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That day, Lu Songli had promised to take Qin Sheng to a restaurant for a delicious meal, and she was determined to keep her word. After asking him what he liked, she inquired about the most popular restaurants there.
This time, it was Lu Mingzhi’s turn to be surprised. He quickly said, “Second Sister, you’re going to Hongsheng Restaurant? So am I.”
Hmm? Lu Songli raised her eyebrows, “Someone invited you to Hongsheng Restaurant?”
“Yes, it’s a senior from the academy. He’s a very outstanding student of our Bailu Academy. He passed the archery and strategy exams over two years ago and was about to be given an official position. Unfortunately, his mother passed away unexpectedly, and he had to go back home to observe mourning. He’s in Chang’an now, and we bumped into each other yesterday, so he invited me.”
“This senior of yours sounds pretty good. What’s his name?”
“He’s indeed very excellent, right? His last name is Fan, and his given name is Quan.”
Lu Songli’s mind raced. What a coincidence! Her brother just came back from Bazhou, and he’s a geek who only went out once after coming back. This Fan Quan seems to have good connections.
Thinking about Fan Quan’s background, Lu Songli smiled knowingly. His parents passed away, and he observed mourning for three years. This is the perfect time for him to return and seek an official position.
“Second Sister, since we’re both going to Hongsheng Restaurant, do you want to go together?”
Lu Songli shook her head, “Let’s go our separate ways. After all, we might not be able to return at the same time, it’s more convenient to go separately.” Besides, she had a certain suspicion in her heart. If she followed along, wouldn’t she disrupt the other party’s plans? And she was also at Hongsheng Restaurant, so if anything happened, she could provide timely support. If there were no surprises, she could always ask her brother about what the other party wanted to do later.
So, not long after, the siblings set off, one after the other.
After getting off the carriage, Lu Songli led her people to the private room that had been reserved in advance.
The private room was on the second floor. Shortly after she arrived, Qin Sheng also showed up. This was the first time they had seen each other since returning from the Tian family in Ping’an Town, which meant they hadn’t seen each other for two or three days.
After returning from Ping’an Town, they received the combined fortune-telling results sent by the Qin family that same evening. The results stated that one of them had an official fortune-telling while the other had a fortune-telling related to wealth and officialdom. Their fortunes were mutually supportive, indicating a harmonious and prosperous future.
Coming along with the fortune-telling results was a letter from Qin Heng, expressing that the Qin family was aware of Zhao Bin’s situation. Although members of the Qin family had not come in person, they were willing to stand by the Lu family and offer assistance if needed.
Her father held Qin Heng’s letter and sighed with emotion, remarking that this was how kin should support each other.
Her father didn’t mind that no one from the Qin family had come in person. They were both practical people, focusing on the substance rather than the form. The Qin family’s discreet support was more convenient, flexible, and advantageous.
Lu Songli couldn’t help but feel a mix of amusement and exasperation. Her father deliberately mentioned this, showing that he still harbored some resentment towards the Xie family from before.
“Take a look, is there anything you want to eat?” Lu Songli poured tea for them both and gestured towards the menu hanging on the wall.
Qin Sheng looked at her speechlessly. Did she think he came to the appointment because he really wanted to eat this meal?
“I like to eat fish. Actually, I like pork, chicken, duck, and lamb, as long as they’re cooked well. But my favorite is fish, well, and pork ribs, I never get tired of them.” Lu Songli proactively mentioned her preferences.
Qin Sheng listened silently, pondering. Fish, huh? She emphasized fish twice. It seemed she really liked it.
Lu Songli asked him, “Hey, I suddenly feel like I’m very easy to please. What about you? What do you like to eat?”
“Anything.”
“You like what I mentioned?” Lu Songli looked at him with bright eyes, “Turns out you’re easy to please too, just like me.”
Qin Sheng suddenly felt the private room was a little stuffy. He picked up his teacup and took two large gulps. After finishing, he stood up and said, “I’ll go down and see why Liu Erxi and the others haven’t arrived yet.” He didn’t wait for Lu Songli to respond and strode out.
Lu Songli smiled, slowly sipping her teacup with her right hand.
