Chapter 85 Chapter 85 The night between flowers is as cool as water and rich in red sauce...
Summer came so quickly, Chang'an became hot, and ice vendors pushed wooden carts along the streets, their wheels making squeaking sounds as they rolled over the yellow earth.
Aunt Duan pushed open the window of the restaurant's main hall, and the heat waves and rain squeezed in together, with a faint fragrance wafting in from the locust trees on the street. It had rained for several days in a row in Chang'an, so there were not many diners. Only the umbrella vendors were shouting in the deserted streets, holding colorful oil-paper umbrellas under their arms.
She glanced at the distant building shrouded in mist and rain and sighed.
It has been raining recently and business has been slow to begin with. As the Chinese Valentine's Day is approaching, many old customers have come into the store to ask if the unique and interesting Qiqiao fruit from last year will still be made this year.
Aunt Duan forced a smile and said, "Of course I will do it. You can order it first and come back to pick it up on the Qixi Festival."
After the guests left, she looked at the deserted hall and sighed.
The incident of the bronze mirror dealt a great blow to everyone, especially the kidnapped Pu Tao. She was afraid to sleep every night, and several people from the restaurant took turns to accompany her. Finally, Duan Zhiwei and Yuan Shenji drove a horse-drawn carriage to Pu Tao's home and brought her elderly grandmother over. Only then did Pu Tao feel a little better.
Duan Zhiwei has not been having a good time these days. She has often been in a trance recently. For the Chinese Valentine's Day, she tried to make a sugar cake, but it tasted so salty that it tasted bitter.
Because she was distracted and because there was no longer a chattering mirror whispering in her ear: "Back then, I followed my master to sneak across the Yumen Pass...", she put salt instead of sugar into the cake and steamed it.
In this dynasty, the prices of salt and sugar were extremely high. Aunt Duan felt sorry for the seasoning, but couldn't bear to nag her, so she had to let her go to Qujiang, sit on the pleasure boat on the river, and admire the newly opened lotus flowers.
Yuan Shenji was also very anxious, and he found different ways to bring home cheese-filled fresh cherries, lotus root candy, and glutinous rice cakes every day.
Because according to Su Xun, eating sweets will make you feel better.
But it didn't work. Chang'an was rainy for several days and the restaurant was also gloomy.
The Qixi Festival was approaching, and the ladies were in a hurry to buy cakes and pray to the Weaver Girl and the Cowherd for dexterity, while the gentlemen were buying snacks and praying to Kuixing for success in the autumn examination. If they didn't do something, it would be too late.
In addition, summer has arrived, and the palace has bestowed locust leaf cold noodles to all prefectures. The public kitchens of various government offices have also begun to serve leaf cold noodles without fail. The noodles are cooked with locust leaf juice, and it is a bowl of light green cold noodles. Some government offices are particular about it and use sea bass and shrimp meat with some vinegar and mashed garlic as toppings.
A group of officials sat in the corridor, chewing cold noodles cooked with locust leaves and freshly chilled fish sashimi, but they found them tasteless.
Su Qi and Zhen Hui complained while eating. They discussed the delicious wontons and steamed buns in Duan's restaurant, and agreed to order a grilled fish and drink two glasses of Xinfeng wine at dinner time.
When the other officials heard their description of the crispy, fragrant and tender grilled fish, they all put down the tasteless locust leaf cold noodles in their hands.
It is still popular to eat fish sashimi this summer. The West Market even sells a book called "The Book of Cutting Sashimi" which introduces the knife techniques for making fish sashimi. The seasoning is a dipping sauce called Bahechi, which is a mixture of garlic, ginger, orange peel, white plum, cooked chestnut, glutinous rice, salt and sauce. It is said that the sauce has the aroma of garlic, ginger and chestnut, so it is very popular.
However, as fish sashimi became more popular, the sea bass, which had few bones and tender meat, became difficult to order. The fishermen finally caught a few baskets, but they were basically all booked up by the big restaurants in the West Market. There was nothing they could do, so an old fisherman on the banks of the Jing River sent a basket of eels.
Yellow eel is not a rare thing. Except for the eel boiled bun, a specialty of Sanyuan County, it is not often used in ordinary restaurants.
Duan Zhiwei thought about it and decided that both stir-fried eel and braised eel would be very good, so he accepted the box of eels.
Many diners have come to say hello. I really don’t want to eat Sophora japonica leaf cold noodles anymore, as Sophora japonica leaf cold noodles are everywhere on the street.
So Duan Zhiwei glanced at the eels that were leisurely spitting out sand in the big water tank and thought, why not make some fried eel noodles with a thick and red sauce.
The stove fire licks the iron pan, the oil temperature gradually heats up, and the eel shreds slide into the hot oil with a "sizzle". The eels are cut into golden and crispy, and the aroma bursts in the air.
