Although it was only late autumn, the sky over Chang'an always seemed to be shrouded in a thick layer of clouds and fog, and the gray sky always made people feel gloomy.
It's true that "one autumn rain brings one chill," and after only a few light drizzles, the chill in the wind suddenly rose, as if it could seep into one's bones.
"Hot soup drinks! Hot soup drinks! Red pumpkin hot soup drinks, one penny a bowl, good quality and good price, sir, would you like a bowl?"
"Steamed buns! Freshly steamed buns! Hot steamed buns with thin crusts and generous fillings! Two coins each, three for five coins, fragrant red pumpkin buns!"
"Hongxiangtang's new Western Region pumpkin balm is only fifteen coins a box! Ladies, don't miss out! This is a treasure from the Western Regions. Using it will guarantee your skin will smell wonderful!"
"Wang's Cloth Shop has just received some excellent Western Region fabrics! Soft gauze, Bodhisattva cloth, and bright red cloth dyed with red pumpkin—the colors are absolutely beautiful! Sisters-in-law and aunts, if any of you have a young lady getting married, be sure to prepare some early!"
"This wind is chilling to the bone. Why don't you come in and try our mutton soup? Take a look, this mutton soup is really inexpensive—"
The various eateries in the East and West Markets started shouting their wares, and many shops had already taken down their signs for summer treats such as "Iced Cheese," "Crispy Mountain," and "Honey Bean Lady," replacing them with more popular snacks like ginger and pear soup, honey hot drinks, and sugar pear water.
The noodle shops that were once disliked in the summer have now been transformed into the most popular and affordable places for ordinary people—for just a few coins, you can get a bowl of steaming hot meat soup noodles.
The cooked soup dumplings are served in a bowl, topped with some flavorful radish and bean sprouts, and then a spoonful of freshly cooked meat broth is poured over them. You just hold the bowl and slurp it down, and your whole body feels warm and cozy, even your stomach feels warm.
If you have a little extra money, spend ten coins to go to the shop next door and order a bowl of mutton soup with a rich and flavorful broth. The mutton, cooked with the skin on, is so tender that the skin and bones are soft and falling apart with just a sip. Large chunks of tofu have been rolling around in the broth, and by then they have lost their original beany taste. The broth is so fresh and delicious that one sip can make your eyebrows fall off.
Those who know how to eat are not in a hurry to eat meat and drink soup. They must find a errand boy and ask him to go to the market in the west of the city to buy a few freshly baked flatbreads and then go to the neighbor's house to ask for a head of raw garlic.
Eat the meat first when drinking mutton soup. When there is only half a bowl of soup left, ask the proprietress to add another spoonful of hot soup. Then break the flatbread into pieces and soak it in the soup. At this time, eat the flatbread soaked in mutton soup with raw garlic.
Wow!
One bite of this and I wouldn't trade it for a god.
If you don't want to eat noodles, there are good options. Just walk a short distance in front of Huasheng Temple and you'll see a whole street lined with food stalls.
The Ding family, who sell tofu, makes the best tofu; it's fragrant and tender. The Jin family, who sell steamed buns, makes meat buns with thin skin and lots of filling; one bite and your mouth is filled with juicy goodness.
Hu the butcher, who specializes in selling mutton, slaughters and butchers his mutton on the spot, ensuring the freshest meat. He cooks it in a large pot right there, and the mutton is tender and juicy. If you can get a bowl of hot soup with plenty of coriander on top, one bite will dispel all the chill in your body.
There's also Zhang's mutton rice porridge, Ma's cherry pie, Tang's hot pear drink, Wang's raw milk paste, Qian's gourd chicken, eight-treasure duck, Zhao's fried cake...
I guarantee you'll be leaning against the wall to enter and leaning against the wall to leave.
But if you ask which restaurant in this area has the best cooking skills and the most unique food, I guarantee that all the shopkeepers will happily tell you that the Shan Hai Restaurant with the white background and blue banner at the street corner is the best.
Whether it's the freshest Western Region red melons in Chang'an right now, or mountain delicacies like yellow loquats, black plums, crisp pears, red sand fruits, yellow cherries, wild goats, pheasants, and wild deer, or seafood like Dongting red carp, Taihu crabs, Yellow River carp, and East China Sea pearls, as long as you have money, you can eat them all at this restaurant.
The restaurant owner was incredibly lazy; he was considered diligent if he opened for four or five days a month. If customers came at the wrong time, they would only find the door locked and could only salivate at the enticing aroma wafting from inside.
It was truly heartbreaking.
...
...
"Glug glug glug—"
The restaurant was just as lively. Two tables in the main hall were pushed together, with a bright yellow copper pot placed neatly on top.
At the bottom of the pot is a ball of fire that is becoming increasingly round. Inside the pot is a full pot of bright red tomato soup, with large chunks of beef rolling around inside. As the steam rises, you can also see white radishes, potatoes, corn and other ingredients cooking together in the pot.
Having just been beaten, Mo Xuan's face was full of hostility as he stared fiercely at the ingredients floating in the pot and said:
"Hurry up, hurry up! Who put in these cabbage leaves? They're going to rot! What kind of monster would eat vegetables cooked in a pot?!"
Red Boy, who was floating cross-legged in mid-air, snorted coldly, raised his chopsticks, and rolled his eyes:
"You little black dragon, you were born of your grandfather! What are you going to do about it? You really don't know how to eat! Cabbage leaves need to be cooked until soft and flavorful to taste good. Do you think everyone is like you, swallowing meat before it's even cooked? It's like a cow chewing on a peony! You deserve to be beaten up by the little phoenix!"
"You're still blaming me?"
Mo Xuan's eyes widened like a bull's, and he pointed at the others present:
"The Third Prince is one thing, and it doesn't matter if the rat spirit eats meat, but the fox uncle and nephew have also done some hard work."
"You are truly a blessed child, with one of your birth parents being a Rakshasa and the other a bull-bodied demon. How did you manage to sneak around here, freeloading off others? This is a welcome feast prepared by my wife!"
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