The First Military God of the Border

Shiweitian Restaurant.

There are no customers today. Where did the customers go?

Qiu Mingyuan and his constables drove them all out.

At this moment, Qiu Mingyuan was sitting in the lobby on the first floor of Shiweitian, enjoying a cup of Thirty Mile Red wine.

He couldn't help but exclaim, "It really is fine wine!"

Next to Qiu Mingyuan sat Hu Ning, who was heavily pregnant. Hu Ning stared at Song Qingyan with a wicked smile on his face.

"Boss Song, Lord Qiu came here this time for no other reason than to ask if your Shiweitian Restaurant has paid enough taxes."

Song Qingyan knew that it was Hu Ning who had found Qiu Mingyuan, and his purpose was very clear: to bring down Shiweitian.

However, she remained calm at this moment, because if they were to cause trouble through taxes, she would have no problem making a living.

"Lord Qiu, you are wise. We at Shiweitian have always been honest businessmen. We have never been short of a single tael of silver in the poll tax that we have to pay to the government for our employees."

Since Qiu Mingyuan had come, he must have come prepared. He chuckled and said, "Boss Song, the head tax is no problem, but I heard that the restaurant has just launched a new wine, and the tax rate is different from the old one."

Song Qingyan was taken aback.

He quickly realized, "How could this be different? I remember the government regulations were very clear. I paid according to the requirements and paid the whole year's amount at once. If you have any questions, you can check the account books."

Qiu Mingyuan calmly opened the account book he carried with him, nodded and said, "There is indeed no problem."

"But Boss Song, someone almost died after drinking your wine. Their family has already filed a complaint with the county government. The magistrate has asked me to investigate what happened."

"This is a huge joke. Every day, there are at least 80 to 100 customers who come to my Shiweitian restaurant, and so many of them are fine. How come only one of them has a problem? I'm afraid he just ate something bad and is blaming Shiweitian."

Qiu Mingyuan's face suddenly darkened.

"Boss Song, are you implying that I've framed you?"

"Look at Boss Hu. He not only pays taxes on time and in full, but also helps the people. He is a role model for business in Linjiang County."

Song Qingyan almost burst out laughing, but she held it in.

He thought to himself, "So what if they give you a lot of money?"

Despite Qiu Mingyuan's aggressive questioning, Song Qingyan remained calm.

Because at the same time Qiu Mingyuan arrived, she sent her maid Xiaowan on a fast horse to find Lin Hui.

Lin Hui had received assurances from the county magistrate, so as long as Lin Hui came, today's matter could be resolved.

Song Qingyan asked directly, "Lord Qiu, please tell me, what should Shiweitian do to overcome this difficulty?"

Qiu Mingyuan didn't speak, but looked at Hu Ning beside him: "Boss Hu, your business is running smoothly, can you tell Boss Song about the ins and outs of this?"

Hu Ning chuckled to himself, thinking that money really does make a difference. These three hundred taels of silver were well spent. If he said so, then Shiweitian would have to close down.

"Lord Qiu, I think we should close down Shiweitian and sort out the business properly. Of course, to avoid affecting Shiweitian's business, Boss Song can temporarily switch his liquor to Shuangji. We can cooperate and make money together, so why not?"

Qiu Mingyuan nodded in satisfaction.

Upon hearing this, Song Qingyan immediately understood the purpose of the two men.

They colluded, their eyes still set on the Thirty Mile Red.

"Boss Hu, Lord Qiu just said that someone almost died after drinking my Shiweitian wine. They've already taken it to the county government. Do you still dare to order Shiweitian wine?"

Hu Ning chuckled: "Boss Song, you don't know this, but our Shuangji brewing master is the best in the entire Linjiang County. As long as you hand over the secret recipe, and my Shuangji brewing master makes some improvements, wouldn't that solve the problem?"

Song Qingyan retorted directly, "Hu Ning, don't even think about it. You'll only get the brewing secret recipe if I, Song Qingyan, am dead."

"Lord Qiu, look at me, I'm doing all this for Boss Song's own good, why is she not only ungrateful but also cursing at me?"

Hu Ning pretended to be very innocent.

Song Qingyan tried her best to stay calm, but she just couldn't calm down when she saw Hu Ning's smug face.

"Hu Ning, don't think I don't know your tricks. You think you can force me to give in? You're not going to do it."

Turning to Qiu Mingyuan, he asked, "Lord Qiu, do you mean we absolutely must shut down Shiweitian Restaurant?"

Qiu Mingyuan said, "Boss Song, don't misunderstand. We're not shutting down your shop. We're just investigating whether there's a problem with your wine. If we confirm there's no problem, we'll definitely let you continue doing business."

"Whoever dares to ask, how long will the investigation take?"

"I don't know about that. If things go smoothly, it could take three to five days. But if the problem is serious, it could take a year or two. After all, the county government has limited manpower, and they can't all be tied up here, can they?"

Hu Ning interjected, "Boss Song, I'm doing this for your own good. How about this: if you're worried about giving me the recipe, you can move it directly to my Shuangji restaurant. I'll have someone prepare a nice, quiet room for you in the backyard. That way, you can supervise our chefs to make improvements, and you won't have anything to worry about, right?"

"Pah, Hu Ning, let me tell you, even if I quit this shop, I won't let you get away with this."

Hu Ning's face darkened: "Boss Song, since you're so ungrateful, I can't save you. Good luck to you."

In fact, Song Qingyan was also worried that if the store really closed down, even if it reopened in the future, the number of customers would definitely not be as good as it is now.

Lin Hui, come quick, hurry up...

Just as Song Qingyan was extremely anxious, her nephew, who was guarding the door, suddenly ran in to report:

"Lord Qiu, someone has arrived outside."

Qiu Mingyuan frowned. Who is it?

Could it be that Song Qingyan has someone backing her up?

"Who is it? Tell him that something major has happened at Shiweitian Restaurant, and the government is investigating. Go somewhere else to drink."

An Shirong hesitated and said, "Sir, you may need to see the person who came. He said he must see you."

Qiu Mingyuan scoffed, "I'm handling a case. Do you think I can just see any Tom, Dick, or Harry?"

"Lord Qiu, what a grand display of official power! Since you are unwilling to see me, I have no choice but to come myself."

Lin Hui slowly entered through the main entrance of Shiweitian Restaurant, accompanied by Song Qingyan's personal maid, Xiao Wan.

Upon seeing Lin Hui, Hu Ning sneered, "Who do we have here? It's just you, you pretty boy. How dare you speak to Lord Qiu like that? Guards, throw him out!"

But to Hu Ning's surprise, Qiu Mingyuan not only didn't appreciate his kindness, but instead turned to Hechi and said, "Shut up."

Although Qiu Mingyuan didn't know Lin Hui's true identity, he knew that someone who could spend several hours in the county magistrate's study, drinking and chatting, was someone he absolutely couldn't afford to offend.

Since Ma Dayuan took office as the magistrate of Linjiang County, only two people have been allowed to enter his study: his trusted maid and his military advisor Wang Ping. Lin Hui is the third.

If he offends someone like that, will he still be able to stay in Linjiang County?

"Lord Qiu, he's just a small-time hunter, nothing special."

But at this moment, Qiu Mingyuan had already personally gotten up to greet him.

Seeing this, Hu Ning was dumbfounded. A dignified county official was behaving so humbly in front of a hunter.

Hu Ning stared wide-eyed, unable to understand.