Upon entering the restaurant, a handsome, quick-witted waiter immediately came forward, bowing and scraping.
"Honored guest for the second floor, this way, please!"
The first-floor hall was packed with drinkers. Voices roared like a boiling cauldron, and the air was thick with the fragrance of wine and food.
They played finger-guessing games and urged one another to drink, their faces flushed red and their foreheads gleaming with oil.
The private rooms were on the second floor. The waiter led the way, inviting Zhou You up the stairs from the first floor.
Zhou You noticed the drinkers in the hall watching where he was headed, envy written across their faces.
The private rooms on the second floor were exorbitantly expensive, casually costing the savings of a middling household for ten years. Ordinary people simply could not afford them.
Those honored guests who could host banquets on the second floor came from the upper-class families of Gongliang City, rich or noble.
Upon reaching the second floor and pushing open the private room's doors, a warm, fragrant breeze washed over him.
A brazier and incense burner stood inside the room, while the faint strains of stringed instruments drifted from behind a beaded curtain.
The graceful silhouettes reflected upon the beaded curtain belonged to musicians specially hired to play for the evening banquet.
"Zhou You is here. Come, take a seat."
Shen Sijing's voice came from across the room.
The apprentices standing beside him were all Official Martial Arts School Apprentices, and Li Hao was among them.
As expected, everyone in this private room belonged to Shen Sijing's faction, the group made up of those born and raised in the city.
"Senior Disciple Shen, forgive me for keeping you waiting. Zhou You offers his apologies."
Zhou You spotted Shen Sijing at once, surrounded by stars like the moon, and hurried forward to clasp his hands in greeting.
Xu Ying livened things up from the side. "An apology alone won't do. Punish yourself with three cups, and we'll let this matter pass."
Three cups of wine were nothing to Zhou You.
The wine cup was as translucent as jade, filled with amber liquid that looked from afar like a flawless piece of pure amber.
It was soft and smooth upon the tongue, and the moment it reached his stomach, an exotic fragrance surged up his throat.
Fine wine—at least twenty years old.
After Zhou You drained three cups, Xu Ying and Li Hao ushered him to a seat between them.
Shen Sijing smiled and nodded at him. A servant behind him stepped forward carrying a wooden box.
"Zhou You, a small congratulatory gift to celebrate your becoming an Official Martial Arts School Apprentice."
Zhou You instinctively declined. "Senior Disciple Shen, I cannot accept a reward without merit."
The fellow disciples around him chuckled and urged him, "Take it. We all did."
Even Li Hao nodded in agreement.
Zhou You understood. Accepting the gift in the wooden box meant joining Shen Sijing's faction. This was his pledge of allegiance!
"Then I shall accept it without further ceremony."
Zhou You opened the wooden box and froze slightly as the distinctive red gleam of pure gold rushed toward him.
Three sets of goldware rested upon a silk cushion.
The first was a pure-gold cigarette holder, intended for Old Zhou, who had a smoking habit.
The second was pure-gold jewelry: a pair of earrings and a pair of bracelets, all in women's styles, clearly meant for Zhou You's mother.
The third was naturally for Zhou You...
A hair-binding ring, belt buckle, and other everyday personal items—all forged from pure gold and giving off a captivating soft glow.
Setting aside the value of the gold itself, these items had taken every member of his family of three into consideration. The thoughtfulness was extraordinary.
The goldware was all crafted with supreme workmanship, elegant in design and meticulous in detail, suitable both for use and admiration.
"At least a jin of gold went into this, and it's ninety-nine percent Pure Gold."
Full gold was reddish in color, representing a sharp increase in refining costs and thus commanding a higher price.
The market price for one jin of Pure Gold could be exchanged for no less than 125 taels of silver.
And the goldsmiths' wages had to be factored in as well.
For top-tier craftsmanship, labor costs were basically on par with the value of the gold itself.
In other words, the true value of this goldware was around 300 taels.
After making a rough calculation, Zhou You was stunned by Shen Sijing's lavish generosity.
