frightfiction Chapter 134: Continuation
Chapter 134: Continuation
Chapter 134: Continuation
The people who came were of varying quality, so to ensure fairness, ten jars of wine were placed in front of each person. Before Ji Meiqing gave any order, everyone was eager to try their luck.
Lu Yu sat down next to Ji Meiqing. She gestured to the shopkeeper, who immediately understood. The scene became quite lively, with many people crowding around them.
At the butler's command, everyone began to drink heartily. Looking at the crowded scene around them, Lu Yu naturally pulled her into his arms.
Ji Meiqing shifted, finding a comfortable position to lean back. When the sealing cloth was opened, the air was filled with the aroma of wine, and everyone was slightly tipsy.
The wine is aged and made by Lu Yu. Many of these wines are indeed Lu Yu's creations.
The shopkeeper smelled the aroma of the wine and perked up, immediately announcing loudly, "Today's competition uses aged Nu'er Hong wine. You're in for a treat!"
Upon hearing this, those people drank even more enthusiastically. Ji Meiqing looked at the group and couldn't help but laugh, "Their alcohol tolerance is quite good... They've gone down five or six jars, and they haven't passed out yet."
"The aftereffects of this wine haven't kicked in yet." He smiled, but his eyes inadvertently glanced at the hourglass over there.
When they reached the halfway point, those people began to collapse. No one survived, which was rather regrettable.
Just as she was about to stand up and say something, she heard an old man squeeze out of the crowd. He had a messy beard and hair. Ji Meiqing glanced at him, and the shopkeeper also stepped forward, seemingly mistaking him for a beggar and wanting to kick him out.
"Wait a minute." Ji Meiqing stopped him, and walked up to the beggar, smiling, "Are you going to participate in the competition?"
"Let me give it a try. What, it's not working?" He raised his head slightly, his breath reeking of alcohol. She frowned slightly, but still smiled and stepped aside. The people on the platform had already been cleared out.
Ji Meiqing returned to Lu Yu's side. The table was clean. She immediately knelt down and rested her chin on her arm.
Amidst the chaos around her, she stood out remarkably quietly. Lu Yu chuckled, "Are you worried the money will just fly away?"
"No." She shook her head, blinked slowly, but her gaze remained fixed on that spot. Then she looked at Lu Yu and smiled, "I'm not too worried. This money is meant to be spent anyway. Besides, if it can improve the business here, then the three hundred taels will be worth it."
“That man is clearly a wine connoisseur at first glance, so your efforts have been worthwhile.”
Ji Meiqing looked at him, "You found out too?"
"He knew when he came out." He smiled knowingly. Aside from years of drinking, most people wouldn't have that kind of complexion. Although his eyes were bright, they also had a blurry quality that was hard to see through.
She looked at the person on the platform again. Wine jars were everywhere. He sat on the ground, finished drinking from one jar and threw it on the ground, then casually picked up another jar next to him.
She yawned, a little bored, and then closed her eyes. The surrounding noise had absolutely no effect on her.
No one knew how long he had been drinking. The shopkeeper secretly ran over to report to Ji Meiqing, but was interrupted by Lu Yu.
"what's up."
"We're out of wine." He gave an awkward laugh, seemingly embarrassed. Lu Yu looked at the person on the table; he remained unchanged, as if he had never drunk any wine.
Lu Yu asked without changing his expression, "How much did he drink?"
"Around twenty..." He couldn't remember clearly either.
"Then let's declare it over." He got up and walked forward, helping Ji Meiqing to sit down in an open space.
The shopkeeper looked at him in surprise, then followed him and, as Lu Yu had instructed, announced the end of the meeting. He also gave him the three hundred taels of silver.
When Ji Mei regained consciousness, she realized that everything was over. She glanced around, got up from her chair, and slowly squeezed into the crowd.
Fortunately, no one had left yet. She went to the shopkeeper and said a few words, and the shopkeeper looked at her. Ji Meiqing straightened her expression, "Aren't you going?"
"Go, go." He quickly led a few people to the back.
Ji Meiqing went to Lu Yu's side again. When he saw that she had woken up, he asked softly, "Is there anything that's bothering you?"
“No.” She smiled, then looked at the old man. “As the victor today, I’d like to have a job. I wonder if you would be willing.”
"I won't be a waiter or a manager; I can't do accounting," he said directly.
Ji Meiqing smiled as the wine was brought over. She took the jar of wine; the seal hadn't been opened, but even so, the faint aroma of the wine lingered around the two of them.
The old man's eyes lit up, and he stared intently at the jar.
Ji Meiqing explained, "This is a special brew. I hadn't originally planned to bring it out, but seeing your extraordinary nature, I'll give it to you as a prize as well. There are three jars in total."
Without a second thought, he took it, sniffed it greedily, and finally couldn't resist peeling it off.
The irresistible aroma quickly overwhelmed the crowd, and after the event ended, the crowd became noisy again.
The waiters in the building all rushed over and surrounded the people, which prevented them from rioting.
She turned around, looked around, and said loudly, "Special brew is not for sale. I'm sorry, this is not for sale."
"I would like to hire you as our restaurant's wine taster," she said sincerely again. Fearing he might disagree, she added, "We will send you samples of every new wine we develop each month, as well as three jars of our special wine. I wonder if you would be willing?"
The fact that one could earn money by drinking alcohol every month astonished the locals; they had never imagined such a job existed.
Lu Yu knew what she was thinking, so he stepped forward and said, "I also love to drink. If you come here, you can drink every day."
"This job isn't bad, was it specially opened for me?"
“Yes.” She chuckled twice. “Because the quality of wine on the market varies greatly, this profession is necessary. If you can come, it would be my good fortune, and a good fortune for this restaurant.”
“Since that’s the case, then I agree. As for the three jars of wine and the silver…” He thought for a moment, then suddenly realized that he had no place to stay. Ji Meiqing immediately spoke up, “We can provide lodging.”
"That's good, that's great!" He laughed twice, and Lu Yu had the butler take him to a private room upstairs to wait.
The rest was simple. After cleaning up the place, the restaurant returned to its original state, and Ji Meiqing went upstairs with him.
The old man was still waiting upstairs. When they came in, he only glanced at them before turning his gaze back to the window.