Hearing the noise, the man immediately comforted them, "You find a place to hide, I'll go out and take a look. The sound of horse hooves is uniform, it should be well-trained soldiers. This place is not far from the Cangshan camp, and it can be returned in half an hour. I think Zhao Liu and Tietou can't find us, so they went to find help."
Lin Dan nodded and watched him go out. To prevent any accidents, she and the two little girls found a secluded place to hide. A moment later, the gate of the mountain stronghold slowly opened, and the man and a tall, bearded general walked in, followed by Zhao Liu and Luo Tietou.
"Fuck him! You brought us all to this desolate mountain in the middle of the night to rescue people, but it was all in vain! These are my personal soldiers, and losing one of them would hurt me like a knife. Although there is no fighting today, we are ready for a fierce battle. You must remember this favor!" The bearded general complained unhappily.
"General, we rescued these people from the woodshed. They are not injured." A line of soldiers came running over to report the situation, followed by Xiao Zhu and others who expressed their gratitude profusely.
"Where is the shopkeeper? Didn't you say that there was a shopkeeper Lin who had to be rescued at all costs?" The bearded man looked around with an impatient expression.
"I'm here. Thank you all for coming to rescue us. Lin would like to thank you!" Lin Dan immediately walked out from the darkness and bowed deeply. Shaoyao and Dujuan also bowed in fear and trepidation.
The bearded man looked at Lin Dan carefully and found that she was just graceful but not pretty, which immediately disappointed him. He thought that Shopkeeper Lin, whom Zhao Liu and Luo Tietou had repeatedly warned and warned to rescue unharmed, was a stunningly beautiful woman, but it turned out to be just like this.
"Forget it, forget it, get up." The bearded man became more and more impatient. "Brothers have trained hard during the day and trudged here late at night. I don't know how many of them will have to lie down tomorrow. If we had known it was such a small bandit den, we would not have come here at all!"
Zhao Liu and Luo Tietou looked embarrassed. If they had known that this gang of bandits was not yet a force to be reckoned with, they would not have rushed down the mountain in a hurry to seek help. The boss is very skilled in martial arts and can definitely protect himself, but Manager Lin and the two little girls are in danger. Bandits have always been inhumane. They would defile women they robbed and cut off the tongues of men they robbed and sell them to the Xishan coal mine. How could they dare to waste time? They immediately gathered their men and attacked.
"Where are the bandits? Did you take care of them all?" The bearded man looked at the handsome man, not doubting that he had the ability to do so.
"They were all taken care of by Shopkeeper Lin." The man pointed to the hall. The group hurried in to check and were shocked.
"Fuck it," the bearded man walked back and forth in the crowd for a few rounds, then ran to the empty wine jar and sniffed hard, his face getting darker and darker, "What kind of wine is this? It smells so damn good, isn't it?"
Xiaozhu replied proudly, "This is Qianri wine, brewed by our boss himself."
"Thousand-day wine? The kind of thousand-day wine that Liu Xuanshi drinks?" The bearded man raised his voice with a shocked expression. Then, regardless of the dirt and mess, he picked up a wine glass that had been used by the bandits, poured the only remaining wine in it into his mouth, smacking his lips and tongue continuously, making an exaggerated sizzling sound.
"Good wine, it is indeed a rare good wine, fragrant, mellow and strong, smooth in the throat, burning in the stomach, spicy with a hint of sweetness, and a long aftertaste... This is the best wine I have ever tasted, worthy of the legendary thousand-day wine!" The bearded man sighed as he lifted up the wine glasses on the table and poured them into his mouth one by one, not even letting go of the remaining one or two drops.
Most of the personal soldiers he brought with him were as addicted to alcohol as he was, and they all checked the wine jugs, hoping to find some extra wine. It’s a pity that bandits are always greedy. All the good things have been ruined by them. How could there be anything left?
"It's gone, damn it, it's gone again. Will you die if you drink less?" The bearded man couldn't find any wine, so he could only vent his anger on the drunk bandit. Suddenly he remembered that the wine was brewed by Shopkeeper Lin, so he quickly turned to look at the man, his pair of eyes as big as copper bells brighter than torches.
Lin Dan bowed with regret, "General, this wine is extremely difficult to brew. I spent three years and only got one jar. There is no more to be had."
The bearded man's bright eyes went out instantly. He casually lifted up the jar, shook it vigorously, and then said in surprise: "There is still a thin layer of wine in it. Quick, quick, bring me an empty jar!"
The handsome man showed a helpless expression, but quickly brought him an empty jar to fill with wine. The bearded man tapped the bottom of the jar again and again, but there was still only a little bit of wine. The palm-sized empty jar was gone before it was even filled. It was really pitifully little.
The bearded man looked at the small jar in his palm, then at the big urn that was originally full, and then at the bandits who had drunk to their heart's content and passed out. He was immediately furious. He grabbed one of the bandits and kicked him hard, cursing: "Fuck you, you robbed my territory! When you wake up, I'll kill you!"
The bandit was kicked by him until he vomited blood, but he still didn't wake up, which shows how drunk he was.
Lin Dan bowed and consoled him at the right time: "Thank you all for coming to rescue us so late at night. There is still some food in the kitchen. Can I bring it to everyone to fill their stomachs? You must be tired after traveling all the way. It's a good time for you to take a break and replenish your energy."
