– Amaze the World with A Single Brilliant Feat1

After a stick of incense burnt, the scholars stopped writing one after another. Dean Huo and Teacher Liu asked them to recite their poems in turn.

“One can eat a meal without meat, but cannot live without bamboo. Without meat makes people thin, without bamboo makes people vulgar2,” the first contestant recited his poem confidently.

The crowd roared with laughter.

“Hahaha…”

Dean Huo and Teacher Liu shook their heads. A few of the guests who knew a little poetry and lyrics also shook their heads.

Teacher Liu simply commented, “This poem can be recited smoothly, but it is a pity that it has lost the ‘elegance’ of the ‘poem’.”

Contrarily, Qin Mian thought that this poem was very good and suitable for hanging in the wine house. Therefore, he gave the scholar a favorable smile and decided to talk to him after the contest.

The second scholar recited, “How flavorous is your golden-hued Zhaoyang wine! You fill my cup of jade in amber, it will glow. It’s enough if you can make me drunk, host mine; no more nostalgia in your house shall I know3.”

“Good!” Dean Huo nodded approvingly, “The language of the entire poem has a wonderful meaning, like drinking wine and enjoying spring breeze. It’s a masterpiece.”

Dean Huo and Teacher Liu commented very quickly, and the poetry contest ended soon. The first, second, and third winners were Huo Sirui, Wang Shangwen, and another poor junior.

Lei Xiangzhi’s poem was very good too, but unfortunately, he didn’t make it to the top three. However, he was second in calligraphy and chess contests.

……..

The last literary arts competition was guqin. Huo Sirui’s song was amazing and he easily won first place. Dean Huo couldn’t stop smiling.

After the literary arts competition, Qin Mian asked people to hang several excellent poems. Then, he took out the brand-new silver ingots that had been prepared in advance. He let Dean Huo and Teacher Liu serve as the awarding guests to give the prize money to the students who won the competition.

The students who didn’t get the rank were not disappointed. They still could enjoy free food and drink.

“Boss Qin, it’s time for martial arts competition!” Bao Xu shouted, afraid that Qin Mian might forget.

Qin Mian said, “Let’s go outside to compete. This way, please.”

The open space in front of the building was large enough for people to compete in martial arts. All the guests followed them outside to watch.

Qin Mian and Bao Xu, Li Shan, and Zhou Hai were surrounded in the middle.

“Who comes first?” Qin Mian asked as he loosened his wrists.

Bao Xu stepped out with chest held high, “I’ll come first.”

Qin Mian nodded, “Alright, please.”

Lei Xiangzhi walked to Lei Tie and asked worriedly, “Eldest Brother, Eldest Sister-in-law will be alright?” Bao Xu was tall and strong. He was not only a head taller than Qin Mian, but his body was also at least as thick as two Qin Mian. Furthermore, it was not fat but solid flesh on his body that made him appear like a young calf.

Lei Tie remained silent.

Dean Huo reminded, “The time is up to you two.”

Bao Xu nodded vigorously, “Don’t worry, Dean Huo. Whoever can throw the other on the ground will be the winner. What do you think, Boss Qin? ”

Qin Mian gave him a silent glance.

“Sure.”

“Competition begins,” Teacher Liu said.

Bao Xu rushed to Qin Mian. His right hand clenched into a fist and swung at Qin Mian. His big fist was like a hammer. Qin Mian nimbly slipped and leaned sideways to dodge. Then, his right palm attacked Bao Xu’s lower rib.

Experts could see from this fight that both of them were good.

Bao Xu was a little surprised. With a loud shout, he sped up his attack. Every gesture and motion were heavy and powerful. Qin Mian’s advantage lay in his flexible body. He dodged and skillfully made a move at the same time. Bao Xu was a real kung fu expert. His movements were not slow. It was Qin Mian who ‘cheated’. The spiritual spring water improved his dynamic vision. His eyes keenly caught the angle and direction of Bao Xu’s moves to prevent them in time.Neither of them could get the upper hand for a while, and the crowd cheered from time to time.

After more than 50 moves, Qin Mian discovered that he was at a disadvantage. After all, he lacked the experience of fighting with others. He soon revealed a flaw and was caught by Bao Xu. Bao Xu buckled his right arm. Remembering that he had to throw the other party to the ground to win, he pushed Qin Mian to the ground.

Everyone couldn’t help but cry out in alarm.

