Courtyard Houses: Starting with the principle of hard work paying off

Chapter 180 The Tavern Opens, Promising Young Man Li Hongbing

The third day after the wedding.

The day of returning to one's parents' home.

After having breakfast at home in the morning, Li Hongbing took some pastries and accompanied Chen Xueru back to her parents' home.

Now that only Chen's mother is left in the Chen family, there's no need to prepare anything special. Over the past two years, their relationship has long been like that of family.

Although Chen Xueru is now married and no longer stays here at night, this place is close to the silk shop, so she still comes here for lunch and dinner as usual, so there isn't much difference from before.

If it weren't for this, and considering that Chen's mother isn't particularly old, is in good health, and has sufficient ability to take care of herself, then...

if not.

Li Hongbing didn't mind bringing Chen's mother to live with them, since Li Hongbing's parents had passed away long ago, and Chen Xueru only had her mother left.

After getting married, Li Hongbing felt even more obligated to support his parents together with Chen Xueru.

Nothing much happened today; Li Hongbing spent all his time with Chen Xueru.

After having lunch and taking a nap, Li Hongbing and Chen Xueru went to the silk shop in the afternoon.

By evening.

Li Hongbing and Chen Xueru went directly to Xu Huizhen's tavern.

Some time ago, He Yongqiang eloped back to the countryside with Xu Huizhen's cousin, Xu Huizhi. Old Man He was so angry that he fell seriously ill and soon passed away. Before he died, he left the small tavern to Xu Huizhen.

Today is the day the pub reopens.

Xu Hui originally wanted to open the tavern on New Year's Day, since it was a festive day and a holiday, with a large flow of people.

However, Li Hongbing and Chen Xueru happened to be getting married that day, so Xu Huizhen had to change the date and set it for today.

The relationship between Xu Huizhen and Chen Xueru goes without saying. Especially during this period, when Xu Huizhen was going through the ordeal of her husband running away and her father-in-law passing away, Chen Xueru provided her with a lot of companionship, help and encouragement.

Come to think of it, Li Hongbing also helped Xu Huizhen on the day she gave birth.

Moreover, Chen Xueru and her daughter Xu Jingli have already become godparents, so Xu Huizhen naturally hopes that Chen Xueru will be present and witness such an important and meaningful event as the reopening of the tavern.

"Today, our little tavern is reopening, and we hope you'll all come and support us."

"Everyone must be wondering why I, a woman, would run a tavern?"

"To be honest, I, Xu Huizhen, like to be reasonable in everything I do, and I like to take things seriously. I don't cheat, lie, or deceive people."

“From this day forward, if the wine in my little tavern is watered down, you all can smash this wine vat without saying a word.”

"Those who come in later to support us will each get a small glass of liquor for free, so everyone can taste what real local spirits are like..."

"..."

As Xu Huizhen finished her opening remarks, Li Hongbing, who was standing next to her, helped to light the firecrackers that had been prepared in advance. Amidst the crackling of the firecrackers and the cheers of the onlookers, the tavern officially opened for business.

Have to admit.

In this day and age, Xu Huizhen has a very strong business sense; she has mastered this opening marketing tactic.

Previously, due to family matters, the bar was forced to close for nearly a month, which definitely affected customer traffic and popularity.

Of course.

Those long-time customers will still come, but while retaining existing customers, it's also necessary to attract new ones to keep the tavern's business thriving.

The key is.

After the tavern reopened, Xu Huizhen clearly had no intention of selling watered-down liquor anymore.

On the one hand, she didn't have Old Man He's skill in mixing liquor.

on the other hand.

It is also the most important.

Xu Huizhen felt that selling counterfeit alcohol was unethical and had no intention of engaging in such opportunistic behavior.

Even before, the regular customers of the tavern knew that Old Man He was diluting the wine with water, and they accepted that he was doing so.

Because Old Man He was skilled at blending, even when the wine was diluted with water, the taste was still good, and the price was cheaper than other taverns.

Now that the business strategy has changed, Xu Huizhen naturally wants to spread the word and use this as a brand to rebuild the tavern's reputation and word-of-mouth.

This also provides an opportunity for the tavern's regular customers to quickly learn about its reopening.

Get more in one fell swoop.

Hearing that the tavern was giving away a small bottle of wine for free, people who were just there to watch the fun or were just passing by immediately perked up and rushed inside.

Some of these people will become repeat customers. Even if they only come once, drink a free drink, and never come back, it's still like they've spent money on advertising, so they won't lose much.

