After the menu is compiled, the items to be taken away are also planned.
Even for the various cans and drinks that needed to be exported from the capital to Tokyo, Ning Weimin made a list with several cooperative units such as Polar Bear, Jimo Distillery, and the District Sugar, Tobacco and Liquor Company, and obtained relatively favorable prices.
The next step is to find a qualified export agency and go through the relevant procedures.
But after working hard for several days to achieve such a result, Ning Weimin felt a little uneasy at the last moment.
Not for anything else, just because they have designed a menu that fully considers Japanese tastes and eating habits and has eliminated most of the mutton and river fish dishes.
There are also dishes that are too greasy, dishes that use organs as the main ingredient, and dishes that use poultry heads and feet as the main ingredient, which are basically given up.
Due to the long distance, inconvenient export, legal restrictions, and many other reasons.
Then remove the bird's nest, camel hump, bear paw, venison, suckling pig, pigeon, Beijing white duck, Ge Xian rice, bracken...these high-end ingredients that can reflect the characteristics of palace cuisine.
Then of course the remaining usable dishes will appear ordinary.
If there were no more gimmick dishes like the three non-stick dishes, peach blossom pan, emerald soup, clear jasmine soup, boiled cabbage, and a thunder from the ground.
Just looking at the braised fish fillets, stir-fried shrimps, hibiscus chicken fillets, kung pao chicken, sweet and sour pork ribs, sweet and sour pork ribs, and dry croquettes, these dishes are really like the Sichuan and Shandong style in the last thirty years.
It's a home-cooked restaurant.
To be honest, Ning Weimin has no worries about whether he can easily earn a lot of yen after reaching this point.
Money can definitely be earned.
He was a little worried about whether he would disappoint Japanese customers if he really followed this menu.
If the Japanese feel deceived by eating such palace dishes, it would be equivalent to destroying the reputation of palace cuisine overseas.
It is not Ning Weimin who is being thrown away. I am afraid it will damage the reputation of Chinese cuisine.
He can't do something like this that will make the Japanese laugh and be poked in the bone by people all over the country.
Therefore, under the pressure brought by self-doubt, for the sake of caution and safety, he had to go find "Zhang Dashao" again.
I beg this man to take a look at it and give me some insights.
Only after the old man saw it and thought it was decent, could he regain his confidence and do things in a down-to-earth manner.
For this, Ning Weimin carefully prepared gifts.
Unexpectedly, I called the staff cafeteria of Polar Bear and asked to meet the old man, but no one was found.
They actually told him that "Zhang Dashao" was quitting his job.
Ning Weimin had no choice but to call the Huimin Cigarette Hotel and ask Sister Tan, who was looking after the store, to tell her to send a message to "Zhang Dashao" and make an appointment with the old man.
As a result, Sister Tan passed the letter to Huimin Yan Hotel, but the reply was in a way that Ning Weimin never expected.
Two or three days later, it was Kang Shude who sent a message from "Zhang Dashao" to Ning Weimin, saying that it would be easy for him to meet him, so he could just meet him in the morning tomorrow.
Ning Weimin inquired again and found out that these two old men were the only ones he could love, because they were both too idle and could not bear the tedium of life.
Since the second half of last year, the two of them have opened a small wine shop on Yangmeizhu Xiejie, not far from Meishi Street, and started a small business together.
What does it mean to be far away in the horizon and close before your eyes?
This is it.
Shocked by the news, Ning Weimin, who was kept in the dark, started complaining to the old man.
"Oh, old man, why didn't you tell me this earlier..."
But to be honest, he really shouldn't say this.
Because Kang Shude was more resentful than him, he stopped him in just a few words.
"Is it too early to tell? I told you that you would listen. Ask yourself, how many days have you been at home since you came back? You are so busy, thinking about big deals every day. Do you care who I am? Is it about the liquor store?"
Yes, the old man is still picky.
Of course, if we ask ourselves, Ning Weimin is indeed a bit wrong.
If nothing else, I haven't found "Zhang Dashao" these days, and he hasn't been idle either.
For example, Chang Yuling, a descendant of "Puochang", Jiang Sanchang and Zou Qingshan who made utensils, Liu Yongqing who made antique porcelain, Ma Kaiyuan who made silk figures, Zhang Chongming, the descendant of "Filigree King", Wu Yukuan who made palace lanterns, and wood craftsmen Li Baoshan.
He visited these old artists who could make him money one by one, bringing gifts and sealing thick red envelopes.
But despite all the calculations, his days with his master were numbered.
Even though the two of them stayed together, apart from eating, they only talked about the donated cultural relics and how to buy things from Hongguang Pavilion and Dunhua Pavilion in the future.
In terms of filial piety, he was not as good as the first year. At least he accompanied Kang Shude to Jinmen for a while.
"I care, I care, of course I care. Your matter is as big as the sky to me. No matter what you say, I am willing to listen."
Ning Weimin was also very decisive. He quickly gave in and tried to please him diplomatically.
But there is no hope, it’s useless.
His pot of ecstasy soup is good for feeding others, but there is no chance of practicing Kang Shu De in the lake.
Master, that is Master, there are ambushes everywhere!
