Chapter 99 Amazing
The next day, Qianhuan slept in and got up at 9:00 a.m. Since she no longer had to go out to set up the stall, she always slept until she woke up naturally. Her parents had become accustomed to her getting up late.
Thinking about going to Zuixianju for lunch at noon, she just drank a little vegetable and lean meat porridge to fill her stomach.
"Mom, I'm going to the county town first. I won't be back for lunch."
"Well, okay, be careful when you go out. Remember to come back early for dinner."
Qianhuan put on the light blue long coat and skirt, put on a veil hat and went out.
When Old Man Wang came back from the county town, he would wait for passengers at the entrance of the village. Qianhuan would stand at the entrance waiting for Old Man Wang's ox cart.
After a while, Old Man Wang's ox cart appeared on the official road back to Yunfeng Village. When it arrived at the village entrance, some of the guests got off the carriage. There were still a few guests who lived far away from the village entrance. Old Man Wang drove into the village and sent them all to their doorsteps before returning to the village entrance to wait for the guests.
Qianhuan climbed onto the ox cart and found a clean and comfortable seat to sit down. When the ox cart was almost full, Old Man Wang started driving towards the city again.
Arriving at the county town, Qianhuan got off the ox cart and headed straight for Zuixianju.
Master Cai was already waiting at the entrance of Zuixianju as promised. He was standing with his back to Qianhuan. Qianhuan walked up to him and patted him on the shoulder. "Brother Yunlong, I'm so sorry that I'm late. You've been here for a long time, right? Have you been waiting for me for a long time?"
When Master Cai heard this, he turned around, and when he saw the young woman in front of him clearly, his breath was suddenly held.
I saw the young lady behind me wearing a light blue long coat and skirt, with waist-length hair hanging down and a white veil hat on her head. At this moment, she was lifting the white gauze on both sides of the hat's brim, revealing her exquisite and beautiful face, looking at me with a smile as beautiful as a flower.
Mr. Cai didn't expect that Miss Liang would be so beautiful and stunning in women's clothes.
His ears suddenly felt hot, his face flushed, and he even stuttered: "No... I didn't..."
Seeing him like this, Qianhuan immediately smiled and teased, "Brother Yunlong, what's wrong with you?"
Listening to the young lady's voice like a yellow oriole, Master Cai couldn't help swallowing his saliva. He tried to calm down and said, "I didn't... I didn't wait too long. Shall we go in and eat now?"
"Well, of course we'll go in now. It's time for lunch."
Qianhuan lowered the white gauze on her veil and walked into Zuixianju. She said to Shopkeeper Zhou at the counter in a female voice, "Excuse me, does your restaurant have any private rooms? I need a private room for dinner."
"Miss, I'm so sorry. All the private rooms in our restaurant were booked yesterday. If you need a private room when you come to eat in the future, it's best to book it one day in advance. At this moment, there are only one table left in the lobby on the first floor and one by the window on the second floor. I wonder which seat you would like to choose?"
Qianhuan didn't expect that Zuixianju's business was so popular right now. She even had to make a reservation one day in advance to choose a private room for dinner. It seemed that her chopped pepper fish head and her suggestions were really useful.
"Then I'll choose the table upstairs by the window."
"Okay, I'll let the waiter show you the way."
The waiter attentively took the two to the second floor. Their table was next to the window on the left, and facing the door of a private room on the second floor on the right.
After the two sat down, the waiter served tea and put a booklet on the table and asked enthusiastically: "My two guests, this is the menu of our restaurant. Just tell me what you want to eat. If you don't understand the menu in the booklet and need an introduction to the dishes, just tell me."
Qianhuan thought: Young Master Chu is quite considerate. He must be afraid that some customers may not be able to read and understand the menu written in the booklet, so he asked the waiter to say this.
"Brother Yunlong, please order whatever you want to eat. You don't have to be polite to me today."
Qianhuan pushed the recipe to Mr. Cai. She brought more than thirty taels of silver with her when she went out today, so having a meal was not a problem.
"I'm not picky about food, just have whatever you want." Master Cai pushed the booklet to Qianhuan again.
Qianhuan regretted secretly, how could she have forgotten that Brother Yunlong grew up eating at many people's homes? Although he learned martial arts, he might not be able to read. She was really careless.
So she deliberately asked the waiter, "Waiter, what are your signature dishes? Do you have any delicious soups?"
"We have many signature dishes here. The most popular ones are Hong Yun Dang Tou, Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs, Dongpo Elbow, Steamed Fish, Kung Pao Rabbit, Yuanyang Five Treasures Stew, as well as Luohan Prawns, Qingxi County Roast Duck, and Pepper and Salt Eight Treasure Chicken. They are all very good. Among them, Hong Yun Dang Tou is almost a must-order dish for customers who come to our restaurant. As for soups, there is Yipin Tofu Soup, Golden Mushroom Soup, and Chicken Juice Soup." The waiter listed several signature dishes and soups in one breath.
