Chapter 34 Chapter 34 Peony Lantern The north wind is howling and the sky is cloudy and rainy...

Winter was passing by, and unlike the bright sunshine on the Double Ninth Festival, the weather these days was cloudy and rainy. Often when the two were talking, the sky suddenly became cloudy and then it started to rain.

Passers-by had to walk with difficulty in the heavy rain and slanting wind these days, holding oil umbrellas. Duan Zhiwei found a brazier in the hall and lit a fire early, and the whole restaurant immediately became warm.

Aunt Duan originally thought that lighting the brazier before winter was a waste of coal money. But seeing that many passers-by were rushing into the restaurants to ward off the cold, he kept quiet.

The weather was so cold, and A Pan was afraid of cold, so his hands and feet were cold. No matter how many layers of clothes he put on, it was of no use. Duan Zhiwei went to the blacksmith shop and asked the blacksmith to make a copper container similar to a hot water bottle. He poured hot water into it and held it in his hands to keep away the cold.

The hot water bottle was a gadget invented in the Song Dynasty and did not exist in this dynasty. After Duan Zhiwei made one, the blacksmith found it novel and interesting, so he made a few more and sold them in his shop. Unexpectedly, the business was very good. After just a few days, Duan Zhiwei found that almost every official in Chang'an was holding a hot water bottle in his hand when he walked on the street.

She really wanted to go to the blacksmith shop to ask for the copyright fee for the hot water bottle, but unexpectedly the blacksmith was very considerate and carried a whole leg of lamb to the restaurant early in the morning as a thank you.

After putting down the sheep, the burly blacksmith was unusually coy: "Thanks to Madam Duan, the shop has been doing good business recently. If you have anything else to make, please come to my shop. I'll give you some copper coins for free."

Duan Zhiwei understood, this could be considered as paying copyright fees. Winter was coming soon, and she was indeed planning to make a few more hot pots and launch a variety of hot pots, so she happily said, "Thank you very much."

Both parties were very satisfied with the deal. Duan Zhiwei wanted to treat the blacksmith to a bowl of hot jujube tea, but the blacksmith waved his hand and left.

A whole leg of lamb was hung at the door of the restaurant, and at that moment the fruit shop delivered a basket of juicy white radishes. It was like a pillow for someone who was feeling sleepy. White radishes are spicy and can best remove the smell of mutton. The north wind is howling outside, but the restaurant inside is warm as spring. Have a bowl of mutton soup with some crispy Hu cakes, and if you feel like it, have a glass of green ant wine.

Mutton is the livestock with the largest supply and demand in this dynasty and is extremely popular. Duan Zhiwei immediately asked Zhen Hui to write a sign that read "This restaurant serves mutton soup today" and stood proudly next to the conspicuous lamb leg.

Duan Zhiwei threw mutton, cardamom, radish and licorice into a big pot and cooked them, skimming off the foam from time to time. After a while, the rich aroma of mutton soup wafted out.

This is a great temptation for pedestrians on the road. They feel cold while walking in the north wind, but when they smell the rich and fragrant mutton soup, they look around and see the brightly lit and warm Duan's Restaurant.

Before noon, the restaurant was full of patrons who were drinking mutton soup. On each person's table was a large bowl of mutton soup with a few Hubings. Duan Zhiwei and A Pan and the others chopped some mutton legs, sprinkled cumin on them, strung them into skewers, and put them in the Hubing oven to bake, which could be used to go with wine.

Yuan Shenji had been exposed to the cold wind at the training ground all morning today. Although this was nothing compared to the northern frontier, he still felt comfortable in his heart when he saw Duan Zhiwei greeting him at the door and then being invited to sit in the warm restaurant.

You Qi Duan Zhi came over with a pot of winter wine and smiled, and asked him happily: "Captain, can I have a pot of newly brewed Autumn Dew White? This wine is brewed from the spring outside the city. It has a good color and taste. It goes well with the mutton skewers."

