Chapter 9 Chapter 9 Chang'an Internet celebrity restaurant--Exploring Xiao's Wonton Store^^...
Although Duan's shop could barely be considered a restaurant, the place was very small and could only seat four tables of people at a time. Therefore, the best-selling items were still the meat pie and fried pork that could be taken out. The sales of mung bean porridge, wontons and steamed buns that could only be eaten in the restaurant were not good. Even if someone wanted to buy it, they would just buy it and take it away.
In the past few months, Duan Zhiwei made some money by selling food that suited the seasons and festivals. He gradually gained some loyal customers and began to think about renting a shop with a good location to provide lunch and dinner.
But he was still short of money, and when he was frantically calculating on the abacus, Aunt Yelu, who came to visit, suggested, "Why don't you go borrow some?"
Apart from the money houses in the East and West Markets, the only places in Chang'an where you could borrow money were a few large temples. Of course, that couldn't be called borrowing money. How could a temple's business be called borrowing money? That is called merit.
Duan Zhiwei and Aunt Duan decided to take some time off to ride a donkey around the streets to explore. They first went to Kaihuali, which is located on the central axis of Zhuque Street and close to the imperial city. The location was very good and the price was high. Duan Zhiwei asked a real estate agent, and was told that a house here would cost at least three million yuan. He could only sigh, "It's not easy to live in Chang'an," and drove away on his donkey cart.
He couldn't find a suitable one for a while, but as the saying goes, since he was already here, Duan Zhiwei decided to find a restaurant to have lunch.
Finally, Duan Zhiwei chose Xiao's Wontons from Banzhengfang, Zhuquemen. There is no other reason. Xiao's wontons were originally the most famous wontons in Chang'an. A thousand years later, there are still bosses advertising under the name of Xiao's wontons. Now that you have come here, you must try the craftsmanship of our ancestors.
Banzhengfang is far away from the downtown. On the third street of Banzhengfang, Duan Zhiwei drove a donkey cart for half an hour and ate countless yellow soil raised by the donkey.
Finally we arrived at the place. This Xiao Family Wonton shop was in a remote location and not very big. It only had a few single rooms separated by emerald tents, but there was a long queue in front of the door.
Duan Zhiwei wanted to give up, but he was stopped unexpectedly. He looked closely and found that it was Su Juan, the clerk of the government office. He was not wearing the light blue official uniform today, but a crescent-colored robe, which made him look even fairer.
He had already started eating, and enthusiastically invited Duan Zhiwei to join him at the table, saying, "The Duan family's wives really have great taste in food. I guarantee that the title of the best wontons in Chang'an belongs to the Xiao family."
Soon a bowl of steaming wontons was served. Duan Zhiwei saw the tempting golden soup base and knew it was chicken soup. He scooped up a spoonful and tasted it. The mellow and rich delicious taste immediately spread in his mouth. It seemed that it was simmered over low heat for half a day, and the essence of the chicken was stewed out.
Then take out another wonton. The dough is rolled as thin as a cicada's wing. When held up to the sun outside the window, it can still let in light. The wrinkles made by pinching the wonton skin are as cute as little flowers. The pink filling was bulging inside. Duan Zhiwei took a bite and found the filling was tender and juicy, and the fresh and fragrant juice burst in his mouth.
Duan Zhiwei tasted it and found that it was pork stuffing made with chopped green onion water. The pork stuffing had been beaten many times, so it had a chewy texture. Some chopped shrimps and mushrooms were mixed in to enhance the flavor.
Duan Zhiwei sighed deeply. The ancients were smart. The food they ate thousands of years ago was no less delicious than today. My pride as a modern person was immediately hit.
Apparently, Su Yu was also a foodie. He kept recommending other delicacies to Duan Zhiwei: "The gourd head from Guangdefang, the soft date cake from Xuanci Temple, and the rice dumplings from the Yu family are all excellent..."
