Chapter 1103 Wishful Banquet

"Analysis of Jin Zhi" says: The main street is twenty-four steps wide, there are three hundred and eighty-four fire lanes, and twenty-nine streets are connected.

Cities in the Ming and Qing Dynasties were composed of streets and lanes, regardless of their size. The most delicious thing in Lao Bei'an is not the delicacies such as bean juice and Jiaoqiu, but the alleys full of period atmosphere that can be seen everywhere. The gray and blue stone bricks are lined up in rows. At first glance, they seem a bit dense, but when you take a closer look, they have a different meaning. A different kind of old Bei'an flavor.

The pick-up black car stopped at the entrance outside the alley, and Zhao Xinsheng led the way into the twists and turns of the alley. Except for Xia Mi, who was taken to a medical facility by another special car to take care of Chu Zihang's condition, Cassel The "tour group" from the college to Bei'an all walked in this alley full of history and looked around.

The stone brick walls on both sides are wide and bright, and the old red-painted gates are like holes. Couplets are posted on the left and right. The shadow of the eaves is cast on the upper end of the door edge, and auspicious patterns of dragons and phoenixes are painted below. The willow trees planted in the courtyard at the other end of the wall occasionally poked out their branches, and the catkins swayed in the wind, leaving a shadow on the ground in the alley.

Lin Nian, Su Xiaoqiang, Lu Mingfei and others were all fine. Pure "foreigners" like Lancelot and Villeva could not help but be attracted by this special exotic scenery. They walked in the alley and looked at some people from time to time. The unique scenery couldn't help but nod a few times, and whisper and discuss a few words in a low voice.

"Your Chinese population seems to be aging a bit seriously in recent years," Fingel whispered to Lu Mingfei beside him.

"No, how did you come up with such a serious topic as the serious aging of society from Bei'an Hutong?" Lu Mingfei was puzzled. He turned around and found Fingel seriously looking at the heavy gold on a telephone pole. Advertisements for children seem to be comparing whether one's conditions are met.

"You have to appreciate the local characteristics, but don't take it seriously, or you will be cheated." Lu Mingfei dragged Fingel away from the telephone pole with a black look on his face. Not far away, Ling was looking up at the flower branches sticking out of the wall, and the shadow fell on her cheek in black and white.

Zhao Xinsheng, who was leading the way, stopped at the door of a courtyard gate. Several people behind him who were similar to tourists also stopped and looked at the place where they stayed temporarily. At first sight, they were attracted by the complicated brick carvings on the courtyard gate. .

On the clear mud bricks under the vermilion eaves, dragons and snakes are slithering. Relief, openwork and carved lines are one furnace. The carvings are done in one go without changing the knife. At a glance, you can see the majestic atmosphere, and you can see the craftsmen raising and falling the knife on the gray bricks. Brick fragments fly down, settling into the splendor of Spring and Autumn between the strong lines.

The gray brick carvings are in contrast with the red door. The modesty of the gray brings out the powerful vermilion, and a touch of dark green color painting brings out the bright colors. It is accurate to say that the Hutong in Bei'an is a color alley.

"Isn't this house cheap?" Fingel asked in a low voice, "Isn't it worth 7 or 8 million?"

"Be bold and make a guess." Su Xiaoqiang said, "You can't get it even for 70 to 80 million yuan, not even US dollars. A courtyard house in this area cannot be bought with money. Just look at the gate of this courtyard."

Fingel raised his head and glanced at the wide door. He felt that the carved forehead and the winding sparrows were extremely beautiful. The door pillars were like dragons and phoenixes. Apart from being beautiful and grand, there was nothing special about it.

"Look at the pillars." Su Xiaoqiang pointed to the vermilion column at the broad and magnificent front entrance of the mansion, "The 'one room' between the two pillars is the 'one room', and the 'three rooms' are the prince's palace, but the 'five rooms' are the prince's palace, and there are generally It has a strong historical significance. The traditional rich people basically dare not buy it. It is too high-profile and ostentatious. The new rich are bolder and are not afraid of being investigated and cannot afford so much in one go. Moreover, they are not accumulated enough and cannot live in it without good connections. .”

"Can't you buy it at home?" Veleva asked subconsciously. Xiaotiannu's business has been booming in recent years, and everyone who knows her knows this.

"This kind of courtyard house is considered a secret palace compound. There will be no housing at all, and the owner will not change hands easily. If you come to the door rashly and say you want to buy a house, it is equivalent to asking someone to pass on the ancestral home for countless generations. No matter how you think about it, you can't settle a grudge for nothing. If you have this kind of courtyard, you can't force it if you don't have it." Su Xiaoqiang explained.

