Chapter 167 Chapter 167 Update.
When the dish was served, the people sitting next to Li Guishe stared at him. He stretched out his hand to try the red pottery plate. The onlookers asked in confusion:
"He's not moving his chopsticks, so what's he doing touching the edge of the plate?"
A spectator whose ancestors knew how to eat said:
"You don't understand. In cold weather, when eating fresh fruit, it's important to eat it warm. You have to soak the fruit in warm water to remove the coldness before eating it. The same goes for hot dishes; it's also important to eat them warm."
"Why don't you soak the vegetables in warm water as well?"
"The dishes are freshly cooked, so why do they need to be soaked in warm water? It's the cold dishes that need to be soaked in warm water beforehand to avoid taking away the heat from the dishes."
"Brother Liang really knows how to eat. He knows more than us."
They drank wine and ate some cold braised food, chatting with each other. Li Guishe asked the nun for a glass of water.
"You have wine to drink but you still drink water. This fake tongue doesn't know how to eat it."
"You just drank some wine, so you should rinse your mouth with clean water." Liang Lang, who knew the business, said again.
As he was speaking, Li Guishe picked up the chopsticks, picked up the chicken slice and put it in his mouth. Others only felt that he paused slightly and was about to say something unpleasant.
But he continued chewing, then the second and third pieces, and nodded:
"Good, good, plump, tender, fresh and fragrant, sweet, crisp and slightly spicy, tastes like plum and orchid, really good stir-fried, better than minced meat, better than stewed, it has a unique flavor!"
After tasting a plate of fried chicken slices with ginger and drinking some wine, he left after leaving the money.
"Give me a plate of fried chicken with ginger and reed."
"I want this too!"
"I want one too!"
"Hit mine first!"
There were calls for food coming from the private rooms. Some of them had come here to try the calamus wine and braised food since the restaurant opened. But after seeing Li Guishe say that it sounded good, they decided to give it a try too. It was Li Guishe!
The kitchen was bustling with activity, with hot oil flaming up and hot pots crackling.
One could faintly hear cheers from outside. Ji Xu was busy but satisfied, and his heart became more and more at ease. The bell for serving food never stopped ringing.
Ji Zhi was also in the corner. She came to see Tian Dou.
Earlier, I saw her wearing a fine cloth jacket and pants, which were clean and more decent than when she was at her house. She received the wedding money there and was grinning from ear to ear. Ji Zhi felt better about this.
Later, when I heard that they were giving away free food when the restaurant opened, I followed the crowd and came in to sit down.
After eating the braised food and taking a sip of wine, she choked and beat her chest.
She just ate the braised food in front of her, which included sliced duck necks, duck feet, braised pig ears, pig liver, pig trotters... She didn't use chopsticks, but just grabbed it with her hands. She ate with relish and even licked her fingers.
Seeing that the liar said that the chicken slices with ginger and reed were good, she was also encouraged and wanted to order a plate to try, but unfortunately she had no money in her pocket.
The dishes in Gaoshi are not just cheap street food. They are very expensive. For those who are willing to eat, ordering some good wine and dishes may cost one or two taels of silver.
For example, this fried chicken slices with reed and ginger cost eighty-nine coins. With this money, she could buy an old hen, so she gave up the idea.
He looked at the food on other people's counters with envy, ate the braised food for free and left.
"Come again next time, young lady." The nun said.
The bustle of Ping'an Restaurant was also seen by shops in the distance.
High up in Manxiang Tower, Shopkeeper Hu leaned against the wall, holding a feather fan, and watched. Her clerk said:
"There's a new way of eating fried food out there, and Li Guishe is actually praising it. Boss, what do you think? Why don't we get a few people to go over there and protest her?"
Shopkeeper Hu waved his feather fan and said:
"Her backers are the Li family. Well, let's see. We still have to give the Li family face. Spread the word. Manxianglou will give away two liters of spring wine and a plate of glutinous rice dumplings today."
"Why."
It is said that this season I just left the Ping'an Restaurant and walked in the Gaoshi with its flying pavilions and winding streets, stopping here and there to look around curiously.
Seeing that she was a poor girl, the big restaurants ignored her and only treated the diners in gauze clothes on the carriages with great respect.
