Chapter Twelve: Buying a Lucky Purse and Guessing Riddles

  Yue Kang entered the main hall of the wine house, and there were not many guests in the wine house, only about seven or eight tables.

  Yue Kang recognized the owner of the wine shop, Wang Xinde. He was about 40 years old, slightly thin, with a small goatee beard. From his appearance, Wang Xinde seemed to be a simple and frugal person, wearing a pale blue long gown made of ordinary material, without any pretentiousness, very easy-going.

  At Yue Kang's wedding, Wang Xin De went, so he also recognized this mysterious brother-in-law. Seeing Yue Kang walk in, he hurried to welcome him, "Brother-in-law is here, Wang Er quickly take Brother-in-law to the third floor, let Brother-in-law go to the best box." Wang Xin De showed a smile, when he was young, he was just an abandoned orphan, later coincidentally followed Old Man Bai, now not only has a family but also became the manager of this wine house. He is grateful and even though Master is no longer here, he still works hard for the White family to run this wine house.

  "Uncle De, never mind, we'll just eat something casually and leave, let's just do the main hall!" Yue Kang felt that the main hall was quite good, although there were a few more people, it was lively.

  "How can that be good..."

  Wang Xinde still wanted to say something, "Uncle De, are you still being polite with me? We're all family." At the wedding, Yue Kang had talked to Wang Xinde and knew that he wasn't good at speaking, but felt that he was a decent person.

  "Right, right, one family, one family. Brother-in-law wants to eat something, I'll let them make it for you." Wang Xinde didn't feel disgusted with this Bai family brother-in-law, on the contrary, he felt that the person was quite easy-going. When he said "one family", Wang Xinde's heart warmed up a bit.

  "Just come as you are." Yue Kang said warmly. People are emotional animals, if you treat them well, they will respect you. For Yue Kang, who was new to the family, it's not easy to pretend to be noble. His identity is already very sensitive, and if he acts too arrogant, he won't gain anyone's favor and will only provoke resentment. The reason people respect him is because of the big tree that is the Bai family; what can he amount to?

  So Yue Kang was especially polite to those he felt were all right.

  The little servant found out that the person in front of him was Bai Jia's maternal uncle and hurriedly helped Yue Kangcai wipe the table, board, and stool.

  Yue Kang just said a word of trouble, and the shopkeeper was busy saying "it's only right, it's only right".

  Obviously, the guests at the next table had overheard their conversation and were casting them curious glances. Several tables of people were whispering to each other, and from their eyes, it was clear that they weren't saying anything good about him. Yue Kang didn't bother to pay attention; he couldn't possibly fight everyone who gave him a dirty look, after all.

  The dishes were quickly served, and Wang Xinde personally brought a pot of good wine, poured some for Yue Kang, then poured himself a cup, and the two drank it all in one gulp.

  The ancient wine was indeed undrinkable, not only was the degree low but also the taste was not good. In his previous life, Yue Kang was a person who loved to drink, coming to this world without good wine was a kind of deficiency.

  After two men drank three cups in a row, Yue Kang asked: "De Shu, I think the hotel's business is not very good!"

  "Speaking of business, Wang Xinde sighed, "It's been almost two months and there are hardly any customers. In the past, this wine shop was always fully booked, but look at today, there are only a few tables of guests in total. Now it's not about making money, just not losing money is good enough."

  Yue Kang hummed and asked, "How was the business of that wine shop before?"

  Wang Xinde took another sip of wine, his mouth slightly ajar from the strong flavor. "In the past, I didn't dare say that we were making a fortune, but at that time, the restaurant was packed every day, and customers lined up outside waiting."

  "Why are there so few guests now?" Yue Kang furrowed his brow, this wine house was well-decorated and had a good environment, but why were there no customers? Yue Kang couldn't help but care about this problem, after all, he was one of the masters of the Bai family now, how could he not care about the business under his hands?

  "Recently, two more restaurants just like ours opened up nearby, and somehow they poached two of our best chefs. Then there were rumors that people found flies in our dishes, and some even said that eating our food could be poisonous. All sorts of negative rumors started circulating, I don't know who spread them, but as a result, fewer and fewer people came to our restaurant." Wang Xinde said helplessly.

  It seems that such despicable means are not only used by people from that world, but also in this world. Yue Kang thought to himself, "Our hotel is mainly steaming and boiling too?"

  Wang Xinde didn't know why Yue Kang asked this question, "Yes."

  Yue Kang smiled mysteriously and said, "De Shu, I have a plan to revive this wine shop. Are you willing to lend a hand?"