Do not throw away the remaining eel bones. Stir-fry them and add ginger slices and scallions to make soup. After simmering over low heat, the soup becomes milky white and rich, bubbling in the casserole.
After Ah Pan cooked the noodles, Duan Zhiwei took over, spread the eel with rich oily sauce on the noodles, sprinkled a handful of green onions, and poured a layer of boiling hot oil on them.
The sizzling hot oil brings out the aroma of the chopped green onions, and the sauce quickly seeps into the gaps between the noodles.
The rain in Chang'an City stopped, and the steaming summer heat also disappeared. Diners walked to Duan's Restaurant with a relaxed pace and were soon attracted by the fried eel noodles, not to mention the complimentary delicious eel soup.
Su Qi and Zhen Hui didn't get to eat the grilled fish, but they got this noodle, plus a plate of stir-fried shredded yellow eel with wine, and they were very satisfied with the meal.
Amid the sound of evening drums, Yuan Shenji also rode back on his horse. His horse's hooves stepped on the puddles on the side of the street. The puddles reflected the colorful clouds. His horse stepped quickly on the puddles, and the small splashes of water looked like broken gold.
Duan Zhiwei had some free time, so she wore a light green gauze skirt and leaned against the pillar near the restaurant door, fanning herself with a palm-leaf fan to greet him.
Yuan Shenji dismounted from his horse, untied his sword and strode towards her.
"You're back early today." She walked over while fanning herself and wanted to help him untie his sword, but she was surrounded by the cold air of the Ming Guang armor.
Yuan Shenji had already come over and held her face and looked at her carefully for a while: "Are you not sad anymore today?"
Duan Zhiwei has been feeling very sad lately and hasn't been sleeping well. Yuan Shenji is very worried and just lies aside, listening to her sighing.
He was an expert at fighting on the battlefield, so it was quite difficult for him to make his new wife happy. He could only bite the bullet and borrow a copy of "Xiao Lin" from Wang Qian to tell her the story of "The Man from Lu Holding a Rod".
It tells a funny story about a man from Lu who couldn't get into the city with a long bamboo pole, and had to borrow a saw after being reminded by an old man.
Yuan Shenji said, quietly observing her reaction.
It took Duan Zhiwei a while to realize that he was telling a joke, and he quickly pretended to be amused and laughed out loud.
Her acting is terrible and her laugh is artificial and dry.
Yuan Shenji was very disappointed.
He specially asked a friend to bring back a plate of jade dew dumplings today. The dumplings were as white as jade and had patterns carved on them. They looked instantly adorable. Yuan Shenji carefully took them out of his bag and handed them to her.
"This is sweet and delicious, you can try it." He secretly looked at Duan Zhiwei's reaction.
Duan Zhiwei took it and gave him a cheerful smile: "There's food in the backyard. Today's steamed buns are very good. Let's eat together."
She lifted her skirt and went to prepare, while Yuan Shenji quietly breathed a sigh of relief behind her.
The pine square table and small stools that Duan Zhiwei ordered two months ago were all ready. The carpenter specially drove a cart to deliver them to her early in the morning. She placed the table and chairs under the osmanthus tree in the backyard so that everyone could have a snack and enjoy the cool air in the evening.
Yuan Shenji first took off his armor and took a bath in the house, then changed into a dark blue robe and came out to sit on a chair.
Duan Zhiwei placed a bowl of fried eel noodles and a bowl of fish soup in front of him. The noodles were freshly rolled and very chewy. The eel topping was shiny and sprinkled with green chopped green onions, which whetted his appetite under the setting sun.
Yuan Shenji's banquet under the corridor at noon today was all cold food, such as cold noodles with locust leaves and pickled fish, which tasted rather tasteless.
Now, facing the bowl of eel noodles, he swallowed his saliva, picked up the bamboo chopsticks and started slurping. The eel shreds and chewy noodles wrapped in rich sauce slid easily into his throat. Duan Zhiwei said "Eat slowly" while fanning him.
"Delicious," he said indistinctly.
It was really delicious, the noodles were chewy and springy, the tenderness and rich aroma of the eel was intertwined with the aroma of onion and garlic. It was really suitable for Yuan Shenji who was a little tired after a day of running around.
She was worried that Yuan Shenji would not have enough to eat, so she specially ordered three servings of noodles. Unexpectedly, he finished them all in no time. Duan Zhiwei handed him the soup: "Do you want some more? There should be more in the kitchen."
Yuan Shenji raised his head and drank the delicious fish soup in one gulp. He just waved his hand and said, "No need. This is enough."
He took the towel and wiped the corners of his mouth, then looked around: "Where are they?"
Duan Zhiwei said, "It was dinner time today, and the restaurant was too busy. Everyone hurriedly finished their meal and went back to their rooms to lie down."
