"Although that man is irritating, his four-character comment about 'wall-facing casserole' is really correct." Hua Yuxi looked at the empty wall outside the house and sighed softly.

Lan Qiao opened the lid and said, "Fortunately, this pot is really fragrant."

He picked up a shrimp, blew it to his mouth, and then put it on Hua Yuxi's plate: "Try it."

Hua Yuxi was not in a hurry to taste it. Instead, she helped Lanqiao prepare the sauce first. She mixed the sesame paste and sesame oil with ginger juice, minced garlic, soy sauce and chopped green onion, and carefully stirred them evenly. Then she mixed another bowl for herself, using a small spoon to

Scoop a little bit of the sauce into the bowl and pour it on the shrimp before using your chopsticks.

She first took off the shrimp head, took a sip of the flavor inside, then picked up the shrimp body with the skin on and put it to her mouth, bit it lightly with her fine teeth, and tore off half of the shrimp skin bit by bit, then changed the position of the chopsticks, and then

Tear off the other half in the same manner, and finally remove the tail of the shrimp by holding the body of the shrimp with your lips, finally getting a complete peeled shrimp.

Lan Qiao was almost dumbfounded. He didn't expect that Hua Yuxi could be so meticulous when eating a shrimp. Not only could she separate the skin and flesh before the shrimp enters the mouth, but she also didn't need to use her hands. She could do it perfectly just by the cooperation of chopsticks and lips and teeth.

Flawless, with unparalleled elegance in posture and movement.

"Master, what are you looking at?" Hua Yuxi smiled softly, "Want to eat?"

As she said this, she put the shrimp meat to Lan Qiao's mouth, as if she wanted to feed it to him.

"Uh... no need." Lan Qiao was a little at a loss and said with a red face, "You eat first."

"Then I'd like to thank you, sir." Hua Yuxi stopped being polite, bit off a piece of shrimp meat and chewed it in her mouth.

Lan Qiao thought to herself, if it were an ordinary person, they would probably not even know how to eat shrimps. Even if they had to peel the skin, they would probably swallow it in big gulps. They were not like her who ate a shrimp in four parts and chewed each part twenty times.

of.

"Try this mutton again." Lan Qiao couldn't help but be amused secretly, remembering the way she and he had eaten "fish and bear paws" under the misty mountains.

Hua Yuxi gently rolled up her sleeves, picked up the mutton slices from the pot and put them on the plate. She also used a small spoon to scoop out a little sauce and pour it on the meat. Then she put the meat into her mouth and chewed it in small bites.

"Seeing you eating so elegantly, I'm not used to it." Lan Qiao looked at her profile and long eyelashes and said.

Hua Yuxi not only eats elegantly, she is also very particular about her sitting posture. The small round stool in front of the table is not big, but she only sits halfway, with her upper body straight, only leaning forward slightly when the chopsticks are put into her mouth, and she also tucks her hair from time to time

Behind her ears, she put her legs together, crossed her ankles, and touched the ground with her toes. The hem of her skirt just barely reached the ground, which not only highlighted her graceful figure, but also minimized the contact between the dress and the outside world.

"What did the young master say? Isn't the slave family so ungrateful?" Hua Yuxi pretended to be angry.

Lan Qiao scratched his head and smiled: "No, I mean, being next to you makes me look particularly rude, so I'm embarrassed."

Hua Yuxi smiled and said: "Young master, do you know how a man should not appear rude when eating?"

"Just wanted to ask for advice."

"It is served by an elegant and dignified beauty like me." Hua Yuxi covered her mouth with a smile, took out another shrimp from the pot, removed the shell of the shrimp in the same way as before, and put the shrimp on Lan Qiao's plate.

inside.

Lan Qiao was drinking soup when he heard this and almost burst into tears: "Pfft, this is the first time I heard that 'elegant and dignified beauty' is a self-proclaimed name."

"The list of celebrities is written in black and white, and there are pictures of beautiful women as proof. How can the slave family be self-proclaimed?" Hua Yuxi snorted, "It is obvious that the young master is in the midst of blessings and does not know how to be blessed."

She scooped out her own sauce with a small spoon and poured it on the shrimp for Lan Qiao: "Eat it quickly, let it cool down later."

Lan Qiao looked at the shrimp moistened by the sauce in front of him, and thought of Hua Yuxi using her lips and teeth to help when peeling the shrimp. He couldn't help but feel his heart swaying, and imitated Hua Yuxi and ate it slowly.

Hua Yuxi brought two more empty bowls and poured out half a bowl of soup for the two of them: "This soup base is not bad. You can drink a little, sir." After that, she ignored Lan Qiao and started sipping.

