Chapter 112 Chapter 112 Ming Chao's Alleys Selling Apricot Blossoms Looking for...
He threw a few more pieces of coal into the brazier, took out all the quilts from the cupboard and wrapped them around himself. Duan Zhiwei and Jinhua Cat hid in the quilts and shivered.
The snowman felt embarrassed, so he went out of the door, opened the window, and poked his round head out of the window.
"I feel much better now, thank you." Duan Zhiwei held the Jinhua cat in his arms like a heater, felt the temperature in the room rise, and then said.
The snowman was wearing a wooden bucket from the well wheel on his head, with two rouge spots on his cheeks: "Don't you remember me? I'm the snowman you made this afternoon."
Its round eyes narrowed into slits: "Since I was born in your restaurant, you have to be responsible for me and help me realize my wish."
This is a blatant fraud.
Duan Zhiwei touched the cat's head: "What is your wish?"
It can't be just a delicious and spicy hotpot.
The snowman said, "I am looking for something."
"What is it?" Duan Zhiwei and Jinhua Cat asked curiously.
The snowman folded his arms and his carrot nose wrinkled slightly. He looked down at his round belly and then at the bare osmanthus tree.
"I don't remember." It spread its hands.
Duan Zhiwei and the cat: ...
"It was something very important, with a faint fragrance, bright and warm." The snowman was distressed: "I just remember that it was very important."
Duan Zhiwei took the carved incense burner on the table and handed it to it. Inside was the frankincense given to Yuan Shenji by the saint. The incense smelled very good, and there was a faint glow when it was lit by fire. The incense burner was also very warm.
The snowman took the incense burner, looked at it carefully for a long time, and then shook his head in disappointment: "It's not this."
It was already five o'clock in the morning. Duan Zhiwei yawned loudly: "Then let's go out and look for it tomorrow. It's too late. Besides, there is a curfew outside, so we can't go out at night."
The snowman nodded obediently, helped her close the window, curled up in the corner of the backyard, and closed his eyes.
Duan Zhiwei had to get up early to work the next morning, so he soon fell asleep again. The Jinhua cat lay on the bed for a while but couldn't fall asleep, so it secretly got up, opened the door and slipped out.
The snowman was squatting under the eaves and taking a nap, with large amounts of white air coming out of his mouth. The Jinhua cat quietly approached it, raised a paw and gently touched it.
"It's so icy." The moment the claws touched the snowman, a thin layer of ice immediately formed.
The Jinhua cat was a little hesitant. It should go back to Duan Zhiwei's room, where golden charcoal was burning, frankincense was lit, it was warm and comfortable, and the quilt was soft.
Finally, it ran to its room, took out the kitten bed where it usually slept, and lay down a short distance away from the snowman.
"It's so cold." It frowned and muttered.
The room is so warm, why do you have to sleep in the yard?
The Jinhua cat didn't know why, but it instinctively wanted to get closer to the snowman, even if it was cold.
[It was dreaming again. In the dream, there were shadows of flowers. It jumped to the highest point of the tree, grabbed the branch with its four claws and swung it. The tiny flowers fell to the ground in a flutter.
The girl under the tree had her hair full of flower petals. She was very angry: "Snowball! You've scattered all the flowers. How can I sell them?"
The Jinhua cat felt guilty, twitched its ears, and came down from the tree with its tail between its legs.
The girl squatted under the tree and picked flowers: "Sell the flowers later and I'll buy you some dried fish."
And then...then it woke up.
It didn't snow today, but the sky was a little gloomy. After hearing Duan Zhiwei's story about the snowman, everyone got used to it and went about their business. After finishing their work, Pu Tao and the little wolf were pulling the fur off the Jinhua cat's head for fun. The Jinhua cat struggled under the hands of two children: "Why are you pulling my fur again?"
The snowman sat by the well and watched them play.
The mutton soup stewed in the big iron pot today is fragrant, and each large bowl is mixed with pepper oil, sesame oil and mashed garlic. Pour the noodle soup in, cut a plate of braised lamb tendons, and finally sprinkle some chives. A bowl of steaming and fragrant lamb noodle soup is ready.
No one can refuse a bowl of hot mutton noodles on a cold winter day, so a long queue formed in front of Duan’s Restaurant.
The steamed buns with meat filling and diced lotus root that is oily are also served. The meat filling is tender and juicy, but because of the crispy lotus root cubes and the onion and ginger water, it is not greasy at all. Duan Zhiwei serves a dish of secret pepper oil and vinegar to dip the buns in, which makes the taste richer.
