Chapter 39: Grand Opening

A liquor monopoly permit was, essentially, a license allowing a restaurant to sell alcohol. Although the laws differed from city to city, neither alcohol nor salt was something private individuals could sell freely. This was especially true of spirit wine. Selling it in large quantities required an extremely strict approval process.

Smuggling, of course, was another matter.

Thus, any shop in the city permitted to sell alcohol either had connections reaching all the way to the top or employed its own brewer.

For a little hotpot restaurant like Bian Chunzhou’s, obtaining a liquor monopoly permit would indeed have been extremely difficult at first. That was why he had never planned to apply for one.

He had not expected Senior Sister Xia Ying to bring him a connection herself.

Then again, it made sense. Nearly half a year had passed since he joined Yonglu Mountain, and Xia Ying’s family background was no longer a secret.

She was the niece of Xia Huainan, the lord of Langyuan City. City Lord Xia was at the mid-stage Soul Transformation Realm and had neither a Dao companion nor any children. The Xia family had never been particularly large, and Xia Ying was the younger relative City Lord Xia loved and valued most.

Given Xia Ying’s talent and background, she could practically walk sideways through Langyuan City without consequence. Pulling a few strings to obtain a liquor monopoly permit for Bian Chunzhou would be effortless.

But Bian Chunzhou was no fool. Since Senior Sister Xia was willing to help, she was obviously interested in what came afterward.

“Thank you, Senior Sister. I did accept a medicine-delivery mission with some friends to Listening Crane Manor. But because we had other missions as well, we didn’t stay there long. Did something happen?”

Xia Ying did not say so directly, but she was clearly very concerned.

“While you were at Listening Crane Manor, did you notice anything unusual?”

“Unusual? I don’t know what kind of unusual thing you mean, Senior Sister, but when we delivered the pills that day, Manor Lord He looked extremely tired. There was also a very strong medicinal smell on him. Wen Xu said it was the sort of smell that only clung to someone who had a chronically ill person at home.”

At the words “chronically ill person,” Xia Ying’s brows drew tightly together.

“Anything else? Did He Qian—Manor Lord He—reveal anything?”

Just what sort of background did Listening Crane Manor have? Did it have some connection to the city lord’s residence?

Bian Chunzhou was puzzled, but he did not pry.

“No. He seemed to want us to stay the night that day, but he appeared to have ulterior motives. We also knew our cultivation was weak, so we refused.”

“You didn’t see anyone else?”

Bian Chunzhou thought for a moment, then shook his head.

“Other than the servants in the manor, no.”

A trace of impatience appeared on Xia Ying’s face.

In truth, to successfully enter Yonglu Mountain, she had spent the entire past year cultivating diligently and had rarely met with her close friend. After entering Yonglu Mountain, the coursework assigned by her master had been extremely demanding. She could only make time to send a communication talisman once every two weeks.

This time, she had finally managed to go down the mountain to visit her friend, only to be told—

“Are you sure? You didn’t see some shifty-looking man?”

Huh?

A shifty-looking man?

How had the conversation suddenly jumped to that?

Bian Chunzhou scratched his head.

“Does Manor Lord He count?”

Xia Ying fell silent.

“…Other than him.”

“Then no. We weren’t there for long that day, but Manor Lord He kept hesitating over his words. He also ordered a huge quantity of low-grade pills. Maybe he had some difficulty he couldn’t talk about.”

“A huge quantity of pills? How many?”

“A lot. A whole lot. I can’t reveal the exact amount, but even if you ate them as meals, they would last eight or ten years.”

“That many pills?”

Xia Ying’s close friend, He Qinqing, was Manor Lord He’s only daughter. She had grown up surrounded by luxury. Although she had no spiritual root, she was exceptionally intelligent.

When Xia Ying was young, she was often bullied by an older cousin from another branch of the family. Once, he had even abandoned her in the street. Had she not encountered He Qinqing, Xia Ying might have become a homeless child.

