Cold food coincides with Qingming Festival, and the Yamen has a two-day holiday.
Jia She and Jia Zheng were both too lazy to move, so they excused themselves from illness.
On the day of Qingming Festival, Jia Lian took his brothers and nephews to Tieksuan Temple to offer sacrifices to their ancestors and burn paper on their coffins.
The weather is slightly overcast, your clothes are wet with the rain of apricot blossoms, and the wind from the willows is blowing without chilling your face. It’s a good time to travel.
After worshiping their ancestors, everyone else took the opportunity to go for an outing in the countryside. Jia Lian had other plans.
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Yesterday, Mr. Shuyou sent a letter to Rong Mansion, saying that he wanted to invite Jia Lian to dinner. If he had anything to say to him during the dinner, Jia Lian must come.
Jia Lian knew that Mr. Shuyou had a lot of talent, and whenever he had money, he would spend it on students. How could he be willing to let him clear out his customers?
What's more, the Dongfeng Building, which he has put a lot of thought into, has been greatly renovated. It has already been scheduled to reopen on the sixth day of March. He originally planned to invite Mr. Shuyou to be the first guest of the Dongfeng Building. p>
So I decided to make a day ahead of schedule, just in time to entertain Mr. Book Friend alone today.
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Jia Lian went to the academy to personally pick up Mr. Shuyou.
Mr. Shuyou said that today's weather was very similar to Jiangnan, so the two of them did not hold an umbrella in the light rain, chatting and laughing all the way, and strolled to Dongfeng Tower, which had not yet hung a plaque.
When Mr. Shuyou saw that the doors and windows were closed, he smiled and asked Jia Lian:
"Is this... a famous dish that's rejected?"
Jia Lian smiled and said:
“How can we make it happen if we are ‘closed’ and don’t care if we are full?”
After that, he knocked on the door three times and reached out to give him three high-fives.
This is a code.
There was a continuous sound of "clattering", and the windows on the second floor of the restaurant were opened one by one, but the windows on the first floor were never opened.
Almost at the same time, the elegant melody of the guqin came from the restaurant.
Mr. Shuyou also loves playing the piano very much, and his face was filled with surprise after hearing this:
"Good piano! Good music!
I have never heard such an ancient and elegant sound. Yongbi, which ancient book is this?"
Before he finished speaking, the door of the restaurant slowly opened.
At first sight, the book friend was completely shocked.
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Who would have thought that this seemingly ordinary restaurant in Beijing would actually hide a fairy-like paradise inside?
When the door opens, you can see that the entrance is not flat, but a stone bridge slightly arched upward.
Standing on the bridge, it seems that a beautiful picture of the misty Jiangnan is slowly unfolding before your eyes.
In the middle, between the swaying reed and lotus leaves, cigarette smoke slowly and gracefully floats out, just like the slowly dense water vapor.
There are a number of floating pleasure boats floating on the river, which are private rooms.
Small and exquisite linen lanterns are hung on the wooden pillars on both sides. In the middle of the pillars are beauties, and there are tables for individual guests, as if they are pavilions next to the water.
Several tables on the side are even arranged under several large blooming pink and white peach blossoms.
Raising a glass and drinking in such a paradise on earth can make people become living gods.
Because only the windows on the second floor were open, the indoor light was a little dark, but there was a lamp hanging on each table, which gave it the charm of fishing fires on the river.
On the surrounding white walls, layers of blue-gray tube tiles are hung, and the ground is paved with bluestone, which is the common scenery on both sides of the river in the south of the Yangtze River.
Beside the farthest wall, a painted boat's bow was made, holding a string of lights. In the midst of the smoke, an old man with gray hair and a childlike face sat cross-legged, his eyes slightly closed, intoxicated by the music on his fingertips.
Youyou, like a fairy from another world.
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"Ya! Ya! It's really the most elegant thing!"
Mr. Shuyou couldn’t help but praise him repeatedly.
"Is this really a restaurant?"
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Jia Lian complained in his heart:
Of course it's a restaurant, and it's a restaurant I copied.
In my previous life, there were chain restaurants like this in many cities.
The name is "Green Tea".
I am just "pretending to be green tea".
It's a pity that this world of red buildings has no electricity, so lights, projections, and sprays are out of the question.
As for saying that the piano music sounds good - it can't sound bad, because it is "Spring River with Flowers and Moonlight Night".
"Moonlight Night on the Spring River" is not a guqin piece, it is a pipa piece.