They were busy in the front yard, while the snowman in the backyard held up a few large bowls, rubbed their hands together, and a bowl of clean snow ice fell into the bowls, which were then poured with thick buttermilk and osmanthus honey.
The two children and Jinhua complained about the cold, but they were still enjoying the meal.
The snowman brought a few bowls of snow ice to the front yard and said to Madam Duan and Ah Pan, "Thank you for taking me in. This is a small token of my appreciation. Please accept it."
Duan Zhiwei was busy at the stove, sweating on his forehead. He quickly thanked him, "How can I be so embarrassed..."
Several more waves of diners arrived, attracted by the aroma of the mutton soup. Aunt Duan went to the backyard and saw Pu Tao and Little Wolf still shivering while eating ice cream.
"Oh, I'm so busy. You still have time to eat snacks here. Be careful not to catch a cold." She took one of them by the hand and led them to the front hall to work.
Only the Snowman and the Jinhua Cat were left standing in the backyard, staring at each other.
The Jinhua cat put his paw to his mouth and coughed lightly pretending to be mature: "Aren't you looking for something? I'll go with you."
The snowman said happily, "Really?"
It rushed over to hug the Jinhua cat, which was shivering with cold and yelled, "Let me go, you cold thing."
The snowman quickly let it go and scratched his head with his short arms: "I'm sorry."
The Jinhua cat went to the kitchen fire to roast the broken ice on its fur, roasting its snow-white fur until it turned brown. It looked up at Duan Zhiwei and said, "I will accompany the snowman to find that bright, beautiful... thing."
"It's something bright, warm, and lightly scented." Duan Zhiwei corrected without hesitation: "You can go to the West Market, but don't forget to come back for dinner."
She ran back to the room, picked up a straw raincoat and a bamboo hat and put them on the snowman, and also put a red scarf on it. She made it out of boredom. Yuan Shenji wore it when he visited the Jinwu Guard and was stared at by the military marquises for a whole day, so she had to put it away. I put it on the snowman today and it fits quite well.
"This way people in Chang'an won't stare at you." Duan Zhi said with a smile.
She took out a basket from the corner and put it on the snowman's back, then took the Jinhua cat into it. "Your paw was injured yesterday, so don't leave. Stay in the basket obediently."
Duan Zhiwei sent them out and watched a fat snowman in a straw raincoat carrying a cat walking farther and farther away. She thought the scene was very interesting and stared at it for a while. But then Aunt Duan urged her to come back to work, so she had to turn around and go back to the restaurant.
[The girl collected a basket of flower branches, smiled and said to the cat, "These are enough to sell. Let's go to Qing'ai Bridge." The flower branches were across her shoulders, and the cat lay in the basket. The girl and the cat walked through the streets of Lin'an in the winter, walking farther and farther. 】
It's a rare day that it didn't snow. The New Year is coming soon. The eaves of the West Market are hung with red lanterns. The stalls are packed tightly together. The bargaining of passers-by and the ringing of the camel bells of the foreign merchants mix together, making people's ears hurt.
"Something with a light fragrance?" The owner of the dry goods store pointed with her finger, and all the New Year's goods were displayed: candied cherries, Xichuan lactose, and cha noodles, all of which had been rolled in amber sugar juice for a long time, emitting an enticing sweet fragrance.
One man and one cat bought some different kinds of fruits, and ate them in a corner. They picked a piece of golden candied date. The date was soft and sweet, and the sugar wrapped around it could be pulled into golden threads, so sweet that the tip of their tongue numbed.
"It's delicious!" The snowman and the cat looked at each other with bright eyes.
But then the snowman shook his head in frustration: "Not this."
The fruit was delicious, but because it had been left out in the cold for several days, it wasn’t warm enough or bright enough.
The owner of Nianjin Pavilion carefully took out the treasure of the shop. A huge night-shining pearl lay quietly in the black velvet box, emitting a cool green light, which was very bright.
The owner of the shop thought that a big deal had come, and smiled flatteringly at Xue Ren and Jin Hua: "You two have good taste. This night-shining pearl is only in my place, except for the Daming Palace. It's not expensive, just 100,000 strings of cash."
The snowman hurriedly carried the Jinhua cat and ran away.
The West Market was busy and it bumped into a drunk who had just come out of a tavern.
"I'm sorry." It bowed its head and apologized.
The drunk man went up and pushed it, "You're blind!" The snowman staggered.
The Jinhua cat jumped out of the bamboo basket. When it saw the snowman being pushed, its fur stood up in anger.
With fire in its eyes, it lowered its head and silently chanted two spells. A fire suddenly started at the drunk's feet.
