There was suddenly a commotion in the restaurant.
Cheng Yaoyao was startled: "What's wrong?"
Other diners also craned their necks to look up, asking each other what happened. Xie Zhao held Cheng Yaoyao's hand and said, "Don't be afraid."
After a while, I heard a commotion from the table across the street, and they were shouting, "Add more bowls and chopsticks! More dishes!"
The diners finally breathed a sigh of relief, and someone cursed in a low voice: "A bunch of hooligans!"
The restaurant was already bustling, and the sound of people clapping and drinking almost blew the roof off. Cheng Yaoyao wrinkled his nose, and Xie Zhao said, "Do you want to change places?"
Xie Zhao specially brought him to this restaurant. Cheng Yaoyao didn't want to disappoint him, so he smiled and shook his head: "It doesn't matter, it's not too noisy with the screen between us. The food here is very rare."
Xie Zhao glanced at the screen imperceptibly and said nothing more.
The big crabs were served quickly: a small bamboo steamer was placed on a lotus leaf, holding two hot orange-red big crabs, sprinkled with basil leaves, and the fresh aroma of the big crabs filled my nose. There was also a dish of ginger vinegar and a pot of boiled osmanthus wine.
The lady who delivered the crabs asked, "Do you want to open it?"
Cheng Yaoyao smiled and nodded: "Thank you for the trouble."
The aunt washed her hands, picked up a crab and cracked it open, revealing the crab's shell and legs. She removed the crab and legs with a few clicks and began to peel the meat.
Facing Xie Zhao's puzzled look, Cheng Yaoyao smiled and explained, "You don't know how to peel crabs, but these sisters are very skilled at it."
This is an extra service in the old Suzhou restaurants, and it can be considered a performance. These professional crab shredders only take a few minutes to shred a crab, and the shells are clean and not a bit of crab meat is wasted.
The lady was holding the boiling crabs without changing her expression. Her speed and skill in removing the crab roe were dazzling. The two big, plump crabs were quickly turned into a pile of crab roe and crab meat, which filled the crab shells.
After the aunt finished packing the crabs, she turned around and went to greet the next table.
Cheng Yaoyao waved his hand in front of Xie Zhao's eyes and asked jokingly, "What are you looking at?"
Xie Zhaozan said: "Every profession has its own specialization."
"Not bad. I haven't fallen behind in my studies recently." Cheng Yaoyao scooped some ginger vinegar on the crab meat with a spoon and pushed it to Xie Zhao: "Try it quickly."
The hot crab meat and crab roe were mixed together and put into the mouth. The ginger vinegar was the finishing touch, completely eliminating the fishy smell of the crab, leaving only the delicious and plump crab in the mouth. There are very few river fish in Tianshui Village, and it was the first time for Xie Zhao to eat such a plump crab.
Crabs are cold in nature, so Cheng Yaoyao gave Xie Zhao half a crab meat and ate it slowly with osmanthus wine. However, Xie Zhao finished it very quickly and drank half a bottle of wine.
Cheng Yaoyao knew that he liked it, and said happily: "The big crabs are fat now, we can eat them until the end of the year!"
Xie Zhao's smile faded a little when he heard this, and he said, "I can't stay that long."
Cheng Yaoyao's face fell, but he changed his mind and said, "It's okay, I'll make a few more bottles of butter for you to eat."
Xie Zhao sighed: "If you insist on doing it, you are not allowed to disassemble the crab yourself."
Xie Zhao said this, and pointed to the back of the lady at the next table who was picking crabs. Cheng Yaoyao understood immediately and nodded happily: "You are so smart!"
Cheng Yaoyao was very upset. Why didn't she think of this earlier? These aunties were first-rate in their speed and skills in picking crab meat. They could easily pick up hundreds of kilograms of crabs, not to mention a few dozen kilograms! The production of butter could increase by leaps and bounds!
Seeing Cheng Yaoyao's cheerful expression, Xie Zhao warned him helplessly: "You are not allowed to go to the black market. If you don't listen..."
This pause was meaningful. Cheng Yaoyao shuddered. Xie Zhao rarely said threatening words, but he would definitely do what he said.
Thinking of Xie Zhao's method, Cheng Yaoyao's enthusiasm for Bald Butter suddenly dropped a lot, but the temperature of his cheeks remained high, so he quickly picked up the wine and took a sip. The osmanthus wine was sweet and light in the mouth, but it warmed his body.
The remaining dishes were also served: snow crab stew, pork lung soup, honey-glazed hot pot, and two bowls of hot white rice.
The snow crab stew was served in a crab shell, covered with egg white and starch sauce, and underneath was full of crab meat. The crab meat was carefully cooked with pork fat, yellow wine chicken soup, etc., and it tasted different from the steamed big crab. Spread the crab meat and starch sauce on hot rice and eat it together. It was so delicious that you wanted to swallow your tongue.
