Chapter Forty-Four: Obtaining Treasure Again

  The shopkeeper thought this young master was not like those swindlers, thinking that this was a big business and couldn't be delayed. He saw him rush down the stairs in a few steps, through the crowded streets of people watching the excitement, to the opposite street, where he grabbed the old madman lying on the ground.

  "Old madman, follow me." After that, he dragged the old man who was stumbling and staggering back and forth without saying another word.

  The old man lying on the ground was surprisingly heavy, and this young man, although from a poor background, couldn't budge him at all. The old man didn't care about the onlookers' gazes either, just lay there with his eyes closed, ignoring this fellow completely.

  "Alas, I said you old madman isn't always clamoring to drink wine? Now someone is inviting you to drink and you're not moving?" Xiao Ergou was anxious, sweating profusely, afraid that this deal would fall through.

  "Wine?" The shopkeeper's words seemed to break the spell on the old man, and a glimmer of light flashed in his eyes. He sat up straight and looked around: "Where is the wine?"

  "Hey, upstairs! You've met a noble person, the gentleman upstairs is inviting you to drink, and he'll cover the bill." This old man was indeed a drunkard, who knows what whim the young master upstairs had, actually wanting to invite him for a drink. Isn't this money just going down the drain? Is it that they have so much money, the young master just wants to have some fun? The thoughts of the wealthy are truly not something an ordinary tavern employee like him can understand.

  "Enough?" He's quite boastful, but I suppose he doesn't know our drinking capacity.

  At least there's wine to drink.

  The old madman smiled, adjusted his clothes, smoothed out his white beard, and his eyes were full of a mysterious sparkle that others couldn't understand.

  "Pull me up." You're being a bit too forward!

  Although this old man is crazy, he is now our god of wealth and cannot be offended. Xiao Er Ge gave him a white eye, but still stretched out his hand to pull him.

  "Alright, come with me then!" The shopkeeper stretched out his hand to pull him, but didn't expect the old man to be so heavy. He pulled several times but couldn't lift him up, and almost fell over himself, causing the onlookers to burst into loud laughter.

  The old madman was no longer mad at this time, haha laughed a few times, and then got up by himself, tidied up his clothes, picked up the fallen shoe, nodded to the onlookers around him, and followed the shop assistant into the Drunken Fragrance Building in an orderly manner.

  As soon as the two entered the store, they attracted a crowd of countless people downstairs. Not only did the diners stop their chopsticks, but also discussed and even squeezed to the door of Zui Xiang Lou, talking about it in all directions.

  The shopkeeper looked at it and didn't even bother to settle the account, but walked straight to the front of the little brother and the old lunatic, puffed up with anger, and asked: "What's going on? Look, you've blocked the entrance, are you still doing business?"

  The shopkeeper's assistant hastily said: "Master, don't be angry, it's like this..."

  Then Qin Dai learned from head to toe about asking the old madman to drink.

  "This old man's capacity for liquor is unknown to others, but the shopkeeper doesn't know it either? If he were to be treated generously, how much silver would that cost?"

  The shopkeeper was delighted when he heard this and patted the young waiter on the back, saying: "Quickly, quickly, hurry up and serve him carefully."

  "Alas!"

  The two went upstairs, and Xiao Er directly led Lao Fengzi to Qin Dai Xin's table.

  Chunli didn't understand why the young lady wanted to invite the crazy old man for a drink. Was it really just because she pitied him? However, although she couldn't understand, Chunli believed that the young lady must have had her reasons.

  Similarly, Ruyi didn't understand either. Although the three of them were now dressed as men and had made some adjustments to their appearance, she was still a little afraid, fearing that they would get into trouble. With a kind intention to advise them, she thought again about Qin Daihe's temperament and ultimately gave up.

  The old man was quite surprised to see Qin Dai Xin, and without being polite, he sat down directly. Looking at the wine and dishes in front of him, he didn't rush to pick up his chopsticks, but just smiled and asked: "Young master, is this enough according to your rules?"

  "Hey, young fellow! Did you hear that? This old man is complaining that the wine isn't enough! Hurry up and bring out every good wine from your store, one jar at a time!" If this old man was indeed a transcendent being, he probably wouldn't mind what others called him. And if he wasn't, Qin Dai's calling him an "old man" wasn't inappropriate either.

  Qin Dai carefully sized up the old man, who was at least over sixty years old. He wore a coarse linen robe with several patches on his worn-out jacket. His hair was somewhat disheveled, and he had hastily tied it into a bun using a twig from who-knows-where to secure it behind his head. A white beard made him look even more venerable, but his complexion was ruddy and his spirit was good, not like someone who had been wandering the world in distress.

  "Ah, ah!" The shopkeeper savored the words for a moment before understanding what the young master meant. He hastily rushed to run downstairs, heavens! Selling one jar of wine could bring in ten wen of profit, and each one would come up with another jar... He had truly encountered a noble person!

  "What's the hurry, calm down. Bring out your best dishes from the store and serve him four cold and four hot." Qin Dai's heart was very calm and didn't care about Ruyi's painful gaze at the silver.

