Chapter 16 Chapter 16 Restaurant relocation and upgrade Water-powder dumplings, red...
"Can it be a little cheaper?" Duan Zhiwei looked at the broker cautiously.
"Oh, Madam Duan, the imperial examination held every three years is coming soon. Candidates from the entire Tang Dynasty are crowded here in Xuanyangfang. The rent is rising rapidly and it cannot be reduced." The broker said with a smile.
Duan Zhiwei looked around the shop twice more. The backyard was spacious, with well water available, and a golden osmanthus tree in the center of the yard.
If it is October, when sweet osmanthus flowers are falling everywhere, Aunt Duan can spread out a mattress and lie there drinking sweet osmanthus wine, Little Pu Tao can sit there and eat sweet cakes, and A Pan can quietly enjoy the falling sweet osmanthus flowers.
And they can also make osmanthus wine soft cheese, osmanthus sugar cake, osmanthus red bean Yuanxiao... Thinking of this, Duan Zhiwei gritted his teeth and said, "Let's go for this place."
Duan Zhiwei obviously didn't have enough money to pay the annual rent of ten strings of coins, so he had to go to the temple to borrow money for longevity. Many temples received a large amount of funds, and in order to "make money with money", they came up with this way of borrowing money, which is equivalent to today's banks.
However, Duan Zhiwei not only could not live forever after taking this longevity money, but he also had to pay interest on time every month. He gritted his teeth and stomped his feet, then took out the longevity coupon of Zhaofu Temple from his sleeve and gave it to the broker.
The broker took it, pulled it, and said with a wry smile, "Ms. Duan, please let it go."
Duan Zhiwei let go in disappointment, and the broker immediately signed the contract and ran away.
Duan Zhiwei got the lease and turned back to his original house. Although the one in Tongyifang was small and shabby, with no sunlight and two people had to squeeze into one room, it held many warm memories, and everyone must have been reluctant to leave...
No way!
Duan Zhiwei returned to Tongyifang and found that all his things had been packed. Aunt Duan changed into the most expensive set of scarlet flower tree sheep half-sleeve skirt and a huge coarse yarn peony on her head. She chatted with everyone she met and led them to say: "Yes, it's a good day today. By the way, how did you know that I was going to move to Xuanyangfang soon?"
A Pan, who was always calm, also had a slight smile on his face, and seemed very glad that he didn't have to endure Aunt Duan's snoring anymore. Pu Tao blinked her big eyes and rushed over to hug Duan Zhiwei's waist: "My wife, we are ready, when can we leave?"
Duan Zhiwei: “…”
The shop in Tongyifang has been entrusted to a broker to hang a sign for rent, and a white linen paper has been pasted on the wall saying "This shop has moved to the second street of Xuanyangfang."
This time, Duan Zhiwei generously rented two strong donkeys, loaded the few luggage onto the donkey cart, bid farewell to the neighbors in Tongyifang, and the group headed towards Xuanyangfang in a mighty manner.
Xuanyangfang is indeed a place where students for imperial examinations gather. The streets are wide, stalls are lined up, and the market is prosperous. Many scholars set up book stalls and calligraphy and painting stalls on the street to make up for the expenses of the hostel.
"It's really a grand place." Aunt Duan smiled so much that the corners of her mouth couldn't be closed. Duan Zhiwei set his eyes on a stall that helped write family letters, and thought that the two pieces of calligraphy hung on a bamboo pole by the scholar were very well written.
One is Li Bai's "Song of the Wine", and the other is Cen Shen's "Song of the White Snow to Send Judge Wu Back to the Capital", both of which are written in a heroic style and majestic style.
Duan Zhiwei also wanted to paint a poem on the rammed earth wall of the restaurant, so he got off the donkey cart.
Unlike his handwriting, the scholar looked weak and frail, with fair skin and red lips, even more delicate than a woman. He was concentrating on writing a letter to a brown-haired, blue-eyed Hu woman with his head down. Duan Zhiwei stood behind him in line.
