“Waiter, this wine of yours isn’t right, is it? It feels so empty.”
Saying this, He Xiuyuan patted a few of the wine jars that had just been brought up, his expression strange.
The waiter was startled by this. “That can’t be right. When I carried these wine jars up just now, they were heavy. How could they be empty?”
As the waiter spoke, he stepped forward, about to open a wine jar to let He Xiuyuan examine it closely.
He Xiuyuan smiled at this, pointed to the newest wine jar the other party had brought up, and said, “That wine jar there, it felt empty when I patted it just now.”
Saying this, He Xiuyuan lowered his head and ate the delicious dishes that had just been served, eating while waiting for the waiter to check.
The waiter was dismissive in his heart, but he still opened the seal on top of the wine jar. As expected, no aroma of wine wafted out. Looking down, he didn't see the clear wine liquid; all that was there was a pitch-black, empty jar, bottomless.
“How can this be?”
The waiter was about to mock him, saying that the wine was perfectly fine inside and how could it be empty. Who would have thought that after opening it, there wasn't a single drop of wine inside?
The waiter was somewhat stunned at this moment. He quickly lifted the wine jar in front of him, wanting to see if there really wasn't a single drop of wine liquid left inside.
As he lifted the wine jar, the next moment his hand felt light. The wine jar was completely empty.
“Customer, you didn’t secretly drink it yourself, did you?”
The waiter looked at the empty wine jar, also a bit bewildered, and then his heart was startled.
How could this wine disappear without a trace?
If it really was gone, he feared the final bill would fall on his head.
Thinking of this, the waiter also started to panic, instinctively assuming that He Xiuyuan had secretly drunk it.
He knew very well that he had personally carried these wine jars up just now. How could he not know if they were empty or not?
“Waiter, you can’t just say such things. There were so many people around just now, did anyone see me drinking wine?”
“And look at my bowl, is there even a drop of wine liquid?”
Seeing that the other party actually accused him of secretly drinking, He Xiuyuan immediately retorted.
Upon hearing this, the waiter subconsciously looked around at the people. Among the people around, many were his own.
To know whether the other party had secretly drunk or not, he could just look at these people.
And as his gaze swept over, all of their own people present at this moment looked at each other in dismay.
They had seen clearly just now that He Xiuyuan indeed had not touched the wine jar at all. They could be very certain of this point.
“Well? All these people around are my witnesses. How can your establishment use empty jars to deceive people?”
He Xiuyuan looked at the waiter, with a hint of displeasure in his tone.
The waiter listened to this and gave an awkward smile. “It must have been my mistake.”
The waiter looked a bit dejected at this moment. A jar of Hundred Flowers Brew cost thirty taels of silver! If sold to He Xiuyuan, it would be fifty taels of silver!
Given the shopkeeper's personality, it was very likely he would be made to compensate fifty taels of silver. This was entirely possible.
Thinking of this, the waiter's face instantly became incredibly grim.
How could an entire jar of perfectly good Hundred Flowers Brew have disappeared?
“Customer, I’m truly sorry. Perhaps they got mixed up before.”
The waiter thought for a moment, then casually found an excuse to explain, wondering if he could use this reason to appease the shopkeeper later.
The waiter thought this in his heart and immediately wanted to go back and discuss the matter with the shopkeeper.
Anyway, the wine was delivered under everyone's watchful eyes, so it shouldn't have too much to do with him.
“Wait, you brought up an empty wine jar. Who knows if the other wine jars are also empty? Check again, otherwise, it’ll be hard to explain later.”
He Xiuyuan waved his hand, signaling the other party to check again, just to be safe.
The waiter heard this and didn't take it seriously, smiling as he said, “Customer, rest assured, one empty wine jar is already an accident. There won't be any other empty wine jars.”
Saying this, he stepped forward and casually opened the seal of another wine jar.
And as the seal was opened, the inside was still somewhat empty.
Seeing this, the waiter couldn't help but freeze. He saw him widen his eyes, then immediately reached out his hand into the wine jar.
He wanted to figure out if there was really any wine inside.
One empty wine jar, perhaps he could get away with it, and he was genuinely unaware.
But now, with two empty ones, the waiter already felt like the sky was falling.
Thinking this in his heart, he immediately reached in and swirled his hand around, but his hand didn't touch a single drop of wine liquid.
The waiter was a bit unconvinced. He quickly reached out his hand and felt around inside the wine jar. He saw that the inner wall of the wine jar was dry, without any trace of moisture, as if it hadn't been used for a long time.
“How can this be?”
The waiter was starting to panic.
Bringing up one wine jar that was empty could be explained as him not paying attention, so he brought up an empty one.
But now, with two consecutive wine jars being empty, how could that be explained?
The waiter at this moment raised his head in confusion, his eyes full of terror.
As his gaze fell upon the other wine jars nearby, his heart suddenly clenched.
It couldn't be... “No, there’s no wine in there again, is there?”
Liu Yuanyi also felt that something was wrong now. Seeing the waiter's face look so grim, he couldn't help but ask.
The waiter raised his head, his face ashen.
“You really didn’t touch these wine jars?”
The waiter stared intently at He Xiuyuan, his voice carrying a hint of hope.
If He Xiuyuan hadn't touched these wine jars, then it would truly be over.
“How could I? I’ve been sitting here properly, and I haven’t drunk any wine from those jars. Don’t go making wild accusations.”
He Xiuyuan looked at the waiter's appearance and said with a frown, “Is your establishment too shady? You actually give me empty wine jars. If I hadn’t known, wouldn’t I have paid for your wine for nothing?”
The waiter’s face darkened upon hearing this, but he no longer paid attention to He Xiuyuan. Instead, he turned and quickly opened the other wine jars.
But as he uncovered them one by one, there was not a single drop of wine in any of the jars; they were all completely empty.
Seeing such a scene, the waiter immediately collapsed onto the ground.
It's over, they're all empty!
He remembered clearly that he was quite tired when he carried them up. How could they all be empty now?
“Quick, call the shopkeeper up!”
The waiter also panicked and quickly told someone to call the shopkeeper up.
All twenty jars of fine wine were empty. The shopkeeper would probably flay him alive!
