Chapter 64: Drinking Wine

  Shuǐ Shēng's heart suddenly rose, and a flame of anger burst forth. The wine shopkeeper saw that not only did Shuǐ Shēng not leave, but his face turned red with rage, as if he was unwilling to back down. With a glare in his eyes, the shopkeeper let out a loud "Ah!" and rolled up his sleeves, taking large strides forward, ready to take action against Shuǐ Shēng.

  Shuǐ Shēng was just about to erupt, but suddenly remembered Wu Mu Dao Ren's warning, and forcibly suppressed the anger in his heart. He took big strides and walked away. The wine shopkeeper saw Shui Sheng "knowing his place" leave, and viciously spat on the ground, cursing: "Little beggar, doesn't even bother to find out whose wine shop this is! Dare to show your face here again, I'll break your dog legs!"

  Not far away, an old and a young beggar were begging along the street. Seeing Shui Sheng being scolded by the wine shop owner and walking away dejectedly, the old beggar with a face full of wrinkles trembled his lips, stretched out a thin arm like a twig, and pulled Shui Sheng back, saying: "Young brother, you look pale, you must not have eaten for several days. Old man has an extra bun here, just fill your belly!" As he spoke, he rummaged through his tattered bundle and pulled out a dark bun. Shui Sheng hastily waved his hand and said: "Old master, I'm not hungry!"

  "Alas, how can you not be hungry? In today's world, only we poor people will help each other out, don't be disgusted!" The little beggar behind the old beggar also advised: "Little brother, eat! Eat! This bun is fragrant!" The voice was clear and pleasant. Shui Sheng took a closer look and saw that this little beggar, wearing a tattered and dirty garment of unknown color, was actually a little girl.

  Shuisheng smiled and took the bun from the old beggar's hand, devouring it in big bites. The little beggar saw Shuisheng eating the bun with gusto, sucking on his own finger while swallowing saliva. Shuisheng looked at him and suddenly understood that this little beggar must also be starving. He then looked at the old beggar, who was equally emaciated. Turning his head to glance at the arrogant wine server not far behind, he had an idea. From his sleeve, he pulled out a ten-tael silver ingot, pointed to the wine house, and said: "Old man, I have some silver here, let me treat you to a drink!"

  The old beggar took a look at the silver ingot in Shuisheng's hand, and his turbid eyeballs suddenly widened. He swallowed his saliva and said, "Such a big piece of silver, is it real? Don't let someone cheat you!" Shuisheng handed the silver ingot to the old beggar, who took it carefully and examined it before biting it with his sparse teeth. A smile finally appeared on his wrinkled face as he said, "It's real silver! Where did you get such good luck, young fellow?"

  "It was an old Taoist priest who gave it to me!" Shui Sheng smiled sweetly, reached out and helped the old beggar up, turned around and was about to head towards the wine tower. The old beggar shook his hand repeatedly and said: "No, no, no, with such a large piece of silver, we can't waste it, we should buy several big buns to fill our hunger, and then rent a room to do some business!" "It's okay, the old Taoist priest is a rich man, if the silver runs out he will come back to find me again!"

  The old beggar stopped in his tracks, glared at Shui Sheng and said: "Young brother, it seems you're still young. Rich people won't give us beggars any money. Don't be deceived, this world is chaotic, that old Taoist priest might not have good intentions, maybe he wants to sell you off?" Shui Sheng shook his head and said: "No way, I trust that old Taoist priest!" The little beggar looked longingly at the wine house and chimed in: "Grandpa, it's been a year since we've had meat, I want to eat meat!"

  The old beggar took a glance at the luxurious wine house, swallowed his saliva and said: "We can't afford to go to this wine house, the dishes are too expensive. Besides, look at those waiters' attitude, we can't let them make money from us! If you really want to eat meat, I'll take you two to 'Zhang's Old Stew' in the south of the town, the meat there smells delicious and you can eat your fill!"

  He smiled and took the old beggar with one hand and the young beggar with the other, and walked forward without saying a word.

  The old beggar was dragged by Shuǐshēng's arm, walking towards the wine house with great reluctance, secretly thinking that Shuǐshēng was too young and didn't know how to cherish the hard-earned money from begging. The little beggar, on the other hand, had an excited look on his face, and even his footsteps became lighter!

  The fierce-looking wine server who had just been staring at Shui Sheng not only didn't leave, but instead brought back two beggars. He strode towards the entrance of the wine tower, his face turning green with rage. Just as he was about to berate Shui Sheng, the latter calmly pulled out a silver ingot and waved it in front of the server's eyes, saying "I don't know if this wine tower accepts silver?" With a flick of his wrist, he tossed the ingot at the server and said "Use this ingot to serve me, young master, the best wine and dishes!"

  The wine keeper was taken aback, took the silver ingots, examined them carefully, weighed them, and even bit into one before handing them to the fat shopkeeper of the wine house for personal verification. After confirming their authenticity, the wine keeper's bitter melon face immediately filled with smiles, bowing his head and waist towards the three men, saying: "I'm blind to greatness, I deserve to die! Young master, please come in, what would you like to eat? Our store has the freshest carp from Qingjiang, pheasant meat from Xiaozhu Mountain, and..."

