The light of the sword is like the moon reflecting on Kyushu

When Feng Jiuxiao heard Pang Shiwu introduce that the boss was actually from the Great Shu, he immediately became interested. He clasped his hands and said, "Boss Zheng, it is truly admirable that you were able to build such a great business on your own in a foreign land!"

Zheng Sanqian clasped his hands in a fist and laughed, "Not at all, not at all, you're doing great living off your wife!"

Feng Jiuxiao was taken aback, then burst into laughter!

It's quite remarkable that someone can talk about being a kept man so casually!

Zheng Sanqian also laughed and said, "Young master, don't you believe me?"

Feng Jiuxiao said, "I believe it! Why wouldn't I believe it? The fact that he can live off a woman means that Boss Zheng is outstanding!"

Pang Shiwu laughed and said, "Some people want to eat it but can't get any."

Everyone burst into laughter!

The tavern owner's magnanimity made everyone feel relaxed.

Zeng Yong looked to be in good health, but Erni was holding onto his arm the whole time. He laughed and said, "I just heard Brother Fifteen say that he's your cousin from Hunan, so I'm your cousin from Anhui!"

Zheng Sanqian laughed heartily: "Young Master Pang just mentioned that you must be the young master of Tianying Fortress, Hero Zeng, right?"

Zeng Yong clasped his hands in a fist and said, "I dare not accept the title of great hero! I am but a passerby in the martial world!"

Zheng Sanqian looked at Bigwof and smiled, "This must be our friend from the Western Regions, Mr. Bigwof?"

Bigwolf said, "That's right! Hello!"

Zheng Sanqian said, "Hello!" He turned to look at Bai Lian, clasped his hands together, and asked, "Master, you must be Venerable Bai Lian?"

Venerable White Lotus clasped his hands together and said, "Indeed! Greetings, Benefactor Zheng!"

Zheng Sanqian approached Yuan Zishan, glanced at her, and felt a jolt run through him. He immediately looked away, unable to meet her gaze. "You must be Miss Yuan?"

Yuan Zishan gave a curtsy and said, "Yes, greetings, Boss Zheng."

Zheng Sanqian's heart pounded wildly. He never expected that the sister-in-law Pang Shiwu had spoken of would be such a stunning beauty! She was simply breathtaking! He didn't want to make a fool of himself in front of everyone, so he quickly looked away! He looked at Chili and smiled, "This must be Miss Chili!"

Chili was taken aback, then bowed in return: "Does Mr. Zheng know me?"

Zheng Sanqian said, "Young Master Pang introduced himself before you came in!"

Chili was somewhat surprised: "You remembered each and every one of us after just one explanation?"

Zheng Sanqian chuckled and feigned modesty: "This is basic skill; otherwise, how could I dare to be a boss?"

Chili deliberately tilted her head: "So, how did Young Master Pang introduce me just now?"

Zheng Sanqian, being shrewd and worldly-wise, knew perfectly well that this was a trap. He immediately put on a big smile and said, "Young Master Pang said that Chili Girl is beautiful and lovely, and that she is the most dashing one in the crowd!"

Chili smiled with satisfaction. "Hmm, that's more like it!"

Zheng Sanqian looked at Chang Zijin and said, "This must be Miss Chang, right?"

Chang Zijin replied, "Yes! Greetings, Mr. Zheng!"

Zheng Sanqian approached Helian Rongguang and said, "This must be Mr. Helian, right? Judging from your surname, you seem to be from Western Xia. With such extraordinary bravery, are you perhaps a general?"

Helian Rongguang quickly clasped his hands and said, "Greetings, Boss Zheng!" Then he waved his hand and said, "I am no general, please don't flatter me!" He dared not reveal his identity!

Zheng Sanqian approached Ouyang Zhong, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "This must be General Ouyang Zhong!"

Ouyang Zhong immediately clasped his hands in a humble manner and said, "I am merely Young Master Feng's follower, not some general!"

Zheng Sanqian approached Zhang Deyi and asked, "Is this Mr. Zhang?"

Zhang Deyi laughed and said, "Boss Zheng, I'm your real Sichuan native! A true brother!"

Hearing the familiar local accent, Zheng Sanqian's face lit up with warmth, his eyes immediately shining: "Really? That's wonderful!" He looked at Lü Qi and Deng Ba, "These two must be Brother Lü and Brother Deng, right?"

Lu Qi and Deng Ba were flattered and quickly clasped their hands in greeting, saying, "That's right!" They hadn't expected the tavern owner to have such an amazing memory, recognizing them at a glance without ever having met them in person. He truly deserved to be called a formidable figure who had made a name for himself in Tibet!

Zheng Sanqian looked at Xiong Mengyan one last time, and his heart started racing. He quickly looked away and pretended to be calm. "This young lady must be Miss Xiong, right?"

