usatvline Chapter 75 Dilemma
Chapter 75 Dilemma
Zhang Tienan was slightly taken aback, then pounded his chest loudly, "What does a real man have to worry about not having a wife? Brother Liu underestimates me too much."
"What's on your mind that makes you look so worried?" Liu Shan pressed.
Zhang Tienan sighed and asked in return, "Will you drink or not? Give me a straight answer."
Seeing that Zhang Tienan was unwilling to explain, Liu Shan simply stopped asking and smiled lightly, saying, "What good wine could you possibly have? I happen to have half a jar of top-quality wine here. You can have it today, let's drink until we're both drunk."
Half a jar?
Zhang Tienan was taken aback, then laughed again: "Brother Liu, you're being too stingy, only serving half a jar of wine to your friend? You're underestimating me too much, aren't you?"
Liu Shan laughed and said, "I don't even need half a jar. If you can drink three cups without getting drunk, I'll treat you to the full service at Zuiyue Tower tonight."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Tienan's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise. Zuiyuelou was the top brothel in Cangzhou City. Although it hadn't been as popular as Louwailou in the past six months, it was still a den of iniquity, especially the full-service package, which couldn't be obtained without several hundred taels of silver.
A surge of excitement welled up inside him, and he slapped his thigh with a flourish: "Alright! You said it yourself, if I can hold my liquor for three cups, let's head to Drunken Moon Pavilion!"
Liu Shan smiled slightly and pulled Zhang Tienan toward the backyard of the Li residence.
The chef at the Li residence prepared two simple dishes to accompany the drinks, and the two sat at the table eating and chatting.
Soon, the winemaker carefully walked over, carrying half a jar of wine.
Zhang Tienan was taken aback when he saw this. "Is this wine really that precious?"
Liu Shan smiled faintly, "We'll know once we try."
He took the wine jar and slowly poured Zhang Tienan a full cup.
Zhang Tienan took the wine glass, took a deep sniff, his expression changed slightly, and then he raised the glass and drank it all in one gulp.
Almost instantly, Zhang Tienan's face turned bright red, as if a fire was burning inside him. His eyes lit up, and he exclaimed, "Fine wine! Truly a masterpiece!"
Liu Shan looked at him with a smile and asked, "Would you like to drink two more cups?"
Zhang Tienan waved his hands repeatedly, "No, no, Brother Liu, you're trying to kill me."
Liu Shan shook his head and laughed: "It seems we can't go to Zuiyue Tower. Come, let's slowly savor this half-jar of fine wine and not leave until we're drunk."
The two exchanged a smile and continued drinking and chatting.
The potency of high-proof liquor doesn't need much exaggeration; anyone who's tried it knows.
Zhang Tienan was starting to feel dizzy. He shook his head and forced himself to stay awake, saying, "Brother Liu, my life is so miserable..."
As he spoke, he even started wiping away tears.
It is said that men do not easily shed tears, except when they are drunk.
At this moment, Zhang Tienan was drunk.
Liu Shan drank little, but remained sober.
As he listened to Zhang Tienan's heartbreaking words, his eyes grew brighter and he became more and more excited.
It turned out that more than ten days ago, Zhang Tienan, who was ignorant and incompetent, finally made his father, Zhang San, worry.
While worried, Zhang San made a bold decision.
Since Zhang Tienan is neither good at literature nor martial arts, he might as well become a wealthy man. If the ancestors of the Zhang family bless him, his son will still have the opportunity to bring glory to the family.
Zhang San then built a restaurant for Zhang Tienan.
This restaurant has an excellent location and a large customer flow, but its business was dismal due to the previous owner's poor management.
Zhang San saw the restaurant's potential and invested heavily in its renovation, bringing in the best chefs.
His plan was to create a unique restaurant in Cangzhou City and have Zhang Tienan run it, hoping that he could achieve something great.
As expected, the restaurant was extremely busy for the first few days, making a fortune every day.
Zhang Tienan was secretly delighted, finally having his own business with his father's help.
However, their good fortune was short-lived, as they soon faced suppression from their competitors.
If it were just ordinary people causing trouble, Zhang Tienan might have been able to grit his teeth and endure it, but this time his opponent was no ordinary person; it was the Zhao family, the owners of another major restaurant in Cangzhou City.
The Zhao family is not only wealthy and well-connected, but also cunning.
Among them, Zhao Si, the head of the Zhao family, his eldest son Zhao Bochao, and his second son Zhao Zhongchao are all shrewd and capable.
Moreover, the Zhao family also had a maidservant son named Zhao Tingxiao who was specifically responsible for doing dirty and tiring work.
On the surface, Zhao Tingxiao was extremely respectful to Zhang Tienan, but in reality, he kept stabbing Zhang Tienan in the back.
He secretly sabotaged the restaurant by bribing its suppliers, causing frequent delays or even shortages in the restaurant's food supply.
He also hired local thugs to spread rumors, tarnish the restaurant's reputation, and intimidate its diners.
Just like that, in just a few days, the business of Zhang's restaurant plummeted.
Zhang Tienan was at a loss and could only ask his father for help.
Although Zhang San had spent his life in the military and had retired for several years, he was still unwilling to be outdone in the face of the ever-changing business world.
However, the straightforward approach on the battlefield seems too direct in the business world.
He led over a hundred henchmen in a surprise attack on the Zhao family's restaurant, not only vandalizing it but also intimidating diners in the street, causing considerable disturbance.
However, this move not only failed to solve the problem, but also attracted the attention of the government.
After the government intervened in the investigation, it was dissatisfied with Zhang San's reckless behavior and fined him a large sum of money as punishment. Prefect Yin Nantian even warned him to his face not to commit the offense again, or he would be imprisoned.
Left with no other choice, Zhang San had to tone down his arrogance and begin to consider a more ingenious strategy.
How could a mere warrior possibly devise a brilliant strategy?
The father and son could only stay in the restaurant all day, sighing and looking miserable.
Zhang San was unwilling to be defeated by the Zhao family so easily, so he had no choice but to personally visit the powerful and influential people in the city again in hopes of gaining their support.
However, most of the powerful and influential people in the city had already been taken care of by the Zhao family, so they mostly avoided seeing Zhang San or treated him coldly when he visited.
This time, Zhang San and his son felt an unprecedented sense of defeat.
They've started considering giving up the restaurant.
Although Zhang Tienan was unwilling, he was powerless to do anything about it. In desperation, he could only go to the Li residence to drink with Liu Shan, hoping to drown his sorrows in alcohol.
At this moment, Liu Shan found it somewhat amusing.
At least for Zhang Tienan, he had achieved his first goal, and at this moment he was truly drunk.
Moreover, Liu Shan possesses the ability to help him resolve the restaurant's predicament.
The easiest problem to deal with is the hooligans and scoundrels who spread rumors, tarnish the restaurant's reputation, and intimidate its diners.
For these scoundrels and ruffians, first beat them until they submit, then use money to lure them to defect and work for Zhang's restaurant.
Of course, there will definitely be some stubborn scoundrels who refuse to see the truth. All we need to do is accuse them of colluding with bandits and lock them up in jail.
Liu Shan believed that no matter who it was, as long as they were an ordinary person, they absolutely could not withstand the "re-education" in the government prison.
The supplier's problem is easier to solve; just replace them.
The Cangzhou government office has a public kitchen, which naturally has stable suppliers. Liu Shan can use his connections to introduce the suppliers of the government office's public kitchen to Zhang's Restaurant.