Chapter 003: Young Talents

So in order to continue his carefree lifestyle, Wang Shao'ai spent a fortune to recruit Zhang Dong, appointing him as the manager of Tai'an Restaurant to make money for him.

In a sense, Wang Shao'ai was also a qualified employer.

At least he wouldn't have an outsider managing insiders, let alone meddle recklessly in the tavern's business.

This idea of employing only the talented is precisely the mindset a qualified master should have.

Zhang Dong was somewhat surprised to hear that the owner was coming to inspect the restaurant today, as he knew well that his employer was a notorious idler in Luoyang.

He never interfered with the tavern's business, nor did he care about it.

Throughout the year, apart from showing up punctually on collection days, he rarely set foot in the tavern.

Occasionally, he would enter the tavern, but not to patrol—rather, to summon his disreputable friends to drink there.

After all, Tai'an Restaurant was famous in Luoyang; could today be any different?

So Zhang Dong cupped his hands and said, "Boss, how many jars of fine wine would you like today?"

Wang Bo was taken aback, shook his head, and said, "I'm not drinking today. I just came here to have a look."

In plain words, Wang Bo simply wanted to see the difference between this ancient tavern and a modern hotel—after all, this was not one of those taverns on TV, but a genuine ancient tavern.

Zhang Dong naturally had no idea what Wang Bo was thinking. When he heard that Wang Bo had not come for wine today but was genuinely here to patrol, his heart couldn't help but skip a beat.

He raised his head and carefully studied Wang Bo for a few moments, noticing that Wang Bo had shed his former listlessness, appearing vigorous and spirited, as if he had become a different person, which only made his heart grow more uneasy.

If Wang Bo was really here to patrol and investigate the restaurant today, what did that signify?

Could it be that the other party no longer trusted him, wanted to break the tacit understanding of the past, and meddle in the affairs of the tavern?

If it were the other party's parents, Zhang Dong would naturally be most welcome.

But if it was a libertine, Zhang Dong was somewhat doubtful whether the other party could manage the restaurant well.

What if the other party meddles recklessly and causes the restaurant's business to plummet?

But the other party was the owner of the tavern, and Zhang Dong had no idea how to stop him for the moment. He could only resolve that if the man really wanted to meddle in the tavern's business, he would not stand in his way.

However, he absolutely would not allow the other party to ruin the tavern's business, and could only fight to the death to fully repay the old owner's kindness for recognizing his talent.

Wang Bo, of course, had no idea that his shopkeeper's thoughts had already turned over a thousand times in the blink of an eye, even giving rise to a faint hint of a death wish. He found a table and sat down, gazing at the scenery outside the building, while his mind pondered the life to come.

First of all, the Wang mansion was already large enough, so there was no need to buy a bigger house.

However, he had some things from the modern world that were inconvenient to show to outsiders, so Wang Bo had to build a building to store these things inside.

No one else was allowed to enter without his permission, except for himself.

Fortunately, this was ancient times, and he was the head of the household; it was unlikely that any servant would dare to defy his orders.

If there really is someone bold enough, we'll deal with it then.

Secondly, he was no longer young, and had been a single dog all along—it was heartbreaking just to mention it. Now that he had finally come to an ancient era where one could have three wives and four concubines, he had to at least taste some meat.

Let's not talk about a wife for now—after all, getting married is not something that can be done in a day or two. Moreover, given Wang Bo's current reputation, it's likely that few people would dare to marry their daughter to him.

But he could take a concubine first.

This was the good thing about ancient times, especially the Tang Dynasty, where the atmosphere was liberal. As long as you had the ability, even if you took eight or ten concubines at once, few people would criticize you.

But to take a concubine, you must have money.

To take a concubine, you would need at least several tens of strings of cash, or even a hundred strings. If she were more beautiful, the price might be even higher.

So in ancient times, if you had no money, you couldn't have a harem.

And Wang Bo was undoubtedly wealthy; not to mention hundreds of strings of cash, even thousands of strings, he could produce them.

So taking a concubine was not a problem at all.

But the problem was that Wang Bo had just arrived in this era and was not yet familiar with it, so he would not rashly take a concubine; he would have to make thorough preparations before doing so.

The thought of a future with many wives and concubines, and a house full of children and grandchildren, excited Wang Bo.

……

As the evening lights came on, Wang Bo left Tai'an Restaurant and returned to his home.

The so-called 'lamps aglow at dusk' refers to the moment when night falls and the city lights up. In summer, the days are long, and the lamps usually glow around seven in the evening.

If it were winter, it might be a bit earlier.

Wang Bo returned to the Wang residence. Before he could even settle down, he heard a man shouting outside: "Brother Shao'ai, are you there? Brother Shao'ai, are you there? Yuan Zhen has come to visit."

Wang Bo was taken aback. Yuan Zhen — that name sounded very familiar.

Wang Bo thought carefully for a moment, then suddenly remembered: wasn't Yuan Zhen that poet from the Tang dynasty?

Once having visited the vast ocean, one finds no other waters worth calling waters; except for the peaks of Mount Wu, no other clouds are worth calling clouds.

Reluctant to glance back at the passing flowers—half for cultivating the Way, half for you.

This poem is very famous in modern times. Wang Bo had also thought it was quite impressive and had once specifically looked up Yuan Zhen's background.

But Wang Bo remembered that Yuan Zhen didn't seem to be a person of this time period.

Yuan Zhen was a poet of the late Tang dynasty. He passed the imperial examinations in the same year as Bai Juyi, and the two became lifelong friends in poetry, jointly advocating the New Yuefu movement. They were known as “Yuan-Bai” and formed the “Yuanhe style.”

But now it was the High Tang, with Wu Zetian and Li Zhi still alive—how could Yuan Zhen have shown up?

And he even knew Wang Shao'ai.

This is not scientific.

Could it be that this Yuan Zhen is also a time traveler?

Just as Wang Bo's mind was running wild, he suddenly heard Liu'er say, "Master, the young proprietor of Qingxin Teahouse has arrived. Would you like to see him or not?"

The young master of Qingxin Teahouse?

Wang Bo couldn't help but let out a sigh. It seemed there had been some mistake; this was clearly not the Yuan Zhen of the late Tang Dynasty, but merely someone with the same name.

No, no, no, it's not necessarily the same name.

After all, Chinese characters are profound and extensive; perhaps the other party's name is not Yuan Zhen at all, but could be Yuan Zhen (元贞), Yuan Zhen (元震), Yuan Zhen (元镇), or even Yuan Zhen (元振).

Wang Bo said, 'Yu'er, go invite this Yuan Zhen in.'

Meanwhile, Wang Bo thoroughly searched his mind and, from the information he had obtained, finally found information about this Yuan Zhen (元稹)—no, it should be Yuan Zhen (元镇).

Yuan Zhen, the young master of Qingxin Tea House, was not only learned and well-read, writing excellent poetry, but also skilled in brewing fine tea.

Especially the Que She tea under the Qingxin Tea House was the finest of the finest, and had now become a tribute to the imperial court, exclusively supplied to high-ranking officials and nobles, beyond the reach of ordinary people.

Compared to the libertine Wang Bo, this one could be called a young talent renowned throughout Luoyang.

But this Yuan Zhen, it seems I've heard of him somewhere.