Xia Shuo swagger

Chapter 55 Huaijiang's Highest Courtesy

As time entered September, the air in Huaijiang gradually became hotter.

The glaring sunlight fell on the street, Xia Zhaoyao couldn't help but narrow his eyes slightly.

Compared with the "magic city" that has become popular in recent years, Huaijiang used to have a more famous label.

"Phew...it's so hot——"

Xia Zhao slapped his little hands, creating an insignificant breeze.

"As expected, it is one of the four largest furnaces in the country. I would believe even if you said that this is the Flame Mountain."

"Fire Mountain is in TLF, it's an open-air oven over there—"

Qin Shuo replied casually, he bought two bottles of iced Coke from a small supermarket on the street, and handed one of them to Xia Zhaoyao.

"Here in Huaijiang can be regarded as a sauna, and now it is considered an intermission, July, August, and the autumn tiger at the end of September."

"At that time, the temperature is high, you can fry eggs on the ground, and you can even see waves in the air—"

"Oh... hicc—"

Xia Zhaoyao unscrewed the bottle cap and took a big gulp.

With the bubbles and sugar of the ice cola down her throat.

She felt as if the pores all over her body had hiccupped, and her whole body became much refreshed.

"To be honest, I really don't understand. Why do you still choose hot pot on such a hot day?"

As a native of Yancheng, Xia Zhaoyao sometimes has a hard time understanding the brain circuits of Huaijiang people.

Even in such a hot weather, I still have to go to the butter hot pot with red molten liquid.

Even if the air conditioner in the hot pot restaurant is sufficiently cooled, it is still a very magical thing, right? !

"Huaijiang is a mountain city, and the two rivers are surrounded by steep mountains—"

Qin Shuo casually explained while looking at the navigation on the phone.

"In ancient times, this place used to be an important dock hub, and it goes back a little further."

"It's a land of southern barbarians. I learned the text in high school, but it's hard to get to the sky."

Xia Zhaoyao shrugged and replied, her Chinese is not bad.

"Yes. Oh, here it is."

Qin Shuo looked around, and finally stopped in front of an unattractive small shop.

"In ancient times, Huaijiang was full of mosquitoes and miasma, and it was very hot and humid. People ate chili peppers to dispel moisture and sweat to escape the heat."

"This is the earliest origin of Huaijiang hot pot, and in this branch, there is a category called old hot pot."

He pointed to the name of the store in front of him, and Xia Zhaoyao looked up.

Above the shabby-looking hand-pulled sliding door, the name of the store is written on the simple light sign:

Niushan old hot pot.

"Old hot pot? The one from a century-old shop?"

"No, Huaijiang's old hot pot is a kind of cooking method."

Qin Shuo pushed open the door and walked into the shop, and by the way, popularized knowledge for Xia Zhaoyao.

"The old hot pot uses repeatedly boiled old oil, a pot of butter is boiled repeatedly, and finally cooked."

"Uh--"

Xia Zhaoyao was stunned for a moment, and quickly grasped the key point.

"You mean the bottom of the pot here, reused? We eat what others have eaten?"

"If you understand it that way, that's right."

Qin Shuo shrugged his shoulders noncommittally, and turned to look at Xia Zhaoyao who had a resisting expression.

"However, the most authentic hot pot in Huaijiang is the old hot pot. This is the request of Xiao Zhang's counselor."

"If you feel that you have lumps in your heart, you don't have to eat the red soup tonight."

"Needless to say, I won't touch—"

Xia Zhaoyao put down his phone and replied without hesitation.

She searched the Internet just now, and the oil in the old hot pot was filtered and solidified.

"Well, it's up to you—"

Qin Shuo ignored the resistance on Xia Zhaoyao's face and shouted towards the empty shop hall.

"Is the boss there, can I still eat now? There are two of us here."

"I'm coming--"

A voice came from the dark inner hall.

An uncle in an apron lifted the curtain and came out, wiping his hands on the apron.

"Two? You sit by the door, we don't turn on the lights during the day—"

"...is it really reliable here?"

Looking at the dark environment of the small shop, Xia Zhaoyao asked in a low voice.

