Chapter 26 Chapter 26 The ancients also had to put on weight in autumn...
The new dining table was soon delivered to the restaurant by the carpenter. Considering that the gold foil that Du Yourong compensated for was indeed very valuable, Duan Zhiwei directly customized a dining table with a raised head, and both side panels were carved with exquisite floral decorations. After the dining table was delivered, the grade of the entire restaurant was greatly improved.
Rumors in Chang'an spread faster than the autumn wind. After Du Yourong smashed the restaurant that day, everyone didn't know how this small restaurant had attracted the attention of the daughter of a third-rank official, so they all went to Xuanyangfang to check it out. As a result, they found that the food was quite good. The restaurant business has actually improved.
It’s all thanks to Du Yourong.
On the other hand, the current sage is kind and loving to the people, but the daughter of a third-rank official actually led her servants to bully a widow and an orphan. Not only did the memorials from the Censorate fly everywhere, but the Hedong Pei family also considered themselves to be a noble family, with one prime minister after another in the family. How could they marry such a rude and arrogant girl? The marriage schedule of the two seemed to be temporarily stalled.
Duan Zhiwei was completely puzzled as to why someone would do such a thing that would benefit others but harm oneself.
But she had other more important things to think about. People don't have much appetite in the summer, so the restaurants' business with locust flower egg pancakes, mung bean porridge, etc. is okay, but not that good. Now that the autumn wind is blowing, Duan Zhiwei must seize this opportunity to whet the diners' appetites and earn more money.
The clerk from the fruit shop came to the door early in the morning pushing a wheelbarrow to deliver freshly picked eggplants. This was the first crop of this autumn. The eggplants were purple-black in color with smooth skin. Duan Zhiwei juggled them and found each one heavy. He opened one and found the flesh inside was white, thick and delicate. The eggplants had a strong fragrance and Duan Zhiwei immediately ordered a basket.
The summer limited food has been completely discontinued. The ancients always loved to put on weight in autumn. Duan Zhiwei decided to make a barbecue when the autumn wind started. For this purpose, she generously ordered two large lamb legs from the mutton shop.
Duan Zhiwei rarely picked up his brush and drew a grill, which people in the north call a "roasting oven". This broiler oven is divided into two parts, the lower part is like a pot, used to place charcoal. The upper part is called the roasting plate. The plate is nailed together with iron bars with gaps between them so that the heat from the charcoal underneath can penetrate through the gaps and roast the food.
But the painting was really ugly. Duan Zhiwei danced and gesticulated with the blacksmith for half a day, and the master barely understood what she meant. Fortunately, the chef’s skills are very good, and the dozen or so grill ovens he delivered were heavy and substantial.
A layer of sweet green onions is placed on the plate, the lamb is sliced into thin skins, and the two large lamb legs are hung outside the restaurant, which is particularly eye-catching. Even if travelers passing by don’t eat it, they will always take a few glances at it.
Next, split the eggplant in half, marinate it with seasoning, spread a thick layer of garlic on it, and grill it over charcoal fire, which has a unique flavor.
As the autumn wind gradually rises, people's appetites are whetted. In addition, the fact that one has to make barbecue by themselves is really novel. As soon as the market opens, Duan's restaurant is full of people.
Mutton is indeed the most popular meat in this dynasty, Duan Zhiwei sighed as he looked at the long queue outside.
She could only ask Apan to bring some more Huchuang for the diners queuing outside to sit on, and instructed Putao to write numbers on hemp paper and give people numbers. In order to prevent the diners in the queue from getting impatient, she boiled a large pot of hot mint licorice tea and placed it outside the door for diners to take.
The store was bustling with the heat from the roasting charcoal and the noisy voices. Duan Zhiwei was busy for half a day and finally saw Yuan Shenji, who had just finished his shift.
The hot charcoal fire was put into the grill in front of Yuan Shenji, and Duan Zhiwei came over with a few plates of marinated lamb slices and eggplants.
Yuan Shenji raised his hand to stop her. Duan Zhiwei also wanted to talk to him about the Du family's wife, so he sat down opposite him without any hesitation.
Yuan Shenji took out a stack of flying coins from his pocket and handed it to Duan Zhiwei. Duan Zhiwei took it and saw that there was enough money on it.
Yuan Shenji made a fist-holding gesture and said, "My cousin Yuan has caused great trouble to Madam Duan. This money was entrusted to me by the Du family as compensation to Madam Duan."
In fact, Du Yourong had already given compensation before smashing the things. Just as she was about to speak, the money in her hand was snatched away by Aunt Duan, whose face was blackened by charcoal. Aunt Duan thanked Yuan Shenji cheerfully with her white teeth bared, and walked quickly towards the back room with the money.
Duan Zhiwei sighed and decided to tell the truth: "Madam Du gave me a piece of gold foil before she smashed the store and apologized to me, but this behavior is really weird. I don't know what her intention is."
Duan Zhiwei couldn't figure out why he would do such a thing that would benefit others but hurt himself.
Putting this aside for now, seeing that the charcoal fire was burning brightly, Duan Zhiwei quickly took the chopsticks in his right hand and put the mutton slices and eggplant on the baking tray. The roasted eggplant meat became soft and dense, mixed with a lot of minced garlic, and it must have tasted rich in garlic flavor and melted in the mouth. In addition, it was roasted over charcoal fire, which gave it a unique flavor.
The green onions under the mutton are first placed in the oven, and the aroma from the roasting has a caramel sweetness. The mutton is cooked according to the diners' preferences, whether they like it tender or burnt. The top layer of chives can also relieve the greasiness. With some wine, it's like living a god's life.
Yuan Shenji thought for a moment and replied, "I guess he wants to ruin the marriage between the Du and Pei families."
