A Tale of Encounters with Immortals: A Peach Blossom Temple in the Martial World

Zuixianlou is one of the best restaurants in Lingzhou City.

The most famous dish is the river mandarin fish, the best wine is Zhuangyuanhong, the best private room is Shuiyunge, and the best chef is Qi Hongyu.

If the best cook prepares the most delicious mandarin fish, and then a delicate hand pours a glass of the finest Zhuangyuanhong wine, that would be the best etiquette in this restaurant.

The Four Heroes of Kunshan invited Zhang Zhengdao to go to the best spot.

They had enough money today. Although this meal might cost fifty taels of silver, the one-eyed leader took twenty taels, and the other three each took ten taels, which was enough.

Before coming, I had already made arrangements with Qi Hongyu, the cook at the restaurant.

Qi Hongyu is both a cook and a proprietress, and she is a widow.

However, she has powerful backers, so no one dares to cause trouble even though she runs such a large restaurant. This is because even the prefect has to show her respect to the person behind her.

Although she has powerful connections, she doesn't want to be looked down upon, so she wants to earn her own living.

The persona of an independent woman.

When Zhang Zhengdao heard the one-eyed leader's introduction, he thought it was all nonsense.

Sitting down at Shuiyun Pavilion offers a perfect view of the river flowing past in front of the building, providing a panoramic vista of the river scenery. You can enjoy drinks and the view simultaneously, and there's even music available for an additional fee.

Hiring a female singer to perform three songs would cost five taels of silver.

The Four Heroes of Kunshan are not that wealthy.

Ultimately, he is still a low-level public servant.

Although Qi Hongyu is a cook, she only cooks mandarin fish, and only when she feels like it.

There are several chefs at Zuixianlou, so she could easily avoid cooking herself. But this woman is shrewd in business; by establishing her persona as a cook, people will come specifically to try her skills.

"Come on, I'm the eldest, let me toast the Taoist priest first."

The one-eyed leader was indeed generous, finishing the whole bowl of wine in one gulp.

This cup is equivalent to a bowl.

Zhang Zhengdao finished his drink too, then asked, "If you drink like this, will you have enough money to pay the bill later?"

The one-eyed leader was struck dumb.

Yes, this wine is quite expensive. If I finish this cup and bowl by myself, will I have enough money to pay the bill later?

"Boss, this..."

There was a "clang" sound.

The lame second brother placed his machete on the table.

"And mine."

The hunchbacked third brother also placed the iron ruler on the table.

The crooked-mouthed fourth brother also placed the two axes he was holding on the table.

Zhang Zhengdao: "These are all laid out on the table, are we going to eat weapons?"

The four men took their unique weapons and chuckled sheepishly, saying, "We'll drink as much as you want. If you run out of money, I'll leave it to the cook to wash the dishes."

"I'll mop the floor!"

"I'll serve the dishes!"

"I...I solicit customers!"

Four honest men, even after entering the government, still carried a strong sense of江湖 (jianghu, the world of martial arts and chivalry).

Zhang Zhengdao was moved. He raised his bowl and shouted to the four of them, "Cheers!"

Immediately, the four of them raised their bowls and drank the wine in one gulp.

The one-eyed boss, caught up in the drinking, leaned out of the private room and shouted downstairs, "Kid, bring me two more jars of Zhuangyuanhong!"

The waiter listened and glanced at the cook behind the counter.

The cook gestured with her lips and said, "Deliver it!"

"What if they...don't have the money to pay the bill?"

The cook smiled and said, "Once you enter the shop, you are a customer. As a customer, we should satisfy any customer's needs for food and drinks. If you don't have money to pay the bill, then you have a different status and you should settle the debt in another way."

"Alright, sir, how about you—"

The waiter drew out his voice and came up carrying two jars of wine.

The wine was good; the five of them ended up drinking six jars.

After enjoying their meal, the five of them went downstairs to the counter to pay the bill.

"Cheng Hui, the total is one hundred and twenty-seven taels and six mace of silver. Let's round it down to one hundred and twenty-seven taels."

The cook looked at the five people with a smile.

We overspent quite a bit.

The four heroes of Kunshan took out their weapons together and placed them on the counter with a few clattering sounds.

"Look...how much is it worth..."

The cook laughed, "Sir, these are worthless. They're worth at most two taels of silver."

The one-eyed boss's face turned red, and he rolled up his sleeves.

The cook's face darkened, and she said, "If you want to cause trouble, that's fine. Everything here, big or small, has a price."

"If I wash the dishes, how long will it take to pay off the debt?"

"The one-eyed leader asked."

The cook was taken aback, then couldn't help but laugh.

