Chapter 48: Settling Accounts

  These people didn't rush into this room, but went next door instead. The commotion was over soon.

  Zhong Jinwei came into this world and had a very instinctive feeling of unfamiliarity, so he didn't have the urge to rush out and take a closer look.

  Others seeing Zhong Jinwei being nonchalant about it also didn't think much of it. The topic turned back again, and it was inevitable to flatter Zhong Jinwei once more.

  Very soon, the two shop assistants took turns bringing up dishes. They were mainly meat-based, with some river fresh food, not a single green vegetable, but there was pickled vegetables and peanuts. A pot of Shuangyuan wine that had been warmed up in advance was brought up first, while another pot of Niang Hong was kept warm on the stove in one corner of the room, convenient for guests to drink and refill.

  Everyone was hungry, and since all the dishes were ready, Zhong Jinwei called out, and they all started eating.

  Everyone's eating habits are different. Zhong Jinwei eats elegantly, but very quickly; Wang Peng starts with big mouthfuls, looking very hungry; Gu Baichuan starts slowly, but later gets carried away by Wang Peng and also starts eating a lot; An Guiyi's eating habits are similar to Zhong Jinwei's, but not as fast. Aqi is at the biggest disadvantage - in the same amount of time, others eat three mouthfuls, while she only eats one, and for every mouthful others take, she needs to take three.

  After having eaten until they were half full, several people started drinking and toasting each other. Of course, Aqi didn't drink, but instead poured wine for them, sending the shop's waiter to the door.

  An Qi didn't dare let Ah Gui pour wine at first, but later he didn't see Zhong Jinwei showing any dissatisfaction, so he just went along with it.

  After a few rounds of wine, Zhong Jinwei's words became more numerous. He asked Gu Baiquan: "Your Dongchang has a statue of Yue Fei and a plaque that is famous for centuries, but it seems that your reputation is not very good."

  Unexpectedly, Gu Baihe didn't speak up, and Wang Peng took the lead instead, his voice matching Sun Chengzong's: "Isn't it because of a horse that harms the group?"

  Gu Baihe glared at him and said in a low voice, "Keep your voice down, you'll get yourself killed!" Wang Peng smiled awkwardly and stopped talking.

  Gu Baihe turned his head and explained to Zhong Jinwei: "The purpose of our Dongchang's establishment is to share the emperor's worries, learn from Yue Fei's loyalty to the country, and wholeheartedly serve the country. Therefore, the emperor bestowed a plaque with a fragrant reputation that stands there, reminding us of the purpose of Dongchang's establishment at all times. However, among us, there are always a few people who do evil outside and harm our reputation."

  He paused here, looked outside and lowered his voice: "Moreover, our Dongchang mainly deals with those civil and military officials, arresting their illegal affairs. So the mistakes of our Dongchang are magnified a hundred times and publicized by them, so naturally the reputation will not be good."

  "Oh, I see. But Zhong Jinwei still had doubts: 'Then why would the current emperor issue a ban on you?'"

  "This, this, even I don't know anymore." Gu Bai Chuan vaguely knew the reason but didn't want to say it in public, so he pushed it off by saying he didn't know.

  "Come on, have a drink."

  Gu Bai Chuan saw Zhong Jin Wei no longer mention this topic and also let out a sigh of relief, coordinating with him to drink.

  It wasn't long after drinking that the sound from the next room came over again, and it was getting louder and louder. There were men's shouting and women's suppressed crying sounds.

  The soundproofing effect is not very good, and it's affecting this side again.

  Wang Peng saw it and put down his cup, wanting to go out. However, he was stopped by Gu Bai Chuan.

  Because Zhong Jinwei didn't say he wanted to go take a look, if Wang Peng went and got into an argument with someone else without knowing the other person's background, it could lead to trouble. Although the East Factory is never afraid of trouble, but since it was Zhong Jinwei who spoke, they couldn't bring him unnecessary trouble.

  Gu Baihe raised his voice and shouted towards the outside of the door: "Xiao Er!"

  The shopkeeper who was waiting at the door heard the shout and hastily lifted the curtain and slipped in: "What are your orders, sir?"

  "How can I drink with such noise from next door?"

  The shopkeeper bowed his head and apologized, then went next door to coordinate.

  The shopkeeper was gone for a while before the noise from next door gradually subsided. It seemed that they had reached an agreement, but when the shopkeeper returned, one side of his face was red.

  Zhong Jinwei saw the shopkeeper's appearance and estimated that he had been slapped in the face over there. I don't know who is so arrogant.

  Also seeing that several dishes on the table had been eaten up, let the shopkeeper bring more dishes, which was an indirect compensation.

