Chapter 81

Li Qi used all his strength to escape from Hong Tianjiu's private room and then stayed in the kitchen, not daring to go upstairs again. He only came out to see off Zhao Yun, Song Yuchen, and the others when they left.

As for the four young masters, Li Qi didn't know what happened to them; it was said that they were all carried away by their servants.

This time, Li Qi didn't prepare just a couple of hundred servings like he did with the stinky tofu. He had enough materials ready, and the Drunken Immortal Inn's bustling business continued throughout the day, until the last customer left at the third watch of the night.

After washing the knives, Li Qi let his exhausted apprentices go home early to rest, reminding them to take a bath before leaving. He believed that personal hygiene should start with small things; he didn't want to work with three smelly guys every day.

The twenty waiters had already gone to rest, and at that moment, the aunts were cleaning up the day's mess. Li Qi wasn't the type to keep idle people around.

At the counter, Wu Furong was still hunched over, his right hand holding a pen and his left hand working the abacus, not even noticing Li Qi's arrival.

"Uncle Wu, we do business every day, and you keep calculating. You'll never finish. Go home and rest early," Li Qi earnestly advised.

Uncle Wu suddenly looked up, chuckled a few times, and said, "I'm done, I'm done."

"Alright, consider I didn't say anything."

Li Qi shook his head helplessly and asked, "Where's Madam? Has she gone home?"

"Oh, no, she's in the back room checking the gifts."

"That's great, I won't have to walk alone at night."

Li Qi chuckled and said, "I won't disturb you. I'll go find Madam first."

In the back room, the gifts of various sizes had almost filled the room.

Wow! Is it really that much?

Li Qi walked in and saw Madam Qin sitting at a table writing something, while Xiaotao stood beside her, grinding ink.

"Master Li," Xiaotao quickly bowed as she saw Li Qi enter.

Li Qi nodded slightly and looked at Madam Qin's beautiful face, which was full of fatigue. He sighed inwardly, thinking it was all his fault.

Madam Qin noticed Li Qi and put down her pen, asking, "Have all the guests left?"

Li Qi nodded and smiled, "Madam, you must be very tired today."

Madam Qin shook her head and smiled, "I didn't do much. I had Seventh Sister help me entertain Master Zhao. Compared to you and Uncle Wu, it's nothing."

Since Zhao Yun and Bai Qianruo left, she had been quite idle, staying at the counter to collect money and such.

"By the way, when did Lady Bai leave?"

"After dinner. Oh, there's something I forgot to tell you."

"What is it?"

"When Master Zhao, Master Song, and Seventh Sister left, I gave each of them a bottle of peerless wine," Madam Qin said with a hint of nervousness.

"Very good! That's what you should do. I didn't know you were so good at business. Sending out one bottle of wine might bring in more customers. It looks like it won't be long before you become the top businesswoman in Tokyo," Li Qi chuckled. In fact, he had already known this when he sent off Zhao Yun.

Madam Qin rolled her eyes and blushed, "You're talking nonsense. What top businesswoman? Don't let others hear and laugh at me."

Madam Qin really had a thin skin.

Li Qi smiled and walked closer, seeing that Madam Qin was copying the gift list. Curiously, he glanced at it and noticed that most of the names were officials, with a majority from the Ministry of Works. He suddenly remembered that Wu Xiaoliu had mentioned that Madam Qin's father was a high-ranking official in the court, so he asked, "Madam, is your father an official in the Ministry of Works?"

Madam Qin looked curious, "Did you hear that from Uncle Wu?"

Li Qi shook his head, "Most of the gifts on this list are from the Ministry of Works, so I guessed your father must be an official there."

Madam Qin nodded, "Yes, Father is the Left Undersecretary in the Ministry of Works."

Li Qi wasn't familiar with this position and asked curiously, "Left Undersecretary—?"

"It's Left Undersecretary."

Madam Qin corrected him, showing great respect for her father.

"Oh, oh, Left Undersecretary, I see. What rank is a Left Undersecretary?" Li Qi laughed awkwardly.

