The rule of Qingfeng Tower is that you are a guest when you enter the store. No matter who comes in, the store must give guests a feeling of being at home. There must be no behavior that dislikes the poor and loves the rich.
Having said that, Qingfeng Restaurant is a famous restaurant in Kyoto after all. It is high-end and elegant, and the food is expensive. Ordinary people will only look at it when passing by, and will never actually come in to eat.
Therefore, it is extremely rare for a commoner like Qin Xiao to enter a store.
Although the shopkeeper was polite on the surface, he was still somewhat contemptuous in his heart, not to mention that this commoner boy came in with a boat girl.
In the eyes of Kyoto people, boat girls are the lowest group of people.
After the founding of the Tang Dynasty, it was quite civilized. After the current saint ascended the throne, not only did female officials appear in the palace, but the restrictions on women among the people were also loosened a lot. At least women would come in and out of restaurants and tea shops. At first, they were still a little bit in people's eyes.
It's strange, but as time goes by, you get used to it.
However, in the eyes of some literati, it is against the rules for women to show up in public. The boat girls who punt boats on the river to attract customers are actually not much different from the geishas in the music studio.
"Guest, those four dishes are our specialty delicacies." The waiter said with a smile, "The four dishes together, not including drinks, cost more than 20 taels of silver. Guest, you...are you?"
Don’t you think about it?”
Qin Xiao was wearing cloth clothes, and the store clerk couldn't figure out where the young man would get the money from later.
Qin Xiao was calm and composed, but Qiuniang was surprised.
She worked exhaustingly on the river, and her income in a year was only ten taels of silver at most. These dishes cost twenty taels of silver. That was her two years' wages. She couldn't help blurting out: "Why is it so expensive?"
"The West Lake Vinegar Fish is the most popular dish in our restaurant. It is guaranteed to be fresh and fatty fish fished from the West Lake in Qiantang. After being fished, we will immediately send people to Kyoto. This journey will cost a lot of manpower and material resources." The waiter said with a smile.
He explained with a smile: "The second dish is steamed bear paws. They are blind bears captured from the mountains. They are genuine. The third dish you want is stir-fried swan tongue. This plate...!"
"It says on it, I can read." Qin Xiao had already interrupted: "Did I ask you to explain?"
The waiter was stunned and felt a little unhappy. He just said: "Then the customer also wants these four dishes?"
"Don't you understand?" Qin Xiao was not polite, and naturally he could see the arrogance of the waiter: "There are four dishes, one for each. You don't need me to say it again, right?"
The store clerk didn't say much, turned around and left.
Qiuniang leaned forward, approached Qin Xiao and said, "The food here is very expensive. We don't have to do this. Why don't we go home to eat?"
"The dishes have been ordered, let's just wait." Qin Xiao picked up the teapot, poured a glass of water for Qiuniang, and asked: "By the way, do you want to drink? The wine is fragrant in here, there should be something good.
Wine, how about we have a couple of drinks?”
Qiuniang hadn't spoken yet, but she heard someone next to her laugh and say: "Brother Komaeda, I discovered a strange thing in the countryside a while ago. Have you heard about it?"
"Oh?" The person opposite was very cooperative: "Brother Zhushan, what is the strange thing you are talking about?"
Brother Zhushan said with a smile: "There was a village where the people were simple. A farmer was working in the fields. He saw two people passing by the roadside. He only saw their backs. But from behind, they were short in stature and walked very fast.
It was strange. He was very strange, so he asked the person next to him where those two people were from."
"Oh?" Brother Komaeda asked, "Where did that come from?"
"The man next to him was an old man. He had seen a lot of things. He just took one look at it and laughed, saying that those two were not people, but two monkeys." Brother Zhushan said, "It turns out there are two monkeys on the nearby mountain.
There are only monkeys, one male and one female, who like to imitate people's walking postures, and that day they stole people's clothes and put them on, pretending to walk in front of people. But monkeys are monkeys after all, and although their appearance changes, their temperament cannot be changed."
Brother Komaeda laughed and said: "Brother Takeyama is talking about wearing a crown while wearing a monkey."
Many people nearby started laughing immediately.
Qiuniang was very smart. The story told by Brother Zhushan was clearly mocking herself and Qin Xiao. She was angry and glared at Brother Zhushan. Brother Zhushan laughed even louder and said: "The old man told Mu
The two monkeys were very angry, and the female monkey grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground and threw it at the old man, which turned into anger again."
As soon as he finished speaking, the others had not yet laughed, but there was a "crack" sound, and the pot of wine on Brother Zhushan's table was smashed to pieces by something unknown, and the wine splashed on the table.
