Xu Yutang wanted to go out alone with Shen Baozhu, but Shen Baozhu wanted her to invite Yuan Qingxi to dinner. The reason was simple: she wanted to pay off her debts as soon as possible.
The Dragon King: [That's right! We must invite Yuan Qingxi to dinner.]
Lin Yu mercilessly exposed the Dragon King's true intention: [The Dragon King just wants to watch the drama, right?]
Hearing Shen Baozhu's words, Xu Yutang reluctantly agreed, "But I want to go out and play alone with Baozhu..."
"Then Baozhu will accompany Sister Yutang to play alone tomorrow, okay?" Shen Baozhu coaxed Xu Yutang until she beamed with joy.
Suddenly, Yan Mingli spoke up, "Yutang, do you know Yuan Qingxi's address?"
Xu Yutang was stunned for a moment, then ran into the house and took out a note, "No, but he wrote me a note."
Yan Mingli told Xu Yutang and Shen Baozhu to go and freshen up, while he took the note to inform Yuan Qingxi.
Following the address on the note, Yan Mingli found the place. It was a small house in a remote alley. Although it was not big, it was enough for one person to live in.
The servant stepped forward and knocked on the door. A woman opened it.
The woman was wearing patched clothes. She grinned and said, "You're here to find Young Master Yuan. He rented this house to us. Go straight ahead and count to the seventh house. He's living there now."
Yan Mingli looked ahead and saw a row of small brick houses. The houses were very small, only suitable for one person, but the rent was very cheap.
Compared with the single - family house with a yard, the small house was much cheaper.
Thinking of the scene when he first met Xu Yutang and Yuan Qingxi, Yan Mingli raised his eyebrows. He guessed that Yuan Qingxi had rented out the house to save money and moved into the cheaper small house.
Not bad. He was much better than Chen Liang, who was eyeing Xu Yutang's dowry.
Yan Mingli and the servant counted seven houses and knocked on the door for a long time, but there was no response.
A small head popped out from the next - door house, "Are you the young master's friend? He went to the bookstore to copy books and hasn't come back yet."
Yan Mingli suddenly realized that Yuan Qingxi had gone to copy books to earn money and hadn't returned yet.
He was much better than Chen Liang! At least he knew how to earn money!
Finally, Yan Mingli found Yuan Qingxi copying books in a bookstore.
Yuan Qingxi was wearing a moon - white long robe and concentrating on copying books. The bookstore happened to be on Wangyang Road. Yan Mingli asked the bookstore owner and learned that Yuan Qingxi had good calligraphy. In his spare time, he visited famous scholars. He was a diligent and hard - working person.
The bookstore owner said proudly, "He has academic achievements. The reason he copies books here is also to study conveniently. No other bookstore has as many books as mine!"
Yan Mingli's impression of Yuan Qingxi got even better. He stepped forward and shouted, "Young Master Yuan, I'm here to find you on business."
Hearing that Xu Yutang wanted to invite him to dinner, Yuan Qingxi was first delighted, then a little worried. He didn't have much money now and was afraid of making a fool of himself.
Yan Mingli, who saw through Yuan Qingxi's thoughts, was even more satisfied. He was ten thousand times better than Chen Liang!
Yan Mingli comforted him, "Last time you invited Yutang to dinner. Yutang wants to return the favor. It doesn't matter what we eat. The important thing is to eat with you."
This was a very clever thing to say, and it made Yuan Qingxi extremely happy. He happily went back to change into nice clothes.
The twists and turns in the middle took a lot of time. When Yan Mingli brought Yuan Qingxi to Zuiyin Tower, Xu Yutang and Shen Baozhu had already arrived and were waiting in the first - floor lobby.
Shen Baozhu was wearing a bright yellow dress and had two small yellow flowers in her hair. She was swinging her short legs and chatting with Xu Yutang.
When Chen Liang was mentioned accidentally, Xu Yutang said expectantly, "When I marry Chen Liang, I'll move into that two - courtyard mansion. Then I'll bring Xiaotao to the capital. That will be great!"
After knowing that Chen Liang was a bad guy, Shen Baozhu didn't like him, "Do you really have to marry Chen Liang? Sister Yutang likes that mansion. You can just move in. You don't have to wait until you get married."
Xu Yutang plucked up her courage and rubbed Shen Baozhu's little face, "Baozhu is still young. You don't understand. That's the dowry. I can only get it when I get married."
"Anyway, it won't be long. My wedding date with Chen Liang won't be too late."
Lin Yu: [You can only get it after getting married? That's strange.]
Shen Baozhu also thought it was strange. She said pityingly, "You still have to wait until you get married? That will be a long time..."
