Chang Ma was stunned, then quickly stepped forward and said angrily: "Why? Miss, you traveled all the way from the capital to Lucheng, didn't you just want to catch this woman? Why didn't you go in when you arrived at this woman's door?"
Helian Bingshuang slowly shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Mother Chang, what kind of stance do you think I had when I broke in? Mr. Shangguan was still inside, and when he saw me chasing me from the capital to Lucheng so shamelessly, he
What will you think of me?"
Chang's mother was unconvinced and said: "Miss is the fiancée of Mr. Shangguan. The date of marriage has been decided. How can the lady have a stand?"
Helian Bingshuang sighed: "You have served me since I was very young, Chang Ma. I never hide my worries from you. You know better than anyone how my marriage to Mr. Shangguan came about. Mr. Shangguan doesn't like it."
Me, this is a fact, I am very satisfied if he is willing to marry me, Chang Mom, come up here and don’t do so many things!"
Naturally, Chang Ma was not convinced, but the carriage was parked in front of the Chu Mansion, and people were passing by on the street from time to time. It was indeed not a place to talk, so Chang Ma had no choice but to climb into the carriage.
"Xiaojiu, let's go!" Helian Bingshuang whispered.
"Miss, where are we going?" asked the boy driving the carriage.
"Find an inn to stay. This is my first time out of the capital. Now that I'm here, I have to see the customs here before I go back!" Helian Bingshuang said with a gentle smile.
The boy driving the carriage immediately responded cheerfully and hurriedly went to find an inn to rest.
"Miss, you are so considerate of Mr. Shangguan, but Mr. Shangguan still does such a thing that is sorry for the girl. It's really..." Chang's mother wanted to say damn it, but seeing Helian Bingshuang looking at her little face pitifully, she finally
But he took back his cruel words.
"Mother Chang, Master Shangguan's carriage is just parked outside the Chu Mansion, it doesn't mean he is actually looking for a woman!" Helian Bingshuang sighed.
"That's right, during the few days we stayed in Lucheng, we found out the details of this woman. Only when you know yourself and your enemy can you defeat that woman! But to be honest, there is no one in this world who is prettier than Miss, gentle and kind.
There are really not many women who understand others!" Chang's mother said loudly.
Helian Bingshuang just smiled, but his heart was bitter. No matter how good he was, it was a pity that the person Shangguan Yu liked was not her!
"Ouch!" Chang's mother suddenly looked out of the car and shouted, startling the thoughtful Helian Bingshuang.
"Chang Ma!" Helian Bingshuang twirled the handkerchief with her orchid fingers, patted her chest, and scolded in a low voice: "What's wrong with you? Why were you so startled?"
"No, miss, look, Chu Ji Restaurant. This restaurant is also named Chu. I wonder if it has anything to do with the Chu Mansion?" Chang Ma pointed at the four big characters of Chu Ji Restaurant and said.
Helian Bingshuang also leaned against the wall of the car and looked out, and then whispered to the boy driving the car: "Xiaojiu, we are hungry too, let's eat here!"
Xiaojiu quickly responded and drove the carriage to the front of the restaurant.
"Welcome, this lady seems to be from out of town, what do you want to eat?" Shan Laoer saw that the carriage was gorgeous, and the lady stepping out of the carriage was elegant and elegant, so he naturally did not dare to neglect it.
Come and receive them in person.
Helian Bingshuang only slightly covered his face with a handkerchief, but Chang Ma looked around very critically. Seeing that there were many people in the hall and it was noisy, she immediately said: "Waiter, the hall is so noisy, how can we ladies have a meal?"
?Hurry up and find a private room!"
Shan Laoer smiled and did not reveal his identity, but just guided the two of them to the private room on the second floor.
After sitting down in the private room, Helian Bingshuang put down the lotus root-colored veil covering his face and said slowly: "Shopkeeper, what special dishes do you have here?"
Shan Laoer smiled and said: "Miss, you have such good eyesight, you actually recognized me as the shopkeeper!"
Helian Bingshuang smiled and said: "You also have good eyesight. You can tell at a glance that we are outsiders!"
