In the end, Bai Erlang couldn't finish both bowls of noodles. They were really... too unpalatable.
But the business of this store is actually quite prosperous, with many people queuing up to buy.
Bai Shan and the others saw many people sitting on stools and standing in line, so they chose his food.
The few of them reluctantly finished their lunch and looked at the stall and the customers together.
Could it be that there is a difference in understanding of food between them and Laizhou people, which has caused such a misunderstanding?
Can people's tongues really be so different?
After looking at it, Bai Shan finally realized something was wrong, so he waved to the stall owner and said, "Check out."
The stall owner responded happily, but did not move. He still rubbed his face and asked his son to collect the money.
Bai Shan asked: "How much is the total?"
After counting for a long time, the young man said: "There are fifty-six coins in total."
Zhou Man said without thinking: "Did you make a mistake in your calculation?"
Bai Shan asked, "How much does a bowl of noodles cost?"
Because they were eating noodles, the young man really thought that he had made a mistake in his calculation. He was worried and said uncertainly: "It must be right. It costs four cents a bowl. You have eaten fourteen bowls in total."
The palace maid who followed Ming Da didn't understand why Master Bai had to personally intervene in such a trivial matter as settling the bill, but seeing that the princess and the consort didn't say anything, they just sat quietly.
Bai Shan motioned to Daji to pay, and said with a smile: "The calculation was correct, it's exactly fifty-six cents. This noodle is cheaper than any other place we've eaten at. Why do you sell it so cheaply?"
The young man smiled naively and said, "It's precisely because my noodles are cheap and come in big bowls that so many people buy them."
He took the money Daji gave him and counted it. After confirming that it was enough, he stuffed it into his pocket and asked, "Have all the guests eaten?"
Bai Shan nodded, "It's time to eat."
The young man quickly put away the bowls and chopsticks. Seeing so many people waiting to be seated, Bai Shan and the others did not sit down and stood up to make room for the guests.
The group of people stood on the roadside, and Bai Erlang tutted: "No wonder it tastes so bad, a bowl is as big as four cents."
Mingda didn't have much idea about money, especially these small coins, so he asked: "Is it very cheap?"
Zhou Man sighed and said, "When we were young, we went to Luojiang County to eat noodles. The cheapest plain noodles with just some chopped green onions cost six cents, and the ones with meat ranged from seven to ten cents."
Mingda: “Their noodles don’t have chopped green onions.”
"Not to mention chopped green onions, there are not even flakes of oil, and his kneading is average," Bai Erlang said: "It's just a little better than us."
Bai Shandao: "What they eat is not noodles, but flour to fill their stomachs. Haven't you noticed? The people who come to eat noodles seem to be coolies on the dock. For them, it is good to have such a big bowl of noodles."
Well, naturally I won’t pursue taste.”
Bai Erlang muttered: "Even if it's cheap, it can be made a little more delicious..."
"Okay, don't worry about this bowl of noodles. We are here to see Laizhou Wharf, so hurry up." Bai Shan urged them, "If the governor of Laizhou and the magistrate of Ye County know that we quietly ran over to see the ferry, we will
It’s not good.”
The two of them immediately stopped talking, stopped worrying about the noodles at the noodle stall, and headed to the pier together.
Laizhou Wharf is just under Zhou Zhiye County, outside the city, but not far from the city. There are prosperous businesses here, not only restaurants, inns, but also the entertainment industry. It looks like a small county town.
.
But it is only a town under the jurisdiction of Ye County. It is outside the city of Ye County. Because there is a ferry here, it is very prosperous.
Anyway, Bai Shan looks no worse than his Beihai County counterpart.
A group of people pretended to be merchants and went to the pier. When the sharp-eyed stewards and helpers of the merchant house saw them, they immediately greeted them and asked enthusiastically: "Are you ladies looking for a boat?"
Bai Shan glanced at them and decisively gave up helping. He answered the manager of the store and asked with a smile, "Do you have a boat?"
"Yes, I wonder where Mr. Lang wants to go?"
He quietly took a look at Zhou Man and Ming Da, and felt that both of them had good temperaments and were well-dressed. They brought three servant girls with them when they went out, and there was also one who could be identified as a barbarian at a glance. Their identities must be
Not low, so he smiled and said: "I wonder if Mr. Sir wants to seat people or transport goods?"
Bai Shan asked: "I want to go to the Jiangnan area. I don't know how to bring people, and how to bring goods."
Several people spoke without deliberately lowering their voices. Many people nearby heard it. Everyone quietly looked at each other and then started to move.
When the store manager heard this, he immediately turned sideways and said, "I can't explain this even half a sentence. The dock is dirty and messy. Why don't we go to the restaurant and talk about it?"
The manager of the company wanted to take Bai Shan and the others to a good restaurant farther away for discussion. Who knew that Bai Shan pointed to a restaurant on the shore and said with a smile: "Then let's go in and talk."
Bai Erlang also raised his head and glanced at the restaurant, muttering: "I wish I could have walked an extra quarter of an hour."
There is a restaurant here to eat.
Bai Shan glanced at him and walked into the restaurant first.
Seeing that there were so many of them, the waiter immediately came forward to entertain them. Bai Shan said: "Find us a private room on the second floor with a wide view and facing Laizhou Pier."
The clerk glanced at the store manager standing nearby, immediately agreed, and asked them to go upstairs.
When he sat down in the private room, Bai Shan felt hungry. Although he had just eaten a bowl of noodles, the bowl of noodles was really tasteless, so he asked the waiter to serve some of their restaurant's signature dishes and ordered a few more seasonal dishes.
Then he let him go down, "I still don't know what to call my brother."
The manager of the company immediately said: "I don't dare. I'm Yuji. I'm just a small manager of the Yu family company. I don't know what I call Mr. Lang?"
Although they tried their best to dress up as merchants and wore fine cotton instead of satins and brocades, they still didn't look like merchants.
Bai Shan smiled and said: "My surname is Bai, and I am the first in my family. This is my wife, and this is Bai Erlang."
The manager of the company looked at Bai Shan and Bai Erlang back and forth. He couldn't tell the age difference and could only smile and said: "The eldest son and the second son are very close in age. No wonder they have such a good relationship."
Bai Erlang stared, feeling that Bai Shan was taking advantage of him. Just as he was about to speak, his foot was stepped on by Zhou Man who was sitting next to him. Ming Da also raised his hand and picked up the teapot to pour him a cup of tea.
Shirojiro:......
Bai Shan asked about their boat, "What kind of boat does your boat look like? What kind of goods can it carry?"
This was not good for business. Manager Yu was more cautious and said with a smile: "Our family has several ships, which can transport all kinds of goods, but I don't know what kind of goods the gentlemen want to transport and where they are shipped to?"
Salt and grain cloth are similar, and they are both afraid of getting wet, so he thought for a moment and said: "I want to take some grain cloth."
Manager Yu: "...going to Jiangnan?"
"yes."
Manager Yu smiled slightly and asked, "I wonder what kind of cloth you want to transport?"
Food and other things, transport food to the south of the Yangtze River. There have been no major natural disasters in the south of the Yangtze River recently. Is it necessary for them to transport food all the way there? He still believes in transporting food to the north.