Madam Qin looked at Li Qi with a strange expression and asked, "You don't even know this?"

Li Qi scratched his head and smiled, "I haven't delved into it deeply."

Madam Qin rolled her eyes, "It's a third-rank official."

"Third-rank, a high-ranking official."

Li Qi whistled, feeling more confident. He quickly asked, "Did Uncle Wang come today?"

Madam Qin sighed, "He's usually very busy with official duties and doesn't have time to come here."

"Right, right. Serving the emperor, worrying about the country. Uncle Wang, being such a high-ranking official, should prioritize national affairs. It's enough that he sent a gift," Li Qi nodded.

Madam Qin felt somewhat comforted by the first part but was speechless when she heard the last part, "It's enough that he sent a gift."

Li Qi glanced at the list again and noticed that among the restaurant industry, only Yanglou had sent a gift. The rest were all officials. He couldn't help but laugh bitterly, thinking the Drunken Immortal Inn had such poor relationships. As he continued reading, a familiar name caught his eye.

Minister of State and Deputy Chief of the Secretariat, Bai Shizhong.

Li Qi gasped, "My goodness, isn't this the weak and spineless Prime Minister Bai? I vaguely remember that when the Jin army attacked, this Bai Shizhong kept urging Emperor Qinzong to flee. He was later dismissed for this, and it was a tragic end." Curiously, he asked, "Madam, is Uncle Wang very close to Bai Shizhong—uh, Prime Minister Bai?"

Madam Qin looked at him curiously, "Didn't you know? Seventh Sister is Prime Minister Bai's daughter."

"Wait, what?"

Li Qi was shocked, "You mean Lady Bai is the daughter of the Prime Minister?"

Li Qi rarely asked about Bai Qianruo's family background, only knowing that her father was a high-ranking official. He never expected it to be Bai Shizhong. This was a big deal.

Madam Qin nodded, "Yes, didn't she tell you?"

Li Qi shook his head, "If she had told me, I wouldn't have dared to treat her that way."

"How did you treat her?"

"Uh... I mean, I treated her very well. Madam, Lady Bai isn't the type to hold grudges, right?" Li Qi asked nervously.

Madam Qin frowned, getting more confused, "Whose grudge?"

"Of course not mine."

Li Qi laughed awkwardly and quickly changed the subject, "It seems the Bai family is quite lenient. Lady Bai runs around outside all the time, and he doesn't seem to care much."

Madam Qin shook her head, "That's not true. Seventh Sister has been smart and clever since she was young, and she is very much loved by Uncle Bai. Later, she was called the second most talented woman in Tokyo, so Uncle Bai lets her do as she pleases."

"Oh, so it's not that he doesn't want to manage, but that he can't manage."

Li Qi nodded in understanding.

Madam Qin quickly added, "That's not what I said."

"Right, right, I didn't say anything," Li Qi laughed.

At that moment, Wu Furong suddenly burst in excitedly, "Madam, Master Li, do you know how much we made today?"

"How much?"

"Exactly one thousand three hundred and forty-five guan." Wu Furong was so excited he could hardly speak clearly.

"Really that much?" Madam Qin stood up in shock.

"That's too much."

Li Qi smiled and said to Wu Furong, "Uncle Wu, did you include the money from the membership cards?"

Wu Furong was taken aback and nodded awkwardly, "We sold ten gold membership cards and twenty regular membership cards today."

"Right, that's a total of one thousand two hundred guan. Uncle Wu, you should know that this one thousand two hundred guan is just money the customers have deposited with us, not fully ours. After deducting this, the remaining one hundred and forty-five guan, plus the money customers spent using their membership cards, is about two hundred guan," Li Qi calculated.

A daily turnover of two hundred guan was already very impressive.

Wu Furong was stunned. He had spent a long time calculating with his abacus, but Li Qi had just given a rough estimate with a squint. He felt quite hurt.

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Special Note: The character Bai Qianruo is added by the author for the plot's needs. Historically, Bai Shizhong did not have this daughter.

By the way, it's been a while since I've said this—(Please recommend and collect.)

{Piaotian Literature}