February 2
To the northwest of Zhuyi is the Wild Boar Forest.
Winter is cold, the leaves of the trees have fallen, and the branches are bare, forming desolate shadows. The shadows appear mottled and dark in the winter sun.
"Look, horseshoe prints." Zhang Chao took a big gulp of water and chewed a dry piece of bread. "Finally found it. It should be nearby. Brother, be alert."
"Yes." The soldiers were a little sleepy and rested under the tree.
Wen Jingzhao held the fruit in his hand without eating it. He didn't know what he was thinking about. Zhang Chao smiled and teased him, "Why are you thinking about your wife?"
"Yeah." Wen Jingzhao took a bite of the fruit. Zhang Chao choked a little. He reached out and took a fruit. "Quick, let me try a piece."
It's a bit dry now, but it has a little sweetness, which is much better than dry pancakes.
"Give me a couple of bites of your dried meat." Zhang Chao took a piece of dried meat under Wen Jingzhao's cold gaze, "You're so stingy."
"You know what, your wife's cooking skills are really good."
He reached out and picked out the dried meat.
"Get lost." Wen Jingzhao dodged his dirty hands and threw the pieces of dried meat to him.
"Hey, thanks!"
Wen Jingzhao looked into the wild boar forest. It was filled with thick fog, the trees were withered, and there was only the sound of the cold wind whistling past.
"Listen." Wen Jingzhao tilted his ear, picked up the long knife, stood up, and leaned against the tree trunk, "There is the sound of horse hooves, let everyone get ready." He immediately jumped on the horse.
Wen Jingzhao had good hearing. Zhang Chao threw the food into his mouth, put on the mask, and said, "Get on the horses!" The soldiers quickly got on their horses.
They advanced to the sound of horse hooves, striking first and catching the enemy off guard. The Wu soldiers were skilled in horsemanship and horsemanship, and they reacted quickly, shouting and charging forward with great momentum.
Wen Jingzhao was on the left. He was agile and swung his long sword. The opponent cried out in pain, swayed on his horse, stabilized his body and dived down. He raised his hand to block it, and his palm shook, and the long sword made a "swish" sound.
Wen Jingzhao bent backward, loosened the strength in his hands, and swung his knife back, slashing the opponent's neck. "Plop!" Dust flew up, and the opponent fell off his horse with a scream.
He injured two more people in succession, and his knuckles felt a dull pain. At this moment, the battle was fierce, and the sounds of swords and knives were mixed with screams. More and more people fell off their horses, and the "cracking" sound of horses' hooves stepping on people made people feel cold.
At this time, he was an obvious target on horseback, so he dismounted, patted the horse's butt, and signaled it to stay away.
Unexpectedly, a soldier who had been eyeing him for a long time rushed up and attacked him. Wen Jingzhao dodged to the side, and the blade grazed his chest and stabbed the horse. The warhorse let out a roar, and a big hole was pierced in the bundle. The food inside fell out, and the horse ran away with its hooves raised.
He felt a chill from behind, and another Wu Jun stabbed at him, attacking him from both sides. Wen Jingzhao immediately drew a long whip from his waist, raised his hand to hook the neck of the Wu Jun behind him, and avoided the attack from behind, but was scratched on the left arm by the knife in front of him. At the same time, the tip of the knife pierced into the chest of the Wu Jun in front of him, and the opponent fell to the ground, twitched a few times and fell silent.
The number of people on both sides was almost the same. The Wu army's cavalry was brave, while the Sheng army was more agile. They cooperated well and soon the Wu army fell behind.
"Retreat! Retreat!" The Wu army was defeated and fled into the depths of the wild boar forest.
The deep wild boar forest was shrouded in fog, and they had not yet explored it. It would be dangerous to chase after them rashly. Wen Jingzhao stopped Zhang Chao, who was red-eyed with anger, and said, "Don't chase after a desperate enemy!" Zhang Chao asked the soldiers to rest and he went to count the number of people.
Zhang Chao and Wen Jingzhao went to tear off the identity documents of the dead Sheng Dynasty soldiers and sewed them inside their clothes. This served as their "identity cards" and they could take them back to give an explanation to their families.
