At the right time, a group of people passed by in the direction of Yezhen. It was not even time to eat. It was twenty miles from Yezhen, so it was necessary to take a rest here. Plus, the weather was hot.
So when I saw a tea shed here, of course I had to stop.
"When we went there, we said it would be opening soon, but it was so fast, and now we are here and it has already opened!"
A group of bullock carts were pulling grain. The leader and others smiled and walked into the tea shed.
As long as there are carriages and horses, Ma Liang will greet them. The ox-cart will not be unloaded, so it will park under the shade of a tree, and some water will be needed.
Aling greeted with a smile, "Yes, we just opened today, uncle, you are the first guests! Our boss said that the first guests must get a discount! No matter what you eat, I will give you a bowl of cold shrimp first.
drink!"
"Cold shrimp? What kind of food is this? Have you never heard of it?" The leader was curious.
"Uncle will know after he tastes it. This is the specialty of our Song Ji! He keeps the entire Qingping Mansion!" Aling smiled, and with numb hands, he took off the lid of the ice cream and scooped out six bowls of cold shrimps.
Come on, put some brown sugar water.
Mrs. Jiang hurriedly served it to several people one by one.
"Song Ji?" While listening, the leader also saw the two big characters on the cloth flag on the side, and couldn't help but remember it in his heart. Then he looked at the bowl of brown sugar water that was served and said with a smile: "Isn't this just brown sugar water?"
Well!"
As he said that, he took a big sip, and the white strips of cold shrimp slid into his mouth along with the sugar water. They were cool and glutinous. Tsk, it tastes really good!
"Eh? What is this? It's really comfortable to drink! It's called Cold Shrimp? The name is also unique!"
After eating a bowl of cold shrimps, I feel refreshed all over.
I came here to drink tea to quench my thirst, but it seems I don’t need it now.
But it’s hard to drink the cold shrimps given by others and not eat other things, right? Isn’t that sitting in vain and not spending a penny?
Thinking like this, the leader was not stingy, so he rested for a while and ordered another bowl of cold shrimps.
Six bowls of cold shrimp, three cents each, and the bill was eighteen cents.
Before they left, two more people passed by Ye Zhen, one of them was an acquaintance, and it was the same convoy that was specially used to deliver wine in Jingzhou Fucheng.
I just wanted to have tea and rest, but unexpectedly I saw that this was also Song Ji, and I saw a familiar face named Du Chuanfu, and I immediately felt very friendly.
I am far away from home and I meet my fellow villagers. How can I just have a cup of tea?
Knowing that this was the first day they opened today, Manager Zhou immediately asked the guys to stop, sit inside the inn, have lunch, and then go on their way.
Song Qiu knew that an old acquaintance was passing by, so he came out to entertain him personally, ordered food, and then went to the kitchen to get busy.
At this time, several people were already sitting in the tea shed outside. Some were drinking herbal tea to quench their thirst, and some were so hot that their mouths couldn't stand it and ordered something iced to drink. Some even felt hungry, so a bowl of mung bean porridge was enough to warm them up.
Packaged.
The whole tea shed was very lively with people talking and laughing.
In the lobby of the inn, Manager Zhou and his party sat at two tables.
At first, the lobby was full of square tables, and it was so crowded that no more than five or six people could sit there. If there were more chopsticks, there wouldn't be room for a few dishes on the table.
The dishes at Song Ji are different from those elsewhere. Most of them are served in large plates and bowls, and the table is too small to fit on one table.
So Song Qiu had earlier used the square tables here in the tea shed, and bought six new large round tables, which are just like the Songshan Inn. They are convenient for sitting. Whether there are five or six people, or seven or eight people, they can always put the dishes.
People won't be crowded.
There are two square tables left, which can accommodate two or three people.
The food for Mr. Zhou and his entourage has almost been served, and it’s almost noon. The teahouse outside is still busy in twos and threes, drinking porridge, eating steamed buns, noodles and hot and sour noodles. It’s cheap and comfortable.
Many travelers also came one after another from the direction of Songyang County. Seeing that there was an inn, they stopped for a meal, needless to say.
Before long, the lobby was full.
Ma Liang was so busy greeting the carriages and horses that he was sweating profusely and could not even turn around.
Du Chuanfu and Meng Chaoqun both greeted the guests and took their orders, served tea and set out the dishes, and also had to take care of serving the food. They were also a little dizzy from the work.
“Add another boiled pork slice for table three!”
"Table No. 5 wants a boiled fish, a stir-fried liver and kidney, a twice-cooked pork with green pepper, a mixed jelly, and a red-oiled pig's ear!"
"Table No. 8 wants a boiled fish, a green pepper twice-cooked pork, a braised peanut, a mapo tofu, and a courgette meat soup!"
"..."
The sounds of people shouting and passing the dishes, and the sounds of the guests chatting together all come together.
On the first day of opening, the business was even better than when Songshan Inn first opened last year.
Song Qiu, who had been frying in the kitchen for more than half an hour with a spatula, was sweating profusely and exhausted. Finally, he cooked all the vegetables. He breathed a sigh of relief, sat down on a small stool, and scooped up a large bowl of cold white Kaigu.
He drank it happily.
I just wiped the sweat off my head and saw that Mr. Liu's hair was wet and she was still clearing the desk. She hurriedly said: "Aunt Liu, sit down and drink some water and have a rest. After this period, there is basically no need to go up or down."
Why are you so busy? I'll finish it later, don't be in a hurry right now."
If you work together non-stop, it will be too much. Take a break before working again to avoid getting tired.
Mrs. Liu was indeed tired and thirsty. When her boss girl spoke, she put down her work and sat down to drink some water.
After drinking a bowl of water, I felt a little more refreshed: "From the time I made the first dish to the time I finished all the work, I never stopped. I am so busy, even more busy than we are at hosting a banquet in the village!"
Song Qiu was used to this kind of meal being busy for an hour or two. Hearing this, he couldn't help but smile and said: "As long as there is no one to stay, I usually only work for this period of time in a day. I wash and wash in the morning and do some cooking in the afternoon."
It’s just a matter of tidying up at noon.”
This is true, with a salary of 500 wen a month, although Mrs. Liu feels tired due to the heat, it is easier than her husband used to go to the town to find part-time workers.
Mrs. Liu was very satisfied and determined to work hard so as not to lose this good job of 500 yuan a month.
It's such a shame that her mother-in-law can't scold her to death.
Then he hurriedly said: "I'm not tired, I'm not tired! I'm not tired anymore. I'm tired when I'm working on the crops! Even if I'm busy for another hour or two, I'll be busy!"
After resting enough, Mrs. Liu was busy tidying up the kitchen.
Song Qiu cleaned the stove as a habit, then wiped his hands and went outside to the lobby.
The lobby, which was full at first, is now almost full, and the last two guests are still eating.
Meng Chaoqun's abacus was clattering and accounts were being settled. Du Chuanfu and Ma Liang packed up the dishes and tables and moved them in for Mrs. Liu to wash.
In the tea shed outside, there were many people who wanted to take a rest while the sun was rising, and the six tables were now full.
Ah Ling wiped his sweat, saw Song Qiu coming over, and hurriedly made a report: "Sister Ah Qiu, the cold shrimps are gone, the mung bean paste is gone, and the jelly is gone. It's only noon. Do you want to see if you want more?"