Chapter 2 Chapter 2 Snow bubble spleen-reducing drink and improved version of Hu Bing salty and fragrant...
It is not Duan Zhiwei’s style to play the role of a benevolent Madonna. “Keeping oneself safe” is her life philosophy. But then again, if a person is lying in the snow covered in blood and stretches out his arm hoping you can save him...
That day, Duan Zhiwei was just looking for some herbs at the foot of Guzang Mountain, but he saw a man covered in blood lying in the grass.
The man was tall, with a robe embroidered with auspicious horses and goshawks. He wore a long sword and bright armor. At first glance, he is obviously a military officer.
In the autumn and winter in the border areas, even the grass is desolate. Duan Zhiwei admires the border officers, but he really can't bear it. When he sees the man opening his eyes and looking at him, the big scar on his forehead is constantly dripping with blood, staining the snow red.
Duan Zhiwei touched his forehead lightly with his hand, and it was frighteningly hot. After thinking for a moment, he took out the last ibuprofen and stuffed it into the man's mouth. He then went back to the city to report the matter to the authorities and did not pay any further attention to it.
I didn’t expect he was such a big shot.
Duan Zhiwei sighed. If he went to the government office now to rely on the favor, "Hello, do you remember me? Hahaha, you are really a forgetful person. I saved your life outside Liangzhou City. You have been promoted to the fourth rank. This favor is at least worth a shop in Xishi... If it doesn't work, you can give me some silk or flying money. I am not picky. How much is too much..."
There will only be two results. The first one is that he is really caught as a fox spirit. I wonder how our dynasty will deal with fox spirits? Anyway, the ending will not be good.
The second possibility is that this fourth-rank official ordered himself to take out some more white inner elixir to benefit the soldiers in the border areas...but he couldn't take it out at all.
In fact, it was impossible for an ordinary citizen like himself to have any connection with a fourth-rank official. However, this legendary tall and handsome captain specially asked a writer to write this story into a Bianwen. It’s better not to go to Da Ci’en Temple. Duan Zhiwei sighed again and put his mind on his own small shop at the end of Tongyifang.
After several days of observation, Duan Zhiwei found that although this small shop was at the end of the block, it was the only way for many officials to go to work. When Duan Zhiwei was selling crispy meat, he heard a man in the queue complaining that the food in the canteen of the Transport Commissioner's Office was really bad.
Aunt Duan's shop used to only sell mediocre steamed cakes and sesame porridge to make ends meet. This was probably because most officials had to go to work early in the morning and would just buy a steamed cake to get by.
For the time being, let's forget about steamed buns, wontons and other foods that require sitting in the store for a long time. The dilapidated shop even has a greasy black glow on the food table. There is no spare money for renovation at the moment. Duan Zhiwei thought for a moment and decided to ask someone to build a Hu pancake oven at the entrance of the store.
Duan Zhiwei is going to try making a Hu pancake filled with stuffing.
In this dynasty, the Hu pancake filled with mutton filling is called Gulouzi. Pepper and black beans are added to the mutton for seasoning, and then spread with sesame oil and baked.
However, mutton was expensive and Duan Zhiwei couldn't even afford the cost, so he had to give up mutton and decided to use pork. Pork was also needed to make fried crispy meat anyway, so buying them together would save time and effort.
Duan Zhiwei felt that this was a bit like a pepper cake. She had eaten it once at a night market. The crust was roasted until crispy and crispy, and the aroma of meat mixed with the rich aroma of pepper spread out when she took a bite. There was a long queue around the stall.
She chopped the lean and fat pork into minced meat, poured the water soaked with green onions, ginger and garlic on it, then added some soy sauce and cooking wine and blended it all together.
It would be better if some pepper could be added, Duan Zhiwei thought regretfully, pepper is more expensive than gold, so forget it.
Madam Duan had already learned how to fry crispy meat. She changed out of her bright imperial skirt and put on a jute dress. She was busy outside the door. She turned to Duan Zhiwei and said, "Zhiwei, hire someone. If all else fails, go back to the East Market and hire a slave."
Duan Zhiwei fried half of the meat filling until fragrant, and spread his hands when he heard the words: "Aunt, we don't have any copper coins." This caused the people in the queue to laugh.