Yuan Shenji couldn't refuse, so he just nodded and said, "Okay, I'll trouble you, Madam Duan."

Duan Zhiwei smiled even more.

Maybe it was the north wind that made her dizzy, but she wanted to order a jar of Xinfeng and a jar of Green Ant at the wine shop as usual. But the wine doctor fooled her and said that Qiu Lu was made with white flour koji, and it was made by specially finding a sweet spring outside the city and soaking it with Wuxing's premium white rice. It was also called Sanbai Liquor.

It is indeed fragrant and aromatic. When you take a sip, it tastes spicy at first and then turns into a sweet and refreshing taste. But it’s expensive, and no customers are interested in eating it in half a month after I bought it.

Aunt Duan was so angry that she forbade Duan Zhiwei to go to the tavern to buy wine again, fearing that she would be cheated again.

Fortunately, Yuan Shenji was there to help.

She quickly served Yuan Shenji a bowl of mutton soup and a few mutton skewers, and four large Hu pancakes, then sat down opposite him and asked, "Captain, how are you doing lately?"

This question was strange. He could fight and jump, he could overthrow four Wu Hou in one match, and he could eat four Hu Bing in one meal. How could he not be safe? Duan Zhiwei said, "I saw Su Lu Shi yesterday. He looked..."

How to put it, his face was so pale, as if he was floating even when he walked.

"Could it be that he encountered the soul of Qiannu?" she joked.

Recently, a puppet show called "The Story of the Departure of the Soul" has become very popular in Xishi. In it, a lady named Qianniang leaves her soul and elopes to find her lover. Duan Zhiwei's ears were callused from hearing various versions of the story of A Chinese Ghost Story and he had no interest in it at all. But Aunt Duan and her friends would go to listen to the stories every time in their donkey carts with great interest, and they would all come back with their eyes red from being so moved.

Yuan Shenji didn't like to tease his subordinates in public, but after hearing her say this, he found it quite interesting, so he continued: "Su Yu has not yet married, perhaps..."

When you say bad things about someone, it's really easy to be caught by the person involved. For example, when Duan Zhiwei was having a good chat with him, a voice came from behind: "Mrs. Duan, please give Su two bowls of mutton soup."

Duan Zhiwei turned her head and saw Su Qun's pale face close to her. She staggered in fear and said quickly, "I'll be there soon."

Su Xun also brought a good friend with him. This friend looked even worse than Su Xun, with two dark circles under his pale face. To put it bluntly, he looked a bit like the vampire on the stage.

After drinking a big bowl of mutton soup, Su Xun's face looked a little more red. The man opposite him had a bowl of fragrant mutton soup in front of him, but he seemed to have no interest in it and didn't even touch it.

As a cook who has always been confident, Duan Zhiwei felt extremely dissatisfied with this, but the customer did not give any copper coins, so she could not say anything whether the customer touched the food or not.

It was getting close to curfew at night, and there was no one else in the restaurant except for two or three diners who lived nearby. Duan Zhiwei and A Pan were busy washing cabbage to prepare salted vegetables for the winter, while Aunt Duan was in the hall with Pu Tao preparing bacon and sausages.

Duan Zhiwei had just finished washing a basin of vegetables by the well when she heard Aunt Duan calling from outside: "Zhiwei, come here."

She was sitting with a sore back, and when she heard the shout, she hurried to the front hall: "What's going on..." Her voice stopped abruptly.

There were two people standing in the front hall.

A maid was standing in front holding a double-headed peony lantern, and behind her was a beautiful woman standing gracefully. She was very beautiful, with red lips and red clothes. She stood gracefully under the lantern, looking very charming, but her complexion was not good, as pale as moonlight frost.

Duan Zhiwei invited them in: "What would you two ladies like to eat? We still have some mutton soup today, but the mutton skewers are sold out."

The beauty bowed politely to Duan Zhiwei, and then asked, "I am here to look for someone. Is there a gentleman wearing a crescent-colored robe and about five and a half feet tall who wants to eat here today?"