Although the class dinner is decided by the class committee, the environment and the store look really worrying.

The fly restaurant is not so good, after all, the ground, tables and chairs are still clean, but...

"Of course, this is the authentic Huaijiang old hot pot restaurant hand-picked by counselor Xiao Zhang."

Hand-picked Huaijiang old shop?

Xia swaggered and looked around at the tables and chairs.

Most of them are old decorations that have been worn a little "moist".

There was a strange aroma in the air, unlike the hot one she had smelled before.

Old is always old, but no matter how you look at it, it has nothing to do with deliciousness or treasure.

You must know that there are many people queuing up at the door for Zhuguangyu Hot Pot on Xi Street even at noon.

At first glance, it is different from here. Compared with some hidden treasure shop, this place is more like a small broken shop that no one cares about.

"That's right, what are you two eating—"

Before Xia Zhaoyao could complain, the boss's bold and loud voice came from the table.

Maybe hearing Xia Zhaoyao's Mandarin when communicating with Qin Shuo, his eyes stayed on her more.

Well, Xia Zhaoyao has encountered this kind of gaze a lot recently.

The next sentence is usually...

"Sister, is it spicy? Our old hot pot is a bit spicy."

Sure enough, the standard Huaijiang-style polite opening, as if only here in the world can eat spicy food.

Xia Zhaoyao raised his eyebrows, turned his head to look at Qin Shuo, and replied provocatively.

"Don't be afraid, the most authentic taste, boss, just go for it—"

Anyway, she made up her mind not to touch a chopstick today.

At this time, Qin Shuo must be given strength.

"...Don't listen to her, she can't eat anything spicy."

However, before the boss agreed, Qin Shuo vetoed it with one vote without hesitation.

He took out his phone and looked at it, then turned to look at the boss and continued.

"Our class wants to have a school dinner here tonight. There are about 55 people. Do you have a seat here?"

"The time is 06:30 in the afternoon? The counselor asked me to come and book a table, try the dishes by the way, and order in advance for each table."

"Oh - Suo, a freshman from Huaijiang University. There is a place."

The boss nodded in understanding, looked around the store, and pondered for a few seconds.

"Sixty, it may have to be squeezed, the big table counts as eight, and the small table has three or four..."

"I'll leave you four big tables and seven small tables, which should be enough—you can reserve the room directly on the second floor."

As he spoke, he pointed to the place on the left hand side outside the shop.

Xia Zhaoyao looked along the boss' fingers, only then did he see a small alleyway next to him.

There is a light sign above the alleyway, and the five characters of "Niushan Old Hot Pot" are shining brightly there.

Uh-these two sides look almost like two families.

After that, Qin Shuo and his boss started talking at high speed in Huaijiang dialect.

The two quickly agreed on the time, the number of people to dine, and basic drinks.

However, when it comes to discounts and dining standards, the two have disagreements.

"Hey, let's not talk about money—"

The boss waved his hand and interrupted Qin Shuo's words.

Xia Zhaoyao, who was in a daze beside him, pricked up his ears and looked curiously at the two people whose negotiations had stalled.

The communication of Huaijiang people is like this, sometimes they will suddenly throw some straight balls.

For example, Zhao Huanxi's earlier question was quite direct and fatal.

"Whether it's delicious or not, you eat it first—then talk about the discount. Huaijiang boy, don't follow other people's haggling."

The boss took out a rag from nowhere and wiped it quickly on the table where Xia Zhaoyao and Qin Shuo were.

Immediately afterwards, without any explanation, he stuffed the menu and pen into Xia Zhaoyao's hands, and turned to look at Qin Shuo.

"Where's the bottom of the pot? Slightly spicy, medium spicy, extra spicy—which one?"

"Um……"

Qin Shuo thought for a few seconds, then suddenly sighed.

"Mandarin ducks. Half of the old oil, half... Sanxian soup."

The boss was stunned for half a second.

Well, ordering Yuanyang pot in an old hot pot restaurant seems a little...

He glanced across Xia Zhaoyao's face, and made a meaningful voice.

"Oh--"

"You are asking for the highest treatment—"

"No problem."

(End of this chapter)