The Hu woman continued to talk for a long time, becoming angrier and angrier as she spoke, her voice getting louder and louder: "I have sent you letters time and again, but I have never received a single reply from you! I have spent three unfortunate years in Chang'an, and it's all because of you!"
Everyone around looked over, and the scholar lowered his head lower as he wrote.
Duan Zhiwei also looked down at her toes in embarrassment. She remembered that a letter written by a Hu woman from Sogdia was unearthed at Yumen Pass, which was called "the desperate housewife from more than a thousand years ago" by historians.
She still remembered there was a very famous line in it...what was it? "I would rather marry a pig or a dog than you! "The Sogdian woman roared.
Ah, yes, yes, that’s it. Duan Zhiwei nodded frantically but stopped halfway.
After the Hu woman Mi Wei finished her roar, she readily gave the scholar five copper coins, jumped into the basket and left.
Duan Zhiwei stared in surprise at the back of the Hu woman as she walked away gracefully. Was this the legendary "Desperate Housewives from a thousand years ago"? He actually met her.
The scholar asked quietly from behind: "Madam, do you need to write a letter home?"
Duan Zhiwei was still staring at the Hu girl, and Aunt Duan hit him on the head with a palm leaf fan: "Aren't you supposed to write a poem? It's so hot, hurry up."
Duan Zhiwei rubbed his head and looked at the scholar: "Yes, I want to write a couple of poems, just write..."
She was silent for a long time, with various poems fighting in her mind. Finally, she chose the poems of Su Dongpo, the first gourmet in the Song Dynasty.
Duan Zhiwei was born with a pretty face, with skin as white as porcelain. Today she wore a sky blue skirt and stood there in a slender and graceful manner, looking like a talented lady.
The scholar looked at her expectantly, but she just waved her hand and said in a very impressive manner: "Just write 'Get up in the morning and have two bowls of rice. Don't worry if you are full.'"
It comes from Su Dongpo's "Ode to Pork", which means: I got up in the morning and got two bowls of stewed pork. I ate it myself and you don't need to pay any attention to me.
The scholar had expected her to recite some fresh, elegant and graceful poem, but after being silent for a while, he finally finished writing the calligraphy for her.
Duan Zhiwei took it with great joy. The scholar wrote very well, with vigorous characters and great spirit, suitable for display in the hall. She lowered her head to pay the bill, and did not forget to advertise her own restaurant: "I opened a restaurant on the second street of Xuanyangfang. If you are willing to come, I will give you a preferential price."
The scholar thanked him.
The group finally arrived at the new home. Seeing that it was already past noon, Pu Tao pulled at her clothes, looked at her eagerly and said, "My lady, I'm hungry."
Duan Zhiwei looked through the existing ingredients, first selected the tenderloin of meat, removed the tendons with a knife and pounded it, then added chopped green onion and autumn oil to make the stuffing; then he took out a jar of water-ground flour, added warm water and slowly made it into dumplings.
A Pan had already boiled a pot of water. Duan Zhiwei poured the raw glutinous rice balls into it and waited for a while. The glutinous rice balls floated to the surface of the water.
Duan Zhiwei served out four bowls. The plump, white and round dumplings looked very cute in the bowls.
I couldn’t wait to let the little guava cool down, so I took a bite of it impatiently. The soft and glutinous skin was delicate and elastic, and melted in my mouth. The meat filling inside is tender and juicy, with a strong meaty aroma. The richness of the meat and the softness of the skin are intertwined between the lips and tongue, creating a unique flavor.
"It's so delicious, my lady!" Little Putao said with glutinous rice balls still stuffed in his mouth.
"Then you must work hard after you have eaten."
Little Rambutan nodded hurriedly.
After eating and drinking, it was time to clean up the new home. The house had been vacant for a long time and was covered with dust. There were also spider webs hanging on the eaves.
