Chapter 172 Opening a Business
After leaving the Supreme Judiciary, Su Li changed her looks. She changed into the young man who met Qu Lu in the Hongyan House. She went to the street where the Linli Building was located.
It was August 15 again and lanterns were hung up in front of every household. Although the alley was secluded, the children played in the street. The poor people squatted beside their doors. They watched their children while they were picking vegetables. When Su Li saw the picture, she felt a little warm.
After watching it for a while, Su Li saw the proprietress of the Zhouyue Winery carrying a swill bucket. Su Li immediately came to her sense and walked into the Linli Building that had been opened.
Su Li and the proprietress saw each other at the same time. After the proprietress poured swill, she saw the high building whose door was opened. She pondered and scolded, “Black sheep… The restaurant is not only remote but also silent. The money for building it could be used to buy a good land…”
The shabby scholar swayed with a flagon to the front of the door. He was a little drunk and showed the whites of his eyes. He said, “As… long as they don’t affect our business, why… why do you care it so much?”
The proprietress shook her st.u.r.dy shoulders and slammed the bucket on the ground. She turned back and scolded, “I just said a word but you said more. You b.a.s.t.a.r.d, do you want to be beaten?!”
The shabby scholar seemed to ignore the proprietress’s words. He closed his eyes and sniffed. He said, “The wine is so fragrant. When does our wine become so fragrant…”?
“Drunkard, where is the wine fragrance from?”
The proprietress’s face was big and round. She felt weird and said, “The osmanthus fragrance can be smelled in the morning. Which family’s osmanthus fragrans blossom?”
“Well? No, this taste…”
The shabby scholar immediately opened his eyes and his eyes were s.h.i.+ning. He sniffed like a dog and went out. Then he went to the door of the Linli Building.
“Hey! You don’t drink the wine of your own family, but take care of the business of the next door. Come back!”
The wine had already hurt the shabby scholar’s body, but he ignored the words of his wife. He rushed into the Linli Building recklessly.
The Linli Building was just opened and it was cheerless at the moment. The shabby scholar stood at the door and looked at the exquisite and un.o.btrusive decoration. He praised, “Rich, rich. All is done with money…”
“What would you like to order, sir? The wine of our Linli Building is unique in the world!”
Yin Xuetong smiled and said, but she was very unsettled inside. The person in front of her was a senior in the inborn realm. She did not know whether the elixirs given by Su Li worked. She just took one less than fifteen minutes.
“Linli Building? Good name!”
The shabby scholar praised loudly and said, “The purpose of drinking is happiness. Heartily! It seems that you are the boss of the Linli Building. I did not expect that we are the kindred spirit!”
The shabby scholar couldn’t see any difference. Yin Xuetong sighed with relief. Su Li was excellent in the elixirs circle. Now that the person in front of her could not see any difference, her cultivation and ident.i.ty would not be revealed as long as she didn’t encounter seniors in the longevity realm beyond the inborn realm.
Thinking of this, Yin Xuetong bent down to give a salute to him and said modestly, “You misunderstood. I am the shopkeeper of the restaurant. My lord is the boss of this winery.”
So that was what it was. The shabby scholar was immediately enlightened. He touched the smooth desktop which was like a mirror and was enjoyable. This was the good scented rosewood!
“Guest, what kind of wine do you want?”
Yin Xuetong still smiled and whispered inside. Was this person really a senior in the inborn realm mentioned by Su Li? Why was he so inexperienced?
Speaking of wine, the shabby scholar suddenly remembered his business. He subconsciously looked at the wooden sign hung behind the cabinet. Then, he was surprised.
“Osmanthus wine: mellow, sweet and not rebarbative!”
“First cla.s.s osmanthus wine, 100,000 taels/jar; second cla.s.s osmanthus wine, 1,000 taels/jar; third-cla.s.s osmanthus wine, 100 taels/jar.”
“Liehuo Spirits: It is like fire in your heart and lung. The wine is mellow and hot. After you drink one blob, you will be drunk!”
“First cla.s.s Liehuo Spirits, 50,000 taels/jar; second cla.s.s Liehuo Spirits, 500 taels/jar; third cla.s.s Liehuo Spirits, 50 taels/jar.”
“Osmanthus cake… fried peanuts… beef…”
The shabby scholar widened his eyes. The ordinary wine’s price was almost the same as that of other restaurants. But what about those two kinds of wine?
Even the lowest third cla.s.s wine was more expensive than the best wine in other restaurants!
Unscrupulous restaurant!
It was a real unscrupulous restaurant!
The shabby scholar was stunned and he couldn’t wait to get out. But he lived beside her. They would meet regularly or frequently. He couldn’t lose his face. He collected some case-dough, but it was only five taels. He even couldn’t afford a pot of wine.
Smelling the strong fragrance of the wine, the shabby scholar swallowed saliva. He rubbed his hands together and obscenely asked, “Hum… shopkeeper, the winery opened on the first day. Do you have any discount? Look, your wine is so expensive. n.o.body will buy it!”
Yin Xuetong was stunned and couldn’t believe it.
A senior above the inborn realm was short of money?
“Regard him as a general drinker and explain the intentions.”
