Xiaohui stepped back in response. The sound of her high heels tapping on the marble floor gradually faded away, leaving only the rustling sound of Lu Yuting's sunglasses turning at her fingertips.
The atmosphere has been set to this point. If you continue to be reserved and introverted, it will really not be in line with your straightforward personality.
놖 couldn't hold back her curiosity and asked directly, "Director Lu, you can actually diagnose people by face reading? How can you tell that 놖 is overworked?"
Hu Haiyang smiled when he heard this, and said jokingly: "Hongjun, Hongjun, you are really a bureaucrat! You are still in the dark. Director Lu's father is the vice president of the Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine. He is an old Chinese medicine doctor with a great reputation and high moral character in the medical community. He has superb medical skills and many people come to him for treatment!"
Upon hearing this, 놖 couldn't help but let out a light "Oh" and suddenly realized, "So Director Lu comes from a medical family, no wonder he has such ability!"
Lu Yuting smiled slightly and said modestly, "I have only a glimpse of my father's true medical skills. However, County Magistrate Guan, your face is pale, your lips are pale, and your brows are filled with excessive worry. From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, this is more in line with the characteristics of liver qi stagnation and heart and spleen deficiency. This is probably caused by overwork."
While they were chatting and laughing, the door of the wing opened again.
Xiaohui and two waiters in cheongsam entered one after another, and the silver tray glowed coldly under the crystal lamp. She tapped the turntable with her fingertips, and the celadon plates and cups were neatly placed in their places. She parted her red lips slightly, and her voice was as gentle as the chirping of an oriole: "Everyone, please look -"
The first dish was as fragrant as night dew, with emerald-colored cloud ear curled up in a flower shape, tender white jasmine petals floating on it, and drizzled with amber sauce. "Jasmine flower salad with white fungus, dewy jasmine in the early morning paired with white fungus soaked for three hours, blended with aged fragrant vinegar and secret spicy sauce, it is the best way to whet your appetite and relieve greasiness." Her fingernails scratched the edge of the porcelain plate, startling a faint floral scent.
The turntable spun slightly, and the gilded plate revealed a crimson scroll. The double-petaled rose petals are layered on a thin and transparent outer skin, wrapped with chopped mushrooms and pork, and the top is adorned with rose sauce condensed in the shape of agate beads. "Rose stuffed meat rolls are made from the three most delicate petals of double-petal roses, which are steamed and dried to make flower skins. The stuffing is mixed with ten-year-old Huadiao wine, and the fragrance of flowers and meat blends together, making it the most mellow and long-lasting."
Xiaohui tapped the turntable with her fingertips, and the dishes on the gilded patterned table slowly unfolded like a scroll. Her white gloves brushed the edge of the celadon plate, and her voice was wrapped in just the right rhythm: "For this chrysanthemum fish ball, we use the first-cut petals of chrysanthemum, blended with minced meat from live fish, wrapped in flour batter and fried until golden. Look at this honeycomb-like crispy skin -" the porcelain spoon tapped the fish ball lightly, and the crumbs fell off, "bite it open and you will feel the soft and warm fragrance of chrysanthemum."
The turntable turns gently, and the moment the purple clay pot is opened, honey-colored steam wrapped in the fragrance of osmanthus blows towards you. "To stew pigeon with osmanthus sugar lotus root, use nine-hole glutinous rice lotus root, add three-year-old osmanthus honey, and stew it with pigeon for half an hour." Xiaohui used a silver fork to pick up the lotus root segments, and the amber honey slurry slowly flowed out. "The glutinous rice absorbs the freshness of the pigeon meat and the sweetness of the nectar, which is the most nourishing in autumn."
In the next jadeite white jade cup, ginkgo nuts and shrimps were faintly visible among the fresh lilies. "Stir-fried lily and ginkgo shrimp, Taihu river shrimp picked in the morning, paired with seasonal Dongshan ginkgo, and a spoonful of homemade plum sauce to enhance the flavor." She picked up the white shrimp, "It's crisp and tender at first, and the aftertaste is sweet with lily, which is best for refreshing the mouth."
Magnolia petals spread out like a blanket of snow on the blue and white porcelain plate, with thin chicken slices piled on top. "Magnolia chicken slices, the base is made of newly blossomed magnolia petals, and the chicken breast is wrapped in egg white and stir-fried." Xiaohui pushed the dish to the warm light, and the edges of the petals glowed softly, "The tenderness of the chicken mixed with the cool fragrance of the magnolia is just like a spring breeze falling into the throat."
