Upon entering the restaurant, Jing Zhe truly felt how popular Wenxiangju was. The more than sixty tables in the main hall on the first floor were almost all occupied, and a dozen waiters were shuttling between the narrow tables to serve dishes. The customers at the tables were enjoying their meals and chatting happily. Judging from the smiles on their faces, you could tell how satisfied they were.
Jing Zhe and Hanhan stood in the lobby for a while, but no one came to pay attention to them. The waiters were busy with their own things, while those who weren't busy chatted and joked around.
Behind the counter of the restaurant sat a similarly pot-bellied man who looked somewhat like Manager Song. Their shop was an old establishment passed down through generations, so this man was probably Manager Song's brother.
He had seen Jing Zhe as soon as he entered the store, but at most he would only glance at him before closing his eyes to rest, acting like a big shot.
Perhaps in his eyes, this person was a complete stranger, especially the simple-minded man behind him, who looked like he had never seen the world before—he was probably from out of town. For someone who was used to seeing powerful and wealthy people in Jingzhou, his contemptuous gaze towards the two of them was even stronger.
Jing Zhe was getting a little angry after no one paid any attention to him for a long time after he entered the room.
Damn it, this big company is bullying its customers!
Who does business like this?
However, it seems that all these "century-old restaurants" have this problem: their reputation has spread far and wide, and people flock here every day, especially some from other places. They always want to see what the number one restaurant in Jingzhou is like and taste the food that the powerful and wealthy in Jingzhou often eat. Even if the food is not good or the service is not good, people will still come!
This shows the importance of signboards.
Before coming here, Jing Zhe was a little reluctant to take Wenxiangju from Manager Song. But after seeing the attitude of this group of people, Jing Zhe decided that he had to take it!
Moreover, not all the money earned from this restaurant went into his pocket. He planned to use the majority of the money to promote compulsory education. If Emperor An knew his idea, he would definitely support him, after all, Manager Song was not a good person.
Moreover, he decided that the first thing he would do after taking over Wenxiangju was to properly educate them and see if they were still capable of doing business.
If you can do it, do it; if you can't, get out! I won't tolerate your bad habits!
Having made up his mind, Jing Zhe shouted at the counter, "Is anyone alive here? I want to eat!"
At this moment, the man pretended to have just seen Jing Zhe, his face full of mockery, while sternly saying, "Can't you speak properly? What do you mean by 'Are there any living people here?' Aren't I alive?"
"I've been here for so long, why haven't you said anything?"
"Oh!"
The man first chuckled dismissively, then looked Jing Zhe up and down, and said disdainfully, "From out of town?"
"What does this have to do with eating? If you run a business like this, you'll offend all our VIP customers. This shop will go out of business sooner or later!"
Jing Zhe was no longer the novice who would admit to being from out of town to everyone he met, but even so, the other party could still tell and laughed: "No wonder, people from out of town naturally don't know the rules of our Wenxiangju!"
Before he could continue, someone in the hall shouted, "Second Manager Song, it's not like I'm short of money, why aren't you giving me enough strong liquor?"
Just as Jing Zhe had guessed, this guy was Manager Song's younger brother, known as Second Manager Song.
"Didn't your buddy tell you?"
Song Er glanced at the man.
"I did tell you, but—"
"But what? This is all the spirits we have right now. If you can handle it, drink it; if not, get out of here!"
"..."
The man sat down sullenly after being yelled at by Song Er.
Song Er turned around and looked at Jing Zhe triumphantly, saying, "See that? Here, I'm the one in charge! You're from out of town, so you probably don't know who's upstairs, right? They're all well-known and influential figures in Jingzhou City!"
She pointed upstairs, "Especially the private rooms on the third floor. Even His Highness the Crown Prince and Prince Xiang are regulars there. A little bit of their food that slips through their fingers is more than you can eat in a year! Who do you think you are, a VIP? If you're not going to eat, get out!"
Jing Zhe gave him a cold glance. If there hadn't been so many people, he would have already given him a good beating.
At this moment, I somewhat miss the old days when I didn't have an official position and therefore had fewer concerns.
"I'm really not here to eat. If I want to eat here in the future, there will be plenty of opportunities, and I won't have to spend any money."
Hahaha~
Song Er felt like he'd heard the biggest joke in the world. "You? And you don't even have to pay? Dream on! You come here without eating? Are you kidding me?"
"I'm here to see your elder brother, Manager Song?"
"Looking for my brother? You think you're worthy?"
Song Er spat and prepared to chase them away.
Just then, the sound of voices and footsteps came from the stairs. Upon seeing this, Song Er quickly bowed and scraped to greet them, a stark contrast to his arrogant demeanor in front of Jing Zhe just moments before.
Jing Zhe watched his retreating figure, thinking that he would be unable to quell his anger without giving him a good beating!
...
"Song, the great scholar, have you finished eating? Did you enjoy it?"
"Young Master Yu, it's been a while since we last met. How long are you planning to stay in Jingzhou this time?"
"..."
Song Er spoke with his back bent and his head hanging low.
The people who came downstairs first were people Jing Zhe recognized, and were even very familiar with: Song Jimao and Yu Haixing, whom he had once slapped so hard they almost cried.
I don't know how these two met, but they must have been kindred spirits to end up together.
The two seemed to know Song Er well beforehand. They nodded, exchanged a few words, and then walked out. Only then did Song Er look up and see Jing Zhe looking in their direction. He gave him a smug glance, as if to say, "See? Who isn't better than you?"
But what happened next left him stunned.
"Oh, Song, the great scholar, it's been a long time!"
Jing Zhe stepped forward and said with a smile.
His words were similar to Song Er's, but his tone was completely different; one was flattering, while the other was teasing.
Moreover, upon hearing this, Song Jimao tensed up, looking at Jing Zhe as if facing a formidable enemy.
"You... what are you doing here?"
"I was just browsing around when I bumped into a big acquaintance. How about we go up for a drink?"
"No...no, I...I have something to do, and I'm not a good drinker. I just had a few more drinks and I'm already a little tipsy! If I run into President Jing again, I'll definitely keep you company! If President Jing really wants to drink, he can ask Young Master Yu for a drink! I'll be going now!"
After saying that, he left in a hurry without paying any attention to Yu Haixing, and his speed was truly admirable.
Yu Haixing, standing nearby, grinned, inwardly screaming: "Selling me out at this crucial moment, is that a good thing? No way!"
Looking at Yu Haixing's miserable expression, Jing Zhe suddenly found it inexplicably funny: "Young Master Yu, would you like to have a drink with me?"
"..."
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