"Washing dishes only costs one tael and two mace of silver a month... It would take eight years and eight months to pay it off." The cook picked up her abacus at the counter and started calculating rapidly, announcing a number.

"Plus the three of us brothers!"

"It will take each person two years and nine months to pay off the debt." The cook was skilled at using an abacus.

Zhang Zhengdao laughed: "No need, this meal is on me."

How could the four heroes of Kunshan, who are so loyal and righteous, be allowed to be used as collateral in a restaurant to pay off their debts?

Zhang Zhengdao took out some silver from his satchel.

"Master...no!"

The four heroes of Kunshan knelt down on one knee together.

Even the one-eyed leader started crying; this rough old man had tears and snot all over his face.

"Count!"

The cook glanced at Zhang Zhengdao and nodded with satisfaction: "You, this Taoist priest, are quite a nice person."

Zhang Zhengdao nodded and smiled: "Just put it away. Let's go!"

Zhang Zhengdao helped the four of them up, and they left the restaurant crying all the way.

Zhang Zhengdao turned around and said, "I just saw the true nature of the four of you. Do your job well in the yamen. If you have time in the future, you can come to Peach Blossom Mountain and we'll have another drink."

The lame second son: "Who is Ruo Youxia?"

The one-eyed leader slapped him on the head: "I told you to read more books, but you don't. You only read when you have free time. Luckily, it was in front of the Taoist priest, or you would have been utterly humiliated."

The lame second brother touched his head.

They parted ways at the entrance of the restaurant, and Zhang Zhengdao let them leave.

He glanced back at Zuixianlou before preparing to leave.

"Taoist Master, please wait!"

The cook hurried out and waved to Zhang Zhengdao.

Zhang Zhengdao turned to look at the cook.

The cook bowed to Zhang Zhengdao and handed him a heavy purse with both hands, saying, "One hundred and twenty-seven carriages, not a penny has been touched. Please forgive me, Daoist."

Zhang Zhengdao caught it and said to her, "It was someone from the He family who told you, wasn't it?"

The cook nodded: "That's right. I had no choice but to offend the Taoist priest's friends and brothers earlier. I'll invite the four of them to a table later to apologize."

"Need not."

Zhang Zhengdao asked, "Looking for a son?"

The cook nodded, tears welling up instantly. She was about to tell Zhang Zhengdao about her son's disappearance. He had been separated from her since he was ten years old, when they went to see the lantern festival at the City God Temple in Lingzhou. She had searched the entire city for five years without finding him, but there had been no news of him.

Just when she was about to give up, the He family sent someone over yesterday to recommend that she seek out a Taoist priest.

Just then, the Four Heroes of Kunshan were about to invite the Taoist priest to a banquet, and they learned from the four that the Taoist priest they were inviting was Zhang Zhengdao. What a coincidence!

However, they didn't want others to know about this, which led to the scene at the checkout.

It's understandable that she has too many concerns, given her special status as a cook.

"Could I please provide your birth date and time?"

"The cook asked."

Zhang Zhengdao shook his head: "I'll borrow something from you."

Just as the cook was about to ask what it was, a gentle breeze brushed past her ear. A strand of hair landed in Zhang Zhengdao's hand.

He then set his hair on fire.

A wisp of smoke rose from the burning hair.

The wisps of smoke lingered in the air for a long time, then meandered into two lines of text.

"A wealthy family with flying eaves and brackets, a parasitic crab dwelling on a green cliff."

Upon seeing this, the cook burst into tears.

"As expected... as expected, she went to look for him."

Zhang Zhengdao sighed: "Let's go!"

I shouldn't just accept the cook's invitation to drink for nothing; I should also take care of her business while I'm at it.

Seeing Zhang Zhengdao about to leave, the cook hurried two steps forward and said anxiously, "Master... will my son ever be able to come home?"

Without turning his head, Zhang Zhengdao said, "Next year will be just like the old year; when the garden flowers bloom, the birds will return to their nests."

The cook didn't understand, but from what the Taoist priest said, it seemed there was still hope.

Watching the Taoist priest walk further and further away, I stopped and looked at the blue sky and white clouds, and the bustling street. Suddenly, I felt a sense of urgency and turned around.

He Zhongzheng was standing behind her and gently patted her shoulder.

"What does 'Taoist Master' mean?"

He Zhongzheng also heard those two lines of poetry.

He had been inside the shop the whole time and hadn't felt comfortable coming out to say hello. After all, he wasn't ready to let anyone know about his relationship with the cook.

"Greenwood Cliff!"

He Zhongzheng smiled.

"The Taoist priest just said that next year, everything will return to its original state, and when the flowers bloom in spring, that will be the time for the children to come home."