But she was just looking for something new to see. She didn't have the money to go in and eat. By chance, she heard the waiter at Manxianglou shouting:
"Manxianglou would like to thank all our guests by sending us two liters of spring wine and a plate of glutinous rice dumplings. Please enjoy them, sir."
deliver?
When I heard this, I couldn't help but stop.
Jiaoshu is similar to the later rice dumplings. Nowadays, just a few days after the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, there is still a custom of eating Jiaoshu.
On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, Ji Zhi had also eaten the glutinous rice dumplings made by the Jin family. They were made by wrapping glutinous rice in bamboo leaves and steaming them. He didn't know what the glutinous rice dumplings at the No. 1 Restaurant in the World would taste like, so he followed them in with excitement.
"Hey, hey, hey, stop, who let you in?"
"Why can't I come in? Didn't they say they were delivering food?"
The waiter at the door glanced at her with disdain, as if he saw her coming in to get some free food, and said:
"We are full here and cannot accommodate you. Please go somewhere else."
Ji Zhi had sneaked out while selling rice cakes. There was still soup from selling meat soup on his sleeves. He was dressed in rags from head to toe, and his shoes were patched.
She was dissatisfied and pointed at the diners who entered after her.
"The restaurant is full, why are they able to come in?"
After saying this, he ignored the man's attempt to stop him and rushed in. He looked around and said:
"Isn't there still plenty of space?"
The waiter was about to call for help to kick her out when Shopkeeper Hu came downstairs and ran into them. He called over the waiter who was trying to stop him and cursed him coldly:
"Don't cause any trouble today. Find an inconspicuous place and send her to eat."
The waiter took Ji Zhi to a bad place, which was close to the kitchen and very noisy with people coming in and out.
Ji Zhi just looked around and didn't notice anything. He said:
"Bring up the spring wine and glutinous rice dumplings you sent me."
While waiting, she turned her head curiously to look around. She saw that the Manxiang Tower was three stories high, with orchestral music, singing and chime music, and the whole room was filled with the aroma of wine and meat. It was like a fairyland, and she was fascinated by the sight.
What's strange is that all the people running around and busying themselves here are men. Except for the shopkeeper Hu, there is no woman to be seen.
The glutinous rice dumplings were served, two on a plate. She peeled off the rice dumplings leaves and took a bite. There was meat inside, which was extremely soft and rotten. The fat melted in the glutinous rice, which was so delicious. She finished the two in no time.
He poured the pot of spring wine into the bamboo tube he carried with him for drinking water and took it back for Jin to drink.
The calamus wine I had just gotten from Ping'an Restaurant was also in it. Now when I poured it, the two kinds of wine mixed together and made a gurgling sound.
The guy next to him chuckled and whispered to others:
"Look at that, a country girl from outside the Great Wall."
"You blind little bastard!"
I heard cursing at the kitchen door. It turned out that a young servant who was carrying firewood accidentally bumped into the shopkeeper Hu and hurt him. The shopkeeper Hu slapped him in the face and he fell down, and the firewood was scattered all over the floor.
The young servant, about seven or eight years old, with a face as swollen as a steamed bun, knelt on the ground picking up firewood. Shopkeeper Hu said:
"Punish him by not letting him eat for three days!"
The kitchen manager responded respectfully, sent Manager Hu away, and scolded the servant harshly.
After Ji Zhi finished pouring the wine, she looked at the matter. When the little servant stood up with the firewood, her eyes widened.
"Tiger boy? You are my tiger boy, right?"
Tiger boy was kidnapped by the thief Xiao when he was five years old. He had been missing for more than two years. She felt that the man looked about 70% similar to her. As she spoke, she went up to identify him.
The little servant glanced at her once, then glanced at her again, then left with the firewood.
"Don't you remember me? I'm your second sister. You used to love the fried candied apples that Mom made when it snowed. You ate them secretly without Mom's knowledge, and Mom even beat and scolded you. Have you forgotten everything?"
The servant stopped and muttered:
"Mother..."
"Where did this country girl come from? What nonsense are you talking about? Get out of here!"
The kitchen manager forced her outside and ordered them to beat her to stop her from coming in and causing trouble. Ji Zhi could no longer get in.
