After a long while, the deputy censor finally held Zhao Jin's cold hand and said to him in a gentle voice, "Old senior, why don't you thank Xiang Bei?"

"Ah, yes..." Zhao Jin finally woke up from his dream and knelt down in the direction of the capital, saying, "Your Majesty, I thank the late emperor for his generosity and your majesty for his grace! Long live the emperor!"

When Zhao Jin finished thanking him, the Deputy Chief Censor helped him up again and said cordially, "When you were pleading for the people, I was still observing the government in the six ministries. I admired you very much. So when the good news came, I rushed to congratulate you."

"Uh, okay, thank you very much, sir." Zhao Jin seemed to be in a dream, and his whole body was in a daze.

Zhao Hao appeared beside him at some point, and asked Fang De to bring out a plate of silver coins as a reward for the attendants. He then bowed to the Deputy Chief Censor and invited him into the store to have some tea and rest.

"Who is this?" The Deputy Chief Censor looked at the young man and thought he was Zhao Jin's nephew, so he was very polite.

"This is my younger brother." Zhao Jin finally came to his senses and took Zhao Hao's hand to introduce him, "Thanks to my younger brother and the neighbors' care over the years, I have been able to survive until today."

"So it's Zhao...my dear brother." The Deputy Chief Censor felt awkward, but still greeted Zhao Hao as an equal.

Then he thought, they are from the same clan and the uncle is younger than the nephew, so it doesn't matter. He smiled and asked, "It seems that the restaurant is opening today. Why did I just hear from the long-servant that there seems to be trouble here?"

Otherwise, his followers would not have fired the Jing Street Cannon.

"Yes, there are officials bullying us brothers. They came to our house and demanded 100 taels of silver for tea and water, otherwise they would not let us open the shop." Zhao Hao smiled and glanced at Li Jiutian who was about to faint and said, "Look, my brother argued with him, but he actually called my brother a thief and wanted to beat him..."

"What!?" The deputy chief censor's face suddenly changed. He pointed at Li Jiutian, who was lying on the ground like a pile of mud, and shouted, "As expected, the innkeeper should be killed even if he is innocent! How dare you insult and beat an official appointed by the imperial court! Come on, hold him up and slap him in the face!"

The followers with machetes hanging from their waists pounced on him like wolves and tigers and lifted up Li Jiutian, who was begging for mercy.

Then someone put on a thick cowhide glove and slapped Li Jiutian in the face.

“Oh, ah…”

As Li Jiutian screamed, his mouth and cheeks turned purple, and after a few more hits, blood started to flow from his mouth and nose.

After slapping him, the deputy chief censor ordered his attendant, "Take my business card and send this dog to the county government. Ask the magistrate to punish him severely!"

"Yes!" The chief waved his hand casually and asked his men to drag Li Jiutian, who was like a dead dog, towards Shangyuan County Government Office.

As for that group of useless servants, they had naturally dispersed long ago, but no one was willing to suffer the same misfortune with Li Jiutian.

~~

After dealing with Li Jiutian, Zhao Hao invited Mr. Xie to come into the store for tea again. However, Mr. Xie bowed and said, "I have official duties to attend to. I will not bother you again another day."

He patted his forehead again and smiled at Zhao Jin, "I almost forgot the important matter."

As he spoke, he waved his hand, and two clerks came out with a complete set of official uniforms, including neatly folded official robes, black gauze, official boots, and leather belts.

"Tomorrow is the first day of the lunar new year. When you report for duty at dawn, the Chief Censor will personally issue you your official certificate." Lord Xie solemnly handed the official uniform to Zhao Jin, then took his leave and got into the sedan chair without even drinking a cup of tea, let alone eating.

"Isn't this a bit rude?" Yu Jiachang asked Zhao Jin as he watched the sedan chair going away.

"It's always like this for an imperial censor." Zhao Jin stroked the blue official robe in his arms and replied with a smile: "From now on, you can't just treat me to a meal casually."

"Then it shouldn't be against the law to enter your own restaurant, right?" Zhao Hao asked with a smile.

"We still have to avoid suspicion." Zhao Jin smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"Isn't it open yet?" Zhao Hao pulled Zhao Jin into the store and said with a smile, "As a younger brother, I am here to congratulate my older brother on his reinstatement. Is this all right?"

