At this time, shopkeeper Chun personally brought "Liu Li Qiu'er" Liu Xiaoqiu to serve the dishes.
The first is four cold dishes with wine: pan-fried marinated fish, platter of marinated goose meat, cold wild rice, and sesame oil mixed with fragrant dried malan head.
Mr. Shuyou smiled at the fragrance:
"As soon as you smell it, you know it's very authentic."
Jia Lian hurriedly handed over the dishes. Both the guests and the host used their chopsticks. Mr. Shuyou was even more surprised and said the Gusu dialect:
"Aged fermented marinade, paired with Banzheng Taihu goose, oh wow! It's really hard to explain.
I never thought, three thousand miles away from Suzhou, I can have such authentic Gusu taste in the capital, great! Great!"
At this time, Liu Xiaoqiu happened to come in and deliver snacks mixed with each dish.
These exquisite snacks are made of gordon flour on the outside and kneaded with flour. The fillings inside are made of sweet bean paste, date paste, sesame seeds, etc., and are kneaded into various vivid plants and animals by skillful cooks, and are placed in a steamer.
Steamed and lightly smeared with sesame oil when it comes out of the basket, the color, aroma and taste are so good that diners can't put it down and can't stop eating.
Liu Xiaoqiu is a smart little boy, and now he has been promoted by Jia Lian and became the "head" of Dongfeng Tower.
Upon hearing Mr. Shuyou's praise, Liu Xiaoqiu immediately responded with a smile:
"Oh, this man is really a good foodie. Our 'Gusu Boat Shop' is very authentic."
He deliberately dragged out the "oh" at the end to be as sweet and sticky as Mr. Shuyou, and coupled with his playful and flattering expression, Mr. Shuyou couldn't help laughing, and couldn't help but ask: p>
"Excuse me, this guy, did you mean what you just said about 'taotie'?"
As soon as the words came out of his mouth, he remembered his own accent and quickly added another sentence in Mandarin:
"What do you mean?"
Liu Xiaoqiu immediately smiled and said:
"Old gourmet? He is a 'knowledgeable eater'.
This Taotie is a mythical beast. Together with Chaos, Qiongqi, and Taotie, the four of them are invincible.
It is said that this Taotie has a human head, a body like a sheep, eyes in its creaking nest, tiger's teeth in its mouth, and human hands in its paws. It screams like a baby crying, which is very scary..."<
/p>
Jia Lian was about to interrupt Liuli Qiu'er from tinkering around here, but Mr. Shuyou waved his hand and expressed that he wanted to hear it.
When Liu Xiaoqiu saw it, she was even more satisfied and spoke even more energetically:
"Although this Taotie looks fierce, his family background is powerful.
He is the son of a dragon. His father is capable and his family is rich, so Taotie is very good at eating. There is nothing in the world that he has never eaten before.
Because of this, in Qinxing, the most experienced eater we have ever met is respectfully called ‘Lao Gourmet’.
Don't be picky, it doesn't mean that you are a 'gourmet' if you can eat it.
If you can only eat enough and have a large appetite, you are a good rice bucket.
To be worthy of the title of ‘Lao Tao’, one must be a famous person.
For example, the sage Confucius said, "You never tire of fine food, and you never tire of fine meat. If you don't cut it properly, you won't eat it. If you don't get the sauce, you won't eat it."
Another example is Cao Cao, Su Dongpo, and Li Bai and Du Fu. They are all famous gourmets in history.
This man can taste our store's bad goose in one bite, using aged bad goose and authentic Taihu goose. He must be a gourmet on par with these famous celebrities.
Otherwise, how could our Second Master Lian specially invite you to consecrate our Dongfeng Building?"
.
It is said that there is a "glazed ball" in many stores, who is shrewd, has a sharp tongue, has a wink, and can coax people.
And Liu Xiaoqiu, the "Liu Li Qiu Er" from Dongfeng Tower, is definitely the best among Liu Li Qiu Er.
In those few words, he not only praised Mr. Shuyou as a saint, but also carried a sedan chair for his boss. He also showed that he knew a lot and could speak. This thing was definitely loved by everyone.
"Little man and spirit".
Mr. Shuyou smiled at Jia Lian and said:
"Sure enough, a strong general has no weak soldiers, Yongbi, even the clerks in your shop are different from other places."
Jia Lian smiled and said:
"Liu Yuxi has a poem that goes: 'Thousands of scourings are hard work, but only after blowing all the sand can you get gold.'
The people I use are all left behind after going through the waves. Could they not be gold?"
Mr. Shuyou laughed when he heard this.
.
After three rounds of wine and five flavors of food, Jia Lian is about to strike while the iron is hot.
"Since my Dongfeng Building is in the capital city and has some of the essence of Gusu, I plan to buy the house behind the Dongfeng Building and simply build a 'Gusu Guild Hall' here. What do you think, brother?"<
/p>
Mr. Shuyou knew that Jia Lian was a thoughtful person, so he put down his chopsticks:
"Want to hear the details."
"The so-called 'hui' refers to an elegant gathering; the so-called 'guan' refers to the hotel where guests live.
Mr. Yao, Mr. Luan, and my uncle Lin are all from Gusu. I would like to use this Dongfeng Tower as a place for people from Gusu to connect with each other in the capital.
Every year during the exam period, when you come to Beijing, the people and the place are unfamiliar to you, and the local accent is hard to change. It may not be convenient to stay in a hotel, especially for those from ordinary families, it is even more difficult.
Why don't you come and live in this Gusu Guild Hall? I don't want their rent money here.
It is for the library.
Moreover, my Dongfeng Tower is closed to the public for one day every month, and is specially used for literati to drink, compose poems, chant, and sing. It will definitely be a grand event in the scholarly community in the capital.
It's for the elegant gathering.
All the fees will be paid by me, which can be regarded as a little reward from me."
.
Jia Lian's move shocked Mr. Shuyou again.
It is more than 2,000 miles from Suzhou to the capital. Although the candidates who go to Beijing to participate in the palace examination are escorted by local buses all the way, the time is often "rush early rather than late".
The family backgrounds of those who came to the capital early were uneven. Even if the government provided subsidies, there would still be people who could not afford to live in a hotel or eat.
Some families with poor financial conditions can only go to the temple to rent a cheap house and make some vegetarian food.
Having a guild hall in this way is certainly a good thing for the disciples.
As for regular gatherings, that is of course a good thing that literati and talented people like to see.
.
But how could Mr. Shuyou, who is as erudite as a book friend, not understand that this move must be suspected of being a clique due to geographical differences?
These poor scholars were accepted and helped by the guild hall, and were able to live together with their fellow villagers, take care of each other, and learn from each other's knowledge. Once they passed the imperial examination and entered the official career, they not only stayed with their fellow villagers and were in the same year, but they would also naturally be grateful to Jia Lian, the owner of the guild hall who provided help in times of need.
, including Jia Lian in the group’s own category.
This kind of "friendship that lasted until the end of the imperial examination" must be a different kind of "icing on the cake" friendship than the one after passing the imperial examination. It allowed Jia Lian, an official who was not born in the imperial examination, to be able to unite with all the previous imperial examination officials. p>
What's more, given Jia Lian's background as one of the founding nobles of the country, if he can get the support of many students who enter the official career, sooner or later it will be a situation where "one call from high and all the heroes in the world will respond".
At that time, it will be "not Cao Mengde, but also Cao Mengde".