I heard that the old man was neither anxious nor annoyed, neither warm nor angry, and just said a few words in a serious manner.
Hey, he treated the other person the same way he did it on the spot, almost choking Ning Weimin when he somersaulted.
"Oh, then why didn't you tell me earlier if you were willing to listen?"
Listen, you're going to die if you do something wrong to yourself. Who told you that you were so arrogant just now?
Get this big roast chicken!
However, the quarrel between the master and the disciple was just a quarrel, which only offended their temper but did not hurt their feelings.
To put it in Beijing dialect, it was just to amuse Mengzi. The old and the young were just grinding their teeth in idleness and having fun arguing with each other.
And at around nine o'clock the next morning, Ning Weimin followed Kang Shude to wander around to see the old man's small wine shop.
What he saw and heard on this trip was completely beyond his imagination, and it was truly an eye-opener.
Apart from other things, first of all, the location and appearance of this small wine shop are very special and extraordinary.
You know, the Qianmen Dashilan area is no ordinary place, with several alleys carrying rich history.
This Yangmeizhu Xiejie is one of them.
This street is 496 meters long, starting from Meishi Street in the east and ending at Yanshou Street in the west.
In the Ming Dynasty, this street was named "Xiejie" because of its direction.
In the Qing Dynasty, Liang Shizheng, the Hubu Shangshu of the Qianlong Dynasty and a scholar of Dongge University, once lived here.
During the Republic of China, Yangmeizhu Street became a gathering place for many bookstores, guild halls and shops.
Not only are World Bookstore, Chiang Kai-shek Bookstore, Kaiming Bookstore, Guangyi Bookstore, Global Bookstore, Dazhong Bookstore, and China Press Bookstore, but seven well-known bookstores have opened here.
This street is also the seat of the Bankers Guild, the former residence of Hubi master Dai Yuexuan, the former residence of Peking Opera martial arts student Yang Xiaolou, the former residence of Ping Opera actor Xin Fengxia, etc.
The writer Lu Xun and the writer Shen Congwen have all left their footprints in this inconspicuous street.
At that time, Shen Congwen, who chose to be a North Piao drifter, first arrived in the capital and lived in the Youxi Guild Hall on this street.
He was impoverished and had no stove in winter, so he covered himself with everything he could when sleeping. He wrote prose novels such as "Border Town", "Long River", and "Song Notes on Western Hunan".
To put it bluntly, this Yangmei and Bamboo Street has been artistic for more than a hundred years.
It is a genuine cultural and scholarly street.
Although Ning Weimin did not fully understand these histories and allusions.
But a street like this is very unique in terms of atmosphere and buildings.
For example, when Ning Weimin followed Kang Shude in, it was almost ten o'clock, and the sun just hit the road, making everything bright.
And since it was working time, it felt extremely quiet as soon as I walked in.
In an atmosphere where only one or two pedestrians walk by occasionally, or a bicycle drives by;
Together with the withered ivy on the mottled gray brick wall, the door with peeling red paint, and several small buildings with brick and wood structures, either Chinese or Western, or a combination of Chinese and Western, they add an indescribable charm to this street.
of unique flavor.
How to describe it appropriately?
In Ning Weimin's feeling, it seems to have both the cultural atmosphere of Liulichang and a real sense of vicissitudes accumulated in history.
After all, these are all old houses, which are more approachable and down-to-earth than the renovated Liulichang.
It seems as if the ancient beauty here is alive and people can read the stories here.
As for the liquor store jointly opened by Kang Shude and "Zhang Dashao", it is located in the middle of Yangmeizhu Xiejie, and the store is very easy to find.
Except because it was an old-fashioned shop where boards had to be removed and hung every day.
As a facade house, the decorations of the old beams and painted buildings are still there, which is very conspicuous.
It is also because there is a two-story building that is more distinctive than the store next to it.
What is special about this building is that it is so tall and abrupt, and its style is a combination of Chinese and Western styles.
The two-story small foreign-style gatehouse has blue bricks to the top and polished bricks with seams facing each other. It is much higher than the shops next to it.
However, the width of the overall building is not satisfactory, and the first floor is almost just a portal.
The arched entrance door is less than two meters wide and more than three meters high, with the words "Qingyun Pavilion" written on it.
Such a width will appear extremely narrow compared to its height.
To put it bluntly, if you want to hang a clock, it will become a bell tower.
So it makes people wonder what kind of place this is.
"Old man, your store is right next to Qingyun Pavilion. But what kind of place is this? Is it for people to live in, or for selling goods? Why does this small building only have a doorway?"
Ning Weimin couldn't bear his curiosity and asked, but he didn't expect that Kang Shude would reply with disgust.
"What? Qingyun Pavilion, you don't know where it is?"
"I don't know." Ning Weimin continued to be confused, "I really don't know."
"Think about it carefully, you have lived here since you were a child, but I can't. Have you never heard of it?"
"I really haven't heard of it. Is this...is this place famous? No...it can't be a haunted house, right?"
Ning Weimin's thoughts gradually went astray, and he was naturally scolded by the old man.
