Chapter 96 - 97: First Visit to the Restaurant
Ancient Wen Heng rubbed his nose, feeling a little disappointed. He’d been hoping to cheer her up.
"But who do you think will go back, and who will stay?" Jin Qianqian asked Ancient Wen Heng, though she already had her own suspicions.
"I’d guess that besides the old man, no one wants to go back." The village in Ancient Wen Heng’s memory was not a good place. It was in the mountains, but with no river nearby, so the harvests were limited. "And this is such a rare opportunity. The whole reason everyone left was to find a better way to make a living."
Jin Qianqian said, "It looks like your mother wants to go back too. What should we do about that?"
Ancient Wen Heng felt a headache coming on. "I’ll go and try to convince her later." As long as he could win his mother over, Gu Dashishi wouldn’t be an issue.
Jin Qianqian took out the silver notes she had received for the mirror. Other than buying a few sets of clothes and some rice bran, the money had been left untouched.
"Keep this on you. If your mother is worried about the future, you can give her some to put her mind at ease. Money is what gives a person confidence, and you can’t do without it."
Ancient Wen Heng picked out two of the smaller-denomination notes. "This will be enough. The old couple should have saved some silver of their own. We need to be frugal and think long-term."
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Just as expected, most people chose to find a new place to settle down. Even if the resettlement allowance wasn’t large, as long as they were willing to work hard, they could build a life for themselves during the two tax-free years.
Everyone had made their decisions, but no officials came with any news, and people started to grow anxious.
Although some shops in the city were open to refugees like them, the prices were far beyond what they could afford.
Jin Qianqian pointed at a family disappearing around a corner. "Wasn’t that the Lan Family?"
"Where?" Ancient Wen Heng replied. "I didn’t notice."
"It looked like them. They’d changed into new outfits and looked no different from the city folk. Do you think they’ll go back outside the city walls?"
Ancient Wen Heng glanced at Jin Qianqian. "Why don’t we stay in the city too? If we pay a little extra, we can still get a room at an inn."
’One should never underestimate the wisdom of the ancients,’ she thought. To check into an inn, you needed to register your household registration and show a road permit.
For so long, aside from that one night in Hunter Village, they had mostly been sleeping on the ground.
It was already late autumn. If it weren’t for the moisture-proof mats Qianqian had "smuggled" over, their bodies probably wouldn’t have been able to take it.
Many of the elderly and children had fallen ill from the cold during this time. Thankfully, the doctors in the city were available for consultations and medicine; otherwise, who knows how many lives would have been lost.
Jin Qianqian hesitated for a moment before shaking her head. "Let’s not, for now. We can’t be the ones to stick our necks out right now.
But it’s been so long without any news. What if their promises were empty? What if they’re just stalling, trying to force everyone to go back to their hometowns?"
"Then we’ll just have to tough it out a bit longer," Ancient Wen Heng said. "According to the news we’ve gathered, the current emperor might not have full control of the court yet. All we can do is wait.
Look, there’s Tianfu Restaurant up ahead. Why don’t we treat ourselves today and see what the food is like here?"
"I like that idea," said Jin Qianqian. "I’ve collected a lot of recipes, so we can compare the ancient and modern styles. We might even find a pleasant surprise."
"Welcome, how many in your party?" a waiter asked, appearing before them as soon as they walked in.
They had arrived well before the dinner rush, so the entire restaurant was still empty.
"Two," said Ancient Wen Heng. "We’d like a table in a corner."
"This way, please," the waiter said, quickly leading them to a more secluded spot. "How is this?"
Ancient Wen Heng nodded and stepped aside to let Jin Qianqian be seated. "What are your house specials?"
"Today, the Shopkeeper happened to acquire some fresh game. We have wild pheasant, rabbit, and some boar. Would the two of you care to try some?"
"What else do you have besides game?" Jin Qianqian asked.
"We have Hearty Mutton Stew, Sweet and Sour Fish Rolls, Diced Chicken with Walnuts, Five-Shred Vegetable Rolls, Pork Tripe with Buddha’s Hand Citron, Chicken Breast with White Pear, Almond Tofu..." the waiter rattled off. "What might you be interested in?"
As she listened to the waiter skillfully rattle off the long list of dishes without even pausing for breath, Jin Qianqian’s eyes lit up. ’That’s so impressive!’
"What do you feel like eating?" Ancient Wen Heng asked. He had also been taken aback for a moment but recovered more quickly.
Jin Qianqian wasn’t really in the mood for game. "Let’s get the mutton and the chicken dish, plus the tofu and a leafy green. What do you think?"
After a moment’s thought, Ancient Wen Heng also added an old duck soup before giving the order to the waiter.
"Esteemed guests," the waiter said, hesitating for a moment. "That’s quite a lot of food. It would be a shame for it to go to waste if you can’t finish it all."
"If we can’t finish it, we’ll take the leftovers to go," said Ancient Wen Heng. "You can do that here, right?"
The waiter nodded. "Then please wait a moment, esteemed guests. I’ll go place your order with the kitchen right away."
Once the waiter left, Jin Qianqian’s face lit up with excitement. "So this is what a restaurant in ancient times is like! It’s different from what you see on TV, but the service is just as good as in the modern era. He was smiling the whole time!"
"It’s not that easy to find a waiter’s job these days," Ancient Wen Heng remarked. "They have to cherish it."
Jin Qianqian made a mental comparison, and the beginnings of an idea started to form in her mind. She began to examine the restaurant in greater detail.
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「Meanwhile, in the restaurant’s back courtyard.」
"He disappeared without a word again!" Ouyang Bing stomped his foot in anger. "Using people and then just casting them aside... That bastard Guo, I won’t forget this."
"Sir, should we have our men go out and search for him?" Mudou, who had been standing quietly beside him, asked in a low voice.
"Search? How? Which one of you could possibly catch him?" Ouyang Bing ground his teeth in frustration. "He promised me he’d find someone, but he broke his word! Send out the order: From now on, our Tianfu Restaurant will no longer host Guo Yurong for free. In fact, we’ll double his bill! No, make it ten times!"
By the end, Ouyang Bing was practically roaring.
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"They’re certainly generous here," Jin Qianqian said, her smile nearly freezing as she watched the massive platters of food being served. "There’s enough food here for a whole table of people."
Ancient Wen Heng suppressed a laugh. "Just try to eat as much as you can. We’ll pack up whatever’s left."
"I was stunned for a second," Jin Qianqian said. "I didn’t expect the portions to be this huge. And they’re mostly main courses; I can hardly see any side dishes."
Especially that huge tureen of old duck soup. She was sure they had used a whole duck.
"Let’s see how it tastes first," Ancient Wen Heng said, ladling half a bowl of soup for her. "It smells delicious. Give it a try."
"This is completely all-natural," Jin Qianqian said, savoring the soup’s unique flavor. It tasted even more authentic than the "farm-raised" or "wild" ducks advertised everywhere back in her time.
Her eyes crinkled in delight. "I guess this is another big perk for us, huh? Totally natural and pollution-free. You have to try it, it’s incredible."