The moment Wen Xin saw the man, her breathing almost stopped. She stood by the table, her hand on the corner of the table. As soon as he stopped, she subconsciously shifted her gaze and looked down at the corner of the table, her fingers scratching the sandalwood grain there. She wanted to turn around and leave, but for some reason she didn't move.
She didn't know when cold sweat broke out on her back. She didn't know why he suddenly appeared here. The two of them were obviously from the south and the north, so far away from each other, how could they meet in such a defenseless place like this?
The tall man with glasses in front didn't hear the noise behind him. When he turned around, he saw the person behind him stopped and was staring at a female comrade with a gloomy look. He had never seen that female comrade before he came last time. She was wearing a thin pink sweater and was very beautiful. She looked like a girl of eighteen or nineteen years old. She almost crawled under the table because of his stare.
"Zeyang, what's wrong?" the man with glasses asked puzzledly.
In the eyes of others, he only paused for a moment and then entered the room with the man with glasses, but Wen Xin felt that it seemed like half a century had passed in that moment.
"…The ducks here in Longzhou are fat and tender. I've eaten at so many restaurants, and this one's the best. I brought you here today to try it. Don't mind the small place. The environment is a bit worse. It can't be compared with the restaurants in Kyoto, but the taste is really good. This way, this way..." The man with glasses opened the curtain very attentively and let the people behind him go in first.
Looking at the curtain that was lifted up and then returned to its original position and swaying, Wen Xin finally breathed a sigh of relief. She was a little at a loss as she suddenly saw someone. She stood there for a long time without daring to move, and she didn't know what she was afraid of.
It's just a feeling of being scared.
Until the mute brother stuffed a plate of duck meat, two cups of stewed duck, a small dish of marinated food, and a small ceramic pot of rice wine into her hands, "Yeah." He nodded towards the room where someone had just entered, turned around and went into the kitchen.
"Hey, wait..."
When Wen Xin reacted while holding the food tray, the mute brother had already walked into the kitchen in two or three steps. She didn't hear anything. With the food tray in her hand, she was a little hesitant, confused and a little flustered. All kinds of complicated emotions surged in her heart. She seemed to be crying on the train just yesterday.
But people become distant once they are apart. After only a few days, she immediately felt that seeing each other again became a stranger. She had finally forgotten everything about Kyoto and was ready to start over, so why did she see him again?
In the past, she could still act according to the situation, but now, she doesn't want to perform and can't do it.
After Gu Qingtong settled the guests and lifted the curtain, she saw Wen Xin standing there in a daze with dishes and wine. She called out, "Wen Xin, Wen Xin."
After calling out twice, Wen Xin looked at her, "Huh?"
Gu Qingtong smiled at her confused look and said, "Why are you standing there? Bring it in, to the table inside." Wen Xin was more experienced and skilled in entertaining guests than she was. This woman was naturally friendly when entertaining male guests. The guests would feel comfortable no matter what she said, and they would feel comfortable too if she didn't say anything.
It cannot be said that there are no hooligans in this era, but they are all in private. Few dare to act like hooligans openly, especially those who hold high positions. If there are any signs of being in the spotlight at this time, all positions will be removed. Therefore, most people still abide by the rules and have nothing to worry about.
Another table of guests in the room wanted to fill a pot of wine. The rice wine here is homemade. Only those who eat rice wine and duck know which one is better. Homemade grain wine has a low alcohol content and is not intoxicating. When Gu Qingtong walked over to get the wine, he glanced at Wen Xin and immediately reached out to support the plate that Wen Xin was holding and said, "Wen Xin, hold the plate steady. The thing inside looks like it has a source. Don't spill the soup on people."
Although the young section chief with glasses does not hold a high position, his father is still okay. The people he brought with him are obviously of the same age. Section Chief Zhao would not be so flattering to a person of the same age, which means that the other party has a prominent background. Judging from his style and accent, he seems to be a guest from Kyoto.
After Gu Qingtong finished speaking, Wen Xin called her, "Sister Qingtong." Wen Xin looked a little embarrassed. She frowned and said, "You should send this dish over. My stomach..." She wanted to cover her stomach and pretend to be uncomfortable.
At this time, someone in another room lifted the curtain and said to Gu Qingtong, "Little Gu, bring me three bowls of clear soup and a plate of braised duck liver. Hurry up."
Gu Qingtong responded and hurried into the kitchen.