In a glass cup, the roselle flowers spread out like crimson purple clouds. "Stew snow clam with Roselle. Soak the snow clam to remove impurities, then simmer it with Roselle and old rock sugar over low heat." She shook the porcelain bowl lightly, and ripples appeared in the amber soup.
…
Xiaohui's white hands were like butterflies, dancing among the circulating food plates. After each dish was served, she would lightly tap with a silver spoon to explain the proportions of ingredients, the control of the heat, and the secrets of the ancient cooking methods, as if she were unfolding a volume of "Shan Jia Qing Gong".
Twelve dishes weave a floral pattern on the turntable, the cold dishes are as green as frost and snow, and the hot dishes are as colorful as flowing clouds. Xiaohui took a half step back, a touch of pearl luster flashed across the slit of her cheongsam, and her voice was as gentle as the water-grinding tune of Kunqu Opera: "These seasonal flowers were all picked from the misty rain in the south of the Yangtze River and transported here by plane."
She raised her hand to indicate the table full of brocade: "Four cold and eight hot, secretly matching the four savours and eight stability; hundreds of flowers are added to the food, praying for everything to go smoothly."
She lowered her eyes and saluted: "May all the nobles soar to the sky and reach 90,000 miles, and may Chang'an be filled with spring every year."
Hu Haiyang's chopsticks were hovering over the sweet-scented osmanthus lotus root, his throat rolling with saliva, and he sighed sincerely: "The Analects of Confucius said 'never tire of fine food', today I've really opened my eyes. Just these seasonal flowers shipped by air are probably more expensive than delicacies from land and sea."
Lu Yuting smiled and said, "Director Hu is used to eating abalone, sea cucumber, shark's fin and fish maw. After trying this elegant flavor, those seafood dishes seem greasy."
She picked up the rose oolong and took a sip, leaving a faint wine-red lip mark on the rim of the cup.
While the two were chatting and laughing, 놖 caught a glimpse of Xiaohui walking away in high heels. The dark green silk cheongsam was wrapped around her waist, outlining a breathtaking curve at her hips as she walked, and her skin, which was faintly visible under the buttons, had a pearly luster. This swaying figure is even more eye-catching than a table full of delicacies.
Lu Yuting suddenly chuckled and tapped the table with her nail polish-painted fingertips, interrupting her reverie.
There was a sly light in her eyes: "You are so charming when you see the green mountains, I guess the green mountains are the same when they see you. In the eyes of County Magistrate Guan, beauty is a feast for the eyes, I'm afraid even this Hundred Flowers Banquet will lose its color, right?"
She saw through 놖's gaffe at a glance, and her ears felt hot instantly, with embarrassment spreading silently in her heart.
Hu Haiyang smiled and tried to smooth things over: "As a man, if you often hang out with women, how can you not smell some fragrance? This is perfectly normal."
He hurriedly put down the teacup in his hand, cleared his throat and said, "It's just that it's the beginning of the year, and seeing the girls wearing thin clothes is really worrying. I just think it's novel."
Lu Yuting pursed her lips lightly, her eyes full of teasing: "It turns out that County Magistrate Guan is not just being sympathetic to women, but has a heart full of compassion."
After the meal, Lu Yuting insisted on inviting 놖 and Hu Haiyang to change the scenery and go to a teahouse called Yunxiu Qingyin Pavilion.
As you step into the tea room, the gilded copper stove with cloud pattern is filled with Hainan agarwood, and the green smoke passes through the entire floor-to-ceiling window like a veil.
A custom-made Burmese golden nanmu tea table, a Jian kiln Yaobian teacup emitting a faint blue gem light, a mutton-fat jade tea spoon placed next to it, and a few slices of Mingqian Shifeng Longjing tea spread out in an ice-crack celadon bowl.
Behind the eight-panel Xiangfei bamboo screen, a musician in a moon-white Suzhou embroidered skirt is gently playing the Leiqin. The clear sound of "Flowing Water" and the fine light spots reflected by the crystal chandelier on the dome linger.
The ink-splashed landscape painting by Zhang Da hanging on the wall and the bronze goblets from the Shang and Zhou dynasties on the rosewood antique shelf complement each other.
In the Ru kiln vase in the corner, white peonies are inserted diagonally, budding and about to bloom. Each flower blooms just right, with subtle fragrance floating in the air. Luxury and elegance blend perfectly with the sound of stringed instruments.
놖Looking at everything in front of me, I couldn't help but be secretly amazed. The luxury of the Dragon Court Club is far beyond imagination, yet it also reveals an elegant character amidst the extravagance, demonstrating a unique style and taste everywhere.
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