"Is it like the wealthy British businessmen can't buy a residence like Highclere Castle no matter how rich they are? That is indeed not something that can be done with money. However, there was a period of time after the Industrial Revolution when British aristocrats indulged in He lived a life of luxury and wealth, but in the end he had no choice but to marry a wealthy emerging businessman for the sake of dignity, and it was also through this method that the latter could get the ticket to the upper class he wanted." Lancelot added.

Zhao Xunsheng in front seemed to have heard a few people chatting quietly, turned around and said with a smile, "If Miss Su likes it, you can borrow it to live in for a few years. You can move out at any time when you get tired of it. The house is used as an ornamental or inherent property." Assets are far less meaningful than cultivating some popularity."

"It's not necessary. I'm from the south. I'm a little acclimated to the climate here in Bei'an. It's okay to travel, but there may be some problems if you stay for a long time." Su Xiaoqiang pointed to his lips, which he forgot to apply lipstick on. It's a little dry on top. The northern sky is indeed a realm that water-fed southern girls can't adapt to.

Lin Nian dragged his suitcase with him, handed Su Xiaoqiang a stick of his own lipstick, looked at Zhao Xuansheng and asked, "Will this be my place to stay in the next period of time?"

"Yes, if your other companions don't mind, they can also live here together. There are many guest rooms in the yard." Zhao Xinsheng nodded and looked at the others to welcome him cordially.

"Forget it, we have booked the room. If we check out now, we won't get the deposit back. It's a big loss." Fingel stood up first and declined with a haha. No one else said anything, although he lived in Together they can take care of each other, but this is everyone else's territory anyway. Living together basically means that everyone is under close surveillance by the orthodox, which is quite detrimental to their actions.

"It doesn't matter. You can do whatever you want. If you have any needs, you can ask us, so that we can give more of the landlord's wishes." Zhao Xinsheng walked up the steps to the seventh floor and opened the door. What he saw after opening the door was not a courtyard, but a courtyard. It is a green screen door wrapped with red pillars, which is meant to block evil spirits in Feng Shui. There are small rooms for nannies on both sides, but they are empty inside. It can be seen that the owner of this courtyard has never lived there permanently.

Zhao Xuesheng opened the green screen door again, and then he saw a courtyard planted with pomegranates and jujube trees, but no other people were seen.

In the tradition of this orthodox courtyard house, the number of doors opened means entering the courtyard. The courtyard in front of them now is the first courtyard. In a small quadrangle, the main house is probably seen after the second courtyard. However, this house is so majestic that it has five courtyards. Jia Mu in "A Dream of Red Mansions" is only Live in the hospital five times.

Zhao Xiaosheng led everyone along the bamboo-dotted corridor all the way to the depths of the house. Along the way, they passed the wealth-gathering well carved with ingots and stones, and passed through the garden surrounded by locust and maple trees. They walked around for a while, giving people the feeling of being in the house. Dazzled by the colorful flowers, I walked to the hanging flower gate. After crossing the threshold, I entered the fifth courtyard, which is the real inner courtyard. In this kind of courtyard, it is emphasized that the deeper the courtyard, the more noble the residence and the better privacy. .

As soon as you enter the inner courtyard, your view suddenly becomes brighter. There is a stage, a koi pond, a rockery, and maple trees climbing up through the courtyard. The house has two floors, and there is a wide tea ceremony balcony on the second floor of the carved beams and painted buildings. It is a beautiful view of the entire courtyard. During the holidays, we invite a group of actors to listen to music on the Hongliang stage. We take advantage of the sunny day to drink tea and sprinkle some fish food into the pond to play with the koi carp, regardless of the bloody storm outside the courtyard. The courtyard is peaceful and peaceful.

The most important thing is that after entering the inner courtyard, there is finally the smell of fireworks in the air. To put it bluntly, both Fingel and Lu Mingfei subconsciously twitched their noses and looked around, starting to get ready to move. They smelled the smell of food, and that special and charming aroma was like holding their salivary glands in their hands and playing with them, making their personality... The place became excited.

"Everyone is starving, right? After all, we just had the unpleasant accident before, so we should need some self-cultivation and concentration. We have prepared a banquet for you, and we hope it will suit your appetite." Zhao Xinsheng led everyone in On the second floor of the two-story house in the inner courtyard, the round mahogany table next to the railing of the open balcony was already filled with hot meals. The official hat chairs were arranged in a circle, and the number of bowls and chopsticks exactly corresponded to the number of people present.

