Today is the day when Zhou Wenzhong is going to Daha Temple to make banquet noodles. It is also Sunday, a rest day.
At 8 o'clock in the morning, Zhou Wenzhong was finally in the bedroom, finishing the last piece of crushing work.
Pour the pepper powder from the medicine grinder into newspaper, wrap it and store it in the space.
Zhou Wenzhong stood up, twisted his waist, and smelled the scent on his sleeves again.
"I only worked for two hours, and my whole body smelled like aniseed."
After getting dressed, Zhou Wenzhong left the courtyard and walked to the station.
"Bang! Bang!"
"Give me one more, give me another small whip."
The flavor of the new year has been exaggerated by exploding firecrackers, and rich children are chasing each other in the alley with burning sticks.
20 minutes later, Zhou Wenzhong appeared in front of Daha Temple.
As the saying goes: There are different winds in three miles, and different customs in ten miles. No matter how close the two are, the customs and habits will be different.
Although it was a wedding banquet, there were no happy words posted in the temple at this time. There was only an Arabic word written on red paper.
Even in Mentougou, when ethnic minorities get married, the man will post the word "Double Happiness", and the girl's home will post the word "Happiness" to indicate whether she is marrying a girl or a daughter-in-law. You can understand the situation at a glance. This is a tradition among the elderly.
When gay Manchus get married in the capital, there is still a head-touching ceremony. When the newlyweds toast to their elders, the elders have to put their hands on their foreheads to hide. In later generations, this rule is still practiced except in some villages in the Northeast. It is no longer used in other places.
In the 1990s or 2000, ethnic minorities in places like Qinghai or Ningxia did not recognize people from other provinces as being religious. When they left their homes and went to various parts of the country to collect donations to build mosques, they carried nothing but
A satchel must have three enamel jars.
One is for drinking water, the other is for daily washing, and the last enamel jar is for eating. You don’t use other people’s bowls and chopsticks at all, even in a halal restaurant.
The Hui people in Xinjiang eat sheep intestines, but people in the capital don't eat it! But they sell this snack.
Even in 2020, there are many ethnic minorities who drink and smoke. Cooking wine is used for cooking at home, and cooking wine is also wine, not to mention that some people use beer to cook.
People who open restaurants in Gansu still have a sign on their door: This is a halal restaurant, no outside dishes allowed. Drinking is prohibited in this restaurant.
It doesn’t matter what the teaching is, as long as it leads people to be good, it is a good teaching. So there are some things that cannot be said at all.
"Here you come? Comrade, whose family do you belong to?"
"I belong to everyone! Without me, you can't hold a banquet!"
This is what people these days do. Skilled people, such as senior craftsmen, can be said to have explosive tempers. Zhou Wenzhong naturally knows this well.
Zhou Wenzhong walked into Daha Temple with his hands behind his back and took a look. The courtyard covers a large area, estimated to be 2 acres (1332 square meters). The most conspicuous thing is the more than 10 saponaria trees in the courtyard, and some doors
It was open, and sandbags and stone locks were hung inside.
The northernmost house is a single room. From the outside of the mosque, it is just a counter selling prayer hats, scarves, and blankets. Overall, there is nothing novel about it.
They don't use soap and use soap to wash their clothes because the soap contains lard.
"That... Comrade, you are here..."
"Call Ma Erbao over and don't talk nonsense with me. Just a few more words and you can find someone to cook."
Zhou Wenzhong clasped his hands behind his back, cocked his neck and tilted his head.
"Okay, please wait here."
"Um."
Not long after, Ma Erbao ran over with a rag in his hand.
"Huh...huh...Brother Zhong is here. I was wiping the table just now and didn't have time to pick you up. Where is the chef?"
Ma Erbao looked behind Zhou Wenzhong.
"Stop looking for it, it's far away in the horizon and right before your eyes."
"You?"
"Um."
Ma Erbao quickly grabbed Zhou Wenzhong's arm and urged: "Oh! Brother Zhong, let's run away quickly. Let's go. Let's go. You've tricked me to death!"
"Go and play with eggs. If the sky falls, there will be a tall one to hold it up. Take me to the stove to have a look."
"No, nothing like you! If you had told me earlier..."
"Master is here? Where is he? Let me take a look."
An imam in his 50s came out, followed by two colleagues.
Zhou Wenzhong took two steps forward, shook hands and replied: "That's me."
"you?"
"Yeah, I'm the one cooking."
Ma Erbao introduced: "This is Imam Ma."
"Hello."
"Ah. Okay, okay. But this..."
"Imam Ma, I want to mention someone to you. Does Ma Baoguo know about it?"
Imam Ma looked at the two people behind him, and they both shook their heads in response.
"Since you don't know me, let me talk to you a little more. Let me tell you this, I studied under Ma Baoguo. I wouldn't come to an ordinary dinner at all, if it weren't for this guy Ma Erbao who invited me over and over again.
, I won’t leave the mountain at all.”
Imam Ma immediately grasped the key point and quickly asked: "Come out of the mountain?"
"Well, I know you think I'm not reliable at my young age, and I'll tell you the truth. I quit this business when I was 12 years old. There's no point in telling you too much. Let's see what's true.
But! I keep my words in mind and let me cook. Everything must be done according to my rules. Anyway, I am here. There is a wedding today and people from both families are here. If I dare to fool
The matter is hidden from them, do you think I can walk out of the mosque today? Think about it."
Imam Ma made some calculations in his mind. He couldn't hire a chef himself, so he would be a living horse doctor. At worst, he would push the man in front of him out to punish him.
