Auspicious Tavern

This film (drama)Also known as吉祥酒铺，is aMainland ChinaProducerbeauty live，At2007Released in year 。The dialogue language isMandarin Chinese，Current Douban rating0.0(For reference only)。

In the struggle, the tavern grew stronger, and kind-hearted people like Xi Zi, Jin Feng, and Lu Da Tou gained sincere friendship and beautiful love. In the late Qing Dynasty, there was an "Auspicious Tavern" outside Qianmen in Beijing, run by a young widow named Jin Feng, who was in her early twenties and beautiful. On the same street, there was a large restaurant called "Fragrant Full Tower," managed by the cunning Ha Zhanggui, who, seeing the widow's vulnerability, plotted to take over the tavern. Ha Zhanggui colluded with Jin Feng's elder brother Qian Laoda and younger brother Qian Laosan to force Jin Feng to remarry and give up the tavern. Logically, the widow Jin Feng could only yield, but that was not the case. She had a young assistant named Xi Zi, who was nineteen and had grown up in the tavern, treating it as home and Jin Feng as family. Don't be fooled by his age; he was quite bold and resourceful, daring to confront Ha Zhanggui and others. Under Ha Zhanggui's instigation, local ruffians teased Jin Feng at the tavern almost every few days, but Xi Zi invited Granny Ma, a beggar woman, to act as a "decoy," deliberately making her look like an old witch, scaring the lustful men away. Ha Zhanggui further colluded with Qian Laoda to reveal his trump card, obtaining Jin Feng's contract of sale to force her into another marriage. In desperation, Xi Zi played a "dirty trick," stirring up enmity between Qian Laosan and Qian Laoda, staging a "dog-eat-dog" incident. Relying on his wealth, Ha Zhanggui hired renowned chef Lu Da Tou with a hefty sum to join "Fragrant Full Tower," but little did he know Xi Zi had already cut corners. Using a "seductive scheme," Xi Zi managed to lure this famous chef from Ha Zhanggui to the tavern, making him the backbone of the tavern, no longer fearing the pressure from "Fragrant Full Tower" and ready to compete with it. Ha Zhanggui, unwilling to give up, conspired with Qian Laoda and Qian Laosan to sell Jin Feng to the old bachelor Liu Laoxi. In a crisis, Xi Zi came up with a plan, spending just five taels of silver and gifting a pair of "Neilian Sheng" cloth shoes to save Jin Feng from danger, and the tavern was at peace again. Although Lu Da Tou was a well-known vegetarian chef in the capital, wealthy families would never visit the dilapidated tavern out of fear of losing face. Xi Zi understood that the tavern lacked a golden signboard. Just at this moment, to celebrate Jin Feng's birthday, Lu Da Tou showcased his best cooking skills and laid out a magnificent birthday feast. Coincidentally, Empress Dowager Cixi, tired of delicacies, wished to eat the dishes from her dream, prompting Chief Eunuch Li Lianying to search everywhere for them. They arrived at the "Auspicious Tavern," just in time for Lu Da Tou to set the vegetarian feast on the table. Li Lianying was overjoyed and arranged to bring the feast to the palace. However, after this event, the little tavern faced misfortune. Ha Zhanggui conspired with the steward of Xu Xunfu to smash the "Auspicious Tavern," sealing its doors and driving out the owners. A few days later, Li Lianying learned of the tavern's closure and took action, going to Xu's residence to demand justice, which led to the return of Xi Zi and others. Xi Zi and Lu Da Tou were invited to the Summer Palace to serve a refined vegetarian feast for Cixi, who was pleased and wanted to reward the tavern. Yet, Xi Zi played a trick again, refusing money, insisting that the Empress Dowager write a plaque for the tavern. Amused, she did indeed inscribe a golden plaque for the "Auspicious Tavern," which then became renowned, leading to a booming business, and Jin Feng rightfully assumed the role of a big boss. Seeing the tavern thriving, Ha Zhanggui bribed corrupt official Yin Zhifu, eventually managing to transfer ownership of the tavern to the Qian brothers. With the tavern lost, Jin Feng, disheartened, thought of returning to her village. At this point, Xi Zi was anxious and distressed. According to the laws of the Great Qing, women and widows had no inheritance rights. After much thought, Xi Zi devised a plan involving the Empress Dowager. He provocatively angered Yin Zhifu, endured prison suffering, and forced Yin to blurt out inappropriate remarks about widows, which reached Cixi's ears. She punished Yin Zhifu and returned the tavern to the widow Jin Feng. Knowing that Jin Feng had fallen for Xi Zi, Lu Da Tou packed his belongings and left the tavern, causing an uproar. Xi Zi, Jin Feng, and Granny Ma anxiously took turns inviting Lu Da Tou back, but determined as he was, Lu Da Tou left. However, a few days later, he returned, unable to part with the "Auspicious Tavern." As drought threatened to cause a disaster, superstitious Cixi feared the people would rebel due to hunger, leading her to join the Eight Noble Lords in a vegetarian quest for rain to win public favor. Li Lianying, fully aware of Cixi's desperation, knew that she could not sustain the absurdity of eating just vegetables, so he set up a competition for chefs skilled in making vegetarian fish and meat dishes. Ha Zhanggui, seizing the opportunity, hired the renowned vegetarian chef Su Panzai, freshly returned from Suzhou. On the competition day, Xi Zi cleverly orchestrated Lu Da Tou's absence, allowing Su Panzai to shine and gain a "waist牌" to enter the palace at will. Xi Zi predicted that Su Panzai's joy would turn to sorrow, which indeed proved true; as Cixi dined on Su Panzai's vegetarian meal, the taste diminished, leading her to lose her temper and kick him out of the palace. At that moment, Xi Zi took action again, cleverly transforming real fish and meat into vegetarian counterparts for the Empress Dowager. Surprisingly, she enjoyed it immensely. This event might have escaped others' eyes, but Li Lianying was not fooled, although his own conditions were difficult; he could only turn a blind eye to it. A few days later, rain finally came, and the Empress Dowager could resume eating meat. During her quest for rain, Xi Zi had served her well. When Cixi asked how to reward him, Li Lianying, still resentful of Xi Zi's past mockery of eunuchs, seized the opportunity to suggest that the Empress Dowager have Xi Zi be castrated in his twenties and serve her in the palace, calling it the greatest reward. Cixi was quite pleased and immediately approved. Li Lianying, intent on seeing Xi Zi's embarrassment, purposely chose the day of Xi Zi and Jin Feng's wedding to bring the Empress Dowager's decree, waiting for the bridal procession to arrive. Just wait and see how Xi Zi cleverly turns the tables; it will certainly be a big laugh!