Chapter 97 Chapter 97 Lion and Braised Lion's Head In that pot...
Tonight the night was as dark as ink, shrouding Suzaku Street like a veil. Two golden lanterns lit up in the night sky of Chang'an. Following a low roar, a lion covered in golden light slowly walked towards Suzaku Street. The moonlight shone on the lion's mane, flowing with a burst of molten golden light.
The Jinwu Guards have already formed their battle formation, and as soon as Yuan Shenji gives the order, the arrows will be fired.
The lion looked like a mythical beast from ancient mythology. With every step it took, it made a deep and powerful sound, and the earth seemed to tremble a few times.
The "auspicious lions" of the Jinwu Guard held their breath, waiting for Yuan Shenji's order to shoot their arrows. Unexpectedly, the lion roared again, turned around and disappeared into the mist.
This unfortunate news spread throughout the bustling city of Chang'an the next day.
Originally, the Jinwu Guards kept the fact of the missing lion in Parthia a secret to avoid causing panic in Chang'an City, but the bad thing happened because of that unlucky guy who broke the curfew.
He had missed curfew and was afraid of being discovered by Wu Hou, so he had planned to stay under the bridge all night and go home after the curfew was over the next day. However, he did not expect that while he was squatting there, a huge animal claw patted his shoulder from behind.
Anyway, after receiving twenty lashes from the Jinwu Guards, this unfortunate fellow was carried back home by his own servants, howling and screaming:
"There is a lion in Chang'an!"
The manager of the menagerie was so frightened that he fainted, which was a serious dereliction of duty. As a result, the lion's cage showed no signs of damage, and the other five lions were also kept well. The missing lion seemed to have disappeared out of thin air.
This was the first time that the saint encountered such a strange thing. Even he could not figure out which government office should be responsible for finding the lost lion. In the end, he could only send the Dali Temple to look for clues about the suspect in the zoo. The Jinwu and Qianniu strengthened their patrols to make sure that the lost lion was found and that the people would not be hurt.
After handing over his shift to Zuo Zhonglang Jiang on Zhuque Street, Yuan Shenji returned to the restaurant exhausted. He saw that there was already a large circle of diners gathered at the restaurant door, half of whom were there to eat.
The other half was probably waiting for him to tell about his experiences on Suzaku Street.
So he went around to the backyard and climbed over the wall back to the room.
Duan Zhiwei was busy in the front yard. Wherever she went, a group of children followed her and asked her, "When will Captain Yuan come back?"
She was so annoyed that she had to switch jobs with A Pan and go to the backyard to wash the vegetables herself.
Duan Zhiwei returned to the backyard and heard some noise in the stable. He saw Yuan Shenji's chestnut horse snorting loudly in the stable.
She felt a little puzzled, so she quietly opened the door with light steps. Yuan Shenji was already lying on the couch and asleep.
His eyes were tightly closed, his long eyelashes casting a small shadow under his eyes, his handsome brow bones and nose bridge had hard lines, and his usual sternness and seriousness receded a little.
Duan Zhiwei was so fascinated by the scene that she wanted to raise her hand to help him brush away the hair on his forehead, but after thinking for a moment, she withdrew her hand.
"Forget it. He works so hard at night. Be careful not to wake him up." She thought so, then stood up and was about to leave.
But immediately a pair of big hands grabbed her waist and pulled her back.
"I thought you were asleep," she said.
He exerted a little force on his arms, holding her tighter, and rubbed his chin against her fair neck: "Not yet, otherwise how would I know you attacked me."
His chin had grown stubble after a night of beard, which prickled people. Duan Zhiwei raised his hand to scratch him, and suddenly thought: "Did a lion really escape?"
After all, it was a wild beast. If it really escaped, it would be really unsafe for the people of Chang'an.
Yuan Shenji said: "I don't think it's a lion, it should be a monster."
Golden lotuses appeared wherever the lion stepped, and the lion's pupils were a dazzling gold, completely different from those of ordinary lions.
"Why is there another monster?" Duan Zhiwei was annoyed by all the monsters and just hoped that the lion would not come to the restaurant.
While she was distracted, the man took the opportunity to rub his head against her chest, but was pushed away: "Go to sleep quickly. When you wake up, a group of children will be waiting for you to be their storyteller."
Yuan Shenji lay back on the bed, and when he thought about the situation he would face when he woke up, he sighed very loudly.
Axue was wandering in the street wearing the unique Hu robe of the Parthians. He walked around the streets of Chang'an last night and found that there was no one there. He finally found someone under the bridge. He patted the person with his paw and the person ran away trembling.
He chased, and the man ran; the faster he chased, the man ran faster, crying and shouting as he ran.
What a rude Chang'an person.
When he ran to Suzaku Street, a group of armored warriors pointed their arrows with cold light at him. He felt the atmosphere was a little weird, so he turned around and ran away.
As expected, it was not very convenient for him to walk around Chang'an Street in lion form, so when the first ray of morning light came, he transformed into a human form.
However, because he didn't know what kind of clothes people in Chang'an wore nowadays, he could only wear a set of Parthian Hu clothing, and was stared at by passers-by as a weirdo.
After wandering on Chang'an Street for half a day, Axue's stomach started to growl.
The vendors in the market pushed wheelbarrows and hawked their wares along the street: crispy Hu pancakes sprinkled with sesame seeds; hot and sizzling mutton cooked in a basin without a trace of mutton smell...
He walked to a shop selling fried dough cakes. The owner skillfully put the fried dough cakes into the pan and fried them. The golden and crispy fried dough cakes just out of the pan were really tempting.
Axue swallowed.
Seeing him staring at her, the owner of the restaurant said enthusiastically, "Sir, here are some fried dough sticks that have just come out of the pan. There are some with scallion and pork fillings or with sugar fillings. Would you like one?"
