Chapter 1
Prologue
If one were to ask about the most famous restaurant in the capital city of Dongyan, nine out of ten people would say it is the Hua Ji Restaurants.
Actually, Hua Ji Restaurant is an old shop but these recent ten years, after the only child and daughter of the Hua Family, Hua Ming Zi had taken over the business, all the Hua Ji Restaurant businesses flourished. Each and every restaurant had its own special menus and the old customers not only frequently return but when a new branch of the restaurant opens for business, everyone would make sure to patronize the new restaurant with their friends and relatives.
And for this very reason, the Family Head of the Ying Family, Ying Yang Long had especially insisted on patronizing the new restaurant soon after his return to the city. As the owner of the Ying Medical Halls that trade in medicines, he had just completed the task of delivering medicines to his customers. Although the Ying Medical Halls had no related connections with the restaurants, overall the ways and methods of conducting business were quite similar. There was nothing wrong with learning a bit more about business.
"Dangjia*, when are we leaving?"
(Dangjia is the title of a Family Head.)
Steward Zhu poured a cup of tea for Ying Yan Long. Before Ying Yan Long could reply, his younger brother, Ying Xue Wen who was sitting beside him turned his head around with wide eyes and said. "Why do we have to leave so soon? I only just drank a cup of tea and I haven't enjoyed enough of the songs* yet."
(In the olden days, there were people who sing in restaurants for money given by customers in appreciation. The singers would travel from place to place to make a living and the restaurants let them sing in their premises to attract more customers. They usually work in pairs and the singer who is normally a girl would be accompanied by her father or teacher who plays a musical instrument such as the pipa or the erhu.)
"Let us have one more cup of tea before we leave."
Ying Yan Long said lightly and pretended to unintentionally look in the direction about twenty-steps away from where he was sitting. However, very quickly he withdrew his gaze and continued to look around the restaurant.
The Hua Ji Restaurants truly lived up to its famous name. In all their ten-plus restaurants, each restaurant's dishes were exquisite, their staff's service was warm and cordial and the only difference was that the quality of the dishes varied and of course, the prices also varied accordingly.
For example, in this new Hua Ji Restaurant in the city which he was patronizing today, a dish of 'Clearwater Lotus' would have cost an ordinary family's ten days' worth of food expenses. So the quality of attentive service from the staff in the restaurant was naturally extraordinary. From the floral bowls for washing hands to the fine quality green tea served, everything greatly emphasized that the cool spring water used was from Qingcheng Mountain Villa. The brocade covered cushion seats on the chairs, the pictures of different flowers and birds on the walls and the music played by the ladies created an atmosphere that other ordinary restaurants were unable to match.
The only imperfection was that a commotion had started twenty steps away from him at this moment.
Ying Yan Long lifted his head and looked in that direction.
A man wearing a purple-gold embroidered robe was continuously harassing and approaching a woman whose face was covered by a tulle veil.
Ying Yan Long was actually waiting to see what would happen next. The woman whose face was covered with a tulle veil was obviously the Head of Hua Ji Restaurant, Hua Ming Ji. He wondered how she would normally deal with the city's infamous lecher, Luo Ji Cai when they meet.
