Liangzhou, Xiliang City.

Sitting alone in the wine shop, lifting the wine jar, the clear wine flowed into the wine bowl.

On the square table are two large plates of cooked meat, one plate of boiled mutton, and one plate of flavored beef jerky.

The jerky tasted good, but it was too hard. When he was in the mountains, his apprentice also learned to make some jerky with Aunt Zhao at the foot of the mountain, but this was the first time he had eaten this way.

Wearing a blue shirt and stepping on the bench with one foot, Huo Qiji picked up the wine bowl and glanced at the pedestrians coming and going.

He is waiting for someone.

After drinking the wine in the bowl, Huo Qiji frowned. After so many years, he has not been used to the taste of this kind of spirit.

The mutton is boiled in water, but after it is cooked, it is sprinkled with some ground salt, which tastes unique.

He cut off a piece of mutton with a knife, put it in his mouth, and chewed it slowly. Huo Qiji noticed someone coming from the other side.

This is a man in his thirties, wearing a sweatshirt and shorts. Looking at his casual gaze, Huo Qiji knew that this man was looking for someone.

When the man approached the restaurant, the man glanced at Huo Qiji who was sitting there drinking, and with his hands behind his back, he swayed into the restaurant and shouted.

"Waiter, have a jar of good wine, it's going to be strong!"

After saying that, the man walked staggeringly across from Huo Qiji, leaned on the table with one hand and asked with his head tilted,

"Would you mind sharing a table, this friend?"

Huo Qiji looked up at the rough man sitting opposite him, but didn't say anything, but just pulled the meat plate to his side.

The big Malaysian golden knife sat obliquely on the bench, stepped on the bench with one leg, and his arm was horizontal on the table. The man leaned forward slightly and laughed,

"A leaf of duckweed returns to the sea. Where can we meet in life? Meeting is fate. How many drinks will we drink together?"

The waiter had already brought the wine over. The man took the jar, pierced the table, reached out to pat the Kaifeng mud, and poured his wine bowl first.

Seeing that this guy didn't mean to order food, the waiter went to greet other guests.

He picked up the wine bowl and toasted the person opposite and poured it into his mouth.

Putting down the wine bowl and wiping his mouth, the man said he was happy.

Huo Qiji picked up the wine bowl, toasted him, and drank it all in one go.

When the man saw that he had put down the wine bowl, he said,

"Come on, I'll give you a bowl!"

After saying that, he took Huo Qiji's wine bowl, filled it with wine, and pushed it back.

Next to the wine bowl, there is a small sign.

Huo Qiji glanced, put his hand on the table, bounced his fingers, and the sign slid over, just slid to the bottom of the man who knocked on the table.

The man calmly put away the wooden sign and whispered,

"See you sir!"

Huo Qiji nodded, pushed the plate he had just pulled over, picked up the wine bowl, he signaled and took a sip.

The man quickly picked up the wine bowl.

Putting down the wine bowl, Huo Qiji asked

"How long have you been in this position?"

The man with a strong body and a stinky body was actually a little shy. He reached out and grabbed his head and grinned,

"The villain Huang Tianba, it has been almost five years since he took over this brand. When I came to Xiliang City last time, I was fortunate to see the style of my adult."

Seeing that the man named Huang Tianba kept glancing around on the meat plate, Huo Qiji said,

"You invite me to drink, I invite you to eat meat."

The man who was slapping the wine smelled like that, pulled the chopsticks, pulled out two pieces, inserted a piece of mutton, and started to chew.

Huo Qiji didn't care. He ordered so much meat, just for the people opposite him.

There were noisy all around, and there were all kinds of drinkers, and there were many people who were spitting everywhere, saying gossip about Zhang San and Li Si’s family in a manner that looked down on the world.

Huo Qiji spoke,

"I didn't expect that you have such a good memory, so you don't have to confirm my identity?"

The man named Huang Tianba put down the mutton he was gnawing, reached out and wiped his mouth, picked up the wine jar and poured a bowl of wine, and said while chewing,

"According to the initial rules, adults still have to show their waist cards. The villain just sat down and drank a bowl of wine and ate meat, but did not break the rules. So if the adults have something to ask the younger ones, don't blame the villain for only recognizing the cards but not the others."

He picked up the wine bowl and said with a smile,

"The master is extraordinary. More than ten years have passed, and it is still as fascinating as he saw him. If you really want to say something changes, it means that the master has become even more unfathomable. My master once told me that the master is as unsightly as the mountains in the northwest of Liangzhou. Now the villain is lucky. Sitting opposite the master, he only feels that the master is like the sea, like..."

