Troubled times: Start practicing spiritual practice by taking care of your sister-in-law

Chapter 287 Hot Pot Scene

The snow this winter is not as heavy as last year, or Yuzhou does not belong to the north. The heavy snow did not sweep over. The ground was covered with a thin layer of snow, as if a pure girl was covered with a veil.

The air is cool and fresh, and one can't help but take a few deep breaths to feel the coldness and purity in it.

Since Chen Mo lives in the Yamen of Longmen County and has military camps stationed there, the security level of Longmen County is much higher than that of other counties in Yuzhou. This has caused the population of Longmen County to gradually increase and the supply of houses exceeds the demand. .

Construction has even started in the west of the city to build private houses for accommodation.

On the street, people were coming and going. The common people wore thick clothes, put their hands in their sleeves, and breathed. When they met someone they knew, they stood aside, hunched over and kowtow.

At this moment, a scent filled the air from not far away.

It was a spicy smell that they had never smelled before.

"It smells so good."

"It came from over there. When I came here just now, I found that a new restaurant had opened there."

"New restaurant? What's so delicious? Let's go and have a look."

The two of them left together.

In fact, this smell is not fragrant to Chen Mo, but for people in this world, they are not willing to let go of oil, and their food is relatively light, let alone spices, so this "heavy smell" is not good for them It's more sensitive.

"Fuze Hotpot? That's a weird name." Compared to the lower class people, the two people's family background is pretty good, they also have a lot of money, and they are literate. One of them looked at the plaque hanging on the restaurant and couldn't help but be startled.

Other restaurants are all so-and-so restaurants, but this Fuze hot pot can't help but feel a bit novel.

"Let's go in and have a look." said the companion.

The two entered the Fuze Hotpot. As soon as they stepped inside, they felt a wave of warm air blowing against their faces, dispelling the coldness on their bodies.

Fuze Hotpot has three floors. The hall on the first floor is already full of people. It is very lively and the spicy smell is tangy.

There was an open space in the middle. There was a screen placed on the open space. On the screen was a landscape painting. There was a table in front of the screen. There was a middle-aged man sitting behind the table, holding a folding fan in his hand.

The middle-aged man knocked on the table with a folding fan and shouted softly: "Speaking of which, Zhao Zilong went in and out seven times, riding alone to rescue Adou from the tens of thousands of troops..."

The people who were eating hot pot in the hall looked over and pricked up their ears.

The storyteller read Zhao Zilong, the storybook of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms written by Chen Mo, and put it in the restaurant for the storyteller to tell in order to attract customers and increase the restaurant's income.

This suggestion was made by Ning Wan.

When the two of them saw this scene, they immediately stopped and didn't want to go out.

"Welcome to Fuze Hotpot, are you two distinguished guests?"

At this moment, the waiter came over, bowed slightly and smiled.

"Yes, you two." The older man said.

"There are no seats on the first floor. There are still vacancies in the VIP hall on the second floor and the private rooms on the third floor. If you two want to go to the VIP hall, you can still go to the private rooms." The waiter said.

The older man looked at his companion, who asked the waiter: "What is the difference between this VIP room and a private room?"

"There is not much difference between the VIP room and the lobby on the first floor. The only difference is that the first floor is for storytelling, and the second floor is for singing and dancing. Of course, the price is more expensive than the first floor. The boxes on the third floor are private seats, which are more expensive than the second floor. ." The waiter explained patiently.

At this moment, another waiter shouted from the side: "Three distinguished guests on the second floor, please come."

As soon as the words fell, a young woman with a delicate face walked down from the second floor and greeted the three people who had just entered the store.

Whether it is Qingzhou or Yulin, there are more women than men, and there are especially many widows. It is difficult for widows without men to rely on, so Ning Yuan proposed to find these people to work here, which can also attract customers.

Of course, one must have a decent figure and face. The kind of bloated person can only work as a cook in the kitchen.

In an instant, everyone in the hall on the first floor looked towards the three people.

The three people felt the gazes coming from them and straightened their backs, as if they were proud of themselves.

The older man's companion was about to speak when the older man said directly: "We want a private room on the third floor."

The older man’s companion: “…”

"Okay." When the waiter heard this, his face turned red. If the distinguished guests in the third floor box finished their consumption, as the receptionist, he would also get a certain commission.

The waiter shouted: "Two distinguished guests in the private room on the third floor."

As soon as the words fell, all the waiters in the lobby on the first floor stopped what they were doing, looked at the older man and his companions, and said, "Two distinguished guests in the private room on the third floor."

After all the words were spoken, Mr. Storyteller folded his fan and slapped the table, and bowed his hands to the two of them: "Zhao Zilong from the Kingdom of Shu congratulates the two distinguished guests for a happy New Year and good luck."

In an instant, all the eyes of the audience were attracted.

A graceful woman walked down the stairs holding a pipa.

This is a young man whom Chen Mo "borrowed" from a high-end brothel. He is proficient in eighteen musical instruments.

After all, today is the opening of Fuze Hotpot's first restaurant, so it's natural to make the scene bigger.

