A powerful minister of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 25 Drinking an Ice-Cold Beer
Qu Ze told Gang Leader Cao what Song Xuan had instructed him to do.

Inside the mountain temple, Gang Leader Cao, who was lying on the broken bed, narrowed his eyes and blurted out:

"There are only three people in Lema Town who have the guts to do this."

"I hope my foster father will point me in the right direction."

Gang Leader Cao pointed his finger and said, "The first one is the Zhao family. They deliberately spread the rumor."

"The second one is that poisonous scorpion. Song Xuan's second brother played with him and the Zhao family at their place and owed him money."

"The third one is Smiling Tiger. He was also ruthless and cruel in his early years. He wanted to collect protection money from Song Xuan, and they had a feud."

Qu Ze nodded: "Then I will send people to find out the movements of these three families."

"Well, let's ask the brothers to keep an eye on their movements first."

Gang Leader Cao naturally nodded in agreement. Song Xuan was still his disciple no matter what.

This guy seems to be very well-informed about where he got the information from.

Gang Leader Cao was a little confused. In the past, whenever something happened, he would be the one to tip off Song Xuan.

Tao Hong secretly communicated with the suppliers who were responsible for settling funds.

No one believed that Song Xuan's shop lost money.

At the same time, Tao Hong also spread the word that Song Xuan would leave in two days and see which forces would make preparations.

Lema Town is not big, it is just this small circle after all.

Qu Ze and Tao Hong came back separately and told Song Xuan the news they had found out.

Especially his second brother Song Kang, who openly gambled in Du Tou Xie's gambling house and directly signed his name when he owed debts.

Song Xuan wasn't sure whether someone had set a trap for his second brother or he had fallen into it on purpose.

But it doesn't matter anymore.

Cold paste shop.

Song Xuan sent someone to invite Mr. Yan and others to come to the shop to have a meal of barbecued skewers.

Yan Shu and others gladly accepted the invitation. After strolling in the countryside for a few days, they would eventually return to Yingtian Prefecture to work.

"Ever since we last met, I've been missing Brother Twelve's grilled fish."

Yan Shu sat on a bamboo chair and rubbed his hands: "The fragrance I smell today is really extraordinary."

He also found that Song Xuan's barbecue kebab grill was very different from the ones he had seen before, and was very light.

"Hahaha, then I'll give it a try too."

Fan Zhongyan studied in poverty since childhood, but he was not a pedantic person. After becoming an official and receiving a salary, it was normal for him to pursue food and drink.

Song Xuan had a smile on his face:

"Gentlemen, please have some drinks first. This new drink I made needs to be chilled for a while."

"Oh?"

Yan Shu immediately became interested.

From all the new things Song Xuan has, we can tell that he is a person who likes innovation and knows how to enjoy life.

Over the years, Yan Shu has always been a lone figure in the court and has always been a staunch supporter of the emperor.

Yan Shu's parents died early, and perhaps Zhenzong had never had any children, so he raised Yan Shu as his own child.

However, before Emperor Zhenzong's death, Yan Shu could do nothing in order to protect himself.

During his struggle with Lu Yijian, Yan Shu realized that he needed to train a group of people to increase his influence in the court.

After arriving in Yingtian Prefecture, he wanted to rely on the academy to train more students, which required excellent teachers.

And Fan Zhongyan was the most capable teacher in Yingtian Prefecture.

During Yan Shu's visit, Song Xuan was truly an unexpected gain.

Lu Yijian's family had great power in the court. His uncle Lu Meng was the prime minister, and all his brothers and nephews were officials.

This does not include the Lu family’s disciples and former officials.

Yan Shu was also planning to train the younger generation, and he was very satisfied with Song Xuan's performance.

Living in seclusion in Yingtian Prefecture for three years, after which he would make Yingtian Prefecture Academy famous throughout the world! This was Yan Shu's ultimate goal in coming to Yingtian Prefecture.

He came from the center to the local area, so naturally he wanted to return to the center.

Becoming a prime minister is the ultimate dream of every civil servant.

Song Xuan shouted and sent the waiter to bring out the ice-cold beer:

"My dear gentlemen, drink this drink and pair it with some grilled skewers, and see if I can survive if I open a stall in Tokyo in the future!"

"Okay, then I'll give it a try."

Yan Shu took the lead and took a sip of the ice-cold beer. Then, squinting his eyes and not caring about his image, he burped loudly:

"This drink is really refreshing. It's definitely different from anything I've had in Tokyo. It has a boozy, delicious flavor."

Listening to Yan Shu's praise, Fan Zhongyan also raised his glass:

"Then I'll try it too."

He didn't drink the whole bottle, but only drank half of it and took a bite of the kebab.

"That's not bad."

"I'm afraid it can be comparable to the official store in Jiangdong!" Song Shou couldn't help but sigh.

"Hahaha, then I feel relieved."

Song Xuan also drank a sip of ice-cold beer and ate the skewers, which was really refreshing.

Although according to Li Shizhen's records, distilled liquor was introduced from the Yuan Dynasty, but distilling vessels were found in the tomb of Marquis Haihun, so Liu He had the opportunity to drink liquor with an alcohol content of more than 20 degrees.

Song Xuan didn't find anyone selling distilled liquor. Perhaps the technology was lost after the war.

"Twelfth Brother also has the potential to become a wealthy businessman."

While eating and drinking, Yan Shu couldn't help but complain, it was a pity that Emperor Taizu of Song banned officials from doing business.

But after so many years, both civil officials and military generals still use their positions and status to control business behavior.

"Then I can do business before I pass the imperial examination."

Song Xuan ate the skewers and said, "As long as my wallet is full and I have enough money, I can become an official in the local area. I won't even look down on ordinary people who want to bribe me."

"Hahaha."

Yan Shu pointed at Song Xuan and said that this was a possibility.

But more often than not, officials use their power to plunder wealth for their families.

How many people will forget their original intention.

Fan Zhongyan didn't say much, but just ate the skewers silently.

After Song Xuan drank another sip of ice beer, he said:
"My three husbands, there is something I want to inform you about in advance."

"You said."

Yan Shu didn't think that Song Xuan, such a proud person, would let them leak the questions in advance.

"In two days I will leave Lema Town and head for Song City. We should not leave together because someone is eyeing my money and wants to rob me."

Song Xuan chuckled twice: "So I plan to deal with them all. Swords and knives have no eyes, so as not to harm the lives of the three gentlemen."

Hearing this, Song Shou, who had been silent all this time, immediately became anxious:
"Arrogant, what are you thinking?"

"Those villains are out to steal money and kill people. How can you handle them alone?"

Yan Shu stopped Song Shou from talking and asked, "Are you sure this is true?"

"I've already spread the word. I'll definitely be able to catch some fish. Besides, this is a trap set up by someone using my good second brother."

Yan Shu stroked his beard and thought.

Fan Zhongyan was very concerned about Song Xuan and sent people to find out about Song Xuan's past in detail.

This boy is really determined. No matter what environment he is in, he never gives up on his studies. Instead, he has made a career for himself.

With Song Xuan's policy essay as a foundation, Fan Zhongyan did not believe that Song Xuan was someone who always ranked last in exams.

Fan Zhongyan grasped the key point: "Twelfth brother, how do you plan to deal with those bandits? This will give us some idea of ​​how to deal with them."

(End of this chapter)