Lu Mingfei looked at the abundant dishes on the table. There were no weird delicacies, but all the delicious dishes that he himself recognized, such as the hot dishes of fungus meat, cabbage meat, and Dongpo meat. Meat, hanging oven duck, etc. Desserts include almond bergamot and crispy apples, tea is Xinyang Maojian, porridge is red bean meal porridge, and fruit is a seasonal platter. You can also see delicacies from the mountains and seas. Abalone, sea cucumber, deer tendons and pork are cooked together, without deliberately pursuing extravagant luxury.

Judging from the freshness of the food and the degree of heat, it must have been served to them at the right time while they were walking around the yard. From the beginning to the end, they didn't even see the chef or the person serving the food. Those people were just As if invisible, after finishing what should be done, he hid in the corner of this deep courtyard.

"So rich? It must suit your appetite. I can eat the General Tso's Chicken in Chinatown with great pleasure, let alone the authentic Manchu-Han banquet!" Fingel rolled up his sleeves and prepared to take a seat, but was stopped by Villeva on the side. .

"We're not here yet, are we?" Lin Nian looked at Zhao Xiaosheng and said.

Fingel subconsciously nodded at their people, thinking that Lin Nian was talking about Xia Mi, but then he thought that Xia Mi wouldn't be here for a while. If he really waited for Xia Mi, the whole table would be wasted. vegetable? But a moment later, the sound of footsteps on the stairs behind him answered his doubts.

The girl who walked up from the stairs wearing a white T-shirt that covered only her trousers should be familiar to everyone. After all, she saved their lives at the airport.

The person who came was naturally Li Hueyue. After completing the feat of stopping the plane at the airport, she did not meet anyone again. She only showed up now. She was still wearing the same clothes, but she took off the weapons she carried with her. , with black hair naturally tied back, appearing here just for the normal banquet, not for other things.

"Perhaps this person doesn't need me to introduce you to you, right?" Zhao Xuesheng smiled and nodded after seeing Li Hueyue, and then looked at the others.

"Old friend." Lin Nian nodded, walked towards Li Hueyue, and stretched out his hand.

Li Huanyue stretched out her left hand and shook it gently with Lin Nian. Lin Nian's eyes paused on her left hand for a moment, then he naturally raised his head and looked at her, saying, "Thank you for your help with the airport."

"It's a small effort, but it's also a matter of duty." Li Huanyue looked directly at Lin Nian and met his eyes. "I hope we can cooperate happily in the future."

"Definitely." Lin Nian tightened his grip on his hand and then released it.

Then Fingel suddenly came over like a mangy dog, grabbed Li Hueyue's left hand with both hands and shook it hard, almost shaking it off, "Thank you female sword fairy for saving my junior brother's life, what can I say?" Nice words, let’s talk at the table? Before opening a bottle of red wine, I’ll propose three glasses of wine!”

"Wine is not necessary. Tea can be used instead of wine." Even Li Huanyue couldn't help being frightened by this large mangy dog ​​and took half a step back. He withdrew his hand without leaving any trace and walked towards Zhao Xiaosheng to smooth things over. Got the table.

Lin Nian saw Fingel giving him a look, and he probably understood what he meant. The left hand was genuine and could not be removed no matter how hard he shook it.

It seems that Fingel is also aware of some of Li Hueyue's situation. As the guy with the lowest limits, he has already begun to think about how to give Li Hueyue, who is not a drunkard, a few drinks at the dinner table. Matters are king. No matter how strict your orthodox style is, you can always find a breakthrough from the little girl. After three cups, we will see if you can get angry and whether you can keep your mouth shut.

Eleven people sat around the round table, including Zhao Xunsheng, who all looked at each other to see what scene or lines they were planning to use for the banquet. The wine table culture is a Chinese specialty that cannot be tolerated.

"Everyone, please move on, don't be restrained." Zhao Xinsheng said helplessly with a smile.

She noticed that the eyes of the people at the table were flickering, and she couldn't help but consider whether to open a bottle of national wine for her "Yue" to have a drink with the guests from the secret party, but the next moment, there was a flash of swords in front of her eyes. 'Swish' the shadow passed by!

"Damn." Lu Mingfei felt numb looking at the two-headed abalone in the proud Fingel's bowl.

"." It turns out that the secret party guests' eyes flickered because they were looking for the right time and angle to use their chopsticks.

Lancelot picked up the chopsticks and put them all upside down on the table. The way he grasped the chopsticks was a bit awkward, but he wasn't completely incapable of using them. After all, he usually ate sushi and so on. Wei Lewa has some knowledge about how to hold chopsticks. She holds the chopsticks like a pen. Not to mention, she can really turn this thing around by gently opening and closing her index finger between the chopsticks. , it seems that someone must have given guidance.

