Fatty Wang found it strange. "What's wrong? What are you doing at the Marquis's residence so early in the morning?"
Wang Yan patted the two small wine jars in her hands, each about the size of a palm. "Dad! Look, this half-jar is Meishou wine, and this half-jar is Hezhi wine."
"You went to Baifanlou? Why did you buy so much? These two small jars must weigh twenty or thirty taels, right?"
Wang Yan laughed and said, "We didn't pay for this wine."
After saying that, he pulled Fatty Wang aside and whispered about the stack of silver notes Shen Jiamu had given him, as well as their trip to Baifanlou for the New Year.
"So, this was a pampered young master who paid for everyone's drinks? And you took the opportunity to order all this?"
"Mmm!"
"Haha, okay, good. Our main kitchen has also stocked up on these wines, but for banquets, the daily quantity and expenditure for purchasing are strictly controlled."
Your Uncle Lu and I love this kind of drink. All this you brought is enough for the two of us to have a good time tonight.
Upon hearing this, Wang Yan immediately made a move to snatch the small jar, saying, "What are you doing? You're supposed to be keeping an eye on the kitchen. What if you get drunk and get punished by Steward Rong?"
Fatty Wang was just teasing her; he nimbly raised his hand and spun the two wine jars tied together behind him.
"Alright, alright, Dad won't tease you anymore. At most, you and your Uncle Lu will each have one drink a day, okay?"
Wang Yan then stopped, saying, "This is better."
Fatty Wang glanced at Wang Ying again. Aunt Wang was too busy catching up with Aunt Cui to talk to them. Wang Ying boasted about how nice the restaurant they were staying at was.
"Father, you have no idea that the restaurants we've stayed in these past few days are better than the ones we stayed in on the way back."
The floor of the house was covered with brocade carpets. Room number one was divided into three rooms, with a small reception room outside containing a table and a dressing mirror made of huanghuali wood.
Fatty Wang looked at his daughter and laughed, "If you like rosewood tables, I'll have your mother make one for you too."
The family exchanged pleasantries for a while before leaving. It wasn't that Aunt Wang and the others didn't have time; it was just that Fatty Wang had to rush back to the kitchen to do his work.
Aunt Cui and Aunt Wang chatted for so long that they sat together and talked for a while longer. They stayed a little longer.
Just as we finished chatting and were about to leave, a servant boy returned from the main kitchen.
"As expected, Auntie is here. This is a pine nut and goose fat roll that Chef Lu asked me to bring to you."
Wang Yan reached out and took the pastry box. The pine nut and goose fat rolls were made by roasting and crushing pine nuts, then mixing them with a portion of dough and dividing it into two balls.
Roll out a sheet of dough, sprinkle a layer of salt on the surface, brush on a layer of goose fat, sprinkle with crushed pine nuts, and cut into noodle shape.
Roll out the other half of the dough into a sheet, wrap the cut "noodles" into long strips, cut them into sections, garnish with a few pine nuts, and steam them in a steamer for a while.
The rolls are fluffy and translucent, with the oil from the pine nuts soaking into the goose fat. Taking a bite, the texture of the crushed pine nuts combined with the fluffy texture of the leavened dough makes for an absolutely delicious experience.
This pastry should have been made by Aunt Su. Uncle Lu must have packed a box of it from her and given it to her.
There were 12 in the box, and the group did not hire a horse-drawn carriage to return home.
We ate as we walked, and by the time we reached the main entrance of Baifanlou, everyone had finished all 12 goose fat rolls.
As soon as they entered, they were greeted by the waiter.
Moreover, the manager of their banquet hall also came over, wearing a simple and honest face. After seeing them, he rubbed his hands awkwardly.
"Madam, you see, I am truly sorry. I shouldn't have said such a thing, but the person who came is a well-known young master in our capital."
After saying that, the building manager clasped his hands and bowed, "Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, and they've booked accommodation for the next month."
There are requirements: the house must be vacated and cleaned with incense one day in advance, and no one is allowed to live there.
We'd all already received deposits, and only then did we hear about their demands; there was really nothing we could do.
Wang Yan was displeased upon hearing this. "We haven't even left yet, how could you have sold the room?"
The building manager bowed slightly and said, "No, no, I didn't mean to ask Madam and the two young ladies to leave."
I also made it clear to that young master that he was willing to wait a day.
I just wanted to inform Madam and Miss in advance that we cannot extend our stay tomorrow.
Oh, I see! Well then, that's fine, since they didn't mention wanting to extend the room in advance anyway.
So what if it's sold? You can't just let people sell their rooms!
But the building manager is a very particular person, because the female delivery girl who brought the face wash said that they wanted to stay for a month.
But isn't this behavior like secretly kicking the guests out?
They genuinely felt apologetic, but every year around the Lunar New Year, the rooms at Baifanlou Restaurant are sold out, and now even rooms above the "Di" grade are unavailable.
"It was my fault for failing to remind you. I heard from our shop's staff that Madam wants to stay at a restaurant for the New Year?"
Aunt Wang: "Yes, what's wrong?"
"Madam, look, this is a note I wrote myself. Renhelou is just three streets away from us, and their accommodations are also top-notch."
