Chapter 51 Could it be that Li Xiang knows some magic?
The Tang Dynasty capital Chang'an was divided into two parts by Zhuque Street, the left one being Chang'an and the right one being Wannian, both of which were attached counties of Chang'an.

The Wei family's restaurant was located in the East Market of Wannian County. As Wannian County was mostly populated by the rich and noble, and the brothel Pingkangfang was also within the jurisdiction of Wannian, the Wei family's restaurant was much more expensive than the one in Chang'an County.

Since Li Zhi had promised him a thousand strings of cash, Li Xiang also had to start some oil pressing business in order to support the restaurant.

As for whether the upper class dignitaries could accept it, Li Xiang was not worried at all.

After all, the imperial meals in the palace are not very good nowadays, and it is not difficult to imagine what other people’s families eat like.

Cooking is an intangible cultural heritage that needs time to settle. In this regard... we must not compare the past with the present.

As we all know, the wolf oil roasted dog liver of the Zhou emperor is one of the eight delicacies...

Even though he was the eldest son of the crown prince, after eating so much for so many days he even missed the all-you-can-eat lunch box for 15 yuan.

Therefore, the stir-fried dishes from a thousand years later would surely drive the gourmets of the Tang Dynasty crazy.

Since they had to go back to their own homes to deliver food, Li Xiang did not keep these playboys. They agreed to meet here tomorrow, and Li Xiang let them go back to their own homes.

Cheng Chubi carried two large boxes of dishes and walked home humming a little tune.

His home was close to Li Jingren's, so they took the same route.

On the way, the two of them kept praising Li Xiang.

After parting with Li Jingren, Cheng Chubi saw the dark face of his father Cheng Yaojin as soon as he stepped into the house.

"Damn it, you're going to Pingkangfang again, right?"

When Old Cheng caught him, he asked him, "Where are the two strings of money I hid secretly? Did you take them?"

Of course Cheng Chubi refused to admit it. Now he worshipped Li Xiang as his elder brother and his back was very straight.

"Aye, don't you think about it? With my body, how can I carry two strings of money and walk so fast?"

Cheng Yaojin thought about it and agreed.

But what Cheng Chubi didn't say was that he did take the two strings of money - but not all of it. He only pocketed two hundred coins, and the rest was divided among his eldest brother Cheng Chumo and second brother Cheng Chuliang.

Although the two of them have already started a family and a career, they are still happy to divide their father's private money among themselves.

But he certainly couldn't be allowed to continue asking questions, so Cheng Chubi grinned and opened the lid of the lunch box in his hand.

Old Cheng wanted to ask more, but suddenly a fragrance caught his nose like a small hand.

"Hiss..." Lao Cheng twitched his nose hard, trying to inhale the fragrance into his stomach.

"What is it? Fucking incense?"

"Yeah, please look." Cheng Chubi immediately placed the two large food boxes in front of Cheng Yaojin like presenting treasures, and also considerately gave him a pair of chopsticks.

Cheng Yaojin took the chopsticks, picked up the food box, picked up a piece of lamb chop, and put it directly into his mouth.

It was a bit hot that day, so the temperature didn't cool down much during the walk, but it was just right for eating. The crispy and fragrant lamb chops immediately conquered Lao Cheng's taste buds.

"What a delicious mutton!" Old Cheng cheered, and looked at Cheng Chubi with some surprise and praised: "You have grown up, kid. You know what delicious food to bring back for Yeye."

"How dare I take credit for it? It was all my elder brother's suggestion." Cheng Chubi immediately expressed his modesty.

"Brother?" Old Cheng spat out a piece of bone and asked suspiciously, "That kid Li Jingren... is so thoughtful?"

"He is not Brother Jingren, but the eldest son of the crown prince, the eldest grandson of the current emperor, and the timely rain of Chang'an, Li Xiang." Cheng Chubi straightened his chest and raised his head. He felt honored by the name of Li Xiang.

Upon hearing this, Cheng Yaojin did not praise Cheng Chubi, but frowned and asked, "How did you get involved with him?"

He had also heard of this Li Xiang, especially the fact that Li Shimin went to the Eastern Palace last night, which he had also heard from others.

But Li Xiang... he had never seen him, so it was hard to judge.

Cheng Chubi immediately recounted Li Xiang's deeds with exaggeration, and emphasized the fact that Li Xiang led them in doing business.

After hearing this, Lao Cheng put down his chopsticks, was silent for a moment, shook his head and said with a smile: "No wonder, no wonder..."

"Yeah, what's wrong?" Cheng Chubi didn't understand and asked hesitantly.

"Nothing." Cheng Yaojin smiled and patted Cheng Chubi's arm and said, "When you go out to play and need money, just tell Yeye."

But after hearing what Old Cheng said, Cheng Chubi immediately put on an arrogant look: "Yeyete also looks down on people. When the restaurant business is doing well, I'm afraid Yeye will ask me for money."

Cheng Yaojin's face tightened, and just as he was about to reach out and slap Cheng Chubi, he saw his eldest son suddenly shout "Mother".

Old Cheng immediately retracted his hand, and when he turned around to look, his wife was nowhere to be seen.

When I looked back again, Cheng Chubi had already run away.

Old Cheng couldn't help but smile, packed up the food box, and went to the backyard to find his wife.

The same thing happened in Li Jingren's family, but when Li Daozon heard Li Jingren say that his "brother" was Li Xiang, he pointed at Li Jingren with trembling hands and couldn't utter a word for a long time.

"Yeah, what's wrong?" Li Jingren came forward and asked with concern.

"You...according to seniority, Li Xiang is your nephew!" Li Dao Zong scolded, and suddenly thought of something, so he raised his eyelids and asked calmly: "Why do you recognize him as your brother? Although you are a playboy, you are not so crazy. Could it be that the boy really has some magic?"

He knew much more about Li Xiang than Cheng Yaojin. It was Li Xiang who mediated Li Shimin's visit to the Eastern Palace yesterday.

In fact, he had originally looked down on Li Chengqian, but Li Xiang was Li Chengqian's eldest son and his excellence made him have to pay attention to him.

What's more, he knew that Li Shimin had personally requested that this eldest grandson of the emperor be brought to Lizheng Palace to be raised.

The meaning behind this made him think more.

"Oh, yeah, you don't know..." Li Jingren was about to speak, but found that he was still holding the food box in his hand, so he smiled and said, "This is a new dish that my brother asked me to bring you. Would you like to try it first? Let's talk while we eat!"

"Oh?" Li Daozon just glanced at it and said nothing.

Li Jingren knew his father's character very well. He immediately placed the food box on the stone table in front of him, opened it and handed over a pair of chopsticks.

A strange fragrance came, and Li Daozon's nostrils twitched.

He took the chopsticks calmly, took a light bite, and suddenly a look of disbelief appeared in his eyes.

Li Jingren laughed secretly in his heart. His father was still pretending to be calm, but in reality, he must be shocked.

But he didn't dare say this, and quickly recounted what happened today.

When Li Jingren finished his story, Li Daozong also stopped eating, glanced at Li Jingren, and said after a moment of contemplation: "Since you have acknowledged this brother, I will not say much. Observe the words and deeds of this 'timely rain' and explain it to me when you return home."

(Seeking investment, seeking follow-up reading, and seeking likes for the role card ())

(End of this chapter)