Wen Xin: “…”
She was holding a plate, standing in the living room, not knowing whether to go back or go back. The aroma of pickled duck and rice wine kept drilling into her nose. She couldn't help but wrinkle her nose. Finally, she thought what she was afraid of, gritted her teeth and prepared to take the plate in. She didn't know if this was really a coincidence or he came to see her on purpose.
She was too sad before and had no reason to stay any longer, so she left without saying goodbye to anyone. This was really rude and it would be awkward to meet again.
However, she has now changed her identity, said goodbye to the past, has nothing to do with him anymore, and no longer works in his family. Why should she be afraid of him? She doesn't ask him for anything now.
So she took a deep breath, opened the curtain with one hand and walked in with the plate in the other.
…
The room where Gu Qingtong entertained guests was carefully tidied. It had white walls, lattice windows, a bluestone floor, two sets of mahogany round tables, and a half-cut wooden partition with latticework in the middle, dividing the room into two small rooms.
There were already a few people sitting outside near the door eating. Wen Xin glanced at them as she passed by and smiled casually. One of the young men wearing gold-rimmed glasses had his eyes lit up and his face slightly reddened. He looked at Wen Xin without blinking as she walked past.
…
There were two people sitting in the room inside the partition. The tall one with glasses was named Zhao Yan. He kept finding topics to liven up the atmosphere with the person next to him, talking about the Feng Shui and human relations in Longzhou, and interesting anecdotes from the streets. Don't underestimate this place because it is small but has everything you need and is full of wonderful things.
"Ze Yang, this place is different from Kyoto. Don't be fooled by the alleys and lanes here. There are many places with delicious food. I guarantee you haven't eaten them in Kyoto. I'll take you to have a look tomorrow. There are also several time-honored restaurants with good cooking skills. By the way, this one is famous for its duck. Do you like duck? You can try it later..."
…
"And Zeyang, how long can you stay this time? Your injury will take at least ten days to recover. Do you want me to call some classmates who live nearby to get together? We haven't seen each other for a long time, and everyone misses you..."
It was obvious that Zhao Yan was trying to find something to liven up the atmosphere, but the person next to him had been silent since he came in. He just listened to the people at the next table talking and chatting, and from time to time he mentioned that female comrade and "Let's take a look at her later" or something like that.
His face was so gloomy that it seemed like water was about to drip from it. The young section chief named Zhao Yan felt that something was wrong and spoke more cautiously. This old classmate's face was not good when he came, and now it was even uglier.
Zhao Yan is from Kyoto and was a middle school classmate of Yan Zeyang. At that time, the school was also divided into circles and factions. Little bullies like Yan Zeyang had his own circle and were also influential figures in the school. Zhao Yan and others were in another circle, and they could never play together.
At that time, people didn't have the concept of class or social class, and the circle didn't care about these things. They only looked at whether they had compatible personalities and were of the same kind. Although he and Yan Zeyang had been classmates for three years, their relationship was not that close and they could not be considered good friends.
After that, Zhao Yan's father was also implicated and transferred from Kyoto. Now he is in Longzhou, which is a small place after all. Zhao Yan and his father both said that they did not want to return to Kyoto, but that was impossible. However, it is easy to be transferred out of that place, but it is difficult to be transferred back.
No one is willing to stay in such a small city for the rest of their life, but it doesn't matter, it's too difficult to move around.
He also didn't expect that Young Master Yan, who had disdained people like them back then, would suddenly call him? Everyone in the current Kyoto circles and military circles knows Yan Zeyang, the Young Master Yan. Although he is usually in the military, his reputation as a devil is still well-known in the circles, and he often bullies people. With his father's current promotion speed and position, many of his former political enemies, who were once hostile to him, laugh at the news on the surface but are terrified in private.
Zhao Yan was also well-informed and had heard the news a long time ago. When he met his classmates a few days ago, he was still expressing his feelings. He said that if they could have gotten into Yan Motou's circle at school, they wouldn't have to be a minor in such a small town now.
Everyone knows that Yan Zeyang is a protective person. Among those people he got along well with in school, which one of them was not taken care of? Those who should be transferred were transferred, and those who should be promoted were promoted. Now they are all in the Beijing circle and are doing well.
It would be a lie if Zhao Yan said she wasn't envious.
