Chapter 18

For several days, Li Qi had been like an indefatigable mule, working day and night, running around everywhere. Who could blame him, given that there were no telephones or taxis here, and everything had to be done with his own hands and feet, truly a test of human endurance.

That night, after everything was prepared, Li Qi climbed into bed early, as he was extremely tired.

In this era, the air was fresh, and there were no annoying car horns, so sleeping was naturally comfortable.

He slept until dawn. After getting up, Li Qi washed up briefly and then went to Wu Xiaoliu's room, knocked on the door, and found no one inside. He smiled slightly, thinking that this little guy was indeed reliable and truly a good errand runner.

Li Qi went to a noodle stand next to Zui Xian Ju and sat down. The owner of this small stand was an Aunt Cao, a widow who was usually quite warm and hospitable, and her skills were also quite good. Li Qi had been there a couple of times. He ordered two large steamed buns and a bowl of tofu pudding, watching the passersby on the road, and ate the natural green food leisurely, thinking about Uncle Wu's expression at that moment, which made him chuckle.

"Little brother, are you a helper at Zui Xian Ju?"

Just as Li Qi was lost in thought, a low voice suddenly came from beside him. He was slightly startled and turned his head to see Aunt Cao, looking surprised and nodding, asking, "Aunt, is there something?"

Aunt Cao asked with a gossiping look, "I heard that Zui Xian Ju is going to be sold to the opposite Feicui Xuan. Is it true?"

Li Qi was slightly taken aback and smiled, asking, "Who told you that?"

Aunt Cao waved her hand and said casually, "Hey, everyone on the street is talking about it, even the blind old lady at the end of the street knows." She then winked at Li Qi, indicating that he shouldn't pretend in front of her.

Sweat! Is it really that exaggerated!

Li Qi really didn't know about this, but he was very curious why Aunt Cao was so concerned about Zui Xian Ju. He asked with interest, "Do you hope it is sold or not sold?"

Aunt Cao sighed and said, "To be honest, I've been here for several years. When Zui Xian Ju was doing well, I naturally benefited from it. But in the past two years, Zui Xian Ju's business has been getting worse and worse. If it can be saved, that would be best, but this can't go on, right?"

After Aunt Cao's roundabout explanation, Li Qi finally understood. These small stands and shops all relied on the nearby large restaurants to attract customers. Now that Zui Xian Ju had closed, they naturally hoped that Feicui Xuan would take over the business. With Feicui Xuan's current development trend, this place would surely be bustling with customers, and they would naturally benefit as well. He smiled and said, "So you still hope it is sold."

Aunt Cao nodded awkwardly and asked, "Is your boss planning to sell the shop to Feicui Xuan?"

Just as Li Qi was about to answer, he suddenly saw Uncle Wu and Wu Xiaoliu hurrying over. He quickly stood up and shouted, "Uncle Wu, Sixi, I'm here."

After greeting the two, Li Qi smiled and asked, "Have you had breakfast yet? Come, come, let's eat together. The steamed buns here are quite good."

"Brother Li, I've already eaten," Wu Xiaoliu said with a grin.

"The old man has also eaten," Wu Furong waved his hand. He had no appetite for breakfast and quickly asked Li Qi, "Young man, Sixi just told me that you—"

He stopped halfway and glanced at Aunt Cao, who was standing nearby, eavesdropping, and said, "Aunt Cao, why don't you go attend to your customers? What are you standing here for?"

Aunt Cao smiled awkwardly and reluctantly turned to leave.

After Aunt Cao left, Wu Furong leaned in and asked in a low voice, "Young man, Sixi just told me that you have a friend who wants to buy Zui Xian Ju. Is that true?"

Li Qi smiled and said, "Of course, I wouldn't joke about such a matter."

"Then what does your friend do?"

"Oh, my friend used to run a restaurant in Shangjing. As you know, the Jin and Liao states are at war, and the lives of merchants are naturally not easy. So he wants to move his business to Bianjing," Li Qi explained slowly.

