Chapter Thirty-One: Digging a Pit for Lin Zhugou

  After the handover, Wang Kuang returned to the hall and now had a clear idea about the safe deposit box. At this moment, Lin Xuan was enjoying his meal, which made it the perfect time for Wang Kuang to get closer to him. The chili pepper seasoning seemed to have a magical power, as people usually felt relieved and happy after eating spicy food. With this good mood, it would be easier to get close to Lin Xuan. In the past, Wang Kuang had indirectly dealt with the Lin family through Lin Han, but until now, Lin Zhongbo hadn't put the Rich Guest House in an important position. Wang Kuang wanted to take advantage of the safe deposit box matter to pull Lin Zhongbo onto his side.

  At this time, several cases on the edge of Lin Xuanmu's table were already filled with people. The grass mats on the ground were not enough, and some people even sat on the stools, but they didn't dare to get too close to Lin Xuanmu. After all, he was a talented young man from Jian'an, although not the first, but still the young master of the Lin family. Who wouldn't have a respectful heart? These people curiously watched Lin Xuanmu say "delicious" one after another, then spoonful by spoonful poured into his mouth, while "hissing" and inhaling air, sweating profusely as if very hot. They were all curious about what food could make the usually elegant young master lose his composure like this? And in the cold winter, he was sweating so much, looking at that face, it was red all over, how to say... just like... just like the monkey's butt that came to Jian'an to play a few days ago, no mistake, it was that color. But looking at his eating appearance, it was clearly loach taro, but why didn't he have that feeling when he ate it himself?

  Seeing so many people gathered around wasn't a big deal, but Wang suddenly pulled Sun Er to one side and whispered something in his ear. Sun Er nodded, called over several waiters and instructed them on what to do. These waiters then dispersed among the crowd, whispering a few words here and there, and the crowd finally began to disperse. However, their gazes still occasionally drifted towards Lin Xiangyun.

  Originally, Wang Kuang just let them say a sentence: "Everyone is so surrounded, aren't you afraid that Lin Zhubu will know and be annoyed?" One sentence scared them away. Just kidding, where is the main book? Usually, they see the inside of the house and are nervous, who dares to provoke the main book? Not to mention that Lin Zhubu's official reputation is still good, but it depends on the situation, right? Who wants their child to be surrounded by others? Just now they were too curious, forgot this matter, and were reminded by a partner to wake up, of course, they quickly retreated.

  Lin Xuanmo was enjoying his food, but he knew everyone was watching him. He wasn't the kind of person to bully others with his power, so he couldn't make everyone leave. He felt a little annoyed in his heart, but he didn't want to put down his chopsticks and stop eating either. When Wang Kuang helped him out of the situation, he felt grateful and nodded at Wang Kuang, but his hand still didn't want to let go of his food.

  Wang Kuang took a look, after all, he had never eaten chili peppers before, and at this time, there was still more than half left in the pot. Although Lin Xuanmeng ate with relish, his speed was absolutely not fast.

  "Xiao Lang Jun is of good character." Wang Kuang found a stool and sat down opposite Lin Xuanmu. He was not used to sitting on the floor, as the way people sat on the floor in Tang Dynasty was not like the cross-legged sitting of later generations, but rather kneeling while sitting. After sitting for a long time, from buttocks to thighs to knees and then to ankles, it was both sore and painful. Sometimes, even when his legs were numb, he couldn't get up. Although sitting on a stool was an impolite act, he was still just a child, wasn't he? Who would hold him accountable?

  "You guys are really good at eating." Lin Xuanming drank a few more sips of the soup, but he couldn't take it anymore. Just as Wang Kuang was speaking, he quickly took a sip of tea to wash down the taste. In fact, he was also forcing himself, just because of what Wang Kuang had said earlier, which made him feel like he would choke if he didn't eat. Which scholar doesn't care about saving face? And at this age when his blood and energy were vigorous, he had a fear in his heart that Wang Kuang would laugh at him, so he continued to eat without stopping.