It was also after that incident that her cousin had been severely punished, while her uncle took Xia Ying in and raised her by his side.

Xia Ying was not close to the rest of her family. Aside from her uncle, He Qinqing was the person closest to her.

Yet when Xia Ying descended the mountain this time, that old bastard He Qian actually claimed that Ah-Qing had eloped with some unknown man.

Xia Ying did not believe a word of it.

Ah-Qing was so intelligent. How could some wild man possibly deceive her into abandoning even her family?

“He’s an ordinary mortal. Why would he need so many pills? As far as I know, only one member of a collateral branch of the He family has cultivation talent, and that person is only at the Foundation Establishment Realm. Could it be…”

Had that old bastard surnamed He forced Ah-Qing to marry that Foundation Establishment cultivator, causing her to run away from home?

“Could it be what?”

“Thank you, Junior Brother. As for the liquor monopoly permit, go to the city lord’s residence and find a steward named Bingyun. She will help you arrange everything.”

After saying this, Xia Ying hurried away. Judging from the direction she took, she was probably heading down the mountain.

Bian Chunzhou stared after her.

“So what was it? Could it be what? Can’t people finish their gossip before leaving? Curse this terrible curiosity of mine! I also really want to know which hateful, lucky bastard gets to eat pills like meals!”

“…Why are you standing alone on the mountain muttering to yourself? It’s rather frightening.”

Bian Chunzhou jumped in alarm.

“You’re the frightening one! Appearing out of nowhere like that—how can someone as big as you move without making a single sound? Wait, why do you look more and more unkempt every time I see you? Can’t you use your saber to shave your beard?”

“No.”

Chen Zui held his saber in his arms.

“Besides, the fact that you failed to notice me means my cultivation has improved. Junior Brother Bian, if you do not advance, you will fall behind.”

Would you die if you stopped competing for once?!

“Don’t force me to burn off your beard! I absolutely refuse to let you stand outside my hotpot restaurant looking like this on opening day!”

Chen Zui paused.

“…You talk too much.”

Despite saying so, he was still forced to clean himself up. By the time Wen Xu arrived, Chen Zui had been restored to his “factory settings.”

“Wow, Wen Xu, how many all-nighters have you pulled? Keep this up and your cheeks are going to cave in! No, absolutely not. A handsome man must never mistreat himself like this. Come here, come here. I got something from my master…”

Bian Chunzhou clapped his hands.

Excellent. Both of his workaholic friends had been tidied up and made presentable.

What a sense of accomplishment.

“My friends! I, your good friend Bian Chunzhou, will soon become a proprietor!”

Bian Chunzhou applauded himself enthusiastically.

“But we’re still in the early stages, and one final problem remains.”

“What problem?”

The two voices overlapped perfectly.

Bian Chunzhou raised one finger.

“My hotpot restaurant still lacks a grand and memorable name.”

…

Chen Zui boldly offered his opinion.

“Can’t you simply call it Hotpot Restaurant?”

“Of course not! That would violate the rules of the trade. If a pastry shop simply called itself Pastry Shop, wouldn’t that give it an unfair advantage over all the other pastry shops? Besides, how boring would that be? I need a name so powerful it shakes people awake!”

It was precisely because Boss Bian wanted everything at once that the restaurant’s name had remained undecided until now.

“Wen Xu, you’ve studied. Help me think of one.”

Wen Xu smiled.

“If you use my suggestion, you’ll have to pay me a writing fee.”

“Fine, fine! I’ll give you a big spirit stone!”

Bian Chunzhou leaned closer.

“So, do you have any names with an auspicious meaning?”

“That depends on what you want. If you want elegance, naturally you should use something poetic. If you want something common, it must be so unabashedly common that no one forgets it after hearing it once. But if you want something both refined and popular, then perhaps…”

“Perhaps what?”