The two families are prominent and powerful, especially the Pei family, so this marriage is inevitable in the eyes of the elders.
The Pei family has very strict family traditions. If Du Yourong wants to cancel this engagement, she will only ruin her own reputation.
Smashing the shop of a widow and an orphan without saying a word and for no reason in a busy market was an unforgivable mistake for Pei, who strongly advocated Emperor Taizong's idea of "the emperor is the boat and the people are the water."
To ordinary people, being able to marry into such a family is a blessing. If a woman is unwilling to do so, she must be crazy.
However, as a modern person, Duan Zhiwei understands that blind marriage is not a good idea. No matter how famous the Pei family is, it is only a matter of probability. What if the person she is engaged to is not a good person? Besides, it seems that the lady of the Du family has someone she likes.
Thinking of this, Duan Zhiwei secretly looked at Yuan Shenji again and again.
This man was indeed tall and strong, with a strong and handsome facial feature with distinct angles. Although he looked rough, he was kind at heart. Last time, he even traveled day and night to Mian County for me.
Yuan Shenji noticed her little action and found it quite funny, and then responded seriously: "The person my cousin likes is not me."
Du Yourong was born an actress. She could act out the role of a beautiful Chang'an lady who wanted her cousin but could not get him in any public occasion, such as cheering him on by the Qujiang Lake on the Dragon Boat Festival, or going to Yuan's residence to ask about his well-being in front of his parents and servants, and then going home, closing the door and wiping tears after being rejected.
The acting is very good. Almost everyone who knows the Du family knows that the second wife of the Du family loves her cousin deeply and will not marry anyone else. Except Yuan Shenji.
When he first came to Chang'an and was on duty, he stayed at the Du Mansion for a few days. If he accidentally met this cousin in the garden one day, Du Yourong would always bow casually as a greeting, then walk around him and walk away, not even bothering to give him a glance. But when she was in public, her indifferent eyes immediately became affectionate.
Duan Zhiwei was stunned after hearing this. After a moment, she asked Yuan Shenji: "Is the Du family's wife possessed by a monster?"
She stood up and hurried into the storeroom in the backyard. The Jinhua cat was leaning against the pillar with its four legs up in the air. There was a jar of Xinfeng wine on the table in front of it, and it was happily eating a large bowl of pickled fish.
Duan Zhiwei had just sealed the jar with mud about ten days ago, intending to let it marinate for forty days before unsealing it. He even hid it on the beam of the house, but it was still found accurately by the Jinhua cat.
Duan Zhiwei picked up the drunk Jinhua cat with one hand and said, "You can raise a cat for a thousand days, but you can only use it for a moment. Come with me now."
Jinhua Cat blushed and burped: "?"
The Du Mansion was built in the prosperous area of Yongxingfang. There were two servants guarding the door all year round, making it difficult for ordinary people to enter. Fortunately, Yuan Shenji was a frequent visitor to the Du Mansion. He rarely took the carriage, so the servants of the Du Mansion did not want to lift the curtain to check, so they bowed and let him in.
It was not appropriate for a man outside the family to enter the embroidery building of a daughter who was about to be married, so Yuan Shenji went to the front hall, and Duan Zhiwei sneaked into Du Yourong's embroidery building from the backyard.
This embroidery building was located in a quiet place in the Du Mansion. There were several pots of flowers in the yard, and the fragrance was overflowing. Duan Zhiwei walked around the pond with the Jinhua cat in her arms, looked at the colorful koi in the pond, and looked inside through the five-colored glazed window. On the embroidery frame in the corner of the room was the gorgeous wedding dress that she had seen in Yunxiang Jiaxu the day before.
Duan Zhiwei looked at the Jinhua cat and asked, "How is it? Is there anything unusual?"
According to Duan Zhiwei's understanding, Du Yourong changed from a gentle and kind young lady to an arrogant, unruly, moody, sometimes good and sometimes bad person, which must be because she was possessed by some monster.
For the sake of the gold foil and Yuan Shenji, Duan Zhiwei decided to help her.
Duan Zhiwei lowered his head and asked the Jinhua Cat, whose expression suddenly became serious: "How is it? Is there anything unusual?"
The Jinhua cat raised its head and sniffed hard with its nose and said, "I feel there are some traces of monsters around, but this smell is everywhere, I don't know where it is."
Duan Zhiwei was silent for a moment, then said, "What's the use of you?"
The Jinhua cat was furious: "Then come here, come here!"
While the two were arguing, it suddenly started to rain lightly, and they had to hide in the pavilion under the mulberry tree.
Jinhua Cat suddenly narrowed his eyes and said, "No."
The rain slowly surrounded the pavilion like a crystal curtain, and water vapor slowly rose from the feet, but this was not right, the sun was still hanging brightly in the sky, the sky was blue without a single cloud, how could it rain in such good weather?
Fortunately, the rain stopped after a while. Duan Zhiwei and Jinhua Mao just breathed a sigh of relief when a pleasant voice came from above the pavilion.
Duan Zhiwei and Jinhua Cat looked up at the same time.
On the branch of a mulberry tree, an extremely handsome man was leaning against the tree. He had long flowing black hair hanging down, eyes as deep as dark glass, fair skin, and a face like exquisitely carved jade.
He was wearing a flowing green robe that fluttered slightly in the wind, and his whole body exuded a certain cool aura.
He just quietly lowered his head and looked at the man and the demon under the mulberry tree.
Duan Zhiwei and Jinhua Cat were so surprised that they were speechless.
This handsome man actually had a pair of lightweight wings on his back, like a layer of gauze. There were many criss-crossing lines on the wings, which sparkled in the bright sunshine.
He actually smiled: "Are you two looking for me?"
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