The painting exhibition that Caihong participated in was quite interesting. At least, that's how Yixiong felt when they got there. Yixiong 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, Yixiong 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.

Yixiong turned his gaze to Shanquan and Yingyue. 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 Shanquan following Yingyue or Yingyue following Shanquan. Yixiong wasn't so sure about that. In Yixiong's view, the relationship between Shanquan and Yingyue was rather difficult to define. At least, that was Yixiong's conclusion up to that point. That might change over time.

The person who invited them, Caihong, 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. Caihong patiently answered those questions one by one. Compared to six months ago, Caihong 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, Shanquan approached Yixiong. "I'll take Yingyue home. Do you still want to be here?"

Yixiong didn't want to linger there either. Shanquan's words were a relief. "I'll just go with you. Once we get home, we can start moving things to Xindongchang's warehouse."

Soon after that, they approached Caihong to say that they were leaving the exhibition venue.

"Let's have lunch first." Caihong tried to delay their departure.

"Lunch is still a long way off. We have other things to do." Yixiong smiled.

Caihong 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."

Shanquan turned to Yingyue. "What do you think?"

Yingyue'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." Shanquan also smiled widely.

Caihong's face brightened as he heard Shanquan's words. The young man was leading the way as the four of them exited the exhibition area.

"What are we going to eat?" Yingyue's voice sounded excited.

"That's up to Caihong," said Shanquan.

"What do you want to eat?" Caihong asked.

"You invited us. So we will follow your choice," said Yixiong.

Caihong just laughed at Yixiong's words. He continued to lead them.

"Is the place not far from here?" Yingyue looked to the right and left.

Caihong nodded. "I'm sure you guys will love the place."

Along the way, there were many shops selling food. Caihong did not stop at any of the shops. He walked on. After arriving at the crossroads, he asked them to cross. Caihong's restaurant of choice was a bit far.

The place is fairly far. Maybe we just got there just in time for lunch. I am afraid because we had to walk a long way, we must have been starving!

Fortunately, Yixiong'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. Caihong 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." Caihong 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. Caihong opened it right away. "Come on, please come in!"

Caihong asked Shanquan, Yixiong, and Yingyue to enter. Yixiong suspected that this building was the property of the Caihong family. So he could freely go in and out.

After everyone entered, Caihong 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. Caihong 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 Caihong 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. Caihong invited them to sit on the chairs in front of the table.

Caihong pressed a button on the doorbell attached to the wall. It wasn't long before someone entered.

"Good afternoon Mr. Mingzhu." The person bowed respectfully.

It turns out to be true that the people here already knew Caihong.

"Good afternoon." Caihong'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. Yingyue grabbed the menu straight away. She immediately flipped through the menu. Her eyes sparkled.

"What's the special food here?" Shanquan 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?" Yixiong looked straight at the waiter.

"Yes, Sir! You can order everything that is written on the menu now." The waiter pointed to the menu Yingyue was reading.

"Then what's the surprise menu for today?" Caihong 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, Shanquan and Yingyue looked at each other.

Yixiong 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 it did not mean that no one ate it. A few months ago, Yixiong had tried eating horse meat jerky. The meat was so tough! Perhaps the horse that was slaughtered and processed into jerky was an old horse that used to pull carriages, so the meat wasn't up to par.

"Uncle, do you want to try horse meat?" Caihong's words sounded like an invitation.

"Of course! I wonder what smoked horse meat with black pepper seasoning looks like." Shanquan answered quickly.

"I want a horse steak in sweet and sour sauce," Yingyue said.

"Then I'd like horse stew with soy sauce." Yixiong raised his right hand.

"Today, I'm in the mood to eat shrimp. So I just asked for boiled giant prawns," said Caihong.

"You don't want to try horse meat?" Yixiong asked.

"I've tried several times to eat these dishes here, Uncle." Caihong 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.

The waiter's words weren't just empty promises. About twenty minutes later, the dishes they ordered arrived. Contrary to Yixiong's expectations, the horse meat they served was very tender. Not at all tough or hard. Either because they only used meat from young horses or because they cooked using specific techniques to tenderize the meat. It tasted good too.

The food taste in that restaurant was similar to the taste of food from their place of origin. So many herbs and spices were used. Maybe Caihong deliberately invited them to eat at that place to suit their tastes. In fact, Yixiong and the others had no problem if they had to eat dishes with a distinct taste from the food in their hometown.

Even though they weren't hungry yet, they ate voraciously. It turned out that the horse meat dish there was indeed very extraordinary. Horse meat looked similar to beef, only the fiber was much larger.

Yixiong remembered the time he ate horse meat jerky. He ate it together with Zhengyi. According to Zhengyi, horse meat also tasted sweeter than beef. Zhengyi was famous for not being picky when it came to food. He ate whatever was served to him. Therefore, traveling with Zhengyi was very pleasant because he never minded eating anything and anywhere.

Too bad, Zhengyi doesn't come with us to eat at this amazing place.

"How about these dishes? Would you all like to add another serving?" Caihong's fingers were ready to call the waiter.

"This is enough. We are full. Thank you," replied Shanquan.

"Then now I'll order takeout. Let Uncle Nangong and Uncle Beihai also have a taste of this dish," said Caihong.

"No need. Maybe Zhengyi comes home when it's dark. I'm afraid the dish is already bad," said Shanquan.

"It's okay, Uncle. The dishes can be warmed up later."

Caihong quickly rang the bell to call the waiter. After the waiter came, he immediately ordered some takeout food. He also ordered a few drinks and soup as dessert.

It is really a memorable lunch.