Axue stared for a long time, then left with a sigh.
He has no copper coins on him.
As he walked to Xuanyangfang, an even more tempting aroma of meat wafted into his nose.
Duan Zhiwei used the big pot at the door to stew the lion's head today. He fried the meatballs with green onions, ginger, star anise, cinnamon, etc. and simmered them for more than an hour until the soup was thick and the meatballs melted in the mouth.
There are many advantages to using a big pot at the door. For example, when stewing red meat, the aroma can drift two streets away, attracting diners passing by.
Business was very good today and the people in the restaurant were very busy. Aunt Duan went to the temple on Mount Zhongnan to burn incense the day before yesterday and her waist ached from the climb. Now she could only lie on the rattan chair and could not sit on anything else.
Duan Zhiwei had no choice but to prepare to go to the maid workshop to hire a worker to help serve dishes for a few days.
She told Ah Pan a few things at the door and was about to go out. Before she had taken a few steps, Ah Xue stopped her with shining eyes: "Madam, are you hiring someone? Do you think I can do it?"
Duan Zhiwei looked him up and down. The man was thin, with pale skin, and looked like he would fall down if the wind blew. Duan Zhiwei was a little hesitant.
Axue hurriedly said: "I don't want any wages, just food and accommodation are enough." He glanced at the big stove at the door, and the rich aroma of meat continued to rise along with the steam.
Since you don't want any wages, that's not impossible.
Duan Zhiwei thought it was a good deal and agreed immediately. Ask him to help serve dishes in the hall first.
Just then, two diners walked in and sat over there and asked Duan Zhiwei, "Madam Duan, do you have any more steamed lion's head today? I didn't eat enough yesterday."
Every time Duan Zhiwei prepared new products, he would prepare less on the first day, for fear that they would not suit the tastes of Chang'an people and would not sell well.
We didn’t make enough lion’s head yesterday, and many people wanted to order a second helping, so there was none left. Therefore, Duan Zhiwei hurriedly said, "We won't be steaming it today, we'll be braising the lion's head instead."
She pointed to the big iron pot at the door and said, "It's all stewed in that pot. Don't worry, there's plenty."
The customer said, "Then let's start with two servings of lion's head and a pot of green ant wine."
Axue's hand holding the plate froze in the air.
Looking at this pretty lady, she actually chopped off so many lion heads and stewed them in the pot, and the diners in Chang'an thought it was very normal.
If you still need some, order two.
He felt a chill on his neck and some cold sweat broke out on his head.
Pu Tao came out to get some wine, and seeing that he was sweating, he asked, "Are you okay? Are you sick?"
He pretended to put the plate down casually, turned around and ran outside, but was tripped by the high threshold, fell headfirst on the ground, and sprawled out at the door.
A Pan and Duan Zhiwei hurried over to help him.
The man looked fainted, with a large red patch on his forehead. Aunt Duan rubbed her waist and gave up the rattan chair. A Pan and Duan Zhiwei helped him up.
Aunt Duan whispered to Duan Zhiwei: "What did I say? Cheap goods are not good."
Duan Zhiwei retorted: "How dare you say that to me, aunt?"
Anyway, after being paralyzed for half a day, Axue slowly woke up. After Xiaolang and Putao finished their work, they stood beside the rattan chair and looked at him curiously.
He covered his head and shouted, "Don't eat my head, my head is not delicious!"
The little wolf and Pu Tao were frightened.
Ah Pan thought this young man was really interesting: "Who wants to eat your head?"
Axue pointed at Duan Zhiwei: "She just said that the iron pot is full of lion heads!"
Duan Zhiwei: “…” She didn’t really want to pay attention to him.
It is said that when Emperor Yang of Sui went to Jiangdu to give a banquet to his ministers, he saw that the "Sunflower Meat" looked like a lion's head, so he gave it this name.
Ah Pan continued, "What lion's head? Those are pork meatballs that look like lion's heads, so they are named that. Besides, even if the pot is full of lion's heads, it has nothing to do with you."
Ah Xue finally figured it out: "It turns out to be pork meatballs."
He really thought there was a pot of lion's heads stewing in it.
Noon passed quickly and most of the diners had left, so everyone in the restaurant finally had some time to eat lunch.
Four large and round meatballs are placed on a plate, covered with a layer of bright red and mellow sauce. The fried skin has a burnt aroma, and the tender meat filling inside is wrapped in rich sauce. The taste is really good.
Everyone held their chopsticks and watched as Axue devoured all the meatballs, a plate of grilled crucian carp with green onions, and a large bowl of vegetable soup.
He ate happily, and then stared at the plate of steamed sausages in front of the little wolf: "You guys don't want to eat this either, I'll help you finish it."
Everyone had been busy all morning, and before they had even taken a few bites of the meal, he had eaten all the dishes. They were all a little angry, so Duan Zhiwei had to go to the kitchen and prepare another pot of noodles for everyone to fill their stomachs.
Aunt Duan walked into the kitchen and said, "You have one hour to get rid of this fellow. He doesn't want any wages. His appetite is enough for us to hire several servants."
Duan Zhiwei: "I understand..."
Axue was still happily rolling up his sleeves, singing an ugly song while sitting by the well and washing dishes. Duan Zhiwei stood aside, thinking about how to get rid of him.
Yuan Shenji finally woke up and came out of the room. Seeing her in a daze, he walked over and tapped her forehead lightly.
Duan Zhiwei asked: "Are you hungry? I left some lunch for you..."
Axue came in carrying a wooden basin full of plates, and she and Yuan Shenji looked at each other in surprise.
He thought the man looked familiar.
It still looks familiar when I take another look.
Oh, he remembered, this was the general who wanted to shoot him last night!
He put down the basin and ran away.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