Xiong Mengyan smiled and said, "That's right! Greetings, Mr. Qian!" Her voice was sweet and soft, making one's mind wander and one's face turn red!

Zheng Sanqian quickly changed the subject, looking at Pang Shiwu, "Brother, shall we order?"

Pang Shiwu laughed and said, "Brother, Boss Zheng just said that we hit it off immediately and was going to have the kitchen make a serving of every dish on the menu! I joked that I didn't have enough money, and he said he would make it free if I didn't! It's like making a friend!"

Feng Jiuxiao gave a thumbs up: "Boss Zheng is so generous!"

Zheng Sanqian smiled and said, "We are all struggling in a foreign land. It is fate that we met. After all, I have been here for a few years longer than you all. I am at least a local. When friends come from afar, I should do my best to be a good host!"

Feng Jiuxiao laughed and said, "My brother Pang is quite the joker. We have enough money for the meal, so please bring as much as you like, Boss Zheng! Especially the beef, please bring plenty. Some of us have big appetites, and one serving of beef might not be enough!"

Zheng Sanqian said, "No problem! I'll have the kitchen bring out one of each dish, just so everyone can taste the culinary skills of my restaurant! Since some of you have big appetites, that's easy, just add more! Besides, vegetables are scarce here, but beef is plentiful! You can eat as much as you want! Three jin per person should be enough, right?" Three jin per person, a total of over fifty jin, should be enough in his opinion! After all, there are five women, and it seems that none of them have big appetites! So three jin of beef per person should definitely be enough!

Bigwolf then said leisurely, "Boss Zheng, the person they're talking about with a big appetite is me! Fifty pounds of beef is barely enough to fill me up!" The implication was that fifty pounds of beef was far from enough to satisfy a full stomach!
Zheng Sanqian was startled. "Fifty catties is barely enough to fill your stomach?" He looked Bigwov up and down, thinking: What does fifty catties of beef mean? It's almost a whole lamb! No matter how big his stomach is, can he fit the whole thing in?
Bigwolf noticed his confusion, patted his belly and laughed, "My belly is very elastic and can hold a lot! It can fit a whole sheep ready for market!"

Zheng Sanqian's voice boomed: "Excellent! I admire your kind of bold spirit!"

Feng Jiuxiao asked, "Boss Zheng, what kind of wine do you have here?"

Zheng Sanqian laughed and said, "Young Master Pang just said that we would hit it off immediately, and he was right! You've come to the right person when it comes to wine! I have many kinds of wine here! If it weren't for the fact that the people here are rough and can't eat fine wine, I could even get the Daughter Red wine from Jiangnan!"

Feng Jiuxiao said, "So that means you have strong liquor like 'Shaodaozi' here?"

Zheng Sanqian said smugly, "Brother, you're right! Besides local barley wine, grape wine, wheat wine, and mead, I also have Yan Zhao's strong liquor, Mobei's 'Mendao Lv' liquor, Khitan's chrysanthemum wine, and the Great Shu Dynasty's Jiannanchun liquor. What would you like to drink?"

Feng Jiuxiao laughed, "Only children make choices, I want them all!" Zheng Sanqian laughed heartily, "Brother, you're so funny! Asang, bring the wine!"

Asang called out in a drawn-out voice, "Okay—", then turned and slipped through the kitchen curtain!

Zheng Sanqian said, "Please be seated, everyone!"

Feng Jiuxiao and the others sat down around the table. Four long tables were pushed together to form one large table, which could barely squeeze in seventeen people.

Before the food and wine arrived, Feng Jiuxiao asked, "I've noticed there are very few taverns in the market. Is it because there's a shortage?"

Zheng Sanqian said, "It will require quite a lot!"

"Then why are there so few taverns outside?"

"Hehe, you noticed that too? There are only three taverns in the entire Qing Tang City. The reason there are so few is not because there are few customers, but because the powerful and wealthy here do not allow outsiders to open taverns! The owners behind these three taverns are all powerful and wealthy people in the city. They open these taverns simply to skim off the profits from passing travelers!"

"And what about here...?"

“This is my father-in-law’s! My father-in-law is Drolma Tenzin, Qusiluo’s cousin!”

"Oh? So your father-in-law is a member of the royal family here!"

"Haha, I guess so!"

No wonder no one dares to cause you trouble here!

"Yes, my wife is the niece of the local Zanpu! According to the laws of the Central Plains, she is a princess!"

Chili said, "She can't be considered a princess, she should be considered a county princess!"

Yuan Zishan immediately tugged at Chili's sleeve, and Chili stuck out her tongue: "Oh no, I've been too talkative again!"

Zheng Sanqian laughed and said, "Chili Girl is right! She's at most a princess!"

Feng Jiuxiao asked, "Boss Zheng, is your wife inside?"

Zheng Sanqian said, "No, he's at my house."

"That's such a pity, I'll miss the chance to visit my sister-in-law!"

