Chapter 75

"Hey! I thought you were someone else, but it's you, Mr. Zou, the great scholar." The young man walked over and grinned at the man in the red robe.

The man surnamed Zou glanced at the young man, and with a half-smile, said, "I didn't expect that Brother Xiaojiu would have the leisure and elegance to come to the temple to burn incense and pray today. That's quite rare."

"Ha! Don't flatter me. I don't have that kind of sincerity. It's just that my father throws so much incense money into this temple every year, so I come here to get a few free meals and make up for it a bit," the young man said, shaking his head and nodding.

This comment suited Li Qi's taste. Standing to one side, he put on a show of watching the drama unfold.

Unfortunately, before he could enjoy it fully, Mr. Zou redirected the conflict towards him, pointing at Li Qi with his white paper fan and saying, "Is this young man your servant?"

Damn! It's not like I have 'servant' written on my face.

Li Qi's eyes flared with anger, and he pointed at Mr. Zou and said, "Xiaojiu, is this young man your servant?"

The young man seemed delighted to hear Li Qi call him 'Xiaojiu,' but he didn't answer, instead turning to Mr. Zou and saying, "Mr. Zou, the great scholar, you really look down on the Hong family. Our servants are well-fed with fish and meat every day. How could they be as thin as him?"

Li Qi immediately found this amusing. This kid is a real talent. His implication was clear: you, with your plump figure, look more like one of our servants.

Mr. Zou was taken aback, then realized the hidden meaning. His face turned red with anger, but he seemed to fear the young man. He huffed and waved his sleeve, saying, "Farewell," and stormed off.

Unexpectedly, just as he entered, the young man turned to Li Qi and said, "Young man, your words earlier about how animals can enter, so why can't I, were truly insightful."

His voice was just loud enough for Mr. Zou to hear. Mr. Zou's body swayed, nearly falling over from anger.

Li Qi laughed and said, "Just a coincidence, that's all."

After Mr. Zou went inside, the young man smiled at Li Qi and said, "Young man, do you remember me?"

Li Qi nodded and smiled, "Of course, my eyes aren't just for drinking soup."

The young man blushed and said, "I was just talking nonsense earlier, don't take it to heart."

Li Qi shook his head and said, "I'm not as petty as that guy. By the way, may I ask your name?"

The young man chuckled and said, "I don't have a high surname, I'm surnamed Hong. I don't have a grand name, just a nickname, Tianjiu. You can call me Xiaojiu."

Heh! It seems I'm the one who's being formal in front of this kid. Li Qi laughed and said, "I'm Li Qi."

This Hong Tianjiu seemed completely at ease, and said, "Brother Li, your taste-testing skills are truly remarkable. I've never seen anyone with such abilities."

"Just a minor skill," Li Qi said with a faint smile.

"Minor skill? What would you call a major skill then?" Hong Tianjiu asked in surprise.

Li Qi was taken aback, not knowing how to respond.

At that moment, Xiaotao suddenly came out and, upon seeing Li Qi, exclaimed, "Master Li, you're already here! Lady Qin asked me to look for you."

Li Qi nodded and gestured towards Hong Tianjiu, saying, "Xiaotao, this is Master Hong."

"Xiaotao greets Master Hong," Xiaotao bowed.

"I'm not a master, just call me Brother Xiaojiu."

Hong Tianjiu chuckled and winked at Li Qi, saying, "Brother Li, your lady's maid is so beautiful. Your lady must be a beauty too."

Lady? This kid really says anything.

Li Qi was taken aback but quickly understood. He glanced at Xiaotao, who looked displeased, and said, "Xiaojiu, don't say such things. The lady inside is the owner of Zui Xian Ju on Bianhe Street, Lady Qin."

"Lady Qin? Zui Xian Ju?"

Hong Tianjiu was slightly stunned and then said, "Brother Li, do you mean the Zui Xian Ju that sells stinky tofu?"

Li Qi nodded and smiled, "Yes. I'm actually the chef at Zui Xian Ju, and the stinky tofu is my creation."

