Chapter 108 Chapter 108 The Panda Gun's Wish...
The panda spirit squatted in the main hall of the restaurant and finished a large basket of cabbage without any effort. Aunt Duan opened her mouth several times, but thinking that cabbage was cheap, she held back.
The Jinhua cat rubbed against Duan Zhiwei's feet and told her not to forget the fish soup reward. Duan Zhiwei stroked its head and sat opposite the panda spirit. She was very curious about some questions.
"Shu is so far away, what are you doing in Chang'an?"
After eating the cabbage, the panda spirit wiped his mouth with a fascinated look: "Shu is a land of mountains and forests with few people. I heard that Chang'an has a lot of people. I want to be a hero who fights evil and helps the weak and upholds justice."
"In fact, there aren't that many injustices in Chang'an..."
The panda spirit said, "Of course not. I passed by the Wei River the other day and saw an old man chipping away at the ice on the water. He must have been thinking about committing suicide, so I dragged him back to shore."
The old fisherman's son deals in seafood in Quanzhou. He is actually quite wealthy. He goes fishing because he can't sit still and has nothing to worry about.
Duan Zhiwei was silent for a moment: "There is more."
There was also Xishi who tried to help the little boy reach for the rabbit lantern on the top of the shelf, but it ended up toppling the entire shelf over due to its weight. Its big belly pressed on the fireball and quickly put out the flames, singeing its white fur and making it look like a crispy roasted glutinous rice ball.
In a teahouse, it saw an old bricklayer repairing the roof with a ladder. It ran over to help, but broke the ladder and the old bricklayer fell on its big belly. The panda's strong back collapsed the courtyard wall, revealing the boudoir of the proprietress of Sanchun Pavilion.
There was also a person who wanted to help a child fish a wooden doll out of the water, and he collapsed the ceramic drainage pipes on half of the street.
Panda Ah Gun curled up into a ball. After hearing what Duan Zhiwei said, he squatted in the corner: "So I'm not a hero... I'm a troublemaker."
Pu Tao felt sorry for it and pulled Duan Zhiwei's sleeve: "Madam, it looks so pitiful, how about letting it live in the restaurant for a while?"
Before Duan Zhiwei could even open his mouth, Aunt Duan interrupted him: "That won't do. It eats so much that it will bankrupt the restaurant. Will we be left with nothing?"
The restaurant fell silent.
Finally, it was Yuan Shenji who spoke up: "I will take it to Chang'an County tomorrow."
We can't let the bailiffs run around the streets looking for people.
The next morning, Yuan Shenji put on his official uniform and left with the distraught panda Agun. Pu Tao was holding firewood and preparing breakfast. He hesitated for a moment and said, "Wait a minute."
Then she ran over quickly, threw herself on the big belly of the panda A-Gun and rubbed it, but was reluctant to take a step back: "Goodbye, A-Gun."
Duan Zhiwei watched enviously from behind. She also wanted to do the same. The panda's belly must be very soft.
The old fisherman had been lying at home for a week, and finally recovered. He came back to the house with a big basket of fish in high spirits. He was so happy to hear that the culprit who pulled him back from the ice had been found that he smiled and said, "That's great."
Duan Zhiwei took the fish basket and looked at the old fisherman hesitantly for a while. The old fisherman had to send the fish to the next customer, so he took the money and drove away.
Duan Zhiwei carried the fish back to the house. The Jinhua cat couldn't wait to point at himself and the fish with its furry paws.
Duan Zhiwei felt uncomfortable, put the fish down, and ran out again. Jinhua Cat ran after him: "Come back! We agreed to have a full fish feast."
Fortunately, the old fisherman didn't walk far, so she caught up with him and told him the truth. The old fisherman listened carefully, and the smile on his face gradually disappeared. He took off his bamboo hat and wiped his face: "Then I misunderstood him. I will go find the county lieutenant now."
Duan Zhiwei then went back to the restaurant with peace of mind, took out a wire grill and grilled a few fish for the Jinhua cat, sprinkled coarse salt and peppercorns on them, and the Jinhua cat waited by the side with his mouth drooling.
Ah Pan opened the curtain and went into the backyard. "Another group of diners came. They spoke with a strong Sichuan accent and said they brought some Sichuan peppers to give to the restaurant for free. They just asked for spicy hot pot and asked if we could make it. If we could, they would come over in the evening."
Don’t mention the Shu people, I want to eat too, Duan Zhiwei thought, and finally said, “I know, just let them come.”
Sichuan pepper is a type of Sichuan pepper, but it tastes stronger than Sichuan pepper. Duan Zhiwei searched around and took out a plate of turmeric, mustard, and dogwood.
