I served as Li Bai's page.

It was almost noon when the Sixth Master arrived at my house with several young masters and ladies. I arranged the cooked fish one by one on a plate, stir-fried the seasonings and chili peppers together to make a broth, poured it over the fish, and sprinkled chopped green onions on top. Instantly, a fragrant aroma wafted out.

"It smells so good!" The young masters and ladies smelled it and ran to the kitchen to see. Sister Lin brought the fish to the table and also put the other stir-fried dishes on it.

Li Bai helped his sixth uncle up in the living room and said, "Sixth Uncle and Sixth Aunt, let's go eat."

Everyone sat down in the restaurant, and I brought out wine glasses and filled them for everyone. Li Bai stood up, raised his glass, and said, "I came from Anlu to Rencheng, and I owe a great debt to my sixth uncle and aunt and all my brothers and sisters. On behalf of my whole family, I toast you all." Li Bai then drank it all in one gulp.

Xu Ziyan also stood up and said, "In Rencheng, you are our family. We hope you will take good care of us in the future. I would like to toast my family." After saying that, she also drank it all in one gulp.

Uncle Liu said, "You two don't need to be so polite. Twelve is like my own child. You two can settle down in Rencheng with peace of mind. If Twelve wants to go out and make a living, that's fine with him. Uncle Liu and Aunt Liu will take good care of the family and everyone else."

Li Bai stood up and knelt down before his sixth uncle and aunt, saying, "Thank you, sixth uncle and aunt."

Sixth Uncle helped Li Bai up and said, "Sixth Uncle knows you are intelligent and ambitious. You must not let your family hold you back. Go forth with confidence. Your cousin is already the magistrate of Wenshang County; your future is much brighter than his."

"Uncle, you think too highly of me. I will do my best for my future," Li Bai said.

"Having a promising future doesn't necessarily mean becoming an official. We, the Twelve, are more famous than you officials right now," said Aunt Six.

"That's right. Many people can recite Twelfth Brother's poems, they just don't know who he is. I really like Twelfth Brother's poems. They are bold and unrestrained, and easy to recite," Li Shiwu said.

"Enough about me, everyone, let's drink." Li Bai raised his cup and drank with everyone.

Aunt Liu said, "The fish today is delicious. I've never seen fish cooked like this before. Yuehua, when you have time, teach my chef how to make it for us more often. Look, my children love it."

"Thank you for the compliment, Madam. I have many other ways to cook fish. I'll teach them to your family's chef when I have time, so he can cook them for you in rotation," I said.

"Great! We should have tried something different a long time ago." Aunt Liu happily grabbed my hand, eager for me to teach their chef immediately.

After lunch and a short rest, Uncle Liu went to the yamen. Li Bai and Xu Ziyan chatted with Aunt Liu and the young masters and ladies in the courtyard. After Sister Lin and I finished cleaning up the dining room and kitchen, we also sat down by the flower bed in the courtyard.

"Yuehua, go and bring out the guqin. I'll play a piece for everyone," Li Bai said.

Upon hearing that Li Bai was going to perform, all the young masters and ladies became interested and expressed that they could also sing a song or recite a poem.

I brought the guqin to the pavilion, and Li Bai sat down in front of it. He adjusted his breathing, then began to play "Spring River Flower Moon Night" with both hands. As Li Bai played, he sang, captivating Aunt Liu and the young masters and ladies of the house.

"What a wonderful song! Twelfth Brother is truly multi-talented." As the voices and applause filled the air, a middle-aged man in a silk robe entered the courtyard.

Li Bai looked up and saw that the man was his cousin, the magistrate of Wenshang County, who was the eighth in his family.

Li Bai stood up to greet him, saying, "Brother Ba, welcome, welcome! I was just saying I'd like to visit you another day."

The magistrate of Wenshang County approached his sixth aunt and the young masters and ladies, bowed, and said, "Greetings, sixth aunt, and greetings to all my brothers and sisters."