"Um...what level of chef is the Ma Baoguo you just mentioned?"
"Stepless."
"Level 5, it's not bad."
"You didn't hear clearly, I said no level! Strictly speaking, it's only half a level higher than a top chef. Ouch! This is what people in the sect say, and I tell you, you don't understand it either."
"Let me give you an analogy. If the imam in the mosque is level 4, the two Khalibahs behind you are at most level 8 chefs. If I compare it to you, can you understand?"
"Ah, just leave it like this."
Imam Ma quickly led the two of them to retreat and run away.
"Don't go! Take me to the stove and take a look!"
"Just let Erbao lead you there, I still have a lot of things on my hands!"
Imam Ma's voice became weaker and weaker, and Zhou Wenzhong looked at Ma Erbao.
"Take me to the stove and take a look."
"Alas...where is the loess that doesn't bury people? Come with me."
Ma Erbao led the way as if resigned to his fate, and took Zhou Wenzhong to a temporary shack. There were two stove holes built with mud, and a spatula was placed on the ground.
Zhou Wenzhong ran out, picked up the gourd, weighed it and said, "It's quite heavy. I estimate it weighs more than 20 kilograms. Is it made of copper inside?"
"I don't know. I'll go get some help for you first."
"go Go."
After a while, Ma Erbao led 7 or 8 middle-aged women over, talking and laughing.
"Is this the master?"
"I guess he's an apprentice."
"It looks similar to me."
"Er Bao, aren't you kidding me?"
……………
Zhou Wenzhong clapped his hands to interrupt their exchange, and asked loudly: "I have said hello to Imam Ma. When will the host prepare to start the banquet?"
"It's not that particular. The two families have already arrived. They are chatting all over the house. The dinner should start at about 11 o'clock."
"Then what are you talking about? Let's get busy! Where are the vegetables? Where's the meat? Bring them all out."
Several people looked at Ma Erbao, who closed his eyes and nodded.
"Gentlemen, please don't be so dazed. Let's go!"
"Walk."
"Leave a few people to light the fire and water first, and then set up the stall!"
"knew!"
As everyone was busy, they carried long benches, propped up wooden boards, moved vegetable baskets, and carried pots and pans...
Zhou Wenzhong sat on a stool and watched other people working as if nothing had happened.
"It finally looks like something."
"Where's the meat?"
"Isn't this here? It's all here, a basin of small fish and a pair of sheep lungs."
"Ma Erbao, come here!"
"What's wrong with Brother Zhong?"
"Where's the chicken we promised? And these fish, are they as long as your little finger? Is the moon full?"
"I don't know. I only found out that I was cheated when I came here. I am more wronged than you,"
"Hey...are these the ingredients you prepared? They are all potatoes, cabbage, and a few radishes. Oh, by the way, there are also some dried mushrooms. Where is the oil for cooking?"
"it's here."
Ma Erbao pointed to the two lumps of sheep tail oil on the wooden board and the two ounces of soybean oil on the plate.
"With these things, you still ask for 8 dishes and 2 soups! You also ask for 4 meat dishes! Aren't you cheating on the chef?"
Ma Erbao said awkwardly: "Let's make do with it."
"Is this something we can make do? Stir-fried vegetables in mutton oil? Do you know what the temperature is today? When the breeze blows, the dishes will solidify as soon as they are served. Don't you think your mouth will be mushy?"
"There's nothing I can do about this. This is the condition. How about we both run away?"
A middle-aged woman shouted: "There are still two lamb spines. They are not particularly clean and there is still some meat on them."
"what time is it now?"
"It's about 9 o'clock."
Zhou Wenzhong stood up and began to direct everyone to work.
"First wash the lamb spine and put it in the pot to cook. Break off the lamb tail oil and throw it into the pot as well."
"No more refining oil?"
"I'll have an idea soon. Don't ask blindly."
The middle-aged woman walked away mumbling.
"This little comrade has quite a bad temper."
"Cut the potatoes into shreds and soak them in water for me. Don't change the water in the basin. I still need the starch in them. And soak those dried vegetables for me! When it's time to steam the steamed buns, steam the steamed buns, and when it's time to pack the fish, pack the fish.
Don’t let anyone be idle.”
"Where are the vermicelli? Why don't you soak them in water first?"
"Let's talk later!"
"How are you going to deal with these little white slips?"
"Use scissors to scrape the scales. You don't need to bother with disembowelment. You can just squeeze out the internal organs with your hands."
"Get busy! Get busy!"
Zhou Wenzhong put his hands behind his back and began to supervise the work again.
"Brother Zhong, here are two towels and a bag of dry soap locust given by the host. When you use the soap locust, break it up first, smash it, and soak it in water. The water can be used to wash clothes or shampoo.
"
"Well, throw it away."
"okay."
"Brother Zhong, what do you think I can do?"
"Go and put the sheep's lungs in an enamel basin, fill it with warm water along the lung tubes, and leave it alone until the blood seeps out."
"Okay. Can I drink some cold water?"
"Pay attention to the weather temperature! The cold water will freeze after a while. Don't keep asking questions."
"oh."
"These 8 yuan are really not that easy to earn."
"Brother Zhong, these are the 20 eggs that the master just sent to me. I guess their money is empty."
Zhou Wenzhong pulled the basket twice.
"Is this sawdust?"
"Well, I'm probably afraid of breaking the eggs."
Zhou Wenzhong waved his hand, and Ma Erbao put the eggs on the ground and went to fill the sheep's lungs with water.