Chapter 42: Visiting Old Man Liu

  "Zhou Ge, how about it? With this matter settled, are you treating us to dinner tonight?" Chu Quan asked with a smile.

  "Xiao Chen...... this...... that......"

  Upon hearing this news, Zhou Wenping could no longer remain calm and his words became incoherent. For a moment, he was so excited that he didn't know what to say. After a while, he finally calmed down and patted Chu Chen's shoulder, saying:

  "Xiao Chen, I won't say anything else. From now on, as long as it's something I can do, you just give the order, no matter how difficult it is, I'll definitely help you get it done perfectly."

  Chu Chen heard this and said somewhat discontentedly: "Zhou Ge, I'm doing this for you purely because of our friendship, but if you put it that way, it seems like we're being a bit too formal with each other!"

  When he said that, Zhou Wenping felt a bit embarrassed and said: "This is Zhou Ge's fault, Xiao Chuan, don't mind it. Anyway, from now on you are my younger brother, we will be like family members in the future, and if there's anything, don't be polite with me."

  "Alright, Brother Zhou, with your words, I'm satisfied." Chu Chen smiled happily.

  Lao Wu saw that the two were laughing so happily and came over to ask: "I say, you two, what good thing have you encountered that makes you laugh so happily?"

  When he learned that Zhou Wenping's whole family's household registration could be transferred to the capital, he was really envious and said to Chu Chen: "Great job! Your connections are quite good, you quietly handled such a big thing."

  "Alright, Fifth Brother, this time I've already troubled that friend of mine. Next time when the opportunity is ripe, I'll help you with it too." Previously, Chu Chen had thought that since in the future Old Five might also be pulled over to help him, now helping Zhou Wenping's family move their household registration, he couldn't treat others differently, so Old Five's family would definitely have to find an opportunity to do it too.

  Lao Wu heard him say that, and immediately exclaimed excitedly: "This... how can this be, it must cost a lot of money, right? How much is it, just tell me straight out, I'm not going to let you pay for it yourself, am I?"

  Zhou Wenping heard Lao Wu say this, and he also reacted. He hastily opened his mouth and said: "Right! Xiao Chuan, you haven't said how much money you want to spend yet. You can't expect me to pay for it, can you? What would I become then?"

  Chu Chen said with a mixture of laughter and tears: "I'm telling you two, why bother with this? My friend has a deep background, this kind of small matter just needs to be mentioned, if there's any cost, wouldn't I mention it to you? Am I not the living Lei Feng of the new century?"

  The two of them thought about it and burst out laughing. After they finished laughing, Old Five said to Zhou Wenping with envy: "Great, Old Zhou, you've already become a Beijinger! No way, you have to treat us tonight!"

  Zhou Wenping said with great enthusiasm: "Alright, how can we not celebrate such a happy occasion? Let's splurge today and go to that Eight Treasures Jade Food restaurant."

  Ba Zhen Yu Shi is the private restaurant opened by Zhao Qirui, its full name being Ba Zhen Yu Shi Private Restaurant. When Chu Chen first saw the name of the restaurant, he thought to himself, what a big claim, I wonder if the dishes inside live up to its name. Unexpectedly, after eating there once, he felt that it was not an exaggeration at all, and yesterday's experience only reinforced this feeling even more.

  As soon as Zhou Wenping said that, Lao Wu immediately started drooling. He had been conquered by the delicious dishes inside last time, but Chu Chen poured a basin of cold water on them, laughing and saying:

  "Never mind, it's already past three o'clock, you think we can still get a seat?"

  It turned out that the private restaurant was just opened, so it held an opening ceremony and didn't limit the number of customers. Starting from yesterday, the store limited the number of tables per day and required reservations to secure a spot. Although the price is a bit expensive due to its environment and delicious food, the spots are usually fully booked in advance.

  Zhou Wenping and the others found out about this situation, and they couldn't help but sigh. Such a delicious dish that made their mouths water three feet away, who knows when they would be able to eat it? So Zhou Wenping could only settle for another relatively well-known restaurant.

  Actually, I wanted to say go to Ba Zhen Yu Shi, Chu Chen because he has a gold card, can also book a position. But thinking of Zhou Wenping's condition is not very good, going to that place to invite guests, the cost will not be less than last time, even with a discount card, it will be several thousand, and in ordinary restaurants, you won't spend so much, he didn't mention it.

  The next day, Chu Chen didn't wake up on time for once. He lay in bed, still feeling the lingering effects of yesterday's dinner party. The atmosphere had been lively, with the three men frequently clinking glasses together, and Chu Chen was the main focus. In the end, he even fought a solo battle against two people, and the outcome was extremely miserable.

  Lao Wu doesn't need to be mentioned, he's a born drunkard. Zhou Wenping, although he hasn't been drinking much since his wife fell ill, used to have quite a capacity for liquor too.

  Chu Chen drank five kilograms of white wine under the joint attack of the two, even if his physical condition was good, he got drunk to the point of being dizzy. The other two didn't fare much better and rolled under the dinner table one after another. The two wives were also frightened by this fierce scene, and it's unlikely that they would be able to get along well at home today.

