Traveling through various miniature worlds with a small restaurant

Sikong Zhenyue strode to the Imperial Guard and found his superior, Su Hezhou.

Su Hezhou was in his early twenties, with delicate features and a handsome appearance. He wore a red official robe and looked like a civil official.

Who would have thought that such a refined and cultured young official would lead the Imperial Guard, a department full of martial arts practitioners, and train the formidable Wind-Breaking Feather Guards who would shake the capital!

Hearing Sikong Zhenyue's words, Su Hezhou frowned slightly: "Is there really such a divine weapon? Sikong Shaoqing, did you witness the power of that pistol with your own eyes?"

"I didn't witness the power of that pistol myself, but..." Sikong Zhenyue paused, "Eunuch Cao's godson, Wan Chou, led his men to those two girls' shop today, and a conflict broke out. They used pistols to injure Wan Chou's men, and I happened to be at the shop after that."

Su Hezhou snorted coldly: "Cao Qianxiang's godson? Just a conflict?"

Sikong Zhenyue would not speak kindly to those who harbored deep resentment; he would only tell the truth.

Upon learning that Wan Chou wanted to steal the two girls' brewing recipe, Su Hezhou's eyes flashed with disgust: "Hmph! The behavior of a eunuch."

He then said to Sikong Zhenyue, "Tomorrow I will personally go with you to meet those two women. If the pistol and automatic rifle are really as powerful as they say, it will not be too late to report to the Emperor."

After saying that, he glanced at Sikong Zhenyue and said, "At that time, I will personally take you to the palace to see the Emperor."

Sikong Zhenyue bowed respectfully and then left Su Hezhou's room.

Although Lord Su was somewhat strict with his subordinates, he had one good quality: he never took credit for others' work.

As a martial arts practitioner who joined the imperial court halfway through his career, I already have a bad reputation in the martial arts world. If I don't demonstrate my value to the imperial court, I'm afraid I will be squeezed out by those who come after me and trampled underfoot.

Sikong Zhenyue knew the way to survive in the officialdom: only by seizing every opportunity could he gain a foothold.

He returned to his lodgings and tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep, his mind preoccupied with thoughts of tomorrow.

The next morning, Su Hezhou and Sikong Zhenyue, dressed in plain clothes, headed toward Lin Xiaoqian's shop.

As soon as I reached the street corner, I smelled the aroma of meat.

Upon smelling the familiar aroma, Sikong Zhenyue quickly said to Su Hezhou, "Lord Su, the fragrance in the air is the signature braised pork trotter rice from those two young ladies' shop. I had a bowl yesterday, and the taste was unforgettable; I still feel the lingering fragrance on my lips and teeth."

Su Hezhou felt his mouth water just from the smell. He nodded slightly to Sikong Zhenyue, and the two quickly walked to the entrance of Lin Xiaoqian's shop.

A long queue had already formed in front of the store.

The shop was already packed with people. Just then, a customer walked out of the shop, and Jiang Shuang called out, "Number 37! Is Number 37 here? Come in and have some braised pork trotters!"

A middle-aged man who was chatting happily with someone behind him realized that Jiang Shuang was calling him and quickly raised his hand: "I'm number 37! I'm here, I'm here!"

Then, they happily went into the store to eat braised pork trotters with rice.

Sikong Zhenyue scratched his head and said in surprise, "I didn't expect there to be so many people today."

Glancing at Su Hezhou's expressionless face, Sikong Zhenyue quickly said, "I'll go ask that girl now."

Su Hezhou stopped him: "It's alright. Since you're here, try the braised pork knuckle rice at this restaurant first, and then we can talk business."

Sikong Zhenyue had no choice but to agree.

He hadn't eaten breakfast, so Lord Su's suggestion was exactly what he wanted.

So, Sikong Zhenyue went to the store to ask Jiang Shuang for two number plates.

Jiang Shuang glanced at Sikong Zhenyue, then at Su Hezhou, who exuded an extraordinary aura, not far from the door, and understood.

He said, "We made a lot of braised meat today; it will probably be sold out by the afternoon."

The implication was that they could only discuss the pistol with them after all the pork trotter rice had sold out in the afternoon; if they couldn't wait, they could come back in the afternoon.

Sikong Zhenyue nodded: "I understand."

Jiang Shuang glanced at Sikong Zhenyue with some surprise when she saw him standing there, not leaving.

Sikong Zhenyue pointed to the signs held by the people in line: "I need two signs, the girl hasn't given them to me yet."

Jiang Shuang: ...

So they really came here for braised pork trotters rice.

Jiang Shuang smiled sheepishly, handed two number tags to Sikong Zhenyue, and said, "Take these."

Sikong Zhenyue took the plaque, thanked him, and then turned around and handed one to Su Hezhou.

Su Hezhou took the sign, glanced at it, and saw it was number 58, while Sikong Zhenyue's was number 59.

So many people lined up early this morning, the business must be really good.

Sikong Zhenyue relayed Jiang Shuang's words to Su Hezhou, who fiddled with the plaque in his hand, remaining noncommittal.

He pointed to a teahouse nearby: "Let's go sit down and rest for a while."

The two arrived at the teahouse and found a seat by the window.

Sikong Zhenyue poured Su Hezhou a cup of tea and said, "My lord, shall we wait until the afternoon?"

Su Hezhou took a sip of tea and said, "No rush, let's wait and see."

The teahouse was bustling with people. Su Hezhou quietly gazed out the window, lost in thought.

Sikong Zhenyue was somewhat restless, glancing at Lin Xiaoqian's shop from time to time.

People who know martial arts have excellent hearing. After a short while, they heard Jiang Shuang shout, "Number 58! Number 59!"

Jiang Shuang had specially invited the two of them together, since they were potential big clients, and she could afford to give them this small favor.

Otherwise, given the booming business of their shop, it would have been impossible to get the two of them to eat together.

After Su Hezhou and Sikong Zhenyue entered the shop, Jiang Shuang greeted them and said, "Please have a seat, gentlemen."

Then he turned around and went into the kitchen, bringing out two bowls of braised pork trotters with rice.

Su Hezhou could tell from the appearance of the braised pork trotter rice that it would taste good.

He picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of braised meat, put it in his mouth, chewed it carefully, and slightly opened his narrow eyes.

He was a close advisor and a favorite of the emperor, and was often invited to dine with him. Although he could not say that he had tasted all the delicacies in the imperial kitchen, he had tasted about 70% of them.

But he had never tasted such delicious braised pork trotters rice before.

His movements with chopsticks were still quite elegant, but he increased the frequency considerably.

A customer ordered drinks in the shop. Sikong Zhenyue smelled the aroma of wine in the air and asked, "Lord Su, would you like a pot of wine?"

Su Hezhou ate until his nose was slightly sweaty, then declined, saying, "I have things to do later, so I won't drink today."

Just then, Jiang Shuang happened to pass by and overheard this. She smiled and said, "Our shop not only has alcoholic beverages, but also delicious drinks. Would you like to try some?"

As a subordinate, Sikong Zhenyue naturally had to take care of his superior, so he quickly said, "Then bring a pot of drinks."

Jiang Shuang was busy at the moment and didn't have time to introduce the different kinds of drinks to them, so she took two bottles of Sprite and two cups and put them on their table.

I once heard Lin Xiaoqian say that the ancients didn't know how to open the lid, so they thoughtfully unscrewed the lid and filled the cups for two people.

"Please enjoy your meal, gentlemen!"