Huo Duan went to greet them, and Liu Zhengshan introduced both parties while wiping his sweat.

Afterwards, Huo Duan bowed slightly and saluted respectfully, "I, Huo Duan, and my wife, pay my respects to Master Zhu."

Although he looked down on people like Zhu Kuo, he had to show his attitude when asking someone to do something for him.

It won't cause any gossip to the other party.

Huo Duan thought he had done enough to show off, but as soon as he finished speaking, he heard the moustache-wearing lawyer next to Zhu Kuo yelling, "You rude and unruly commoner! Why don't you kneel down to greet County Magistrate Zhu when you see him?"

Do you really think of yourself as something?

Huo Duan raised his eyebrows with a cold expression. He neither knelt nor got angry. He just narrowed his eyes and stared at Zhu Kuo in front of him without any fear, and did not even glance at the lawyer.

Zhu Kuo teased the red-feathered bird in the cage and waited for a long time without seeing any response. Then he looked up at them.

The red-feathered bird in the cage flapped its wings, jumped up and down, and chirped non-stop.

Zhu Kuo scolded, "This beast is a beast. He doesn't know how to judge the situation. He has no right to interrupt people when they are talking. He has been with people for a long time and thinks he is a human being... He doesn't even know what kind of person he is!"

After hearing this, the master hurriedly smiled and said, "Your Excellency is right!"

He slapped himself several times, "Damn it, look at my mouth, I can't even speak..."

The slaps were crisp and repeated seven or eight times. Zhu Kuo teased the bird for a long time before he said slowly, "I'm scolding a beast. Why are you so anxious? Go back and accept your punishment."

After using a lot of strength, the master's face was already swollen and red and purple. He laughed and said, "Yes, your Excellency is right."

After the show of killing a chicken to scare the monkeys was over, Zhu Kuo slowly raised his eyelids to look at Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan, "Manager Huo, I have heard something about this... Okay, take a seat."

Huo Duan kept smiling and let Zhu Kuo go first. The lawyer pushed them aside and served them attentively.

As the host, the other two followed closely behind.

"Mr. Huo, Zhu Kuo is not a good person. We will deal with it according to the situation later." Gu Fengyan avoided the crowd and leaned against Huo Duan, whispering.

Huo Duan stared at him and said, "That was a complete show just now, with allusions to other people's ideas and full of style... But don't worry, if he doesn't agree, I have ways to force him to agree."

A trace of hatred flashed in his eyes... He stared at Gu Fengyan for a while with a concerned look on his face, "Are you feeling unwell?"

At this time, the whole street was full of lunch shops, and the aroma of oily food and snacks filled the entire street. As soon as Gu Fengyan smelled it, his stomach started to churn...

"I've been feeling nauseous since I woke up this morning. I don't know what's wrong." He covered his nose and his face turned pale.

Huo Duan was very worried, fearing that he had heatstroke or had eaten something bad, so he reached out to check the temperature on his forehead, but found nothing unusual.

"Don't go in. Go home and lie down. I'll ask Mr. Lin to come take a look this afternoon. I'm afraid it's because of the hot weather and you may have eaten something unclean."

Gu Fengyan suppressed the nausea in his throat, smiled and shook his head, "If I go back, Mr. Huo will be eaten alive by Zhu Kuo. Didn't you see the way he looked at you..."

It's strange... Although Huo Duan is very handsome, his handsomeness belongs to the category of "handsome". If he were a boy, it would not conform to the aesthetic of this era.

Everyone likes soft and beautiful ones.

Zhu Kuo was an exception. When he saw Huo Duan's eyes, they immediately turned green.

This was the first time he encountered such a situation. Gu Fengyan wanted to laugh but also felt nauseous, and his expression changed again and again.

"What nonsense are you talking about? Go back quickly, I'll find someone to take you there..." Huo Duan didn't care too much about this. His whole mind was on Gu Fengyan, feeling worried and anxious.

The group had already turned the stairs and were about to go upstairs.

Gu Fengyan smiled and pinched Huo Duan's wrist, "Don't worry, I'm fine. I'm much better now."

It seemed that the smell of the oil made him feel nauseous, but now that the smell was a little lighter, he felt much better.

"real?"

Gu Fengyan spread his hands, "Why would I lie to you?"

Huo Duan put his face close to his, looked carefully left and right, and found that his face had more color than before.

"If you feel uncomfortable, just tell me directly. Be obedient." Zhu Kuo and the others had already gone upstairs, so they shouldn't be too slow. Huo Duan pulled him to a deserted place under the stairs and nibbled his lips gently... Then he left with a "pop" sound, leaving strands of silver threads hanging down.

Gu Fengyan panted lightly, his waist was numb, Huo Duanyou hugged him, "Did you hear that?"

"Yeah." Gu Fengyan couldn't say anything and just nodded in response.

Huo Duan seemed satisfied and took his men upstairs.

…

The private room had been prepared in advance, with wisps of sweet incense smoke wafting upwards. Zhu Kuo sat at the top, with the lawyer standing behind him, followed by Liu Zhengshan, Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan.

The guys started serving the food.

Chicken stewed with Astragalus, duck stewed with Adenophora Root...these are all common home-cooked dishes, but they are not so ordinary because of the addition of medicinal herbs.

After all the dishes were served, the waiter brought a pot of the best tea, a pot of Zuitingchun, and stood by to serve. I guess that was what Manager Li had instructed in advance.

They invited Zhu Kuo to eat, and the waiter poured him a glass of wine, introducing: "Sir, our store's signature Zuitingchun, we only have this jar this year, and when we heard you were coming, the shopkeeper opened it and offered it to you... Please try it."

All restaurant owners have a signature liquor that is the center of their family fortune. The one at Dongfulou is Zuitingchun.