.

Lan Qiao burst into laughter and began to eat the pork and mutton in the pot, while Hua Yuxi only drank the soup, occasionally eating a piece of tofu or half a mushroom.

In addition to the casserole, they also ordered two brown sugar roasts. Hua Yuxi did not pick up her own roast, but broke the roast into small pieces and ate them piece by piece with chopsticks.

Lan Qiao wanted to laugh at her "unnecessary move", but as soon as he opened his mouth, Hua Yuxi shoved the fire in front of him. Just as he was stunned, he saw Hua Yuxi lowering her body and whispered: "Don't speak, don't look back, listen.

.”

They were sitting in the most inconspicuous corner of the store. Lan Qiao listened attentively. Two familiar voices immediately reached his ears. They were Chen Yuheng and Wang Xiaowan.

"Store, are there any vacancies?" Chen Yuheng had obviously just walked in.

The waiter said: "Yes, I just left a table. Wait for me to clear it out."

Wang Xiaowan's voice was a little anxious, and he didn't seem to care about what he was eating. He said worriedly: "It's only the first day that this happened. How should I explain to Sister Hua and Mr. Lan? It's no use that they trust me so much. I don't care.

I’m too embarrassed to go back and see them.”

"It's okay, I'm here." Chen Yuheng comforted him, "My master is not an unreasonable person. Let's eat first. Only after we fill our stomachs can we have the strength to think of a solution."

Lan Qiao listened to what they were saying, and it seemed that Wang Xiaowan had caused some trouble, so he buried his head like Hua Yuxi and continued to listen attentively to what they were saying.

The shop was crowded and chaotic, and the white smoke rising from the casserole was always lingering. Hua Yuxi and Lan Qiao were sitting in a deep corner, facing the wall. Chen Yuheng and Wang Xiaowan were just talking and did not notice.

After they sat down near the door of the store, they sat facing the wall like other customers, and they were not even aware of the presence of Lan Hua.

They ordered a bite of casserole, and while eating they talked about what happened this morning, and the two Blue Flowers, who were listening attentively, got the general idea.

It turns out that Chen Yuheng, as a young man from Qingzhou City who was doted on by his sister Chen Yuqian, not only loved gambling, but also liked listening to books. Storytelling, singing and opera were popular in Beiping City, so his life in Beiping seemed to be like a fish in water, very enjoyable.

This time when he went south, he first fought against the Japanese in the southeast with Lanqiao Feng Yeling and others, and then went to Luzhou to "report the news" to protect Wang Xiaowan and the Lu sisters as they went north. After more than half a year, he finally returned to Peiping. He wanted to do something when he came back.

The first thing I do is not to eat or drink, not to meet friends, not to practice swordsmanship with Lan Qiao, but to listen to books.

He only arrived last night, and slipped out the door early this morning without saying hello to Xia Shuang, Shi Miaoer and others, and went straight to Xinyuan Building.

Xinyuan Tower is one of the three major teahouses in Beiping City. Compared with the other two teahouses that specialize in singing opera and folk arts, the most impressive thing about Xinyuan Tower is the several storytellers in the building, especially Mr. Gu.

Mr. Gu's books are very well told, and most of the stories are his own creations. With his emotions as a storyteller, although he inevitably draws on official history and folklore, he rarely copies the works that are widely circulated at the moment. From the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period,

, to the Chu-Han struggle for hegemony, to the Three Kingdoms and Two Jins, the Sui, Tang, Song and Yuan Dynasties, each of his stories is full of ups and downs of emotions, often suspenseful, making people wonder what the protagonist's fate will be until they hear the last moment.

As long as Mr. Gu is present, the Xinyuan Building is always full, and the guests are all fascinated by it regardless of the quality of the tea and refreshments that day.

There are really countless romantic stories and countless heroes.

As early as last night when Chen Yuheng passed by the city, he saw the sign hanging on Xinyuan Building. In the first scene this morning, Mr. Gu said "Serve the Country with Loyalty".

He was afraid that he would not be able to grab a seat, so he got up early to go to the Xinyuan Tower to listen to the play.

As soon as Xinyuan Building opened the door, Chen Yuheng was the first to rush in, but found that no one was trying to fight him.

The building was in a dilapidated state, and there wasn't even a person to clean it. There were overturned tables, chairs, and benches everywhere, as well as melon seed peels and peanut crumbs left over from an unknown number of days ago. What made him even more angry was that, surrounded by tea tables,

On the storytelling table, there was actually a big hole that had been smashed by something heavy.

