The population of the capital city of the Ming Dynasty is still less than 700,000 or 800,000, and this does not include the large number of unregistered households, servants of powerful families, who have children.
If all these shady households were included, the total population of the capital would have exceeded one million, making it the largest city in the world!
Prosperous and beautiful, unparalleled for a while.
But for such a huge and prosperous city, the food, drink, and urination of millions of residents is a big problem. The massive amounts of food and various commodities needed every day are all transported by canals.
As for fresh fruits and vegetables, they can only be produced in the countryside.
As night fell, people in the capital who had been hiding at home all day came out one after another to buy some vegetables, tofu, rice, noodles, grains and oils.
Smoke rises from the kitchen.
Amidst the faint smell of cooking smoke, some scholars, officials, relatives from wealthy families... all kinds of people walked into restaurants of various sizes.
As the large and small restaurants and restaurants were quickly filled with people, the scholars began to make friends, chat over wine, and enjoy the rare comfort in this hot summer.
When night falls, dots of lanterns light up in front of each shop, illuminating the wide and straight streets.
Opposite to Beizhen Fusi.
The originally dilapidated three-story building has now been renovated. It looks like a restaurant from a distance, but up close...
It is indeed a restaurant, but its facade is much wider than that of ordinary restaurants. There is also a large signboard hanging outside the door, with a dragon and a phoenix written on it.
This character is pronounced as "meal".
It's just that this restaurant hasn't opened yet, so it looks a little deserted.
In silence.
Shen Lie put his hands behind his back and walked slowly to the private room in the middle of the third floor. He opened the window and looked at the bustling city with clear eyes.
What was displayed in front of Shen Lie at this moment was a city that never sleeps.
The Ming Dynasty never sleeps.
To be precise, it is bounded by the inner city wall. Only half of this huge city is brightly lit, because there is a curfew in the inner imperial city, but not in the outer city.
So at night, there will be some strange scenes in the capital.
The inner city is dark and silent, while the outer city is extremely noisy, and the nightlife has developed to an outrageous level!
Hands behind back.
Standing on the third floor, Shen Lie's eyes became leisurely, and his heart was already filled with ups and downs. It has been two hundred years of prosperity. This is the accumulation of prosperity and fireworks for two centuries.
Speaking of which, Daming cuisine has developed to what extent by the early Wanli era. It has not only developed various major cuisines and various recipes.
Instead, I started to look for the true meaning of beauty in food.
In this era of the Ming Dynasty, eating has become a kind of attention. From top to bottom, from the Imperial Palace to the private sector, everyone pays attention to food culture.
And there is a special occupation in Ming Dynasty that has never been seen in history.
This profession is called gourmet.
Not only are these gourmets good at cooking, they also like to comment on delicious food and write books about their understanding of food.
They are even sold on the street!
Of course, the tastes of the Ming Dynasty people during this period were relatively light, and their purpose was to nourish the spirit, strengthen the body and prevent diseases. This was naturally caused by the Taoist culture that was carried forward under the leadership of the Ming Dynasty royal family.
Shen Lie was thinking a lot when he heard the sound of familiar soft footsteps behind him. Before he could turn around, he was hugged by a familiar hot body from behind.
Through the thin clothes, I felt the soft and fragrant skin of the beautiful lady, and twitched my nose to smell the elegant fragrance of her body.
Shen Lie felt extremely happy and satisfied in his heart, and said softly: "Have you not returned home yet?"
There is no one around.
In silence.
Zhang Jingxiu then shouted shyly: "Are you driving me away?"
Shen Lie couldn't laugh or cry for a moment, so he turned around and hugged her into his arms. He took a closer look at her bright and beautiful face through the dim light on the street. His rough hands were caressing her soft waist and hips. The thin clothes felt amazingly smooth, and my heart was filled with tenderness and sweetness.
Zhang Jingxiu couldn't bear the teasing, so she hugged her sweetheart's thick neck tightly and began to breathe softly: "Isn't it enough to have Yun'er by your side... bad guy!"
Shen Lie was not willing to let her go. He mumbled a few words of defense, then skillfully inserted his hand into the thin gown, squeezing her soft and plump body wantonly.
They were entangled so tightly for a while, and it really got to a point where things got really bad.
Zhang Kui's voice came from downstairs: "Miss, it's getting late."
Zhang Jingxiu still hugged her sweetheart tightly, suppressing the restlessness in her heart, and then responded softly: "Yes."
The eldest lady of this house is becoming more and more coquettish.
A long time passed.
Zhang Jingxiu finally broke free from Shen Lie's arms, showed a bright and sweet smile to the man he fell in love with, and hurriedly tidied up his clothes before walking down the stairs.
When the private room became quiet again, Shen Lie turned around again and looked at the endless lights of thousands of houses outside the window, feeling extremely comfortable for a moment.
Watching the beauty disappear in the dim light accompanied by her escort, Shen Lie quickly left the private room and closed the door.
The clean and tidy restaurant fell into silence.
Early the next morning.
The sun rises from the east as usual.
The sky is slightly brighter, and people in the capital have begun to get busy.
After a noisy night.
Scholars who had been drinking all night, or dandy boys from wealthy families, smelled of alcohol, hurried out of brothels and prostitutes, or the homes of homeless people.
However, the peddlers and low-level government servants took advantage of the fact that the temperature was still cool and hurried out to prepare food and vegetables for one or several days.
In this era where productivity is not high and people rely solely on food for food, it is by no means an empty statement.
Besides weddings and funerals, eating is the most important thing!
The dim light in the sky lit up, and the gate of Fusi in Jinyiwei North Town was still closed. There were already many pedestrians on the street, some were careless and some were careful.
Soon someone with an attentive mind saw a new shop on the side of the long street that was originally a teahouse. Two black signboards were hung in the most eye-catching position in front of the door.
There are three big characters written on a signboard.
"Cheap Shop."
On another signboard, there are also large white characters written with flying dragons and phoenixes.
"meal!"
So not long after dawn, dozens of people gathered under the big word "dinner", all pointing and talking.
At the head were several people who looked like officials, and there were also various people dressed as servants, servants, and servants who were watching the fun. Everyone had the same expression on their faces.
stupid!
"What is this for sale?"
"I can't understand... I've never seen it."
Looking at the open dark door, the onlookers whispered and discussed, but their suspicion of strange things made them only dare to watch, and no one dared to walk in and take a look.
until……
From the dark door, a stunning beauty wearing a light green skirt and hairpin walked out, but she saw that the beauty was holding a wooden basin in her hand, which was filled with clean water.
