Chapter 50 - Can’t Be His Child

The next morning, Mister and Madam Zhong took their son to the restaurant in the side street Qiu Ling had told them about. They left the horses at the stable for the moment, since they were unsure, if they could leave them with Mister Zhong's cousin.

The restaurant, though in a side street, was in a good location and had become quite well known in the capital. It certainly was one of the more frequented establishments. Even now, early in the morning, people hurried through the streets and stepped into the building. A servant was waiting at the entrance, leading them to an unoccupied table at once.

Mister Zhong and his family stopped in front of the building, unsure of what to do next. This was a completely new world to them.

The black roof tiles glinted in the sun, the ornaments at the sides projecting shadows onto the walls below. The building had two floors, both of which already seemed to be filled with a lot of customers. Shadows scurried around inside. The waiters obviously had a lot to do. The entrance was broad enough to enter with a group of five people lined up next to each other and above hung a plaque with the restaurant's name, that seemed to have been written by a renowned calligrapher. The interior, that could be seen from the street, looked more than decent. Looking at it from the perspective of a family like the Zhongs, it could even be described as expensive.

Mister Zhong gulped. "This … is this really the restaurant, the daoist master was talking about?"

"We only came through this street yesterday. It couldn't be any other restaurant."

Mister Zhong's gaze roamed over the building once more. He knew, there was only one way, to find out for sure: He had to go up and ask. But even the servant at the entrance was better dressed than him. Asking, if this really was his cousin's restaurant … He hadn't enough face to lose. Wouldn't he seem shameless, if it wasn't his cousin's restaurant in the end? It would seem as if he wanted to worm his way into some rich family to lead a comfortable life!

"Just go!" His wife nudged him.

Mister Zhong deeply breathed and went up to the servant. "Excuse me, I am searching for Zhong Gang."

The servant eyed him suspiciously. It didn't have to be said, that people like the Zhongs normally didn't frequent the restaurant. "Who is that supposed to be?"

"Uh …" Mister Zhong shrunk his neck. He hadn't been sure in the first place and now, confronted with the servant's harsh attitude, he wanted to back down right away.

Qiu Ling sighed. It would probably be better, if he didn't hide his body and just accompanied them the whole way. How could everything go wrong with this family?

He slipped into the restaurant, found a inconspicuous corner and dropped his spell. In a flash, he walked to the entrance and pretended to have just heard the conversation. "Zhong Gang? Isn't that the owner?"

Mister Zhong looked up, feeling a sense of déjà vu. Indeed. The man, who just came out of the restaurant, was the same man, that had helped him in the inn yesterday! Mister Zhong broke out in a smile at seeing his savior.

"The owner?" The servant eyed the Zhongs again. "What do you want from him?"

Qiu Ling snorted, shook his head and exited the restaurant. "Wouldn't one normally tell that to the person they want to see?"

The servant grit his teeth. He wanted to rebuke that brazen guest, but though he seemed like he had traveled for a long time, the quality of his clothes and how he told his thoughts as a matter of course, clearly showed, that he was somebody with status, that couldn't be offended. The servant could only force a smile and nod.

"Of course, of course. I was just not sure, if I could be of any help to the guests, until someone can report to the owner."

"Ah, no, no, that … isn't necessary." Mister Zhong felt embarrassed. He was just a normal villager. How did he become a guest just through some words? This man was really special. He turned around and wanted to thank him, but nothing could be seen of that man anymore.

The servant, too, turned around. He waved one of the other employees over and send him inside to get the owner, then went back to watching the Zhongs suspiciously. If the owner didn't want to see them, he would gladly chase them away. Just imagining it let him smile.

Mister Zhong relaxed his tensed shoulders. Look at that! That servant had seemed quite hostile at first, but now he was even smiling at them! Sure enough, this was a good restaurant. It might really be his cousin's.

Madam Zhong glanced at her husband and shook her head. How could somebody misunderstand someone this much? Her husband was really too naive!

Meanwhile, the restaurant's owner was on his way down to see, who these 'shabby people' were, the servant had described. In case they were the people he was waiting for, he even went down himself. When he reached the entrance, he found a fuming servant, a man with a goofy smile on his face and a woman rolling her eyes with a child next to her.

The owner laughed heartily. "Ah Lei! You already came. I expected you to only come in one or two weeks!" The owner hurried toward Mister Zhong and pulled him into a hug. "Ah, it's so good to see you again!"

Mister Zhong smiled even happier and hugged the man back. "Ah Gang! Haha, some things happened on the way here, that's why we were faster than expected."

"Tell me about it inside. Come on, come on. This has to be your beautiful wife? Ah, you didn't brag for nothing!" He went over to Madam Zhong and smiled, then bent down to Jing Yi. "Oh? And who is this?"

Jing Yi looked up to him, his doe eyes wide.

"Ah, what a cute child! This has to be your wife's younger brother!"

"No, no. That's my son."

The owner turned around to Mister Zhong and lifted his brows. "How did you manage to get such a cute child? Ah, don't tell me out here. Let's go in. You must be hungry, right?", he asked, while already hurrying back into the building. He waved at the two servants. "Bring our specialties up for my guests." Then he rushed further into the building.

Mister Zhong and his family could only hurry to keep up with him. The two servants stood at the entrance, that seemed somehow empty now. They exchanged glances and both thought the same: What exactly has just happened?