Chapter 102 Will I Make a Misjudgement?
Mr. Yi always invited everyone to take their seats. The seating arrangement wasn't at all vulgar. The master sat at the head, I sat to the right, and Mr. Yi sat to the left. The three girls sat together.
The waiter came in and asked what kind of wine we wanted. Yi Zong said, "Sweet rice wine, suitable for both men and women."
The dishes were immediately served: wild boar, wild rabbit, pheasant, wild mushrooms, wild ground bark, young bamboo shoots, and finally wild celery.
Yizong pointed at the wild celery and said to the master:
"Master, I don't have anything good to treat you, so I can only offer you a humble gift."
Xiaoxiao smiled faintly at Yizong, moved her lips, but didn't say anything.
Qianqian said, "Boss, this is not a 'vulgar presentation'? They are all wild game delicacies.
Tian Tian smiled and said, "Boss, you are too modest."
Qianqian asked Tiantian: "Modest? He's just bragging in disguise, right?"
Tian Tian said, "This is an allusion, beautiful lady."
When I heard this, I knew that among the three girls, Tiantian had the highest cultural level.
Qianqian refused to admit defeat and said, "Is it still an allusion? Don't lie to me. Tell me about it and let me broaden my horizons."
Yi Zong also deliberately said: "Just say it, I just said it casually, I didn't know it was an allusion."
Tiantian grinned and glanced at Mie Yizong: "Adjusting the taste, of course you know."
Xiaoxiao said, "I know. 'Yeqinloucheng' means 'I'll pour the wine.'" Then, she picked up the wine jug and poured the wine. Everyone laughed.
Yi Zong said, "Why do you need me to pour it? There are waiters here."
Xiaoxiao smiled and said, "The waiter is not as good as me at pouring. She put seven cups in a row. Her skills are definitely not worse than President Song's. Not only is it clean and neat, without spilling a drop of wine, but her movements are also elegant.
Yi Zong asked: "Little girl, you are at a professional level, where did you learn this?"
She smiled again: "I made some money in the teahouse during the holidays, hehe."
Everyone drank the wine, and found that the sweet rice wine was indeed sweet and refreshing, and very delicious.
Everyone drank and chatted. This was not a food show, but a lecture series, where people talked about everything from heaven to earth, from the past to the future.
Everyone was slightly tipsy. Then, Hua Zhiqiao arrived, followed by a waiter. She said, "I personally prepared a secret five-flavor drink for you. Try it." Then, she said she had other social engagements and left.
Mr. Yi scooped a spoonful for the master, then scooped another spoonful for me, and it seemed that he would scoop some for the three girls as well.
Xiaoxiao said, "Come on, let me scoop it out."
She first added a spoonful for the master, and then started with Mr. Yi and distributed the soup to everyone one by one.
During the meal, Yi always joked, "You guys met a fortune teller today. Do you want to have a fortune teller?"
I had initially assumed they didn't know much about fortune-telling. Unexpectedly, as soon as Mr. Yi suggested it, they all jumped on the bandwagon, saying they'd had physiognomy, fortune-telling, astrology, and horoscope readings done before. But this was their first time meeting a fortune-teller.
The master pointed at me and said, "Let him test you. He is my disciple."
Qianqian said the word "yue" to test her love life.
Xiaoxiao said the word "Xing" to predict her fortune.
Tiantian says "田" to ask about career.
Isn't this a piece of cake? Tell them what they like to hear, occasionally surprise them, and make them admire you wholeheartedly. The fortune-telling session brought laughter and joy to the table, and the atmosphere was particularly lively.
After the meal, Hua Zhiqiao came in and said, "Master, Mr. Yi, and Brother Shanhong, please go to the tea room on the third floor to chat."
The three girls dispersed, and Yizong led us to a tea room on the far right of the third floor. The tea room was elegant, with soft sofas, soft lighting, and a small platform in front with a piano.
We sat on a set of semi-curved sofas, sipping tea. Then Hua Zhiqiao came in and said, "The three girls will take turns playing for you later."
I understood now that these three girls from the art school were using their spare time to work in this place.
We chatted for a while, and Qianqian came in first. She had smoky makeup on and bright lipstick, looking like Madonna's granddaughter, and played a wild song.