Add eggs, cooking oil, ghee, milk, etc. to the dough, wait for it to ferment and release the gas, then divide it into equal-sized pieces. Roll the pieces into pancake crusts that are thick in the middle and thin on the four sides. Add pastry to seal the edges, roll them out again and roll them up.
Finally, add half raw and half cooked pork filling, close the tops and pinch them into stuffed Hu pancakes like buns, spread with sesame oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds, and you're done.
Next, make a portion of Snow Pao Shrinking Spleen Drink, which can eliminate thirst and relieve summer heat.
This is simple. It is made by boiling Amomum villosum, black plum meat, pear, peeled licorice, dried kudzu and white lentils in water. It is mainly aimed at drunk customers in taverns. After drinking a bowl of it, you will feel refreshed directly on your forehead.
On one side, there were hungry officials going to work from west to east at five in the morning, and on the other side, there were drinkers in Pingkangfang going from east to west drinking until dawn. Duan Zhiwei already saw endless copper coins waving at him.
At about five o'clock in the morning, the first crow of dawn was heard from Chengtian Gate. The sound of drums broke the long night, and then like dominoes, every drum tower from the imperial palace outward began to respond and herald the dawn, shocking the world and inspiring everyone.
What was even worse was that hundreds of temples in Chang'an responded and started beating the Buddhist bells.
Duan Zhiwei, with his messy hair, yawned deeply, rubbed his eyes to preheat the oven, went to the backyard to rub his face with cold well water, rinsed his mouth with green salt, then went out to stick the prepared Hu pancakes into the oven wall and started baking.
As expected, various horse-drawn carriages, ox-carts and people walking to work passed by Tongyifang from the west, some of them holding steamed buns in their hands and eating them as they walked.
But no one even glanced at Duan's Restaurant. This small, shabby shop had been selling steamed cakes and sesame porridge every day for the past decade or so. What was there to see?
Su Xun was a minor official of the ninth rank who had to go on duty early in the morning. He was wearing a green official uniform that didn't fit him well and was walking with some official documents in his arms when Duan Zhiwei, who was leaning against the oven, called him warmly.
A light green official uniform means a low-ranking official, walking means not having much money, wrinkled clothes mean he is unmarried so there is no one to cook for him, and a clear face like a scholar means he is easy to fool. These are potential target customers.
Duan Zhiwei picked up a Hu pancake, wrapped it in a lotus leaf, and handed it to Su Qian with a smile: "I often see you passing by here. This is a new stuffed Hu pancake from my restaurant. Please try it. The first one is free."
Su Xun was from the Wugong Su family. He was quiet and fond of studying since childhood, but he was stubborn and did not like to curry favor with his superiors. Fortunately, his ancestors had connections in Chang'an City and could barely get to Su Xu, the consort of Princess Nanchang. Therefore, his family used the connections of the eldest brother to help him get a small official position in Chang'an.
Su Xun was indeed planning to go to the government cafeteria for breakfast so he was very hungry. The Hu pancake spread with egg liquid and sprinkled with sesame seeds looked crispy and tempting. Su Xun swallowed, bowed politely to express his gratitude, then took the pancake and took a bite.
The shell was very crispy and peeled off piece by piece. A stream of boiling hot gravy suddenly flowed out and soaked the crispy crust of the pancake. The burnt aroma of the Hu pancake and the fresh aroma of the meat filling continued to spread.
Now the hungry passers-by looked over at him. Su Xun was sweating from eating. He kept nodding his head and said in a high voice, "It's delicious, delicious."
The publicity was effective, and the crowd gathered around in a flash. Duan Zhiwei opened the large jar of Snow Bubble Spleen Shrinking Drink, smiled and scooped a bowl and handed it to Su Qun who was at the front, saying, "My dear, do you need to drink a bowl? It has been soaking in the well water all night, and it is refreshing and delicious."
A sweet pear aroma wafted out of the jar, and the bright red black plum flesh and large pieces of snow-white pear flesh in the jar looked very beautiful.
Su Xun took the drink, and the cool, sweet pear fragrance immediately dispelled his sleepiness.