"That's okay..." Zhao Jin then followed him into the store.

Then Zhao Hao said to his fellow villagers, "Come in, all of you high-ranking neighbors. Today is a double celebration. I'll treat you all to a drink!"

The neighbors happily poured into the restaurant, and soon the table was packed.

Zhao Hao had planned to invite the villagers to have a meal at the restaurant today, as a rehearsal for tomorrow's business. After all, there were more than a dozen people in the restaurant, and if they didn't get used to each other in advance, tomorrow would definitely be a mess.

Soon, the waiters came up with a large wooden tray and brought up the cold dishes that had been prepared long ago.

In the kitchen, the kitchen helper lit the stove and prepared the ingredients, and the chef began to fry, stew and stir-fry in full swing!

All the dishes are exactly the same as tomorrow's menu. The only difference is that Zhao Hao's secret recipe of "Super Fresh Powder" is not added to today's dishes.

But the chef's skills and the quality ingredients make the dishes themselves delicious. The neighbors praised the food and said they would come often to take care of the business in the future.

Shopkeeper Fang and the others were at a loss whether to laugh or cry after hearing this. If the neighbors knew the boss's pricing, they would probably slam the table and curse, right?

"So it turns out that you don't allow people to add extra ingredients because you are kind-hearted." Yu Jiachang leaned against the counter and smiled to Fang De in a low voice, "Otherwise, they will find everything they eat tasteless for the rest of their lives."

Fang Deshen nodded in agreement. Seeing the neighbors toasting to Zhao Hao and Zhao Jin, he hurriedly said to Yu Jiazhang, "Stop them now, Mr. Zhao... You have a court meeting tomorrow morning, so don't get drunk."

Toasting to Zhao Hao is even more ridiculous. He is still a child...

~~

After noon, the neighbors had their fill of food and drink and said goodbye one after another.

Qiaoqiao's mother and Si Ya led the servants to clean up the mess. Manager Fang, Old Man Gao, and Captain Yu, based on the problems exposed today, took the time to investigate and fill in the gaps.

Zhao Hao never cared about trivial matters, so he asked Gao Wu to help the drunk Zhao Jin go back to sleep. He was also tired after a whole day and needed to catch up on some sleep.

When I woke up from my nap, the sky was already full of red clouds and Zhao Shouzheng had also gone home.

It’s not that classes at the Imperial College ended earlier, but that the days were longer and the nights were shorter, so Mr. Zhao finally didn’t have to travel back and forth under the stars.

Upon hearing the good news that Zhao Jin had been reinstated, Zhao Shouzheng was extremely happy, as if he were an official himself. He excitedly rubbed his hands in the hall and shouted:

"Qiaoqiao, ask your father to send over a table of food and a jar of red wine. I want to celebrate with my old nephew!"

"Father, if you want to drink, just tell me." Zhao Hao hurriedly stopped him and said, "My elder brother has to go to court early tomorrow morning, and he can't let drinking interfere with his work."

"That's fine." Zhao Jin waved his hand and said, "It's a rare happy occasion. I'll have a drink with you, uncle. You don't have to study tonight!"

"That's great!" Zhao Shouzheng was immediately overjoyed.

But after three rounds of drinks, Zhao Shouzheng couldn't help but feel indignant for his old nephew again.

"The court is so unkind. They have wronged my old nephew for so many years, but they didn't even give him a promotion as compensation. Instead, they let him be a mere seventh-rank imperial censor..."

"Alas, I am already satisfied that I was lucky enough to be rehabilitated and restored to office." Zhao Jin touched his gray hair and sighed, "I am an old man now, what else can I expect?"

Zhao Hao smiled and said, "Brother, don't be so pessimistic. I see that your forehead is red, and you are very lucky. You will be promoted to the third level in no time!"

"Haha, then I appreciate your good words, brother..." Zhao Jin thought that Zhao Hao was joking and didn't take it seriously.

Little did they know that Zhao Hao's statement was still conservative...

ps. The second chapter has been sent to you. Please give me a recommendation and a review~~~ I am working hard on writing. It will definitely be a big hit when it is released~~~~