"Alright, the last dish, stir-fried yellow goat meat, is ready!"
Xu Taiping scooped the stir-fried goat meat from the pot and carried the plate to the main hall.
At this moment, the dining table in the main hall was already filled with a variety of dishes. Although most of the ingredients were yellow goat meat, the cooking methods were vastly different. There were soups like "goat heart soup," "goat kidney soup," and "goat bone soup," and meat dishes like "stir-fried yellow goat meat," "steamed goat head meat," "roasted yellow goat leg," "baked goat meat," and "wine-cooked goat meat."
These dishes were ones that Xu Taiping's grandfather had eaten during his travels in his youth. Xu Taiping, who heard about them every day, was very eager to learn the recipes and asked his grandfather to teach him, planning to make them when he could afford meat in the future.
Little did he expect that he would actually use these skills today.
"Hmm... It really smells good... The seven merit coins were well spent."
Lao Jiu sniffed the air, his expression changing, and he couldn't help but slap the table hard.
"If I had known you had such skills, Taiping, I would have come to freeload more often!"
Bai Hong, looking at the table full of dishes, couldn't help but feel his appetite grow.
"Uncle Bai, if you like it, you can come and eat often."
Xu Taiping answered very seriously.
"Hehe, I was just saying. How could I often disturb your cultivation?"
Bai Hong laughed and shook his head.
Lao Jiu, hearing Xu Taiping's invitation, was envious. After secretly taking a piece of meat and putting it in his mouth, he tentatively asked Xu Taiping:
"Little friend Taiping, after this meal, can we be considered friends?"
Xu Taiping said with a serious face.
"Little friend Taiping, you can't favor one over the other. Look, I helped you start the fire and clean the table. We should be considered friends."
Lao Jiu's face immediately fell upon hearing this.
Bai Hong, who was standing nearby, felt a bit nervous for Xu Taiping but also secretly felt a bit proud, thinking to himself, "I didn't expect that I, Bai Hong, would have a day when I surpass my granduncle."
Just as the three were enjoying their meal, the gate of the small courtyard was suddenly knocked on.
"Bai Hong, why did you invite me here?"
An old man's voice came from outside the gate.
"Taiping, besides Lao Jiu, I've invited a few more friends. Can you add another set of chopsticks and a bowl?"
Bai Hong didn't answer the person outside but put down his chopsticks and asked Xu Taiping with a smile.
"Since he is also Uncle Bai's friend, please let him in."
"Don't forget to make him pay. I paid seven merit coins!"
Lao Jiu glanced at Bai Hong beside him with a jealous look.
"That's... that's right!"
Bai Hong nodded repeatedly and got up to open the door.
"Bai Hong, what exactly did you bring me here for? I don't have the time to reminisce with you!"
Not long after, Xu Taiping and Lao Jiu, who were both gnawing on a goat rib, saw Bai Hong bring in an old man dressed in fine clothing with meticulously combed hair into the main hall.
"Brother Liu, there's no other meaning. I haven't gathered with Brother Jiu and you for a long time, and I wanted to have a meal with you."
After entering the main hall, Bai Hong pointed to the old man gnawing on a goat rib and smiled.
"Brother Jiu? What Brother Jiu?"
The old man called Brother Liu looked impatiently at the table and met Lao Jiu's gaze.
"Stop talking so much nonsense and sit down to eat!"
The moment their gazes met, a look of shock flashed in the old man's eyes, but he quickly composed himself.
The old man quickly sat down.
"Hey, aren't you the Pavilion Master of Xifeng Pavilion?"
At this moment, Xu Taiping also recognized the old man who had just entered.
If he remembered correctly, this old man was the Pavilion Master of Xifeng Pavilion, Liu Songshan, whom Linglong Senior Sister had taken him to meet when he first came up the mountain.
"I... I... I'm talking to my... to my senior brothers. What right do you have to speak?"
Seeing Xu Taiping interject, Liu Songshan's face immediately turned displeased, and he glared at him fiercely.
"Liu Songshan, your cultivation isn't much, but you sure have a big attitude?"
Before Xu Taiping could speak, Lao Jiu suddenly put down his chopsticks and sneered at Liu Songshan.
"Uncle... Uncle Jiu... I..."
"Hey, hey, hey, Brother Liu, Brother Liu, let's talk calmly. Uncle Jiu was just reminding you to be more polite. All the dishes on this table were made by Little Brother Taiping."
Liu Songshan's face turned pale, and his body trembled violently, almost falling off the chair. Fortunately, Bai Hong was quick to support him.
"Yes, we are able to gather today thanks to Little Brother Taiping. You, on the other hand, started bossing him around as soon as you came in, which is very impolite."
Lao Jiu stuffed a piece of meat into his mouth and spoke in a slightly softer tone.
"Yes, yes, yes! Uncle Jiu is right..."
Hearing Uncle Jiu's tone soften, Liu Songshan felt as if he had been granted a reprieve and nodded repeatedly.
"Brother Liu, try Little Brother Taiping's cooking. Uncle Jiu just praised it highly."
Bai Hong then took out a set of chopsticks and a bowl and placed them in front of Liu Songshan.
"Uncle Jiu praised it highly, so it must be good."
Liu Songshan took the chopsticks and bowl with a smile, his expression full of flattery towards Lao Jiu.
Just as Liu Songshan was about to pick up the chopsticks to eat, Lao Jiu suddenly grabbed his chopsticks and glared at him.
Xu Taiping, who had been watching the scene, immediately reacted and extended his hand to Liu Songshan:
"Pavilion Master Liu, just like Uncle Jiu, this meal costs seven merit coins."
He naturally saw that Uncle Jiu was no ordinary person and that these three were not just there for a meal. However, he had no intention of letting go of the free merit coins, and he didn't care or want to know what these important figures were up to.
"Maybe they were just passing by. I'll just watch the show."
Xu Taiping thought to himself.
Seeing that Xu Taiping was not hesitant about collecting the money, Lao Jiu nodded in satisfaction and, while eating, asked Liu Songshan casually:
"Who is the current hall master of your Liefeng Hall?"
"The current hall master of Liefeng Hall is Xu Youzhi, a junior disciple of the second peak."
Liu Songshan quickly put down his chopsticks and answered seriously.
"Xu Youzhi? His master once brought him to meet me. I have a slight acquaintance with him. Why don't we invite him to join us for a meal?"
Lao Jiu ladled a bowl of soup and sipped it with a look of enjoyment, not even glancing at Liu Songshan.
"Uncle Jiu... This... Isn't it inappropriate? Liefeng Hall is... quite far from here."
Liu Songshan's forehead was sweating.