Seeing that Qin Mian was about to land on his face, a dark shadow flashed by. Lei Tie put his arm around Qin Mian’s waist in time. He lifted him and helped him to stand firm.

“Wife?” Lei Tie checked him up and down.

“I’m fine,” Qin Mian gently raised the corners of his lips.

“Hey, you are so loathsome! Why did you push our Little Young Master to the ground after winning?” Xile pointed to Bao Xu as he said in dissatisfaction.

Bao Xu scratched his head and helplessly said, “I… I didn’t mean to.”

“It’s fine, Xile,” Qin Mian waved his hand, unconcerned. “Bao-gongzi should not have intended it. Congratulations, Bao-gongzi. ”

Bao Xu said gladly, “Hah-hah, you let me win!”

Qin Mian looked at Li Shan and Zhou Hai.

“Which of you will come first?”

Li Shan went first and was defeated in less than 20 moves; Zhou Hai was slightly better and was subdued by Qin Mian after 32 moves.

Bao Xu easily got the first place.

Bu Qingyun muttered, “Alas, fortune favors fools.”

“Hah-hah,” Qu Zongwen laughed. “Alright, let’s go and eat.”

Bu Qingyun immediately became spirited, “Right, let’s go!”

Everyone went back to the lobby and continued to eat and drink. Soon, the lobby became lively. Bao Xu sat at a table alone and ordered six dishes at one go, “Two more bowls of rice.”

The waiter reminded him, “Dear guest if you can’t finish eating, you will be fined.”

“I know.” Bao Xu patted his chest, “I’m just afraid I don’t have enough to eat. Don’t worry, if I can’t finish eating, you can fine me!”

The waiter wiped his sweat and cheerfully said yes.

Upon seeing Qin Mian coming, Bao Xu writhed uneasily on his chair. “Boss Qin, you said that I can eat and drink for free.”

Qin Mian chuckled. “I came here to say that as long as you don’t waste food, you can eat at ease.”

“Many thanks, Boss Qin!” Then and there, Bao Xu had a good impression on him.

“Enjoy it slowly.” Qin Mian looked around and found the scholar who wrote the poem “without meat makes people thin”.

“Gongzi, the poem you wrote can arouse people’s appetite as soon as they read it. Our wine house is very interested in it. I wonder if you would like to sell the poem to us? We’ll hang it in the wine house.”

The student was pleasantly surprised and frankly said, “Of course. It’s just that you don’t have to buy it. If possible, can Boss Qin give me some cherry jam? My brother and sister will love it.”

“No problem,” Qin Mian said with a smile. “I’ll give you a jar of cherry jam in a moment. I wonder if you mind adding your name to the poem?”

“I don’t mind.” This scholar was open-minded, “Even if the writing is not good, I wrote it. Perhaps I can be well-known with it hanging in your wine house? Hah-hah!”

Qin Mian came to Dean Huo’s table again.

“Are you satisfied with our service, Dean Huo and Teacher Liu? If you need anything, you can always call the waiter.”

Dean Huo put down his chopsticks and laughed heartily, “The food of Double Xiang House is mouth-watering and leaves a rich aftertaste. No dissatisfaction, Boss Qin. One of my life’s interests is fine food. I’ve been to all the wine houses in Zhaoyang County, but I enjoyed the food here the most.”

Teacher Liu also nodded, “It is so. No wonder Boss Qin dare to open the wine house in this small town.”

Qin Mian modestly said, “Dean Huo and Teacher Liu over-praised. You two, be sure enjoy to your heart’s content.”

After half a day, he was also tired. He told Manager Sun to send the fruit baskets prepared for Dean Huo and Teacher Liu when they were leaving. Then, he went into the lounge on the first floor to have a rest.

Lei Tie came back after he inspected Rugui Building. When he did not see his wife, he directly came to the lounge and saw his wife lying on the settee. He went over to massage his wife’s arms and legs.Qin Mian raised his leg and put it on his lap. He said, “A-Tie, looking at today’s situation, our grand opening sales is a great success. Although there will be some losses, after those excellent writings are spread out, the reputation of Double Xiang House will be more prominent. We don’t have to worry about customers in the future.”

“En.” Lei Tie said, “When Manager Sun can take charge, my wife doesn’t have to work as hard as today.”

“That’d be great.” Qin Mian languidly said, “Everything is difficult at the beginning. After that, it will be easy.”

