Chapter 32: Tavern Treat
Chapter 32: Tavern Treat
Xiao Xia came out of the martial arts hall and directly called a ox cart to go to South City.
According to the map Zhang Jue gave him, Xiao Xia quickly found his rental house, which was just opposite the jewelry store where he bought jade last time. It was at least seven or eight miles away from the Xiao family.
Xiao Xia used the key to unlock the door, pushed it open, then turned around and closed the door. The light in the room became a little dim.
The house has two rooms, the outer room has a table, a stove and a cupboard.
There was a bed in the inner room. Xiao Xia carefully looked at the diagram on the paper again. The hiding mechanism set by Zhang Jue was under the bed. Xiao Xia stood the bed up, found the mark on the wall, and counted the tenth brick from the mark. Xiao Xia pried up the brick with a dagger. There was a thin wooden board underneath. When he removed the board, a black bottle mouth was revealed.
There is actually a thin-necked, big-bellied jar buried underneath. The opening of the jar is very small, only enough for a hand to fit in, so a brick just covers it. If you can't find this brick, you can't find the jar.
The items that Xiao Xia entrusted to Zhang Ping for safekeeping were all in the jar, including the Spring Rain Pill and the Vajra Pill, as well as a dozen jade pendants and other items. After hesitating for a moment, Xiao Xia decided to carry the Frost Sword with him.
He put the thin wooden board and bricks back in place, covering the mouth of the jar.
This design is really clever. The whole room is covered with bricks, and you don’t know which brick contains a urn.
…………
Xiao Zhurong had a wide network of contacts, and the 280 Tiger and Leopard Pills were quickly sold to Xiao Xia, and the 1,400 strings of cash were deposited in the Jiangdu Baocheng Shop.
Xiao Xia was really grateful to Xiao Zhurong for helping him sell medicine. Since Xiao Zhurong refused to take a commission, Xiao Xia wanted to invite him to Guanyun Tower for a good meal.
Xiao Zhurong refused to go to Guanyun Tower, so he finally chose the Thyme Tavern he often went to, and Xiao Xia asked Lao Liu to join him.
The three of them sat down in the Thyme Tavern near the martial arts hall. This was Xiao Xia's first time entering a tavern since he came to the Sui Dynasty. He was full of expectations. He felt that the taverns in the Sui Dynasty were similar to those in movies and TV dramas, with a few black square tables with patina, and four greasy long benches. It was not the legendary kneeling seats.
However, he also vaguely guessed that it was because the pub was of too low a standard. If he went to a high-end restaurant, he would probably have to sit on his knees.
Xiao Xia had no experience, so Xiao Zhurong helped her order the food.
Xiao Zhurong ordered three pounds of Hu cakes, three servings of delicious pickles, three roasted fishes, three dishes of fried shrimps, three plates of stewed venison, three servings of marinated mutton, and a pot of wine.
Although everyone sat at the same table, the Sui Dynasty still practiced separate dining. Everyone's food was separate, so dishes were ordered by portion. As many portions as there were people, they would be ordered. The dishes would then be served on three plates, which was actually the same as eating in a food store.
After a while, the waiter brought the wine and food. Xiao Xia was more concerned about the wine at the moment. He opened the lid of the wine pot and saw that the wine in the pot was turbid like lime water, with flocs floating in it. He guessed that this was the legendary muddy wine! The low-quality wine that ordinary people drink.
"I don't want this wine, let's have sake instead!"
The waiter smiled and said, "This is the only thyme wine we have in our store. There is nothing else. Please forgive me, young master!"
Lao Liu is an expert in restaurants, he smiled and said: "Xiao Qilang, there is no sake in the nearby taverns, or it is Guanyun Restaurant."
Xiao Zhurong picked up the wine pot and poured wine for the three people, and said with a smile: "It doesn't matter, his wine is considered good in the area, at least it's not sour."
Lao Liu quickly raised his glass to Xiao Zhurong and said, "Eighth Master, Lao Liu will toast you first."
Xiao Xia rolled his eyes, "You good old Six, today I'm treating you, don't make any mistake!"
Xiao Zhurong laughed, "Old Six is asking me to do something, just understand!"
Lao Liu's face flushed red, and he quickly apologized, "It's Lao Liu who is ignorant. I should have toasted Xiao Qilang first!"
"It doesn't matter if you respect him first, but you have to tell me, what do you want him to do?"
Lao Liu scratched his head and said awkwardly: "Didn't you move away? The yard is empty, so I thought..."
Xiao Xia suddenly realized, "You want to move to my old house!"
"That's right. Your house is the only one in the whole alley that has a small courtyard. My father can sit in the courtyard to bask in the sun, which is very good for his legs. There are also three rooms, so my sister and I can live separately." Xiao Xia nodded, "Then tell housekeeper Liu and you can move in."
