Passing through the splendid and bustling streets on both sides of the canal, the three children walked step by step in the bustling Mulu City, and soon stopped in front of an inconspicuous small building.
The small building is close to the breakwater on the east bank of the canal and looks quite old. Although some repairs have been done inside and outside the store, you can still see the mottled wood grains exposed after the raw paint peeled off on the pillars, as well as the white plaster on the walls. The dark blue bricks are exposed underneath.
However, in stark contrast to the shabby appearance, are the bustling diners in the store and the constant sound of drumming. Behind the counter opposite the door, there is a graceful and luxurious woman sitting lazily. As soon as I saw it As Qi Ziyin meandered forward, the other party immediately came up to him and greeted him in the not-so-standard Dashengguan dialect:
"Little greedy cat. Since you are here as a guest today, why didn't you send that tall guy to inform you first? And how did you get yourself so dirty?"
The woman had red lips and white teeth, and fair skin. She was wearing a floor-length purple dress, embroidered with gorgeous patterns. Her hair was covered with blue hair, and she was also covered with jingling silver jewelry, which was transparent from head to toe. A strong Dongli charm.
"Today I asked Brother Shitou to go back first, but he got into some trouble later. Thanks to the help of the two behind me, I suddenly thought of treating them to a meal, but I was sorry to bother Sister Jia again. The one upstairs Is the Accord still vacant?”
Qi Ziyin also smiled and ran forward to salute. He was actually very familiar with the hostess of this shop.
"The Yage with the best view in the city, if it is not full, is reserved for you. What dishes would you like to eat today?"
"Of course it's still the same, thank you sister."
Qi Ziyin nodded slightly and said. With only a few words, the woman nodded tacitly, and then went to the back hall to tell the chef to get busy.
The full name of this female shopkeeper is Leng Jiayun, and the signboard of this shop is taken from the last two characters of her last name. Watching the other party turn the corner of the room, the young man in white just looked at him with a smile on his face. The surprised two people explained:
"Seats at Jia Yunzhai always need to be reserved half a month in advance. Now that the Wuyang Festival is approaching, if it weren't for my frequent visits, Sister Jia would not agree to let us use the Accord. But I promise, you two only need After trying the food here once, you will definitely feel hungry within three days and will not be able to resist coming back to enjoy it again.”
"How can the food in such a shabby shop be so delicious?"
Ning Yue curled her lips in a low voice, but her stomach growled unsatisfactorily. Apparently, the snacks she had eaten before had been consumed in the fierce chase.
"You don't know this. Jia Yunzhai is a famous Dongli restaurant in Wanzhou. Every dish is created by Sister Jia. It is not something you can eat just because you want. It is said that she has been in Mu Lu City has been operating for twenty years, so it is reasonable for the store to be a bit shabby."
"Twenty years! Then isn't this landlady already very old? Why does she still look young and beautiful, like a girl of eighteen or nineteen?"
Hearing what the other party said, the black-eyed boy couldn't help but look into the back hall again.
"Sexy boy, sexy girl! When you come in, you just look at the beautiful women. Do you care how old they are?"
When the red-haired girl saw this, she couldn't help but curse in a low voice. She raised her foot and stepped hard on the instep of her companion. She immediately grimaced in pain.
"Ning Yue, you may have misunderstood. Brother Jiang Yan most likely wants to remind you to be more careful. After all, we have just met each other, so we still need to be cautious."
Qi Ziyin shook his head and put the other person's concerns on the table without hesitation. However, he was not annoyed because Jiang Yan was wary of him. He just kept smiling, with some timidity in his smile.
"Oh, you won't die if you step on it lightly. Well, I'll apologize to you!" Ning Yue saw the extremely aggrieved look on her companion's face, so she quickly stuck out her tongue and made a face, apologizing coquettishly.
"You two must be hungry too, right? If you have anything to say, it won't be too late to say it after we sit down."
After the young man in white finished speaking, he took the lead to climb up the narrow stairs in the store. The elegant room he mentioned to Sister Jia before was located on a suspended platform on the third floor. Outside the pavilion was a canal with gurgling water. .The weather was sunny at this time, and the windows were all open. Looking around, one could actually have a commanding view of the beautiful scenery of the city.
