Chapter 579
"Then let's have a clay pot chicken and two stir-fries."
"Okay!"
The proprietress agreed readily and turned to shout towards the kitchen.
After a while, a young man wearing a dark blue apron walked out quickly from the kitchen, holding a lively rooster in his hand.
The rooster crowed at the top of its lungs, flapping its wings and sending feathers flying.
The young man was in the open space in front of the store, slaughtering, depilating and chopping the animals with skillful hands and feet. The whole set of movements was smooth and completed in one go.
Su Miao was stunned and whispered to his father, "This is too... fierce, isn't it? Just as smooth and precise as your technique, Dad!"
Su Yuanzheng smiled and said, "That's good, the ingredients are fresh!"
Half an hour later, the steaming hot clay pot chicken was served on the table.
A black iron pot was placed on the charcoal stove. The charcoal fire in the furnace crackled, making the iron pot glow with a warm light.
The chicken is stewed until it is tender and the rich sauce is bubbling. There is a circle of cornmeal pancakes on the edge of the pot, which have absorbed the soup and are fragrant and sticky.
After everyone started eating, Su Miao picked up a piece of chicken and put it in his mouth. His eyes suddenly lit up: "Delicious!"
Su Yuanzheng also nodded: "This chicken is free-range, the meat is firm and the seasoning is fragrant."
Lao Zhou seemed to eat with Lao Xu often. He was very good at picking up food for Lao Xu, and there was never an empty bowl of food in Lao Xu's bowl.
Knowing that the Su family father and daughter had not yet found a place to live, Lao Zhou said enthusiastically:
"Old Xu's daughter works at the guesthouse. Why don't you stay there? It's clean and safe. I guarantee you'll have a comfortable stay."
After dinner, Su Yuanzheng tested the car and found that there was no problem at all.
After saying goodbye to Lao Zhou, they took Lao Xu to the guesthouse.
Although Old Xu is blind, he has lived in Taizhuang all his life. Every street and every corner is deeply imprinted in his mind, and he can give them directions with his eyes closed.
We drove all the way to a small street beside the canal and found a three-story wooden guesthouse with a sign on the door saying "Taizhuang State-owned Second Guesthouse".
There were several blue striped sheets hanging in the small yard in front of the door, swaying gently in the wind.
Su Miao looked around curiously. She had never stayed in a guesthouse made of wooden buildings. It seemed that most of the houses on this riverside street were quaint wooden houses.
A middle-aged woman at the front desk heard the sound of a car, looked out, and when she saw Lao Xu, she hurried out to greet him.
"Dad, why are you here? Aren't you going to play chess at Lao Zhou's? I agreed to pick you up after get off work."
Old Xu waved his hand and said, "Xiaohong, I made two friends today and they treated me to a meal. They are tourists and will be staying at Taizhuang tonight. Please make arrangements for them."
Xu Xiaohong stepped forward and took her father's hand, gently rubbing the back of his hand with her fingertips twice. This was their unique way of communication between father and daughter.
Then he looked up at Su Miao and Su Yuanzheng and smiled, with fine lines on the corners of his eyes: He said gently:
"Thank you. We have an inspection team coming today. We only have room 203 left. It's right across from the river, and the environment is pretty good."
Su Miao nodded and said, "Okay, let's stay in that room."
The room was clean and tidy, but because it was close to the river, there was a hint of dampness in the room.
The two single beds were neatly arranged, and after they came in, Xu Xiaohong carefully spread out the freshly dried sheets.
The father and daughter put their things away and prepared to go out for a walk with their bags on their backs.
When they went downstairs, Old Xu was no longer there. Xu Xiaohong told them that the staff dormitory of the guesthouse was next door and her father had already gone home.
They walked out of the guesthouse and slowly walked along the river. The moist river breeze blew on their cheeks, carrying the scent of water plants and wood.
"This river is so wide!"
Su Miao leaned on the railing and looked across the river. The Grand Canal looked like a shimmering silk ribbon.
The waves gently hit the stone steps on the shore. Several barges were quietly moored at the dock not far away, swaying slightly with the waves.
Turning a corner, they saw an old man in a navy blue double-breasted jacket sitting on a stone bench by the river, playing a clay instrument.
The voice was low and sobbing, as if it came from far away, and seemed to strike directly on people's hearts, carrying a sense of vicissitudes of life accumulated over the years.
"It's the xiao, one of the oldest musical instruments, with a history of more than 7,000 years." Su Miao said in a low voice.
They stood aside and listened with bated breath. The old man looked really old, with a head full of silver hair. His skinny fingers moved flexibly on the holes of the xiao, and the melody he played was like crying and complaining.
When the song ended, the old man raised his head, smiled and asked, "Are you two guests from out of town?"
Su Yuanzheng asked in surprise: "How do you know?"
“Hehe~”
The old man smiled, revealing a few yellow teeth, and said:
"Local people won't stand for so long to listen to me play the xiao. They're busy running around."
He placed the xiao on his knees and introduced himself:
"They call me Clay Man Wu. I'm over 70 years old. My family makes pottery. This is the xiao I made myself."
Su Miao looked curiously at the black xiao with a gold-painted carp pattern and said, "Grandpa Wu, you play the xiao beautifully, like... like water talking."
The wrinkles on Grandpa Wu's face smoothed out. "The little girl is very intelligent. This xiao is made of mud from the canal, so it naturally produces the sound of the canal."
He pointed to the long bench in front of him and said, "Sit down, I'll tell you the story of this canal."
The father and daughter sat down, and Grandpa Wu turned to look at the river, as if he could feel every ripple of the river.
He told them that this section of the canal was dug during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. At that time, Taizhuang was an important hub for the north-south grain transportation, and the dock was full of grain-carrying ships all day long.
Grandpa Wu tapped the stone pavement behind him with his bamboo cane:
"My grandfather told me that his grandfather said that during its heyday, this stretch of the canal was lined with shops. Silk shops, tea shops, pawnshops, restaurants... At night, lanterns lit up the canal like daytime.
However, after the late Qing Dynasty, the government became corrupt and the canal fell into disrepair, forcing the canal transport to be interrupted. Fortunately, the government has taken the lead in repairing it many times over the years, and now it is gradually getting better!
Su Miao looked at the now quiet canal and found it hard to imagine how bustling it once was.
A egret took off from the reeds, its wings skimming across the water, creating ripples.
Grandpa Wu's voice suddenly dropped. "In 1938, the Japanese invaded, and our army fought them right here. The water in the canal was red for a whole month..."
Su Yuanzheng stood in awe: "The Battle of Taizhuang was the first major victory on the front line since the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression!"
Grandpa Wu nodded, and his calloused fingers stroked the xiao:
"I was only in my twenties at the time, and because my two older brothers had gone to the battlefield, my mother wouldn't let me go.
I'm so ashamed! During the national crisis, I hid in my own cellar, and I heard the constant sound of gunfire outside. After the war, the canal was full of…"
He suddenly stopped and shook his head: "Let's not talk about this. Come, I'll tell you something happy."
The melodious sound of the xiao rang out again, this time it was a cheerful folk tune. Although the xiao's tone usually gives people a deep and sad feeling, Grandpa Wu was able to perform the cheerful tune very well.
Several children passing by stopped and clapped and danced to the melody.
Su Miao noticed that when Grandpa Wu played the flute, the wrinkles on his face seemed to smooth out.
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