The old inn feels like dust is falling on my head.
The shopkeeper is quite old and is waiting on the side with a rag.
"Do you have glutinous rice wine or fermented rice wine in the store?"
"But wine, rice and porridge?"
The shopkeeper listened carefully to his words and answered with a strong local accent.
Song You thought for a moment after hearing this: "But the kind that makes people intoxicated?"
"How can that thing be intoxicating? No matter how much you eat, you won't get drunk, unless the baby eats too much..."
"That's it."
"Just wine, rice and porridge?"
"Cook a bowl and put two poached eggs in it. Does the store know how to make it?" Song You was about to unlock a new way to eat his Sanhua Empress.
"I know, I know..."
"How to collect money?"
"Two eggs? With or without sugar?"
"Two eggs, add sugar."
"Candy is so expensive these days, it costs fifteen cents."
"Cook a bowl."
"Are you just going to eat this?"
"Are there any special dishes here?" Song You asked him, "are there any delicious things that are only available here but not elsewhere?"
"Cat ears!"
"!"
Sanhua Empress, who was squatting at the Taoist's feet, lowering her head to lick her hands and wash her face seriously, was suddenly stunned. She raised her head and stared blankly at the store, forgetting to put down her paws.
Song You was also stunned for a moment.
"Cat ears?"
"Hahaha……"
The shopkeeper grinned, even though he had a few teeth missing: "They are made of flour, cat ears, and they are so big..."
The store owner gestured to the size of his fingernail.
Only then did Song You smile, and then the cat looked away and continued to lick its paws.
"How to collect money?"
"It's boiled in plain water and added with soy sauce and vinegar, it's only 12 cents, and it's stir-fried with toppings, it's 20 cents, a big bowl."
"I want a bowl of fried rice."
"okay……"
The storekeeper said something and walked back.
The fermented glutinous rice and poached eggs were served first.
The store owner was very down-to-earth, and maybe it was the elders who took care of the Taoist. Although Song You only wanted two eggs, he also brought a large bowl and gave him enough glutinous rice.
"brush!"
The cat jumped on the table and stared at him.
Song You first took out a spoon, scooped out a spoonful of soup, blew on it twice, and put it into his mouth.
"Suck..."
The cat stared at him without blinking.
The eyes seem to be able to speak.
Song You did indeed receive what she meant.
"tasty."
Song You replied: "But the sweetness is very light."
This was already expected.
Song You took out a jar from the bag, which contained sugar with a fine texture, white and yellow, which was white sugar.
But he was not in a hurry to put it away. Instead, he took out Sanhua Empress's small bowl from the bag, first scooped a poached egg in it, then scooped most of the glutinous rice in the bowl, and finally filled it with soup.
Full.
"The boiled glutinous rice is less toxic, so Empress Sanhua can eat a large bowl."
"?"
The cat looked down at the bowl, then looked up at him, and slowly tilted his head - his bowl was so small, half of it was occupied by a poached egg, how could it be called a big bowl? Isn't it still only half a bowl?
"After Sanhua Empress has finished eating, you can give Sanhua Empress another bowl." The Taoist said helplessly, then scooped a spoonful of sugar from the jar and put it into a small bowl.
The cat followed his movements closely and raised its head slightly following his movements.
"That's enough. It must be very sweet."
"Meow!"
"Children can't eat too much sugar. Besides, we don't bring much sugar. Until we get to Yangdu, we may only be able to buy brown sugar. Lady Sanhua should eat sparingly." Song You said while using
Use a spoon to stir in the small bowl of Sanhua Empress.
Paused for a moment and thought about it.
I wanted to add, "And this kind of sugar is very expensive." I felt that if I said this, Empress Sanhua would be convinced, but after thinking about it, I still didn't say anything. I just said to her: "You can go to the wild to get honey.
It depends on what Sanhua Empress is capable of."
Sanhua Empress is good at accepting advice, but when he put away the candy, she meowed again.
"I don't like sweets as much as Sanhua Empress. Just a little sweetness is enough." Song You said and slowly pushed the small bowl to her, which was full of poached eggs and glutinous rice. "Be careful to scald it."
