Lin Dan is a taciturn person, but she works very seriously. No matter how dirty or tiring the work the old woman's daughter-in-law assigns to her, she can finish it silently without cutting corners. Over time, the daughter-in-law became relieved and no longer kept an eye on her all the time. The old woman would take advantage of the time when the daughter-in-law ran out to be lazy and slack off to teach her how to make the most tender and refreshing tofu and how to make the most delicious and fragrant tofu balls.
Three months later, Lin Dan learned how to cook this dish, said goodbye to the reluctant old woman, and left the town with Qi. From then on, she traveled around to learn from masters. If others were unwilling to teach, she would work in that person's shop or home, trying to impress the other person with her sincerity. If the other person was still unwilling, she would not complain but would just leave quietly.
She tasted delicacies from all over the Great Chu State, met all kinds of people, and experienced different life experiences. This trip lasted for ten years.
Ten years later, in the early spring, a convoy came along a mountain path, guarded by strong bodyguards in the front and back. It seemed that a wealthy family was migrating. When the convoy reached the fork in the road, it slowly stopped. A middle-aged man with a big belly jumped out of the most luxurious car, ran to the last carriage with small steps, and asked in a low voice: "Manager Lin, are you feeling better?"
"Ahem..." A hoarse voice came from the carriage: "Much better. Thank you, Boss Shen, for your care along the way. I hope to see you again in the future."
"That's good. I have some tonic medicine here. You can take it." Boss Shen quickly asked the servant to present the gift box that he had prepared for a long time. At the end, he said with a smug look, "We will definitely meet again. If you open a store in Beijing, I will come to patronize you from afar. Since you are sick, I can't enjoy anything I eat."
Judging from the voice, the shopkeeper Lin in the carriage should be a woman, and Boss Shen's last sentence seemed to be a teasing one, but people inside and outside the carriage did not realize that there was anything wrong and they all laughed in unison.
Seeing this scene, a sturdy man guarding the convoy showed a mocking expression. He nudged his companion's waist with his elbow and mouthed silently: Look, they can hook up by just sharing a ride. Women shouldn't show their faces in public.
His companion nodded silently with a teasing look on his face, and then looked at the leader, only to find that he was still sitting on his horse, staring at each fork in the road with his narrow and long eyes vigilantly, without any slackness at all. The two of them were startled and then calmed down.
Shopkeeper Lin seemed to be worried that he might pass his illness on to others, so he only opened the curtain a little, stretched out his hands to receive the gift box, and finally instructed: "Xiao Zhu, give the gift I prepared to Boss Shen. Thanks to Boss Shen's care these days, otherwise we would not be able to reach the capital."
A boy of about fifteen or sixteen immediately jumped down from a carriage in front, holding a jar of wine in his arms. Seeing the wine jar, Boss Shen's already rosy face seemed to glow. Although he kept saying politely, he couldn't wait to reach out his hands. His delicate eyes were almost smiling. "Oh, Manager Lin, you are so polite. It's just a small favor!" As he spoke, he sniffed the mouth of the jar hard, revealing an intoxicated expression.
"It's just a piece of cake for you, but it's a great favor to us. It's getting late, Mr. Shen, you should leave quickly. We'll say goodbye now. If we meet in Beijing in the future, I will definitely treat you to a meal." Shopkeeper Lin said sincerely.
Boss Shen smiled even more and repeated, "Manager Lin, to prevent you from forgetting things, I will record this meal in the account book and will definitely come to Beijing to collect the debt later."
"I won't forget it. Goodbye." Shopkeeper Lin laughed softly.
After the two men said goodbye, the long convoy split into two. The first ten carriages took the fork in the road to Jiaozhou, and the last five went straight ahead, heading for the capital. The bodyguards protecting the motorcade also split into two groups. One group continued to follow Boss Shen, while the other three strong men followed behind Manager Lin's motorcade and rode slowly.
Shopkeeper Lin seemed to have seen the three people through the carriage curtain, so he sent a servant to greet them.
The boy looked a little timid, but he still mustered up the courage to ask, "Three brothers, are you going to the capital?"
One of them said with a half-smile: "So what?"
"If so, our shopkeeper wants to hire you as escorts. As long as you can get us to the capital safely, the shopkeeper will give each of you ten taels of silver, and also provide meals and drinks along the way. How is that?"
"Not good." The sturdy man had a smile on his face, but the words he said were enough to choke people to death. His companion snorted lightly, as if he looked down upon the ten taels of silver.
The servant was so angry that his face turned red, but he still patiently emphasized: "Three brothers, please reconsider it. We are providing food and drinks. Our food and drinks are really good, you won't lose out."
"I don't even care about ten taels of silver, so how can I be interested in your food? Get out of here, don't delay our journey!" The sturdy man became a little impatient and seemed to be whipping the whip at his waist.
The man in the lead was the tallest and had the most terrifying aura. He had dark skin and a handsome face. A scar almost brushed his forehead and sank into his hair, making him look even more vicious. As if he thought his subordinates were too ostentatious, he glanced at them coldly. The two strong men immediately restrained their expressions and explained, "We are in a hurry and will take a shortcut back to Beijing. We can't go with you."