Lao Liu smiled bitterly and said, "More than 30 families in the whole alley are fighting for that house. Other families are giving money and gifts to housekeeper Liu. We can't afford it!"
Xiao Xia smiled and said, "How much does it cost? I can help you!"
Lao Liu shook his head decisively, "I appreciate Xiao Qilang's kindness, but my mother won't allow me to ask for a penny from you."
Xiao Zhurong smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Some people start to act arrogantly just because they have a few bucks. Lao Liu, ignore him. Let me give it a try. We can get this done without spending a penny."
This time, Lao Liu learned his lesson and they both toasted together.
Xiao Xia felt depressed. He had good intentions, but he didn't expect to hurt Lao Liu's self-esteem.
The three of them drank it all in one gulp. Xiao Xia savored it and found that it tasted a bit like fermented glutinous rice, but with a very light taste and no alcohol content. He could drink eighteen bowls of this low-alcohol wine!
At this time, Xiao Zhurong took out a small bottle and poured out a red pill the size of a longan. He smiled and showed it to Xiao Xia, "I just bought this today. This pill cost me thirty strings of cash. Guess what medicine it is?"
Xiao Xia squinted his eyes and looked at it and said, "This may be the Xiao family's Xiao Huan Dan!"
Xiao Xia heard from Zhang Jue that the Xiao family in Jiangdu also had a medicine for practicing internal energy, called Xiao Huan Dan, which originated from the Five Elements Powder of Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan, but it was a low-grade internal energy medicine and was far inferior to Chun Yu Dan.
It is not even as good as Zhang Jue and the little Taoist nun's Green Snake Pill. The Green Snake Pill is a mid-range internal energy medicine, originally called Dragon-Tiger Pill.
There are three sources of internal energy medicine in the world, all of which originated from alchemists. One is the Dragon and Tiger Palace in Zhongnan Mountain, and the medicine it refines is the Dragon and Tiger Pill.
Another temple originated from the Tianwang Temple in Laoshan. The medicine it refined is the Tianwang Pill. The formula was brought to Jiangnan by the Xiao family of Lanling. Chunyu Pill was refined based on the Tianwang Pill.
The third one is the Five Elements Temple in Hengshan, where they refined the Five Elements Powder and presented it to Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan.
Xiao Zhurong didn't expect Xiao Xia to recognize Xiao Huan Dan at first sight. He nodded, "Yes, that's it!"
Lao Liu was horrified, "This one costs thirty strings of cash?"
Xiao Zhurong smiled and said, "It's not a matter of money. I can't buy it even if I have money. This medicine is too precious. Only the eldest son of the Xiao family is qualified to take it, and every pill must be registered. I also went through great pains and begged for a long time before Brother Hongye saved one pill for me."
Xiao Xia thought about how he ate the Spring Rain Pills like eating beans, and it seemed that a few of them fell under the bed. He didn't take it seriously and was too lazy to care about it. It really made him feel ashamed, and he had to go back and find them quickly.
"Balang, aren't you also the legitimate son? You should be qualified!" Xiao Xia asked in confusion.
Xiao Zhurong smiled bitterly and said, "The legitimate son must pass the third level of martial arts before he is eligible to take it. I just passed the second level, so I want to accumulate ten pills so that I can break through to the third level as soon as possible. Otherwise, if I wait another five or six years, I will be too old to practice internal skills."
Xiao Xia really wanted to help him, but Chunyu Dan was a top-grade internal energy medicine. If he took the lower-grade Xiaohuan Dan after taking the top-grade Chunyu Dan, it would be useless, and that would be tantamount to harming Xiao Zhurong.
"Then is a servant like Liu Erhu qualified to take it? I heard that he is a fourth-rank martial artist."
Xiao Zhurong shook his head. "Even a bastard has no chance, so how can I give it to a servant? Think about it, Xiao Huan Dan costs thirty strings of cash per pill, and you need to eat at least a hundred of them to break through to the fourth level, which is three thousand strings of cash. What's more, you can't buy it even if you have money. This is a top secret of each family. The Xiao family of Jiangning and the Xiao family of Jinling came to ask the head of the family for the formula many times, but the head of the family refused to give them the formula."
Xiao Xia shook his head. "My own family doesn't even give it to me. That's a bit too much."
Xiao Zhurong sneered, "You don't know how many years these three families have been fighting openly and secretly. If the formula is given to them, the Jiangdu Xiao family will have no hope of winning the Three Xiaos Fighting Competition."
Lao Liu stared at Xiao Xia blankly. At this moment, he suddenly realized how far apart he and Xiao Qilang were.
(End of this chapter)