  The wine keeper kept reporting the names of dishes while leading the three people to a luxurious room upstairs. No matter how big the tavern in this small town was, it couldn't earn more than two taels of silver in a day. These ten taels of silver were enough for Shui Sheng and his friends to eat all the good wine and food in the store, with plenty left over. Since that's the case, even if these three people were dressed shabbily, what did it matter?

  The water-born man led the old beggar to a large empty round table in front of the store entrance and sat down, saying: "My grandfather is old and can't go upstairs, so we'll just eat here!" The bartender was reluctant, fearing that the three men's "unkempt appearance" would affect the appetite of the other diners, but seeing the fat shopkeeper's nonchalant expression, he nodded repeatedly and put on a "friendly" smile.

  The best meal Shui Sheng ever had was at the Iron Wing General's mansion, where he secretly memorized over a dozen dish names. Now, he pretentiously recites the menu, expecting the kitchen to replicate those dishes exactly. A small town tavern like this, how could they possibly match the culinary standards of the Iron Mansion in Longyang City? The wine steward was a connoisseur who had spent time in larger establishments and was shocked when Shui Sheng casually rattled off several famous Longyang City dishes, reevaluating him with newfound respect.

  At this time, looking at Shui Sheng again, although his clothes were still shabby and his hair was still disheveled, his face was still dirty, but with silver in hand, he sat down on the chair with a majestic air, as if he really had an extraordinary demeanor!

  The wine keeper secretly guessed, could it be that Shuǐshēng is a young master from a wealthy family? Could he have stolen money from home and slipped out to wander around alone? Whatever the truth may be, the silver in Shuǐshēng's hand was genuine! Looking at Shuǐshēng's demeanor, it seemed like he had been eating and drinking in wine houses for a long time, so he didn't dare to slack off. He hastily ordered the head chef to quickly prepare several of the wine house's signature dishes.

  The old beggar had never been to such a luxurious tavern in his life, his face was tense with fear, if not for the fact that his right hand was tightly held by Shui Sheng, he might have already stood up and walked out at this time. The little beggar, on the other hand, was full of excitement, looking around curiously, finding everything fresh and interesting.

  Dish after dish of wine and food came up like a stream, filling the entire table. The fragrant meat dishes were placed right in front of them, and the old beggar finally let go of his unease, eating and drinking with abandon. The little beggar grasped a rabbit leg with both hands, eating until his mouth was dripping with oil.

  Although his stomach was growling with hunger, he saw the shopkeeper and several waiters looking at him with puzzled eyes. He had to pretend to cough lightly and ordered a jar of water wine to be brought over. As he took a few sips of the water wine, he furrowed his brow and began to pick fault with the dishes on the table. At one moment, he said that the steamed fish was not cooked enough, and the fishy smell in his stomach had not been completely removed. The next moment, he said that the mountain chicken meat had been boiled for too long and had become tough!

  The wine waiter watched as Sheng took up his chopsticks and picked up some dishes, his every move elegant and refined, just like a young master from a wealthy family, secretly pleased with himself for having such sharp eyesight!

  The dozen or so tables on the first floor, although not fully seated with guests, were also bustling with people coming and going. Everyone who passed by the three of them had a look of surprise on their faces and couldn't help but whisper to each other!

  At this moment, four men swaggered into the wine house. The leader was about 24 or 25 years old, eight feet tall, with a big waist and a blue brocade robe, wearing a heroic scarf on his head, with a wide mouth and thick eyebrows, if not for the arrogant look on his face, he would be quite handsome. The three men behind him looked younger than him, the youngest one was only 16 or 17 years old. The four of them had some similarities in their appearance, seemingly brothers, each dressed in bright clothes, obviously from a good family background!

  Four people were about to order wine, but they saw Shuisheng and three others sitting at the largest wooden table, eating with great relish. They couldn't help but stare in shock! Upon closer inspection, Shuisheng and the other three were dressed in tattered clothes, covered in mud, and had disheveled hair, "indeed" unmistakably beggars. Yet, the fat shopkeeper not only didn't mind, but even had a wine waiter serve them by their side!

  A man in a blue robe suddenly let out an inhuman burst of laughter, pointing at the fat shopkeeper and saying: "Wang San, didn't I see it right? The sun is rising from the west, or has your head been kicked by a donkey? When did beggars start sitting in Yi Pin Xiang eating and drinking?" The three people behind the man had equally strange expressions, their eyes filled with disdain and doubt as they looked at the three people eating, as if it was a shameful and unbelievable thing!

  Hearing this, the old beggar looked at the unfriendly faces of several people and became very frightened, lowering his head and not daring to look again. The little beggar was also startled in his heart, quietly putting down the half-eaten rabbit leg in his hand, and uneasily glanced at Shui Sheng. Shui Sheng, however, acted as if nothing had happened, put a piece of braised beef into his mouth, and slowly began to chew.

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