After giving his explanation, Xie An and Xie Xun nodded repeatedly.
Ji Xia added, "One special reminder: when washing grapes, just soak them in water with a little salt. Do not rub off the white bloom on the skin; that's crucial for the grape juice fermentation."
Chen Qiuyu asked, puzzled, "Why is this layer of frost crucial?"
"That's something similar to yeast, a type of bacteria. Only this can ferment the wine. Whether it's grapes or plums, this layer of frost must be preserved."
Chen Qiuyu's eyes widened: "Plums can be used to make wine?"
"Why not? Fruit wine has a long history in my country. There are plum wine, mulberry wine, plum wine, grape wine, and grape wine in a luminous cup. Grape wine appears in ancient Tang Dynasty poems."
Chen Qiuyu suddenly exclaimed excitedly, "You also have osmanthus wine, right? Meizi told me a few days ago that she asked if we wanted to make some osmanthus wine. She has two osmanthus trees and dried some osmanthus flowers, which can be used to make wine."
As the two got into a lively conversation, Chen Jing pushed a plate of roasted mutton toward Xie An and Xie Xun: "Here, try some roasted mutton with red wine. Once you've prepared the grapes and other things, just come find us in Osmanthus Alley in Houhai. We live in the courtyard at No. 17."
"Okay, I understand, thank you."
Xie An raised his glass to him and said, "This is the cost of the recipe."
"Let's not talk about money. None of my brothers mentioned money either."
Chen Jing patted him on the shoulder: "I really feel bad, just treat us to a big meal today."
"Okay, it's on me today."
Xie An turned to his cousin and nodded: "Go and urge them, and add a few more dishes while you're at it."
As they were talking, the waiter brought over two dishes and then ticked them on the menu.
Xie An beckoned to the waiter with his finger: "When will the rest of the dishes be served?"
The waiter bowed respectfully and replied, "Sir, we've now served the red bean curd beef and mushroom soup, and four more dishes will be served shortly."
"Only a few dishes? Bring the menu, let's order a few more signature dishes."
The waiter quickly agreed, took the menu from outside, and brought it to the group.
Xie An handed a menu to Chen Jing and said, "Brother, order whatever you like. It's on me today, consider it a way for us brothers to make friends."
"Okay, then I won't stand on ceremony."
Chen Jing glanced at the dishes they had just ordered. Chen Qiuyu and Hou Fang, not being very confident, only ordered a few dishes that weren't too expensive.
He unfolded the menu and glanced at it, then leaned close to Ji Xia and said with a smile, "There's quite a lot of seafood here. How about some seafood? Sea cucumber, abalone, and lobster?"
He knew the two people beside him were well-off, and if he ordered too little, they would probably think he was being disrespected, so he generously ordered five or six signature dishes, especially seafood.
Just as she was about to order more, Ji Xia frowned: "That's enough. How many of us are there? It's not easy to pack up the seafood we can't finish; it would just be a waste."
“Yeah, bro, even if someone’s treating, you don’t have to rip them off like that,” Chen Qiuyu said, dissatisfied.
Although the Hou siblings didn't speak, their expressions were indifferent.
In those days, many people in the brigade still couldn't even get enough to eat. They followed Chen Jing to work far away, and although they solved their food and clothing problems, the principle of not wasting food was almost ingrained in their bones.
Chen Jing laughed and handed the menu to the waiter: "These are all we need. We friends have only recently come from the countryside and we can't stand wasteful habits."
"This is a good habit; it's right not to waste food."
Xie An nodded in agreement, suppressing his arrogance.
The people in front of him were quite to his liking; they were capable, generous, loyal, and not greedy.
Once the Xie brothers started ordering, things changed. The waiters quickly brought out all the dishes they had ordered, filling the table with a dazzling array of food.
Chen Jing drank with the Xie brothers, while Chen Qiuyu picked up a crab and asked while eating it, "Sister Xia, where are you planning to go during your holiday? How about climbing the Great Wall or Fragrant Hills?"
Xiaolian chimed in, "I heard Meizi and Qiufang say that people from outside Beijing all climb the Great Wall, and that autumn in Fragrant Hills is the most beautiful time of year."
Meizi and Qiufang were local female workers in the workshop. Before the National Day holiday, they repeatedly urged Qiuyu and Xiaolian to travel around.
Ji Xia just shook her head when she heard this. Chen Qiuyu asked, puzzled, "Sister, we've been in Beijing for over a month and haven't gone out to play yet. Why don't we take advantage of this holiday and go out and travel around?"
Ji Xia shook her head again: "If you want to play, wait until next Sunday. It'll be crowded everywhere during the National Day holiday. Are we going to enjoy the scenery or just watch a sea of people?"
"Besides, it's pointless to go without a camera. I'll wait until I buy a camera next time."
Upon hearing this, Chen Jing immediately turned around and smiled, "You want a camera? What model do you want? I'll have Xiao Gang go to the electronics market and buy one for us and send it over?"
Ji Xia hesitated for a moment. She remembered that there was a point-and-shoot camera in the 1980s that could take pictures even if you were stupid. She wondered if it still existed now.
She didn't want to directly mention the term "point-and-shoot camera," so she hesitated for a moment before saying, "I don't know what kind of camera there is. Do you know of any cameras that are very convenient, simple, and easy to learn how to use, so that even a fool could learn to use them?"
"Where can you find a camera that's this simple?"
Chen Jing couldn't help but chuckle, putting his arm around her shoulder and whispering, "With your intelligence, why would you worry about not being able to learn how to use a camera? You could learn even if I just looked at the instruction manual, right?"
Ji Xia straightened her face: "If we want to take a group photo, should we ask someone else to take it for us? Or do you want us to carry around a camera and take photos for others every day?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Jing said, "Yes, what you said makes a lot of sense. We really can't afford not to be wary of this."
If they buy a camera, and only he or Ji Xia can learn how to use it, while no one else can, wouldn't they only be able to take photos for others when they go out to play, and no one else would take photos for them?
Who could tolerate this? He, for one, absolutely could not tolerate it.
Xie An glanced at her: "Actually, I have one of those point-and-shoot cameras you're talking about. If you need it, I can lend it to you."
"Really? That's great!"
Chen Jing turned around excitedly and said, "Tomorrow? Or the day after tomorrow? Shall we go to Fragrant Hills or climb the Great Wall? People say that he who has not climbed the Great Wall is not a true man. Shall we go to Fragrant Hills, climb the Great Wall, take lots of pictures, and send them home to our parents?"
Ji Xia shook her head: "There will definitely be a lot of people tomorrow and the day after. I think I'll pass. How about we go next week?"
"Next weekend, we have a day off, but everyone else does too. Isn't next week a lot of time off?"
Ji Xia wanted to say that National Day is the peak season for tourism and sales, but as soon as she was about to say it, she suddenly remembered that it was not open yet, and ordinary people could not travel far at all.
Not to mention, most people haven't even solved their basic needs for food and clothing, so how could they have the time or inclination to travel?
After thinking for a moment, she turned to Xie An and smiled, "Comrade Xie, are you planning to make wine tomorrow or the day after?"
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