After a while.

The tavern was packed with guests.

Li Hongbing, who had originally intended to go in and show his support, told Xu Huizhen and then went back to the silk shop with Chen Xueru.

When evening came and the tavern was less crowded, Li Hongbing and Chen Xueru came back again.

Although there weren't as many people as when it first opened, the tavern still had quite a few customers, since this was the peak time in the evening.

Naturally, some familiar faces from the tavern have also appeared here.

"Sister Xue Ru, Hong Bing, you've arrived?"

Xu Huizhen, who was chatting with customers at the counter, saw Li Hongbing and Chen Xueru enter and quickly came out from behind the counter to greet them.

"Manager Xu, you're being a bit unfair."

Seeing Xu Huizhen's actions, a regular customer in the tavern joked, "You're so enthusiastic now that Manager Chen has arrived. You weren't like this when we came in earlier."

Hearing what the other party said, Xu Huizhen didn't stand on ceremony and replied directly, "How can that be the same? Sister Xueru is my good sister. Today is the reopening of my tavern, and the two of them came to support me. I can't be rude."

After saying this, Xu Huizhen tried to find seats for Chen Xueru and Li Hongbing.

Upon closer inspection, Xu Huizhen realized that there were no empty tables left in the tavern.

"Let's set up a table!"

Li Hongbing, who had also noticed the situation, spoke up and led Chen Xueru to the table where Uncle Niu and Uncle Pian'er were sitting, asking, "Gentlemen, would you mind joining us?"

"No problem at all." Seeing this, Uncle Niu immediately expressed his goodwill and said, "Welcome."

Pian'er Ye chimed in, "I'm glad you and Manager Chen don't mind."

Seeing that Li Hongbing and Chen Xueru had found their own seats, Xu Hui breathed a sigh of relief and quickly asked, "Sister Xueru, Hongbing, what would you like?"

"Give me two ounces of liquor, and a cold beef salad and some sausage."

Upon discovering that Master Niu and Master Pian'er had already ordered a plate of peanuts and the tavern's specialty pickled vegetables, and seeing that Chen Xueru was looking at him, clearly indicating that she wanted him to make the decision, Li Hongbing spoke up.

Chen Xueru rarely drank alcohol before, and her alcohol tolerance was not high. However, during the period when her father passed away, Chen Xueru was not in a good state and always needed to drink some alcohol at night to fall asleep. Later, she would occasionally have a drink with Li Hongbing, and gradually she built up her alcohol tolerance.

As Xu Huizhen prepared the side dishes and wine, Chen Xueru looked at Uncle Niu and Uncle Pian at the same table and couldn't help but proudly introduce them: "Uncle Niu, Uncle Pian, this is my husband, Li Hongbing. You two were discussing this last time, and now you've met him in person, haven't you?"

"So you are Master Li. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Upon hearing Chen Xueru's words, Master Niu immediately cupped his hands and said politely to Li Hongbing, "I have long heard of your great name, but it is a pity that I have never had the opportunity to meet you. You are truly a young talent!"

“Master Li, I have long admired you. Meeting you today, I can say that you are even more impressive than I have heard of you.”

As soon as Pian'erye uttered those words, everyone else in the tavern turned to look at him, focusing their attention on Li Hongbing.

Although Li Hongbing was young, while Niu Ye and Pian'er Ye were at least a generation older than him, they showed him great respect and courtesy, even addressing him as Master Li.

As the head chef of Fengzeyuan's kitchen, Li Hongbing, despite his relatively young age and lack of experience, is already qualified to be called a master chef.

Obvious.

This is Niu Ye and Pian'er Ye's recognition of Li Hongbing's skills and status.

The tavern has a large and diverse clientele, and it's also one of the most well-informed places. Some time ago, Li Hongbing was promoted to senior cook and became the head chef of Fengzeyuan's kitchen at a young age, making him quite famous.

Some past events, such as saving Lou Bancheng's daughter by the moat, and his "graduation" in a few months and two suicides within a year, have all been dug up again and turned into a series of gossip and interesting stories.

As regulars at the tavern, Uncle Niu and Uncle Pian'er had heard and discussed these things quite a bit.

The news of Li Hongbing and Chen Xueru's wedding on New Year's Day, in particular, attracted some attention on this street.

When Li Hongbing and Chen Xueru came in from outside, Niu Ye and Pian'er Ye had already guessed his identity from their intimate behavior.