Does Mr. Gu want to tell stories in such an environment?

Full of doubts, Chen Yuheng used his sleeves to sweep away the dried fruit peels on a bench, and sat down with his legs crossed angrily, waiting for Mr. Gu to appear.

He waited for nearly half an hour, but no Dr. Tea came to greet him. Only a few scattered guests came in. Like him, they swept the tables and stools and found an empty place to sit down.

Chen Yuheng couldn't restrain his curiosity and stepped forward to inquire. Only then did he learn about the changes that had occurred in Xinyuan Building in the past month.

At that time, Gui Lichi went south, and the people of Beiping City were in panic. Every day they were considering whether to abandon the city and take refuge or to fight to the end. No one had the heart to listen to the book. And the boss of Xinyuan Building was a man with great national integrity.

, he saw no customers, so he simply fired the waiter, Dr. Tea who served tea, and several gentlemen who were storytellers in the building. He invested all the remaining money into the Anti-Japanese War, purchased military supplies for the soldiers who defended the city, and returned

There are stones and rice mortar needed to strengthen the city wall.

He even owed a large amount of foreign debt, for which he had to use the property deed of Xinyuan Building as collateral. From then on, the affairs of Xinyuan Building were no longer up to him.

Mr. Gu has the deepest affection for Xinyuanlou. Even if he doesn't get paid, and even if the stage and the audience are in chaos, he still doesn't want to leave. He still arrives on time to tell the story. Facing a few listeners, he

He told the story in his heart quickly, sometimes passionately and sometimes in tears.

But today is Mr. Gu’s last story telling.

When the Tatars were defeated and the war ended, the creditors came to the door and wanted to take over the Xinyuan Building and transform the teahouse into a casino on the grounds that the boss could not pay back the debt.

The boss persuaded them nicely, and wanted to delay it for a while longer, or even if they gave up the Xinyuan Building, he asked them to keep the teahouse running and give Mr. Gu the opportunity to continue his storytelling.

The two sides refused to give in and almost started pushing and fighting. They said that the hole in the desk was made by the thugs hired by the creditor as a demonstration.

"I'll give you the last ten days. If you still don't pay back the money on the 25th of the twelfth lunar month, I will turn the Xinyuan Building into a casino." The creditor said these words viciously before leaving.

Chen Yuheng heard that today was Mr. Gu's last story telling, and felt mixed emotions in his heart. When he turned around, he saw that Wang Xiaowan was also listening at some point. He was about to ask her what she wanted to do, but Mr. Gu had already stepped onto the stage, shaking his fan, and cleared his throat briefly.

, talking about today’s "Serving the Country with Loyalty".

Unexpectedly, only in the middle of the story, the creditor brought more than 20 villains to destroy the place, saying that he wanted to smash the place to pieces and rebuild it completely.

Chen Yuheng learned swordsmanship from Lan Qiao and had given up his gambling addiction. Seeing Mr. Gu pleading hard and begging him to let him finish his speech, Chen Yuheng couldn't help but feel sad.

The other party refused to give in and drove Mr. Gu off the story-telling table, then smashed the story-telling table to pieces with a heavy hammer.

Mr. Chi, the boss of Xinyuan Building, also came to persuade him, but Mr. Gu just sat slumped on the ground, his eyes already filled with muddy old tears.

Wang Xiaowan was young and impatient, so he said to Boss Chi on the spot: "I will repay this money. You sell Xinyuan Building to me, and I will continue to open the teahouse, and let Mr. Gu stay and tell stories, okay?"

Boss Chi smiled bitterly: "Money is something external to the body. I have long taken it lightly. It's just that I owe a debt of 5,000 guan. Now including interest, it will take nearly 7,000 guan to repay it. You are young, why bother to be taken advantage of? It's not worth it.

.”

Wang Xiaowan looked at Boss Chi with a sad face, then at Mr. Gu who had tears streaming down his front, and Chen Yuheng who couldn't help but sigh, and said resolutely: "Seven thousand guan is just seven thousand guan, I'm out."

The creditor looked at Wang Xiaowan with disdain and said, "How did a young girl get so much money? Is she just trying to make fun of us?"

Wang Xiaowan flashed the 100,000-guan banknote, which immediately shocked everyone. The creditor was so jealous when he saw the money that he took the banknote away on the pretext of checking whether it was genuine or not, but refused to return it.

"This is an open robbery!" Chen Yuheng was so angry that he knocked the creditor to the ground with one punch, and then got into a fight with more than 20 villains hired by the creditor.
To be continued...