  "Yes." The shop assistant rushed downstairs like he had been injected with chicken blood.

  "Haha, interesting." The old man wasn't crazy now, his mouth was saying seemingly aimless words, but his hands weren't idle. At first, he still paid attention to his image, using chopsticks to pick up food and occasionally drinking from a small cup. But after the shopkeeper brought out four hot and cold dishes, each with a jar of good wine, he simply used his hand to tear off a chicken leg, lifted the lid of the wine jar, and directly poured it down his throat.

  Chun Li was left staring in shock, she had never seen anyone so rude before. This old man... was really too...

  She hasn't read books and doesn't know how to describe it.

  The old man devoured the food on the table with tornado-like speed, quickly finishing off a large quantity of dishes. Although he didn't finish all the wine, there was hardly any left. Several wine jars were placed on and under the table, making their table look particularly savage.

  The old man ate to his heart's content, patted his bulging belly with his hand, and let out a very impolite belch. Ruyi and Chunli's patience had reached its limit, only Qindai stood there, fanning herself with a small fan, her expression unchanged as she looked at him.

  The old man made a fist at Qin Dai and asked, "I don't know what to call you, young master?"

  Qin Dai Xin returned a courtesy and said: "My surname is Mo." She used her surname from her previous life.

  The old man changed his previous appearance and said seriously: "I don't like to owe others. Young master treated me so well, but I don't know how to repay him!"

  "Within the four seas all men are brothers, why be so polite, elder brother?" Qin Dai's expression didn't change, and no emotions could be seen in her eyes.

  "I've never liked owing others." The old man's expression seemed a bit down, but he quickly changed to another one: "With your appearance, you're probably not an ordinary person. I have something here, and I'll give it to you as a gift, let's just say we have a connection!" After saying that, he took off a wide leather belt from his waist and put it on the table.

  She was so angry that she almost went crazy, just short of slamming her fist on the table and lecturing this old man with her finger pointed at his nose. If it weren't for the young lady's warning glance telling her not to do so, she would have risked her life to argue with him. This person is simply unreasonable!

  "It's not good, I'm inviting you to drink with me, just because we're both fellow travelers, who love wine as much as life itself." Qin Dai Xin said this half-true and half-false. The false part was that she had other plans for the old man, not like what she said herself. The true part was that Qin Dai Xin really liked to drink, but due to her current identity, she couldn't drink.

  "I have nothing of value to give you, except for this. There's really nothing else I can offer." The old man seemed quite displeased, as if he truly didn't want to owe anyone a favor, even one that wouldn't need to be repaid.

  "I've said it before, I'm not after anything. Everyone gets together over a drink and has a great time, what's the need to mix in other things?" Her words became even more enigmatic.

  The old man didn't seem to notice Qin Dai's little trick, and in his eyes, Qin Dai was just an ordinary rich young master. Inviting him for a drink should be a sudden whim, who would think of getting any treasure from a crazy old man? The things on the table, he really couldn't bear to part with them, such a good set of treasures, exchanging it for a table of wine and dishes was a bit wasteful. But thinking again, what were they doing anyway? As long as they wanted, weren't these things available in abundance? This Drunken Fragrance Pavilion's wine was also one of the best wines, and it didn't humiliate this transaction either.

  Forget it!

  The old man suddenly stood up, facing Qin Dai and said: "I've told you this, I don't like owing others." After finishing speaking, he picked up a jug of unfinished wine from the table, turned around and went downstairs. Looking at him, his eyes were clear, his steps were steady, and he didn't seem drunk at all. This person's capacity for liquor was surprisingly strong, and his temper was not ordinary either.

  Qin Dai'er looked down from the building and saw him come out of the wine tower, walking a long distance without even turning his head. As she watched his back disappear into the end of the street, she was more certain that he was not an ordinary person. Moreover, just now she noticed that the old man's right hand seemed to be missing a little finger. How could an ordinary person have their finger cut off by a sharp object?

  "Miss." Ruyi and Chunli looked at each other in dismay, their expressions uglier than crying. So much wine, how much money would it cost?! It was infuriating that the old man actually used a broken waistband to make up for it, and what's even more hateful is his behavior, not only rough but also deliberately untying his waistband in front of Miss. Ruyi's mind was in disarray, she didn't even realize she had misspoken: "Miss, what do we do now?"

  They have no idea what Qin Dai is thinking in her heart, and no matter how she thinks about it, she feels that she has lost out.

  Qin Dai Xin picked up the belt on the table, ignoring the stains of sauce on it, and examined it carefully: It was just a belt made from animal skin, which felt very heavy in her hand. Upon closer inspection, she discovered that there seemed to be a hidden layer within the belt, with a possible compartment in the middle.

  Qin Dai Xin stroked it with force, but the more she touched, the more excited her expression became...

  "Miss." What's wrong? Ruyi was frightened and wondered if Miss had been possessed by an evil spirit. Why was she smiling while holding such a dirty thing?

  Qin Dai Xin put away the waistband in her hand and shouted downstairs, "Check out."