"..."
The cat stared at him for a long time, then came over and tested the temperature of the fermented glutinous rice eggs. After smelling the taste, the cat stuck out its tongue and licked it.
"how?"
"Woooooooo..."
The cat was boiling and eating at the same time.
I think this bowl of hot mash gave her a whole new experience.
At this time, the store owner came again with a bowl.
"Cat ears are here!"
Sanhua Empress also stopped, raised her head, and looked at the bowl brought by the store.
"Yo!"
The store owner smiled, put down the bowl, and looked at the calico cat that was eating: "Mr., are you ordering the wine rice eggs specially for the cat?"
"She loves this."
"Sir, he's nice to the cat!"
"Thanks to her for traveling around the world with me, I can't treat her badly."
"Where are you from, sir?"
"Come from Yizhou..."
Song You answered while looking at the cat ears served by the store.
It's a bowl full of small pasta.
It looks like it was cut into dices about the size of a fingernail and then pressed with your fingers. The pasta is curled up and is not much bigger than a fingernail. There are lines on it that come from somewhere. It is slightly translucent after cooking.
, it really looks a bit like the ears of a small animal. Maybe it’s called this name because of its similar appearance.
It's also a full bowl with toppings on top.
It looks very slippery and tough.
Song You mixed it well and took a sip.
As expected, it is smooth and chewy and tastes very good.
Song You scooped up a spoonful and handed it to Mao'er: "Cat ears, Miss Sanhua, do you want to try them?"
The cat immediately drew its neck back and stared at the spoon he handed. Without saying a word, it just turned its head to avoid the spoon, and then lowered its head to eat its own glutinous rice eggs.
"Hehehe..."
The shop owner looked on and laughed.
As I get older, I am willing to watch these.
There was no one in the shop now, so he simply sat down at the table next to him, turned sideways to the Taoist, chatted with him, asked him what he was doing here, where he was going, and talked to him about some fairy tales.
Song You was also happy to chat with him.
By the time he finished half of the bowl of cat ears, Song You had become quite familiar with the shopkeeper and he complimented him: "The shopkeeper's craftsmanship is really good..."
"Hey, we don't have anything delicious in our small place, just these few things. I'll be very hungry after eating these things. Just get used to it, sir."
"On the way down, I heard a rumor." Song You stopped temporarily and said, "It is said that a long time ago, there was a water god in Yinjiang River. The water god had something that was given to him. I have no idea about this kind of thing.
I'm most interested, I wonder if the store owner has heard of it?"
"This is what we preach here!"
"Indeed, I asked the person who told me the story, and he couldn't tell clearly. However, he also said that he heard it in Zheng Xi. I don't know whether it is true or not."
"It's all happened in ancient times. Who knows if it's true or not? It's just that it's true, and it's passed down with a name and a surname! It's said that there are descendants of that person who passed it down, and they also have a name and a surname!"
"Yeah?"
This old shopkeeper was much better than the shopkeeper in Nanhua County. He didn't ask Song You to buy tea or anything like that. He just adjusted his sitting posture and started to tell him.
"It is said that there was a person in ancient times. I can't tell exactly when. Some said it was eight hundred years ago, and some said it was a thousand years ago. That person seemed to be called Bo Shu or something..."
"Boshu..."
It sounds like what the ancients called it.
"Yes! Bo Shu! This man has some abilities. He is said to be a monastic. Anyway, he knows magic and is very faithful!" The store owner said to him, "It is said that one day he went fishing by the river. The weather was hot, so he planted trees by the river at noon.
After a good sleep, I dreamed that a man came out of the river. I had heard of his name, so I asked him for help or to bring a letter. Anyway, there were various theories, and I wanted to go to the middle of the sea, and I gave it to him.
He gave him a knife and told him that as long as he took the knife to the seaside and cut it into the seawater, the seawater would automatically separate and he would not drown in the water."
"magic."
Song You echoed this at the right moment.
"It's all passed down..."
