Chapter Thirteen: Who is Nie Hong?

  The next day.

  Suzhou city is still Suzhou city, the leisurely Tang people still drink morning tea and take a stroll.

  It seems nothing different.

  But it seems to have some differences again.

  Oh, it turns out that there are several strange "advertisements" in the bustling streets of Chengdong.

  Here is the translation:

  "Advertisement content as follows: Our store opens today, specially launching four signature dishes, eight characteristic dishes, and heroic wine. Today, customers who come to our store will receive a discount. Moreover, every hour, one table of guests can dine for free, don't miss this opportunity."

  Below is the signature and address of Hongchen Guest House.

  Most people who saw it just smiled, and some thought about tearing off this "small advertisement" to take home, as the paper was very valuable. People mostly just chatted for a few sentences and then left with a smile.

  But after all, some people's hearts are moved and can't help but want to take a look at the so-called four signature dishes, eight characteristic dishes, and what is this Clear Hero Wine, what is it like.

  Liu Jiqian had his hands clasped behind his back, his slightly paunchy belly protruding, as he strolled along the street with a leisurely gait. This was his habit. The reason he was able to turn Liu's fabric store around in just five short years was due to his keen powers of observation and his grasp of market trends. He liked to observe people's attire and adjust his business strategy accordingly, ensuring that his fabric store always stayed ahead of the curve.

  But he has been in a bad mood recently.

  The reason for his bad mood is simple, it's because of his beloved daughter, Liu Yuyan.

  After the last time Song Kai jumped into the river and had a skin-to-skin contact with his own daughter in public, more than ten families who came to propose marriage immediately regretted it. However, that was just that one time, although many people regretted it, there were still several families who wanted to form an alliance with him.

  Among them was the matchmaker of Yang Rongguang's family, the county lieutenant.

  Yang Huaiyan did not regret jumping into the river that time and still asked his father to propose to the Liu family.

  The position of county lieutenant is not high, but Yang Rongguang is the county lieutenant of Wu County, and this official is quite large. The jurisdiction of Wu County includes Suzhou City, so the county magistrate of Wu County is one rank higher than the county magistrates of other counties in Suzhou City, which is a sixth-rank official. As for Yang Rongguang, as a county lieutenant, he also holds a seventh-rank official position. More importantly, it is said that Yang Rongguang has connections with those above him, and when the official positions are adjusted next year, he will definitely be promoted to at least the county magistrate of Wu County.

  This is a good marriage, there are people in the court who are good at business, an eternal truth that will never change, unfortunately, Liu Yuyan refused to agree!

  Oh!

  Liu Jiqian felt annoyed and walked a few steps forward, only to see over ten people gathered together, discussing something.

  Liu Jiqian raised his head, glanced at the notice, and let out a "hmm" before lowering his head with a cold smile. This Song Kai still hasn't given up! If the Song family hadn't declined, it wouldn't be bad for his daughter to marry that fool, but now...

  Liu Jiqian walked away with a swagger, but then heard a voice rising up from behind him.

  "Uncle Liu is well!"

  Liu Jiqian turned his head and found Yang Huaiyan strolling with two servants.

  Yang Huaiyan was dressed in a neat and tidy manner, looking very elegant. With his reputation as a talented scholar, he is indeed an excellent candidate for the position of xianyu.

  "It turned out to be Young Master Yang," Liu Jiqian cupped his hands in greeting.

  Yang Huaiyan stretched out his hand and invited Liu Jiqian, saying: "Uncle Liu, let's go to that teahouse over there for a cup of tea. It's not often that we meet, so I must invite you to lunch."

  "Haha, okay," Liu Jiqian walked in.

  Yang Huaiyan sighed and said, "Liu Shu, it seems that Song Kai's brain is getting more and more muddled. He has a good family business, but he doesn't know how to stop, instead he's getting more and more out of control."

  "Who says it isn't?" Liu Jiqian sighed.

  Yang Huaiyan looked at Liu Jiqian's expression, seeing that he indeed had a look of disgust on his face, and was delighted in her heart. Then she said in a low voice: "Uncle Liu, have you heard the news about the palace purchasing silk fabrics?"

  Liu Jiqian's body shook as he looked at Yang Huaiyan.

  Yang Huaiyan shook his fan and said, "I also heard my father mention it when he was talking to the adults from the Weaving Bureau. This time, our Suzhou region's supply will increase, so the Weaving Bureau is looking for new suppliers, haha..."

  Liu Jiqian nodded, supplying silk fabrics to the palace was a great opportunity. The palace's procurement volume was huge and they didn't haggle over prices. If they could get this supply quota, Liu's fabric store would definitely rise to another level. However, his own daughter would rather die than agree to marry Yang Huaiyan, what was he to do?

  Yang Huaiyan just revealed this message and stopped talking, he knew that Liu Jiqian was a clever person who understood his meaning. So he changed the subject and said: "Uncle Liu, Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, according to previous years' convention, Suzhou City will have dragon boat racing, poetry meetings, singing and dancing performances, at that time there will be clothing fabric supplies, please help Uncle Liu."

  Liu Jiqian burst out laughing and said: "Alright, alright."

  Poetry gatherings and dragon boat racing, these things don't require a lot of clothing purchases, and the requirements are quite high, there isn't much profit inside, but in any case, it's still profitable. Yang Huaiyan's father is the county magistrate, in charge of the six departments, he can talk about these miscellaneous tasks.

  First give Liu Ji some sweet treats, and as for the supply of the imperial palace, it must be used with his daughter as a bargaining chip.