Shangjing was once the capital of the Liao state, and those who did business there were naturally wealthy.

Wu Furong's face lit up, and he asked, "How much is he willing to pay?"

Li Qi vaguely answered, "More than Mr. Cai."

In fact, Wu Furong least wanted to sell Zui Xian Ju to Mr. Cai. Now, hearing that someone wanted to buy it and was willing to pay more than Mr. Cai, how could he not be overjoyed? He grabbed Li Qi's hand and said, "Young man, quickly, take me to meet your friend."

"Take it easy, Uncle Wu, no need to rush," Li Qi calmly pulled his hand back and said, "My friend doesn't want to show himself for now, but he has entrusted me with the entire matter. However—"

"However what?" Wu Furong's face tightened, and he asked hurriedly.

Li Qi looked troubled and said, "However, he repeatedly instructed me that this matter must be discussed with Lady Qin. Otherwise, he would rather not do this business."

Wu Furong was slightly taken aback and looked at Li Qi suspiciously, saying, "Young man, you've been at Zui Xian Ju for many days, and you should know that Lady Qin rarely interferes with Zui Xian Ju's affairs. These matters have always been handled by the old man. Discussing it with me is the same."

Li Qi smiled and said, "Uncle Wu, I trust you, but the problem is that I am acting on behalf of someone else. To put it bluntly, you are also working for someone else. Buying Zui Xian Ju is not a small amount of money. If you can't even meet the boss, would you feel at ease if you were my friend?"

"You have a point," Wu Furong nodded, thought for a moment, and then frowned, saying, "I can help you arrange a meeting with Lady Qin, but I also have a condition."

"If you want to meet my friend first, I'm sorry, but I can't agree to that for now. However, I can assure you that after meeting Lady Qin, I will take you to meet him. As you know, I don't have that much silver on me, and the payment must be handled by him," Li Qi said, spreading his hands and smiling.

Li Qi's guess was spot on. Wu Furong indeed wanted to meet Li Qi's friend first. If it was true, he would naturally agree to take Li Qi to meet Lady Qin. Now, hearing Li Qi's words, Wu Furong's face became even more troubled, and he squinted, deep in thought.

Li Qi wasn't in a hurry and continued to eat the steamed bun. Wu Xiaoliu, on the other side, lowered his head, with a mischievous smile, and occasionally gave Li Qi a few winks, as if he knew something, but Li Qi pretended not to notice.

After a while, Wu Furong sighed and said, "Alright, I agree. When do you plan to go?" Now, with even a slight chance, he didn't want to miss it.

"The sooner, the better, preferably now," Li Qi smiled.

Wu Furong was silent for a moment and said, "Alright, I'll take you now!" He also wanted to resolve this matter as soon as possible.

"Then I'll trouble you, Uncle," Li Qi finished his last sip of porridge, stood up, and threw a few copper coins to Aunt Cao, saying with a smile, "Aunt, if you want your business to flourish, I can give you a tip."

Business flourish? Aunt Cao's eyes sparkled, and she asked, "What tip?"

"Very simple, just wait for five more days. At that time, add a few more tables and prepare more tea. I guarantee you will earn more than twice what you do now," Li Qi said, laughing, and without waiting for Aunt Cao to react, he left with Uncle Wu and Wu Xiaoliu.

"Wait for five more days? What day is that?"

Aunt Cao scratched her head, looking puzzled as she watched Li Qi's figure gradually disappear.

Li Qi followed Wu Furong through several streets and saw a large mansion in the distance. The wall was about three meters high and one meter wide, with two heavy stone lions standing at the gate. The thick red-painted doors were tightly closed, and a large signboard read, "Qin Mansion."

Li Qi looked up at the mansion, sighed lightly, and in his eyes, this mansion was like a prison that only time could destroy.