The three children sat down cross-legged, and the waiter who came after him immediately brought a pot of hot soup and three tea bowls, which were placed on the small table in front of them. Ning Yue and Jiang Yan saw that there were several budding flowers scattered in the tea bowls. The stamens of the flowers looked at each other, but they didn't know what they were doing.
Seeing their doubts, Qi Ziyin quickly explained:
"This is the famous Tangbian plum here. It is made by specially using plum pistils picked after October last year, dipped in wax from top to bottom and soaked in honey can. Now it only needs to be brewed with boiling water. The water blooms again, and the fragrance is fragrant. Come, take a sip first to moisten your throat."
As he said that, he slowly poured the hot soup in the pot into the tea bowls in front of each other. Immediately, red, yellow, pink and white plum blossoms bloomed in the bowl, and there was a refreshing fragrance with a hint of the winter moon. It spreads out in the Accord, which is indescribably unique.
After the three of them finished drinking the hot tea, the waiter who had been standing by them immediately brought another cup of steaming soup.
"This is Baiwei soup. Although it is not much different from the ones made in other stores outside, it has added fish maw and chicken mushrooms to enhance the freshness, and ginseng to warm the stomach——"
"Wait a minute. The two of us have needlessly caused you to spend a lot of money today, and we really feel bad about it. Now you specially invite us to this restaurant, isn't it just for a meal?"
However, Jiang Yan pressed down the dishes and chopsticks that Ning Yue was about to move next to him, and cupped his hands towards the young man in white sitting opposite the small case, as a sign of disrespect, but his words were very imposing.
"If it wasn't for eating, then what else would I be doing? I've been staying at home all day long recently and I'm almost suffocated to death. If I hadn't met you two, how could I have had so much fun? I need to express my gratitude!"
Qi Ziyin was a little confused as to why the black-eyed boy in front of him was always wary of him, and his eyes couldn't help but reveal the docile timidity before.
"Do you rarely go out on weekdays?" Hearing what the other party said, Jiang Yan also became interested in this young man who behaved quite strangely.
"Yes, Master Gou, who taught me how to read, could only keep a straight face all day long. He couldn't do this or that. I also asked Brother Shitou to cover for me today, so I finally managed to sneak out. If If Master finds out, he will definitely slap me again."
Speaking of this topic, Qi Ziyin suddenly rubbed his palms, showing some worry on his face.
"This is the first time I've heard that dogs can teach people to read... But since you don't want to study, then just stop reading. This is the first time I've heard that you need someone to force you to read."
"Gou is the master's surname, and Gou is not a puppy." The young man in white corrected him, but he seemed to think that Jiang Yan was a good nickname, and couldn't help laughing, "It's not because of my father. He has a lot of things to do all day long and has no time to study with me, so he invited Master Gou to teach me for him."
"Why are you like me? My father is also busy with his own affairs all day long. The last time I saw him, it felt like meeting a stranger. But I quite like reading by myself." Ning Yue interjected with empathy. road.
"Actually, it's not that I don't like reading. Maybe, I just don't like to be taught by someone other than my father. I always remember when I was very young, I and my brother would gather under the lamp and listen to my father's lectures. Not to mention how happy I am."
"Do you have a brother? Is it Brother Shitou?" Jiang Yan asked again.
Qi Ziyin shook his head:
"I have been in poor health since I was a child. Brother Shitou was the person hired by my father to take care of me. But he was too polite to me and always looked respectful, so we couldn't play with me at all. But my elder brother - he was originally the one in the family I am my best friend, but after all, he is ten years older than me. After he became an adult, my father often sent him to Xiyin City for training, so he became increasingly unfamiliar with me. After all, my father will pass on the family business to him in the future."
"Then you have no other friends in this city?"
"There are quite a few companions who study with me at Master Gou's place, but I don't know whether they are my friends or whether they are close to me because of my father. Those people are not like you two. I won’t lie or coax in front of me, or tell the truth. What I hate the most is trying my best to guess what hidden meanings are hidden under everyone’s smiles, but I’m tired..."
The young man in white seemed to have not spoken to anyone else for a long time. Once he opened his chat box, he could no longer close it.
After listening to the other party talking about his affairs incessantly, Jiang Yan was embarrassed to continue to doubt any more. In addition, his stomach was indeed empty, so he and Ning Yue no longer cared about being reserved and started to eat hungrily.