"Please continue."
"This man agreed in his dream, but when he woke up, he found that there was really a knife beside him. He was confused, but he agreed and couldn't regret it, so he really went." The shopkeeper said, "I went to the beach.
, just like what the person in the dream said, he cut the sea water and the sea water separated. After he walked in, the sea water closed up and could not submerge him. He said that he could breathe in the sea just like on the ground. When he reached the middle of the sea, he could still breathe.
He was entertained by the Dragon King in the sea. After walking back, he fell ill halfway because the journey was too long and there was miasma on the road. After he managed to get home, he couldn't get sick anymore, but he still told the story.
He told his wife, children and neighbors to listen, and told his son to return the knife to the water god in the river. After saying this, he died."
"His son hasn't been returned yet?"
"Exactly! His son was not as trustworthy as he was. Hearing that the knife was so powerful, after burying me, he hid the knife and went far away. No matter how powerful the water god was, he couldn't
I ran to a place far away from the river to look for him." The store owner told the story with great interest and joy. "Later, the water god was furious, and the Yinjiang River changed its course. I don't know how many fields were washed away, and many people suffered. Later,
It is said that the Water God was taken away by God, and the family returned to Zhengxi and later became officials."
The store owner was excited about it, and Song You also listened with interest.
Even if the store owner has a strong accent and speaks vaguely, you can almost understand the meaning by half-listening and half-guessing.
This kind of story sounds like a distinctly classical flavor.
The classic thing is that everything is very simple and lacks details, but if you fill it in and imagine it yourself, it will be endless fun.
Among the folk tales of those days, people seemed to pay special attention to trust and integrity. It was easy to trust someone, and it was also easy to deceive someone. Of course, there was a reason why people in those days were more innocent, but part of the reason was that hundreds of thousands of years had passed.
Details are lost in the rumors.
Just like no one knows why the Water God came to Bo Shu, how he persuaded him, what interests were exchanged between the two parties, how Bo Shu's son escaped the pursuit of the Water God, and how the Water God was deposed step by step by the Heavenly Palace.
Including Bo Shu going to the beach.
In the story, it seems that we set off today and arrive tomorrow. In fact, Song You knew that this place is still thousands of miles away from the sea, with mountains and rivers, and smoke everywhere, so it is actually very difficult to walk.
When it is simplified, it becomes romantic.
Song You tasted it for a while, and then asked again: "Just now, the store owner said that his family became officials, and there are descendants who have passed down the names, and they also have names and surnames?"
"Because the water god often changes his face without Yinjiang, and there are often water ghosts and water monsters in the river that harm people, and some even climb ashore to harm people. The family surnamed Zheng got the water god's knife and was able to command the people of Yinjiang.
Water and water demons were also afraid of water ghosts. Later, the government made him an official, specializing in the water of Yinjiang River."
"and after?"
"Later, the family grew bigger and bigger, and its branches were luxuriant. However, the descendants were incompetent, and their magic skills became lower and lower with each generation, and the knife was not as powerful as before. Later, Taizu raised an army and said that it was when he passed here
, the army was stationed outside the city, and Taizu lived in their home. The head of the Zheng family at that time had a meal with Taizu, then left with Taizu, and never came back."
"Follow Taizu?"
"Isn't that right?"
"The power of the dragon..."
"ah?"
"The merits of Conglong are those who follow the emperor to conquer the world. They have made great contributions."
"you do not say!"
"Is the family still there?"
"It's still there. It's also the largest family in Zhengxi now, and it was even knighted! But the head of the family at that time never came back, and the knife was lost." The shopkeeper said with a smile, "So it is famous.
As for the surname, it’s just been so many years, and the family members themselves don’t know whether it’s true or not. Maybe some descendant just made it up, so there’s no way they could have such a powerful knife…”
"It's interesting."
Song You nodded, lost in thought.
The cat had already finished half the bowl of soup and started to eat glutinous rice glutinous rice and poached eggs. Hearing them discussing their knives, the cat raised his head and glanced at the store, then quickly lowered his head and continued to lick.