Everyone came to Tongfu Inn happily and were about to have a big meal, but they didn't want to.
"I'm sorry, Lao Xing, we're closed today, you'd better go somewhere else to eat."
Before everyone had entered, shopkeeper Tong, who was guarding the door, persuaded Lao Xing with a smile.
Lao Xing couldn't help but feel a little depressed. Yesterday he said it was closed, but today he still said it was closed. Did he offend shopkeeper Tong in some way?
"No, shopkeeper Tong, why do you close your shop every day?" Lao Xing asked in confusion.
Hearing Lao Xing's inquiry, the shopkeeper was a little embarrassed, but she couldn't say it openly, after all, the family scandal should not be made public.
She couldn't just say that on the first day of school, Xiaobei beat up her classmates and tore up her husband's books, which caused her husband to come to visit her home tonight.
"Well, Lao Xing, I really have something to do today. You'd better come back tomorrow. If you come tomorrow, I'll give you a 20% discount." The shopkeeper continued to persuade in a gentle voice.
Listening to the shopkeeper's soft tone, Lao Xing might have been persuaded to go back on normal days.
But that's not possible at this time. There are still a group of brothers behind Lao Xing who are watching. If he just goes home like this, how will he hang out in the future?
Lao Xing stretched his head and looked at the open door. The tables in the lobby were filled with sumptuous meals. The fragrant aroma reached his nose. It didn't look like it was about to close.
"Shopkeeper Tong, we just have a meal, please be accommodating." Lao Xing begged softly in the shopkeeper's ear.
"Look, there are so many of us, where else can we go to eat besides you?"
"This..." After hearing Lao Xing's words, the shopkeeper was thinking about how to refuse.
But Lao Xing then added in a low voice. "To tell you the truth, Lou Zhi County asked me to bring them to your place to eat. After we eat, we are all going to fight the bandits."
Hearing that it was Lou Zhixian, the shopkeeper hesitated. Lao Xing was an old acquaintance and could be easily dismissed.
But as the local official of Lou County, he had to give him face.
Moreover, the other party is still trying to fight bandits. If they are not even allowed to eat, then I am afraid that I will not be able to survive in Qixia Town.
After pondering for a moment, the shopkeeper nodded, turned around and said to Lao Bai who had been paying attention to them inside the door.
"Okay, Zhantang, let Dazui cook a table of delicious dishes for Xing Captou and the others, and the money for the meal will be charged to my account."
"Okay!" Lao Bai quickly responded and left.
The money for the meal is recorded in the shopkeeper's account, which means it is free, but Lao Xing dare not let the shopkeeper pay it for free. The Lou Magistrate is very taboo about this.
"Shopkeeper Tong, thank you for your kindness, but you don't need to record it in your account. You can pay as much as you need." Lao Xing said quickly.
The shopkeeper ignored it, smiled and patted Lao Xing on the shoulder.
"Calm down Lao Xing, everyone is going to fight bandits and maintain law and order in this town. As a merchant in this town, I should do my part. Come on, come on, everyone, come in quickly."
With that said, the shopkeeper called everyone in.
Seeing the enthusiastic look of shopkeeper Tong, everyone thanked them one after another, completely forgetting that it was the shopkeeper who stopped them at the door.
Xiaoliu, who was watching from the sidelines, couldn't help but sigh, this shopkeeper Tong is really a natural businessman.
In addition to profits, the most important thing in doing business is reputation. If you only focus on profits and do not pay attention to reputation, this business will not last long; but if you only value reputation and do not pay attention to profits, this business will lose all your money.
Shopkeeper Tong is greedy and stingy, but she also has a very clear view of the overall situation. When it comes to spending money, she is not ambiguous at all.
It has an excellent reputation among superiors, subordinates and guests.
For such people, it is only a matter of time before their business becomes bigger and stronger.
"Xiao Liu, what are you doing? Come in quickly." When the shopkeeper saw everyone coming in, Xiao Liu was still standing outside the door, so he quickly took his hand and took him in.
Xiao Liu was about to say thank you, but then a familiar voice happened to come.
"Shopkeeper Tong!" Although the voice was old, it was full of energy.
Shopkeepers Xiao Liu and Tong looked back. As soon as they saw the person coming, the shopkeeper immediately let go of Xiao Liu's hand and trotted forward to meet him.
"Mr. Zhu, I'm really sorry. Could you please come all the way?" the shopkeeper said with an apologetic smile.
This person is Mr. Zhu whom Xiao Liu saw in White Horse Academy today. Seeing Mr. Zhu's arrival, Xiao Liu understood.
It must be that Xiaobei got into trouble at school today, and the teacher was going to visit her home, so the shopkeeper specially prepared good wine and food to apologize.
"Liu, what are you doing? Come in quickly." Seeing that Xiao Liu hadn't come in yet, Lao Xing at the door couldn't help but shouted out strangely.
"Oh, okay, come here." Xiao Liu quickly withdrew his gaze and walked in. Under the leadership of Lao Bai and the others, he came to a small square table and sat down.
This is the small square table where diners usually sit, which can accommodate four people. As for the large table where Xiaoliu and the others usually sit, Shopkeeper Tong and the others use it to entertain Mr. Zhu.
At this time, three new recruits were already sitting at Xiaofang's table. As soon as they saw Xiaoliu coming, they quickly stood up and said hello. "Deputy Yan arrests the head."
When Xiao Liu saw this scene, he knew that this was arranged by his master, so that he could communicate more with these three newcomers. Xiao Liu quickly clasped his fists and smiled warmly.
"The three eldest brothers don't need to be so exposed. From now on, we will all be colleagues. When we are on duty, Xiao Liu is the deputy chief of the police, but in private, we are just brothers. The older brothers call me Xiao Liu." That’s it.”
Everyone had only known Xiao Liu for a short time. Seeing that Xiao Liu had become the deputy head catcher at such a young age, they were worried that he would be difficult to get along with.
But he didn't expect that Xiao Liu was so easy to get along with. He put down his anxiety for a while and started talking with Xiao Liu.
At this time, the food had not yet been served, and everyone started to interact with each other. They were all very curious about Xiao Liu, who became the deputy arrester at such a young age.
Xiaoliu was also very eloquent, and the dinner table was filled with laughter and laughter for a while.
Xiaoliu knew very well that the chat must not become his own talk, and everyone must have something to say, so after Xiaoliu just started, he began to introduce the topic to everyone without any trace.
Everyone has a desire to brag, boast, and show off their glorious deeds. If you often have nothing to say when chatting, it’s just because you haven’t talked about the topics that interest you.
While Xiaoliu was bragging to everyone, he didn't forget to pay attention to the situation of the shopkeeper's place.
I saw Mr. Zhu sitting on the table as soon as he came in, talking loudly about what Xiaobei did in the academy today.
Because of a verbal dispute with a classmate, he directly beat him and tore up his precious books.
Xiaobei, the shopkeeper, and everyone in the Tongfu Inn except Dazui were all listening, just like primary school students being scolded, listening to Mr. Zhu finish talking one by one.
When Mr. Zhu finally finished speaking, the shopkeeper hurriedly poured wine to quench Mr. Zhu's thirst and made his position clear.
"Sir, don't worry, I will definitely discipline Xiaobei well. We will pay for the price of your book."
Mr. Zhu took the wine and said disdainfully after hearing the shopkeeper's words. "Compensate? Bah!"
"That's an out-of-print book from the Song Dynasty! It also has Wang Anshi's inscription on it. If you want to pay compensation, I can make you lose everything!"