Later, more than 20 kinds of dishes were served, such as perilla fish, cooked lamb with milk, steamed goose and duck steak, lychee and kidney, fried clams, sweet and sour white lotus root, honey-fried yam, and green bamboo shoots soaked in plum juice. The dishes gradually piled up on the small table into a small mountain.
After going back and forth, the three peers who had caused a stir in half of Tulu City not long ago finally let go of their last traces of suspicion and caution, and quickly became familiar with each other.
"So, Jiang Yan, you have lost your memory, so you want to come to Mulu City to see if anyone can recognize you?"
After listening to the young man with black eyes narrating his experience intermittently, Qi Ziyin's hand holding chopsticks suddenly hung in the air.
"Yes, is there anything wrong?" Jiang Yan answered vaguely, holding a leg of lamb in his mouth.
"Did you know that the registered population in the city now exceeds one million, and with the refugees from all over the country who have fled in recent years, even if you walk through hundreds of streets and alleys, you will most likely not meet anyone who can recognize you. People."
Hearing what the other party said, Jiang Yan suddenly couldn't eat anymore: "Then I - wouldn't I -"
Qi Ziyin saw the disappointed expression on the black-eyed boy's face and hurriedly comforted him:
"Actually, what I want to say is that if you have been on Ye Guo's ship before, I might be able to help you a little bit. For now, you might as well go to the Baisha camp set up by the navy in Westport outside the city and ask for help. Let’s inquire alone.”
"The Marine Corps Camp? Let's forget it..." Jiang Yan thought to himself that he might be a pirate. Wouldn't it be like falling into a trap if he went there? But after thinking about it, he swallowed the words back.
"Do you have any concerns?"
"When we were crossing the Pheasant River before, we had a conflict with an annoying guy. This guy seemed to be a general in the Marine Corps Camp. Little Stutterer was worried that if he went to the camp, he would meet that guy again... "
Seeing that the black-eyed boy remained silent, Ning Yue started to explain for him.
Qi Ziyin nodded thoughtfully, seeming to think that this matter was a bit difficult to handle. At this moment, a red-necked and green-backed bird flew in outside the Accord. The bird seemed to recognize Qi Ziyin and landed directly on him. Stand still on your shoulders.
The young man in white skillfully pulled out a roll of brocade silk from the thin bamboo tube on the bird's feet. After reading a few words on it, he suddenly stood up:
"Brother Shitou sent a message saying that Master Gou is going to have another exam tonight and I have to rush back!"
"You are leaving right away? But there are so many dishes left." Ning Yue still wanted to persuade her to stay, but she saw the other party nodded vigorously, "Well, I don't want my wife to complain to my father, saying that I sneaked out again. The man I asked Jiang Yan to go to Baisha Camp to find just now is Commander Ye Guo Zhou. If you two can trust me, you can also go to a villa in Dongshi called Zheliuxuan to look for him. Just say it's me. If he asks you to go, he will definitely help."
As Qi Ziyin spoke, he took out a few more gold bahts from his arms and placed them on the small case. "These two coins are used to pay for tonight's meal. There should be some surplus. How about you do it?" Please stay with Sister Jia for the time being. She is very nice, and I will ask her to take care of you."
Under the watchful eyes of the two children beside the case, the boy in white walked quickly to the stairs, but suddenly stopped again, turned around and asked timidly:
"Um - we are already friends, right?"
"Of course!"
Jiang Yan was finally moved by the simplicity and sincerity of the boy in front of him. He took a step forward, patted his chest and said loudly: "We ran through the entire Zitong Street together today. From today on, you and I are friends, heaven and earth." Learn from it!"
"There's me, there's me!" Ning Yue then expressed her stance not to be outdone.
The docile cowardice that had always been looming on Qi Ziyin's face finally disappeared, and was replaced by a bright smile. There was no impurity in the smile, just like a warm spring breeze.
The sky is getting late, and the lights in Mulu City are already bright. Because of the Wuyang Festival, the night ban originally implemented in the market is naturally cancelled. The night market often runs until the third watch, and then reopens at the fifth watch. .For a whole month, the lights in Mulu City are almost never turned off.