Brother Zhushan and others were all startled. They stood up suddenly, looked around, and said loudly: "Who is it? Who is it? Stand up for me."
Qin Xiao had already stood up, walked over, and said with a smile, "It's me."
"You?" Brother Zhushan didn't even see clearly how Qin Xiao broke the wine pot, and asked suspiciously: "Did you break my wine?"
Qin Xiao nodded and said, "It's me. If you fart here, I'll give you a warning and tell you to say less."
"You bastard, what did you say?" Brother Komaeda stepped forward and said, "What kind of place is this? You are making vulgar remarks here and insulting politeness. Why don't you get out."
"Sven?" Qin Xiao sighed: "Several scholars, I think the people coming in and out here are all wealthy people. With your financial resources, I'm afraid you can't afford this meal. If I guessed correctly, we should be together.
Collect money and pretend to be here. What you are eating is not food, but you feel that you are superior to others by eating here. In addition, you probably want to see if you have a chance to make friends with the dignitaries who come and go here. But judging from the unlucky looks on your faces, you probably don't.
Chance. Talking about etiquette and morality makes people think that you are very elegant, but in your heart you are just seeking power. Am I right?"
The expressions of several people changed drastically, and Brother Zhushan said angrily: "You...you are talking nonsense, get out of here...!"
Before he finished speaking, Qin Xiao had already raised a hand and slapped Brother Zhushan.
This slap was loud and clear, and everyone around was stunned for a moment. No one thought that Qin Xiao actually slapped Brother Zhushan in front of everyone.
Brother Zhushan covered his face, also in disbelief.
Qiuniang was also surprised and stood up hurriedly. Qin Xiao had already looked at Brother Zhushan and said with a smile: "Who did you call a monkey just now? I don't know much, but I am smart. I heard it. Are you scolding me? You scold me.
, I’ll hit you, is that okay?”
"You... are an insult to politeness and politeness, and you allow such a person to come in to a place like this." Brother Komaeda said angrily: "Brother, come here and drive... him out.
.....1"
A store clerk had already come over and said, "Hitting is not allowed here."
"I'm a rough person, and I don't know what you say." Qin Xiao said simply: "You scold me, I feel uncomfortable, and I don't want to endure it, so I can only use this simple method. Because I know that this
This method is most effective for people like you. If you give you a good beating, you will not dare to be like a monkey." Another backhand slap hit Brother Zhushan on the other side of the face. Although Qin Xiao did not use all his strength, he slapped him twice.
Brother Zhushan's cheeks turned red after being hit.
Brother Zhushan was furious, but as a scholar, he didn't have the strength to restrain a chicken and didn't know how to fight back. He could only shout: "Report to the official, report to the official quickly...!"
"What's going on?" A voice suddenly came from the stairs: "Why are you making so much noise here?" Everyone looked over and saw only a few people coming down the stairs. The first one was dressed in brocade clothes and was less than forty years old. He was walking slowly.
When he came down, he was followed by two men and a woman in her thirties supporting an old woman in her fifties.
"It's Mr. Qian, Mr. Qian, a member of the Ministry of Etiquette, Wailang." Someone said immediately, obviously knowing the middle-aged man in brocade.
As soon as Yuanwailang named Qian came down the stairs, Brother Komaeda and others came up to greet him. They bowed and saluted one by one. Brother Komaeda turned around and saw that Qin Xiao had returned to his table. He raised his finger and said, "Yuanwailang, this is
It is insulting to politeness for people to hurt others here, so you have to make the decision for us scholars."
The wailang of the Ministry of Rites is only a sixth-rank official. In a place like Kyoto, a sixth-rank official is no different from an ant. However, in the eyes of these scholars, this wailang is very majestic.
A group of people came forward to ask Yuan Wailang to make the decision. Yuan Wailang's face was red, he put his hands behind his back and looked at Qin Xiaodao: "Why do you beat people? If you haven't read a book, don't you understand anything?"
Qin Xiao was sitting at the table and just looked up at Yuan Wailang and ignored him at all. Qiuniang, on the other hand, looked back and suddenly saw the old woman behind Yuan Wailang. Her face changed slightly. She stood up and went to the door.
As he walked out, Qin Xiao felt a little strange. Before he could get up, he heard the old woman say: "Wait a minute, Wan Qiu, are you Wan Qiu?"
Qiuniang stopped, turned her back to the old woman, and said nothing, but the old woman had already stepped forward and said with a smile: "Lan Qiu, don't you recognize me?"
Qin Xiao was a little stunned, thinking when did Qiuniang meet this old woman?
