Chapter 88

After Chen Anan and the others had set up the hot pot, Li Qi let them return to the store to help.

Zhao Jing also sensed that Li Qi did not want to talk about the Song-Liao-Jin issue anymore, so she did not press the matter. However, she had a vague feeling that Li Qi had not finished what he wanted to say, and that Li Qi had brought her many surprises.

Seeing the puzzled look on her face, Li Qi felt quite helpless. He thought to himself, "Do whatever you want, anyway, I'll just play dumb." He picked up the wooden wine pot, poured a cup of the peerless wine for Zhao Jing, and then poured a cup of tea for himself.

Seeing the pink, crystal-clear liquid, Zhao Jing was startled and asked, "What kind of wine is this?"

"This is the peerless wine, the best wine in the world. It's not yet on sale, and it's only used to entertain VIPs," Li Qi smiled.

Zhao Jing nodded, then suddenly glanced at Li Qi with caution and asked curiously, "Why don't you drink it?"

Sweat! This girl can't possibly think I would poison the wine, that would be an insult to my professional ethics.

Li Qi felt hurt and said coldly, "I have sworn not to drink anymore. If you don't like to drink, then let's drink tea together."

Zhao Jing was surprised and asked, "Why? Why did you swear not to drink?"

Meddlesome!

Li Qi cursed inwardly and said, "This is my personal matter, I'm sorry, I can't say more about it."

Seeing Li Qi's displeased expression, Zhao Jing realized she had said something wrong, blushed, and said no more.

Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Li Qi chuckled, picked up his teacup, and said, "I will always remember your kindness in saving my life. I'll drink to that first. Cheers." He tilted his head back and drank the cup of tea.

"When did I save your life?" Zhao Jing asked in surprise. She only remembered sparing his life, not saving it.

Li Qi smiled and said, "If you had handed me over to the authorities that day, how could I be alive now? In fact, this gratitude is not worth mentioning."

"Oh, that's what you mean."

Zhao Jing nodded slightly and said, "But I still have to say, if it happens again—"

Before she could finish, Li Qi interrupted, "Don't worry, it won't happen again." He added in his heart, "If it does, I won't say it in front of you."

"That's good."

Zhao Jing nodded, picked up her wine glass, and took a sip. Her eyes lit up, and she thought, "This peerless wine is much better than the golden pear wine I had earlier." She asked, "Did you really brew this wine?"

"Of course. It's the only one of its kind in the country, no cheating. If you like it, I'll have someone send you another pot later. You can take it home for your parents to try," Li Qi said generously. He thought to himself, "If your parents don't come to Drunken Immortal Inn with silver after tasting it, I'll change my name to Zhao."

Seeing Li Qi's generosity, Zhao Jing felt a bit embarrassed and said, "That's not necessary. I'll pay you for it."

"These are small matters."

Li Qi shook his head and smiled, "Come, come, try the yin-yang hot pot. Otherwise, the water will boil dry."

Zhao Jing looked at the pot and asked curiously, "Why is one side of the yin-yang hot pot red and the other white? What is the red broth? What is the white broth?"

Li Qi explained, "Actually, they are both fish head soups, but one side is spicy and the other is fresh. Women don't suit spicy food, so if you want to eat something, put it in the fresh broth."

Zhao Jing,不服气 (unwilling to admit defeat), said, "Who says women don't suit spicy food?" She then picked up two slices of mutton and put them in the red broth.

Fine. I'll pretend I didn't say that. Good intentions don't always get good returns. I hope you get a face full of pimples tomorrow.

Li Qi didn't try to persuade her. He picked some vegetables and put them in the fresh broth. After a while, he picked them out, blew on them a couple of times, and put them in his mouth, saying, "Delicious, so delicious."

Is it really that good?

Zhao Jing looked at Li Qi's exaggerated expression with suspicion.

When Li Qi said it was ready, she eagerly picked out the two slices of mutton, blew on them a couple of times, and put them in her mouth. As soon as she did, the spiciness made her mouth open wide, her fists clenched, and she didn't know what to do.

Li Qi couldn't help but laugh and said, "If you can't handle the spiciness, don't show off. Just spit it out."

Zhao Jing was about to spit it out, but hearing Li Qi's words, she stubbornly chewed a few times and swallowed the mutton, though she paid a heavy price for it, with tears welling up in her eyes.

Expert? Is this what you call an expert? If I had known a single peppercorn could do this, I should have brought some pepper powder with me.

Li Qi tried hard not to laugh, poured her a cup of tea, and said, "Drink some water."

Zhao Jing, no longer daring to be stubborn, drank the tea and said, "More, more."

After drinking three cups of tea, Zhao Jing finally recovered, but her mouth was still numb and spicy, making her very uncomfortable.

Seeing her flushed face and lips that had turned a bright red, Li Qi felt a bit itchy. He thought to himself, "If I tell her that kissing can relieve the spiciness, I wonder if she would draw her sword at me."