Hearing their praise and admiration for Li Hongbing, Chen Xueru's vanity was greatly satisfied. At the same time, she introduced Li Hongbing, "Hongbing, this is Master Niu, and this is Master Pian'er. They are both regular customers of the tavern. My father had some connections with you two when he was alive."

After all, they lived on the same street. When Chen's father was alive, he was a regular at the tavern and would often ask Chen Xueru to come and buy him some wine. So Chen Xueru was no stranger to these old customers.

Moreover, some of the tavern's regular customers were also regular customers of their silk shop, such as Master Niu, whose family was well-off.

"Uncle Niu, Uncle Pian, hello to you both."

Upon hearing this, Li Hongbing took the opportunity to greet him.

Talk about it.

Including the time he came when the bar opened, this is Li Hongbing's first two visits to the tavern, so he didn't know Master Niu and Master Pian'er before.

The silk shop and the tavern were close by. If Li Hongbing wanted to drink with Chen Xueru, he would usually go to the silk shop after get off work in the evening, rather than come here. He had almost no contact with the people in the shop.

However, Li Hongbing was no stranger to these people.

Pian'erye was a regular at the tavern. Every time he came to drink, he would order two ounces of liquor. Although he was poor, he had ambition.

only.

Pian'erye isn't really poor; his ancestors were once wealthy, but their fortunes declined. Now, they've left him a large courtyard house as ancestral property.

You would be wrong to underestimate him.

Having assets does not necessarily mean you are financially well-off.

The old man didn't have a formal job. He would usually pull a shadow puppet show on Qianmen Street or in the alleys, telling history and storytelling stories to the children in the alleys, earning a few cents to cover his expenses.

As for Master Niu.

It is said that the other party's ancestors were Manchus, so in his daily speech and actions, he maintained some typical Manchu customs, had his own so-called "rules", and always put one side of things, liking to respect and treat everyone according to his rules.

But that's not the point.

The key point is that Master Niu has a wide network of connections and, compared to ordinary people, possesses considerable knowledge and has a certain level of influence among all walks of life.

"Master Li, haven't we met before?"

As Xu Huizhen brought out the wine and side dishes, Pian'erye looked at Li Hongbing and couldn't help but ask a question.

Yes, I have seen him.

Upon hearing this, Li Hongbing nodded directly and said, "Uncle Pian'er, I happened to pass by when you were performing shadow puppet shows on the street before. Sometimes I would see you telling stories and reciting verses to children and hear you sing a few lines. You probably noticed me back then, so you have some impression of me, but we didn't know each other before."

Because of Chen Xueru, Li Hongbing often went to this area. In addition, Fengzeyuan was in this area, and the old man often played shadow puppets and told stories on the street. It was only natural that Li Hongbing would run into him, but he did not take the initiative to get close to him.

Although Pian'erye was a character in the tavern, he had no connection with Li Hongbing, so Li Hongbing would not treat him specially because of that.

"I was wondering why I couldn't remember. Turns out we've actually met before, and we almost became acquainted. What a coincidence!"

Upon discovering this "connection," Pian'er Ye couldn't help but get excited and said with a smile.

Seeing Pian'er trying to curry favor and flatter himself, Niu Ye, who was sitting at the same table, shook his head helplessly.

"Master Li, I have a question I'd like to ask you. From the time you first joined Fengzeyuan until now, it only took you three years to go from an apprentice to a head chef. How did you manage to do that?"

As soon as Niu Ye finished speaking, the previously noisy tavern fell silent instantly. Everyone present stopped what they were doing and wanted to hear Li Hongbing's response.

Not only Master Niu, but many of them were curious about this matter.

Now, Li Hongbing, as Guo Youzhong's last disciple, is a well-known figure in this area and among the chefs of Beijing.

His experiences and growth over the past three years have been shrouded in legend and mystery, making them a topic of much discussion.

"It's nothing. Just be diligent, listen more, observe more, and think more. The main reason I've made such rapid progress is because my master taught me so diligently..."

Li Hongbing naturally didn't say anything groundbreaking. Despite being considered exceptionally talented by many, he gave such a plain and unremarkable answer, which disappointed many people.

However, no one thought that Li Hongbing was incompetent; they just thought he was being modest.

Faced with Li Hongbing's action, Uncle Niu didn't say anything, but he nodded secretly, admiring him in his heart.

At such a young age, Li Hongbing has achieved almost impossible success, yet he remains so calm and humble, without a trace of arrogance or complacency. He truly deserves to be called a worthy student of a renowned teacher.

(End of this chapter)