Chapter 43 A Rare Occasion to Eat Out on New Year's Eve
Given Grandma's confident assertions regarding the New Year's God of Wealth and the bad luck of the old year.
Although he was unable to go upstairs to personally inspect the cleanliness due to his knee injury, Guo Baiwen and Guo Xiaohua took turns supervising the cleaning.
After much effort, they finally replaced every nook and cranny of the house, including the straw under the chicken coop and rabbit hutch.
The New Year's cleaning is finally over.
Guo Baiwen felt even more tired after a busy day than he had been when he opened the shop for a day before.
I don't know where Grandma gets all that energy and spirit every day.
Seeing that everyone was tired, Grandma Guo finished cleaning and, without even taking a few breaths, rushed into the kitchen to start preparing the New Year's Eve dinner.
Guo Baiwen quickly stopped the person.
"Grandma, you don't need to cook dinner for New Year's Eve today."
Grandma Guo had almost rolled up her sleeves when she heard this. She turned to look at him with a surprised expression, "Wen-zai, are you going to cook today?"
Guo Baiwen shook his head helplessly, "I'm not cooking today either."
No matter how good his skills are, when he cooks in this earthen stove and big iron pot, the food always just doesn't quite have the same quality.
Seeing him say that.
Grandma Guo turned to look at Guo Xiaohua, startling everyone who had been resting and catching their breath in the chair. They jumped up, looking very nervous. "Let me tell you," Grandma Guo said, "I'm so tired I can't even move a finger!"
"Anytimes it's fine! But today, I really don't have the energy to go into the kitchen and cook!"
She uttered each word carefully, making it sound like a resolute and righteous statement, even though it wasn't a big deal.
This made Guo Baiwen and Grandma Guo laugh.
"If you won't let Grandma cook, and neither of you will cook, what are we going to do for New Year's Eve dinner tonight?" Grandma Guo was laughing, but she still remembered the important matter. "This is the most important meal of the year. Are we going to just cook some mixed soup like we have in previous years?"
She was referring to the time a few years ago when the Guo family was struggling financially.
Back then, being able to eat your fill was considered an extraordinary achievement.
The mixed soup served on New Year's Eve is made by boiling together ingredients that you have at home, such as cured meat, dried tofu, green vegetables, and potato chunks.
If you don't have cured pork, a little bit of pork fat will do.
Because there were so many ingredients, the food looked plentiful when cooked into a big pot, and the whole family could sit around the large iron pot to keep warm together on New Year's Eve.
But we have plenty of food stored at home this year, so one pot of mixed soup is definitely not enough.
Seeing that Grandma Guo was about to start making arrangements again, Guo Baiwen quickly pulled her back, "Grandma, I booked today's meal at the restaurant a long time ago."
“Today, neither I, you, nor Xiaohua need to go to the kitchen to cook.” He placed Grandma Guo’s hands, left hand on top of right hand, and patted them gently. “It’s a rare occasion for us to eat out today.”
"Let's go out to eat together."
Upon hearing this, not only did Xiaohua, who was originally exhausted, become so happy that she wanted to jump up from the ground, but Grandma Guo also repeated what he said, albeit with some stammering.
"Eating out?"
“Yes!” Guo Baiwen nodded. He had been wanting to take Grandma and Xiaohua out for a meal in the county town for a while.
Previously, it was because the money in his hands couldn't be obtained through legitimate means; later, it was because the shop was so busy that he was working from dawn till dusk every day and didn't have time to go out for meals.
He finally got a break, and he had enough money on him.
Shouldn't we have a good meal to reward the family for their hard work over the past few months?
Believe it or not, there are a few restaurants that are still open on New Year's Eve, even though there aren't that many in the county.
The restaurant they're going to eat at today, Grandma Guo and Xiao Hua should know it too—it's the same one where they used to sell white fungus—Tongfu Restaurant.
He had to pay a deposit first and talk to Uncle Zhao for a long time before he could reserve a table in the restaurant lobby.