The Hulutou at Guangdefang is made by breaking the soft, chewy steamed bun into pieces the size of a chopstick head, then soaking the steamed bun in hot soup. The soup is rich and mellow, the meat is tender and fat but not greasy. It is even more refreshing when eaten with some pickled garlic and pickles. In winter, you will feel warm all over after eating a bowl of it.
Yu's rice dumplings are made with late-season glutinous rice, with pork belly as the filling, and added with minced garlic, sand ginger, five-spice powder, etc. The dumplings are as white as jade. Because the ingredients are too complicated, there is no substitute in Chang'an. Even the saints praise this dumpling.
The soft date cake of Xuanci Temple is made with dried dates shipped from the Western Regions. There is no need to add sugar to the cake. It tastes sweet and delicious, with a strong date aroma.
Duan Zhiwei took note of it carefully and planned to visit Chang'an people more often in his spare time to explore their tastes. She thought of it and asked Su Yu, who was enjoying his wontons, "My dear, you seem to come to the store less often recently."
The food in the government office's canteen tasted terrible, and the recent locust leaf cold noodles were so unpalatable that it made people question their lives. Ever since Su Xun's meat pie became very popular, his status in the government office has risen sharply, and he has wished he could carry a shoulder pole to go to work every day since then.
As a loyal customer of the Duan family shop, Su Yu has been buying less recently, which made Duan Zhiwei worry whether the food is not to his taste.
Su Que looked at her blankly and said, "Captain Yuan was touched by the evil water in the Xuanyin Pond of Nanyan Temple that day and caught a cold. He asked for two days off. Didn't Madam Duan know about this?"
Duan Zhiwei then understood that the person who was in charge of the breakfast had gone home sick, not because the food was not to his taste. Duan Zhiwei felt relieved.
But... then again, that person stepped into the Xuanyin Pool without hesitation that day and dragged her out. It was at least a life-saving favor, and she should show her gratitude.
So while it was still early, he asked Su Qian for the address, packed some long-lasting cakes in a lunch box and went to Yuan Shenji's residence. This promising general lived in Xinchangfang, but Duan Zhiwei couldn't even enter the gatehouse as he was asked to leave by the elderly housekeeper, who said that the captain was unwell. He had no choice but to turn around and leave with the lunch box.
Yuan Shenji had touched the water in the pool. After all, he had a strong physique, so he only felt unwell for a short while. Unfortunately, the housekeeper had gone to ask for two days' leave. He could only practice his spear skills at home. At this moment, he was carrying a bucket of well water and pouring it over his head when the housekeeper came to report: "The lady has been sent away."
The news that Yuan Shenji had solved the problem of the frog monk in Xuanyin Pond spread quickly, and the cousin from the Du family soon came to express her condolences with precious medicines. I was stopped by the housekeeper. I didn’t expect him to come again today.
Yuan Shenji nodded and went back to his room, but after a while the housekeeper came in again and said that Su Lu Shi wanted to see him.
But Su Xun came in holding official documents and a food box and said, "The commander is actually much better now. I just ran into the Duan family's wife outside the door, and she told me that the commander cannot see guests for the time being."
"What, Madam Duan?" Yuan Shenji frowned.
The housekeeper came in tremblingly and served tea, saying with a hard of hearing, "Yes, it's Madam Du."
Su Qun raised his hand to make a trumpet shape and said loudly to the housekeeper: "It's not the Du family's wife, the captain is talking about the Duan family's wife."
After Su Xun reported the official documents and left, Yuan Shenji opened the lunch box and saw some fresh pastries inside. He was familiar with most of the roads in Chang'an, so he rode out on his horse and walked along the main road. He soon met Duan Zhiwei next to a pastry shop.
She was sitting on the steps eating a piece of date cake, then took out a green apple from her bag and fed it to the donkey. The donkey chewed it slowly, and Duan Zhiwei raised her hand to smooth the donkey's hair on its head.
A pair of long boots appeared in front of her. Duan Zhiwei raised her head and saw Yuan Shenji standing in front of her. She quickly brushed off the dust on her skirt and stood up to ask, "I haven't seen you for a few days. How are you, Captain?"
