"Here it comes!"
Zhang Erniu, carrying a steaming teapot, hurried out with a beaming face, bowing and nodding, "Fang, please have a seat. Will it be the usual three dishes today?"
Fang Ke swaggered after him to the second floor, "Is the lamb offal fresh today?"
Zhang Erniu: "Fresh, all delivered this morning along with the lamb. I counted the days and knew you’d definitely come today, so I had the kitchen reserve it especially for you!"
"You lad, you have a way with words, I enjoy hearing them."
Fang Ke laughed and casually tossed him a few copper coins, "A reward for you!"
Zhang Erniu, catching the copper coins in a flurry, immediately smiled even more enthusiastically, raising his voice melodically, "Thank you for the tip, Fang!"
Under Zhang Erniu’s guidance, Fang Ke, carrying the hem of his fur coat, leisurely ascended to the second floor.
It was already past mealtime, and only one table of guests at the railing in the private seating area upstairs was leisurely cooking lamb.
Fang Ke glanced around carelessly, ready to follow Zhang Erniu to take his seat when he suddenly felt the side profile of the person he had glimpsed earlier seemed familiar, his gaze shift ed carelessly back...
Then, he halted, completely freezing in place, the "generosity close to commoners" in his smile suddenly stiffened.
Meanwhile, Zhang Erniu, who had found Fang Ke a good spot, was still eagerly wiping the tables and chairs...
Fang Ke: "Er Niu, stop bustling about, I’ll just sit here, go to the kitchen and keep an eye on things, bring the copper pot and everything quickly, I am so hungry I can hardly function."
He walked over to the only remaining table of guests, pulled out a chair and sat down, instructing Zhang Erniu, who was bustling in the kitchen.
"Hey!"
Zhang Erniu quickly brought over the just-put-down teapot to Fang Ke, dropped a remark "Just call if you need anything," and then hurried downstairs.
Only after Zhang Erniu’s footsteps had faded did Fang Ke hurriedly and silently stood up, turned to the remaining table of guests, pressed palms together in a deep bow, and said with a wry smile, "Sir, your distinguished visit to Lu Ting and no one informed me earlier? I am after all one of your subordinates!"
The guest leisurely enjoying his lamb meat, if not the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Shen Fa, then who else could it be?
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Shen Fa set down his chopsticks, chewed slowly, and finally said after swallowing his thinly sliced lamb, "It’s not the copper pot lamb meat personally prepared by Yang Ge, certainly lacks a bit of flavor."
Fang Ke: ’Heh...’
Eventually, Shen Fa raised his eyelid to look at Fang Ke in front of him, and whispered softly, "What? Do I need to personally invite you, Fang, to get up?"
Fang Ke chuckled as he got up, wiping his forehead where there was no sweat, spoke truthfully, "Seeing you, sir, filled my heart with joy, I temporarily forgot the rules... Please forgive me."
Shen Fa tapped the table lightly, "Sit down and talk, don’t expose my identity."
"Yes."
Fang Ke quickly turned back, pulled out a chair, and sat down squarely.
The two sat facing each other, each at a table.
Shen Fa picked up his chopsticks again, skewered a few thin slices of lamb, and put them into the copper pot, "What’s the news from Lu Ting recently?"
Fang Ke replied respectfully, "To report to you, sir, it has been relatively calm. No big fish have been seen, but there are small ones every now and then. They’re all fools who are easily alarmed. I have dealt with them."
Shen Fa looked at him, "White Lotus Sect, Ming Sect, Lianhuan Fort, the Xiang Family... Any fish caught in the net?"
Fang Ke replied without hesitation, "To report to you, sir, there have been none."
Shen Fa, chewing a piece of meat, asked indistinctly, "Is it that there haven’t been any, you don’t want any, or you can’t catch any?"
Fang Ke looked straight ahead, "To report to you, sir, there have been none!"
Shen Fa, surprised, raised his eyebrows, "Not a single one?"
Fang Ke: "Not a single one!"
Shen Fa put down his chopsticks, chewed the lamb slowly, and whispered softly, "You’re really patient indeed..."
With just that, he could assert that these parties had also received reports sent back from Dongying.
After a moment of silence, Shen Fa spoke again, "You’re timely, I need your counsel on a matter!"
Fang Ke instinctively wanted to gesture with his hands, but hearing the "thump thump thump" of footsteps coming up the stairs, he immediately slumped down in his chair.
Shen Fa also picked up his chopsticks and continued cooking the meat.
"Copper pot lamb meat, coming up!"
Zhang Erniu, with both hands holding a large tray, quickly and steadily arrived in front of Fang Ke, "Fang, the usual three dishes, three pounds of copper pot lamb meat, three small dishes to cleanse the palate, one pound of translucent fragrance... The kitchen is putting extra effort into your lamb offal, you know it needs to be washed several times to be right, otherwise it might contain sand, which would annoy your teeth!"
Fang Ke generously tossed a few more copper coins, "No hurry, tell Lu to do it right, and if the flavor is right, there will be a reward for you!"
Zhang Erniu, grinning from ear to ear, caught the copper coins and nodded repeatedly, "With your word, Fang, I dare not slack off. I’ll go lend Lu a hand immediately and make sure the lamb offal is washed clean..."
Fang Ke waved his hand without turning back.
Zhang Erniu bowed and exited.
As soon as he went downstairs, Shen Fa, without hesitation, stretched his hand out across the table and took two plates of lamb meat from Fang Ke’s table, "Ass, you eat better here than I do in the capital!"
Fang Ke awkwardly rolled two cups and, filling one with wine, handed it to Shen Fa with both hands, "Try this one, a big bite of meat and a swig of wine, and then a bite of the palate-cleansing dish, that’s really satisfying!"
Shen Fa, hearing this, immediately snatched the wine pot from his table, "Are you teaching me how to handle matters?"
Fang Ke just chuckled sheepishly, not daring to speak.