The honey-glazed ham is made by cutting the ham into thick slices with skin and fat, adding rock sugar and steaming it. It has both salty and sweet tastes, and the unique flavor of ham. It has been highly praised by gourmets such as Yuan Mei and Liang Shiqiu.
Xie Zhao was obviously quite fond of these two dishes, but he did not touch the bowl of ugly soup.
Fatty white fish liver floated in the milky boiling soup. Cheng Yaoyao personally scooped a bowl and placed it in front of Xie Zhao, saying with a smile: "This is the real good stuff."
Cheng Yaoyao was very particular about food, clothing, housing and transportation, so Xie Zhao naturally believed in her taste, but looking at the bowl of soup in front of him, he couldn't figure out what it was. But his sister wouldn't lie to him, so he scooped up the fish liver with a spoon and was about to eat it.
Cheng Yaoyao teased, "Slow down, slow down. It's true that you are chewing a peony like a cow. This fat lung soup should be drunk hot and the liver should be eaten cold."
Xie Zhao drank the soup and listened to Cheng Yaoyao's gentle and eloquent account of the origin of the fat lung soup: "The grouper is a species of fish unique to Taihu Lake. It appears every year when the osmanthus flowers bloom and disappears when the osmanthus flowers fade. You are lucky enough to have caught the last one."
Xie Zhao is a man of few words, but he is the best at making fun of Cheng Yaoyao: "Why is grouper soup called fat lung soup?"
Cheng Yaoyao laughed and said, "Once a great man made a slip of the tongue while drinking grouper fish soup. He heard the word 'grouper liver' as 'grouper lung'. Later, it became 'fat lung soup' as a rumor."
"Ah?" Cheng Yaoyao's eyes flashed, but before he could answer, several people suddenly walked in from behind the screen, smelling of drunkenness.
These people looked like hooligans. The diners at the next tables were all quiet.
Xie Zhao looked at these people coldly and called out, "Brother Dong."
The faces of these people were red from drinking, and the unpleasant smell of alcohol could be smelled when approached. The leader, a man with a flat head, smiled and said, "Xie brother, you are eating here! Let's go to our table and have some fun together."
Xie Zhao said: "Thank you for your kindness, Brother Dong. I have a friend."
Cheng Yaoyao sat in the back seat, and Xie Zhao blocked her without leaving any trace. But Brother Dong stretched his neck to look, his eyes suddenly brightened, and he said with his tongue sticking out: "This... this is your friend? Is he the one?"
Several people nearby also laughed.
Cheng Yaoyao's face turned cold and he hid behind Xie Zhao. The way these people looked at him was not decent. Cheng Yaoyao had never seen Xie Zhao make friends like this before, and he couldn't help but feel suspicious.
Brother Dong met Cheng Yaoyao's gaze and immediately softened. He smiled at Cheng Yaoyao attentively: "Well, what's your name? Let's go to our table and eat together! You're welcome!"
Cheng Yaoyao glared at him. Xie Zhao stood up suddenly and said in a cold voice: "Brother Dong, it's not convenient."
Xie Zhao was much taller than them, and his aura was quite intimidating when he looked sullen. Huang Liu, who was standing next to them and hadn't drunk, smiled and tried to smooth things over: "Okay, Brother Xie has friends here, so let's not bother him and drink some other time!"
Brother Dong narrowed his eyes and looked at Xie Zhao for a while, but he didn't get angry in the end: "Okay. Let's drink and chat slowly some other time!"
Those people finally turned around and left. The tense atmosphere gradually dissipated, and the diners at the next tables began to chat quietly.
Xie Zhao sat down again and held Cheng Yaoyao's hand: "Don't be afraid."
"I'm not afraid." Cheng Yaoyao pursed his lips and said, "Who are those people? How do you know them?"
Xie Zhao said: "Just an acquaintance."
Cheng Yaoyao asked, "What acquaintance? The acquaintance who lent you the bicycle?"
Xie Zhao picked up a crab and put it into Cheng Yaoyao's bowl, saying, "Eat it while it's hot."
“……” Cheng Yaoyao picked up the crab meat and put it into his mouth.
Xie Zhao suddenly reached out and hooked her chin, like teasing a cat: "Those are not friends. I promise you that you will not associate with them in the future. Stop pouting."
Cheng Yaoyao was so scared that she looked around. Fortunately, no one noticed this place. She kicked him angrily, and finally a smile appeared on her face: "I don't care who you make friends with."
Xie Zhao hooked her feet and asked, "You really don't care?"
"Really... let go, someone will see it!" Cheng Yaoyao said in a low voice.
There was no tablecloth on the small square table, so it was clear what was going on under the table. Although the table for two people was at the edge, anyone who looked down would definitely see it.