Yuan Shenji nodded: "I didn't explain it to the housekeeper clearly, so I didn't know it was Madam Duan who came." He clasped his hands together and said, "Thank you Madam Duan for your advice last time at Nanyan Temple."
That day at Nanyan Temple, Yuan Shenji originally wanted to take a knife to deal with the frog monk, but after listening to Duan Zhiwei's words, he put away the knife and ordered his men to guard the temple. He went to report to his superiors. The saint, on the contrary, praised him for his growth and said he was no longer as reckless as before.
"You're welcome," Duan Zhiwei said. The two were silent for a while, and there was some awkwardness in the air. Instead, Yuan Shenji, who was taciturn, suddenly spoke up: "Su Lu Shi said, are you looking for a house?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Duan Zhiwei immediately began to complain, saying that the prices in places with advantageous geographical locations were ridiculously expensive, and that places with cheap prices were so expensive that one would have to leave the city.
"Why isn't there a reasonably priced place?" she complained, her hands on her hips.
Yuan Shenji thought for a moment and said, "I know a place with a moderate price and a good location."
So on Chang'an Avenue, on the stone arch bridge, Yuan Shenji rode a tall horse in front to lead the way, and Duan Zhiwei followed behind on an old donkey. The old donkey walked slowly, and Yuan Shenji had to pull the reins from time to time and look back to see if she had fallen behind.
Finally, Yuan Shenji led her to a shop in Xuanyangfang and said, "This is a busy area. It is adjacent to Pingkang in the north and Dongshi in the east. Most candidates from all over the country who go to Chang'an to take the exam stay here. The price is naturally much cheaper than Pingkang."
Duan Zhiwei looked around with great surprise. On the left was an inn, on the right was a bookstore, and further ahead was a cosmetics shop, with both scholars and ladies coming and going.
She was about to nod immediately, but then she thought about the good location and the high customer flow of this place, and it would cost a lot of money to rent it for a year, so she started to hesitate again.
Yuan Shenji saw through her worries and said, "Madam Duan, don't worry. The owner of this house is an old acquaintance of mine. His family is quite wealthy. Now he has gone to the Western Regions with the caravan. This shop is idle. I am renting it out through a broker. The price is not high."
Duan Zhiwei felt relieved now, and sincerely thanked Yuan Shenji, smiling and saying, "Among the four classes of scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans, merchants are the last. I am very grateful to the captain for helping me with this big favor."
Yuan Shenji didn't really care: "It's not easy for a woman to be a bartender. There are many hardships in the process. Madam Duan helped the Hu girl last time, and I really admire her."
These words really touched Duan Zhiwei's heart. In modern times, she didn't think so, but when selling food in this place, she encountered all kinds of customers and suffered some bullying. Now this fourth-rank official can actually show some understanding.
She nodded unconsciously, turned her head to look at the dilapidated house and said with emotion: "I just hope that things will go smoothly in the future, so that I can earn some money for my eldest aunt and let her live the rest of her life in peace."
Yuan Shenji couldn't help but ask: "What about you?"
Duan Zhiwei came back to his senses, but a look of longing appeared on his face: "I want to... I want to see the Twenty-Four Bridges in Yangzhou, the Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan, and the Tianti Mountain Grottoes in Liangzhou."
Under the bright moonlight, willows hang down from the Twenty-Four Bridges; from the Yellow Crane Tower, one can see the Yangtze River rolling eastward; the moonlight on the Dangtu River still quietly illuminates the pot of strong liquor that Qinglian hermit loves the most; a spring rain falls in Jinguan City, and the city is full of fragrant and colorful flowers. What a beautiful scene those are, which makes people yearn for and want to see them.
Yuan Shenji had not thought that she had such an ambition, and nodded in appreciation: "Yuan once passed by Yangzhou, the night market was very lively with thousands of lights and red sleeves in the tall buildings."
He lowered his head slightly and looked at the energetic Duan Zhiwei, revealing a smile: "Then I wish Madam Duan's wish will come true in advance."
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