However, as for the private rooms on the second floor or the VIP rooms on the third floor, forget about them.
Although it was a table in the main hall, Guo Baiwen was already very satisfied that he was able to book a table for New Year's Eve.
He rubbed his aching arms, took off the apron still tied around his waist, and urged the two of them, "Hurry up, I've already paid the deposit, now go back to your rooms and take out your best clothes from the bottom of your trunks."
The clothes he was wearing were easy to clean; he had just been cleaning dust everywhere, climbing up and down, and his body was still covered in dust.
If I weren't in a rush, I would definitely take a good time to freshen up.
But looking at the sun outside, I figure I can only wait until I come back from dinner before boiling water for a bath.
Although they were thinking about it, the people were still working quickly.
When Guo Baiwen was waiting at the small gate of the courtyard, he first saw Xiao Hua come downstairs. She was wearing the same clothes she had worn when she went out on Laba Festival last time, but the silk flower on her head had changed to a different style.
Two light purple flowers, one large and one small, I wonder if I made them myself in private.
Seeing her son staring at her hair bun, Xiaohua deliberately tilted her head towards his face and said, "Isn't it pretty? I cut and pasted it myself using scraps of silk and old silk fabric that I bought from the cloth shop!"
The fabric scraps in the shop are sold in bundles, and scraps containing silk or brocade are more expensive.
But it's still much cheaper than buying ready-made silk flowers.
"It looks beautiful. You have such skillful hands."
"Of course! Doesn't your brother know who I am?!"
Guo Baiwen couldn't help but laugh, "Who are you? A lazybones who likes to sleep until noon every day?"
"Brother!" Xiaohua stomped her foot in anger, but afraid of ruining her outfit, she just rolled her eyes at him. "If you keep doing this, I won't talk to you today!"
"Okay, okay, I won't say anything more."
The two waited together at the small door for a while before Grandma Guo came out.
Grandma Guo seemed to have truly taken Guo Baiwen's previous words to heart, and she was dressed in brand new clothes from head to toe.
When she cleaned today, she was still wearing the same old gray linen apron that she was used to wearing. Now that she's wearing new clothes, they're not much brighter, but they're not as drab as before.
Guo Xiaohua looked at Grandma's head from left to right. Apart from the familiar bamboo hairpin, she only used a dark headscarf to wrap her hair.
I don't know where they pulled out a silk flower from, but they put it on Grandma Guo's hair with a 'whoosh'.
When Guo Baiwen saw the front of the silk flower, he found that it was a pale yellow color, which matched the beige dress that Grandma Guo was wearing.
While secretly regretting not noticing these details, she complimented, "Grandma looks quite good wearing this silk flower."
Upon hearing this, Grandma Guo, who was about to take the silk flowers off, paused, looked at Guo Xiaohua with some hesitation, and then at Guo Baiwen.
"Is it really good?"
"Beautiful! Beautiful! Absolutely beautiful!"
Having said that, as if afraid that Grandma Guo would take the silk flower down, Guo Baiwen and Guo Xiaohua each occupied one side of Grandma Guo and went out through the small gate of the courtyard hand in hand.
Wealthy families usually have their own cooks, and it's rare for them to come out for dinner on New Year's Eve.
However, some people from wealthier families, whose family helpers are not particularly skilled, or businessmen or workers who are unable to make it home on their journey, will also choose to have a good meal at the restaurant at this time.
However, these people usually only choose street food stalls, and they are quite satisfied if they can have some small dishes such as fried fish, duck, stir-fried chicken and rabbit on a table, with a combination of meat and vegetables.
A meal, excluding drinks, would cost around 100 coins.
If several people split the cost of the meal, it wouldn't be too expensive.
However, Tongfu Restaurant is one of the more upscale restaurants in Xiuning County.
When the three of them reached the entrance of the restaurant, they hesitated as they had been chatting and laughing.
Guo Xiaohua, in particular, even asked Guo Baiwen twice more, "Brother, can we really go in for dinner?"