"It's so hot, so hot." The drunk quickly covered his butt and ran away, diving into the teacup at the door of the teahouse. The waiter was furious.
"This is top-quality Yunwujian, shipped from Huizhou!" The waiter in the teahouse wanted to take him to see the official.
While the two were struggling, the snowman ran away with the Jinhua cat.
[Many flower sellers were squatting on the Qing'ai Bridge in Lin'an. Young girls made beautiful wreaths out of apricot branches, and each wreath cost only four cents.
She was deft and talkative, and her business was the best on the entire bridge. The vendor selling apricot blossoms next door found an excuse to come over and smash her stall.
Snowball's fur stood up and he rushed over to scratch him, but the strong flower seller grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and threw him off the bridge.
The girl ran into the river to save it, and her tears mixed with the river water fell into Snowball's mouth, tasting so salty.
"If only I could protect you," thought Snowball. 】
The Snowman and the Jinhua Cat walked around the West Market for a long time but couldn't find what they wanted, so they had to go back to the restaurant.
It was past noon and the restaurant was empty.
"Let's go back and look for it." Duan Zhiwei comforted them when he saw the two of them coming back dejected.
She took out a bowl of warm crucian carp soup with rice from the torn quilt for the Jinhua cat, and went to the backyard to get a portion of crispy noodles for the snowman.
The snowman was surprised and asked, "Do I have one too?"
Heat the butter until it melts, then add a spoonful of fermented rice wine and a spoonful of honey to create the shape of mountains, and finally sprinkle some nuts. It was winter, so there was no need for an ice cellar. The milk pastry could be frozen into a bowl of crispy mountain simply by burying it in the snow in the backyard.
"Try it, it tastes delicious." Duan Zhi said with a smile.
Take a spoonful of it and you will smell the rich, mellow milk aroma. The crispy, silky and dense crust, and the crushed nuts sprinkled on top give off a rich, oily aroma that blends perfectly with the milk aroma.
The snowman wiped his eyes and said, "I have never eaten anything so delicious."
The Jinhua cat was devouring the bowl of rice soaked in crucian carp soup that was specially made for it. With its mouth full, it said incoherently, "Right? Madam Duan is the best cook in Chang'an. The food she cooks is the most delicious."
[The girl quietly opened the door, and found that the flowers had been smashed and the copper coins had been washed away by the river. She came back empty-handed and secretly rummaged through the kitchen.
There was only half a bowl of solidified, cold corn porridge in the cupboard.
She took the porridge down, squatted on the ground and said to Snowball, "How about we each have half?"
Snowball shook his head: "Meow~"
There are many mice in the fields, and if all else fails, they will even eat leaves. 】
At night, Duan Zhiwei boiled a pot of water, poured it into a hot water bottle, and then placed the hot water bottle under Jinhua's cat bed.
"It's warm now, right?" She touched Jinhua's head.
Duan Zhiwei felt embarrassed to let the snowman squat in the corner all night, so she tidied up the room a little, put out the brazier, and opened the doors and windows wide, so that the temperature inside and outside was almost the same, and the snowman would not melt even if he slept in the room.
As soon as it moved in, the house became as cold as an ice cellar. Duan Zhiwei spoke to it, but it was so cold that it stuttered and had to quickly run out of the house.
Others were even more reluctant to take a step into the house.
Only the Jinhua cat insisted on living with it, so Duan Zhiwei had to put a hot water bottle under its cat bed.
The snowman was lying on the wooden bed, and the Jinhua cat was curled up in the cat bed in the corner.
It wanted to get closer to the snowman, but my God, why is it so cold?
[After finishing her porridge, the girl quietly returned to the woodshed and huddled in a corner.
This is her bedroom, but there is no bed or quilt, let alone a warm brazier.
Snowball ran outside for several laps, but the weather was so cold that even the mice were gone. He had to come back hungry. Seeing the girl asleep, he quietly snuggled into the girl's arms. The man and the cat hugged each other and they were no longer cold. 】
The next morning, the snowman prepared to go to East City to try his luck.
Duan Zhiwei prepared a few cold rice balls for it, sandwiched with salted plums, and told it that it could eat them when it was hungry. I also brought a bag of dried fish for Jinhua Cat.
Aunt Duan was leaning on the counter eating sunflower seeds when she saw Duan Zhiwei coming back from behind the curtains: "You are too nice to a snowman."
It didn't snow in the past two days, and the restaurant business was busy, so Duan Zhiwei had to get up a little earlier to make rice balls.
She asked Yuan Shenji to go to the Sitian Observatory to inquire, and found out that there would be a sunny day with a rise in temperature in two days.
If you don't do something, the snowman will melt.
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