To take a shortcut, you have to go up the mountain. The mountain road is rugged and narrow. Only horses can pass through, but vehicles cannot. After hearing this, the servant hurriedly bowed and said goodbye. Before leaving, he quickly glanced at the man in the lead and his heart skipped a beat again. I saw a man riding on a tall horse, with a pair of narrow and long eyes that were cold and sharp, and a muscular body wrapped in a black suit. He was obviously a martial artist.
This guy is so violent, could he be a bandit? Thinking of this, the servant ran even faster.
Manager Lin's carriage was very close to the group, so he naturally heard what was said and did not ask any more questions. The group traveled quietly on their journey, and when it was already noon, they stopped at an open space by the water to rest. Two little girls carried clay pots to the river to fetch water, and three servants brought stones to build a stove, preparing to make a fire and cook.
The mountain roads were lined with pink wild roses, and the fragrance of the flowers was moistened by the drizzle, making it very pleasant. Shopkeeper Lin lifted the curtain to admire the beautiful scenery, drank a bowl of tangerine peel and ginger water, and then slowly climbed out of the car, saying, "I've been in the car for so long that my bones are tired. I need to get out and move around. I'll make lunch today, and you go and move my kitchen utensils down."
"Oh, that's great, Sister Lin is cooking today!" The two little girls shouted happily, and several servants also showed overjoyed expressions.
The three strong men followed the convoy all the way, and the shopkeeper Lin was sick all the way. Today was the first time they met, and he couldn't help but look at them. She was about twenty years old, with a bun on her head, tall and pretty. However, her skin was not fair, but a light wheat color, which was completely inconsistent with the current aesthetic. But there is a heroic spirit between her eyebrows, which makes people feel comfortable when looking at her.
It turns out that this is the shopkeeper Lin, who Boss Shen always courtesies. She is completely different from the beauty or stunning lady that one might have imagined. The two strong men were very disappointed, but their leader stared at each other for a long time.
Shopkeeper Lin, also known as Lin Dan, immediately noticed the man's strange gaze and turned to look at him. Their eyes met, one looked enlightened, the other was quite confused.
"Excuse me, big brother, have we met before?" Lin Dan asked with a bow, very gracefully.
The man hesitated for a moment and then said in a deep voice, "No."
Lin Dan looked at him carefully, and after confirming that he had never seen him before, he stopped paying attention to him. The other person was so handsome and had such a terrifying aura that if she had seen him once, she would definitely never forget him.
After Lin Dan walked away, one of the sturdy men lowered his voice and asked, "Boss, do you know this Shopkeeper Lin?"
The man did not answer, but silently took out his dry food and water bag and swallowed them with difficulty. Another strong man tore off a piece of dry and hard steamed bread and stuffed it into his companion's mouth, scolding him, "Eat your food and stop asking questions."
The sloppy man spat out the hard bun, made a "Puh" sound, and complained, "Damn, how many days has this bun been left? It's harder than a rock! I'm eating this stuff every day, and my mouth is dry!"
"Be patient, when we reach the next intersection we will take a shortcut back to the capital, then have a feast and a good sleep at home." The companion showed a look of longing.
"How far is the next intersection?"
"It's not far. We'll probably be there tomorrow morning."
"Damn it, we won't arrive until tomorrow morning and you still say it's not far? I wish I could grow wings and fly back!"
The two men were talking while chewing steamed buns, but the leading man remained silent. He just looked up at Shopkeeper Lin from time to time, as if he cared about her a little.
Lin Dan was busy preparing lunch and was completely unaware of the man's attention. She took out a few pieces of bacon with even fat and lean meat and roasted them over the fire. When the skin of the meat was oily and the pig hair that had not been scraped off was licked off by the flames, she put it into the river to rinse it and scraped off the black stains with a knife.
Following her instructions, the two little girls ran into the woods to dig up some wild onions and bamboo shoots for later use, while several servants built a fire to cook.
Lin Dan cut the washed bacon into slices, put it into the pan and stir-fried it. When enough fat was released, he threw in a few light red balls made of unknown ingredients and gently crushed them with a spatula. An indescribable sour smell mixed with the rich aroma of bacon filled the air, causing the three men to crane their necks to look.
"Damn, what's that smell? It's a bit sour and a bit smelly." Although the sloppy strong man said with disgust, his saliva was already flowing.
"I don't know either. I've never seen it." His companion stood on tiptoe, staring at the big pot that Lin Dan was stirring constantly.
Several light pink dumplings had been completely crushed by Lin Dan, turning them into fine powder and mixed with bacon slices. The dish did not really look good, but the aroma was extremely strong and a bit pungent, but somehow it made people salivate. This is probably what is meant by a strange fragrance mixed with a stench.
The handsome man who had been silent all this time finally spoke, "That's pickled bean curd dregs, a specialty of Anqing Prefecture. When the weather is fine, crush the tofu dregs, put them in a jar, add some salt, pepper and other things to store. If you think the taste is not strong enough, you can also use pig bones to make a thick bone soup, add the bean curd dregs, seal it with lotus leaves, and wait for it to ferment slowly. After fermentation is complete, knead it into a ball and dry it in the sun, and it will become pickled bean curd dregs that are easy to carry. The taste is very rich in sour, spicy, salty and numbness, and the aroma of meat is mixed with the aroma of beans. The taste is very unique."
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