Chapter 54

"Please lead the way, Wang Laoban."

After thinking for a while, Zhang Jie decided to attend the banquet.

"Jieyuan, Mr. Chen, please."

Having received a positive answer, Wang Laoban led the way happily.

Zhang Jie and his party followed Wang Laoban to a private room on the second floor of the inn.

Wang Laoban's Haoke Lai Inn was a restaurant model that combined dining and accommodation.

Zhang Jie and Wu Song and the others had been living in a quiet little courtyard behind the restaurant these days.

"Little Cui, tell the kitchen to serve the food."

After Zhang Jie and the others sat down, Wang Laoban ordered the waiter of the inn.

"Yes."

The waiter, wearing gray clothes and pants with a white towel draped over his shoulder, went to carry out the order.

Before long, the waiter began to serve the dishes in an orderly manner.

"Mr. Zhang, Mr. Chen, come and taste this plate of braised beef."

Wang Laoban enthusiastically introduced the finale dish of the evening.

"Oh, I've long heard that the braised beef at Haoke Lai is a specialty,

but it's a pity that there has been no beef supply for the past few days, making it hard to satisfy my appetite.

I didn't expect that I would get my wish tonight."

Chen Wen exclaimed in wonder.

"Thanks to Wang Laoban's good fortune, we can also satisfy our appetites today."

Zhang Jie also smiled.

Don't look at *Water Margin*, where every hero goes to a restaurant or inn and shouts:

"Waiter, bring a pot of wine and two catties of braised beef."

And no matter when, the waiter can always deliver the braised beef quickly.

After the hero is full and satisfied, he always throws down a tael of silver and says heroically: "Keep the change."

In fact, since history began, draft cattle have been an important labor force.

In ordinary farming families, the importance of draft cattle is even greater than that of sons and daughters.

If sons and daughters are gone, they can be born again; if draft cattle are gone,

the family loses its livelihood, and the whole family might starve to death.

Ancient dynasties were truly based on agriculture, and food, clothing, housing, and transportation all came from farmers and fields.

Draft cattle were the main power for ancient farming operations, equivalent to modern tractors.

Without cattle plowing, land is difficult to cultivate effectively,

grain production will drop significantly, directly affecting people's livelihood and national stability.

Therefore, protecting draft cattle is protecting agricultural productivity.

So, the protection of draft cattle has been extremely valued since ancient times.

The ancients said: "Having fields without cattle is like having a boat without an oar; you cannot cross."

The *Book of Rites* of the Western Zhou Dynasty once said: "Feudal lords do not kill cattle without cause."

Except for necessary sacrifices and alliances, feudal lords were also bound by rituals and laws in ordinary times and could not kill draft cattle at will.

Emperor Taizong Li Shimin once issued an edict saying: "The use of cattle is the basis of farming; there is much slaughter, which is deeply contrary to compassion."

The *Tang Code* "Stables and Treasury Law" stipulates that those who kill draft cattle without reporting it shall be sentenced to one year of penal servitude."

Privately slaughtering draft cattle is almost equivalent to the crime of an official being exiled for corruption.

The Great Song's protection of draft cattle was even higher than the Tang Dynasty's laws.

The *Song Criminal Code* stipulates: "We have deliberated that in the future, if anyone steals and kills official or private horses, cattle, or miscellaneous livestock,

or kills them secretly due to hatred or jealousy, please treat them as theft and slaughter."

Acts of harming draft cattle are all judged as serious crimes.

Unless the cattle die of old age or illness, they are not allowed to be sold as beef.

The Great Song also stipulates that if draft cattle die of illness or old age, they need to be reported to the government,

and after confirmation by the government, the cattle can be slaughtered; otherwise, it is considered illegal.

The examples of greenwood heroes asking the waiter for two taels of beef at every turn

are actually just fabricated by the author; privately eating beef would be severely punished, not to mention selling beef.

In 21st-century terms, draft cattle are almost like a protected animal that only appears in black and white in photos.

"Wang Laoban, where does this beef come from?"

Chen Wen asked with curiosity.

"Haha. This matter is strange to say; today at the Li family village outside the city,

a draft cattle actually fell into a pond and drowned."

Wang Laoban, who had already prepared his story, laughed.

"Drowned?"

Chen Wen, who was a smart person, knew that it probably wasn't that simple.

However, he didn't have any moral cleanliness, so he didn't get to the bottom of it.

Zhang Jie smiled without saying a word upon hearing this: whether this so-called drowning was an accident or a forced accident is hard to say.

How the law stipulates is one thing, and what the people below do is another.

The so-called "there is a policy above, there is a countermeasure below."

If the government doesn't allow the slaughter of draft cattle, then what if the draft cattle "accidentally" drown, break a leg, or fall to their death?

Wu Song, who had experience in the Jianghu, also understood in his heart.

As for Pan Jinlian, she was not there now.

Although Zhang Jie didn't mind her showing her face,

the people sitting there were all big men, so it was not convenient for her to come over.

"Drink, drink."

Wang Laoban continued to pick up the wine pot and pour wine for Zhang Jie and the others with a smile.

"Good wine!"

Chen Wen heroically raised his wine glass and drank it in one gulp, then exclaimed in admiration.

"Haha, this is twenty-year-old Shaoxing Daughter Red; as long as Mr. Chen and Mr. Zhang are satisfied."