He was wearing a moonlit robe and was five and a half feet tall... He could only be the man who sat with Su Xun, the one who hadn't eaten anything.

But protecting the privacy of guests is also Duan Zhiwei's business philosophy. Although this girl is indeed very beautiful, he cannot disclose the whereabouts of the guests at will.

Therefore, Duan Zhiwei smiled embarrassedly and said, "The restaurant is busy today, and diners come one after another. I can't remember the characteristics of everyone."

The beauty then took out a purse from her bosom, which seemed to be filled with a bag of copper coins.

"A gentleman loves money but gets it in a proper way." Duan Zhiwei has always loved money, but he also has some principles and bottom line, so he flatly refused.

The beauty had a pitiful look to begin with, but when she heard this, her face immediately turned cold and she looked rather eerie. Pu Tao, who was standing by, was so frightened that he hid behind Duan Zhiwei.

"In that case, forget it." She turned and walked away with a wooden face. A maid led the way with a double-headed peony lantern. Duan Zhiwei and Pu Tao poked their heads out to take a look. The beauty in a red skirt and green sleeves was walking gracefully towards the west.

Pu Tao was surprised: "It's so cold today, and she is only wearing a thin skirt."

Duan Zhiwei also reacted. Yes, there were several ladies in the restaurant, all of them were wrapped up like dumplings, but this lady was only wearing a thin skirt and walking outside.

The ladies of Chang'an love beauty...has it reached this extent?

The Winter Solstice is like New Year's Day. Although there is still some time before the Winter Solstice, Aunt Duan has already asked Duan Zhiwei and others to buy sugar, meat, vegetables, fruits, and cowpea paste, preparing to make rice balls for the Winter Solstice, which will be used to worship ancestors and the kitchen god.

Duan Zhiwei tried to make a steamer. He ground glutinous rice into powder to make the skin, and filled it with various fillings. The steamed dumplings were white and had a faint rice aroma.

Several people took turns kneading the glutinous rice skin for half a day, and the effect was remarkable. It tasted soft, chewy and not sticky to the teeth.

Aunt Duan spent half a day carefully selecting and chose two vegetarian fillings, cabbage and mushroom and red bean paste. She excitedly took Duan Zhiwei to Qingfeng Temple to burn incense.

Duan Zhiwei has never had any interest in activities like burning incense and worshiping Buddha, but Aunt Duan is completely the opposite. She will definitely participate in any activities held in any temple or Taoist temple.

According to her, the more gifts you give, the less blame you will get. If you pray to all the gods and Buddhas in the sky, there will definitely be one who can fulfill your wish.

Qingfeng Temple is located on Leyouyuan. As the winter solstice is approaching, Qingfeng Temple is crowded with tourists. Smoke is curling from incense burners in the courtyard, and there are several old pines standing tall and vigorous, which gives the temple a sense of being far away from the hustle and bustle of the world.

Various kinds of incense, candles, flowers and fruits had been offered in front of the statues of Taoist gods. After Aunt Duan kowtowed, she carried a basket of winter solstice dumplings to give to the Taoist priests in the temple.

The temple master, Taoist Master Jingyun, was talking to a scholar. The scholar had a golden face and looked worried. The Taoist Master took out two red talismans from his sleeve. The scholar hurriedly took them, bowed and thanked him, then stumbled away.

Duan Zhiwei thought the scholar looked familiar and stared at him very seriously for a while, only to find out that he was the scholar with no taste who came to the restaurant with Su Xun that day but did not even touch a sip of mutton soup.

Mrs. Duan brought a basket of winter solstice dumplings to the Taoist priest. The Taoist priest usually liked to eat vegetarian food from the Duan family restaurant. He was about to accept it with a smile, but suddenly his smile stopped and he asked in surprise: "How come the two believers are like the young master of the Mu family, with a strong demonic aura on their bodies?"