He thought about it but didn't dare to act, as there was still a significant gap in their abilities.

"Is this food for people?"

Zhao Jing, who had recovered, glared at Li Qi, thinking he was deliberately messing with her.

What? Dare to question my cooking?

Li Qi was taken aback, but without a word, he picked up a slice of mutton, put it in the red broth, and ate it when it was cooked. The mutton from the same pot made Zhao Jing almost die from spiciness, but Li Qi enjoyed it.

Zhao Jing was a bit stunned and asked, "Don't you find it spicy?"

Li Qi put down his chopsticks and sighed, "Of course, I find it spicy, but I like spicy food. The spicier, the better. Actually, you don't need to feel inferior. Some people like spicy food, and some don't. It's just a matter of habit. I already warned you, but you insisted on eating it. Who can you blame?"

"Who feels inferior?"

Zhao Jing huffed and picked up a leaf of vegetable, intending to put it in the red broth but hesitated and put it in the fresh broth instead, saying, "So what if I can't handle spicy food? It's no big deal."

"You're right," Li Qi chuckled.

Zhao Jing ignored him, waited a moment, picked up the leaf, blew on it to cool it down, and ate it. It was indeed very fresh, and she huffed, "This fresh broth is much better than the red broth."

Li Qi knew what she meant and shook his head with a bitter smile.

"Did you make the yin-yang hot pot too?"

Li Qi smiled, "Of course. It's the only one of its kind. If you want to eat it, you have to come to Drunken Immortal Inn."

"Then the three couplets outside are also your work?" Zhao Jing suddenly glanced at the door and smiled slyly.

"Of course not, those three couplets were made by our owner, Lady Qin. I don't have that kind of talent," Li Qi waved his hands.

Zhao Jing raised her eyebrows and smiled, "I was just asking. Why are you so nervous? Is Lady Qin very domineering, and do you all fear her?"

"Don't say that. Lady Qin is not only beautiful and talented, but she also cares for us deeply, always looking after us. She is so kind that she can be compared to a bodhisattva. She can be said to be both a lady of the hall and a lady of the kitchen. If she hadn't retired from the world for so many years, the first talented woman of Tokyo would be her, not Li Qingzhao," Li Qi praised enthusiastically.

Zhao Jing smiled and said, "Hearing you say that, you seem to admire Lady Qin a lot."

"Not just admire, Lady Qin is like a celestial being to me, so distant and pure. Sigh, if I could serve her for the rest of my life, I would be content," Li Qi closed his eyes and sighed.

Zhao Jing couldn't help but giggle, suddenly turned her head, and said to the door, "Lady Qin, I, Zhao Jing, have come to visit. I apologize for any offense."

"What? Lady Qin?"

Li Qi jumped up from his chair, looked around, and said, "Lady Qin, where are you?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the door creaked open, and Lady Qin, blushing, walked in, followed by the maid Xiaotao.

Lady Qin was indeed a beauty. Zhao Jing sighed inwardly and bowed, "Zhao Jing greets Lady Qin."

"Please, please," Lady Qin hurriedly returned the bow and said, "Since you are Li Qi's friend, you are a VIP at Drunken Immortal Inn."

Lady Qin is really giving me face.

Li Qi smiled inwardly but pretended to be surprised, "Lady Qin, you—when did you come?"

Lady Qin blushed and said, "I—I just arrived."

Zhao Jing tried hard not to laugh and glanced at him secretly. This guy's mouth skills are really impressive. He clearly knew Lady Qin was outside but still acted so convincingly.

Li Qi glanced at her and thought, "Hmph, trying to get me in trouble, not that easy."

Lady Qin, seeing their expressions, felt so embarrassed that she wanted to find a hole to hide in.

"Lady Qin, Zhao Jing has disturbed you for a long time. It's time to take my leave," Zhao Jing bowed to Lady Qin, knowing that staying longer would only inconvenience her, and it was getting late.

Lady Qin was eager for her to leave but said politely, "Please stay for dinner."

"Thank you, Lady Qin, but I have important matters to attend to and can't stay longer," Zhao Jing smiled.

Zhao Jing then turned to Li Qi, who was pretending to be clueless, and said, "Brother Li, your skill in reading people and speaking is truly admirable. I will take my leave today, and if I have the chance, I will visit to learn from you. Farewell."

With that, Zhao Jing bowed to Lady Qin again and walked out.

Damn! She's still trying to get me in trouble even when she's leaving. You're really ruthless.

"This Zhao Jing really likes to joke around."

Li Qi laughed awkwardly, seeing Lady Qin staring at him, and quickly explained, "Lady Qin, please don't listen to her. I really didn't know you were listening outside."

"You—"

"Uh, I'll go see her off."

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Alcohol is not a good thing. Reflection. Enlightenment. Awakening. Although I missed a day, I still need to ask for votes.

{Piaotian Literature}