Lei Tie put his big palm on Qin Mian’s eyes, “Sleep for a while. I’ll call you up if there’s anything.”

In the honored guest suite of the Rugui Building, Nie Heng sat on the settee in the sitting room and looked around with a complex expression.

The honored guest suite, Qin Mian made it according to the apocalypse’s design of three-room-two-hall-one-bathroom: three bedrooms, one sitting room, one entertainment room, and one bathroom.

In the three bedrooms, there were wide and soft double beds, brand-new and exquisite wardrobes, comfortable and warm settees, smooth and flat ground with soft rugs on the floor, all of which made of fine materials.

Exquisite paintings were hung on the wall. Although the painting style was strange, it gave people a very comfortable feeling. The most worth mentioning was the tall window with an abundance of illumination. It had a wide view to gaze into the distant scenery that caused one’s heart untroubled and spirit pleased4.

The sitting room also had a spread of the same rug that gave people the impulse to lie down. A whole set of settees was arranged in a circular shape. Besides a tea set, there was also a flower vase, fresh cherries, and peaches on the tea table in the middle.

The arrangement of the entertainment room was following the principle of pleasing the eye. Pai gow5, dice, Go chess, seven-stringed guqin, and other recreational items that all one could think of was on hand.

The bathroom was equally special. Although it was not advanced to the degree of automatic flushing, after using the chamber pot, the chamber pot would slowly drop down with a press of the button on the side. After a short while, a clean chamber pot would come up. Also, the guest could take a hot bath in a big tub. Two cylindrical objects stood side by side in the corner: one filled with cold water and the other filled with hot water. The hollow cylinder filled with hot water went all the way to the first floor. There was a boiler room that boiled water 24 hours a day on the first floor. When the guest wanted to take a bath, it was sufficient to put hot water first and then add cold water. Not only that, but there was also a faint sweet scent floated in the washroom.

Besides these “hardware”, the honored guest suite also had on-call service. On the wall of the sitting room, there were three different colored tags to pull: red tag for tea, cake, and fruit; blue tag for food; yellow tag for other services. The staff on the first floor would go upstairs immediately to serve the honored guest.

The sound of knocking on the door awakened Nie Heng from his deep thought.

“Come in.”

Nie Qing and Chunsheng pushed open the door. Upon seeing the smooth and clean ground, they did not dare to step forward for a moment.

“Not coming in?” The depression in Nie Heng’s heart dissipated because of their funny reaction.

Nie Qing and Chunsheng came into the room and saluted Nie Heng first, “Greetings, gongzi.”

Nie Heng relaxed on the settee, “You two look around first.”

Nie Qing and Chunsheng walked around the room, sighing to themselves while looking. After looking around, they returned to the sitting room.

“How?” Nie Heng asked.

Nie Qing said, “The luxury suite on the second floor is roughly the same as this room gongzi lives in. However, the floor is covered with wood, no rug. The furniture and decoration are chosen and arranged very attentively, but not as luxurious and dignified as this room. Of course, it is much better than the upper room in an ordinary inn. Besides, the bathroom in the luxury suite is relatively simple. If you want to take a bath, you have to ask people to send the water.”

Chunsheng said, “Gongzi, the ordinary room isn’t bad. It’s divided into a single room and a double room. The single room is a single bed and the double room is a double bed. The furniture inside is new and each room has a set of calligraphy and painting. There is no wide bed6.”

Nie Heng was silent for a long time before he said, “Double Xiang House will amaze the world with a single brilliant feat.”

Nie Qing and Chunsheng dared not say anything. The lodging environment of the Rugui Building was second. The dishes of Binzhi Building were new and odd with great smell, taste, and look. People who loved to eat would certainly not miss such a good place. By contrast, the remote location had become secondary.

Nie Heng stood up, “Let’s go down to take a stroll.”

T/N: A translated Chinese poem never could live up to its original beauty/rhythm.

Trivia: the author described the honored guest suite in a paragraph of 455 words. Of course, I split it afterward. T_T

Note:

Footnotes(idiom) an overnight celebrityIn Wuqian, Visit a Buddhist Monk’s Green Bamboo Pavilion by Su Dongpo (Tang Poet) translated by Larry Elder.For My Host by Li Bai translated by hjenglish. It’s Lanling instead of Zhaoyang in the original poem.(idiom) carefree and relaxedgambling game played with dominoesIt is just one wide bed for several people and the cheapest communal bed without privacy.