The earliest record is also in the Qing Dynasty. Some people say that the recorder was Ju Shilin during the Jiaqing period of Qianlong, while others say it was Yao Xie in the late Qing Dynasty. Anyway, there is no Qing Dynasty in the world of Red Mansions, so it is impossible for Mr. Shuyou to have heard of it.
If it hadn't been for the wonderful music played on the guqin at the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games, I might not have remembered the tune.
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Jia Lian let Mr. Shuyou into the largest painting boat in the middle and said with a smile:
"Jiangnan is good, and the scenery is familiar to me.
Five cups of snow-foam milk flowers are floating on the surface, and the spring dish of polygonum antler and artemisia bamboo shoots is served.
Can we not remember Jiangnan?"
He deliberately replaced two sentences from Su Dongpo's "Huanxisha" into Bai Juyi's "Recalling Jiangnan". It not only talks about "food", but also has the same lyrics and rhythm.
Upon hearing this, Mr. Shuyou clapped his hands and laughed:
"Wonderful! Wonderful!
Yongbi, you can blurt out such a wonderful sentence, and you still say that you don’t like reading and have no talent?”
Jia Lian quickly waved his hand and said with a smile:
"I only gained knowledge because I stayed with my elder brother and was close to Zhu Zhechi.
A while ago, I was at home, but I was known as an unlearned and unskilled ‘big layman’.”
As they were talking, shopkeeper Chun came out personally holding the menu.
Jia Lian took it with both hands and held it to Mr. Shuyou:
"The dishes at Dongfeng Restaurant are modeled after the Wumen Boat Banquet in Suzhou.
It starts with four cold dishes and wine dishes, followed by a variety of hot and stir-fried dishes, and finally four main dishes.
The main dish is finished with fish, which is a good sign of "abundant auspiciousness".
This was when I was in Suzhou. After eating it, I couldn't forget it. I shamelessly asked Mr. Luan Lin and Luan Lin for his chef's private dishes.
Later, I bought from a local cook in Suzhou her ancestral secret recipes for "sauce sauce" and "burning purple lid", as well as a secret recipe for winter brewing, all of which were extremely authentic.
Today is the first time I have received a customer in this restaurant. Except Mr. Shuyou, there is no one else worthy of this."
Mr. Shuyou couldn’t help but praise:
"Your restaurant is unique in the capital, and it will definitely become an elegant place in the future.
This trip to Suzhou is just a sightseeing tour for others, but Yongbi pays attention to everything at all times. No wonder you find treasures everywhere!"
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Opening the menu, Mr. Shuyou asked again:
"The words on this menu were written by Yongbi?"
Jia Lian smiled and said:
"Show your ugliness and make your brother laugh.
Since this restaurant wants to be more elegant, the menu must be as elegant as possible.
Even though I’m not talented, I’m still top-notch in this restaurant, so I have no choice but to write it.”
Mr. Shuyou nodded and said:
"Yongbi, you are too modest.
Your handwriting in Taige style is already very elegant and straight. It has improved a lot compared to the last time I saw your calligraphy. It shows that you have been practicing calligraphy."
Jia Lian knew that Mr. Shuyou had the "occupational disease" of being a teacher. He always cared about whether students were progressing or regressing, so he did not hide it:
"Brother also knows that I didn't like reading and learning calligraphy in my early years, but I had to learn some in school.
Now that I have reached this age, my career is limited, so I can only write in regular script every day. I want it to be square, bright, big, round, and plump, so that in the officialdom, people will not laugh at me as just a dandy who is illiterate."<
/p>
Mr. Shuyou put down the menu and said seriously to Jia Lian:
"Since we are talking about officialdom, I won't wait any longer and will tell you now."
Jia Lian saw Mr. Shuyou suddenly serious and asked quickly:
"What's going on? Brother, you might as well say it clearly."
"The day before yesterday, I received a letter from Mr. Yao, the minister who became the minister, saying that he had signed a letter with Mr. Luan, the great minister, to recommend you to the current emperor.
Yongbi, Mr. Yao is not only the first teacher of the current emperor, but also, when the emperor was indecisive between the second prince and the third prince, it was this Mr. Yao who firmly fought against the "Three Kings Party".
Strive hard and have the merit of support.
Dear brother, given your background, now that you have the support of such a noble person, you will be able to rise to the top.
Even if you don’t have an imperial examination background, no one can make irresponsible remarks.”