When the two of them saw the graceful Qingguan, their eyes widened for a moment.

Not only them, but also everyone in the living room.

They never expected that the VIPs in the boxes on the third floor would be treated like this. If they had known, they would have chosen the third floor.

The waiter whispered to the older man: "Her name is Qing Wu. You can just call her Xiao Qing. She is a maid."

The waiter emphatically recited the words "Qing Guo Ren" to prevent the two of them from causing chaos.

"You two young masters, Qing Wu is very polite here." Qing Wu held the lute in her arms, bowed to the two of them, and then said, "I wonder what you call me?" After all, he had been trained, and his voice was like clear spring water.

Making the two of them a little embarrassed, the older man quickly said: "My name is Li Xian, and his name is Lin Qingsheng."

"Master Li, Master Lin." Qing Wu bowed again.

……

The three of them went to the private room on the third floor.

The box is decorated extremely elegantly.

"You two gentlemen, please take a seat." Qing Wu closed the box door and invited them to sit down.

The hot pot stove is a coal iron stove. In order to prevent the smell of coal from choking your nose, an iron pipe is connected to the outside of the private room. A wooden table is connected next to the iron stove.

Qing Wu put down her pipa, opened the box in the corner of the box, picked up a piece of briquettes with tongs, then opened the iron stove and put the briquettes in.

There are three briquettes in the iron furnace as a primer. This new one is put in and burns quickly.

Li Xian muttered to Lin Qingsheng next to him: "Isn't this because the Li family bought some time ago without briquettes?"

"It's a bit similar." Lin Qingsheng said.

Qing Wu heard the conversation between the two and said, "You two young masters, this is briquettes."

After that, Qing Wu took the mandarin duck pot from the table and put it on the iron stove. Then she picked up the iron kettle that was being heated from the brazier next to it and poured the hot water in the iron pot into the mandarin duck pot. .

As the two of them watched Qing Wu busy, they actually had the regretful thought of going to help.

Qing Wu said: "You two gentlemen, just sit down. Qing Wu is fine."

After pouring the hot water, Qing Wu followed the steps she had been trained before, brought the menu to the two of them and said, "What do you two young masters want to eat?"

"What's there?" Lin Qingsheng asked.

"Both." Qing Wu said, "I'm sorry to ask, can you two young masters be literate?"

Li Xian raised his head and said seriously: "I have a reputation as a scholar, but Brother Lin is a child student."

"That's great, please order for yourselves, young masters." Qing Wu gave the menu to the two of them and said: "The dishes above are half a catty each. If you two young masters feel that it is not enough, you can make a note later. Two or three servings.”

Li Xian looked at the beef slices, mutton slices, tiger meat, and venison on the menu, which were even more neatly listed. Hearing Qing Wu's words, he suddenly felt very novel, and secretly thought that the owner of Fuze Hot Pot Restaurant was really powerful.

In this year of great chaos, although both Li Xian and Lin Qingsheng's families were slightly wealthy, that was compared to ordinary people.

Although they had never eaten this tiger meat, they knew it was expensive.

So they only ordered pork, lamb, and beef.

I didn't order any venison, but only one portion of beef and mutton.

Under Qing Wu's explanation, the two of them finished ordering the dishes.

Originally, they thought that after ordering so many types of dishes, it would take a long time for the dishes to be served, but as soon as they finished ordering, half an hour passed before all the dishes were served.

All the meat and vegetables were cut into slices and placed on the plate, very clean and tidy.

"Why are they all raw?" Lin Qingsheng asked in surprise.

Qing Wu had just put the hot pot base ingredients into the Yuanyang pot and was now preparing the seasoning for the two of them.

Hearing Lin Qingsheng's doubts, Qing Wu said: "Master Lin, please wait for a moment. We will know later."

After that, Qing Wu finished mixing the seasoning, divided it into two small plates, and gave them to Li Xian and Lin Qingsheng.

At this moment, the bone soup water in the Yuanyang pot was boiling, the hot pot base ingredients were completely melted, and a fragrance filled the private room.

"It smells so good." Li Xian couldn't help but say.

"Okay, what do you two young masters want to eat first?" Qing Wu asked.

"mutton."

"beef."

Li Xian and Lin Qingsheng said in unison.

Qing Wu covered her mouth and chuckled. She picked up a piece of mutton and beef and put them into the spicy pot. After rinsing them seven or eight times, she put them into their mixing bowls and helped them mix them. Then she smiled and said : "You two gentlemen can eat."

"Is this familiar?" Li Xian and Lin Qingsheng looked at each other with surprise on their faces.

Qing Wu smiled and nodded.

The two picked up the meat in the bowl and started eating.

When they found that it was really cooked and tasted pretty good, the two of them looked as if they had discovered a new world.

After that, Li Xian and Lin Qingsheng didn't need to move at all. Qing Wu served them like servants.

The two people behind them really couldn't stand it, so they said they understood. When they came, Qing Wu was freed.

Qing Wu sat down on the side and said with a smile: "Then Qing Wu will play the pipa for the two gentlemen."

In the steaming private room, the melodious sound of pipa rippled.

(End of this chapter)