Yinshan Record

Chapter 592 Human nature's schemes are hidden behind one's belly (Part 1)
"I drew my sword and chopped off that old dragon's head. If everyone passing by had to give him something, wouldn't he get fat and bloated while our East Sea Sword Palace would get nothing?"

"Haha, Brother Xiao is so straightforward. This is how you should do things for the sect. It's not about personal grudges, but about handling official business impartially."

Inside a tavern in Jiankang City, Su Che, Ji Boyuan, and Xiao Feiyu sat together at a table. There were no delicacies on the table, just a few small dishes to accompany the drinks, but they had already drunk more than a dozen jars of cheap wine.

They chatted happily, Ji Boyuan recounting some interesting stories from ancient and medieval times, Xiao Feiyu sharing some exhilarating tales of his travels across the East China Sea, and Su Che listening from the side, occasionally asking the two about the challenges they encountered during their cultivation, gaining quite a bit of insight as well.

This left the waiter standing nearby quite worried.

He had no interest in listening to what the three old men were talking about; he simply drank four or five jars of wine over a plate of cucumber salad…

Is this really not sent by the shop owner next door to sabotage our business?
"Sir, what do you suggest we do?"

The waiter ran up ahead and spoke cautiously.

The shopkeeper is not here today; he went to the countryside to buy vegetables. There is only one accountant in charge of the shop.

The waiter had no choice. No matter how well the hotel did throughout the year, they would receive a share of the profits. He truly treated the small shop as if it were his own business.

"You're getting anxious because you're not making money from liquor?"

The accountant glanced up and saw that the waiter's face was full of anxiety.

"That's for sure. All this wine comes from the Wu family across the street. We barely make any money selling it. These guys are taking up the table; I bet they'll be drinking until tomorrow."

"Then let them drink until tomorrow."

The accountant adjusted the abacus lightly: "We're in business to maintain harmony. We'll serve them however long they want to drink."

“Sir, you’re not in a hurry, but I am.”

The waiter looked distressed: "My mother is still waiting for me to earn money to build a house and get married."

"Then there's no rush."

The accountant gestured towards Su Che and his group, saying, "Whether there's one more table or one less, it's just a roof tile on your roof. I'll make it up to you later, okay?"

Seeing that the accountant had come to this point, the waiter had no choice but to nod. He couldn't argue with the accountant any longer.

He muttered to himself, "You stingy accountant, I can't count on you, you unfilial son."

The accountant was also secretly worried.

These men have already drunk seven or eight jars of wine, yet not one of them has gotten up to relieve themselves. They must be heroes of the martial world. The accountant once heard a storyteller mention a special kind of life-or-death contest in the martial world: a drinking contest where no one is allowed to get up, and the winner is the one who can't hold it in and wets their pants. Could it be that some heroes are betting on this here?

He didn't want the waiter to provoke these江湖人 (jianghu people).

As the saying goes, everyone has three urgent needs. If they really need to, that's secondary; at least you don't have to wash their pants. But if they take the blame for losing, then there's bound to be a lot of trouble. At that point, not only will today's work be for nothing, but it might even be a whole month's worth of work for nothing.

Just as the accountant was hesitating, a plump middle-aged man suddenly turned around. He had a handsome short beard, was well-dressed, fair-skinned, and looked like he came from a wealthy family.

"May you prosper, shopkeeper."

This man was being polite, but what was even more infuriating was that he directly stuffed an ounce of silver into the accountant's hand.

The accountant weighed the item in his hand and immediately put on a smiling face.

"Boss, what can I do for you?"

"I wouldn't dare give such an order, but please take a look at this."

The chubby boss gently placed something on the table.

The accountant looked down and saw it was a waist tag, dark and of unknown material, with the words "Serving under the Imperial Guard..." written on it.

The imperial guards in the city?
Just as the accountant was about to exclaim in surprise, the man grabbed his wrist firmly with one hand.

"Don't make a fuss. Otherwise, it won't look good for either of us..." The accountant nodded hastily.

"What are your orders, boss?"

“Look at this piece of paper.”

The officer pulled a piece of paper from his sleeve. The accountant quickly glanced at it and read something along the lines of "Don't make a fuss, take good care of the guests."

Could it be that a thief has broken into the store?
He was also shrewd, knowing the principle of keeping secrets, and reached for the pen beside him, preparing to ask him a good question.

"You don't need to ask anything, just take good care of her."

The guard carefully put away his waist token, patted the accountant on the shoulder, and walked out laughing.

The accountant didn't dare to think too much. He just swallowed and sat there obediently, his heart pounding.

Who on earth has come to this shop that has even attracted the Imperial Guards?

He didn't know how much time had passed when he saw the waiter come down from upstairs with a mournful face, holding a gold ingot and a yellow talisman in his hands.

"You...what's wrong with you?"

When the accountant saw the gold in his hand, he panicked for a moment. Could it be that the thieves in the shop had noticed something was wrong and ran away when things got bad? Would his men then have to go to the prison of the imperial guards?

He probably can't escape the charge of releasing the thief.

“Just now, the people sitting at that table were immortals, they… they heard us talking.”

"what?"

The accountant was momentarily stunned.

"The immortal said that our family's wine is really hard to drink. We should not buy wine from outside anymore. Instead, we should buy a large urn, stick this yellow talisman on it, fill it with clean water, and after a month it will be the most fragrant wine."

The waiter said with a mournful face, "And this ingot of gold, is for today's drinks."

This does indeed sound like a story from a folk tale about encountering a fairy.

The accountant realized that the imperial guards knew this was an immortal and had come to observe the situation.

He considered himself to have met several cultivators, and he was not as useless as Xiao Er. He forced himself to adjust his mindset and adopt an attitude of not finding anything strange about it.

"Isn't this fine? Why are you crying?"

The waiter cried and said, "I was so stunned that I forgot to kowtow to the immortals and beg them to teach me a way to make my family prosperous and pass on my legacy to my descendants."

"Silly boy."

The accountant felt even more helpless upon hearing this.

"You really think your head is valuable? You don't know how many times you kowtow every year, and you think you can get blessings for your descendants by kowtowing a few times?"

The accountant stepped forward and took the yellow talisman from his hand.

"Alright, this is between you and me. Don't let the boss know. Otherwise, you'll be punished again."

He touched the material of the talisman.

This is the real family heirloom. He was secretly pleased with himself, and planned to slip away quietly in a couple of days.

I've heard that the newly built Suzhou city is very prosperous. Why don't we move there? Shenxianzui sounds like the name of a famous wine brand.

(End of this chapter)