Under One Person: The Taoist Priest Descends the Mountain

Liu Yuping leaned forward and patted the back of the driver's seat: "Xiao Cheng, who else is in your family?"

Cheng Mo gripped the steering wheel, his eyes fixed on the road ahead: "I was raised by my master, who is the abbot of the Liangyi Temple."

Liu Yuping nodded. She had heard Xia He mention this before; Cheng Mo's Taoist temple didn't have any taboos regarding marriage. "Oh, are there many people in your temple?"

Cheng Mo said, "Not many, just my master, me, and two junior sisters."

Xia He turned her head and added with a grin, "Mom, Master is amazing, he's the vice president of the National Taoist Association, and those two junior sisters are both incredibly clever."

Liu Yuping patted her daughter's shoulder with a smile: "You talk too much."

She then asked Cheng Mo, "What do you usually do?"

Cheng Mo said, "Practice martial arts, cook, and take care of Master."

Xia He immediately chimed in, "Mom, the little Taoist priest's cooking is delicious! Much better than what you get in restaurants."

Liu Yuping said with a smile, "It's good that you can cook, Xiaohe can't cook."

Xia He hummed.

Liu Yuping continued with a smile, "Xiao Cheng, how did you and Xiao He meet?"

Before Cheng Mo could speak, Xia He interrupted her mother: "Mom, stop checking the household registration."

"What do you mean by 'checking someone's household registration'?" Liu Yuping glared at her. "Can't I even show some concern?"

"Alright, alright." Xia He raised her hands in surrender. "We met in Fengtian. The young Taoist priest did me a big favor, and then we got together. That's all, report complete."

Liu Yuping looked at Cheng Mo.

Cheng Mo nodded: "That's right, Auntie."

Liu Yuping smiled with satisfaction: "Good, good, young people should spend more time together and get to know each other. Xiao Cheng, Xiao He has been spoiled by us since she was little, and her temper is sometimes a bit bad, so please bear with her."

"Mom!" Xia He protested.

"Don't worry, Auntie," Cheng Mo said earnestly, "Xiao He is fine."

Xia He blushed.

Old Xia felt a mix of emotions as he watched this scene.

My daughter really likes this guy.

Never mind, as long as my daughter likes it.

……

Old Xia gave directions, and the car drove to the entrance of a restaurant. It was decorated quite elegantly, with red lanterns hanging at the entrance.

After parking the car, a few people went inside.

Old Zhou booked a private room on the second floor, with a view of the Han River from the window.

When Cheng Mo and his group arrived, Lao Zhou was already waiting in the private room.

Upon seeing the person enter, Old Zhou immediately stood up, a smile plastered on his face.

"Brother Xia, sister-in-law, come, come, have a seat." His gaze fell on Xia He and Cheng Mo. "Is this your niece? She's so beautiful, just like your sister-in-law."

"This is my daughter, Xia He," Old Xia introduced, "and her boyfriend, Cheng Mo."

"Hey, Brother Xia, your daughter is really beautiful." Old Zhou smiled and extended his hand. "Hello, hello, my name is Zhou Dechang, and I'm a friend of Brother Xia."

Xia He smiled politely and said, "Hello, Uncle Zhou."

Old Zhou then looked at Cheng Mo: "And who is this?"

Xia He introduced, "This is my boyfriend, Cheng Mo."

Old Zhou extended his hand: "Hello, Mr. Cheng, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Hello, Manager Zhou."

Cheng Mo reached out and shook hands with him, clearly feeling the Qi aura emanating from Old Zhou.

Cheng Mo and Xia He exchanged a glance but said nothing.

Everyone took their seats.

Old Zhou instructed the waiter to serve the dishes and then personally poured tea for everyone.

"The fish at this restaurant is exceptionally good," Old Zhou said while pouring tea. "It's fresh fish from the Han River, caught just this morning, and steamed is the most authentic way to cook it. Their lotus root and pork rib soup is also excellent; it uses local nine-hole lotus roots, which are soft, sweet, and fragrant."

Old Xia laughed and said, "Old Zhou, your knowledge of food is deeper than that of antiques."

"Of course." Old Zhou put down the teapot. "The point of life is to eat and drink. I collect antiques to enjoy looking at them, and I study food to enjoy eating it. Both are things that bring joy."

Cheng Mo observed Lao Zhou without making a sound.

This guy speaks succinctly and is very enthusiastic towards everyone, but his enthusiasm is not off-putting; it's a skill he's honed through years of dealing with people.

The dishes were served one after another.

Steamed fish, lotus root and pork rib soup, stir-fried cured pork with watercress, steamed pork with rice flour, garlic spinach, and cold black fungus salad.

Old Zhou poured wine for Old Xia: "Brother Xia, this wine is from my hometown. It's made from pure grains and won't give you a headache."

Old Xia picked up his wine glass and smelled it: "It smells good."

The two clinked glasses.