Although the old woman's clothes were not luxurious, she looked like she came from a well-to-do family. The key point was that she was obviously related to Yuanwailang named Qian. However, when Qiuniang finally turned around, she forced a smile and called out.
: "Aunt Rong!"
Qin Xiao was even more surprised, thinking to himself that this old woman was Qiuniang's aunt?
The old woman stepped forward, walked around Qiuniang, and said with a smile: "Why did it become like this? When I went to Beijing this time, I saw that the boat girls in the river were all dressed similarly to you. Shouldn't you
Will you be reduced to making a living by boating?" His tone was filled with a sense of superiority, and everyone could hear the sarcasm.
Qin Xiao frowned.
He still didn't know what kind of relationship Qiuniang had with this aunt Rong. If the old woman was really Qiuniang's aunt, she would be considered a close relative. She really shouldn't mock Qiuniang like this in public.
Qiu Niang bit her lip, lowered her head, and did not make eye contact with Aunt Rong. She seemed a little nervous and nervous. Seeing this, Qin Xiao knew that Qiu Niang was uncomfortable, so he got up and went over, ignoring Aunt Rong and Xiang Qiu.
My mother said: "Sister, let's go."
"Wait a minute, your food has been cooked." The waiter jumped out: "Even if you don't eat, you still have to pay."
Aunt Rong smiled and said: "You make a living by boating, how can you eat here? The food here is not cheap. I heard that the boat girl only earns ten taels of silver a year, which is the price of two good dishes here.
By the way, the bowl of shark's fin I ate just now seems to be quite expensive. How much does it cost, Haisheng?"
"That bowl of shark's fin costs thirty taels of silver. We served five bowls in total, which is fifteen taels of silver." Yuanwailang was very respectful to Aunt Rong: "Auntie, are you going back to Beijing? Naturally, my nephew must treat her well.
of."
Aunt Rong smiled and said: "Good nephew." She glanced at Qin Xiao and finally asked: "Who is this?"
Although Qin Xiao felt that this Aunt Rong was not a kind person, but if she was really a close relative of Qiuniang, for Qiuniang's sake, he would not lose his courtesy and said: "I am...!"
"
"In front of the elders, you don't even know how to call yourself. You are really clueless." Before Qin Xiao announced his family status, Yuan Wailang interrupted coldly: "No wonder he does rude things here."
Qin Xiao frowned, feeling a little angry in his heart, but Aunt Rong already smiled and said: "Does this young man look young? Is he an apprentice in the capital? Late autumn, you are not wrong, he is already at this age, a high official
Naturally, noble people will look down on you. There is no hope of marrying into a rich family, so it is better to find someone younger. You are considered smart and as clever as before."
Qiuniang frowned and moved her lips, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end no sound came out.
"We've finished eating. We'll see you again in the future." Aunt Rong said, "Haisheng, Wan Qiu and I are old friends. Now that we've met, I'll make the decision and give them a dish. So, man, you give it to them."
Add a soup dish.”
As soon as she finished speaking, she heard a few people walk in from outside the restaurant. When the foreign minister saw the people, his expression tightened, he hurriedly straightened his clothes, coughed, and said to the people around him: "This is Mr. Zhu from the Punishment Department, don't lose your etiquette!"
The person who came in from the door was Zhu Dongshan, the Minister of Punishment.
Zhu Dongshan came in with a big belly, followed by several officials. After scanning, he suddenly looked towards Yuan Wai Lang, with a smile on his face, and walked towards him. Yuan Wai Lang saw that Zhu Dongshan was facing him.
With a smile on his face, he was flattered and hurriedly stepped forward to greet him. Just as he was about to bow his hands, he found that Zhu Dongshan didn't even look at him and walked directly past him. He just pretended that he didn't exist and walked directly to Qin Xiao.
He smiled and said, "Qin Xiao, are you here? You've been so busy that you didn't come out to eat until now. Why don't you go up and have a drink together?"
In fact, the person present who knew Zhu Dongshan was not correct, but Yuan Wailang mentioned it when Zhu Dongshan came in, and Yuan Wailang from the Ministry of Etiquette took the initiative to greet Zhu Dongshan when he saw him. Even if they didn't know Zhu Dongshan and didn't hear it, everyone could tell
Dongshan’s status is not low.
No one expected that Zhu Dongshan turned a blind eye to the sixth-grade member Wailang, but took the initiative to say hello to the young man in civilian clothes. For a moment, everyone felt incredible. Brother Zhushan and others, who had just had a conflict with Qin Xiao, even felt chills running down their backs.