She thought about it, chopped a large plate of minced meat, first stir-fried it with onions, ginger and garlic, then mixed it with a lot of peppercorns and fried it in a pan. Finally, she threw in dogwood, turmeric and Sichuan pepper.
A pungent spicy smell mixed with black smoke blew into her eyes, and Duan Zhiwei couldn't help but coughing loudly a few times.
Aunt Duan rushed in and asked, "What's that smell? It's driven away all the diners outside."
The whole pot of meat filling was fried until it was burnt, giving off a pungent smell.
The little wolf came over calmly, moved the pot away, and opened the window as wide as possible to allow for ventilation.
Duan Zhiwei wiped his eyes with a ramie towel, and there was a smear of black on the towel.
It’s so difficult to stir-fry the bottom of the wok, she sighed.
Finally, when the group of Shu merchants came to have dinner, Duan Zhiwei had to put more mustard in the ordinary bone soup base and also served a lot of spicy pickles.
She herself was not very satisfied, but the merchants from Shu probably hadn't eaten spicy food for a long time, so they enjoyed the meal very much and even gave her some extra money as a tip.
It seems that their Shu embroidery business in Chang'an is doing well.
The Jinhua cat hid in the corner, happily eating a plate of grilled fish and a bowl of fish soup.
Yuan Shenji came back from work, and everyone in the restaurant gathered around and asked, "How is Ah Gun?"
It is said that the county lieutenant was also in a difficult situation, as he was in charge of people, and matters concerning monsters should be handled by the Monster Catching Office. Unexpectedly, Ah Gun was very righteous, and he waved his bear claws and kept saying that a bear should take responsibility for its own actions, and he went to jail on his own initiative with a high and heroic spirit.
"The county lieutenant has already written a petition and submitted it. The white bear is precious, so I think it won't be kept for many days. They will send it on the ship back to Yizhou." Yuan Shenji comforted.
Everyone was relieved.
The next day, Duan Zhiwei was not discouraged and went to the butcher shop to order a large piece of pork front leg, wanting to try stir-frying again. Aunt Duan silently took out a handkerchief and asked her to wet it and cover her mouth and nose to reduce the stimulation of the spicy Sichuan pepper.
A thick black smoke wafted out from the kitchen. She failed again.
Duan Zhiwei's eyes were watery from the smoke. She was wiping her tears at the threshold when a huge shadow covered her. "Why do I smell something burning?"
She looked up and saw the panda A-Gun still wearing his big bamboo hat and appearing in front of the restaurant. He had been in jail for a day, but he was in good spirits and did not look haggard at all.
A Gun was very enthusiastic. After listening to Duan Zhiwei's words, he walked into the kitchen, tied a skirt around his belly, and waved a spatula to teach her how to stir-fry the bottom of the pot.
Sichuan pepper cannot be added directly. It must be fried in the pan together with onion, ginger and garlic. Then discard the residue and keep the oil for later use.
It is not very good at being a hero, but it is a very skilled cook. It is skilled in splitting open the cardamom and taking out the seeds, stir-frying the meat sauce to make red oil, and also adding seasonings such as star anise, cinnamon, and fennel in appropriate amounts.
A Gun shook the pot a few times, and a hot and extremely aggressive smell came to his nose.
Duan Zhiwei's eyes lit up, it worked.
The little wolf ran to the door and put up a sign that read "Today's Special Sichuan Spicy Hot Pot."
The diners in Chang'an were not interested in this kind of soup base, but the merchants in Shu and Duan Zhiwei himself were very happy.
The spicy bubbles at the bottom of the pot gurgled up, with a rich, fresh and spicy aroma. Several plates of meatballs and lamb rolls were poured into the pot, all of which were filled with a fresh and spicy aroma.
The meatballs were mixed with starch and rolled in the soup when cooked. They bounced against your teeth when you bit into them, and if you bit deeper, the hot and spicy soup would burst out.
The Shu merchants ate so much that beads of sweat appeared on their foreheads and they kept complaining about their thirst. Aunt Duan took the opportunity to sell them black plum soup.
The kitchen was completely occupied by A Gun, leaving no room for anyone else to work. A Pan carried a small charcoal stove and went to the backyard to cook black plum soup.
The whole pot was bought by merchants from Shu, and the restaurant made a lot of money today.
When most of the diners had left, A Gun prepared dinner for everyone in the restaurant, including a dish of twice-cooked pork, a dish of smoked spareribs, and a pot of pickled fish.
I don’t know what kind of marinade is added to the smoked spare ribs. When the meat is just about to fall off the bones, it is taken out and then put on cypress branches for smoking. The ribs are tender and have a strong smoky flavor.
For the kimchi fish, the fish is first fried until fragrant, then the kimchi is added, and the broth is boiled together, and finally a thin starch is poured over the fish. The fish is tender, fresh, fragrant and spicy. The Jinhua cat secretly took a bite and was so spicy that the cat rolled over and ran to the backyard to drink well water.