“Perhaps you could call it Shared Broth Restaurant.”

Bian Chunzhou blinked.

“Which ‘broth’?”

Wen Xu traced the character for broth in the air.

“This one.”

“…It resembles ‘shared appreciation’ in both form and meaning, so it is good. But somehow…it doesn’t sound very sanitary. It also sounds more like the name of a bathhouse.”

Clearly, Boss Bian suffered from the universal affliction of all clients.

“But I really like the idea of sharing and appreciating something together. What should I do?”

“Will the restaurant sell alcohol?” Wen Xu asked.

“Before today, no. After today? Yes! I’ll sell mountains of it!”

“Then what about replacing ‘broth’ with ‘goblet’?”

“Shared Cup Tavern? No, that sounds too proper. It doesn’t suit the grandeur of a hotpot restaurant. Shared Cup Inn? Shared Cup Tower? Shared Cup Hotpot? Shared Cup Shop? Ah! I’ve got it—Shared Cup Tavern!”

…

To be perfectly honest, it did not sound like a place that served hotpot at all.

It sounded more like a tavern.

But Boss Bian was clearly quite pleased with the new name. He immediately made the decision final and informed his two friends that his Shared Cup Tavern would open the very next day.

Wen Xu thought, We named it today, and it opens tomorrow. Am I about to lose everything?

“Oh, don’t worry about minor details. You both have to come tomorrow! Even if knives rain from the sky, you must come!”

Chen Zui had always been excessively serious about anything involving blades.

“Do not speak nonsense. Knives will never rain from the sky.”

“Then even if scissors rain down, or swords, or lovesick men and resentful women, you still have to come!”

Bian Chunzhou even invited the senior and junior brothers and sisters from Spirit Beast Peak, Spirit Plant Peak, and Kaiyuan Peak who had invested during this period.

Whether they came was another matter. What mattered was that he made his attitude clear.

Early the next morning, he rose before dawn and took his invitations to the city lord’s residence to arrange the liquor monopoly permit.

The female steward named Bingyun was exceptionally efficient. Just as the sky grew fully light, both the liquor monopoly permit and official seal belonging to Shared Cup Tavern were ready.

She even politely accepted his invitation to the grand opening.

Yes!

Everything had gone so smoothly first thing in the morning. Surely the grand opening would go just as smoothly.

Filled with bright hopes for the future, Bian Chunzhou arrived at the three-story building he had rented.

Then he froze.

“Wow, you came so early? I’m so touched!”

Chen Zui pointed at the completely bare signboard.

“I can help with physical labor.”

“Oh, that. I think I forgot to order a sign!”

Bian Chunzhou slapped his forehead.

Damn it. He really had forgotten.

Still, not having the restaurant’s name displayed probably…would not matter, right?

“…Find a wooden board,” Wen Xu said. “I’ll write it for you. You can hang it temporarily for a few days.”

“I’ll go find one right now!”

In the end, Chen Zui went to the forest outside the city and chopped down an entire tree.

Bian Chunzhou dried the wood with fire, and only then did Wen Xu write the four large characters for Shared Cup Tavern.

“Wow, Wen Xu, your calligraphy is beautiful! Look at those strokes! That strength! I’ve decided—we’re keeping this one. I’m not replacing it!”

“…Without mounting it, the ink will fade,” Wen Xu said.

“Then I’ll attach a preservation talisman! Hold on, I’ll stick one on the back. It took me ages to develop this preservation talisman for keeping ingredients fresh. Look at the sauces, vegetables, and fruits displayed in the main hall. See how fresh and juicy they are? I really am a genius!”

Genius Boss Bian stood with his hands on his hips and boasted for only a moment before rushing back to work.

When the auspicious opening hour finally arrived, Shared Cup Tavern officially opened for business.

God of Wealth, please bless me.

Please, please bless me.

You are the one and only god in my heart.

Boss Bian prayed fervently to himself.

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