Chapter 109 Chapter 109 How could the Dragon Girl's gratitude be so ugly...
It was the coldest time of the year, water froze instantly, and there were few pedestrians on the streets. The waiter in the tavern sprained his waist, so Ah Gun carried a dozen jars of Tu Su wine on his shoulders and another jar on his head, and went from street to street to help the tavern sell the wine.
New Year's Day was approaching, and the restaurant needed Tu Su wine anyway, so Duan Zhiwei also ordered two jars. A Gun came in carrying the jars and was stuck at the door of the restaurant.
The weather was really cold, and in order to prevent the heat from dissipating too quickly, Duan Zhiwei deliberately sealed an extra door, causing the 300-pound A Gun to be stuck at the door.
A Pan and Duan Zhiwei each grabbed one of its paws and dragged it in, while A Gun tried hard to shake his huge butt.
Finally, a passerby couldn't stand it anymore and kicked it on the butt, finally forcing A Gun in.
"I'm sorry." Ah Gun rubbed his butt and apologized loudly to everyone in the restaurant.
Duan Zhiwei poured it a pot of wine using a thick bamboo tube. It drank it all in one gulp and turned to leave.
"Why are you in such a hurry?"
New Year's Day was coming soon, and there were activities to exorcise the evil spirits in the West Market, which was very lively. A Gun was very responsible and said that he would go back to protect the safety of the citizens of Chang'an.
Noon had passed, the diners had all left, and the restaurant was quiet. Hearing about the exorcism activity, Pu Tao was very interested in taking part, and Aunt Duan also wanted to go to the West Market to buy some flower powder. After they discussed it, they set off in high spirits.
Duan Zhiwei was the only one who refused to leave. It was a rare free time for her, so she wanted to lean against the stove, eat some melon seeds and read some storybooks to kill some boring time.
It was freezing outside, so she was too lazy to go.
At about three quarters past eight, when she was reading a storybook and was enjoying herself, Yuan Shenji came back, followed by Wang Qian, whom she had not seen for a long time.
"Mr. Wang, it's been a long time." Duan Zhiwei served them a bowl of jujube and ginger tea.
Wang Qian had been travelling towards Youzhou since autumn. After a long journey, he came back thinner and darker, but still full of energy.
He took the tea and grinned, "I went out for a walk and collected a lot of materials for strange stories. This time I will definitely be able to defeat that scoundrel from the Liu family."
I heard that the court doctor Liu Wuhe was also a good writer of ghost stories, and he was also a handsome man with fluttering sleeves, and was deeply loved by the girls. Therefore, he often overshadowed Wang Qian, and Wang Qian was not quite convinced.
Duan Zhiwei found this kind of secret competition between the gentlemen very interesting. She glanced at the Tusu wine that Ah Gun brought in the morning and suddenly had an idea: "It's rare for Wang Jun to come back, so I'll give you some ingredients as a gift."
Wang Qian smiled and said, "Very good, thank you, sister-in-law."
Duan Zhiwei spent half an hour telling the story of the panda Agun. The more Wang Qian listened, the brighter his eyes became. He even stood up and walked around excitedly: "This story is very good. I will go home and write a play called "The Story of the Monsters of Chang'an"."
He was so excited that he even forgot to put his cloak on the hanger. The couple hurriedly took his clothes and said to him, "Aren't you going to have dinner?"
Wang Qian put on his cloak and crossed his arms to thank the two men: "No, I am now full of ideas. I will definitely bring a big gift to thank you another day."
Duan Zhiwei and Yuan Shenji looked at each other and couldn't help laughing.
It was almost dusk and snow began to fall from the sky. Aunt Duan found some fashionable silk peony flowers in the West Market and was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling.
Ah Pan was not happy: "I don't feel well. I'll go back to my room first."
Duan Zhiwei stared at her for a while: "What's going on?"
This Ah Pan is very efficient at work, but she is always indifferent and never shows her emotions. Today, there is a hint of anger around her, and no one knows what happened.
Pu Tao and Little Wolf were squatting at the food table eating fried rice candy, and they knew nothing about anything.
It was Aunt Duan who said, "After strolling around the West Market, the two monkeys insisted on going to see a variety show, which is why they came back late."
Is today's Baixi so ugly?
"It's not bad." Pu Tao said anxiously, "Today's performance is very exciting. It's the story of the dragon girl repaying her gratitude."
Oh, the one that’s very popular recently: The Dragon Girl Returns Her Gratitude.
Yuan Shenji said, "This play, The Dragon Girl Returns Her Gratitude, was written by Liu Wuhe. It has been very popular in Chang'an recently. You must not mention this in front of Wang Qian."
In the play "The Dragon Girl's Repayment of Gratitude", the protagonist Yagyu is a scholar from a poor family, but he lives a decent life and is very honest and kind. On his way to Beijing for the imperial examination, he accidentally rescued Long Sanniang, the daughter of the Dragon King of Poyang Lake. The dragon girl fell in love with him and wanted to marry him as a way of repaying her. Unexpectedly, this scholar was upright and incorruptible, and said that he saved people only for the sake of morality and not for rewards.
After he did this, the dragon girl loved him even more and waited for him by the lake, waiting for the chance to meet him again...
Duan Zhiwei had long been fed up with this kind of book about poor scholars and rich ladies:
"These stories all follow the same pattern. The scholar must be poor but has a promising future. The lady who loves him is either from an aristocratic family or a fairy from heaven. Not only must she be extremely beautiful and proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, but she must also be willing to die for this scholar."
