Chapter 104 Chapter 104 The Monster's Wonderful Workshop In winter...
Seeing Aunt Duan angrily about to leave, Duan Zhiwei hurriedly put down the work in his hands, chased after her and prepared to go with her.
My aunt has a temper like a piece of explosive charcoal. She will explode if provoked. If I don't keep an eye on her, Aunt Duan might smash up her rouge shop.
The two of them walked briskly along the way. Sanchun Pavilion, which sold rouge and powder, had been surrounded by a large group of ladies. Each of their faces was as red as Aunt Duan's, like a row of big red lanterns hanging on the eaves in the first month of the lunar year.
Duan Zhiwei stood aside with a tight face, afraid that he would laugh out loud.
Manager Zhou of Sanchun Pavilion was a middle-aged man. He was dizzy and confused by the chattering of the women. He quickly stood on the steps and stretched out his hands: "Quiet, quiet!"
He said loudly, "Ladies, I sympathize with your plight, but the ointment you hold in your hands is not sold by my family. The shells used to sell ointments in Sanchun Pavilion are painted with peonies, and the shells you brought are painted with plum blossoms."
Master Zhou Si took out the shell of his own ointment and showed it to the public. He then said loudly, "Besides, how can we buy the ointment shipped from the Western Regions for only thirty coins? The base price is more than that."
Duan Zhiwei quietly pulled Aunt Duan aside and said, "Didn't you buy this ointment at Sanchun Pavilion?"
Aunt Duan looked embarrassed: "The vendor selling the ointment said that it was from Sanchun Pavilion, but it is not sold in the shop, so he gave me a lower price."
The silver box in her hand looked extremely rough. It looked similar to the exquisite box in the hand of the owner of Sanchun Pavilion at first glance, but they were actually very different.
It turns out that I bought a high imitation.
"Then go find that vendor." Duan Zhiwei said.
Aunt Duan scratched her head and said, "He ran away a long time ago."
Duan Zhiwei was speechless.
The group of ladies surrounding Sanchun Pavilion knew they were in the wrong, so they left in disappointment.
Duan Zhiwei kept explaining to her the principle of "small gains lead to big losses" along the way. Aunt Duan was walking listlessly all the way. Coincidentally, the owner of the meat shop came to deliver the grass duck that Duan Zhiwei wanted.
The shopkeeper glanced at Madam Duan's face, smiled at her and said, "She has her own red veil. I'm afraid the threshold of the Duan family's restaurant has been trampled by those who want to propose marriage, right?"
Aunt Duan was so angry that she rushed over and slapped him: "You old man, you dare to tease me."
Duan Zhiwei shook her head and carried a few fat ducks into the backyard. She wanted to try the duck blood vermicelli soup today.
After the duck is prepared, pour oil into the pot, then sauté the onion, ginger and garlic until fragrant, put the duck into the pot and stir-fry, finally pour in cold water and simmer over low heat. Duan Zhiwei thought for a while, then took out a bag of dried mushrooms and bamboo shoots to soak.
Ah Pan took out a wooden sign and placed it at the entrance of the restaurant: "Today we serve duck vermicelli soup."
The weather is getting colder, and it snowed a few days ago. It would be best to drink some stomach-warming broth today, which is both good for health and for dispelling the cold.
It was almost lunch time, and Yuan Shenji came back with Li Heng. Duan Zhiwei asked, "How's it going? Did you catch the person?"
The two shook their heads.
"This can't be done all at once. The weather is cold, let's eat first." She brought out a pot of old duck vermicelli soup and comforted him.
The duck soup looks clear, with only a thin layer of oil on it, but it has a rich aroma when served on the table. The dried bamboo shoots and duck meat in it are golden and shiny, and look very tempting.
Li Heng looked depressed. Many officials in the Dali Temple had stomach problems and asked for leave to go home. He and Yuan Shenji spent half a day studying in the morning but could not figure out who was selling fake oil in Chang'an.
He moved the duck soup in front of him and took a big sip of vermicelli with his chopsticks. With a "slurp" sound, the vermicelli absorbed the rich and fragrant hot soup and slurped it down smoothly.