  They ate another round, and the two jugs of wine were also finished. An Guiyi looked at the food and saw that it was almost gone, and the time spent was also considerable. He worriedly glanced at the sky, then turned to Zhong Jinwei and said: "Young master, look, the sky is not early anymore. Shouldn't we go take a look at the house first? If we head back to the palace later, the gate will be locked and it won't be easy to get in."

  Zhong Jinwei was so happy with his meal that he almost forgot about the matter, and after asking everyone if they had eaten enough, he asked the shopkeeper to settle the bill.

  After a while, the shopkeeper came up personally, still holding a small scale. He smiled and said: "The guest had paid 10 taels of silver in advance, this time the total cost is 1 tael 4 qian 6 fen, we need to return 8 taels 5 qian 4 fen silver to you."

  Gu Baihe raised his hand, intending to slap the table, but immediately thought of Zhong Jinwei still sitting there. He didn't slap it down, and his hand turned into pointing at the shopkeeper, shouting: "Black-hearted store! So expensive, cheating me who has never eaten anything like this before?"

  The shopkeeper came up in person, knowing there would be misunderstandings and fearing that the young shop assistant couldn't explain clearly.

  "Your Excellency's words are too serious, our humble shop is just a small business, how can we be a black-hearted shop under the emperor's feet?"

  "Why is it so expensive?"

  Zhong Jinwei didn't say a word and just watched from the side as if it wasn't him but Gu Bai Chuan who was paying the bill.

  "Sir, the siege has lasted for so long, and the prices of goods in the capital have all skyrocketed. Even the most basic necessities like firewood, rice, oil, salt, ginger, vinegar, and tea are several times more expensive than usual. We small shop owners are barely scraping by, please be understanding."

  This can be explained clearly. Gu Bai Chuan turned his head to look at Zhong Jin Wei, waiting for him to make a decision.

  Zhong Jinwei nodded, seemingly accepting the shopkeeper's explanation.

  Then, the shopkeeper started looking for money.

  He first took out two silver ingots and said, "Sir, these two silver ingots are also official silver, with the same fineness as yours. The large one is eight taels, and this small piece of silver is five mace. Please check it, sir."

  Zhong Jinwei took a look, but he couldn't see anything either. He pretended to examine it for a while, then nodded and said, "Forget it, let's just consider it the same."

  "The shopkeeper said after confirming, 'Sir, you can weigh it to see if the weight is correct.'"

  Why is it so troublesome? In movies and TV dramas, isn't it just handed over casually? Zhong Jinwei couldn't help but think. Actually, eating in ancient times wasn't troublesome either, they all used copper coins to settle the bill, which was convenient. Who made Zhong Jinwei use silver, naturally it became troublesome.

  He waved his hand, indicating that it was all right, and didn't mind anymore.

  The shopkeeper was delighted to see him so affable and then took out a string of copper coins, saying: "This is forty coppers, please accept them."

  On the other side, Gu Bai Chuan hastily reached out to take over the copper coins, took a look, and then said, "The exchange rate between these copper coins and silver taels seems to be off, doesn't it?"

  The shopkeeper smiled and said: "Sir, our exchange is based on the latest exchange rate of the money house. If you don't believe me, you can go ask."

  Gu Bai Chuan stared at the shopkeeper's face, but didn't find any flaws.

  Zhong Jinwei thought that using silver to eat was also too troublesome, and he still missed the convenience of paying with renminbi in later generations. Right, this, go back and think about it clearly, and also want to talk to the emperor.

  "Shopkeeper, we believe you this time, but if we go back and find out what you said is false, you can't escape the consequences. You should understand!"

  "No, no, our small shop operates with integrity!" The shopkeeper said repeatedly.

  Zhong Jinwei took the copper coins from Gu Baihe, weighed them in his hand, and felt they were still a bit heavy. He casually pushed the returned silver and copper coins together to Gu Baihe's face and said: "You two have worked hard, take this first to drink."

  Gu Baihe and Wang Peng hurriedly declined, but Zhong Jinwei said that there are many things in the future that will need your help, if you don't accept now, it won't be easy to find you later.

  The two of them had no choice but to give up, Archie and Angie stood on one side without saying a word.

  At this time, the sound of the next room slowly came up again. But everyone ignored it and packed their things out of the door.

  As soon as he stepped out the door, a gust of cold wind blew over, and suddenly brought out the intoxicating effects of Zhong Jiawei's wine. Huangjiu is like this, when you start drinking, there's no feeling, but after a while, the intoxication will come on, some people who can drink, dare to drink white liquor, but don't dare to drink huangjiu, it's because of this.

  At this time, the sound from the next room became clearer, and several men's unscrupulous laughter and several women's stifled crying sounds could be heard, as well as the sound of a whip.

  Zhong Jinwei's brain suddenly heated up, damn it, in broad daylight, hitting a woman, do you still want to save face? Thinking of this, he turned around and walked towards the neighboring room.