  "Your Rich Come Inn is really amazing, even this kind of unseen seasoning can be found. This spicy dish is indeed delicious and very flavorful, it's irresistible, sorry to say."

  "Where, young master, you don't know, when I first tasted this spicy food, my eyes were streaming with tears." Actually, Wang Kuang didn't say it all, when he was a child and first ate chili peppers, his nose and eyes were both running, but because Lin Xiang was eating at the time, he couldn't bear to say something so disgusting.

  As soon as Wang Kuang spoke, Lin Xuan's mood improved a lot: Look, I'm still better than you, I just sweated and had a hot face. But he didn't know that Wang Kuang had eaten Chaotian pepper, the hottest pepper in northern Fujian.

  As they chatted, Lin Xiangyun's attention was diverted, and the spiciness didn't seem so overwhelming anymore. Before long, half a small hour had passed, and the bowl of mud loach taro was almost empty. It wasn't until then that Lin Xiangyun noticed the sky: "Oh no, I've lost track of time! I haven't gone home yet, and Father will scold me again." He hastily stood up, rubbing his numb legs: "The sun is setting, so I must hurry back home. I won't stay long, farewell."

  "Wait a minute, young master." Wang Kuang saw him about to leave and hastily called out to stop him.

  "What? Is there something else? Doesn't this new dish count towards the copper plate?" Lin Xuanmu was in a hurry to leave and didn't want to say much, so he took out a string of cash from his pocket. "Is this enough? If it's not enough, I'll send someone back with more later. If there's extra, remember it for next time when you come to eat."

  "Who would have thought that young master's money was so easily spent, I think young master should head back now. If Lin Zhangzhu finds out he came to the Rich Guest House to drink, he'll probably be angry. So, I have an idea here." It seems like Lin Xianglian has already forgotten about the new dish altogether.

  "If you trust me, young master, please sit for a moment." Wang Kuang gave a signal with his eyes, and Sun Er understood, then ran to the kitchen.

  "Come on, come on, what's your plan, husband?" Lin Xiangmu was overjoyed when she heard that Wang Kuang had a plan. Normally, her father was very strict, and today she was prepared to get scolded as soon as she got home. Although getting scolded in exchange for new food was worth it, who wouldn't want to avoid it if they could? Her own father had also investigated this rich guest house, and it seemed that Wang Dalang's shadow was involved in its prosperity. However, the rich guest house had always kept a tight lid on things, so there wasn't much solid evidence. But if Wang Dalang really did have a plan, maybe it would be a good one. Thinking of this, he pulled back his leg and turned around, grasping Wang Kuang's shoulders with both hands like a lifeline: "Tell me, tell me! If you really do have a plan, I'll definitely thank you."

  "Master, have you forgotten? The young one didn't say earlier that there's a new dish to try, and it'll be ready soon. In a moment, I'll pack it in a food box for you to take back to the mansion and let your family members taste it, saying that you waited at the inn for a while and just had it made." Lin Xuanmu didn't eat the dry-braised pork feet but gave Wang Kuang an opportunity: letting Lin Xuanmu bring some back.

  Lin Xuanmiao actually didn't stop bringing food back home from Fuli Inn, but it was mainly because his father, Lin Zhubao, had always been strict about official discipline. He thought that if his own son took advantage of Fuli Inn's discounts, it was fine, but if he himself went, Fuli Inn would definitely have to give him a discount too, which would be embarrassing. Even Li Cishi and Huang Bieji only got discounts when they went. If the superior officials found out, they wouldn't care about the circumstances and would just accuse them of being arrogant and bullying the common people. Who would still want to get promoted then? It was said that Huang Bieji might be transferred to a higher position next year, and according to precedent, it was very likely that Jian'an County Magistrate would take his place, which meant that the county magistrate's position would become vacant again. Zhang Xiancheng was also eyeing it. Therefore, since Lin Xuanmiao got the copper plaque, Lin Zhubao had never gone to Fuli Inn to drink wine. When he craved something, it was always Lin Xuanmiao who brought some back or sent someone to buy it for him.

  "Right, right, good idea, good idea." Lin Xuanmu patted his forehead and then sat down with a relieved heart to wait for the new food to be cooked.