Li Heng felt warm all over. He picked up the duck offal. The duck intestines were crispy and tender, soaked up the juice, and made a crackling sound when he bit them. The duck liver was stewed until it was sticky and dense, and melted in his mouth. The duck blood was added to the pot last, so it was very smooth and tender, and very fresh and fragrant. Just one bite and the rich soup burst in his mouth.
As for the duck meat, it has been stewed until it is boneless and tender, soaked in the soup, and has a full gelatinous texture when you take a bite.
Li Heng quickly finished a bowl and said, "Another bowl, please."
After a busy afternoon, Aunt Duan, who had been hiding in her room, finally came out. Her face had faded from bright red to pink. She looked at herself in the mirror and asked everyone she met, "Are my wrinkles getting lighter? My face seems to be fairer too."
She took another photo happily: "It seems that I misunderstood him. Next time I meet him, I will buy from him again."
"Please don't do that." Everyone in the restaurant said in unison.
After noon, the north wind blew even harder. Zhu Niang heard that Pu Tao was sick, so she brought a bag of snacks to play with Pu Tao. The two of them hid by the fireplace and chatted lively. Duan Zhiwei gave them each a bowl of cheese.
Aunt Duan took out the box of ointment again and wanted to try it on her face again, despite the objections of A Pan and Duan Zhiwei.
After the paste was dissolved in hot water, the aroma of the old duck soup remaining in the main hall was completely covered by the rich fragrance of osmanthus.
Zhu Niang was solving the Nine Links with Pu Tao. When she smelled the fragrance of the flower, she raised her head and sniffed hard: "This smell is so familiar."
Pu Tao said, "I guess this ointment is mixed with dried osmanthus flowers."
"No." Zhu Niang closed her eyes again and sniffed hard: "My mother is also using this ointment."
Duan Zhiwei found it interesting: "Spiders also use ointment to maintain their appearance."
She had always believed that monsters relied on cultivation to maintain their appearance.
Zhu Niang proudly put her hands on her waist and said, "Yes, this ointment was bought by Niang from the monster workshop. It is made of locust tree juice and toad oil. Niang said it is very effective in removing wrinkles."
"What to exchange for what?" Duan Zhiwei widened his eyes.
Zhu Niang looked very calm, as if she didn't understand why she was so surprised: "Locust tree juice mixed with toad oil! The effect is very good."
The handkerchief in Aunt Duan's hand fell to the ground.
It was a rare moment of sunshine in the afternoon, and Duan Zhiwei dragged Yuan Shenji to the address given by Zhu Niang. As they walked, he complained to him, "No wonder you all have diarrhea, it turned out to be toad oil. Luckily I didn't eat it, otherwise I wouldn't be able to eat fried food for at least three days."
When she heard that the fried cake she was eating might be fried with toad oil, Pu Tao almost vomited; and Aunt Duan, who had applied a mixture of locust tree juice and toad oil as an ointment, immediately took a basin of clean water and rubbed it on her face several times, almost rubbing the skin off.
"But after applying that stuff, her face did become a little whiter." Duan Zhiwei said impartially.
The two of them came to the place that Zhu Niang mentioned. Coincidentally, that was also the place where the oil seller disappeared last night.
At the base of the wall was a tall locust tree, at least as thick as three people could hug. Yuan Shenji took a closer look and found nothing unusual.
He raised his head again and there seemed to be something carved on the top of the tree.
He was already very tall, but he still couldn't see clearly what was written when he looked up.
Duan Zhiwei was still chattering about Toad Oil. He walked over, hugged her around the waist and sat her on his broad shoulders.
She quickly held his head and looked around. Fortunately, it was cold and there were no pedestrians. "We are outside. What are you doing?"
Yuan Shenji held her firmly and stood near the locust tree: "There are words on the trunk, help me see what they are."
She looked up and saw a few words "Moji Youfang" carved crookedly on the tree trunk. The words were written crookedly and were blocked by the gum to make them unclear. In addition, they were written very high, so passers-by could not see them at all.