After a while, Xiaoxiao came in. She smiled at everyone and said, "I'll play a serenade for the guests." She had on a bridal makeup in warm tones, looking clean and charming. She wasn't as good at playing the piano as Qianqian.
The last person to come in was Tiantian. She had put on some evening makeup, and she was already pretty, but now she looked even more noble and elegant. She not only played the instrument, but also sang while playing:
Once gone for three to five years,
I miss you but you don’t show up.
Who will think of my wife and concubine in the morning?
The crying birds are driven away and come back again,
…
She played the piano well, sang with great expression, and her expression of sorrow and longing moved everyone present—as if the man in the audience was her husband, and her deep longing was heartbreaking.
Yi Zong said, "The more the times progress, the more they regress. This is what a singing girl in ancient times was like, both talented and beautiful." No one responded. Everyone was immersed in a sense of sadness.
The music abruptly stopped, the last note hanging like a treetop by the window, shaking twice, and then, with a "pop," plummeting into the abyss. The song ended, the piano stopped, and she stood up. We all applauded.
Tiantian left. Yizong and Master were still talking. I couldn't understand some of what they were saying, because I had no idea who or what they were discussing.
After a while, we began to descend the mountain. I realized that this place wasn't lonely at all. There were so many lights, in front of and behind the mountains, deep in the forest. It turned out that this place wasn't suitable for seclusion, only for hiding.
When they arrived at the hotel, Mr. Yi handed the master a note and said, "I won't disturb you from resting. Tomorrow morning, we will have breakfast with you."
After entering the room, Master said he'd take a bath first. I sat on the sofa in the living room, wondering, "Who will Mr. Yi choose?" I pondered for a while, but couldn't come to a clear conclusion, so I went to take a bath too.
After I finished my shower, Master sat in the living room smoking. He waved to me, and I sat over. Master exhaled a puff of smoke and asked, "After this dinner, you should understand Yishu's purpose, right?"
I nodded: "Observe the person."
The master smiled slightly and said, "Tell me about your impressions of the three girls."
I kept an eye on her and said, "In my opinion, Tiantian is the best among the three."
The master looked at me and said, "Tell me."
I counted on my fingers. "First, she's well-educated. She always says 'Wild celery, humble presents.' She knows it's an allusion. During the Southern Song Dynasty, the famous poet Xin Qiji, unable to serve his country, wrote a ten-thousand-word letter to the emperor, proposing a plan to resist the Jin Dynasty and offering to raise an army to defend Changsha. The last line is: 'Wild celery, humble presents.'"
The master said, "Yes, it seems you have been studying very hard recently."
I said, "That's a humble way of speaking. Your Majesty, you're used to delicacies from land and sea, and I, Xin Qiji, don't have anything good to offer you. The wild celery growing in front of my house is my best food, so I plucked a handful and presented it to you. He compared the Ten Thousand Words Essay to wild celery."
The master was satisfied with me and smiled, "Go on."
I said, "Secondly, she's the most beautiful, a natural beauty who doesn't need makeup. Third, she has a great artistic sense. When she played that ancient poem, she put her own feelings into the lyrics, and her expression was very appropriate, which was able to move the audience emotionally."
The master asked, "Anything else?"
I gestured with my fingers and said, "The character '田' she chose is very good. It's a '王' when you look at it horizontally, and it's also a '王' when you look at it vertically. So, her career will definitely flourish in the future."
The master asked, "Have you finished speaking?"
I rubbed my head, feeling that I had explained it comprehensively enough, and smiled shyly: "That's all I can think of for now."
The master asked, "Where are the other two?"
I analyzed, "Qianqian is pretty, but too sexy. Her knowledge is unclear, so I can't judge her by her poor taste, but her piano skills are much better than Xiaoxiao's.
As for Xiaoxiao, her piano skills are average, not as good as the other two. She's pretty, but not outstanding. Her only advantage is that she's diligent, pours wine well, and knows how to scoop soup for people.
The master said, "Your analysis makes sense, but you don't observe people carefully enough, which affects the effectiveness of your analysis."
"Then please give me detailed guidance, Master." I stood up and poured him more tea, waiting for the master to speak.
The master just kept smoking and remained silent for a long time, as if I didn't even exist.
If it were anyone else, I would have wanted to curse. But he was my master, a master as dear to me as my father!
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