"You're too kind! Please wait a moment. There's tea over there, please help yourselves. I'll go in and help the kitchen first. With so many of you suddenly gathered here, the chefs won't be able to serve the dishes quickly. My help will make things faster."

Feng Jiuxiao said, "Boss Zheng, do you need our help? My cooking skills are pretty good too!"

Zheng Sanqian laughed and said, "How can we let the guests do the work? You all sit down first, I'll be there soon! I'll have them serve the cold dishes first!"

After Zheng Sanqian lifted the curtain and entered the kitchen, Pang Shiwu said, "Brother, he's afraid we'll discover the secrets of his kitchen!"

Feng Jiuxiao said, "That's normal. The kitchen is the core area of ​​a tavern; the chef's knife skills, techniques, and experience are the restaurant's core secrets!"

Wang Sheng said, "That's right! The fastest and most effective way for some new restaurants to quickly gain a foothold is to poach talent! To poach those established chefs!"

Zhang Deyi sat in a corner, squinting his eyes, thinking to himself: Everyone says that good and evil cannot coexist, but Feng Jiuxiao is actually chatting and laughing with the three members of the Demonic Sect. Isn't he afraid that the righteous people of the martial arts world will criticize him for not being able to distinguish right from wrong?
Then the wine was served, its aroma filling the air.

The one serving the wine was Asang.

Feng Jiuxiao asked, "Where is Boss Qian's father-in-law?"

Asang looked around and whispered, "You don't know?"

Feng Jiuxiao shook his head and smiled slightly: "If I knew, would I be asking you?"

Seeing that Feng Jiuxiao didn't seem to be joking, Asang said seriously, "I heard that he took his family and Gusiluo and ran out of the city!"

"What?"

Asang frowned, her face filled with disbelief: "You really don't know?"

Feng Jiuxiao laughed and said, "I really don't know!"

Asang whispered, "They were scared away by you guys!"

Feng Jiuxiao was taken aback. "How did you know?"

Asang whispered, "The boss's father-in-law sent someone to inform the boss before he ran away! The boss said he wasn't leaving!"

Feng Jiuxiao thought to himself: So Zheng Sanqian already knew who I was! This guy pretended not to know anything! But that's fine, it saved me a lot of embarrassment!
"Your Tibetans have a long history of brewing wine, don't you?"

Asang chuckled, "I don't know."

Zhang Deyi said, "I do know a little about it."

Feng Jiuxiao said, "Please enlighten me, Elder Zhang."

Zhang Deyi said, "According to folklore, the history of Tibetans making wine began when Princess Wencheng of the Tang Dynasty brought Han Chinese winemaking techniques to Tibet. However, according to my research of historical facts, the history of Tibetans making wine should be much longer."

As is well known, the Tubo people have lived on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau since ancient times, their origins stemming from the fusion of several ethnic groups and tribes during historical development. The ancestors of the Tubo people have deep ties with the ethnic group referred to as "Qiang" in Han Chinese texts. "Qiang" means "western shepherds," and the ancient Qiang people originally inhabited the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. They gradually migrated and dispersed, forming many settlements, some of which transitioned to agriculture. Long before the Central Plains Han Chinese had wheat, the ancient Qiang people had successfully cultivated a type of barley on the plateau, which is today the main grain of Tubo (Tibet).

When the Yarlung tribe, which rose to power in the Yarlung Tsangpo River valley in southern Tibet during the 7th century AD, successively conquered various Qiang tribes, unified the plateau, and established the powerful Tubo Dynasty, many Qiang people from these tribes were assimilated and became part of the Tubo ethnic group. Therefore, the history of Tubo winemaking should be traced back to the ancient Qiang period before the establishment of the Tubo Dynasty.

Feng Jiuxiao asked, "The ancient Qiang period?"

"Yes! During the ancient Qiang period! The ancient Qiang people loved alcohol, and their diet consisted mainly of alcohol, milk, and beef and mutton. The Jin dynasty scholar Wang Jia recorded in his 'Shiyi Lu' that a Qiang elder was still a heavy drinker at the age of ninety-eight. The Qiang people not only loved alcohol, but they also knew how to brew alcohol very early on. Zhang Hua, a minister in the early Jin dynasty who was skilled at brewing fine wine, used 'malt from the Western Qiang and yeast from the Northern Dynasties' for his brewing. Since the Western Qiang people had malt, they certainly already knew how to make wine. The 'New Book of Tang, Biography of the Dangxiang' records that the Dangxiang people did not engage in agriculture, but 'obtained wheat from other countries to brew wine.' During the process of the Tubo unification of the plateau, apart from some Dangxiang people who migrated inland, those who remained in their original places all joined the Tubo, so it is clear that the Dangxiang's brewing techniques also entered the Tubo."

Feng Jiuxiao exclaimed, "Impressive! Mr. Zhang, truly impressive!" (End of Chapter)