So when Yan Zeyang took the initiative to contact him this time, he was really excited, and temporarily used his connections to borrow a cart. As a result, when this old classmate came, he said he wanted to eat duck and asked if there was any place that cooked duck well. Zhao Yan immediately thought of this place.
He had originally planned to take his old classmates to restaurants in Longzhou and Jianxing for dinner. He heard that foreigners were also received there and the service level was very good.
Finally, I came here.
There is nothing special about Longzhou except that there are a lot of delicious food. The people of Longzhou are also delicious. It feels worthwhile to spend money on food. Ordinary people would make their pickled vegetables look delicious. There are more than one small restaurant like this hidden in the alleys with reasonable prices and delicious food.
Zhao Yan was afraid that Yan Zeyang would look down on this small place in the alley, so he kept praising it as soon as he came in. To be honest, the duck here is really good and he was not exaggerating. The fish head soup he had here last time was also very delicious, so it shouldn't be too disappointing.
When Wen Xin came in with a plate, Zhao Yan's eyes lit up. Wasn't this the pink and pretty girl standing in the hall just now? The slender fingers holding the plate are so eye-catching.
The girl smiled shyly when she came in.
Shy?
Wen Xin just gave a reserved professional smile, and without even looking at the other person's reaction, she placed the plates and cutlery on the table one by one. She said nothing, but she always felt someone was staring at her.
Gu Qingtong's stewing pot is small. As soon as it is opened, the aroma is overwhelming. The amount of food is small but fine. Today's appetizer is a bowl of osmanthus lotus root porridge. It is simmered on low heat for a day to produce light red lotus root water. Then rice is added and finally osmanthus is mixed in and a few pieces of rock sugar are added.
It tastes very sweet and soft, and a few slices of duck meat look very appetizing.
Zhao Yan greeted her old classmate, "The duck at her restaurant is a specialty. You should try it. It's crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Boss Gu said that the duck meat is made with Agaricus blazei, chicken mushrooms, and Ho Xian mushrooms. It tastes delicious and has a long aftertaste. And the rice wine is also good."
Zhao Yan attentively opened the lid of the pot next to him and put it aside, then asked casually, "I heard that you are getting married soon? You have already filed a marriage report. When is it? At the end of this year? When the time comes, let us know and a few of us classmates will go to congratulate you. We are all waiting to drink your wedding wine."
When Wen Xin heard about getting married, her hands holding the plate immediately trembled. This Zhao Yan was really talking about things that were irrelevant. How did he become the section chief? She didn't want to hear this, so she hurriedly put down the plate, picked up the dinner tray and prepared to leave.
"Stop." A deep voice sounded behind him. Although the volume was very low, it had a scolding tone that only people who were familiar with each other could have, yet it also had a somewhat annoyed command tone.
Zhao Yan, who was standing next to him, was stunned when he heard this. He glanced at his old classmate, wondering why he asked the female comrade to stop. This was not like his old classmate's character. When he was in school, he was very arrogant towards the female classmates in the class. At that time, many female classmates took the initiative to talk to him and handed him things, but he ignored them.
Now you are asking a lesbian stranger to stop? Unbelievable.
The beautiful girl with a rosy face like a flower really stopped and looked back at him with blinking eyes, looking timid and endearing.
Young Master Yan next to him stared at the girl and was silent for a while. "Come here, pour some wine."
Zhao Yanwei opened his mouth. In this era, there is really no such thing as pouring wine when going out to eat. If you go to any department store or state-owned restaurant, the service attitude is cold and rude. You can buy or not, eat or not. It's good enough that they don't deliberately make things difficult for you. How can they pour wine for you? Dream on.
Wen Xin was angry. She put the plate on the table and walked over with a pout. She wanted to see what he was trying to do. So he picked up the pot of rice wine, poured it into his cup, and then poured it for Zhao Yan. Zhao Yan immediately said, "No, no." He took the pot flattered and said, "I'll do it myself." He had never experienced such service before.
Young Master Yan said nothing, picked up the wine and drank it all in one gulp.
At this time, someone at the table next to him looked over here, and when he saw Wen Xin, he smiled and said, "Comrade Wen, come over here when you're done. I want to introduce someone to you. He's the editor of our Longzhou magazine, a young talent with a good appearance. He has published several articles in the magazine. I heard that you are going to take the college entrance examination? You are all young people, you can communicate with each other and learn from each other..."
Before the other party finished speaking, Young Master Yan put his wine glass on the table with a "bang", which scared Wen Xin.
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