It was not only him. All the Official Martial Arts School Apprentices present had received similar gifts. How much money must that have cost?
Senior Disciple Shen truly was the son of a wealthy family. The extravagance of his spending severely shook Zhou You's sense of value.
"Don't just sit there. Drink!"
Xu Ying began egging everyone on. He was one of Senior Disciple Shen's trusted aides and had taken on the role of livening up the evening.
The wine table was the best place to stir up the mood. After several rounds, Zhou You had already gotten to know every apprentice present.
Aside from Xu Ying and Li Hao, the other apprentices had all been drawn in by Shen Sijing.
Like Zhou You, they came from families born and raised within Gongliang City.
"Senior Disciple Shen is treating us tonight to the Four Treasures Feast. As for what the four treasures are, you'll soon find out."
Knock, knock, knock. Someone knocked outside the private room. "The main dishes are coming up."
Mao Xiaoli stood at the door, feeling rather uneasy. Today, he had been fortunate enough to accompany the restaurant manager in serving the honored guests in the private room. It was simply a blessing earned over three lifetimes.
The waiters at Golden Harvest Tower were also divided into ranks. The runners serving the first-floor hall could not compare to those serving the private rooms.
He had originally been a hall runner. Only because they were short-handed tonight had he come to fill in.
Mao Xiaoli treasured this opportunity beyond measure, hoping to make the honored guests comfortable and earn a promotion from the manager to the second-floor private rooms.
There was a legend among the waiters: once, a senior waiter had received a reward of ten taels of silver in a single go, a record that still stood.
Only honored guests in the private rooms could be so generous. At most, the first-floor hall gave tips of copper coins and bits of silver.
Once the private room door opened, the manager quickly called for the waiters to serve the dishes.
"The first course of the Four Treasures Feast uses tendons from eight kinds of wild beasts, stewed until tender, then seasoned with aged Huadiao wine."
"This dish uses old fish caught from the riverbed a hundred meters deep, slaughtered only after reaching fifty years of age. Only the fish maw is taken, dried, then soaked until it softens."
The waiters moved deftly, carefully setting the dishes upon the table while explaining the origins of every ingredient.
All of them were handsome and eloquent, skilled at reading faces and expressions, always choosing the most pleasing words to say.
Soon, it was Mao Xiaoli's turn.
Holding the plate of Hundred Bird Marrow, Mao Xiaoli silently recalled the dish's culinary characteristics.
He put on his most respectful smile and looked up at the honored guests at the banquet. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly froze.
What?
Mao Xiaoli thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. How could he see Zhou You from next door among these honored guests?
He blinked his eyes. He had not seen wrong!
Zhou You was plainly one of the honored guests, while the diners around him were all raising cups to toast him.
Then Mao Xiaoli looked at the table before him, where seven or eight gleaming pieces of goldware lay, all forged from pure gold and exquisitely beautiful.
Mao Xiaoli's face flushed crimson in an instant. He stood there tongue-tied, unable to say a word.
The moment he paused, the smooth, flowing procession of announcing and serving dishes came to an abrupt halt, and the atmosphere in the private room instantly turned cold.
"How presumptuous! What are you standing there for? Do you expect us to invite you to sit down and drink with us?"
Xu Ying mercilessly rebuked the manager. "What kind of waiters does your establishment employ?"
"Please forgive us, please forgive us."
The restaurant manager's forehead was covered in sweat as he repeatedly bowed and scraped.
After apologizing until his mouth was nearly worn out, the manager agreed to offer an additional jar of thirty-year fine wine, finally soothing Xu Ying's anger.
From beginning to end, Zhou You never spared Mao Xiaoli a single glance.
After leaving the private room, the manager's face immediately darkened.
"The cost of that jar of aged wine will be deducted from your wages until it has been paid off."
"You're clumsy with your words and offended honored guests. Don't even think about working as a hall runner anymore. Go wash dishes and do odd jobs in the back kitchen."
Mao Xiaoli did not even have time to beg for mercy before his heart sank straight into a bottomless abyss.
Before you continue