Passers-by began to line up. Su Yu reacted and quickly squeezed into the crowd: "I want three more Hu Bing!"
Duan Zhiwei was so busy that she shouted to the room, "Aunt, stop dawdling and come out to help."
Aunt Duan got up earlier than Duan Zhiwei. She had been doing her hair in a bun for most of the day and was now pinning a pink silk peony on her head. When she heard Duan Zhiwei asking for help, she said, "Zhiwei, hold on a little longer. Your aunt will be ready soon."
The summer is restless, and the cicadas and birds in the trees are constantly noisy. The Southern Yamen government office was dead silent. Yuan Shenji had just finished his night shift. He was wearing a crimson official robe and a brown leather belt tied neatly around his waist. He stared at the white linen document in front of him with a frown.
Although he is young, he has been tempered in the border military camp for a long time. His handsome face has a fierceness that makes him intimidating without even getting angry. His personal guard standing in front of him is so nervous that sweat is dripping from his hair to the ground.
The general content of the document was that the Da Ci'en Temple had a popular lecture the day before, saying that a flying-headed barbarian disguised as a pipa girl appeared on the river, and the local county lieutenant had not yet found the body, but the barbarian unexpectedly appeared in a Hubing shop in Chang'an.
The guard wiped his sweat and said: "It is said that the Hu man woke up in the middle of the night and heard some noise in the kitchen. He saw a head in the jar and was so scared that he screamed and ran out of the house. Wu Hou, who was patrolling on the road, heard the noise and ran over, and also saw the head flying away." The Hu man was so scared that he lost consciousness and is still lying in the hospital.
Yuan Shenji put down the document and asked, "Why don't you ask the Monster Catcher?"
The guard said hurriedly, "The Hu man was injured and unconscious. He has a bad temper and has always had conflicts with others. We were worried that someone might have done something wrong, so we referred the case to the Dali Temple."
The guard glanced at him secretly, and seeing that his brows were furrowed, he continued, "But the Dali Temple investigated and found two Wu Hou who witnessed the incident. They confirmed that it was indeed the work of Fei Tou Man, and pushed the blame on the Monster Catching Department.
Right now, all the Monster Catching Bureau has gone to Luoyang to investigate the case of the Peony Monster. I guess since the incident happened at night, they handed the case over to the Jinwu Guards. ”
The Jinwu Guards were responsible for the security and patrolling of the imperial palace and the capital, and were in charge of the "curfew" in the capital. It was probably based on this consideration that the documents were sent over.
Yuan Shenji was about to speak when he heard a commotion outside.
Several Zhonghou who had just finished their duty were rushing to grab the Hu Bing from Su Xun's hand. When they saw Yuan Shenji coming out, they hurriedly saluted.
"What are you guys doing!" Yuan Shenji attached great importance to rules. He was tall and looked intimidating just by standing there.
Su Yu usually saw him like a mouse seeing a cat, so he hurriedly explained: "Captain Yuan, this is the case. There is a restaurant in Tongyifang that sells good Hu Bing. I saw that it was really delicious, and I thought that the Zhonghous were patrolling the city all night, so I bought some more."
The Hu Bing cracked during the scramble, and the rich aroma of meat wafted out. Even someone like Yuan Shenji, who could eat inferior food with relish, couldn't help swallowing.
He looked up and sent the Zhonghou away, then took another look at the delicious Hu Bing, thinking of the Feitouman who stole the Hu Bing. He took a long step and approached Su Qian in one swift step. Su Qian was so scared that he took two steps back. Yuan Shenji took the Hu Bing and asked, "Where is the restaurant you mentioned in Tongyifang?"
After a busy whole day, all the Hu Bing and Su Rou were sold out. Duan Zhiwei shared some leftover drinks with the neighbors.
It is now dusk, the setting sun has dyed the clouds orange and red, and the few toon trees next to the restaurant are dyed with a layer of golden gauze. The evening breeze blows, bringing a hint of coolness.
People in the alley sat under the shade of the trees, fanning themselves to cool off. Ye Na was playing the zither out of boredom. Aunt Yelu and Aunt Duan were studying the latest popular makeup styles in Chang'an. Duan Zhiwei took a sip of the purple basil drink and felt that such a life was not bad.