  Wang Xinde's eyes sparkled, although the wine house was not his own family's, but Old Man Bai treated him better than his parents and brothers. Not to mention managing the wine house, even if the White family let him go through fire and water now, he would not frown. He valued integrity, how could he face Old Man Bai with the wine house in such a half-dead state? He had been racking his brains every day, unable to think of a good solution, but now it seemed like he had grasped a straw.

  "Uncle De is too kind with his words, I won't say much. This life of mine was saved by Master Bai back in the day, without him I would have starved to death on the streets. The White family's affairs are my affairs, speak up and tell me what you want me to do, if Wang Xinde frowns it's like a dog's mother."

  Yue Kang hehe smiled, "Uncle De has this sentence and I'm at ease. Also, Uncle De, from now on don't call me Young Master anymore, it's too formal, just call me Little Kang."

  Wang Xinde didn't pretend, "Alright then I'll call you Xiao Kang from now on, haha, Xiao Kang what's your plan?" Wang Xinde inexplicably trusted the young man he had only met twice, feeling that he indeed had a way, and his heart felt much more at ease.

  "Uncle De, don't worry, wait for two more days and let me perfect the matter before coming to discuss with you how to execute it." Yuke Kang only said "discuss", not "point out", and the words "discuss" and "point out" have completely different tones when heard. Although in that era, having a status represented everything, but Yuke Kang also came from the bottom of that world and understood human psychology very well.

  Wang Xinde found the young man more and more pleasing to the eye, without any airs of a rich person, very easy-going. It's rare for a young person to have such an attitude. Wang Xinde was delighted and couldn't help but drink a few more cups. After that, he left.

  Yue Kang, who was full of wine and food, left the restaurant with Wang Fu.

  Since Yue Kang didn't seem to want to go back, Wang Fu took him and continued to wander around.

  For Yue Kang, who was strolling through ancient streets for the first time, it was full of freshness, and the two walked through two more streets.

  "What's going on up ahead with Wang Fu, let's go take a look." From afar, Yue Kang saw that many people had gathered in front.

  The two had not yet approached when they heard a rough voice say: "Damn it, I'm buying a riddle from you, what kind of riddle are you selling, are you selling or not?"

  Yue Kang walked up close and saw a stout man with a broad waist and a tiger-like back, arguing with a vendor selling embroidered pouches.

  The vendor of the embroidered pouch was a small child, with a look of helplessness on his face. "Sir, I'm not unwilling to sell it to you, but this pouch is special. It was given to me by an older sister who told me that under no circumstances could I sell it. If someone really wants it, she said I should give it to them for free as long as they can solve the riddle she came up with. Otherwise, would you like these other ones? I'll sell those to you." The child pointed at several other pouches.

  "Don't try to cheat me just because I'm uneducated, I don't recognize a single character and can only guess riddles. I want that one, and I'll pay double the price." The big man surnamed Niu said loudly. Tomorrow was his sister's birthday, he wanted to give her a gift but didn't know what would be good, and then he easily took a liking to an embroidered pouch, but the owner insisted on him guessing riddles first, how could he not be angry?

  "This really can't be sold." The big man in front of the child selling brocade also had a trembling heart, but as a person, one must keep their promise and do what they said they would do.

  Yue Kang roughly understood that it was a young lady who had made the pouch, and was looking for someone with good fortune. The pouch was indeed very beautiful, with a pink base fabric, embroidered with a white lotus flower emerging from the water, and green lotus leaves along the edges. The needlework was delicate, and the colors were bright and vibrant. Just by looking at the pouch, one could infer that its owner must have had a pair of deft and nimble hands.

  "You have to sell it today whether you want to or not." The big man really wanted that pouch, and his sister always said she liked lotus flowers, which happened to be embroidered on the pouch.

  "Hey mister, don't force me. That sister said that even if we tear it apart, it can't fall into someone else's hands. The only way to get the brocade pouch is to guess the riddle." the kid said.

  Dah Han was at a loss, and had been arguing with the other party for half an hour. No matter how much money he offered, the other party refused to sell, but he would guess a fart riddle. He couldn't just beat up the kid and then walk away, or it would be impossible to mix on the road afterwards. Besides, he really didn't have the heart to lay hands on a child.

  Dahan had no choice either, he also knew the kid was from a poor family and couldn't bring himself to do it. "Then you recite your riddle, I'll take a guess."

  "Okay, okay, I'll recite it right away," the child said hastily. He then pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and read aloud: "One axe on top, one drum for eyes, one horizontal stick, one shovel kick."