If you intend to stay at his house, take this invitation with you; they might be able to give your wife a slight discount.
Wang Yan was a little touched; their service was just too good!
Even in modern times, if you don't book a room in advance, shouldn't it still be sold?
They even came over to apologize and helped me find a place to stay! Their service was really excellent.
What impressed Wang Yan even more was what came next: "Have you all had lunch yet?"
"I've already used it."
"Tonight, our Baifanlou restaurant will provide a complimentary meal for you, Madam. If you do not mind, we hope you will come and join us."
Aunt Wang nodded, and the other person politely withdrew.
Their home is right here, so they didn't bring a lot of luggage like other people.
It's also very convenient to go to Renhelou Restaurant, which is located on Xilou Street, only three streets away.
Wang Yan and her friends were eating soft goose fat rolls and were quite full, so they decided to take a stroll over there and see what the restaurant was like.
The three returned to their room, drank two cups of tea, tidied up, and went out to explore, play, and look for new accommodations.
As the Lunar New Year approaches, the streets are bustling with activity, featuring acrobatics, shadow plays, fortune telling, haircuts, paper paintings and songs, storytelling, silk flower sales, secondhand clothing sales, and countless other performances.
The three of them felt they hadn't done much sightseeing before arriving at Renhelou Restaurant. They went inside and told the waiter they wanted to see their guest rooms.
The waiter tossed a white towel in his hand and said, "Please come in, distinguished guests!"
Upon reaching the second-floor viewing platform, there was another "receptionist" who explained that the top-tier rooms in Renhe Building were sold out, but the lower-tier rooms were still available.
They led them to room number 1, which was a suite with two bedrooms and a reception room.
You can apply to upgrade the double bed in a room to a standard double bed, but the bed you get will be the same one used in a three-star room.
Aunt Wang had no objection to this; as long as it could accommodate three people, it would be fine.
There was also a round, auspicious-shaped table and a carved mahogany cabinet in the room, and a rug was laid on the floor. That's enough, that's enough.
When asked about the price per day, the waiter initially quoted six taels of silver. However, upon hearing about a post from the manager of Baifanlou or Yanbinlou, he changed his mind and quoted four taels of silver per day.
Aunt Wang was overjoyed, "Great! That'll save two taels of silver a day!"
"It's settled then. We'll book for ten days first. We'll move in tomorrow night."
"Alright, this way please, sir!"
……………………………………………………
After paying for the room, the group went shopping, but as they walked, they parted ways.
Grandma Wang sat down in front of the shadow puppet show stall, and not only that, she also bought three packs of shadow puppet snacks (similar to modern-day shadow puppet beef), eating them while watching.
Wang Ying went to a cosmetics shop to try out their new Frost Flower White Leaf cosmetic.
Mix apricot blossoms, plum blossoms, honey, white sugar, and milk into a paste. Apply it to your face twice a day, morning and evening, for 15 minutes, then wash it off. This will moisturize and whiten your skin.
Wang Ying was completely fooled by the shopkeeper of the rouge shop and in the end did not buy their Frost Flower White Leaf.
The texture was extremely uncomfortable when applied, but Wang Ying was also unable to leave.
"Little sister, try this. It's floral dew from Jiangnan. It smells wonderful and also moisturizes the skin."
This seems to be made from orange leaves; it has a faint orange scent, and it feels very comfortable on the skin when applied. It costs five qian (approximately 15 grams) per bottle.
Wang Ying was unable to escape and spent five qian of silver to buy a bottle of orange blossom dew before returning home.
However, she didn't go to find Wang Yan; instead, she went to see a shadow puppet show with Aunt Wang.
Wang Yan started listening to storytelling there again; Wang Ying had heard almost all of those stories over the past year.
On the contrary, Wang Yan had just left the manor and had never heard the storyteller tell many of the stories before. Every time she heard one, she couldn't tear herself away.
The story I heard this time was "The Story of the Three Pagodas of West Lake," which is completely different from the Legend of the White Snake, but no, it's not quite the same either; it's somewhat similar.
The story is about a man who rescued a woman named Bai Maonu who was lost by West Lake, and then took her home.
This Bai Maonu family has an old woman and a mother.
The young man was allowed to stay with his mother, the woman in white, for half a month. As he stayed, he began to feel uneasy. Why was his home so eerie? He wanted to go home.
Then the woman in white revealed her true form and tried to kill the young man to take his heart and liver.
Fortunately, Bai Maonu blocked the way, and the young man didn't die. He scrambled out and bumped into a Taoist priest on the street. The priest followed him to a house.
Well, it turns out there are three monsters: a white snake (the White-Clad Lady), a pheasant (Bai Mao Nu), and the old woman is an otter.
Then the Taoist priest cast a spell and transformed into three towers, which suppressed the three monsters under West Lake.
This story is somewhat similar to the Legend of the White Snake, so Wang Yan wanted to hear the whole thing.
When she first came to listen, the story was already at its end, so she stood there to listen to it a second time.
After a while, Aunt Wang and Wang Ying, having finished watching a shadow puppet show, also came to find her.
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