The Dragon King: [This is so frustrating. I'll buy a mansion with gold and let Xu Yutang move in!]
Buy a mansion with gold...
Shen Baozhu grabbed Xu Yutang's arm, "Baozhu has a lot of gold. I can buy a big mansion for Sister Yutang!"
This sounded like a child's joke, but Xu Yutang remembered the gold that Shen Baozhu had casually taken out. Just as she was about to refuse, Yan Mingli brought Yuan Qingxi in. She had to swallow her words.
As the owner of Zuiyin Tower, Yan Mingli had a regular private room. He wanted Xu Yutang to invite Yuan Qingxi to dinner in the private room, but Xu Yutang refused. The reason was simple.
Xu Yutang thought the private - room fee was too expensive. There was no need to waste money on a private room. This thrifty and house - keeping approach made Yan Mingli highly approve.
He brought Yuan Qingxi to the table and sat down too. This was what they had discussed before.
At this time, the four people at the table each occupied one side.
The waiter came up enthusiastically to ask for their order. Just as Xu Yutang was about to order, Yan Mingli interrupted her, "Yutang has just come to the capital. She doesn't know which dishes are delicious. I'll order."
Yan Mingli ordered dozens of dishes in a row. He justified himself, "Since we're hosting a meal, we should order the signature dishes, right? How can there be only dishes and no soup? It's not enough to have only meat dishes. Let's order a few vegetarian dishes. Baozhu likes sweet food. We should also order sweet soup... It's an odd number? Good things come in pairs. Let's order one more."
Before all the dishes were served, the table was already full.
The waiter brought up the sweet soup and had nowhere to put it, "Oh, there's no space. Where should I put the sweet soup?"
Xu Yutang had never encountered such a situation before. She rubbed the handkerchief in her hand, a little panicked and helpless, "What should we do? Remove a few dishes?"
"How can we remove the dishes that have already been ordered? The sweet soup is what Baozhu likes to drink. We can't remove it." Yan Mingli spotted a table next to them, picked up Shen Baozhu and sat down there.
The waiter was also smart. He not only put the sweet soup on the table but also brought over a sweet dish.
Shen Baozhu looked at Xu Yutang, then at the dishes, all of which were her favorites. She hesitated for a moment, then happily shouted to Xu Yutang, "Sister Yutang, the table is too small. Baozhu and Brother Mingli will eat here."
Xu Yutang almost rubbed the handkerchief in her hand to pieces. She thought that she might as well have gone to the private room.
After achieving his goal, Yan Mingli served Shen Baozhu some dishes and emphasized again, "Baozhu can only eat the dishes I've served for you. Don't eat too much."
Shen Baozhu didn't say a word and concentrated on eating. Yan Mingli was so naive. As long as she ate fast enough, he would serve her more dishes.
And indeed, Yan Mingli served Shen Baozhu a piece of sparerib meat. When he lowered his head to change chopsticks, he saw that Shen Baozhu's bowl was empty.
He frowned and asked, "Strange... Didn't I just serve you a piece of sparerib?"
With a sparerib in her mouth, Shen Baozhu shook her head desperately. Yan Mingli had no choice but to serve another piece.
Just as Shen Baozhu finished eating the sparerib and was about to take advantage of Yan Mingli lowering his head to spit out the bone, a figure suddenly sat down.
"I'm going to get rich!"
Chen Liang rubbed his hands and stared fixedly at the people next to him. He could hardly hide his excitement and repeated, "See that beautiful girl? She's my fiancée! She's really capable. She hooked up with a scholar."
"The scholar should be able to earn a lot of money, right? The scholar will give the money to Xu Yutang, and Xu Yutang will give it to me. I'm going to get rich!"
Shen Baozhu's eyes widened. He actually wanted to use Sister Yutang to make money. She angrily spat out the bone, "Sister Yutang will never give you the money!"
Yan Mingli also frowned because of Chen Liang's words. He couldn't understand, "Is that all you have to say? She's your fiancée."
"What else?" Chen Liang drooled looking at the delicious food on the table. He was very familiar and picked up a piece of meat with his hand. While eating, he said, "Fiancée? She's just a money - bag. If she can get together with a rich man, I'd even be willing to guard the door for them outside."
Chen Liang also winked at Yan Mingli, "Boss, we're birds of a feather. Why do you have to pretend like this? You're a regular customer at Nanfeng Hall."
The Dragon King: [Birds of a feather? Is Yan Mingli the same kind of person as Chen Liang?]
Lin Yu: [Mingli likes men? Then what about Miaochun?]
Lin Yu: [If he likes men, why is he engaged to Miaochun?]