  Chu Chen lay on the bed and laughed silently, Zhou Wenping and the others didn't have such a special physique like him, even if they got drunk, they could still get up early in the morning and be energetic, now they must be suffering, and they would also be punished by the two sisters-in-law, he had a face of schadenfreude, who asked you to try to drink me under the table.

  He was just about to get out of bed when his phone rang. He took a look and found it was Uncle Wu, so he quickly picked up the call:

  "Hey, Uncle Wu, what's up? You're calling so early, is something going on?"

  Uncle Wu's scolding laughter came over the phone: "You stinky kid, it's already 7:30 and you're still saying it's early? Don't forget, we have to go visit Old Liu today, he goes to bed early and gets up early every day. If we go late, won't that be impolite?"

  Chu Chen smiled and said: "Uncle Wu, I really didn't know about this before. Wait for me, I'll be right over to your house."

  "Alright, hurry up then."

  Hanging up the phone, Chu Chen quickly washed and dressed, picked up the bag with Tang Sancai fragments and the brocade box containing the Ding kiln large plate, didn't even have time to eat breakfast, and hurriedly rushed to Wu Shu's house.

  When they arrived at Wu Shu's house, Chu Chen found that he was already waiting at the door.

  Uncle Wu saw his dusty and tired appearance, somewhat displeased, said: "Next time when visiting someone else's home, you should understand the host's habits better, don't be so reckless like this time. You haven't had breakfast yet, right? Here, this is a meat bun made by your aunt, eat it on the road later."

  After seeing Chu Chen receive the package with a silly smile, Wu Shu saw that he was still carrying a brocade box and asked: "What's this? Did you really bring another antique?"

  Chu Chen said with a smile: "Of course, isn't it what Uncle Wu said that the best thing to bring is something of great value? This is currently the best treasure I have on me. As for what it is, we'll see when we get to Liu Lao's place."

  Wu Shu listened to him and also raised his curiosity: "Wow, I'll go see it later, but I hope it's really a good thing like you said, otherwise our face will be lost. Alright, let's set off if there's nothing else."

  Liu's family lives in a high-end villa area in Dongcheng District, and it takes only about 10 minutes to get here from Wu Shu's house by taxi.

  This high-end villa area, Chuyan had only heard of it before, and was told that the people living here were either wealthy with a deep background or powerful figures, which could be seen from the heavily guarded security measures at the entrance.

  Even if Wu Shu comes to visit frequently, he still needs to call Liu Lao first and then go through the security checks before entering, which makes Chu Chen believe in the rumors she heard earlier.

  Liu Lao's villa, from the outside, doesn't look like a grand courtyard with high walls and large yards, but rather a picturesque landscape of small bridges and flowing water, full of natural charm.

  When Chu Chen and his companions arrived at Liu Lao's residence, a middle-aged woman was already waiting for them at the door.

  Wu Shu stepped forward and greeted her, saying: "Qin Shu, I'm really sorry to trouble you, and now we have to wait for us here."

  This middle-aged woman named Qinxu is actually Liu Lao's youngest daughter.

  Liu Qingshu smiled and said, "What's the trouble with that? It's just a few more steps, and it's good exercise for me too. This young man is your nephew Ziping, isn't he? He looks really handsome."

  When she said that, Chu Chen felt a bit embarrassed and went forward to greet her. Liu Qinshu also smiled and led them into the courtyard.

  "Wu Shu asked as he walked: 'What's going on? Are there others visiting Old Liu today too?'"

  "Haha, you're talking about the owner of that car at the entrance, actually you also know her, it's Lao Li's daughter."

  "Are you talking about Li Beibei? How did she think of coming over today?" Wu Shu asked with some surprise.

  At this time, Chu Chen also felt a little surprised, didn't expect that he had just mentioned it on the phone with Wu Ke yesterday, and today he would actually meet the real person.

  Liu Qinxin smiled and said: "Nothing much, she came over to invite my dad to attend Li Lao's 80th birthday celebration."

  Wu Shu heard this and smiled: "It shouldn't be that simple, right? Li Lao's 80th birthday is still three or four months away. If there's nothing else going on, she wouldn't come over so early."

  "Hehe, Zǐ Píng indeed understands his character. This time she came to ask my dad for help with something, on the one hand, and also to get my dad's help in appraising a Tian Huang Shou Xing decorative piece. The decorative piece looks quite exquisite, but I don't know what the final result will be."

  At this time, Chu Chen and others were walking on a small path paved with cobblestones. The path was lined with various flowers, grasses, and trees, and it extended to every corner of the courtyard.

  When outside, after all, there are walls and courtyards blocking the view, so you can't see everything at once. But when they enter the courtyard, there's a sense of sudden openness. Looking around, you only see that the buildings in the courtyard appear very simple and natural, while in the large courtyard, a east-west oriented lotus-shaped small lake has been reasonably opened up.