"How are you injured?" Zhang Chao asked when he saw blood on his body.
"It's okay, just a flesh wound." The knife wound was not deep, but the bleeding would not stop if he moved. He picked up the bundle scattered on the ground. The food inside was already contaminated. He picked up the golden medicine and sprinkled it on the wound, which made him groan in pain.
"I don't understand you, why are you coming out to suffer..." Zhang Chao clicked his tongue twice. He had advised Wen Jingzhao before to stay with Lord Ma and be a military advisor, so that he could enjoy a happy life with his wife and children.
Wen Jingzhao took out the porcelain bottle from his arms, took a look at it, then put it back and looked forward.
At this moment, the setting sun shines on the corpses, emitting a warm orange-yellow light. The mist in the forest slowly rises, covering the battlefield that has just ended, and is filled with the smell of blood.
"Say it again?" Zhuang Rui looked at the young lady in front of him who was speaking so arrogantly, and laughed as if he had heard something funny.
"I say, let's cooperate and bring Jiangyuelou back to life." He Yingchun currently does not have the ability to build a restaurant on the spot to compete with Zhuanmei Pavilion, but Jiangyuelou can. A lean camel is still bigger than a horse. She got up early and went to Jiangyuelou specifically to look for someone.
"Our Jiangyue Tower is doing fine, we don't need you!" Zhuang Rui was so angry, who spread the rumor that their Jiangyue Tower was going to collapse!
Now two of Jiangyuelou's chefs have been poached by Zhuanmei Pavilion. The other side's price is lower, so they are bound to suppress them. Their purpose is to destroy the largest restaurant in Zhuyi and then dominate the market alone.
"Conditions?" Heng Yusheng was still in mourning, dressed in white, with a pale face.
"I'll just help out, and if we make any money, we'll split it 40% to 60%."
Zhuang Rui said dissatisfiedly, "You have a good plan. The place and ingredients are all from Jiangyuelou. How dare you ask for it."
He Yingchun just looked at Heng Yusheng and said, "Well, I know you want to open a stall in the building, I can help you. Besides, you've been suppressed by the Zhuangmei Pavilion for so long, are you willing to do that?"
Mingdang, this word has some meaning, Heng Yusheng felt it was more and more appropriate, and he nodded.
Heng Yusheng had actually never given up on buying the Roujiamo recipe. He had someone monitor He Yingchun several times and knew that she had been troubled by the people sent by Zhuangmei Pavilion recently. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, so he nodded and said, "Okay, let's cooperate."
After it was written in black and white and signed by both parties, He Yingchun read it carefully twice and put it away.
Heng Yusheng took her to see Jiangyue Tower and told her about his previous idea.
Jiangyuelou was a large space, with two floors. Wen Jingzhao had originally envisioned setting up the main counter in the middle, so that customers from all sides could see and smell the food. He Yingchun had him set up on one side, firstly to facilitate bringing food from the kitchen to the main counter, and secondly to save space, allowing the lobby to accommodate more guests.
Jiangyue Tower had been closed for a few days, and the Zhuanmei Pavilion across the street had become completely unscrupulous, attracting customers all the way to this side of the street.
"This is too much!" Zhuang Rui and the others stood on the second floor and had a clear view of the situation below.
"This is the best location. You can see it from almost any direction." Several people went down to the first floor and determined the location of the open counter.
Then the construction started in full swing.
Heng Yusheng spent a lot of money on it, and the craftsmen worked day and night.
He Yingchun was also busy, thinking about recipes and studying flavors, and she managed to make her mother gain weight, accumulating points to 108.
"How about this, do you think it's okay?"
He Yingchun walked to the front of the counter, opened her eyes wide,
The building in front of me, yes, this is the only word that fits it. From a distance, it is actually a rectangular space, with half of the upper part left open, so you can see the chopping board inside, and the lower part looks like a glass product, shining and colorful.
She touched the smooth lines on the outside, even the carvings of various flowers and birds, "This is... too good!"
It is exquisite and elegant, and is consistent with the style of the entire Jiangyue Building. It looks like a smaller version of Jiangyue Building.