Huo Qiji took a jade token from his arms, threw it on the table, and spoke,

"Okay, okay, don't flatter you. I've given you the sign. The rules are still rules. I'll be optimistic. I'll have something to ask later."

The man with a little oily hand had no nerve to pick up the jade token and rubbed his hands with a sweatshirt on both waists. Then he picked up the jade token from the table and looked carefully.

The fingertips gently rubbed. Compared to my own copper waist card, this black jade waist card with a delicate texture and excellent feel.

There is a character "cool" in the front of my waist card, with patterns around it, and lines on the back.

One long line is on top, and four short lines are divided into two groups at bottom. It is the Bun diagram in the Bagua diagram and the Gen Gua.

The waist card of the adult has the character "Xuan" on the front, and the seal carving patterns around it are no different from those of your waist card, and the back is engraved with Tai Chi Yin and Yang Fish pattern.

After checking, Huang Tianba took out his bronze medal, overlapped the two sides engraved with gossip pictures, and picked them up and checked them carefully.

When the two signs overlap, a "Gen Gua" figure appears at a certain edge of the sign.

Huo Qiji put away the black jade token handed over by Huang Tianba, and said,

"What are you making a living now?"

Huang Tianba glanced around, took the jar and poured wine, grabbed the meat that had not been eaten in the bowl, took a bite, and said vaguely,

“Sell meat!”

Looking at Huang Tianba who was gnawing meat, Huo Qiji smiled,

"You are like a butcher, what about your master? Did he teach you some tricks?"

Huang Tianba swallowed the meat in his mouth, couldn't help but pick up the bowl, drank half a bowl, and said while pouring wine,

"I have taught some self-defense tactics. Master knows it, so I should have taught me all. After Master passed the sign to me, he found a place to support me. This is also the rule of our organization."

He looked at the lord in front of him and continued,

"Sir, I want to say that I can't find Master, and you can't believe it. However, according to the rules, if you hand over the sign, it has nothing to do with the organization. When the master gave me the sign, it said that the most fortunate thing in his life was to meet an adult holding a black jade sign. It's a pity that he has never seen the white jade token. The master kept remembering what the author told me. When the sign came to my hands, I continued to do it. If the master insisted on seeing Master, it would be that I was unfavorable to do things and would be punished."

Zhang Zhongqian took out a small pocket folding table from his seat, spread it open between the three of them, and then took out a piece of sheepskin from the package placed beside him and spread it on the small table. This is a hand-painted map.

He said,

"Young Master Yuan, Xiao Fei, you also know that I have been to Jingzhou many times, so I am very familiar with the route to Wuling City. This map was prepared in the early years."

Pointing to the map, he continued,

"This is Wuling City in Jingzhou, our destination."

This is a question of right and wrong,

"Brother-in-law, why don't you choose to be in the capital Xiangyang?"

Zhang Zhongqian said,

"Xiao Fei, this way of doing business is also a practice. Like martial arts, it is a game with people. This Xiangyang City is not something that we outsiders can eat. You will understand this middle principle when you get older. But I have already started to develop there, but now, alas, it's a pity!"

Zhang Zhongqian, who sighed, shook his head.

At this time, Yuanxi said,

"Bazhou is famous for Shu embroidery, and Yangzhou Wu embroidery is unparalleled in the world. Yang and Xuzhou are rich in mulberry silk. Yangzhou silk is worse than Bazhou's local silk, so the best silk comes from Yang and Xuzhou. Bazhou has more cotton and linen fabrics. Although this cotton and linen fabric is not as comfortable as silk, it is wear-resistant and practical, and is loved by ordinary people. I believe Mr. Zhang set the semicolon in Wuling, which is to develop further towards Yangzhou in the future."

Zhang Zhongqian was startled and then said,

"I didn't expect that Young Master Yuan also knew how to do business and knew so much about local properties."

Yuanxi smiled,

"I just learned a little. When my family teacher taught me how to study, I had some introductions to the customs and customs of the states. I was very interested and remembered them all in my heart. As for merchants, my family teacher still highly praised it."

Regarding the merchants, Shan Jushi started with an article by his ancestors.

Cheng Shifei next to him looked at Yuan Xi with admiration and said,

"Brother Yuan, is your master omnipotent?"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Xi was a little lost. It had been a while since he left his master, and his heart suddenly felt a little sad.

I lifted the curtains and looked outside, and the breeze was fascinated.

Blinking hard and taking a deep breath, Yuanxi glanced at the wild Taofei outside, and then said,

"Doufei is very happy. By the way, Mr. Zhang, after we leave Pingnan City, will we go east?"
To be continued...