Shan Laoer chuckled and showed the menu on the side to Helian Bingshuang: "Miss, please see, there are names of dishes on it. You can just order whatever you want, but I suggest to the lady that our Chuji Restaurant's signature
Food—flowers and delicacies, have you ever heard of it?"
"Flower delicacies? Are they dishes made with flowers?" Helian Bingshuang's eyes lit up and he asked.
"Indeed, look at the lady's expression, do you know this kind of dish?" Shan Laoer asked, bowing.
"Of course our lady knows that we have a big garden with many precious flowers. If you have nothing to do, your lady will cook with flowers. I didn't expect that you can do the same!" Chang's mother snorted coldly.
"Oh, so that's it. The lady wants to taste it, so she can give us some advice!" Shan Laoer nodded quickly.
"Chang Ma, don't be arrogant!" Helian Bingshuang whispered, and Chang Ma immediately stood aside in silence.
"I can only make a peony cake with peonies and a cup of chrysanthemum tea with chrysanthemums. If it's a banquet, it's absolutely impossible. So, shopkeeper, you can have a share of the delicacies made with flowers.
, I also have a full meal!" Helian Bingshuang said with a smile.
"Would you like the same portion? Miss, you two can't finish it. How about this, I recommend a few dishes suitable for you, how about it?" Shan Laoer said with a smile.
"Hey, you shopkeeper, why are you afraid that our lady won't have money to give you? And you do this kind of business?" Chang Ma couldn't help shouting again.
"No, no, mom, you misunderstood. It's because we have put in all the effort in both the ingredients and the cooking process. Since you and I can't finish the food, don't waste it. Money is small, but waste is big!"
The second brother said quickly.
Helian Bingshuang nodded: "You are right. I don't cherish the food I make, and the diners will not cherish it. This is the first time I have encountered you doing business like this!"
Shan Laoer nodded respectfully and said with a smile: "Thank you, Miss, for understanding. In this case, I will make the decision for Miss!"
Helian Bingshuang nodded, and suddenly remembered that there were colorful paintings hanging on the wall when he entered, and immediately asked: "Shopkeeper, when I came in just now, I saw many paintings hanging on the wall. Could it be that
Do you still sell paintings in this shop?"
Shan Laoer quickly replied: "That's not true. Those flowers were originally spent by our boss's young master, specifically to facilitate the illiterate guests. Later, after our restaurant was renovated, the quality improved a lot, so those paintings are no longer needed.
, but our boss thought it was a pity to lose it, so he suggested hanging it on a wall, decorating it with curtains, and just admiring it as a painting!"
"Your boss really cares about his young master!" Helian Bingshuang smiled slowly and asked pretending to be unintentional: "By the way, your restaurant is called Chuji Restaurant. I wonder if it has anything to do with the Chu Mansion two blocks away.
?When I came over there just now, I saw that the entrance hall of the Chu Mansion was very majestic, it must be a large family!"
Shan Laoer chuckled and said, "Girl, this Chuji Restaurant is opened by Miss Chu, the mistress of the Chu Mansion!"
Helian Bingshuang was stunned and asked: "Miss Chu? When I was in the capital, I seemed to have heard someone say that there was a goddess of agriculture in Lucheng, Miss Chu. Could it be that..."
"Aren't we girls!" Shan Laoer said with pride on his face, "Our girls are the imperial envoys personally invited by the emperor to farm for the emperor. This restaurant also belongs to Miss Chu!"
Helian Bingshuang's face was a little pale. When she was in the capital, she only knew that there was a Chu girl who was against the five major families. When her father was discussing with the people in the clan, she heard this person's name, but she did not expect Shangguan Yu to come to Lucheng.
The person to be found is her, and...
"You just said that Miss Chu has a young master? Then why don't you call Miss Chu Mrs. So-and-so, but Miss Chu?" Helian Bingshuang asked.
Shan Laoer glanced at Helian Bingshuang and couldn't help but feel a little suspicious, but he still said with a smile on his face: "Miss, this is our girl's private matter. How can I, a servant, say more? Miss, just eat.
!Then I won’t disturb you any more. Just wait a moment, miss. The food will be here soon!”
