Chapter 946: Champion Building
Zhuangyuanlou is the best restaurant in their neighborhood. It was opened after it was named Zhuangyuan. Rumor has it that the person who opened this restaurant was not the current manager, but a very powerful person.
However, Manbao and the others had only heard of him in the market and didn't know who he was.
Anyway, this restaurant is very big and luxurious, and the people who come in and out are very rich and seem to be very cultured.
After all, Liuxue is here, and the name is so good. Basically, most of the people who come here to eat and drink are students, as well as their elders and family members.
Manbao and his friends were dressed in ordinary clothes. Although not shabby, they were definitely not luxurious. As soon as they entered Zhuangyuan Building, they were attracted by the calligraphy and paintings on the two walls inside.
Bai Dalang had been to Zhuangyuan Building before, so he was relatively calm. However, the other three people had gleaming eyes, like country bumpkins who had come to the city for the first time. Although they looked calm, it was obvious that this was their first time in the city.
Someone turned to look at them, but Bai Shan and the others didn't notice. They walked straight to the wall and tilted their heads to read the poems written on the wall.
These were all left by the literati who came here to eat. Most of them were poems and essays, but some people also left just a word or a line of words. When Bai Shan saw those words, he couldn't walk anymore, and his feet were stuck to the ground without moving.
Mr. Zhuang had already gone upstairs. Bai Erlang tried to pull Bai Shan up, but failed.
He glanced back and said, "Come down and watch after you've eaten."
Manbao also looked at the words and exclaimed, "This is really well written."
Bai Erlang asked, "Are you guys still going to eat?"
Bai Shan said: "You go up and order the food first. There are so many people anyway, and it will take time to serve the food. We will wait and see."
Manbao nodded. She thought the poems on the wall were good and wanted to take another look at them.
Bai Erlang scratched his head and left them to chase after the master and his elder brother. "Then you can watch it for yourselves. I'm going up first."
The shop assistant led them to a seat on the second floor. Most of the good seats were taken, so it was impossible to look out the window, but they could see the first floor from the second floor.
Mr. Zhuang sat down, glanced downstairs at his two disciples, then turned to look at Bai Erlang who had already run up, and shook his head slightly.
Bai Dalang helped Mr. Zhuang sit down and said to Bai Erlang, "Why don't you read some poetry downstairs?"
He said, "Those poems and calligraphy were left by talented people. They are worth seeing."
"Hey, I saw the notice below, and it seems anyone can write poems or calligraphy on the wall."
"Anyone can be, but your poems and calligraphy are not good. Do you have the nerve to write on the wall?" Bai Dalang said, "Those who dare to write on the wall are those who are very confident in themselves. None of their poems and calligraphy are ordinary. Many people in the school come here to eat and drink just to see the calligraphy and poems on the wall. This is a rare opportunity. How can you not see it?"
Mr. Zhuang nodded.
"Then why don't you go, brother?"
"I have copied down all the poems on the wall and have read the words. You can go and read them. I am here to serve you, sir."
When the waiter came up to order the dishes, Bai Erlang said, "I'll just copy big brother's handwriting later. I won't need to look at the handwriting for now. My handwriting is not good, so I'll just copy yours."
Mr. Zhuang: ...
Bai Dalang: ...
Bai Dalang looked at Mr. Zhuang with suspicion, not understanding why he would accept him as his disciple.
Mr. Zhuang shook his head, pointed to the seat next to him and asked him to sit down, but did not force him to sit down.
Manbao read the poems one by one, while Baishan just stood there looking at the words on the wall, and gestured several times with his hands.
When Feng Zongping and his classmates entered the room, they looked up and saw Manbao standing under the wall. He was deeply impressed by her.
He waved to his classmates, signaling them to go upstairs first, and then went up with Yi Ziyang.
Manbao was reciting these poems silently and decided to memorize the poems on the wall when she returned home to learn how others wrote poems. She was engrossed in it when someone coughed lightly behind her.
Manbao didn't even turn his head, he just moved sideways to make room for the person behind him, and then continued to stare at the wall.
Seeing this, Feng Zongping couldn't help but cough lightly and said, "Miss Zhou, what a coincidence."
Manbao turned around, recognized Feng Zongping, and said with a smile, "It's Master Feng, what a coincidence."
Bai Shan, who was standing by, also came back to his senses when he heard their voices. He turned his head and walked over to Manbao. He looked at Feng Zongping and asked, "Who is this..."
Manbao introduced them to each other, then looked at Yi Ziyang beside Feng Zongping but smiled without saying anything. She didn't know his name yet.
Yi Ziyang smiled and introduced himself: "My name is Yi Ziyang."
Manbao and Baishan saluted the two men, who returned the greeting. Feng Zongping looked at Baishan and smiled, "Is this Miss Zhou's senior apprentice? He is indeed a handsome man."
Bai Shan was never one to be polite and humble, so he just smiled politely. Man Bao answered for him, "He's not as good as Master Feng."
The two of them boasted to each other for a while, and then Feng Zongping introduced them to the words and poems on the wall.
For example, who wrote this poem and who wrote this calligraphy, Feng Zongping knew it all. Not to mention Man Bao, even Bai Shan listened with great interest. The two of them kept all this in mind and decided to ask about these people after returning.
That sounds impressive. I wonder if they would be willing to be friends with them.
As they were talking animatedly, Bai Erlang poked his head down from the second floor and called out to them, "Come up to eat."
There were many people talking loudly in the restaurant. Bai Erlang's voice did not seem loud, but what he shouted was very prominent. People on this side were talking about "The suitability of black clothes, I changed into old ones again."; people on the other side were talking about "The way of a sage is to act without contending."
The restaurant fell silent for a moment. The people on the second floor turned their heads to look at Bai Erlang, and the people on the first floor also looked up at Bai Erlang.
Bai Jilang met their gaze with an innocent look, blinking, confused as to why they had suddenly become quiet and stared at him.
Bai Dalang covered his face, wishing he could find a hole to squeeze himself into.
Mr. Zhuang poured himself a glass of wine with a calm expression, and even took the time to signal Bai Erlang to sit still. What did it look like to kneel on the stool like this?
Feng Zongping and Yi Ziyang downstairs also withdrew their gazes and looked at Manbao and the others.
Manbao and Baishan bowed to the two of them and said, "We'll go upstairs to eat first. Goodbye."
Feng Zongping smiled and nodded, but followed them upstairs. He said with a smile, "We also need to go upstairs."
As they walked, he asked curiously, "The one who called you just now was your junior fellow apprentice, Second Young Master Bai?"
Manbao saw that he had even found out Bai Er's ranking, and it was obvious that he had found out their origins.
She nodded and said, "Yes."
At the same time, Manbao was also very curious, "Do students from your Imperial College often come to this restaurant to eat?"
Feng Zongping smiled and said, "It's not often. We just get together occasionally. After all, we still have to go home to eat."
The prices at Zhuangyuanlou are not low, so how can they eat here often? Even if their family is rich, their monthly salary is not high.
(End of this chapter)
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