Old Zhou poured some more for Cheng Mo: "Brother Cheng, want some?"

"Thank you, but I don't drink," Cheng Mo said.

"It's good that you don't drink." Old Zhou didn't insist and poured him a cup of tea. "I didn't drink when I was young either, but later, when I was in business and had more social engagements, I gradually started drinking. Actually, drinking is bad for your health, so it's best not to drink at all."

He picked up his glass and clinked it against Lao Xia's again.

After a few drinks, Old Zhou became more talkative.

As they chatted, the topic returned to antiques.

"Brother Xia, did you take that painting back and hang it up?"

"It's up, it's up," Old Xia said with a smile. "It's hanging in the living room, and I look at it for a while every day after dinner."

"That painting is indeed captivating." Old Zhou picked up a piece of fish and slowly removed the bones. "That's how landscape paintings are. At first glance, they look one way, but after looking at them for a while, they look another way. If you stare at them, you can see the painter's state of mind at the time."

He gestured as he spoke, "I acquired a few more later; you can come and see them when you're ready."

Old Xia became interested: "What era is it from?"

"There are paintings from the Ming Dynasty, paintings from the Qing Dynasty, and one from the Republic of China period. It was painted by Zhang Daqian's disciple and it's quite well done," Old Zhou said, his hands moving non-stop.

Old Xia asked curiously, "Zhang Daqian's disciple? Who's that?"

Old Zhou explained, "Her name is He Haixia. You may not have heard of her, but she paints very well. She has a solid foundation and her brushwork is skillful."

Old Xia said with great interest, "Then we should go and take a look."

The group ate and chatted, and Lao Zhou's words were so tactful that he kept Lao Xia entertained.

Liu Yuping chatted with Xia He about everyday things, asking Xia He how she was doing outside, whether she was eating well, and whether she was staying comfortably.

Xia He answered each question one by one, occasionally glancing at Cheng Mo.

Cheng Mo didn't talk much, he just ate his food and occasionally chimed in with a few words.

The meal took almost two hours.

After the party ended, Lao Zhou took his leave.

"Brother Xia, sister-in-law, niece, Mr. Cheng, I have to go now, I have some things to attend to."

Old Xia saw him to the door: "I'll come to the shop to find you another day."

Old Zhou smiled and said, "You're welcome anytime."

Cheng Mo and the others got into the car and headed back.

In the car, Xia He asked her father, "Dad, how did you meet this Uncle Zhou?"

Old Xia said, "I met him while strolling around Cultural Street. He's the manager of Xigu Pavilion, and he has a very pleasant voice."

"The Ancient Absorption Pavilion?"

Old Xia nodded: "Yes, you know about the Ancient Absorption Pavilion?"

Xia He nodded: "I've heard of it."

She glanced at Cheng Mo, who shook his head slightly, indicating that she shouldn't ask any more questions.

Old Xia didn't notice the exchange of glances between the two and continued, "Old Zhou is a really good guy. I hesitated for a moment about that painting last time, but he saved it for me without saying a word and even gave me a good discount."

Xia He asked, "How much?"

Old Xia said, "150,000."

Xia He's lips twitched, but she didn't say anything.

……

On the other side, Lao Zhou got into his car and drove out of the parking lot.

After driving two blocks, he pulled over, took out his phone, and dialed the number that sounded like a tiger.

"Brother Tiger."

"Um."

"Brother Tiger, I had dinner with Xia Weidong tonight. His daughter and boyfriend were there too."

Ru Hu paused for a moment: "Cheng Mo?"

"right."

Na Ruhu hung up the phone.

After receiving Chen Jinkui's call, he guessed that the old fox had asked him to take care of the shoe factory because of Cheng Mo. He just didn't know what the relationship was between the shoe factory and Cheng Mo before, but he had figured out the situation in the past few days.

The shoe factory owner's daughter is Xia He, and everyone in the supernatural world knows about Xia He's relationship with Cheng Mo.

In fact, if it were any of the other members of the Ten Elders, they would have guessed Chen Jinkui's plan immediately.

However, while Ru Hu was personally strong, his influence was only average, and he was even less aware of the internal workings of Na Du Tong.

He had only heard rumors about the series of events that happened at Xiangfan Nadutong, otherwise he would have already pieced together the clues.

However, there was one thing that Ruhu didn't quite understand—

What exactly is Chen Jinkui trying to achieve after going through all this trouble?

Is he preparing to curry favor with Cheng Mo?

is it necessary?

Remembering that Cheng Mo had connections with Quanxing, Ru Hu called Ding Shian, hoping to learn more about Cheng Mo from his friend.

Beep beep beep—Connection complete.

"Old Ding..."

After hanging up the phone, Ru Hu was quite excited; he was now very interested in Cheng Mo.

The interest in exchanging ideas and techniques.

Na Ruhu picked up his coat draped over the back of the chair: "Book tickets, to Xiangfan."