Chapter 212 Living in a Big Place is Not Easy

I have to say that Lao Xu performed very well.

Even Bai Xun and Doctor Yu were so happy that their eyes were bent with laughter.

Su Zhizhi also giggled while holding her belly in Wu Yingniang's arms.

A few black lines appeared on Hao Ren's forehead.

Later, during dinner, Old Xu, who had been performing to his heart's content, was summoned for a private talk by Village Chief Hao and was banned from performing this act ever since.

Old Xu felt very sorry about this.

When they were not far from the capital, Hao Ren changed his appearance with the help of Qiu Jinyu, so that no one would recognize him when he walked openly in the busy streets.

Qiu Jinyu bought a lot of apples for Su Zhizhi and asked Su Zhizhi to eat one every day.

It is rare to see people growing apples in Lingnan. Occasionally, you can see apples imported from other places in Baiyun County, but they are expensive and are either green or rotten.

This time when she came to the north, Su Zhizhi could understand how Xue Che felt when he first came to Lingnan and ate lychees when she ate ringo.

When Su Zhizhi ate the last ringo, the group arrived at the outskirts of Beijing and could enter the capital before sunset.

Su Zhizhi leaned in Wu Yingniang's arms, chewing on the soft and crunchy apples:

"Dad, there are houses on that mountain, and it seems there is a tower. Is there a village there too?"

She looked around along the way and saw a yellow house on a high mountain not far away.

Hao Ren looked in the direction Su Zhizhi pointed and recalled:

"That's Ciguang Temple. It's a very famous Buddhist temple near Chang'an, and many people go there to burn incense and pray. The scenery on the mountain is beautiful, and some people also go there to enjoy the view."

Su Zhizhi immediately sat up straight on the horse:

"Dad, Mom, I want to go up the mountain. I haven't climbed a mountain in a long time, and I haven't been to a Buddhist temple either."

Su Zhizhi usually runs all over the mountains every day, and she really can't get used to not climbing mountains on the road.

And she was right, she had never been to a Buddhist temple since she was born.

No one in the entire Black Bandit Mountain believes in Buddhism. Although they have laid down their butcher knives, they are always ready to pick them up again. They have never intended to practice Buddhism, and they will not take Su Zhizhi to worship Buddha.

Many people in Baiyun County worship the land god and mountain god, and build small land god temples or mountain god temples on the roadside and in the mountains.

But Su Zhizhi had never seen a Buddhist temple as grand as Ciguang Temple.

Wu Yingniang knew that Su Zhizhi had this idea, so she would always remember it:

"We don't have enough time today. We need to find a place to stay in the capital first. I'll take you to the mountain tomorrow."

Su Zhizhi: “Okay!”

Compared with Lingnan, Chang'an's winter is colder and drier.

But sometimes the sun comes out.

The sunlight shone on Su Zhizhi's face, and the tiny hairs on her face were coated with a layer of halo.

The sunlight shone on the gate of Chang'an City, and the word "Chang'an" engraved on it seemed to emit golden light.

Su Zhizhi had heard that Chang'an City was very big, but she had not expected that even the city gate was so big, and the city wall connecting to the gate seemed to have no end.

They had already put away their swords, spears and knives and stored them at the bottom of the box.

The thick clothes they wore in winter covered up all the scars on their bodies. Now they looked like a group of honest people from other places.

They dismounted and took out their official documents for inspection by the soldiers guarding the gate.

Abao couldn't enter through the city gate because it was too conspicuous, so it flew high in the sky and went into the city to wait for everyone.

"Sir, we are from Lingnan." Hao Ren handed over the official certificate.

The official certificate had a list of names written on it, the first of which was Hao Ren.

After a natural disaster in Lingnan many years ago, the government re-registered the household registration. At that time, Hao Ren had a new identity and household registration, and was called Hao Ren.

The soldier checking the documents took a quick glance, saw the name "Hao Ren", and then looked at the man in front of him.

He is in his thirties, with an ordinary appearance. He looks very polite and good-tempered, like a good old man.

"Go in." The soldier waved his hand to signal them to enter the city.

"Thank you, sir." Hao Ren thanked him and led the group into the city.

After entering the city, Su Zhizhi's mouth opened wide.

The straight Suzaku Street is wide and flat.

It is as wide as the surface of a river, and pedestrians and carriages are just like boats drifting on the river.

The houses and pavilions on both sides of the street are also very grand and large.

Su Zhizhi's first impression of Chang'an City was: "It's so huge."