"Brother Yunlong, do you want to eat any of the dishes the waiter mentioned?"
"What kind of dish is this Hongyun Dangtou? The name sounds interesting." Young Master Cai asked.
"Sir, this dish is made from a fat fish head, covered with red peppers. It looks very festive, symbolizing prosperity and good luck. The fish meat is very delicious and smooth in the mouth. It is the most popular signature dish in our restaurant."
"Then let's have the Hongyun Dangtou, Qianhuan. You can just order the other dishes."
"Okay, waiter, another dish of fried wild rabbit, one serving of Qingxi County roast duck, one serving of stir-fried vegetables, and one serving of chicken soup."
Five dishes should be more than enough for two people. Qianhuan doesn't like extravagance in modern times, and she continued this habit in ancient times.
"Okay, please wait a moment, my two guests. I will arrange it right away and the dishes will be served shortly."
The waiter turned around with the recipe booklet in his hand, ready to go downstairs to the kitchen to ask the chefs to cook.
Qianhuan called him again, "Waiter, bring up another pot of hot rice wine."
It's a rare opportunity to splurge in such a high-end restaurant. Qianhuan is very happy today and wants to have a drink.
She didn't dare drink strong liquor for fear of being scolded by her parents when she got home, but she could drink some rice wine.
In fact, she does drink in modern times. She can drink beer, red wine, white wine and foreign liquor. Her alcohol tolerance in modern times is quite good.
"Brother Yunlong, do you usually drink? Do you want me to give you a pot of white wine?"
"No, I'll just drink rice wine with you."
After the waiter went downstairs, he came back after a while. He brought a plate of free melon seeds and a pot of hot rice wine.
Qianhuan looked around and found that there was no sign of Young Master Chu. She then took off the veil on her head and grabbed a handful of melon seeds on the table and started eating them.
Mr. Cai, who usually looks like a ruffian, was so restrained and at a loss when looking at the stunning beauty across the table. He lowered his head and pinched his hands under the table.
Qianhuan noticed that he was a little nervous and thought that he was a little stage frightened because it was his first time in such a high-end restaurant, so she kindly grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds and handed them to him, smiling and whispering to him, "Brother Yunlong, you should eat some sunflower seeds too. Don't be so reserved."
Young Master Cai looked at the fair little hand stretched out in front of him. He quickly took his hand out from under the table and used his big hand to take the handful of melon seeds in Qianhuan's little hand.
Both of them were eating melon seeds, and Qianhuan would occasionally find some topics to chat with him. Mr. Cai finally relaxed.
After a while, their dishes were served on the table one after another. Qianhuan and Cai Xiaoye ate the dishes with relish and clinked their glasses with rice wine from time to time. Qianhuan felt that the chef of Zuixianju was really amazing and the chopped pepper fish head he made was much more delicious than hers.
Mr. Cai also likes the taste of this chopped pepper fish head very much and keeps praising it.
In a private room on the second floor, Chu Yichen and his cousin Du Shaoqing were having dinner and chatting.
"Cousin Shaoqing, why didn't you write us a letter in advance to inform us of your coming this time? If we had known you were coming, Yichen would have made preparations early to welcome you."
"Yi Chen, I made a last-minute decision to come here. Staying at home and being forced to study by my father every day is too boring and depressing. Isn't it a good opportunity for me to come to your place and hide away?" said the man in a scarlet robe sullenly.
Chu Yichen said with a teasing look on his face: "Cousin Shaoqing, I remember you said before that you just like to be a knight who travels around the mountains and rivers, and you have no interest in the court. I didn't expect that you have started studying to obtain a degree and are preparing to embark on the road of official career."
"There's nothing I can do. My father wants me to pursue a career in politics. He doesn't allow me to have fun in the capital. He nags in my ears all day long and forces me to read and write." Du Shaoqing was also quite helpless.
"Haha, can you still control your temper and read and write?"
Chu Yichen thought it was funny when he imagined Shaoqing reading seriously.
He himself was only interested in business, and when he was a child, his family hired a teacher to teach him how to read and write, but he only learned some basic knowledge. His family had been in business for generations, and his parents never forced him to study hard to gain fame.
"There's nothing I can do about it. My father is a very conservative person and I can't persuade him. Come on, let's drink and don't talk about these disappointing things. I've come all the way from the capital and I have to have a good time here before I go back." Du Shaoqing raised his glass and drank it in one gulp.
Chu Yichen also drank the wine in the glass in one gulp. At this moment, there was a sudden noise outside.
Chu Yichen said to Yuanji behind him: "Yuanji, go out and see what happened."
"Yes, son."