At Jiaomen City, everyone was discussing the opening of Ping An Restaurant in Gao City. Some even told Jin:
"The beans your family sold are now busy at Ping An Restaurant, welcoming customers, distributing wedding money, and helping in the kitchen. The girl is wearing a red belt and is busy running around. It's so respectable."
Jin's desire to watch the fun was dashed.
The damn girl, she was sneaky and cunning when she was at her house, but now she is a lackey next door, not causing any trouble at all. Just hearing this, she couldn't help but grit her teeth and said:
"Just mind your own business. Why bother with other people's business? It doesn't look like the money she earns will go into your pocket."
After all, Jin had a son-in-law who was a treasurer in Jiaomen City, so she still had some respect. People didn't dare to gossip about her in front of her, and instead went to other people to complain.
Jin was alone here tending the stall, and all she could hear was the happy events next door. With no one to cheer her up, she waved her whisk to shoo away the flies and cursed:
"You silly girl, you went out to play so early in the morning. I'll skin you alive when you come back!"
Just as I was reciting the scriptures, I saw Ji Zhi rushing over, sweating profusely.
"You're already an adult, but you're still running around all day. You don't care about the family matters at all."
Jin poked her forehead with a finger and was scolding her there. Ji Zhi didn't bother to explain and breathlessly told her the big story:
"Mother...I...I saw Tiger Boy!"
"Mother, where are you going in such a hurry? Are you not going to watch the stall anymore?"
At noon, Ji Yuan went out to throw away the ashes and saw Jin driving a bullock cart, carrying Ji Zhi out of the Jiaomen Market and onto the street. Both of them looked anxious.
Even her husband Du Xian rode his horse behind her and said to her excitedly:
"Yuan Niang, my younger brother has been found. He's doing odd jobs at Manxianglou. I'll accompany my aunt to pick him up."
Ji Yuan was so stunned that he couldn't even hold the ash bucket. He dropped it on the ground and didn't bother to pick it up. He climbed onto the ox cart and followed.
"This tiger slave is a little slave I bought for ten taels of silver. You said he was your family member and wanted to take him away. If everyone in the world was like this, wouldn't there be no slaves left to command?"
It is said that when Jin arrived here, she shouted "Tiger Boy" and rushed into the back kitchen. She grabbed the dusty servant who was pouring slops and cried, "My son, my Tiger Boy, you have become so thin."
Seeing the people coming to drive them away, he picked up the tiger slave and was about to leave, but was stopped by the thugs of Manxianglou, and a quarrel broke out between the two sides.
Du Xian knew a little bit of fighting skills, but he was outnumbered and got beaten up. However, after such a commotion, Manager Hu from Manxianglou finally came down to meet them.
After hearing Jin's background, he said this.
Jin said, "He is my family, he is my son. If you want to take him away by force, you will never get him!"
However, Manager Hu ordered someone to bring Hu Nu's indenture, which recorded that his ancestral home was Weinan County and that he was sold into slavery by his mother. It also had signatures and official seals.
The three daughters and mother of the Jin family were the ones who had originally tied up Ji Fu, sold their land secretly and fled to Handan. They were the Da Jin family, but they never dared to return to their hometown because they were afraid that Ji Fu would report her to the authorities and sentence her to death by being thrown into the market for murdering her husband.
Later, Ji Yuan married his cousin Du Xian, and the mother and daughter followed him to Chang'an to settle down. Thanks to the fact that the son-in-law was a minor official and had some connections with the officials of the Household Department, the household registration of Jin and Ji Zhi was moved to Anling.
But Ji Huhai had been missing for a long time, and his name was not on their current household registration, so there was no name to prove his identity.
The only thing we have is the biography that Jin's mother and daughter wrote when they left home. One of the reasons for their trip was "looking for their son." However, there was no way to prove that Hu Nu was the Ji Hu Hai she was looking for.
"This is all the fault of that thief Xiao. I'll give you the ten taels of silver you paid for him, and you'll let me take him away."
Later, Jin returned home to get the money, but the shopkeeper Hu said:
"If you want to redeem him, then you have to pay thirty times his worth, three hundred taels. If you can afford it, I will let him go."
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