Sixth Aunt held the hand of the magistrate of Wenshang County and said, "Eighth Brother, it's been so long since I've visited Sixth Uncle and Sixth Aunt. How is your family?"

"All is well. My parents asked me to give them my regards. I only heard yesterday that my twelfth brother had come to Rencheng. He was passing through Rencheng on official business today and stopped by to visit. When I arrived at your house, the servants said you were with my twelfth brother, so I came directly over. Did Sixth Uncle go to the county government office?"

"Where else can he go if he doesn't go to the county government? He's getting old, so he can only serve there. Unlike you young people, you can still run around everywhere," said Aunt Liu.

Li Shiwu said, "Mother, you can't say he's old in front of Father. He's stubborn and won't admit it. He'll definitely get angry if he hears you."

After Li Shiwu finished speaking, everyone burst into laughter.

Li Bai introduced Xu Ziyan and her two children to the magistrate of Wenshang County. The magistrate said, "Your sister-in-law has traveled a long way with the twelve to Rencheng. Thank you for your hard work."

"My dear brother, it's not hard work at all. Wherever my husband goes, I should go too," Xu Ziyan replied.

Sixth Aunt said, "Eighth Brother, other couples are like husband and wife, always in harmony. Unlike you, you never take your wife out for a walk all year round."

"I'll bring my wife to Rencheng to visit you sometime," the magistrate of Wenshang County said, scratching his head.

The arrival of the magistrate of Wenshang County further inspired Li Bai, and everyone recited poems together in the courtyard. It was almost dinnertime. Li Bai stood up and said:

"We won't eat at home tonight; we'll go to the Helan Family Restaurant behind the house for drinks."

Aunt Liu said, "Places like restaurants are for men; we women don't go there."

Xu Ziyan also said, "You guys go ahead, we girls will eat at home. We have some leftovers from lunch, we'll ask Sister Lin to make something fresh, that should be enough."

Li Bai said, "There's no need for that, everyone should go."

Aunt Liu said, "We're not going, you guys go. Yuehua, hurry up and make a reservation at the restaurant. It's almost dinner time, and there won't be any seats left. This restaurant is very popular."

"Whatever you want, Yuehua. Go to the restaurant and make a reservation first. We'll go call Uncle Liu, and we'll be there shortly," Li Bai said.

Following Li Bai's instructions, I went around our house's wall and came to the street behind it. This street was located north of the east gate of Rencheng, a quiet and secluded place with towering ancient trees, a good place for people to take a stroll after meals. The restaurant run by Helan was located on this street, facing south, directly opposite our house.

I entered the restaurant, and the main hall was already packed. I went to the counter, and the owner, taking a moment from his busy schedule, greeted me, "Sir, would you like a drink?"

"Are there any seats left? There are seven or eight of us," I asked.

"There's another private room upstairs; it can easily seat seven or eight people."

"Then I'll place the order. Our people will be here soon," I said.

The restaurant owner led me to a private room upstairs. It was a south-facing room with a large round table in the center. The room wasn't luxuriously decorated, but the table and curtains were red, giving it a festive feel. I opened the window and could see the guests entering the restaurant.

"Boss, please have your men set out the bowls, chopsticks, and wine glasses for us. Set out eight sets first, and we'll add more if needed. Bring out the best wine, two jars to start."

"You guys can really drink! You ordered two jars before you even arrived," the shopkeeper said.

"My young master is notorious for his drinking."

"No matter how famous someone is, can they drink as much as Li Bai? Can they be as famous as Li Bai? He was the kind of person who would write poetry as soon as he drank. And he's from our Rencheng," the shopkeeper said proudly.

"Boss, do you know Li Bai?"

"I don't know him personally, but I can recite his poem: 'The bright moonlight shines before my bed, I wonder if it's frost on the ground. I raise my head to gaze at the bright moon, then lower my head and think of my hometown.'"

"Boss, I'll introduce you to him today. He'll be here in a bit," I said.