Hongsheng Restaurant was a popular establishment among scholars in Chang’an City. Most of the people coming in and out were scholars wearing long robes and holding fans, giving off a feeling of “learned scholars conversing and mingling, no commoners among them.”
Liu Erxi and Chen Jinshui, accompanied by two other brothers, arrived at the restaurant entrance. They gazed at the black-gold carved gate, its understated extravagance barely concealed. The signboard above was majestic and eye-catching. The guests coming and going were all scholar-like figures. The two felt awkward and didn’t know where to put their hands.
Fortunately, their future sixth sister-in-law was considerate and had someone waiting for them at the door. They quickly followed the person, pulling their brothers along.
Yang Lu and Gao Zhenbo trailed behind Liu Erxi and Chen Jinshui, coming to mooch a meal. Ever since Liu Erxi and Chen Jinshui had gone out of the city with their sixth brother that day, they had been showering the future sixth sister-in-law with praise upon their return, saying she was friendly and down-to-earth, that she and their sixth brother were a perfect match, and so on, until their ears were calloused.
The two had such high praise for Miss Lu, which made Yang Lu and Gao Zhenbo incredibly curious about where they had gone. But whenever they asked, the two kept their mouths shut. They wouldn’t reveal anything. When pressed, they would just say they were helping their sixth brother. Eventually, they stopped asking.
As they went upstairs, they encountered Qin Sheng, who was about to go downstairs to meet them, and they surrounded him back to the private room.
“Sixth Brother, Miss Lu.”
“No need for formalities, everyone take your seats.” Then, Lu Songli thanked Liu Erxi and Chen Jinshui again for their help that day.
“Miss Lu, you’re too kind. We didn’t really help much that day. It was your sixth brother who did the most work.” They had only been on the sidelines, lending a hand here and there.
“I know that.” Lu Songli didn’t say more and turned to Qin Sheng, “Ah Sheng, these are your brothers, you need to take care of them for me.”
Qin Sheng glanced at her, meeting her ever-smiling gaze. He turned to Liu Erxi and the others and said, “You’re all like family. Don’t be shy today, eat and drink to your heart’s content.”
“Right, go ahead and order now.”
Since both Lu Songli and Qin Sheng had said so, Liu Erxi, Chen Jinshui, and the others relaxed. They ordered various dishes.
Gao Zhenbo: “Serve the wine, serve the wine!”
“Yes, yes, we can’t have this missing!”
They had all heard that the Hongsheng Restaurant’s Baiyuquan wine was famous. Since they were here now, they had to try it. Hearing someone call for wine, they echoed the call.
Liu Erxi held down Gao Zhenbo, preventing him from going up, while sneaking glances at Lu Songli. He had heard, and even seen, that many wives are quite opposed to their husbands drinking after marriage. He wondered if his future sixth sister-in-law would allow drinking.
Lu Songli maintained her smile and instructed the waiter standing nearby, “Bring out the best wine you have in your store.”
If they want to drink, then let them drink. Little do they know, when I was drinking, they probably didn’t even know where they were. Besides, the wine here is very different from the craft beer of the future. Firstly, the alcohol content, and then the color and taste.
The white liquor of the future belongs to distilled spirits, mostly around forty to fifty percent alcohol, with the lowest being thirty-eight percent. But the wine of this time is brewed, not distilled, with a low alcohol content of just about four to six percent, and it’s quite cloudy. Lu Songli had tried it; its alcohol content was comparable to fruit beer.
The ancient people claimed to drink three hundred cups in one sitting, but that’s quite different from how people in the future can down a few glasses without feeling a thing, claiming to have a good tolerance. Back in the future, Lu Songli had to drink for business purposes, and her tolerance was quite high. But now, with a different body, she wasn’t sure if she could still handle it.
The waiter respectfully said, “Guests, our best wine is Baiyuquan Wine. How many jars would you like?”
Lu Songli asked them, “Will three jars be enough?” Each jar of wine here holds four jin, so three jars would be twelve jin, enough for five young men, giving each about two and a half jin. Ordering too much might not get them drunk; it could just make them too full from drinking.
“That’s enough, that’s enough.”
“Alright then, bring us three jars of your Baiyuquan Wine.”