The painting exhibition that Tsaehorng participated in was quite interesting. At least, that's how Yihshyong felt when they got there. Yihshyong didn't know much about painting, but because he was a person who liked to read, he knew more or less about painting terms. So at least, if he talked about the painting with the people present at the exhibition, he wouldn't look so stupid. However, Yihshyong was lazy to interact with other people at that time. So he spent time there just to enjoy the paintings while mute in a thousand words.
Yihshyong turned his gaze to Shannchyuan and Yinqyueh. The two of them seemed to have the same taste in painting. They paid more attention to the paintings depicting the scenery. But it could also be that one followed the other when the other looked at a painting. Either Shannchyuan following Yinqyueh or Yinqyueh following Shannchyuan. Yihshyong wasn't so sure about that. In Yihshyong's view, the relationship between Shannchyuan and Yinqyueh was rather difficult to define. At least, that was Yihshyong's conclusion up to that point. That might change over time.
The person who invited them, Tsaehorng, was busy conversing with the visitors. Many of the visitors asked the young man questions. There were simple questions. On the other hand, there were also tough questions. Tsaehorng patiently answered those questions one by one. Compared to six months ago, Tsaehorng had changed a lot. Previously, he looked like a quiet child who harbored anger. Now, he looked very relaxed and confident.
After being there for a while, Shannchyuan approached Yihshyong. "I'll take Yinqyueh home. Do you still want to be here?"
Yihshyong didn't want to linger there either. Shannchyuan's words were a relief. "I'll just go with you. Once we get home, we can start moving things to Shindongchaang's warehouse."
Soon after that, they approached Tsaehorng to say that they were leaving the exhibition venue.
"Let's have lunch first." Tsaehorng tried to delay their return.
"Lunch is still a long way off. We have other things to do." Yihshyong smiled.
Tsaehorng looked at his watch. "It's past eleven. We'll be at the diner at half-past twelve if we start walking now. It might take about fifteen minutes for everything to be ready. I think, at twelve to a quarter of the dish will be served. So, it's actually not too early for lunch."
Shannchyuan turned to Yinqyueh. "What do you think?"
Yinqyueh's face was bright. The girl smiled widely. "It's fine if we eat lunch a little earlier than usual."
"Alright! Then we're leaving for lunch now." Shannchyuan also smiled widely.
Tsaehorng's face brightened as he heard Shannchyuan's words. The young man was leading the way as the four of them exited the exhibition area.
"What are we going to eat?" Yinqyueh's voice sounded excited.
"That's up to Tsaehorng," said Shannchyuan.
"What do you want to eat?" Tsaehorng asked.
"You invited us. So we will follow your choice," said Yihshyong.
Tsaehorng just laughed at Yihshyong's words. He continued to lead them.
"Is the place not far from here?" Yinqyueh looked to the right and left.
Tsaehorng nodded. "I'm sure you guys will love the place."
Along the way, there were many shops selling food. Tsaehorng did not stop at any of the shops. He walked on. After arriving at the crossroads, he asked them to cross. Tsaehorng's restaurant of choice was a bit far.
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Fortunately, Yihshyong's conjecture was not proven. After a while, they arrived at the restaurant they were going to. The restaurant was quite busy. It wasn't lunchtime yet, but people had already started queuing in front of the restaurant. Tsaehorng did not stand behind the line of people queuing. He continued to walk to the side of the restaurant building. There was a small alley.
"Let's go in this way." Tsaehorng turned to them. The young man beamed.
The four of them then walked down the small alley. After about fifty meters, there was a small door on the building wall. Tsaehorng opened it right away. "Come on, please come in!"
Tsaehorng asked Shannchyuan, Yihshyong, and Yinqyueh to enter. Yihshyong suspected that this building was the property of the Tsaehorng family. So he can freely go in and out.
After everyone entered, Tsaehorng closed the door. He guided them up to the first floor through a staircase only about four meters from the door where they had just entered. Upstairs, there's a lot of room. Tsaehorng didn't guide them into any of the rooms. He went up again to the floor above the floor they were standing on. Arriving on the second floor, he also did not stop. Only then, on the third floor, did Tsaehorng walk into one room on that floor.
Arriving at the door, he immediately opened the door that looked quite luxurious. The room behind the door turned out to be enormous. This room was similar to a karaoke room, but it was equipped with a large dining table. Tsaehorng invited them to sit on the chairs in front of the table.
Tsaehorng pressed a button on the doorbell attached to the wall. It wasn't long before someone entered.
"Good afternoon Mr. Mingju." The person bowed respectfully.
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"Good afternoon." Tsaehorng's voice was so authoritative. Much different from before.
The person who turned out to be a waiter at the restaurant gave them a menu list. Yinqyueh grabbed the menu straight away. She immediately flipped through the menu. Her eyes sparkled.
"What's the special food here?" Shannchyuan asked.
"We don't have such a mainstay here. There are certain foods that we promote. But these particular foods change every day." The waiter nodded politely.
"But there's still a regular menu, right?" Yihshyong looked straight at the waiter.
"Yes, Sir! You can order everything that is written on the menu now." The waiter pointed to the menu Yinqyueh was reading.
"Then what's the surprise menu for today?" Tsaehorng asked.
"Today, we serve horse steak with sweet and sour sauce, horse stew with soy sauce, and smoked horse meat with black pepper seasoning!"
Instantly, Shannchyuan and Yinqyueh looked at each other.
Yihshyong could only wonder in his heart. He didn't understand the meaning of their glances at each other. Horse meat was not very common to eat, but that did not mean that no one ate it. A few months ago, Yihshyong had tried eating horse meat jerky. The meat was so tough! Maybe the jerky came from old horse meat pulling carriages, so the meat wasn't up to par.
"Uncle, do you want to try horse meat?" Tsaehorng's words sounded like an invitation.
"Of course! I wonder what smoked horse meat looks like with black pepper." Shannchyuan answered quickly.
"I want a horse steak in sweet and sour sauce," Yinqyueh said.
"Then I'd like horse stew with soy sauce." Yihshyong raised his right hand.
"Today, I'm in the mood to eat shrimp. So I just asked for boiled giant prawns," said Tsaehorng.
"You don't want to try horse meat?" Yihshyong asked.
"I've tried several times to eat these dishes here, Uncle." Tsaehorng smiled.
In addition, they ordered several other additional dishes listed on the menu. The waiter said that the order would be ready in about twenty minutes. After he excused himself, the waiter speedily disappeared behind the door.