"There are so many people here, did you really reserve a table in advance, brother?"
"Can."
"real."
Standing at the door for too long actually makes it easier to attract the attention of passersby.
Before the two women could hesitate any longer, Guo Baiwen went inside first, right in front of them.
As soon as he moved, those who had been hesitant immediately followed suit.
Standing in the kitchen of Tongfu Restaurant, I already felt that the restaurant was very big.
It's rare for me to walk through the main entrance today, and I can only say that it truly lives up to its reputation as a high-end restaurant; it looks even bigger and more beautiful than the backyard.
Entering through the main gate of the restaurant, and walking through the long main corridor, you will reach the main hall.
There is a long corridor that is about a hundred steps long, with private rooms on both sides and in the north and south courtyards.
The private rooms come in various sizes; the largest can accommodate an entire family for New Year's Eve dinner, while the smallest is for two people.
Of course, there are also private rooms where three people drink tea and four people play mahjong.
The main hall is quite grand, while the private rooms have a more refined atmosphere, decorated not only with paintings by famous people but also with flowers.
A private room is a private room. Not to mention that private rooms are inherently more expensive, today is New Year's Eve, and the cheapest meal in the private room, consisting of a set of bowls, two sets of plates and cups, five fruit and vegetable dishes, and three to five bowls of water vegetables, costs almost ten taels of silver.
Although the dishes served in the restaurant's main hall couldn't compare to those in the private rooms, the meal Guo Baiwen ordered would probably cost one or two taels of silver.
In the past, who in their family would dare to spend a tael of silver just to have a good meal?
How can we live like that?
The meal that Guo Baiwen ordered included not only stewed mutton, rabbit with scallions, and quail with bamboo shoots, but also spicy shrimp soup and spring platters.
One plate of fruit and vegetables each.
Once all the dishes were served, the table was filled with seven dishes.
Apart from the dates and braised tofu on the fruit and vegetable platter, the rest of the dishes were ones I hadn't seen before.
Guo Xiaohua couldn't resist picking up her chopsticks as soon as the first dish of braised tofu was served.
Grandma Guo said we should eat together once all the dishes were ready, so I've been watching eagerly ever since.
After a while, everything was finally served. Guo Baiwen told everyone to eat while it was hot, and he quickly picked up his chopsticks himself.
Spring platter, also known as five-spice platter, contains five kinds of spicy vegetables, such as scallions, garlic, chives, rapeseed, and cilantro.
In addition to these five cold dishes, Tongfu Restaurant's spring platter also includes radish, spring pancakes, and sliced braised meat, making it taste much better than homemade.
Guo Baiwen's eyes lit up the moment he took his first bite.
Grandma Guo and Guo Xiaohua, of course, need no further explanation.
Just as the three of them were enjoying their meal, Guo Baiwen suddenly noticed someone had come to his table.
As soon as he looked up, Grandma Guo and Xiao Hua also stopped eating and looked at the newcomer.
It turned out to be Uncle Zhao.
"Happy New Year's Eve!" Uncle Zhao said with a smile, holding a plate of steamed fish in his hands. "You said you wanted to make a reservation with me the other day, and I've been waiting to see when you would come. I'm so glad you've finally arrived."
Guo Baiwen quickly stood up as well. "Happy New Year's Eve! I didn't know you were waiting for us here, Uncle Zhao. I didn't even say hello to you before we arrived. I'm so sorry."
"It's alright. The store was crowded on New Year's Eve. I only just managed to find a moment to talk to you."
As he spoke, he placed the plate of steamed fish on the table. "Today is New Year's Eve, and I didn't prepare any New Year's gifts. I told the shopkeeper to give you an extra plate of steamed fish, Brother Guo."
"Look, that makes a perfect eight plates, which is a good omen for the New Year."
"If you ever come across any good mountain products in the future, Brother Guo, please remember to come to our house first."
After saying that, without waiting for Guo Baiwen to refuse, he cupped his hands in a gesture of respect and walked away with a smile.
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