, you can choose something related to calligraphy culture, such as the Lanting Gathering, which shows the scene of ancient people drinking wine by the winding stream and splashing ink with their brushes. It is very artistic and also fits my uncle's love for calligraphy.

"As for words...how about a line from my uncle's favorite poem? You should know the line he often recites and loves to write, right?"

Fortunately, he had read many related books because of the need to write novels.

Now, reality comes in.

Who says reading more is useless?

Lin Muxi recalled carefully, and his eyes suddenly lit up:

"My dad particularly likes Su Shi's poem 'Ding Feng Bo: Don't Listen to the Sound of Wind Blowing Leaves in the Forest,' especially the line 'A bamboo stick and straw sandals are lighter than a horse, who is afraid? A raincoat will protect me from the wind and rain for the rest of my life.' He often writes this calligraphy as a gift."

Chen Chen clapped his hands:

"Then use this one! Carve this phrase on a custom paperweight and pair it with a pattern related to calligraphy culture. It's both thoughtful and unique. Uncle will definitely like it."

Lin Muxi showed a relieved smile on his face, took Chen Chen's arm and said:

"Senior, you're amazing. You always come up with such great ideas. I think this gift will work!"

If she were to think about it on her own, she might not be able to figure it out. Chen Chen smiled and pinched her nose:
"As long as Uncle is satisfied, all our efforts will be worthwhile. The next step is to find a reliable shop to customize the paperweight. I'll search online and try to prepare the gift as soon as possible."

The two discussed the details of customizing the paperweight.
Chen Chen took out his mobile phone, opened Taobao, and slid his fingers quickly across the screen, carefully screening each custom store.

"Look at this one, it has pretty good reviews. A customer ordered a similar calligraphy-themed paperweight before, and the result looked great."

Chen Chen handed the phone to Lin Muxi with a questioning look in his eyes.

Lin Muxi took the phone, looked carefully at the pictures and comments posted by the customers, and nodded repeatedly:
"It looks pretty good, and they can design patterns and layouts according to our requirements. It feels very professional."

Chen Chen took back his phone, clicked into the store details page, and contacted customer service.

He explained in detail the requirements for custom-made paperweights, including patterns, text, sizes and materials.

The customer service responded promptly and enthusiastically, saying that their needs could be fully met and providing a variety of materials for them to choose from, including sandalwood, brass, crystal, etc.

“Sandalwood is simple and elegant, has a textured feel, and also has a light woody fragrance;
The brass ones are thicker and heavier, and look very substantial;
The crystal ones are translucent and can clearly show the patterns and words..."

Chen Chen told Lin Muxi the characteristics of several materials one by one, and let her make the decision.

Lin Muxi tilted his head, thought for a while and said:
"I think sandalwood is quite good. It is simple and elegant, and it matches the temperament of calligraphy very well. My dad should like this style."

Chen Chen nodded, replied to the customer service to choose sandalwood material, and confirmed the final design plan and price.

"It will be ready in about a week and will be shipped directly to us."

Chen Chen put down his phone and said to Lin Muxi with a smile.

"The timing is right, and there's still some free time. If we're not satisfied with the results, we can always come up with another plan."

Lin Muxi's eyebrows curved, and she said happily:

"My dad won't like this gift then."

Hearing Lin Muxi's affirmative words, Chen Chen felt as if a big stone had been put down in his heart. He immediately breathed a sigh of relief and replied softly: "Yeah!"

At this moment, the gift issue has finally been temporarily settled.

For Chen Chen, this was a solution to a major issue that had been weighing on his mind.

A relaxed smile appeared on his face again. He took Lin Muxi's hand again and continued walking on the way home. The moonlight sprinkled on them, as if covering them with a layer of silver gauze.

After returning home, the two of them snuggled comfortably on the sofa in the living room and watched a light-hearted and interesting variety show together, laughing out loud from time to time at the funny clips in the show.

After a while, Lin Muxi thought that his manuscript was about to reach the deadline, so he took out the drawing board from the room, sat at the table in the living room, and began to create comics seriously.

Coincidentally, some inspiration just emerged in Chen Chen's mind at this moment.

So, the two sat quietly facing each other, one concentrating on the comic world in his pen, the other immersed in his own creative thoughts, each doing his own thing in an orderly manner.

Only the occasional subtle sound of a paintbrush scratching against paper could be heard in the room, and at this moment, time seemed to become quiet and beautiful.

After an unknown amount of time, Lin Muxi gently put down her paintbrush and let out a long sigh. She rubbed her sore wrist and looked up at Chen Chen opposite her.

(End of this chapter)