Linxia

Chapter 59, Drunk

When Cheng Shiliang, Huang Di, Chai Yiwei and Fang Lin came over to Madam Qiu, it was already a little late. They missed the beginning of the food just out of the pot and the peak of its popularity. They only caught the tail. At this time, the big pieces of meat in the pot had basically been taken away and there were not many people left here.

Everyone tried it once or twice, but basically didn't get anything to eat, including Fang Lin.

"I'm late today."

Cheng Shiliang said, "Let's go, let's get some money together to buy some snacks and go back to eat!"

"Okay!" Huang Di agreed, and secretly glanced at Madam Qiu. When Madam Qiu looked over, he immediately turned his head away, afraid that she would see him, but he was still watching her out of the corner of his eye.

Seeing that Madam Qiu suddenly smiled towards this direction, he straightened his chest slightly, but heard Madam Qiu call him "Master Zhuo San" again, and it was obvious that the smile was not for him.

Fang Lin looked at Mr. Zhuo San who was coming over. He was tall and big, with a small belly and a chubby round face, like the Maitreya in the temple. There was a shrewd light in his small eyes, making it difficult to tell what he was thinking. He walked over in a silk robe, followed by two followers.

The few remaining workshop workers here turned around after hearing Madam Qiu's shout and saw Master Zhuo coming over. They couldn't help but bend down and subconsciously lowered their bodies, shouting, "Master Zhuo!"

Master Zhuo nodded to them, walked to Madam Qiu, said with a smile, "I came to see you", and then put his arm around Madam Qiu's waist in front of everyone.

Maybe because there was someone there, Madam Qiu dodged, but was immediately slapped on the butt, and she trembled and swayed like a rolling wave.

"Yo yo!" The workshop workers who were eating laughed and made a noise, but when Master Zhuo San glanced over, they all shut up and restrained themselves.

Fang Lin glanced at Madam Qiu, then looked at Huang Di.

When Mr. Zhuo San hugged Madam Qiu just now, Huang Di's body trembled slightly. When Madam Qiu was slapped on the butt, he clenched his fists. But when he saw that Madam Qiu was not angry, he just rolled his eyes shyly, gently hit Mr. Zhuo San's chest, then lowered his head and loosened his fists weakly.

On the way back, we talked about this.

"Mrs. Qiu following Mr. Zhuo San is like a flower stuck in cow dung. What a pity." Cheng Shiliang sighed.

"I heard that Master Zhuo San's brother is working in Yingtian, and it seems that he is a high-ranking official." Chai Yiwei said, obviously meaning that Master Zhuo San was Madam Qiu's backer.

"That's the truth. Doing business is not easy. Madam Qiu's customers are all rough guys. The street officials take bribes and the gangsters also ask for protection money... How can you do business without a backer?"

Cheng Shiliang paused for a moment and continued, "Let's not talk about Madam Qiu. Even the owner of our bookstore has some connections in the government. Otherwise, he would be making trouble every day and would not be able to do business."

……

In the past, Huang Di would always join in the conversation at times like this, but today he was unusually silent.

Fang Lin listened and thought: "I had an idea before, to try out a marinade recipe and sell some marinated meat, but now it seems that it won't work."

What happened to Madam Qiu today gave him a more comprehensive understanding of Huai'an City.

Objectively speaking, in Huai'an City, as long as an ordinary person does not think about climbing up the social ladder, it is still friendly and basically no one will cause trouble for you.

There is no need to worry about gangs running rampant and bullying the people, playboys robbing women, and lawlessness as described in the novels - this is not the end of the dynasty, it is about to end, and Huai'an City is not a remote small town, but an important tax collection center that has received considerable attention.

Officials would restrain their children to prevent them from doing anything that would lead to impeachment by their opponents; as for the wealthy merchants, it was not necessary to mention that no one would care if they went to brothels or bought a lot of maids to spend money on wine and women, but if they did something bad that had a very bad impact on society, they would be skinned alive! In short, it was impossible to say that if you went out on the street and spent more money, you would be targeted and robbed, or if a family's wife was a little prettier, they would be visited by dandy boys and threatened and bribed.

Just as the petty official named Xiao said at the beginning, as long as they are right, the woodcutter and the scholar can seek justice when they clash, let alone other things?
'Of course, the premise of all this is that you are content with the status quo and do not affect the interests of others.' Fang Lin sighed inwardly. Street shops and snack shops in the city are relatively saturated. If you enter to grab food and affect the interests of others, you will most likely face backlash. Just like opening a miscellaneous stall, your peers on the same street will target you; the officials who manage this street will exploit you; the hooligans who roam this street will also collect protection fees.

Without any background, after numerous attacks, the profit will be less and the effort will be in vain; if you can still make a lot of money after being exploited, then you should be even more worried.

'Even if you open up a new track, the same principle applies. In this era, relationships come first if you want to get things done! '

Fang Lin made up his mind that without connections and backing, he would never step into the front line to run his business.

While he was thinking, he passed by a shop. Cheng Shiliang mentioned again that he should collect some money to buy some snacks to eat. Huang Di suddenly said, "Buy some more wine!"

Cheng Shiliang, Fang Lin and Chai Yiwei looked at each other and agreed - there are not so many stupid people in the world. Not only Fang Lin, but Cheng Shiliang and Chai Yiwei also obviously noticed something.

"One pound of pork head and two pounds of wine, I want old yellow wine..."

"No, let's burn the knife!" Huang Di said again.

Cheng Shiliang glanced at him and said, "Okay, then burn the knife!"

……

They went back to Xuan Mo Zhai, brought bowls and chopsticks from the kitchen, put the pig's head and stools on the table, poured a bowl of wine for each person, and sat down around it.

Although it is simple, it has a unique flavor in this environment.

Cheng Shiliang was a talkative man. He talked about what he saw in the brothel: "Those disciples from rich families are very fashionable, but I don't really appreciate them. They wear colorful clothes and look neither male nor female..."

In the past, Huang Di would definitely respond, but today he remained silent.

Chai Yiwei was an honest man and couldn't respond.

Fang Lin then guided them so that the atmosphere would not become silent and awkward.

Today, Huang Di changed his temper and didn't eat any food. He just drank wine. The Shaodaozi was a little spicy for his throat, but he drank it all in one gulp like water, and then poured himself another bowl.

"It seems that Huang Di is not attracted to Miss Qiu just because of her beauty. There may be a story behind it," Fang Lin thought to himself.

Cheng Shiliang and Chai Yiwei also noticed something. Seeing that Huang Di was in a bad mood, they didn't care about the money shared by the four of them. Since the other party drank more, they just let him do it.

Huang Di drank bowl after bowl, thinking that this guy had a good alcohol tolerance, but he didn't expect that after two or three bowls, he fell down.

"Ugh! Ugh!"

He was vomiting so violently that it seemed as if his heart and lungs were about to come out. Tears and snot were flowing together. He looked so miserable!

……

(End of this chapter)