The morning sunlight streamed through the curtains onto the bed and onto Qin Feng's face.
He smacked his lips, then sat up abruptly. He'd had a really good night's sleep; it had been a while since he'd slept so soundly since losing his job.
Looks like he still needed to get some work done. Qin Feng went to the mirror to check himself out. Hmm, as handsome as ever. He'd get some biceps augmented; look at those muscles, simply amazing.
After his morning routine of washing up (and self-admiration), Qin Feng grabbed his cheap waterproof phone, intending to check the news.
The next second, sweat began to bead on Qin Feng's forehead.
"Little Qin, I'm home."
"Little Qin, why didn't you reply to my messages?"
"Qin Feng, are you tired of living?" followed by an angry emoji.
"Fine, Qin Feng, you're something else, not even replying to my messages!" followed by a
furious emoji. "Qin Feng, you just wait!" followed by a smiling emoji.
Seeing the smiling emoji, Qin Feng knew he was doomed. This woman's mood was clear from her emojis.
Enraged, and then furious—these expressions didn't quite reach the point of anger, but that smile, that very smile, meant Xue Lingyun was angry, and very angry!
Just how angry was Xue Lingyun?
Qin Feng silently pulled out his wallet, glanced at the few bills inside, and silently considered the extent of her anger. He felt that takoyaki and stinky tofu wouldn't be enough to quell her rage.
Maybe he should go get some more money today? Looks like he'd have to unleash his ultimate weapon—hot pot!
He cautiously scrolled to Xue Lingyun's contact list. Although he had a powerful weapon, Qin Feng couldn't help but tremble in this situation.
It rang for a few rings before Xue Lingyun answered.
"Lingyun, this..."
"Who are you calling Lingyun? Are we that close?"
Qin Feng secretly wiped a bead of sweat. Why did she always say that?
"Um, Lingyun, I fell asleep as soon as I lay down yesterday, so I didn't see your message."
"Hmph, what does it matter to me whether you sleep or not."
Qin Feng wiped away a cold sweat again. It seemed there was no other way but hot pot.
"Lingyun, I'll take you to eat hot pot today."
"Ah, really? I want the Sichuan-style super spicy one in the south of the city, I only want meat!"
"Super spicy, huh..."
"Hmm—? You have a problem with that?"
"No problem, whatever you say, super spicy it is. I'll wait for you at the usual place around noon."
*Click!* Xue Lingyun hung up the phone directly. What was small talk? Miss Xue had no idea!
Qin Feng listened to the dial tone and smiled. Xue Lingyun's personality had never changed. Anyone who was fooled by her gentle and weak appearance would be in big trouble.
He ate something casually. Although he had cleaned yesterday and hadn't opened for business yet, it was a habit he had to maintain every day.
After finishing cleaning, Qin Feng checked the time and it was almost noon. He had to hurry and leave, otherwise being late wouldn't be solved by just one hot pot meal, but probably two…
At the university gate, Qin Feng stood there like a loser waiting for Xue Lingyun, even though he always considered himself a god…
The sun was gradually climbing overhead. He took out his cheap waterproof phone to check the time; it was already past noon. This was unusual; Xue Lingyun never came past noon before.
"The king sent me to patrol the mountain…"
Just as he was about to put the cheap waterproof phone in his pocket, the phone rang.
He picked it up and saw it was Xue Lingyun.
"Little Qin, are you at the usual spot?"
"Yes, I'm at the usual spot."
"Um, I can't come today. I've been busy lately. I'll call you when I'm done, okay?"
He couldn't come. Qin Feng looked at the blazing sun overhead and his clothes, which were almost soaked through.
"It's okay, if you can't come, you can't come. You go ahead and do your work. I'll head back now."
"Ah, Little Qin, you're so kind! You've been in the sun all day, haven't you? I hesitated for so long." *
Snap!* Qin Feng hung up the phone, acting all high and mighty. What was the point of small talk? The big boss Qin had no idea!
On the other end of the line, Xue Lingyun paused for a moment, stunned by the dial tone, but immediately flew into a rage. "Little Qin dares to hang up on me!"
Qin Feng chuckled and put the phone away. Looking around, he realized he'd brought all his money; he couldn't let himself not have a good meal.
He thought about that insanely spicy Sichuan hot pot place—maybe he could give it a try?
An hour later…
Qin Feng emerged from the restaurant, slurping his words, still vehemently complaining. "
So what if I'm eating hot pot alone? Never seen that before? What's wrong with eating hot pot alone?
Besides, the hot pot is so spicy, can't I have some of your plum juice? Even though it's free, even though I drank ten bottles, so what? The hot pot is so spicy, is it wrong for me to drink some?"
Inside the insanely spicy hot pot restaurant, the proprietress watched Qin Feng walk away before finally letting out a long sigh of relief.
"That brat's got some nerve, ordering thirty yuan worth of food and drinking three hundred yuan worth of plum juice."
The owner nodded: "If that brat comes again, no plum juice!"
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, three days passed quickly.
Qin Feng sat at the door early in the morning, waiting. Old Wang had sent word that he would deliver the signboard that morning, meaning they could open for business today, although there was still no wine.
Over these three days, Qin Feng had become friends with Old Wang. The old man was a bit eccentric, but easy to get along with if you liked him.
He didn't charge a penny for carving; after learning that Qin Feng was brewing wine using ancient methods, he only asked for some of the first batch of wine.
Soon, Qin Feng saw a pickup truck pull up, with Old Wang in the passenger seat.
He quickly got up to greet him, eager to see how impressive a signboard made with Wang Xizhi's calligraphy and ancient sandalwood was.
Old Wang got out of the truck, immediately spotting the shameless Qin Feng, pointed at him with a smile, and opened the truck bed.
Qin Feng looked over and saw a huge plaque there, but it was completely wrapped in plastic sheeting, so he couldn't see inside.
At that moment, several people got out of another car.
"These are the craftsmen who are helping to install the plaque. In ancient times, installing a plaque would be a big deal, requiring the selection of an auspicious day."
Old Wang introduced the sign to Qin Feng.
"Thank you so much, Uncle Wang. I never expected this," Qin Feng chuckled.
Several workers brought over a ladder and other tools, peeled back the plastic sheeting to reveal a plaque wrapped in a large red cloth.
They then began to install the plaque, still covered in the red cloth, onto the tavern's door.
One end of the red cloth was tied to a red rope, which Qin Feng would later have to remove himself.
Qin Feng looked gratefully at Old Wang; the old man was truly thoughtful.
Once the plaque was installed, a string of firecrackers, which seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, crackled and popped, attracting a large crowd.
Qin Feng stood under the door, holding the red rope, and excitedly pulled it.
Whoosh! The red cloth fluttered down from the plaque, revealing the three large characters of "Jiu Xian Ju" .
Jiu Xian Ju, open for business today!