Inside the hall, the already serious waiters became even more solemn upon seeing everyone arrive.
Cui Yuanzhao ignored everyone and led a few people upstairs.
"My father is waiting upstairs, Lord Tang, please come in."
The waiters were surprised to see his polite demeanor.
Cui Yuanzhao was a notorious troublemaker in the capital; everyone who saw him was terrified.
But why is he being treated this way by a young man of similar age today?
Considering that Prime Minister Cui Renshi has booked the entire restaurant today, people can't help but start to have doubts.
"Could it be that the guest invited by the Prime Minister is Lord Tang?"
People couldn't believe it.
Given the Prime Minister's status, the people he invites should all be high-ranking officials like ministers, not some unknown nobody.
Tang Huan followed Cui Yuanzhao upstairs.
Upon reaching the top floor, only one waiter was standing in the lobby.
Beside the waiter was a middle-aged man in his forties, dressed in black, with an indifferent expression.
Even after seeing Cui Yuanzhao and Tang Huan, there was not much change in him.
As the group continued forward, the other party suddenly extended a hand.
Cui Yuanzhao and Tang Huan walked over, but Li Daikui and Qin Yu behind them were stopped.
"Old Zhao, what do you mean by this?"
Cui Yuanzhao noticed this and turned to stare at the middle-aged man.
Li Daikui kept winking and giving Tang Huan meaningful glances.
The middle-aged man bowed slightly, not looking at Li Daikui and Qin Yu, but turning his gaze to Tang Huan.
"Lord Tang, Lord Cui is waiting for you ahead. As for your two friends, they will need to wait elsewhere."
Tang Huan raised an eyebrow. "He invited me to dinner, but then he stopped my people from eating there. If he didn't want to treat me, we could have refused."
Zhao Quan smiled and said, "Your Excellency misunderstands. The Prime Minister simply wants to have a private chat with you. Your two friends will also receive the best hospitality, so please rest assured."
"Don't worry, Lord Tang, Zhao Quan won't dare to do anything reckless," Cui Yuanzhao explained to Tang Huan.
Zhao Quan wouldn't dare to act recklessly, but who knows if your father might?
Tang Huan didn't say these words directly to Cui Yuanzhao. Instead, he turned to Li Daikui and said, "Be quick-witted."
Li Daikui nodded vigorously, then, with the help of the waiter, entered another private room. Qin Yu gave Tang Huan a meaningful look and followed him in.
Cui Yuanzhao ignored Zhao Quan and led Tang Huan straight into the innermost private room.
As soon as the door was pushed open, there was only one figure inside the large private room.
The other person was wearing a dark blue robe, and his hair was neatly combed.
There are very obvious wrinkles on the temples.
The nasolabial folds are also very pronounced.
The moment the two entered the house, a smile spread across the other person's face, making him appear incredibly kind.
Cui Renshi?
Tang Huan muttered to himself, in his mind Cui Renshi should be a treacherous, cunning, and even cold-hearted and vicious fellow.
When they met, he turned out to be a kind old man.
News doesn't circulate much within Qihuai County, but the deeds of this prime minister are widely known. Almost everyone knows that he is a treacherous minister who has done no shortage of corruption.
"Father, I've brought the person to you!"
Cui Yuanzhao plopped down opposite Cui Renshi.
This address confirmed Tang Huan's guess that the man opposite her was Cui Renshi.
Tang Huan stepped forward, cupped his hands in greeting to Cui Renshi, and said, "Greetings, Prime Minister Cui."
Cui Renshi extended his hand, "Please sit down."
Cui Renshi scrutinized Tang Huan carefully until she sat down.
"Father, what kind of look is that? Is there something strange about Lord Tang?" Cui Yuanzhao asked casually.
Tang Huan noticed a fleeting hint of embarrassment in Cui Renshi's eyes, and a quick twitch in the muscles of his cheek.
Cui Yuanzhao's words seemed to have a significant impact on the Prime Minister Cui.
"Tang Huan?"
Cui Renshi ignored Cui Yuanzhao and turned to Tang Huan, asking him two words.
"I am the magistrate of Qihuai County, Yingzhou."
Cui Renshi smiled and said, "The magistrate of Qihuai County? I never expected that Yingzhou would produce such an outstanding talent. Do you know Xie Wu?"
“I know him. He helped Qihuai County a lot. Otherwise, Qihuai County would still be as poor and backward as it was more than ten years ago.”
"I recall that Xie Wu was dismissed from his position as Prefect of Yingzhou some time ago. Are you aware of this?"
"I don't know," Tang Huan replied calmly.
Tang Huan felt a wave of pressure from just a few questions.
What seemed like an ordinary question was actually a test of Choi In-seo's self-examination.
The other party seemed to be trying to find out more through Xie Wu's matter, and Tang Huan could only pretend to know nothing and respond accordingly.
Cui Renshi didn't dwell on the topic too much, but instead pointed to the various ingredients and condiments prepared on the table in front of him.
He personally started cooking the pot. "I heard from Yuan Zhao that this hot pot originated from Qihuai County?"
"Yes." Tang Huan did not hide anything.
Anyway, Wu Lanxi is the partner in the hot pot business, so even if I tell Cui Renshi, he won't be able to find out anything.
"This hot pot is indeed a special way of eating. I wonder how you came up with this idea?" Cui Renshi revealed a strong thirst for knowledge.
Tang Huan gave a wry smile. "Prime Minister Cui, you may not know this, but life in Qihuai County was incredibly difficult back then. Let alone having plenty of meat and fish, just being able to get three meals a day was already extremely difficult."
"Most of the time, people simply boil various ingredients and eat them, but that's too boring. It wasn't until life in Qihuai County improved that I spent some time thinking about how to develop dipping sauce, and that's when hot pot started to become popular in Qihuai County."
Master Cui exclaimed, "I see! So your cooking skills must be quite good? Or are you just particularly interested in this kind of thing?"
“Everyone in Qihuai County has some knowledge about food, after all, they all came from that era,” Tang Huan said calmly.
Cui Yuanzhao was somewhat confused and asked Cui Renshi, "Father, why do you say that Qihuai County is very harsh? It wasn't like that when I went there."
"That was then. A few years ago, Qihuai County was one of the most backward counties in the entire Daqing, and it even became a major concern for the imperial court. I tried some methods to improve it, but unfortunately, nothing came of it."
Cui Renshi answered his son's question, then looked at Tang Huan.
"Thank you for helping me resolve a great regret."
"This is what I should do, not only for the people, but also for the court."
Cui Renshi showed an expression of appreciation and asked with a smile, "You've been an official in Qihuai County for six years now, haven't you? Have you ever thought about going to the capital?"
Tang Huan experienced a series of setbacks and was indeed demoted to Qihuai County five years ago; now, the sixth year has just begun.
He hadn't expected Cui Renshi to remember so clearly; perhaps he had investigated his background beforehand.
"I haven't thought about going to the capital. My abilities are too meager; I'm already far too incapable of being a county magistrate."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Cui Yuanzhao retorted, "How could that be? Lord Tang, you are capable of becoming a high-ranking official."
Cui Renshi also laughed and said, "Yes, should I have someone arrange it?"
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