Wang Laoban introduced it with his smile undiminished.

"It really is good wine."

Zhang Jie also raised his wine glass and sent the wine into his mouth, feeling it soft and not spicy, mellow and moisturizing.

Zhang Jie and Chen Wen both drank a glass of wine, only Wu Song hesitated with his wine glass.

"Why doesn't the brave warrior Wu drink?"

Seeing Wu Song hesitating to drink, Chen Wen asked in surprise.

According to his understanding, Wu Song should also be a person who loves wine.

"Uh..."

Wu Song rubbed the wine glass, which was not even as big as his thumb, and hesitated.

Zhang Jie thought about it and understood immediately:

Wu Song was a fierce man who drank eighteen bowls of "Three Bowls Won't Pass the Ridge" in one go at Jingyang Ridge.

Now asking him to use this small wine glass, he isn't satisfied!

Wu Song: Using this small wine glass, are you raising fish here?

"Waiter, please go and get a larger wine glass."

Zhang Jie said to the waiter standing to the side.

"Serving the Jieyuan, how could there be any trouble?"

The waiter, knowing Zhang Jie's status as Jieyuan, happily went to get a large glass.

"So that's it."

Seeing Zhang Jie's action, Chen Wen and Wang Laoban suddenly realized.

"I was not well-prepared, I hope the brave warrior Wu will not take offense."

Wang Laoban hurriedly stood up and apologized to Wu Song.

He didn't know much about Wu Song's fame as a tiger-slaying hero, nor did he care much.

Even if Wu Song was brave, would he dare to kill him in this Jinan city?

But Wu Song was a favorite of Zhang Jie; offending Wu Song

would undoubtedly affect his impression in Zhang Jie's heart.

He didn't want to flatter and end up kicking the horse's leg.

"Wang Laoban, there is no need for that."

Wu Song generously helped up the bowing Wang Laoban.

For this period of time, with Zhang Jie's provincial exam as the priority, he, who was in charge of the bodyguard duty, hadn't drunk for a long time.

Wang Laoban naturally didn't know his habit of drinking; ignorance is no excuse!

*Clatter*~

The nimble waiter brought a very large wine glass in a few moments.

"Brave warrior Wu, please."

Wang Laoban, feeling guilty, diligently poured wine for Wu Song.

Wu Song heroically picked up a glass that was worth four or five of Zhang Jie's and drank it in one gulp.

"This wine has strength!"

The moment the wine entered his mouth, Wu Song's eyes lit up.

This twenty-year-old Shaoxing Daughter Red was better than the wine he drank at Jingyang Ridge and other places.

Zhang Jie heard Wu Song's evaluation of the wine, and his thoughts instantly returned to the content of his tiger-slaying at Jingyang Ridge,

thinking of the wild ideas of those silly netizens in the 21st century:

Tiger: Song, when you see this letter,

I am already a first-class protected animal of the country; if you hit me again, you will have to step on a sewing machine.

Time flies so fast; I have left that ridge for hundreds of years.

I eat well and sleep well now, and I don't have to worry about anyone hitting me in the middle of the night.

Oh, by the way, I also gave birth to a litter of babies; if there is a chance, I will introduce you to them.

Song, I miss you; the wind tonight is as heart-stirring as the one that blew when you and I first met that night at Jingyang.

And the only difference is that I will never see you again;

the trees want to be still but the wind won't stop, the tiger's skin is itchy but Song is not there.

I wish you could come back to see me, even for a glance; as long as you come, no matter how far, I will wait for you.

I have thought about a lot in these hundreds of years, and finally, I will ask you one more time:

"Song, if you hadn't drunk that day, would you still have hit me?"

Wu Song, caught off guard, was in tears:

"Tiger, I apologize to you; I drank too much that day.

But if I didn't drink, I wouldn't even have the courage to see you.

If I had drunk one bowl less that day, I wouldn't have dared to meet you..."

"Jieyuan, is the food not to your taste?"

Seeing Zhang Jie somewhat absent-minded, Wang Laoban asked repeatedly.

"The food and wine arranged by Wang Laoban are excellent; I just thought of some things."

Zhang Jie, who had come back to his senses, casually found an excuse.

"Jieyuan, please."

Wang Laoban poured Zhang Jie another glass of wine.

"Please."

After Zhang Jie drank the wine, he fell into memories again.

*Earth Online* in the 21st century has many flaws, such as:

1. Cannot customize appearance.

2. Gold coin acquisition is too slow.

3. The sleep system at night is always inaccessible.

4. There is a slit in the butt, it can't close, it's very smelly.

5. Asian server players are too hardworking, affecting the gaming experience; daily benefits are not as good as the European or American servers.

6. The "undergraduate degree certificate" prop, which was very difficult to get before, is now everywhere,

the numerical inflation is too fast, and there is no gaming experience at all.

7. A foreign language resource pack has been downloading for more than ten years and still hasn't finished.

8. The national server cannot delete accounts without pain.

But it is still the place where he lived for many years,

so to say he doesn't miss it at all, how could that be possible?

"Pity, I can't go back." Zhang Jie's expression was a bit dim.

Tonight, Zhang Jie, who deliberately didn't use internal energy to dissolve the alcohol, got drunk for the first time in the *Water Margin* world...