It doesn’t look like a bright counter, it’s simply a work of art!
"Building within a building!" A name came out of his mouth, "Jiang Yue Building within a Building, let's build momentum based on this!" He Yingchun clapped his hands and said excitedly.
Zhuang Rui found a few beggars, gave them some money, and asked them to go to the streets and alleys to shout,
"Jiang Yue Lou Zhong Lou has newly opened on the second day of the second lunar month, the day when the dragon raises its head. Best wishes for your grand opening!"
"Jiang Yue Lou Zhong Lou is newly opened on February 2nd, and there are discounts for both new and old customers!"
…
It didn't cost much money, and within three days, everyone knew what kind of building within a building Jiang Yuelou had launched.
"Hey, have you heard about the building within the Jiangyue building?"
"I heard that their food is indeed delicious, but it's too expensive. We can't afford it."
"They said there's a discount! Do you want to go check it out?"
"Let's go to the Zhuangmei Pavilion. I heard they have a new wine..."
…
On February 2, the dragon raises its head.
In front of Jiangyue Tower,
The lion dance team jumped and rolled to the rhythm of lively music. The lion head was lifelike, and the two people inside cooperated tacitly. The lions moved vigorously and vigorously, licking their claws, shaking their heads, and wagging their tails. The sound of drums and gongs attracted people to come.
"We are launching the Jiangyue Building within a Building! New and existing customers can enjoy a 20% discount! Don't miss this opportunity! Don't miss it!"
"Today's special dish is crucian carp! Everyone, please come in!"
The shouts continued as guests entered the lobby one after another. "What is this?"
The customer looked towards the open counter, where the chef was stretching noodles with his hands, trying various tricks. The extremely elastic noodles made a "puff puff" sound when they were hit on the chopping board, which was dazzling to watch.
"Give me a bowl of noodles first!" "Okay!"
The front is bustling, and the kitchen is even busier.
He Yingchun was cooking "Carp Crossing the River" in the kitchen. She chose this dish as the first one because fish are rare in winter, so the word "precious" represents the taste of the dish. Also, today is the day when the dragon raises its head, which is a good omen.
The fish has been processed. Put oil in a large pot and heat it until it is 70% cooked. Fry the crucian carp until it turns golden brown and drain the oil.
Prepare the sauce in another pot. Heat oil and add sliced ginger, chopped green onions, chili peppers, and dried chilies. Stir-fry until fragrant. Add the fried crucian carp to the pot and add salt, soy sauce, rice wine, and sugar. The sauce will be fragrant.
Add water to cover the crucian carp, cover the pot and simmer slowly. When the soup becomes thicker, stir-fry evenly again. He Yingchun had practiced this dish for a long time. The most important thing is to make sure the fish body is intact and not broken, and to make it fully flavored.
She served it out and asked, "Can it be served now?" The waiter who was preparing to serve the dish kept swallowing his saliva.
"Wait a moment."
He Yingchun put chili peppers and minced garlic into boiling oil in a hot pan, stir-fry for a few times, and pour the ingredients into the oil bottle.
"Alright, serve!" He Yingchun asked the waiter to serve the dishes, and gave the oil bottle to Zhuang Rui.
"Then I'll go?" Zhuang Rui greeted Heng Yusheng with the oil bottle and hurriedly followed the second brother.
"Sir, your crucian carp has crossed the river!" The waiter brought the dish.
The customer looked at the dish with great interest. It smelled really good, but no matter how he looked at it, it was just a roasted crucian carp. He couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. "Put it here!"
"Sir, please wait a moment. There is one last step." Zhuang Rui blurted out the words he had prepared in his mind.
"This crucian carp crosses the river, I wish you good luck and prosperity!"
He raised his hand and the ingredients in the oil bottle poured out with crisp "swish" sounds. The fish meat flew around as if spreading its wings, emitting a rich and delicious aroma.
The guest opened his eyes wide, picked up a piece of fish with chopsticks and put it into his mouth. It was fresh, fragrant, tender and sweet. The meat was delicate, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, fresh, smooth and delicate.
"Wonderful...wonderful!"
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