Yuan Shenji smiled and said, "I came back late." There was no one else in the backyard, so he reached out to touch her face without hesitation. However, he was worried that the calluses on his hands would hurt her, so he just touched her lightly and let go.
Duan Zhiwei said: "Captain, you can't eat my meal for nothing."
Yuan Shenji readily accepted the offer: "Mrs. Duan's meal is worth a thousand gold coins. I am willing to spend all my fortune to exchange it for it."
"You don't have to spend all your money." She found it quite amusing and walked over to touch his forehead with her finger: "Chinese Valentine's Day is coming soon. I need to pick some flowers to make Chinese Valentine's Day flower cakes. It is said that Commander Yuan is as strong as a king. This difficult task is left to you."
In early summer, the wisteria, roses and jasmine in the restaurant's backyard are in full bloom. Pick those that are in full bloom and have the thickest petals, pick some of them with honey, and smoke some of them. They are not only good for making flower cakes, but also for making various kinds of dews.
I heard that the dew made from the flower petals is placed in a copper basin on the night of the Chinese Valentine's Day and then left in the courtyard. The next day, the girls use it to apply on their faces to whiten their skin.
Yuan Shenji stood up and said, "So you were waiting for me here."
He was very strong and his hands were full of calluses, but he was not afraid of the pain. He went up to pick the roses, but Duan Zhiwei quickly stopped him: "Pick the ones with big flowers and thick petals. Don't pick them all for me. I worked so hard to grow them."
The moon quietly hung on the branches, and the moonlight gently enveloped the courtyard like a veil. Two people lit lanterns at the four corners of the courtyard, and the courtyard suddenly became bright. He shook the wisteria trellis vigorously twice, and a shower of flowers fell down.
He had a wooden hairpin tied in his hair, and the end of the hairpin happened to be wrapped around a wisteria tree, like a graceful tassel hanging from its head.
Yuan Shenji was tall and strong, and with such a cute and exquisite hairpin, he looked very interesting. Duan Zhiwei tried to hold back his laughter, but couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Okay, you dare to laugh at me?" He pretended to be angry, walked over and hugged her, shook her like a naughty boy, and then leaned close to look at her face in the moonlight: "That's it, smile more, my new bride is so beautiful when she smiles."
He tried to make her happy and picked up a rose and pinned it in her hair, looking like Wu Song with a flower in his hair.
Duan Zhi smiled so hard that his whole body trembled.
Yuan Shenji put her down, and stroked her cheek with a gentle look: "Are you happier now?"
She nodded, and Yuan Shenji felt relieved.
After they cleaned up the flower petals on the floor, they were sweating in the sultry heat, so they soaked in the tub again.
Yuan Shenji picked up the sandalwood bath beans given by the palace, and pretended to be kind enough to help her rub her back. After rubbing it for a while, his hand moved to other places.
She leaned in his arms and stretched out her wet arms to hit him, but they were too close together, she couldn't move at all, and could only let the man behind her spray his warm breath on her neck.
Yuan Shenji panted and said, "I think picking flowers is too hard. A bowl of noodles is not enough. I need some other compensation."
Fortunately, this empty room had been used by her as her own bathroom, so it didn't matter if most of the water in the tub spilled out. In the end, he kissed her cheek gently from behind with satisfaction.
Then he stood up, picked up a large clean ramie towel and wrapped it around his waist. The undried water drops rolled down his chin, all the way over his Adam's apple and then down. Duan Zhiwei quickly turned his back.
He casually pushed his wet hair back, revealing his resolute face, then pulled Duan Zhiwei out of the water and carried him back to the room.
Duan Zhiwei glanced at the smooth lines of his arms from years of martial arts practice and then looked away.
Glancing at his broad, muscular chest, he looked away.
Glancing at his tight waist, she looked away.
When they returned to the room, he put her down, propped himself up on the edge of the bed with one hand, and nuzzled her with his tall nose: "This is your man, there's nothing you can't look at."
He threw away the ramie generously, bent down, and wanted to touch those lips as tender, soft and sweet as roses again.
There was a knock on the door.
He said with an impatient "tsk". "It's curfew, who would come? It must be a wild cat."
Duan Zhiwei rolled to the side as quickly as possible, then got up and hurriedly put on her skirt: "What if there is really someone there? I'll go check it out."
She endured the pain all over her body and ran to open the door without looking back.
Standing at the door was a child about seven or eight years old, about the same size as Pu Tao and the wolf cub.
He was wearing a wide, ill-fitting robe, a hat, and was barefoot with mud on his feet. He was carrying a huge package on his back.
He raised his head and looked at Duan Zhiwei with bright eyes, then spoke timidly, his voice as soft as sticky rice candy: "Hello, my wife, I have lost my father and mother, and the gate is closed. Can I stay at your place for one night?"
The two lanterns at the entrance of the restaurant were blown by the noisy summer night breeze, illuminating his pair of beautiful, golden vertical pupils.
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