Chapter 660 Arriving Without an Order
The Li family gathered at the restaurant, which was the most luxurious three-story restaurant in the West Market. Besides being high-class, the most unique feature of this restaurant was that a high platform had been erected in the center of the main hall on the night of the Lantern Festival.
There will be song and dance performances on this high platform all night long!
The Li family members were sitting at a table made up of two large square tables pushed together on the right side of the hall, waiting to watch the performance.
"We booked the table too late. Otherwise, if we had booked a private room on the second floor, we would have had a better view."
"Isn't it nice to sit in this lobby?"
I think the lobby is fine enough; if it were on the second floor, you'd need excellent eyesight.
Li San Niang nodded in agreement with her mother's words, "Isn't that right?"
The hall features a fan-shaped platform built around the center. Whether you sit at the front or the back, you can see the performance on the platform and have a fairly clear view.
However, if you're in a private room on the second floor, although you can see a panoramic view, if your eyesight isn't good enough, you'll probably only be able to see silhouettes and nothing clearly. It's better to sit in the lobby and enjoy the view.
Li's mother ordered a lot of dishes, and everyone sat down around, eating and waiting for the performance to begin.
Halfway through the meal, a gong rang out, and two waiters shouted, "The eldest son of the Guo family on Yonglefang North Street in the private room on the second floor is hereby awarded twenty taels of silver."
Li San Niang never expected that there would be wealthy people giving money as a reward. Twenty taels was not a small amount; for an ordinary family, it would be enough to cover their expenses for more than half a year.
After shouting this five or six times, other sounds finally rang out.
“The lady of the Gao family on Jishanfang South Street in the private room on the second floor will give you fifty taels of silver.”
Li Ersao was quite taken aback when she heard that it was fifty taels of silver all at once.
"That's fifty taels of silver! He's really rich."
Thus, one after another, in the dozen or so private rooms on the second floor, everyone tipped different amounts of silver, with the smallest being twenty taels and the largest being over a hundred taels.
And this restaurant really knows how to do things. Because the private room on the second floor had given a lot of money as a tip, the manager actually served a pot of hot drink to every table in the main hall. It was red date tea with sugar.
Brother Li asked the waiter who served the drinks, and the waiter said: "The manager said that this is the idea of the biggest guest in the private room on the second floor. He said it's the Lantern Festival, and everyone should have a sweet treat together."
Of course, the hot drinks weren't just for the Li family's table; they were for all the dozens of tables in the hall.
One of the more cheerful men, after accepting the drink, stood up and said loudly to the man on the second floor, "On this Lantern Festival, thank you for the drink, sir. I wish you and your family a happy reunion and much happiness."
Once someone takes the lead, many more people will stand up and express their gratitude.
Li San Niang felt it wasn't because of the pot of drink, but rather because it was the Lantern Festival, and the gift of the drink seemed much more sincere.
After all, people who can come out to enjoy themselves during such a festival are not really short of money for a pot of hot drinks.
To Li San Niang's surprise, a little while later, as soon as the dancers on the high platform stepped down, a man who looked like a steward from a wealthy family borrowed the gong from the restaurant.
The sound of "thump thump thump" drew the attention of everyone sitting in the hall. Only then did the person bow and greet everyone's gaze, saying properly, "My husband thanks you all for your blessings!"
It is by fate that we are gathered here tonight. My husband also wishes you all a happy family reunion and good health.
Finally, my husband will treat everyone tonight. I hope you all enjoy yourselves!
As soon as these words were spoken, a murmur arose in the hall as people began to discuss which family the host belonged to, praising his generosity.
"May I ask which young master is so generous? I, Zhao Ping, thank you very much."
"...I, Li Cheng, thank you."
“…I, Wang Sili, thank you.”
...
A dozen or so people stood up to express their gratitude, and the steward returned their greetings one by one, saying, "My young master's surname is Wan, and he is the third son in his family."
May everyone enjoy themselves.
After watching the generous steward of Wan Sanlang's family bow and leave again, Li Sanniang had a vague feeling that something was amiss.
But if you asked Li San Niang to pinpoint exactly what was wrong, she really couldn't say.
"Third Sister?"
Facing Qiu Xiang's worried gaze, Li San Niang shook her head, put aside the unease in her heart, picked up a piece of fish with her chopsticks, made sure there were no bones, and then put it into Lu Zhu'er's bowl.
This meal was truly worthwhile, since it cost absolutely nothing.
Before leaving, Brother Li and Brother Li Er bowed to the private room on the second floor to thank Mr. Wan for his invitation.
Actually, after the steward said "it's a treat," Li San Niang, still feeling uneasy, tasted every dish and snack on the table to make sure there was no poison or incompatible ingredients before she felt relieved.
But Li San Niang still felt uneasy. If anything, Li San Niang wanted to see who this Wan family's third son was.
However, after leaving the restaurant, Li's mother said, "Let's go to the place where we released the river lanterns, it'll be a good way to digest our food."
Just please take good care of the children; there are many people here, and it's nighttime, so please be careful.
Thus, Li San Niang had no choice but to put aside her doubts, pick up Lu Zhu'er, and follow the Li family to the place where the river lanterns were being released.
Meanwhile, in one of the private rooms on the second floor of the restaurant, the butler who had just appeared before everyone was now standing behind someone in a servant-like manner.
And this person must be the Third Young Master of the Wan family that the steward mentioned.
"Did you see it?"
Sitting opposite Wan Sanlang, a man who looked like a scholar nodded, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then said to Wan Sanlang in a low voice, "She looks like an ordinary girl, nothing special."
"Yun Ting, you can't judge a book by its cover. Compared to other extraordinary people, she has done quite a lot."
Yes, this person using the alias Wan Sanlang was actually Du Qinghui, who came to Chang'an without imperial decree.
The scholar whom Du Qinghui referred to as "Yunting" was his trusted advisor, Lü Yunting.
"If this Li San Niang is truly powerful, do you think she knows about the opium?"
Du Qinghui shook his head, picked up his chopsticks, ate some food, and after swallowing, he said, "She's a member of the Bad People and a doctor, so she must know."
However, if she was only on duty at the medical clinic, she might not know.
After all, she's a female doctor, and presumably most of her patients are women, with fewer men, so it's understandable that she wouldn't know.
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