"Fart! Go away and cool off! I'm doing business next to a haunted house? Can you please treat me better?"
The real answer revealed by the master later left him speechless.
"Where is Qingyun Pavilion? It was the first of the four major shopping malls in the capital at the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China. It was once alongside Quanyechang, Dong'an Market, and the first floor of Shoushan. It was also the first to introduce the fashionable sport of billiards in the capital for dignitaries.
A place for recreation. It integrates shopping, entertainment, food, tea tasting, and services, so it attracts literati, nobles, and nobles to gather here. Cai E and Xiao Fengxian often meet up to visit Puzhen Garden in Qingyun Pavilion.
Have a drink. It is said that Puzhenyuan’s famous dish Spicy Feng Jie is very popular with Little Phoenix Fairy. Have you always seen the movie called "Zhiyin" in the first two years? That movie is based on the legendary story of Cai E and Little Phoenix Fairy.
The basic filming of the movie was shot here..."
"Zhi... bosom friend..."
Why didn’t Ning Weimin know?
After all, he is a time traveler from the information society.
He doesn't need to watch the movie to understand the story of Cai E and Xiao Fengxian.
Not to mention that "Friends" was released in 1982, and he was not so busy at that time. He can't remember being invited by Master Mi to attend a few shows at the Daguanlou Cinema.
So he remembers Xiao Fengxian played by Zhang Yu and Cai E played by Wang Xingang very clearly.
I also like the song "Mountains and Flowing Water" from that movie.
But what he wasn't sure about was - was it really a movie shot here?
It doesn’t look like it…
"Old man, can't you? How could it be taken here? Look how wide this small building is. This person has to go upstairs to get in. How big is the room upstairs? You can't remember it wrong, right?"
Kang Shude was immediately amused when he heard the questioning words coming out of his mouth.
"Let me say something nice to you. You can't judge people by their appearance, and the same applies to things. Do you think you are ignorant or ignorant? Don't look at how small you look on the outside. I also tell you, in fact, you are big on the inside.
This Qingyun Pavilion has a sedan-shaped layout. The main hall does not face the street. Two long narrow passages like sedan poles extend out from the north and south. They connect to Dashilan West Street in the south and Yangmeizhu Street in the north, so they are called sedan buildings. You are now
What you see is basically the result of renovation in 1905. The whole building inside is surrounded on all sides and has three floors. Qingyun Pavilion once had two famous time-honored restaurants, Puzhenyuan Restaurant and Yuhuchun Teahouse, which are on the second floor respectively.
And the location on the third floor. In terms of area, it must be 4,000 square meters, otherwise how can it be ranked first among the four major shopping malls?"
Now Ning Weimin finally figured it out.
"What you mean is that this Qingyun Pavilion steamed stuffed bun has meat, but it's not just a matter of fact. It has two doors together, and the whole thing is like a '中' character. However, no matter whether it is north or south, there is only one door exposed, and the inner flesh and belly are hidden.
In the middle of two streets?"
Kang Shude nodded in approval.
"Yes, that's what it means. Our side is the back door. You have to go to its front door, which is more grand and lively than the back door. And there is a gold-plated plaque on the arched door over there.
The three characters "Qingyun Pavilion" were written in the first year of Xuantong by the famous calligrapher He Weipu, a veteran of the three dynasties of the late Qing Dynasty and the grandson of the great calligrapher He Shaoji. There are also column couplets with gold letters on a black background on both sides of the arched door.
The couplet is - the blessed place hidden in the deep alleys, where generations of literary heroes have wandered here. The second couplet says - seeking secluded places in the bustling city, where we, the refined generation, and the heroes of the younger generations go and go."
"Then old man, what is the house in Qingyun Pavilion used for now? You haven't told me yet? Is it a private house or a public house? Can we go in and have a look? Hey, is this also under the control of our street? You
Can I talk to Director Li about this?"
The more Ning Weimin listened, the more excited he became, and his heart felt like a ball of hot coals.
If nothing else, he thought of the commercial value of Qingyun Pavilion again.
The story of Cai E and Xiao Fengxian, isn’t this a natural big IP?
Besides, it's such a big place inside, so there's nothing I can do to tidy it up.
Unfortunately, Kang Shude also understood his thoughts, but what he told him was regrettable news.
"You kid, don't worry about it. Let me tell you, the back door is sealed, and it is now occupied by a government-run guest house. You want a room here? There is no chance. What kind of place is this? The front door, who does the business?
I don’t want to come here. I won’t hide it from you. It’s hard for me to ask Director Li to help me with five rooms. Nowadays, more and more people want to do business. With a front-end room like this,
It’s getting harder and harder to find. Director Li is purely thinking about the residents here. He feels that nowadays, grocery stores don’t like to deal with drinkers anymore, and they don’t like this kind of business. I hope they don’t make any money.
Everyone can have a place to drink and chat, so they helped me run around. You are not staying in the capital anymore, so don't cause trouble to Director Li."
As soon as he said this, Ning Weimin understood that it was not feasible at this time, so he could only put aside his thoughts and return his attention to Kang Shude's shop.
Just taking a closer look, he discovered another strange thing. This old man's shop... why didn't he have a sign?