A wandering poet once tasted this by chance and wrote a doggerel: "A jar of drunken spring in the pavilion, ten miles of towers and terraces collapsed, lying on my back for three hundred years, sharing the same pillow with the sky."

The wine tastes refreshing at first like a breeze in a bamboo forest, but has a strong aftertaste.

Zhu Kuo took a sip of wine, looked drunk, and ate some more food.

Huo Duancai said, "I have invited Master Zhu here today to ask for a favor."

After a few drinks, Zhu Kuo regained some patience and raised his hand, saying, "You go ahead."

"Since you already know that we are in the medicinal materials business, I won't beat around the bush. This time, we two hope to obtain a private farming deed for the land in Heqing Village. Please help us," Huo Duan said.

He didn't expect Zhu Kuo to agree straightforwardly... Based on this man's temper, no one would be able to get any documents unless they peeled off a layer of skin from him.

Zhu Kuo remained silent for a long time, as the incense mist rising from the celadon Boshan stove trembled.

"How dare you!" Zhu Kuo's eyes suddenly became sharp, and he slammed the table and said, "According to the laws of the country, land cannot be sold privately, and it is not allowed to grow anything other than food...Are you defying the emperor's authority by doing this?"

Do you really think I'm a fool? Gu Fengyan sneered in his heart.

"Master Zhu has a bad memory. The national law states, 'Land cannot be sold privately, and planting crops other than grain is not allowed without official documents...' If not, why do you think we came all the way to you?" he said calmly.

Is it possible that he is just looking for trouble to make things difficult for himself?

Zhu Kuo really didn't expect that two farmers who came from humble backgrounds knew so much.

He glanced at Liu Zhengshan standing aside...it must be this ignorant headman who was talking too much!

Zhu Kuo had long wanted to get a piece of the pie after hearing that the medicinal materials business was very profitable, but had no reason to do so and had to give up. Today, they took the initiative to invite him to a banquet, thinking that a little threat would get the job done.

There's no hope now.

Zhu Kuo was furious, his eyes were vicious.

Liu Zhengshan sat upright, looking impartially, pretending not to see anything.

As soon as Zhu Kuofu opened his mouth, Gu Fengyan knew what he was up to.

Want to get a piece of the pie from them... No way!

"Lord Zhu, there is no need to look at others. All under heaven belongs to the king, and all the people in the world are the king's subjects. I am loyal to the emperor and love the people. Although I am not in the government, I can still remember the country's laws clearly... On the contrary, Lord Zhu, are you too old and it's time for you to enjoy your retirement?" Gu Fengyan sneered.

The only thing he said was that he was cursing Zhu Kuo in the face with the words "old waste" and "parasite of the country".

Zhu Kuo was so angry that his wrinkled face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

There was a dangerous light in his eyes as he moved straight towards Gu Fengyan.

Huo Duan took a deep breath... The thing he was most worried about happened. His son Ayan must have been a little firecracker in his previous life, and he would start to argue at the slightest disagreement.

"After talking so much, drink some water to moisten your throat..." He poured a cup of tea for Gu Fengyan. Since Zhu Kuo couldn't get anything done, he might as well let him be... Ayan is the most important.

Zhu Kuo had been an official for more than a decade, and he was the one who had the final say in the entire Qianmo County. No one dared to resist him. Now, two low-ranking merchants dared to bully him...

He smiled coldly, with a sinister light in his eyes, "Are you two sure you want to be so rampant in Qianmo territory?"

As long as these two ungrateful small merchants are still in Qianmo County, he doesn't believe that there is no way to deal with them!

After asking, he played with the walnut in his hand confidently, grinding it with a crackling sound.

Unexpectedly, neither of them paid any attention to him. Huo Duan only looked at Feng Yan. Seeing that his face had turned pale again, he hurriedly asked, "Are you sick again?"

There was an incense burner in the private room, and the incense burned was probably honey-incense, which tasted sweet, elegant and not greasy. It was originally very good, but who knew that Gu Fengyan's sense of smell suddenly became very sensitive.

The smell of spices in the house, mixed with the various dishes and wine on the table, was an indescribable smell.

Gu Fengyan was able to suppress his anger for a while with the help of tea. After talking for a while, he inhaled too much and his stomach was churning. He was about to vomit.

"Yeah." He nodded dejectedly. Zhu Kuo and Li Kuo were no longer important.

The same thing happened when Huo Duan poured him some water.

This was the first time Zhu Kuo was treated so coldly that he felt humiliated. The muscles at the corners of his mouth twitched stiffly and the jade bamboo chopsticks in his hand broke.

The lawyer had been standing beside Zhu Kuo. Seeing that the situation was not going well, he slammed the table and said, "How dare you! Why didn't you answer the Lord's question? This is a disrespect for the law. You should be sent to prison!"

This sound woke up Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan.

Gu Fengyan was already feeling very uncomfortable. He looked at his master, then his eyes moved back to Zhu Kuo's face. Suddenly, he couldn't help it -

"vomit……"

The air was stagnant at this moment. The master was stunned, and even Huo Duan was very surprised... If he didn't know that Gu Fengyan was not feeling well, he would have thought that he did it on purpose.

Zhu Kuo's pupils widened, his face was darker than the bottom of a pot, and the wine glass in his hand fell on the table, spun around, and fell to the ground, breaking into pieces with a "pop".

Everyone was awakened by the crisp sound and looked at Zhu Kuo.

Zhu Kuo's beard trembled at the corners of his mouth, and his lips trembled. He was extremely angry. He stood up and pointed at Huo Duan and Gu Fengyan, "How unreasonable! Come, take these two arrogant and unruly people back to the prison and give them severe punishment!"