She became angrier as she spoke: "I think some poor guy who failed the imperial examination made up a beautiful woman to amuse himself. It was just a fantasy before he died."
She was angry, but the people around her said it was funny. They all applauded her and said that she criticized well. Duan Zhiwei said proudly: "I will write a new and interesting book tomorrow. You guys, just wait and see."
Unexpectedly, the restaurant was suddenly packed with business the next day. Duan Zhiwei was so busy that he had completely forgotten about writing.
Some old customers come to order New Year's Day desserts and the five-spice platter. The five-spice platter is easy to prepare, it's just some garlic, shallots, leeks, brassicas, and coriander. The dessert for New Year's Day is fried red bean paste balls, which are similar to glutinous rice balls. They taste sweet and melt in the mouth, and are very delicious.
Another group of people specifically asked to buy sauerkraut buns. Duan Zhiwei wondered, when did the custom of eating sauerkraut buns on New Year's Day come about?
Those people said, "It must be the buns that Panda Warrior likes."
The children outside stopped flying kites and rolling rollers and lined up to sing a nursery rhyme: "The Panda Knight, in black and white clothes, steals buns at night and climbs over walls during the day. The yamen runners searched everywhere for auspicious signs, and found him squatting on the beams of a house."
It turned out that Wang Qian’s book “Strange Stories about Chang’an” became popular, and “panda fever” spread throughout Chang’an. The vendors in Chang'an know how to do business, and panda wood carvings and panda steamed cakes are all out.
But none of them is more popular than Duan’s Restaurant. After all, her sauerkraut buns are so delicious that they have been certified by Panda A-Gun himself.
Duan Zhiwei hired three months of workers to help out, but there were so many people queuing outside that he was overwhelmed.
After a busy morning, she was just about to take a breath and rest when a gorgeous carriage suddenly came outside. The carriage was painted with lacquer mixed with spices, and the strong fragrance could be smelled from afar. There were several cranes flapping their wings carved on the shafts, and even the white horse pulling the carriage had a beautiful gem hanging on its forehead.
Duan Zhiwei thought the car was really extravagant, and Aunt Duan's eyes lit up: "Great, some nobleman from somewhere is coming to give us money again!"
The diners around were also stunned.
I saw the servant pulling the carriage helping a young man down. The young man was wearing a bright purple robe and had a rather charming appearance.
Duan Zhiwei was receiving this kind of guest for the first time, and he stammered, "Sir, what do you need to buy?"
He covered half of his face with a fan, looked around the restaurant with a critical eye, and then his gaze fell on Duan Zhiwei's skirt, which was covered with oil and flour stains that had not been washed in time.
He frowned and said, "I'm not here to buy anything. I just want to see what the restaurant in the book "Chang'an Monster Records" looks like."
Duan Zhiwei looked at this person with disdain, which made her feel uncomfortable. When she heard that this person was not here to buy anything, she decided not to put up with it:
"Why are you here if you're not going to buy anything? Do you think my restaurant is a holy place for you to visit?"
She waved her hand, trying to drive the handsome man away like a mosquito.
This handsome man rarely suffered such humiliation, and his face turned red with anger: "You bitch! I am Liu Wuhe, a fifth-rank imperial doctor, how dare you treat me like this?"
Duan Zhiwei was not afraid of him at all: "My husband Yuan Shenji, a fourth-rank captain of the Jinwu Guard, is superior to you. If you have the guts, find a way to arrest me and put me in jail."
She suddenly realized and said, "Oh," "It was Wang Shi of Langya's book 'Chang'an Monster Records' that suppressed your 'Dragon Girl's Gratitude'. You came here because you were angry. As a civil servant, how can you be so petty?"
Liu Wuhe was so angry that he was about to go out. He bumped into Ah Pan who was coming back from buying soy sauce. He narrowed his eyes and asked, "Have I seen you before?"
"No." A Pan looked at him expressionlessly. Duan Zhiwei hurried over to chase him away: "Still looking, or I'll report you to the police for harassing decent women."
Liu Wuhe left in a hurry and tripped over the threshold, causing people around him to laugh at him.
Ah Pan's hands began to tremble slightly. Duan Zhiwei hurried to hold her hands and found that her hands were cold: "Are you okay?"
She shook her head.
When working again in the afternoon, Duan Zhiwei discovered that A Pan picked up a mask and put it on her face. It was the mask that Duan Zhiwei begged her to sew for her when she was frying hot pot ingredients.
When asked, she just said she had a cold.
When it was time for dinner, Wang Qian couldn't wait to follow Yuan Shenji in. Before he even sat down, he asked, "That rascal is here today?"
"He came, but I drove him away." Duan Zhiwei was annoyed: "He threatened me and said he was a fifth-rank official."
Wang Qian said, "What fifth-rank official? He passed the examination with great difficulty and became a ninth-rank official. Because he was born good-looking, he was favored by the daughter of the Cui family, and he married into the family of a rich family, and only then did he get a fifth-rank official."
After they scolded him a lot, they calmed down and sat down to have dinner.
A Pan said that he was not feeling well, did not eat dinner, and went back to his room dejectedly.
It was not until her figure disappeared that Duan Zhiwei hurriedly said, "I think something is wrong with her. She seems to know that Liu Wuhe."
Otherwise, Wang Qian was a storyteller, so his mind worked quickly: "It couldn't be a story about two childhood sweethearts who met each other when they were young, and then the man hooked up with a noble lady and abandoned her, right?"
Everyone was stunned: "Huh?"
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