The shopkeeper listened to He Xiuyuan, then looked at him.
He Xiuyuan's clothes were indeed made of excellent material, but he didn't carry a bag, only a gourd and a brush at his waist. It seemed he really couldn't carry that much money.
The waiter, seeing this, grew a little anxious, "You don't have that much money, yet you want twenty jars of baihua brew?"
He Xiuyuan looked at the waiter in surprise, "How was I to know that this baihua brew was so expensive? Besides, I only asked for twenty jars to be brought out first, to see if I could drink them all."
"If I can't drink them all, surely your establishment wouldn't refuse a return, would it?"
He Xiuyuan's words made the waiter's face freeze, but he couldn't find any words to retort.
The shopkeeper, seeing this, waved his hand, signaling the waiter to shut up. Then he stared at He Xiuyuan, "Then, Your Excellency, how much silver do you have on you? Take it out. If it's too little, then we'll take your clothes as payment."
"Shopkeeper, I haven't even touched this wine, yet you want to pin it on me?" He Xiuyuan said, glancing at the wine jars beside him.
The shopkeeper scoffed, "Now so many people are saying you did it. Are you trying to renege?"
He Xiuyuan pondered for a moment, "I can offer one hundred taels of silver to cover this meal, but I haven't even tasted this baihua brew yet, so I want to take some from the wine cellar when I leave."
"Does the shopkeeper permit this?"
One hundred taels?
The shopkeeper's eyes immediately lit up upon hearing this. Even the other people nearby turned to look, their eyes showing a hint of greed.
That was one hundred taels of silver!
If they really got their hands on it, it would be enough for them to live comfortably for a long time.
Thinking of this, they were all moved, but the shopkeeper, at this moment, retained some rationality.
Looking at He Xiuyuan, the shopkeeper frowned, "How much baihua brew do you want to take?"
"Not much, just enough to fill this gourd," He Xiuyuan said, patting the wine gourd at his waist. "Of course, I need to fill it myself. Otherwise, I'm afraid you won't fill it enough."
The shopkeeper glanced at He Xiuyuan's gourd, then at the wine jars beside him.
Although he didn't know what had just happened, he somewhat felt that the twenty empty jars had nothing to do with He Xiuyuan.
After all, how could one person drink twenty jars of wine?
Considering He Xiuyuan was willing to pay three hundred taels of silver, he nodded, "Alright, as long as you're willing to pay three hundred taels of silver, then I'll let you enter the wine cellar and take a gourd full of wine."
The shopkeeper thought for a moment and immediately agreed.
These twenty jars of wine were actually just a little baihua brew mixed with water.
He hadn't let the waiter or anyone else know about this, precisely to make their act more convincing.
However, such diluted wine was only used to deceive outsiders like He Xiuyuan, to earn a little more.
The one hundred taels He Xiuyuan offered was already a huge profit for him.
Otherwise, if these twenty jars of baihua brew had genuinely disappeared for no reason, he would have been furious to the point of spitting blood and would never have allowed He Xiuyuan to get away with just one hundred taels of silver.
"Alright, then please lead the way, shopkeeper." He Xiuyuan smiled and nodded.
The shopkeeper, seeing this, glanced at He Xiuyuan, then led him towards the wine cellar.
Then, the shopkeeper opened the wine cellar, revealing the baihua brew inside.
What lay below now was genuine baihua brew, each jar worth dozens of taels of silver.
He Xiuyuan immediately stepped down. After glancing at the gourd at his waist, he couldn't help but shake his head helplessly.
He had drunk quite a few wines. When the baihua brew was first brought up, he already felt something was off. The wine aroma was very faint. After using Water Manipulation Technique to draw a little wine, he knew it had been diluted.
Seeing this, He Xiuyuan immediately used Water Manipulation Technique to extract all the wine from the jars and put it into his gourd, considering it a small lesson for the other party, and then moved on.
He just didn't expect the other party to be so relentless.
If that was the case, then he would have to teach the other party a bigger lesson.
Thinking of this, He Xiuyuan arrived below the wine cellar. Seeing that the other party had no intention of following him down, it seemed the other party felt that since he had agreed so readily, he could be easily manipulated and wouldn't do anything out of line.
He Xiuyuan shook his head to himself, glanced at the full wine cellar, then moved his finger, "Rise!"
As He Xiuyuan let out a low cry, the fine wine in the jars immediately shot up into the sky, then condensed in the air, gradually shrinking.
With He Xiuyuan's current magical power, he could easily condense this bit of water into a tiny drop.
After He Xiuyuan had condensed all the baihua brew in the wine cellar, he then poured the diluted wine back in.
After collecting the tiny drop of fine wine floating in mid-air, He Xiuyuan's lips curved slightly, then he turned and walked up from the wine cellar.
The shopkeeper, who was waiting above, was surprised to see He Xiuyuan come up so quickly.
This speed, wasn't it a bit too fast?
"Shopkeeper, one hundred taels of silver. The transaction is complete." He Xiuyuan said, taking out one hundred taels of silver from his sleeve and handing it to the other party.
The shopkeeper's eyes lit up when he saw He Xiuyuan take out one hundred taels of silver. He quickly reached out to take it, and after carefully checking to confirm the silver was correct, he looked at He Xiuyuan with a beaming smile.
"Esteemed guest, if you found our establishment's dishes good, please come again next time!"
He Xiuyuan walked out, and hearing this, he couldn't help but turn and smile, "I'm afraid next time the shopkeeper won't welcome me."
With that, He Xiuyuan strode out.
The shopkeeper, holding the silver in his hand, was puzzled by his words.
One meal, a little diluted baihua brew, directly earned him one hundred taels of silver. Why wouldn't he welcome He Xiuyuan when he could earn money like this?
"Perhaps he was angry about losing one hundred taels of silver for nothing, and that's why he said that," the shopkeeper thought to himself, concluding that He Xiuyuan must have been angry and that's why he thought that way.
At this moment, he had no idea that the baihua brew in his wine cellar was already empty.
Leaving the restaurant, He Xiuyuan lightly tapped his finger, extracted a drop of wine, and put it into his mouth. After a slight taste, he frowned slightly.
He didn't know if it was because of his prejudice against the shopkeeper, but although the baihua brew smelled fragrant, upon tasting it, He Xiuyuan found it not particularly delicious.
Never mind, he would sell this baihua brew later and distribute the silver. He Xiuyuan strode away, not intending to earn this kind of money.