  Yang Huaiyan and Liu Jiqian had a conversation, and then they parted ways.

  "Master, in the master's opinion, it would be better not to marry Liu Yuzhen after all. Her behavior and conduct are really not decent," a servant behind him said quietly to Yang Huaiyan.

  Yang Huaiyan sneered, shook his fan and said: "If I can't win over that Liu woman, wouldn't it be a loss of face for me? Hmph, after I marry her, if she dares to behave like this again, I'll divorce her. That way, I won't lose out. This woman, I must get her!"

  "The young master is indeed talented," the two servants said with a sly smile.

  The news of Hongchen Guest House's opening has spread, and with the sound of gongs and drums, many people have been attracted to come over.

  "Huh? Isn't this the Song family's inn? It hasn't fallen yet?"

  "Yes, yes, well, speaking of Song Langjun, he's also a pitiful person, saddled with such an old father."

  "It's better to sell this hotel, we lost a lot of money when it opened last time."

  Passersby in the neighborhood were all discussing it, but at this time ordinary people's families really didn't have too much extra money to go to restaurants and drink.

  "Hmm, this is it, the Red Dust Inn. Yes, that's the one," said three young men wearing white clothes and scholar hats as they walked over. One of them pointed at the Red Dust Inn and laughed, "This must be the owner's clever idea to put up a notice to advertise his inn."

  "Huh? Brother Chen, look at this couplet, it's quite interesting."

  "Fine food and fragrant wine, the jade lion's mouth waters? Haha, indeed it has some interest, but the lion at this entrance seems not to be drooling."

  The three of them chatted and laughed for a while before heading into the store, still talking about wanting to try the so-called signature dish, specialty dish.

  Song Kai drummed outside the door and said only one sentence to the three of them: "Please go inside," then continued drumming.

  More and more people gathered at the entrance to watch.

  At this time, three cries of surprise came from inside the inn.

  Heaven!

  "It's impossible!"

  "Who is Nie Hong!"

  "Awesome!"

  The three literati who had just entered were shouting wildly inside.

  The people at the entrance heard this cry and couldn't help but feel suspicious. Afterwards, some more people went in.

  More exclamations of surprise came, and before ordering, the exclamations had already become a chorus.

  At this point, some people outside could no longer bear it and even passersby walked in.

  Song Kai just expressionlessly beat the gong, after more than twenty people entered, he stopped, believing that with these twenty or so people as a lead-in, his shop should be able to open now.

  Just as he was about to enter the store, an old man walked up with a smile, wearing a blue robe, walking at a leisurely pace. He arrived in front of Song Kai, bowed his hands and said: "Song Lang, you really opened for business."

  Song Kai saw it was Xue Weihai and also cupped his hands in greeting, smiling: "Elder Xue, please."

  At this time, another group of people rushed into the hotel, led by Sun Ximei, who was disguised as a man.

  "Like Mei?" Song Kai was taken aback.

  Sun Ximei's face was expressionless, and she said, "I was afraid that your restaurant wouldn't have any customers when it opened, so I brought some friends and relatives to come eat. Hmm, looks like I overthought it." As she spoke, Sun Ximei walked inside.

  Behind her, there were both men and women, all dressed in men's clothing, also entering the inn. As they walked, they whispered to each other, probably saying something like "this restaurant doesn't look like it has anything good to eat".

  Song Kai didn't make excuses either and walked into the store with Xue Weihai together.

  Inside the hotel, everyone stood still, their heads raised, motionlessly gazing at several poems hanging on the wall.

  Song Kai did not expect these people would have such a big reaction, it seems that during the Tang Dynasty, people's entertainment activities were really too few, so they regarded poetry as this important.

  Sun Ximei was slightly pleased with herself, and she ushered the men and women behind her as if she were the hostess, "Everyone please sit in the second-floor private room."

  "Heavens!" A woman suddenly grabbed Sun Ximei from behind, "Sister Mei, look!"

  Sun Ximei naturally knew it long ago, and just smiled lightly.

  "Tonight, when will the bright moon appear? I'll take a cup of wine to ask the blue sky. I don't know what palace or temple is in the heavens now... Oh heaven! The woman stood there stupidly, "A poem that has been passed down for thousands of years, a song that has been sung for thousands of years! But how did it appear in such a shabby inn?"

  Sun Ximei pulled a few people away, "Don't be like this, you really haven't seen the world, we're here to eat."

  Although she said so, Sun Ximei was still quite proud in her heart, after all, these poems were written by herself.

  Xue Weihai's old eyes scanned over the poem, his eyebrows furrowed, and he turned to look at Song Kai.

  Song Kai pointed to the seat by the window on the second floor and said, "Xue Lao, that's yours, the VIP seat."

  "Song Lang, who is Nie Hong..." Xue Wei Hai couldn't help but ask, he was a scholar after all, with exceptional talent, but seeing these few poems also made him feel weak and powerless.

  "Hmm... a gift from a good friend," Song Kai smiled and said lightly.

  "Good friend? Red beauty knows you? This red beauty, great talent!" Xue Weihai shook his head, "It seems that she is deeply in love with you, alas, it's a pity, enviable old man, but I don't know where this red beauty knows now and why she isn't with you?"

  As Xue Wei Hai said this, someone nearby overheard and immediately jumped over.

  "What! You're the shop owner? You know NIE HONG! Please introduce me! Please definitely introduce me!"

  As soon as the words fell, a sudden rush surrounded Song Kai.