The city gate is big, the streets are big, the houses are big, Su Zhizhi thought everything in Chang'an City was big.

However, when she followed the adults to the inn and entered the room, she was very disappointed to find:

"The rooms in the inn in Chang'an are so small."

The room was small and the bed was small, much worse than the room at their Black Mountain Inn.

It’s such a big city, but the room is so small.

They had a hard journey, so they wanted to have a good first meal in Chang'an.

So everyone went to the famous Xunwei Pavilion in Chang'an City.

Xunweige’s wine and coriander are great, and their roasted pigeon is even better.

Hao Ren and his group ordered a lot of dishes.

The waiter was also very enthusiastic and served tea and free snacks:

"Please wait a moment, my dear guests. The food is already in the pot and will be here soon."

The food was served very quickly indeed, and the roast pigeon was delicious and fragrant.

Su Zhizhi compared it with her hand and found that the pigeon was only half a size, not much bigger than her palm.

The dishes, soup, and buns that were served afterwards were also small in portion. The dishes were small plates, and the buns were small individual pieces.

Su Zhizhi was surprised. The buns and cakes sold by the vendors on the street were obviously very big, but once she entered the restaurant, they were much smaller.

Su Zhizhi shook her head repeatedly:

"This isn't even as big as the steamed bun I saw when I passed by the stall just now."

The adults also said, "Yes, it's too small. This dish is just enough to fill the gap between our teeth. We should find a house as soon as possible and cook for ourselves."

Su Zhizhi asked Hao Ren, "Dad, were the portions here always this small?"

Hao Ren was also stunned for a moment: "Maybe."

When he was young, he never felt that the food in restaurants was small, nor did he ever feel that things in Chang'an were expensive.

At that time, they only cared about whether the bowls and plates used for eating were beautiful, whether the surrounding scenery was elegant, and who wrote the best poem that day.

I have been eating from a big pot with big bowls in Heifei Mountain for more than ten years. Only when I came back this time did I realize that rice is expensive in Chang'an and it is not easy to live there.

The dishes were small in portion and expensive, so the people from Black Bandit Mountain naturally ate all the food without wasting any.

But not everyone is like this.

While Su Zhizhi was eating, the door of a private room next to her suddenly opened, and half a pigeon flew out, slamming to the ground and was crushed by the waiter who was hurriedly serving the dishes.

"What can we give our prince? The roasted pigeon today is so hard, how can our prince eat it?!" A servant walked out arrogantly.

The boy was dressed in bright clothes without a single patch on his clothes. The fabric was smooth and it was obvious that he was a servant of a wealthy family.

Seeing this, the middle-aged shopkeeper hurried over and said with an apologetic smile:

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'll have the kitchen redone right away."

"No need. Our prince is busy and has no time to waste here." The servant threw a small ingot of silver into the shopkeeper's arms.

Su Zhizhi's attention was drawn to that, and she thought a few pot-bellied old men would walk out of the private room.

As a result, several young men in luxurious clothes came out from inside, one of them even looked as tall as Xue Che.

They didn't even look at the shopkeeper and walked out the door.

"I'm sending them to the prince and some young masters." The shopkeeper felt pain in his chest from the silver hitting him, but he still smiled and sent them to the door.

The princes and young masters he mentioned got on the carriage leisurely, and the light flashed through the golden threads of their clothes.

The carriage drove away, and the shopkeeper came back holding the silver and rubbing his chest.

The door of the private room was still wide open.

The table was filled with delicious food, the plates were almost full, but it looked as if nothing had been done.

Su Zhizhi swallowed the pigeon meat in her mouth:

"Don't they feel bad that they haven't eaten so many dishes?"

Someone at the next table said:

"Those are the young masters of the Gong family and other wealthy families like the He family. Their clothes are worth dozens of meals like this. Why should we feel sorry for them?"

When Hao Ren heard the words "Prince Gong", his eyes darkened.

The waiter was delighted and quickly took away the untouched dishes from the table.

Two or three waiters came in at the same time to clear the tables and took the dishes to the kitchen with smiles on their faces.

Hua Erniang laughed softly: "It's a good deal for them. They are in for a treat."

Su Zhizhi took a bite of the bun:

"It seems that there is no waste in the capital either. It's just that what we can't eat in the mountains is fed to chickens, ducks, cows and horses, while what is not eaten in the capital is fed to people."

Old Xu sighed faintly:

“There are no cultivated fields in the capital, but there are cattle and horses everywhere.”