Sales Partnership
Before the three of them even reached the Drunken Immortal Tavern, they saw Zhou Tong, Xu Mo, and Su Yan standing at the bottom of the steps at the entrance, waiting for them.
Seeing Shen Jingchuan and the others walking slowly towards them, Zhou Tong immediately stepped forward to greet them, with Xu Mo and Su Yan following behind. They all cupped their hands in greeting.
"Young Master Shen, why didn't you come in your four-wheeled carriage?" Zhou Tong asked with a smile.
Shen Jingchuan returned the greeting and smiled:
"I've just arrived in Chang'an, and I thought I'd take the opportunity to see the hustle and bustle of the streets. Besides, as you know, those carriages are too conspicuous; it's inconvenient to parade through the city like that, so I decided to walk, which is more comfortable."
Zhou Tong nodded repeatedly after listening:
"That's true. Your carriage looks so special that it attracted a lot of attention yesterday. It's like people are staring at you wherever you go. It's much quieter to walk here."
Xu Mo and Su Yan, standing nearby, also stepped forward with smiles to greet him, repeatedly saying "Young Master Shen, please," and led the group into the building. The waiter at the door quickly bent down, lifted the curtain, and led the way.
Upon entering the building, the first floor is a large hall with open seating. The floor is paved with blue bricks, and more than a dozen black lacquered square tables are neatly arranged on both sides. At this moment, the hall is full of people, and the aroma of wine mixed with the aroma of food fills the entire hall, along with the sounds of diners chatting and laughing.
When the restaurant owner saw Zhou Tong, he quickly came out from behind the counter, bowed, and greeted him warmly.
The waiter led everyone up the stairs. The second floor was full of private rooms, separated by beaded curtains and wooden screens. It was much quieter than the first floor, and the sounds of hushed conversations could be faintly heard from each room.
Without stopping, we went up one more floor and arrived at the third floor—the entire floor only had a few large private rooms.
The waiter pushed open the door, revealing a spacious interior. One side of the window featured carved lattice windows; opening one halfway through offered a panoramic view of the long street below.
In the center was a large round table covered with a brocade tablecloth with a subtle pattern. On the table were neatly arranged celadon tea sets and four kinds of dried fruits and snacks.
Several landscape paintings and calligraphy hung on the four walls, and two antique display shelves stood in the corners, with porcelain vases and jade ornaments arranged in a staggered manner, looking elegant and stylish, without the oily and smoky atmosphere of ordinary restaurants.
Upon entering the house, Zhou Tong insisted that Shen Jingchuan sit in the host's seat, with Xu Mo sitting in the host's seat as a guest; Su Yan sat next to Xu Mo, and Zhou Tong sat at the lower end of the table.
Lin Shan and Lin Yue sat to the left of Shen Jingchuan. Everyone took their seats in turn, and the waiter hurriedly came forward to pour hot tea for everyone before bowing and retreating to prepare food and drinks.
Before long, the food and drinks were served one after another, with a full table of hot and cold dishes, meat and vegetables, which was very sumptuous. Everyone took their seats according to their order of seniority, exchanged a few simple pleasantries, and then Xu Mo raised his wine glass and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to Shen Jingchuan.
"Young Master Shen, during the entrance exam at Jade Autumn Garden today, your poem 'Autumn Mountain Journey' immediately stunned everyone on the spot."
We've only been out for a short while, and I've already heard scholars on the street spreading this poem; it's about to become known throughout Chang'an City. I could never write something of this quality; I must offer you a toast today."
Su Yan, standing beside him, also picked up her cup and nodded repeatedly.
"Indeed, I must also toast Young Master Shen with this cup."
Seeing this, Zhou Tong smiled and stood up, and Lin Shan and Lin Yue also raised their glasses. Everyone gestured in unison and drank the first glass of wine together.
Shen Jingchuan put down his wine glass, exchanged a few polite words with a smile, and then asked:
"By the way, I don't know if all three of you have received your park tickets yet?"
Zhou Tong waved his hand and laughed, "Of course we all got them, otherwise we'd be embarrassed to drink with you."
Xu Mo pointed at him with his fan, unsure what to say. Everyone burst into laughter, but Zhou Tong showed no embarrassment whatsoever.
"Poetry is just a minor art." This drew laughter from everyone.
Shen Jingchuan said with a smile:
"It seems you are all skilled in poetry and prose. To have passed the entrance exam among so many people, your abilities must be quite impressive."
After two more rounds of drinks, Zhou Tong put down his chopsticks and brought up the matter of the carriage:
"Young Master Shen, I saw your four-wheeled carriage with my own eyes today; it was truly a novel and rare sight."
When I got back, I told my father. He wanted to ask if, in the future, if you made these carriages and sold them in Chang'an, could our Zhou Household act as their distributor?
He's also very curious and wants to go see the car in person tomorrow, but he doesn't know if that's convenient.
Upon hearing this, Shen Jingchuan turned to look at Lin Shan and Lin Yue beside him. The two brothers exchanged a glance and nodded slightly, indicating that he should make the decision himself.
Shen Jingchuan pondered for a moment before speaking:
"The dealership idea isn't impossible, but the car isn't officially in mass production yet, so we'll have to discuss the specific details later. As for seeing the car, there's no problem. You can just come over tomorrow."
He then gave me his address.
As soon as he finished speaking, Su Yan chimed in, "Young Master Shen, our family is in the ceramics business in the Chu Kingdom. We've come to Chang'an to explore some avenues for cooperation. I wonder if there will be an opportunity to work with Young Master Shen in the future? I'd also like to accompany Brother Zhou to visit you tomorrow, just to join in the fun. I wonder if Young Master Shen would welcome us?"
Shen Jingchuan smiled:
"There's nothing wrong with that. Cooperation is still a long way off; I haven't even officially launched my carriage business yet. But since we've already met, we can talk about it when the opportunity arises. Just come along tomorrow."
Zhou Tong was very pleased to hear this:
"That would be wonderful. I'll go with my father tomorrow, and of course, Brother Xu will come along too."
Once the meeting time was set, the group stopped discussing business and instead chatted, drank, and talked about interesting anecdotes and local legends in Chang'an City.
The atmosphere at the table was relaxed, with everyone enjoying themselves immensely, taking turns drinking.
After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, it was getting late, so they got up to say goodbye and walked together to the entrance of Drunken Immortal Tavern.
Zhou Tong immediately wanted to order his own carriage to take Shen Jingchuan and the other two back, Shen Jingchuan waved his hand and declined.
"No need to trouble yourself. Our accommodation isn't far from here. We can stroll back slowly and digest our food."
Zhou Tong didn't press the matter further. After exchanging a few more pleasantries, the two sides parted ways. Shen Jingchuan led Lin Shan and Lin Yue back along the street, Zhou Tong the three of them also left.