"It's written so high, the guests who come here must be giraffes." She muttered a few words, then looked down at him: "Hurry up, put me down."
Seeing that there was no one around, Yuan Shenji shook her maliciously and said, "Don't let go."
She lowered her head to talk to him and knocked on the tree trunk unconsciously a few times. As a result, the bark on the locust tree fell off and a tree hole appeared in front of them.
Duan Zhiwei followed Zhu Niang's instruction and threw a few copper coins into the tree hole. The green branches of the locust tree suddenly shook, and then the locust tree suddenly seemed to come alive, jumping to the side, revealing a large hole in the base of the wall.
Duan Zhiwei suddenly felt a little afraid to go in, wondering if there might be a man-eating monster in there.
Yuan Shenji patted her hand soothingly: "I'll go in and check it out first, you wait here for me to come out."
She hurried to grab his hand: "No, I'll go with you."
The two men passed through the cave and came to a courtyard. There was a spacious house in the courtyard with the door wide open, and the two men walked in.
The dark monster's lair in the fantasy did not appear. On the contrary, the room was very clean. The winter sunlight shone in through the window lattice, giving it a sense of brightness and cleanliness.
A giant white mushroom wearing a futou and holding an abacus squeezed into the narrow counter with difficulty: "What do you want to buy?"
Duan Zhiwei blinked, stared at it for a while, then lowered his head and rubbed his eyes hard, and found that the one talking to him was still a mushroom.
She looked at Yuan Shenji in confusion: "Were the mushrooms in the duck soup at noon mixed with poisonous mushrooms? I seem to be hallucinating."
The White Mushroom Shopkeeper put down his abacus heavily and said, "What did you eat for lunch?"
Duan Zhiwei quickly covered her mouth. She felt a little embarrassed and thought her behavior was as rude as wearing a down jacket in front of a duck.
She quickly changed the subject: "No, no, we're here to buy oil."
The Mushroom Shopkeeper tapped his abacus: "A barrel of oil costs ten cents."
"It's quite cheap." Duan Zhiwei said dryly.
"Low price, high volume, honest business." The white mushroom shopkeeper squeezed out from the counter again. The white mushroom was full, but the cap on the top was missing half, barely covered by a turban.
It took out a whistle, blew it, and shouted out the window: "Xiao Pingguo!"
An ugly toad as big as a millstone hopped over, with two pen caps filled with juice clamped next to its ears.
White Mushroom took out a branch from the pen cap: "A pot of locust tree sap."
The toad puffed up its cheeks again and spit out some amber juice with a "puff" sound, and the aroma of oil filled the air.
The White Mushroom Shopkeeper mixed the juice with the Sophora jug juice and poured it into a porcelain jar, then handed it to Duan Zhiwei: "Here, sir, this is your oil."
"This...this is the oil..." she stuttered.
Isn't this just the saliva of the toad spirit?
White Mushroom asked in surprise: "Sir, what's the price of this oil? I'll only charge you ten cents. There's no such price in the whole Chang'an city."
It bent its head and smelled the oil: "But the quality is not as good as it was a few days ago, otherwise I will charge you nine cents."
White Mushroom raised his hand and hit Toad on the head: "I've told you several times to recite the Heart Purification Mantra before you spit, why don't you understand?"
The toad croaked loudly in grievance.
Duan Zhiwei and Yuan Shenji looked at each other and hurriedly left with the oil.
As soon as the two of them walked out of the cave, the locust tree jumped over and blocked the entrance, and even stretched out its branches to wave at them.
Duan Zhiwei held the oil, looked at Yuan Shenji, and then looked at Yuan Shenji again: "How should we do this?"
Yuan Shenji didn't know either. He couldn't draw his knife to fight against a fat, white mushroom without a cap.
But the people of Chang'an could not ignore the stomach upset they suffered from eating the toad oil.
Duan Zhiwei said, "How about if they come out to sell oil again after the curfew tonight, we can wait here and catch them in the act."
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