It was a rare moment of warmth and emotion for her, but the sound of horse hooves came from afar, raising a cloud of dust and destroying the tranquility.
Yuan Shenji brought two guards to the place Su Yan mentioned, and hurriedly reined in his horse. He bowed to Duan Zhiwei on the horse and said, "Doctor, I heard that your Hu Bing is excellent, so I came here specially to taste it."
Yuan Shenji waited for a while and saw that she didn't answer, so he frowned and said, "The price is negotiable."
The man was tall, with the light behind him in the setting sun, so his face couldn't be seen clearly. It took Duan Zhiwei a while to realize that the doctor he was talking about was actually himself.
It's no wonder. In this dynasty, it was a trend for women to dress as men. Duan Zhiwei felt that wearing men's clothes was convenient and cheap. Also, because of the thick smoke from the oven, he wore a hat to cover his long black hair. It was no wonder that the other party mistook him for a waiter.
The fire had gone out long ago, and it would be troublesome to relight it. She was about to refuse, but Aunt Duan covered her mouth first, smiled apologetically and said to Yuan Shenji: "Okay, my dear, I will do it now."
Aunt Duan whispered to Duan Zhiwei: "Look at his sword..."
"Knife?" Duan Zhiwei looked up and saw the sword flashing with a cold light. It was obviously of extraordinary quality, as if it was used by a high-ranking military officer.
"Look at his horse again." Aunt Duan said again.
"Horse?" The red date horse under Yuan Shenji was tall and mighty, and its snorts were healthy and loud.
Instead, Duan Zhiwei was allowed to open a hotel in modern times, and the manager training was also in place: "Look at his Hermès bag... and then look at his Chanel jacket, you can tell at a glance that he is a rich man."
Then he took the menu and started selling the most expensive Australian lobster and grouper in the store.
Duan Zhiwei was eager to make a fortune, so he rolled up his sleeves and started a fire. Seeing the remaining dough, he rubbed his hands and asked the three people who had already sat in the main room, "Would you like some more steamed buns, sir?"
Before Yuan Shenji could answer, the guard said, "Stop talking nonsense, just tell me what you have to say!"
Yuan Shenji always restrained his subordinates from oppressing civilians, so he scolded him and bowed to Duan Zhiwei, saying, "I have no rules, please forgive me."
Duan Zhiwei thought about it, took some of the leftover dough from making Hu pancakes, rolled it into sheets and threw it into the boiling water, then put small pieces of lard, soy sauce and salt in a bowl.
The cooked noodles were poured into a bowl along with boiling water. Duan Zhiwei thought for a moment and cracked an egg into the bowl.
While waiting, she curiously looked at Yuan Shenji. He was wearing plain clothes and had a firm facial line when viewed from the side. He rolled up his sleeves, revealing his strong and slender arms. He looked like someone who was not easy to mess with.
But Duan Zhiwei always felt that he had seen him somewhere.
The poached eggs were cooked and floated up. Duan Zhiwei quickly brought the steamed buns up. The guard gave the steamed buns to Yuan Shenji and said, "Captain, please go first."
Yuan Shenji saw that the bowl of steamed buns was dotted with chopped green onions. When he stirred it with chopsticks, the aroma of lard filled his nose. As soon as the chopsticks picked up the egg, the egg white broke and the tender yellow liquid came out.
He was actually hungry, so he picked up a piece of steamed dumpling with chopsticks and put it into his mouth. He found the soup light and delicious, and the steamed dumpling smooth and chewy, and he ate it all in no time.
Duan Zhiwei remembered something and hurried to the stove at the door to take out the Hu pancake, poured it into the dustpan, and stuffed it into Aunt Duan's arms, saying, "I have something urgent to do in Ye Nana." Then she ran away in a hurry.
Aunt Duan was puzzled and shouted at her back, "Come back early because curfew is coming."
Duan Zhiwei finally remembered who that person was, the one he saved in Liangzhou, the one who mistook him for a fox spirit, the one who had risen to the fourth rank at a young age, Captain Yuan!
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