I served as Li Bai's page.

While I was talking to the restaurant owner, Li Bai, accompanied by his sixth uncle, the magistrate of Wenshang County, and his other cousins, arrived in front of the restaurant. I stood by the window of the private room and waved:

"Young master, I'm here."

Li Bai looked up and led everyone into the restaurant. The owner hurriedly came downstairs to greet them, saying:

"Welcome everyone, please come upstairs."

At that moment, a guest in the hall recognized Uncle Liu and stood up to greet him, "Lord Li, would you like to have a drink?"

"Lord Zhang, you're eating here too. I've brought my nephew Li Bai here today to sample the wine at this restaurant," said Uncle Liu.

Upon hearing the name Li Bai, several people stood up and looked at him. One of them recited aloud: "The Heavenly Gate is broken, the Chu River opens wide, its green waters flow eastward and turn back here. Green mountains rise opposite each other on both banks, a lone sail comes from the edge of the sun."

Li Bai bowed to the man and said, "This was just a small wordplay of mine; I'm grateful that you remembered it. Thank you!"

"He really is Li Bai, a man of unparalleled literary talent, elegant and unrestrained. I heard my cousin Wang An mention him; they once traveled to Jinling together, and Li Bai left behind many bold and unrestrained poems," another person stood up and said.

Li Bai cupped his hands and smiled at the man. I tugged at his clothes, signaling him to hurry upstairs.

The lobby downstairs was already in an uproar. We quickly went upstairs to a private room, where Li Bai pulled out seats for Uncle Liu and the magistrate of Wenshang County, and said:

"Sixth Uncle, Eighth Brother, please sit down." He then gestured for the other brothers to sit down as well.

Just as everyone sat down and was about to raise their glasses, the door to the private room suddenly opened, and a middle-aged man of medium height, wearing a blue long robe and of average appearance, walked in. He cupped his hands in greeting and said, "I apologize for disturbing you all. I am Zhang Shuming from Wutongyu, Shimen Mountain. I greatly admire Li Bai's literary talent. Meeting him at this restaurant today is a great honor, and I wish to become friends with him."

Li Bai stood up and said, "Brother Zhang, I am honored to know you. We are all brothers under heaven. Please sit down and let us have a few drinks together."

Zhang Shuming walked over to Li Bai's side, and I gave him a seat. After Zhang Shuming sat down, Li Bai introduced him to his sixth uncle, the magistrate of Wenshang County, and all his brothers. That's how it is with drinking buddies; once a glass is raised, they become brothers.

Li Bai and his companions kept toasting each other, and several jars of wine were easily finished. When the owner personally brought up a jar of wine, he said to me, "Li Bai writes well and drinks well too. I've rarely encountered such a heavy drinker in my restaurant."

"Boss, you've met a benefactor! My home is right in front of the hotel, by that fountain. Li Bai will be coming here to drink often from now on," I said.

"That's wonderful! I guess I'll have to prepare more wine," Boss He said happily.

After a satisfying meal at Helan's Restaurant, Li Bai said to me, "Yuehua, let's pay the bill and go home."

Li Bai, the magistrate of Wenshang County, and Zhang Shuming helped each other walk out of the restaurant. Uncle Liu was a little drunk, and Fifteen and I carefully helped him down to the counter.

"Mr. He, the bill is due," I called out.

"A young master surnamed Wang has already paid for you. He asked me to tell you that he is a cousin of Wang An, and that he greatly admires Li Bai's poetry. He said that if Li Bai goes to Jinling, please visit him in Wuyi Lane."

"Where is he?" I asked quickly.

"They left a long time ago, saying they were in a hurry to return to Jinling."

"Thank you so much, Mr. Wang. I wish him a safe journey," I said, looking towards the outside of the restaurant.

Fifteen and I helped Sixth Uncle out of the restaurant, where we saw Li Bai saying goodbye to Zhang Shuming.

"Brother Zhang, I live at the Li residence at the end of the alley ahead. Come visit me when you have time. I'm going to Shimen Mountain to learn swordsmanship soon; I'll look for you then."

"That's great, I'll be waiting for you at Shimen Mountain. We'll part ways here today." After saying this, Zhang Shuming raised his hand and waved before walking towards the street.

We returned to the alley and first took Uncle Liu and the others home. Li Bai then asked the magistrate of Wenshang County to come home with us. As soon as we entered the courtyard, Pingyang and Boqin ran out of the living room. When they saw the magistrate of Wenshang County, they turned back shyly and peeked through the door frame.

Li Bai and the magistrate of Wenshang County were both a little drunk. Seeing us return, Xu Ziyan and Sister Lin came out to greet us. Li Bai asked:

"Did Aunt Liu and the others go back?"

Xu Ziyan replied, "They went back after dinner."

The magistrate of Wenshang County said, "Sister-in-law, I'm sorry to bother you tonight."

"Brother Ba, why are you bothering us at our brother's house? Make yourself at home. I've asked Sister Lin to prepare a guest room; you can go and rest anytime."

"Thank you, sister-in-law."

Li Bai said, "It's still early. My brother and I will sit in the pavilion for a while. Yuehua, brew two cups of tea." After saying this, Li Bai pulled the magistrate of Wenshang County towards the pavilion.

I quickly called out, "Young Master, wait a minute, let me light the lamp first."

I lit two lanterns, one hanging in the entrance hall and the other in the pavilion. Then I brewed two cups of hangover tea and brought them to the pavilion.

Li Bai and the magistrate of Wenshang County sat facing each other in the pavilion, drinking tea and chatting.

The magistrate of Wenshang County said, "Twelfth Brother, your literary achievements have truly progressed by leaps and bounds in recent years, and more and more people admire your poems and essays. As soon as the people of our area heard that you had arrived in Rencheng, they all wanted to come and see you."

"Brother Ba, I just write articles, but my ideal is not like that. In the past few years, I have traveled around seeking patronage, hoping that one day I can enter the court and assist the emperor. But I am always just a little bit unlucky," Li Bai sighed.

"Twelfth Brother, as the saying goes, serving a ruler is like serving a tiger. Why are you so fixated on being by the emperor's side? Why not come to Wenshang and find a minor official or county magistrate position? Perhaps your Eighth Brother can help you with that."

"Thank you, Myna, but I still want to go to Chang'an; it's the place I've always dreamed of."

"If that's the case, then the myna bird won't be able to help you. So what are your plans next?" the magistrate of Wenshang County asked.

"I came to Rencheng mainly because of you all here, and also because I want to go to General Mountain to study swordsmanship under Pei Min. After I have mastered the skill, I will then pursue my future," Li Bai replied.

"That's excellent. Twelfth Brother is talented in both literature and martial arts; surely someone with discerning eyes will discover you."

"Myna, it all depends on luck and opportunity. Hopefully, there will be such a person."

The two of us chatted in the pavilion until very late. I couldn't stay awake any longer and fell asleep leaning against one of the pavilion's pillars.

"Yuehua, wake up, go inside and sleep," Li Bai said, shaking me.

I woke up with a start, rubbed my eyes, and said, "Aren't you all going to sleep? It'll be dawn soon."

"Let's go to sleep too, we're done talking," said the magistrate of Wenshang County.

I brought out the basin and water jug ​​to the well, and whispered, "Eighth Young Master, Young Master, come and wash up so you can sleep more comfortably."

After Li Bai and the magistrate of Wenshang County finished washing up at the well, they went back to their rooms to sleep. After I finished tidying up, I turned off the lantern and went back to my room as well.

I lay in bed but couldn't fall asleep. Thinking about Li Bai's path to officialdom, I was filled with anxiety.