  Without much ado, Sun Er pulled out a lunchbox and handed it to Wang Kuang, who passed it to Lin Xuanmiao. Lin Xuanmiao's emotions were on a rollercoaster - first enjoying the food, then worrying about getting scolded at home, but upon seeing the university entrance exam results, she completely forgot to ask what this new dish was and excitedly rushed home with the lunchbox.

  Wang Kuang also deliberately didn't mention the name of the dish. Firstly, people with status and position wouldn't eat pork, especially not pig's feet which were rarely asked for. If they knew the name of the dish, Wang Kuang feared that Lin Zhonglu would not touch his chopsticks. Wang Kuang had personal experience with this. When he was young, he saw a stone frog (a type of frog said to live in mountain streams with snakes and have an extremely delicious taste) and thought it looked ugly, similar to a toad, so he wouldn't eat it. It wasn't until his mother tricked him into thinking it was chicken soup that he started eating it. In the upper class society of the Tang Dynasty, there were still deep prejudices against pigs. Wang Kuang even suspected that people in later generations not eating pork might have something to do with the customs passed down from the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Secondly, he wanted to leave some suspense. If Lin Zhonglu was concerned after eating, he would naturally ask Lin Xuan or his family members about the name of the dish, which would lay the groundwork for their next encounter. In literary terms, that's called digging a hole.

  Lin Xuanmiao had just left, and Sun Mingqian also returned to the inn. He heard that Lin Xuanmiao had come and gone, taking a box of new snacks with him. After inquiring about what happened before and after, Sun Mingqian guessed most of Wang Kuang's intentions: "The eldest son did a great job." Just then, he saw his two sons walking into the hall with Wang Rong, and his face turned stern again: "Look at you two, where have you been running off to? Your clothes are all wrinkled. Don't think I don't know! It's just that I understand your hearts aren't in studying, so I haven't asked the teacher to discipline you strictly. You should learn from Eldest Son and Second Son."

  Wang Xian gave a square and honest salute to Sun Mingqian and Sun Zhanggui, then ran to Wang Kuang's side. The two little guys secretly stuck out their tongues at Wang Xian, and when Sun Mingqian wasn't paying attention, they made a ghostly face again. They had long known that their father didn't require them to achieve anything in their studies, so they didn't take it to heart. One thought: Don't think I don't know you're helping me find a martial arts teacher who suits my taste, Father! The other thought: Didn't you tell me to follow Dalang and learn from him? He doesn't go to school, so why should I have to go either?

  Let's not mention anything else, and talk about the dinner table in a separate room at the inn that day. There were three tables (Sun Mingqian, Sun Zhanggui, and Wang Kuang, Wang Rong, etc. on one table, several people from the kitchen on another table, and many apprentices on another table). Everyone was competing with each other, and it was very lively. In a short while, a pot of mud eel and a plate of pig's feet were snatched clean. After finishing eating, everyone was not satisfied, and when they heard Wang Da unintentionally mention that there was still half a pig's foot left, they rushed to ask Wang Da to continue cooking. Sun Mingqian hadn't eaten enough either, but he turned a blind eye to the crowd's words and actions. Seeing that the master didn't say anything, Wang Da ran to the kitchen.

  "Hey, what's this new food called? And that spicy seasoning Li Dabao brought back is really something. Li Dabao has done a great job! Old Sun, when Li Dabao comes back, help him build a house in Jian'an and let him bring his mother over."

  Division

  Some book friends guessed that this book is about double wearing. Grey Sparrow understands everyone's feelings, generally speaking, double or multiple wearings are not easy to write without getting stuck. However, Grey Sparrow personally doesn't dislike double or multiple wearings, but just doesn't dare to try. Here, I can clearly tell everyone that this book is absolutely not about double or multiple wearings. Originally, Grey Sparrow didn't want to reveal the plot, but since so many people asked, I can only say this much. As for Hua Rong Dao, what is it? Everyone can use their imagination to guess, sorry but Grey Sparrow wants to keep a suspense here.

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