In contrast, Fingel, who used chopsticks as if they were arms, looked at his two foreign colleagues with hidden disdain in his eyes. They deserved to starve to death in their dormitory for this rough technique of using chopsticks. They couldn't even use chopsticks smoothly. People are not qualified to live on the dining table!

Looking at Ling on the side, this girl is also very skilled in using chopsticks. She is sitting on a chair with a backrest and her back is still straight. The first dish under the chopsticks is jade tofu. Her hands are very stable when holding the tofu. The chopsticks naturally drooped on both sides, without any cracks, as they were put into the blue and white porcelain bowl from Jingzhen.

Picking up a pair of chopsticks and taking a bite of the two-headed abalone, Fingel was originally thinking about how to start persuading you to drink another glass of wine. His routine suddenly collapsed, because the delicious aroma exploded in his mouth in an instant, filling his mouth with juice. It was the delicious taste of the thick juice, which almost sent others away. He bit his tongue and then covered his mouth and pounded his thighs wildly.

Others who ate various dishes in their mouths were silent, including Chinese Lin Nian, Su Xiaoqiang and others. When they took the first bite, they couldn't help but look up at the table. Lu Mingfei took a bite of Dongpo Pork and said without quality, "Holy shit, are you so awesome?"

It is indeed top-notch cuisine, whether it is the heat or seasoning, the selection and matching of ingredients, I have to admit that some of the dishes made by truly top chefs can be seen everywhere, but just one bite can make you taste what is class and taste. the difference. The dishes on the table are basically not difficult to prepare, but one bite will make you doubt your life.

"The dishes are all controlled by Master Liang, the imperial chef of the 'Royal Kitchen', and he cooks them himself. This banquet is named 'Ruyi' by Master Liang, which means that everything you do and think after coming to Bei'an will go as you wish." , happy and full of ambition." Zhao Xinsheng picked up the cup of Xinyang Maojian and raised it to everyone present.

The others hurriedly retorted and then continued to eat, especially Fingel. He was originally planning to teach Orthodoxy a lesson in drinking culture, but now he was taught a lesson by this "Manchu-Han banquet" and was treated like a glutton. My mind was obsessed with lust, so I just took off my chopsticks and put it into my mouth. I was so sweating from eating that I almost rolled up my sleeves and stepped on the chair.

Even Lin Nian couldn't help but eat more food and talk less. He had to admit that the craftsmanship of the dishes on this table could rank among the top three in the banquet he had eaten in his life, and even win the first place. Also because he is a Chinese with upright roots, the Western iconic exquisite French cuisine, which is exquisite in taste, has fallen behind the orthodox Chinese cuisine that is broad-minded but without losing details.

Li Huoyue's reaction was a little dull. She occasionally took off her chopsticks and tasted a little of each dish, but she only tasted it briefly. She didn't know whether it was because she was tired of eating or because she had a poor appetite recently.

"When I think about how Junior Brother Lin Nian will eat at this level every day, my heart breaks. We who stay in the hotel can only eat instant noodles." Fingel took away Lu Mingfei's chopsticks with tears in his eyes. A piece of anchovy fin, the latter sighed with an anxious expression as he wanted to curse but couldn't because of the situation.

Zhao Xinsheng was stunned for a moment and then said, "Well, if you want to have a banquet of this size every day, it may not be easy to achieve. Master Liang's schedule has always been quite full, and today's banquet was also scheduled in advance and he took the time to arrange it. If Mr. Lin Nian needs it, I can also apply."

"No, he was just joking. Whose family eats dinner every day?" Lin Nian stretched out his chopsticks and quickly Fengel cut off a piece of prawns from the red plum beads and put it into Su Xiaoqiang's bowl.

"Is the 'Imperial Dining Room' also one of the orthodox departments? Just like the kitchen in the cafeteria of Kassel College? What kind of diners does the 'Imperial Dining Room' usually face? If all the orthodox cadres can enjoy this kind of food every day, Maybe after I graduate, I will really switch to Orthodox to find a job, and I don’t know if you will accept people by then." Lancelot said half-jokingly.

Zhao Xinsheng waved his hand and said with a smile, "The Secret Party and the Orthodox Party are already in an alliance, so why talk about job-hopping? If you are interested, you can apply to intern with us. The Orthodox Party has always welcomed the elites of the Secret Party to come and communicate. !”

The speaker has a heart, and the listener also has a heart. It is obvious that someone is avoiding some really important issues.

"Then let's say it." Lancelot nodded and said very seriously.

Zhao Xuesheng also responded with a smile. Li Huanyue on the side remained silent, but it was obvious that some obscure probing questions and answers had already begun at the dinner table.