When Helian Bingshuang saw that Shan Laoer didn't mention it anymore, he immediately stopped asking. He sat upright with a smile and nodded, signaling Shan Laoer to leave.
"I didn't expect that person to be Miss Chu. I really need to get in touch with her more this time!" Helian Bingshuang said to himself.
"Miss, this person is very loyal, and he didn't even say anything!" Chang Ma said in a low voice.
"She is loyal and vigilant. From this, it seems that this Miss Chu is very good at employing people! No wonder the small Chuji Restaurant is doing so well. Look at the crowd in the hall just now. Even the largest restaurant in the capital does not have such good business!"
Helian Bingshuang said slowly.
"Perhaps it's because you haven't seen the world in the countryside and haven't eaten anything good. Once the food is served and you taste it, you'll know if it's just a waste of money!" Chang's mother said disapprovingly.
Helian Bingshuang glanced at Chang Ma and said suddenly: "Chang Ma, you have been following me for more than a year or two, but your temper is still difficult to change. You must know that there are people outside and mountains outside the sky. We must not go out.
Too ostentatious!”
Chang's mother was blamed and could only nod her head and stood behind her without saying a word.
A quarter of an hour later, Shan Laoer personally brought the food up, including a plate of fried chrysanthemums, a plate of rich flowers, a seven-mature steak and a glass of red wine.
"Miss, this is another specialty of ours. Grape wine and steak are specially suitable for noble and distinguished people like you to enjoy. There is just one thing. This wine tastes sweet, but it has a lot of stamina. If you don't have a good drinker, girl
, Just take a sip and try it!" Shan Laoer placed the food on the table very carefully.
"Oh? Really? Wine? But wine made from grapes?" Helian Bingshuang asked.
"Yes, this wine was brought by our boss from Chu Han. There are only four jars of wine here. Now this is the last glass. Because the lady is a foreigner and she is either rich or expensive, I specially gave it to the lady to taste. If you drink it,
Okay, if you like it, you can earn a good reputation. If you don’t like it, it doesn’t matter, even if we do our best to be landlords!” Shan Laoer said with a smile.
"The shopkeeper is indeed very good at doing business. In that case, I would like to thank the shopkeeper for his kindness!" Helian Bingshuang thanked him softly.
Shan Laoer retreated respectfully.
Looking at the steak on the table and the knife and fork placed aside, Helian Bingshuang thought for a long time, then picked up the knife to cut the steak and tried it. Slowly he came to know the purpose of the knife and fork.
Eating the tender steak and drinking the sweet wine, Helian Bingshuang nodded slowly: "This Miss Chu is quite a character, worth meeting!"
Chang Ma stood aside looking at the steak and couldn't help curling her lips, "Miss, it should be said that this Miss Chu is not simple! If that wild woman is really her, she has children, and a husband can make Master Shangguan like this.
I am so fascinated that I can see that this woman is definitely a monster!"
"Chang Ma!" Helian Bingshuang said displeasedly, "The situation is not clear yet, so don't make such rash judgments! We have gained something from our visit this time. The taste of this wine and steak is not strong, maybe it can
Let's try it in dad's restaurant. As for the flowers..." Helian Bingshuang gently picked out a chrysanthemum thread and tasted it, and his eyes lit up, "Although the oil temperature is a little higher, the dough is a little thicker.
, but it can basically retain the fragrance and shape of the chrysanthemum. This craftsmanship reminds me of a person!"
Chang's mother quickly asked: "Miss, who are you?"
"It's my mother's brother, Yu Yuchu. He once taught my mother how to make fried chrysanthemums. If I'm not mistaken, this person's heat should be about 70% of Yu Yu's!" Helian Bingshuang
He muttered.
"Miss, your tongue is very famous in the capital. It can rival the emperor's tongue. When the master comes out with new dishes in his shop, he always asks the miss to try them. Since the miss praises these dishes so much, what does it mean?
Can the food still fit into the lady’s mouth?”