At this time, the fires on both sides of the canal were shining brightly. Looking from a distance, it seemed that it was even more lively than during the day. In the night, one could hear performers and singers in the market, and various shops were making money and shouting, and colorful embroidery was hanging on the street. Dancing in the wind at sunset is really beautiful.
Jiang Yan and Ning Yue were so hungry that they actually ate all the dishes on the table. They fell on the small table with their bulging bellies and refused to move any more. Only then did they discover that the man named Jia My sister's Dongli woman came upstairs at some point.
"Is the food to your liking?" Sister Jia put down what she was carrying, covered her mouth and chuckled, "Sure enough, birds of a feather flock together, Ziyin himself is a greedy little cat, and the two of you brought here You are also a foodie, no doubt! He has already said hello to me, and from today on, the kids will live with me. There happen to be two empty rooms on the east side, so don’t refuse."
"We, we'd better go find another place to live. I won't bother you, Sister Jia..."
Jiang Yan scratched his head in embarrassment and got up from the ground with some difficulty.
"Look elsewhere? Do you have any money? Do you know the roads in the city? Is it possible that you, a little devil, are planning to take this pretty girl to sleep on the street?" Sister Jia looked at the troubled black-eyed boy in front of her and persuaded with a smile. , "If you really think it's inappropriate, you can also help me here and the wages can be used to offset the rent. How about that?"
"That's it - that's fine. Thank you, Sister Jia." Jiang Yan couldn't refuse the other party's kindness, so he finally nodded and agreed.
"Thank you. Aren't you and Ziyin already friends? He often comes to my place to eat and drink, and I treat him like my own brother. Now that I have a new brother and a sister, I am very happy. It’s too late. Remember, Jiayunzhai is a free place, there is no need to be so rigid!”
The woman's laughter seemed to have a magical power, making the two children feel a long-lost warmth in their hearts.
"Sister Jia, where does Qi Ziyin live in the city? If we want to call him out to play in the future, where should we look for him?"
The red-haired girl couldn't help but ask.
"He, you may not be able to enter the place where he lives, so just stay here and wait for him to find him."
"Why? Which rich family is he the son of?" Jiang Yan was also very curious about this.
"Fu Jia? This little devil, this is the first time I've seen him treat others so heartily. How could he forget to tell you about such an important matter?" Sister Jia seemed a little surprised, "But even if I don't tell you now, , he will definitely not be able to hold it back in a few days. Did you know that the character 'Qi' in his name is not neatly aligned. There is only one family in Mulu City - no - in Wanzhou. You can use this last name!"
"Could he be—" Jiang Yan couldn't help but be startled by the woman's answer.
"Yes, he is the youngest son of the current Duke, the young master of the Qi family of Ye State. But you two must not misunderstand. He did not tell you today, perhaps because he was afraid of causing unnecessary trouble for you. , after all, the world is so chaotic."
"Sister Naga, how did you know? And why did you tell us?" Ning Yue interrupted again and asked.
"I also accidentally guessed it before, but I didn't expect that the little greedy cat would admit it so openly. I have been keeping secret about this matter for Ziyin, but I have known him for so many years, and I have never seen him as happy as he is today. He I sincerely regard you two as friends. Since we are friends, we must be honest with each other, so I have nothing to hide for him. Furthermore, I also want to remind you two that now that you know the identity of your friend, You have to be careful to keep it a secret for him."
"This will happen naturally!" Ning Yue and Jiang Yan nodded vigorously.
"That's good. Back to the subject, Ziyin just told me that you were planning to go to Zheliuxuanzhong to inquire about something? It happened that the commander ordered two jars of aged Qingli Shao in my store tonight, but that This villa is far to the east of the city, and the driver in the store has to go to deliver goods elsewhere. If you two kids are fine, please help me take them there."
After hearing this, Ning Yue immediately poked the boy next to her with her arm: "Little Stutterer, do you want to go?"
"It's better to go and take a look. After all, it's a rare opportunity."
Jiang Yan wiped his greasy mouth with his sleeve and decided to give it a try. After all, such an opportunity does not come every day.
Ning Yue had not yet been able to calm down from the excitement after entering the city. When she saw Jiang Yan agreeing, she cheered again:
"Okay, okay! Then we can go around the city and see some interesting things!"
Thank you for your tasteful attention to "Twin Moon". I hope the wheat grown by Xiaoli will suit your appetite.