“Please enlighten me, my friend.”
Seeing this, He Xiuyuan immediately cupped his hands and inquired.
He remembered that he hadn't stayed long then, leaving directly, so he truly didn't know what had happened there.
It seemed some things had occurred after he left.
“This matter isn't much of a secret, so I can naturally tell you, my friend.”
The scholar in front of him smiled slightly upon hearing this. “Speaking of which, this is quite an unusual tale. Around last year, a peculiar person came to Chunxi Restaurant. He felt that one day spring wine was too expensive, so he wanted to buy the brewing recipe from the shopkeeper.”
“However, this recipe is the lifeblood of Chunxi Restaurant, so the shopkeeper naturally couldn't sell it, and thus the matter could only be dropped.”
“But the Chunxi Restaurant shopkeeper was also a kind person. Seeing that the other party said the fine wine was too expensive for him to afford, he immediately gifted him a pot of one day spring.”
“Strangely enough, when the shopkeeper was discussing with the waiter on the second floor that the one day spring recipe was incomplete, the guest on the fifth floor heard it clearly. Before leaving, he even asked the shopkeeper about it.”
“The shopkeeper was initially confused, thinking it was what the waiter had said. Who would have thought that that very night, the shopkeeper's father appeared in his dream, revealing the recipe to the shopkeeper, saying that the peculiar person had drunk a pot of wine from Chunxi Restaurant and, not wanting to drink something for free, had used his abilities to send the dream.”
“After one day spring had the complete recipe, its aroma wafted throughout Shengping Ward. People from other wards, upon hearing of this, came in droves, drawn by its reputation.”
“Therefore, many people are now coming because of its fame. Chunxi Restaurant basically requires daily queuing, and even then, one might not necessarily get to drink it.”
He Xiuyuan was somewhat surprised to hear this. “Such a thing happened? Couldn't this just be something the shopkeeper made up?”
“Heh heh, naturally some people think that this is just a story concocted by the shopkeeper for his own fine wine, so that more people would know about one day spring. However, after that day, one day spring truly became much more mellow and fragrant than before. Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many people queuing here.”
The scholar also let out a light laugh upon hearing these words.
From the meaning in his words, he seemed to treat it more as a story.
It looked like some things had indeed spread from Chunxi Restaurant, but some of the information wasn't particularly accurate; it might have changed a bit due to being passed around too much.
Most importantly, no one knew his name, nor did they connect him with the Song family.
Otherwise, this matter might bring a lot of trouble to the Song family.
Seeing this, He Xiuyuan secretly shook his head. “Fine, in that case, I’ll just take a look at the Song family later, but I won’t go in, to avoid bringing them any trouble.”
He had originally intended to look after the Song family more, so it was naturally not good to cause them trouble.
“You fellow, how can you talk such nonsense!”
Just as He Xiuyuan was pondering, a dissatisfied voice came from the side.
He Xiuyuan turned his head upon hearing this, only to see a person walking over. He looked like a waiter from Chunxi Restaurant.
However, this waiter was unfamiliar to He Xiuyuan, likely hired later. It was probably because Chunxi Restaurant's business was too booming, and they were short-staffed.
“How am I talking nonsense!”
The scholar on the side immediately retorted, craning his neck.
The waiter also became furious upon hearing this. “My shopkeeper said that it was indeed that peculiar person who helped complete the one day spring recipe! Otherwise, where would the current one day spring come from? How could one day spring be many times better than before?”
“Heh heh.”
The scholar chuckled a few times upon hearing this. “Your Chunxi Restaurant is, after all, an old brand in Chang'an. After so many years, with generations of accumulation, it's quite normal for you to have some Breakthroughs.”
“I imagine your shopkeeper probably has a new recipe for this fine wine, so he concocted this reason to build up its reputation.”
The scholar naturally didn't believe this rumor, but it served well as a topic of conversation.
The waiter's face immediately flushed with anger. He was a waiter at Chunxi Restaurant, and he knew best whether this matter was true or not.
Now, seeing the other person say this, he couldn't help but feel a surge of anger.
“Do you all think this news is true?”
Just then, the scholar on the side asked the queuing crowd.
Everyone exchanged glances upon hearing this, but no one said much; speaking like that in front of others was still somewhat inappropriate.
Only the scholar in front of them seemed quite arrogant and didn't care much, which was why he spoke so boldly.
“Xiao Liu, what are you doing?”
Just as the two sides were about to argue further, a voice suddenly rang out from the side, and then someone came over, directly calling the waiter away, and then began apologizing to the scholar.
The waiter named Xiao Liu, however, looked somewhat indignant about it.
“When you run a business, how can you get into a conflict with a customer?”
After apologizing, the person who came out reprimanded Xiao Liu, then led him towards the restaurant.
Xiao Liu's expression was still somewhat displeased, and he mumbled, “Isn't the matter of that peculiar person true? Why must people slander it like this?”
“It is true, but if others haven't seen it, how will they believe it?”
“Alright, let's stop this here. Don't let this kind of thing happen again in the future.”
After speaking, he led the way into the restaurant.
Outside the restaurant, He Xiuyuan couldn't help but laugh wryly at the scene. He hadn't expected that something he did casually back then would cause such a huge ripple.
Thinking of this, He Xiuyuan secretly shook his head.
“My friend, it's already late today. I see you won't be able to buy one day spring today. I think it would be better for you to come earlier tomorrow.”
The scholar looked at He Xiuyuan and kindly reminded him.
He Xiuyuan nodded upon hearing this. “Thank you for the reminder, my friend.”
After speaking, He Xiuyuan also turned to leave. The waiting time was too long, and it was very likely he wouldn't even be able to buy one day spring after waiting. In that case, it would be better to come another day.
Thinking of this, He Xiuyuan turned and walked to the side. However, just then, a hesitant call rang out from nearby.
“He Gongzi?”
The voice calling He Xiuyuan carried a hint of hesitation and surprise, along with a touch of uncertainty.
He Xiuyuan instinctively turned his head upon hearing the call, then saw a familiar face looking at him with great surprise.
“Young Miss Zhong?”
He Xiuyuan's eyes showed surprise, looking at Zhong Xiuyun not far away. He hadn't expected such a coincidence, running into Zhong Xiuyun right after returning.