Everyone in the restaurant was also very upset by the spiciness of the meal, but it was also very delicious. Each person had three large bowls of chestnut rice.
A-Gun watched everyone eat with a smile on his face. He is very good at cooking, but he himself doesn't eat much meat. Duan Zhiwei and a few others kneaded a basket of steamed buns without any stuffing on the spot, and it ate them all in no time.
Pu Tao asked curiously: "Why did you come out in one day?"
There was still some steamed bun stuffing on its mouth: "I don't know either. I was still asleep early in the morning, and they came and chased me away."
Yuan Shenji got off work late today. He got home after everyone else had rested. Duan Zhiwei helped him heat up a pot of noodles and said, "Why did Ah Gun come out all day?"
He smiled bitterly.
Since he was the one who took Ah Gun to Chang'an County yesterday, the county magistrate went straight to the Jinwu Guards early this morning to file a complaint, saying that Ah Gun ate a whole basket of buns in one meal.
They also said that it was a monster, not a human, and that Chang'an County should not be in charge of it.
In addition, the old fisherman and others came over and said that they had wronged the good bear, and begged the county magistrate to release it. The county magistrate got this opportunity and hurriedly drove it out.
The Monster Catching Bureau was unwilling to intervene, saying that there were thousands of monsters in Chang'an and it didn't hurt anyone, so why catch it?
Duan Zhiwei was also in a dilemma. The bear was a good bear and had taught her several delicious Sichuan dishes, but it ate too much. All the flour in the restaurant was used up for its dinner.
Yuan Shenji sat there and thought for a while, then said, "I have an idea."
The two talked for a while and were just about to lie down to sleep when they heard deafening snoring outside.
Yuan Shenji said helplessly: "This is also one of the reasons why it was driven out so quickly."
The snoring sounded like thunder. The prisoners nearby couldn't stand it anymore. They cried and said that they would change their ways and stop stealing. They just wanted to have a good sleep.
The next day, everyone in the restaurant got up with dark circles under their eyes. Ah Gun rubbed his paws awkwardly and said, "Sorry, I'm going to find out if there's a boat from Chang'an back to Yizhou, and I'll leave right away."
It sighed, "I really can't become a hero after all. I didn't accomplish a single good thing in Chang'an, and I caused so much trouble to everyone. I will make up for the losses I caused in Chang'an by sending the money I earned when I got home."
It bowed to everyone, put on its hat, and left in disappointment.
Yuan Shenji called him: "Wait a moment."
Duan Zhi smiled and helped it put on the cloak: "Go with him, he has a way to take you to become a hero."
A few days later, a strong Wu Hou wearing a bamboo hat and a cloak suddenly appeared on the observation tower of the West City.
The Marquis Wu did a lot of good things within a few days of taking office.
Hearing about its great strength, several fishermen took turns to dig holes in the Qujiang Pond. It went up to them and persuaded them to come to the shore, then it broke the thick ice with one palm, scaring the wild birds perched on the edge of the pond away.
It climbed up a tree several meters high to rescue the trapped cat. Although it fell down with the cat, the cat fell steadily on its belly and was not hurt at all. The cat owner was so moved that he kept thanking it.
The cart of a vendor selling tangerines was stuck in the ground and could not be moved no matter what. The dog slapped the cart out with one hand. The vendor was scared, but still gave it a few tangerines as a thank you gift.
Duan Zhiwei had some free time in the afternoon, so he went to see it with a basket of bamboo rice. Ah Gun was busy, and he saw it holding a vendor with one claw to stop them from quarreling. As a result, because it was too big, its butt knocked down the fortune-telling stall and the calligraphy and painting stall. The two vendors stopped quarreling and caught it to demand compensation.
Duan Zhiwei looked at it from afar and smiled happily: "This newly recruited Wu Hou of the Jinwu Guard is doing a good job."
Yuan Shenji smiled bitterly. This Ah Gun had eaten almost all the food in the Jinwu Guard's kitchen in the past few days, which made the general so angry that he was fuming and refused to take this "foreign urban management officer" back.
The saint was very interested in it. The polar bear is a rare animal and a unique auspicious beast of our dynasty. It has never been seen in other countries. He was also thinking about letting A Gun show up during the Qianqiu Festival to show off to the foreign countries, so he approved a special fund for its food expenses.
Duan Zhiwei thought of the lions that were sent back overnight because they ate too much meat.
"It's better to be a panda," she said.
Dusk was falling, and the afterglow from the setting sun was as sticky as honey. Panda Gun finally persuaded the two vendors to leave, but then he heard a dispute in the distance.
It threw its cape back, and like a great warrior, it swiftly ran away from the eaves and disappeared into the dusk...
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