Seeing that Cheng Yaoyao's ears were red, Xie Zhao let her go and coaxed her a few more words.
Cheng Yaoyao poked the crab in the bowl with his chopsticks and added worriedly, "Then you have to promise me that you won't have any dealings with these people anymore."
Xie Zhao said half-truthfully, "If you are so worried about me, why did you leave me alone at home?"
Cheng Yaoyao scratched his face with his fingers: "Why is Xie Zhao so clingy?"
She thought for a moment and added, "When I finish filming, I will go home and we will never be apart again."
Xie Zhao's eyes suddenly became hot, and Cheng Yaoyao felt embarrassed. He lowered his head and said, "The crab fight won't taste good if it's cold."
Suzhou cuisine is exquisite and the portions are moderate. They finished the three dishes and one soup very quickly, and Xie Zhao even ordered another bowl of rice. Cheng Yaoyao had a small appetite, so he held his chin up and watched Xie Zhao eat, while happily planning to buy silk and duck egg noodles later.
Just as we were talking about which old-fashioned duck egg noodles were the best, there was another commotion in the restaurant. This time it was different from before. There was a chaotic sound of footsteps coming from downstairs, accompanied by a shout: "The inspection team is arresting people, everyone, hold your heads and squat!"
There was the sound of tables being overturned and dishes breaking, and screams piercing my eardrums: "Someone jumped off the building!"
The scene suddenly became chaotic. Several tables of diners were so frightened that they ran out in a panic, but were frightened back by the chaotic scene outside.
A man crashed into the screen, smashing the delicate screen into pieces. He fell to the ground groaning in pain, with half of his face covered in blood.
"Xie Zhao..." Cheng Yaoyao called out in panic.
Xie Zhao hugged Cheng Yaoyao and stepped aside, watching the chaotic scene. The inspection team and the few people just now were chasing and fighting in the lobby, and the window was wide open, and no one knew who jumped out of the window and escaped.
The man rolling on the ground stretched out his hand to Xie Zhao: "Thank you... Brother Xie..."
It was Huang Liu. Everyone was fighting in a mess, and no one noticed him for the time being.
Xie Zhao frowned and went up to pick up Huang Liu. Huang Liu quickly stuffed something into Xie Zhao's pocket and whispered something in his ear. Xie Zhao pushed him and said, "Go!"
Huang Liushen limped out, but was knocked to the ground by an inspection team member, who grabbed his arm. Huang Liushen did not struggle at all, but turned around and looked at Xie Zhao deeply.
Cheng Yaoyao fearfully grabbed Xie Zhao's sleeve, which was stained with Huang Liu's blood. "Xie Zhao! What's going on with that group of people? What did he tell you?"
Xie Zhao then saw Cheng Yaoyao's pale face. He quickly blocked Cheng Yaoyao's sight, preventing her from seeing the fight: "Don't be afraid, nothing will happen."
Xie Zhao pulled Cheng Yaoyao to a corner with the group of diners and told her in a deep voice, "Sister, stay here and don't run around."
Cheng Yaoyao looked at him in surprise: "What about you?"
Xie Zhao said, "I'll meet you at the supply and marketing cooperative later."
Cheng Yaoyao felt something was wrong: "I'm scared!"
Xie Zhao looked at Cheng Yaoyao, then looked outside, hesitating.
That group of people were all caught and pinned to the ground with bruised faces and noses. At this moment, one of them said something unknown, and the inspection team turned to look at Xie Zhao.
Cheng Yaoyao's heart skipped a beat, he grabbed Xie Zhao's hand and turned around: "Let's go, let's go!"
"Stop right there!" the inspection team leader shouted.
Cheng Yaoyao clung to Xie Zhao's arm, shaking all over, almost crying. Xie Zhao patted her hand and whispered, "Don't look back, pretend you don't know me."
Cheng Yaoyao recalled Xie Zhao's experience in the original book and grabbed his clothes tightly: "No, don't go over there..."
Xie Zhao pulled his arm out firmly and turned to look at the man. Cheng Yaoyao had his back to him, listening to Xie Zhao's voice echoing behind him.
"What is it?"
The inspection team leader looked Xie Zhao up and down and said, "We need to search you."
Xie Zhao was very calm: "Why?"
The captain said, "Someone reported you for selling pornographic goods!"
Xie Zhao looked at a place not far away. Huang Liu was squatting on the ground with his neck shrunk. He looked up at Xie Zhao secretly. When he met Xie Zhao's gaze, he opened his mouth, but was kicked hard: "Be quiet!"
Xie Zhao remained calm: "I don't know what you are talking about."
The captain said calmly, "Don't you know? You'll know once we finish searching you. Search!"
Cheng Yaoyao turned his head suddenly. He saw Xie Zhao open his hands generously, and two inspection team members reached out to search him.
She held her breath.
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