Zhao Liu and Luo Tietou were drooling over the table full of leftovers. Their eyes lit up when they heard this, and even the handsome man swallowed his saliva quietly. The bearded man had never tasted Manager Lin's cooking, so his reaction was indifferent. The soldiers he brought with him nodded indifferently, then took out ropes and tied up the bandits.
Lin Dan smiled faintly and took the two little girls to the kitchen. The bandits were only busy drinking and didn't eat much of the food, which is now being heated on the stove.
After a while, the dishes were served, including a large pot of beef stewed in rice wine, a large pot of beef meatballs in bone soup, a dish of braised beef tendon, a dish of stir-fried beef with green onions, and a bucket of white rice. The portions were large enough for twenty or thirty people. The dishes were all hot, with white steam coming out of them. The indescribable aroma of meat mixed with the mellow aroma of wine slowly spread throughout the hall.
Gulp! The bearded man swallowed hard.
Gulp, gulp... The personal soldiers he brought with him stood up one after another, swallowing their saliva and covering their stomachs, only to feel that their stomachs were full of gluttonous worms churning wildly.
"Thank you all for coming to rescue us. I have nothing but decent cooking skills. I would like to express my gratitude with this meal today. I hope you all will not mind." Lin Dan thanked them again with a sincere tone. Her servants had already cleaned up the messy table and were serving the food one by one.
The bearded man stretched his neck, swallowed hard, and then waved his hands repeatedly, "No objection, no objection, it's my duty, it's my duty." He smiled as he spoke, without any sign of impatience. His personal soldiers also gathered around, ready to take action.
"Let's eat." As soon as the handsome man opened his mouth, everyone hurriedly picked up their bowls and chopsticks.
"This beef is stewed with Thousand-Day Wine?" The bearded man ate a piece of stewed beef. His eyes as big as copper bells widened even wider. Then he quickened his pace and put the food into his bowl like a whirlwind. The crowd showed no sign of being outdone, each one of them eating with their mouths full of oil and expressions of amazement on their faces.
The stew is made entirely of streaky beef, with lean meat interspersed with snow-white fat. It is soft and melts in the mouth; the beef meatballs are made of short brain and neck, which are repeatedly pounded and kneaded into shape with a wooden stick. They are elastic and smooth after being cooked, and a cavity naturally appears inside the meatball, which is full of butter and bone broth. A light tap with the teeth will splash out the fresh, fragrant and thick juice, which tastes amazing; the beef tendon is first fried, then steamed for a quarter of an hour, and finally stir-fried in a pan. The bright red soup wraps each tendon, which feels soft and glutinous at first, and a little sticky and elastic when it is about to break, with an indescribable taste.
This table of dishes is extremely fragrant, extremely glutinous, extremely thick, and extremely fresh. The taste is simply perfect made by Shopkeeper Lin! Even after stealing and robbing, they only managed to eat half their food. All their resentment about going out to fight so late at night was gone, but they still felt a little unsatisfied. This trip is worth it, really worth it!
Lin Dan knew that they were not full, so he smashed the beef bones that had been boiled for two hours and made a pot of beef marrow soup. The stewed beef marrow is hidden in the bone tube. It slides into your mouth with a light suck. It tastes extremely delicious. It not only cleanses the taste buds, but also seems to cleanse the pores.
The bearded man held a stick of beef bone in his hands, sucking it happily, and said very attentively: "Manager Lin, how come your cooking skills are so good? I heard from Zhao Liu and others that you are going to open a shop in Beijing? If the shop is open, you must let me know, and I will ask my brothers to go and support you."
Lin Dan scooped a spoonful of soup for the handsome man, picked up a beef bone stick, and said modestly, "My cooking skills are not good at all, General, thank you for your praise. If you come to the capital in the future, just come to my place..."
Without waiting for Lin Dan to finish his words, the man said in a deep voice: "It's okay to support you, but you still have to pay for the meal. It's not easy for Manager Lin to run a store." After he finished speaking, he glanced coldly at the bearded man. The bearded man shuddered unconsciously and said that he would definitely pay the money, not a penny less.
Lin Dan saw the exchange of glances between the two and knew that the man's identity must be no simple matter, but she did not ask any further questions. When you are out there, you should avoid talking too much, seeing too much, and doing too much, as this will easily lead to trouble. Anyway, they will have no more contact after entering Beijing, so there is really no need to investigate.
After everyone finished their meal, Lin Dan took them to find his carriage and seized the bandits' stolen goods. The handsome man didn't know how she found out where the stolen goods were hidden, but he was more impressed by her intelligence.
When the bearded man helped Lin Dan sort out the goods, he checked them carefully to make sure that she really did not have any extra wine. Only then did he return to the camp reluctantly. That night, he took the jar of Thousand Days Wine to the capital to find his immediate superior, Marquis Weiyuan. When it comes to being addicted to alcohol, the bearded man is far inferior to this marquis. The other party and the Marquis of Yongding, one guards the southeast and the other guards the northwest. They are both top-notch powerful figures in the Great Chu State. With a word from him, they can soar to the sky in no time.
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