Suddenly, Su Li’s voice was heard by her. Yin Xuetong immediately came to her sense. She pointed to the jars whose sealing clay was removed and said with a smile, “My boss said that good wine needed no bus.h.!.+ People who know wine well would understand that the wine in our Linli Building is excellent after they smell it!”
The shabby scholar saw a row of wine jars at the door. His eyes were s.h.i.+ning. He couldn’t wait to walk away with a jar. But his reason stopped him and he sighed,
“The wine’s fragrance is strong and is diffused for ten li around! Drinker should know it…”
He also knew that it was good wine, but he couldn’t afford it!
Yin Xuetong knew that the time was up and she immediately said with a smile, “You don’t have to feel pity. You are the first guest to come to the Linli Building and my boss said that if a neighbor comes to drink our wine, present a pot freely! Wait a moment. I will prepare some dishes for you.”
The shabby scholar was surprised and then he was happy. He quickly got up and walked out of the door. Yin Xuetong was scared to step back for a few steps and was amazed. Was the senior n.o.ble? He didn’t want to gain extra advantage by unfair means?
“Shopkeeper, wait a moment! My wife is also fond of wine. I will ask her to come here! The free wine is definitely given by the number of people, right? It is better to accept deferentially than to decline courteously. Ha-ha ha-ha ha-ha…”
Yin Xuetong gawked at the shabby scholar and the shabby scholar left.
She never saw such a brazen person. He even took his family to take advantages!
Su Li stayed in the upstairs and saw this scene. She could not help but smile. She told Qu Qingning who was dressed as a waiter beside her, “Prepare a pot of Liehuo Spirits and a pot of osmanthus wine. Serve osmanthus cake too.”
Qu Qingning felt eccentric and whispered, “The shabby scholar likes to gain extra advantage by unfair means and the middle-aged woman is stalwart. Su Li, did you make a mistake?”
Fang Yuan agreed with him and nodded. They lived here for several months and had never noticed an unusual action of the couple next door except building the underground adytum. Every day, the couple worked hard and rested at sunset. They were so ordinary.
Su Li glanced at Fang Yuan and asked, “Those who reach the inborn realm has the doctrine inside. It is also called obsessiveness. Fang Yuan, what is your doctrine? What is your obsessiveness inside?”
Fang Yuan was suddenly asked. He was stunned. He raised his head and saw Su Li’s clear eyes. He was stern and immediately looked away.
He couldn’t say his obsessiveness out.
Seeing Fang Yuan’s reaction, Su Li felt weird but did not ask again. “Either hate or love is obsessiveness. After people reach the inborn realm, they will have the doctrine inside. It also needs to cultivate their hearts. Although the miracle-working doctor Qi Xianqing practices medicine to help the people, his obsessiveness is only education. Therefore, he has lots of apprentices. The seniors who reach the inborn realm in the Lians.h.i.+ Cult are full of desires. Although they kill many people, they still have the desire to kill.”
Then, Fang Yuan was more silent. Qu Qingning did not fully understand, but he finally figured out what Su Li wanted to express. He said, “You mean that the couple’s doctrine…”
Su Li squinted and said, “Not everyone can pursue the Doctrine of Secular World.”
If you were strong, you would have more desires. The desire for wealth, power and stronger strength would let warriors lose their true intentions.
This was the reason why so many sects were full of disdain for the world. They thought they were superior and could control the fate. The ordinary people were all inferior. After becoming the upper cla.s.s, n.o.body wanted to be inferior again.
Qu Qingning looked down at the couple who came in. One was thin and the other was fat. They were really like an ordinary couple. He couldn’t help but sigh. It was difficult to deal with the couple.
Then, he immediately went downstairs to prepare the dishes.
In the downstairs, the fat proprietress was sitting beside the table. She touched the smooth tables and chairs and her eyes were s.h.i.+ning. She really wanted to take one to have a seat.
The lobby was empty and the waiter did not serve any dish for them. The proprietress couldn’t help but lower her voice and ask her husband, “Do you deliberately lie to me? The dishes in the restaurant are expensive. Don’t lose our own winery…”
“Hey!”
The shabby scholar interrupted her and said, “The shopkeeper told me personally. How can it be fake? Hey! Look, the dishes are coming…”
Then, he saw Qu Qingning, who was taking the plates, went out from the back hall. His eyes immediately s.h.i.+ned.
“It’s time to serve dishes! These are the Liehuo Spirits and osmanthus wine that my boss presents freely. Enjoy yourself!” Qu Qingning quickly placed the dishes and flagon in order. Then he left.
The shabby scholar poured a cup of wine impatiently and was ready to drink it. The proprietress s.n.a.t.c.hed the cup in his hand and shouted, “Wait!”
Qu Qingning looked back in confusion and said, “Do you want anything else?”
He was scornful inside. Did they want to order something and take it to their home? Even if they pursued the Doctrine of Secular World, they couldn’t be too shameless.
The proprietress smiled constrainedly and asked peacefully, “I want to ask you a question. Your winery is big, but there aren’t any waiters. It’s cheerless. What’s the reason?”
Qu Qingning was nervous. Did she see through something?