"Of course! These dishes have their own flavor, which is very unique. It is not found in dad's restaurant. It shows that Miss Chu is a person who likes to introduce new things!" Helian Bingshuang thought for a while and whispered to Chang's mother:
"Well, let's find an inn to stay near Chuji Restaurant. I really like the food here, so we don't have to worry about walking around!"
Chang's mother quickly responded and told Xiaojiu. After a long while, she came up to report: "Miss, there is an inn next door. It looks clean and high-end. I have asked Xiaojiu to book a room there. Miss.
You can go over and have a rest after dinner! But this is strange. Since Miss Chu is so good at business, why can Chuji Restaurant only be a top-notch hotel but not a hotel? It also asked us to go to other inns. This is not to expose ready-made guests to the outside.
Push?"
Helian Bingshuang smiled and said: "Generally, those who open restaurants have a restaurant in the front and an inn in the back, so that guests can stay and eat conveniently, and also to attract more customers. But in such a restaurant, generally speaking, you can't focus on the food. This Chu
Remember that the restaurant focuses on food, so naturally I don’t want to be distracted by building guest rooms!”
"No, miss, the slave just walked around below and deliberately listened to the discussions of the diners. It turns out that the predecessor of this restaurant was just a small restaurant with an unknown name. The owner of the restaurant had some relationship with the officials of the imperial court.
, I could barely survive, but in the end I couldn't support it anymore, so I bought a shop. Who knew that once it was in the hands of Miss Chu, there would be a famine in the previous period. Let alone chicken, duck and fish, others would only have corn sticks to fill their stomachs.
That's good, even the largest restaurant in Lucheng has gone out of business, but Chuji Restaurant has no impact. Taking advantage of that opportunity, it has become one of the best restaurants in Lucheng!" Chang Ma quickly reported the news she had learned.
Give Helian Bingshuang.
"So that's the case, that means the government is behind this restaurant!" Some time ago, even the largest restaurant didn't dare to open without official connections. This Chuji Restaurant not only opened, but also took the opportunity to rise to the top.
This Miss Chu seems to have quite a lot of background!
"Didn't the shopkeeper just say that Miss Chu has accepted the emperor's imperial edict to farm the land? Although she doesn't have any official position, all the officials in Lucheng have given Miss Chu face. Now think about it, she relies on
Being in an official position is not considered a skill!" Chang's mother snorted coldly, "I heard that Miss Chu later raised the price by raising prices, which angered the mob and robbed the restaurant. The whole place was newly decorated!"
Helian Bingshuang nodded. The information Chang's mother inquired was somewhat consistent with what the shopkeeper said just now. It seemed to be true. But in this way, this Miss Chu didn't know how to restrain herself. She raised prices and caused disaster. It seemed that it was also true.
Not quite perfect.
"Mother Chang, what else is there?" Helian Bingshuang was addicted to it and stopped eating now, so he asked again.
"It is also said that Miss Chu has a close relationship with Hua Mansion, a big family in the city. It is said that cooking with flowers is the secret of Hua Mansion. But I don't know what the relationship between Miss Chu and Hua Mansion is. How can she get Hua Mansion so easily?"
The real story of the chef!" Chang Ma raised her eyebrows, "Everyone eating flowers and vegetables below is talking about this!"
"Hua Mansion..." Helian Bingshuang thought about it for a long time and couldn't help but sigh, "It's all because I don't pay much attention to my father's words and rarely go out. I know too few people and things! But since the people here
I learned how to be a cook from the cooks in Huafu, so maybe the cooks in Huafu are related to Yu Yuchu. When my mother left, she said that she owed Yu Yuchu a lot and told me to repay him if I had the chance to meet Yu Yuchu.
, this is just an opportunity! Chang Ma, let’s go to the inn to stay first, and then visit Hua Mansion tomorrow!”
Chang Ma nodded: "Yes, let's find out the details of this Miss Chu!"
Helian Bingshuang glanced at the steak and wine on the table and couldn't help but said: "I'm afraid this Miss Chu's details will surprise us!"
Chang Ma disagreed, "Miss, please don't forget that you are the heir of the Helian family. Even in the capital, the concubines in the palace must be courteous to the lady. Are you afraid that she will not be a commoner?"
Helian Bingshuang smiled faintly and stopped talking.