Aunt Duan couldn't help but remind him: "This is a spider, be careful not to kill it, just let it go."
Little Pu Tao took a small wooden box and carefully put the spider inside: "Don't throw it away, don't throw it away. I will use this spider to pray for good luck during the Qiqiao Festival next month."
After finally cleaning the blue brick floor, Duan Zhiwei took out a bamboo mattress, also known as a carpet, and together with A Pan spread it on the floor. The gray and broken brick floor immediately turned into a clean emerald green.
Duan Zhiwei chopped up all the bumpy dining tables in Tongyifang and used them as firewood, and then hired a carpenter to make new dining tables for the new restaurant.
Duan Zhiwei specifically requested that a layer of varnish be applied on the dining tables, so although the rows of mahogany tables were not expensive, they looked quite grand.
The rammed earth wall had been heavily plastered with plaster by a plasterer from the West Market in advance, and it was very smooth. There was only one spot that was severely dented due to years of disrepair and could not be repaired. Duan Zhiwei hung the painting "I get up in the morning and cook two bowls of rice. Don't worry about me if I'm full" on it.
Duan Zhiwei stared at the calligraphy and painting for a long time. Hmm...the most vulgar is the most elegant.
Coarse gauze curtains of the same emerald green were hung beside several rammed earth windows, and a large white coarse porcelain vase containing some beautiful lotus flowers was placed in the corner.
The originally dilapidated and dusty hall now looks quite worthy of the word "elegant".
Aunt Duan stretched out her body and complained that her back ached and she needed to go back to her room and lie down for a while. She rubbed her waist and went back.
Duan Zhiwei was quite interested in the inns, bookstores and rouge and powder shops nearby, so he invited A Pan and Pu Tao to go out for a walk.
A Pan shook his head, but Putao happily responded loudly.
Duan Zhiwei walked to the door and then stepped back. She thought for a moment and lowered her head to ask Pu Tao: "Isn't it a bad idea for us to go empty-handed?"
As he said this, he rummaged through the drawers and found a porcelain jar of peach slices.
These peach slices are from fresh and fragrant big peaches bought at the foot of Mount Zhongnan in the spring. They are peeled and sliced, sprinkled with sugar and black tea powder, marinated overnight, and then baked in a Hu Bing oven into dried peaches.
The little rambutan loves to eat this kind of peach slices. The baked peach slices, after being mixed with sugar and crushed black tea, are more rich and mellow, and have a richer taste. Seeing that Duan Zhiwei was about to give the peach slices away, he stared at the jar reluctantly.
Duan Zhiwei found it quite amusing, and patted her head and said, "These peach slices have been pickled for several months. I saw some green plums and Buddha's hands on the market in the West Market, so I will pickle some more honey green plums and sugar Buddha's hands later."
Little Rambutan nodded vigorously.
The hostel next door was already packed with all kinds of scholars, each holding a book and reciting "zhihuzheya". The hostel is run by a young couple. The husband is not talkative, but his wife Sixier is very generous. She greets Duan Zhiwei warmly when she sees him.
When Duan Zhiwei rented the shop, he also took into consideration that there was a hostel next door. If guests who wanted to eat late stayed after curfew, they could sleep in the hostel next door for the night.
Therefore, Duan Zhiwei tried to find Si Xier to seek cooperation: "If the guests who patronize the restaurant come to the hotel, or if the guests of the hotel introduce them to eat at my place, can we give each other some discounts?"
Si Xier has run a shop for many years. When he heard this good idea of mutual benefit, he immediately agreed.
Duan Zhiwei was very happy and handed the jar of peach slices to Si Xier.
But then Si Xier's husband came down from upstairs with a feather duster in his hand.
The scholar wiped his tears and asked, "Can you give me two days?"
Si Xier's husband waved his hand and said, "If you don't have money, leave now. We don't accept credit."
Duan Zhiwei looked curiously and found that it was the fair-skinned scholar who had set up the bookstall in the morning.
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