"Oh, so the stinky tofu is made by Brother Li. No wonder it's so special."

Hong Tianjiu's face lit up with excitement, "Brother Li, you don't know how much my father loves your stinky tofu. He sends twenty to thirty servants to Zui Xian Ju every day to buy it. I love it too."

Sending twenty to thirty servants every day?

What a pair of oddballs.

Li Qi couldn't help but laugh and, noticing Xiaotao's growing impatience, asked, "Xiaojiu, did you come alone?"

Hong Tianjiu nodded.

"Why don't you join us? Eating alone is quite boring."

"I was thinking the same thing."

"Alright, let's go in."

The room was spacious and bright, with over a dozen square tables, all clean and tidy.

At this moment, there were already many people inside, mostly merchants and wealthy young men. The real officials and nobles were on the second and third floors.

Li Qi looked around and saw Lady Qin Wu Furong and her group sitting at a table by the wall. Not only that, but Bai Qianruo was there too, along with a man in a red robe, the very Mr. Zou they had met at the entrance.

What a small world!

Li Qi sighed inwardly and asked Xiaotao, "When did Lady Bai arrive?"

Xiaotao replied, "This morning."

"Brother Li, you know Lady Bai?" Hong Tianjiu asked in surprise.

Li Qi smiled and said, "I'm not very familiar with her, but she's close to our lady."

"Is that so? Brother Li, you don't know how remarkable Lady Bai is," Hong Tianjiu said, glancing at Bai Qianruo with a hint of nervousness.

What's so remarkable about her, she's just a woman.

Li Qi smiled but said nothing, walking straight to Lady Qin.

Lady Qin introduced them, "Li Qi, this is Zou Zijian, Mr. Zou, the great scholar. —— Mr. Zou, this is the chef of our restaurant, Li Qi."

In front of others, Lady Qin naturally couldn't call Li Qi 'Master Li,' as he was technically her employee.

"Ah, Brother Zou, I've heard much about you," Li Qi said with a bow.

He didn't call him Mr. Zou, Brother Zou, or Zijian, but rather 'Brother Zou,' a term that only the quick-witted Bai Qianruo and the like-minded Hong Tianjiu understood.

Even Zou Zijian didn't notice, but he was puzzled by how a chef could sit with the owner. However, he couldn't refuse a friendly face, especially with Bai Qianruo there, so he bowed and said, "Ah, Brother Li, my apologies."

Bai Qianruo, seeing their varied expressions, asked, "Do you two know each other?"

Li Qi laughed and said, "Brother Zou and I met at the entrance and hit it off immediately. We even chatted about the difference between humans and animals."

Hong Tianjiu immediately found this amusing, knowing that Li Qi's skills in insulting people were unmatched.

A flash of resentment crossed Zou Zijian's eyes, but he held back, saying, "Indeed, indeed." Then he turned to Bai Qianruo, "Lady Bai, my friend has arrived, so I won't disturb you and Lady Qin. Farewell, farewell."

He turned and left, sitting at a table diagonally opposite, where two scholars were already seated.

"Brother Li, you're really something. You got rid of that fat Zou with just a few words," Hong Tianjiu said, gloating.

Only then did everyone notice the young man who had come in with Li Qi.

Bai Qianruo glanced at him, frowned, and said, "Isn't this the young master of the Hong Wangan gambling house, Hong Tianjiu?"

Hong Tianjiu nodded and smiled, "Indeed, you can call me Xiaojiu, Lady Bai." It seemed he didn't dare to be too casual in front of Bai Qianruo.

Bai Qianruo nodded with a smile but was puzzled. How did he end up with Li Qi? If these two mix, it won't end well.

In fact, Bai Qianruo had only met Hong Tianjiu a few times, but he was well-known in Bianjing as a little tyrant who enjoyed antagonizing scholars and talented men. Zou Zijian had suffered greatly from him.

Li Qi was stunned. Damn, this kid is the son of the gambling king. This is a big catch.