If you had visited Yuexiu Hutong yesterday where Song Tuiguan and Lin Laohu, the executioner’s head of the Shuntian Prefecture, had visited the old place again today, you would have discovered that Zhang Shou originally gave the good name Xinglong Teahouse, but in fact it was extremely dilapidated. The small tea stall had disappeared due to the tea seller's relocation, but instead of the autumn wind blowing away the fallen leaves, the place was crowded with people.
It wasn't that the place where the tea stall was located suddenly became lively, but that a building near Yuexiu Hutong, which Song Tuiguan and the others had covered with a curtain when they came yesterday, had been under construction for the past few days, suddenly revealed its true colors today.
The three-story teahouse has double octagonal eaves, a pointed roof, red-painted doors and windows, and shiny black tiles. At first glance, it does not look like the simplicity of a folk teahouse - or shabby. Instead, it shows the luxury of a wealthy building. There is even a copper wind chime embedded on it. The breeze blows and the sound of the bell is clear and clear.
The heads of clubs and chefs who came here today were all amazed when they saw the heavy curtains removed.
Not only these people, but also the people nearby who heard the news and came to watch the excitement, all opened their mouths. This place was surrounded by wooden pillars and various barriers. It was at the beginning of the year. At that time, there were still people with hands and feet. Clean people sneaked in to see if there was any oil or water to be fished out, but in the end they were unable to get in and out. In the end, it became a taboo place among some people.
The news spread from one to ten, and I don’t know where it came from, saying that this was the property of Weinan Bo Zhang Kang, and they planned to renovate the three-story teahouse here and use it as a golden house to hide the beauty in the future. .Since there are indeed rumors that a large piece of land nearby belongs to a certain wealthy family, ordinary people are even more afraid to pry into what is going on inside. Who would have known that it would be like this now that it is completed.
Only Lu Sanlang knew that the reason why the imperial chef selection competition was chosen here was not only because the land belonged to the emperor, but also because there was a royal tea house that was almost repaired here. Yes, the emperor wanted to transform this place into a tea house. On weekdays, it can be operated externally. When he occasionally goes out of the city incognito, he can rent out the entire third floor as a private club to take people to enjoy the scenery of the outer city.
Of course, in contrast, the emperor's original construction plan was much more than this. It also included connecting several ponds in nearby Xuannanfang to create a Soviet-style garden for teachers including Ge Yong. As a base for daily activities, several arithmetic masters even proposed an amazing organization called Jiuzhang Academy, which is opposite to Jiuzhangtang.
Anyway, when Lu Sanlang heard Zhang Shou mention the series of grand plans of the emperor, he was amazed and deeply admired. But when he heard that the inner treasury was rich, the emperor did not dare to spend it so excessively, so this was ten years ago He had just renovated a teahouse under his plan, and he felt horrified.
It’s so depressing for you, the majestic emperor, to spend some money and still be so constrained!
At this moment, facing a large group of leaders who were continuously exclaiming and applauding, Lu Sanpang certainly would not show such emotion. Instead, he said to everyone calmly: "This is Uncle Weinan's special career. I We have been friends with him for many years, so I managed to steal this teahouse from him that has not yet been officially opened. If you want to be amazed, you must praise Uncle Weinan for his ingenuity."
"But he is not at a loss. The four words "Xinglong Tea House" are inscribed by the emperor himself. With these four words, his tea house's business will be safe and prosperous in the future! Mr. Liu, don't you think so?"
Seeing the little fat man asking himself with a smile, Liu Zhiyuan couldn't help but laugh. If Zhang Shou hadn't confided in him, he would have been easily fooled by the little fat man's few words at this moment! Moreover, look at the person running aside.
It’s hard to say whether the Weinan Bo Zhang Kang who came to the platform was sent by the emperor, or if he was really an old friend of the little fat man!
"I'm at home now, so don't talk about this old man anymore." Liu Zhiyuan coughed and reminded him, then smiled, "As for Uncle Weinan, this freshly baked good place is vacant.
It is indeed rare to host this grand event, so it is no wonder that the emperor splashed ink and wrote the word "Xinglong" with his own pen."
Zhang Kang smiled at Liu Zhiyuan and thanked the old man for his comment. After all, the two of them were not familiar with each other before, but he was really surprised. Who was supporting him? He did not expect that it was this old man who came out to support Lu Sanlang. You know,
What was the name of this person in the past? Guanhead Liu! I believe that this man who made money by being amiable was all killed and decisively filled the hole!
"My place hasn't opened yet, so I lent it as the venue for this grand event. When it officially opens in the future, there will naturally be a constant flow of customers. It means that I have made a lot of money." Zhang Kang said and glanced sideways at Wan Yuanbao, the richest man in the capital.
, because he smiled and said, "But no one can compare to the generosity of the famous Wan Yuan Bao Wan Ye in the capital. He even lent out Twelve Rains from Tingyu Xiaozhu."
"Uncle Weinan is joking, what kind of master am I? Besides, how can I not come to such a big event? It's a pity that I don't have a good chef. In this case, of course the only choice is to let all the girls come.
Let’s add some fun and join in the fun!”
Even though he is undoubtedly the first-class figure among today's large group of businessmen and leaders, Fourth Master Hua, the head of the Hua family, the richest man in Suzhou, saw Wan Yuanbao talking to Zhang Kang with a smile on his face, but he knew that he was talking to Zhang Kang.
There is still a gap in Wan Yuanbao, not because of the family's strength, but because of the gap in connections between Suzhou's Guojianglong and Beijing's local snake.
Therefore, he knew that this was definitely not the time for him to rush up to express his closeness. Sure enough, the next moment, he saw Zhang Kang even clenched his fist and hit Wan Yuanbao on the shoulder with an extremely familiar and informal attitude: "You
This all-pervasive old ghost, since the Twelve Rains are here and there are so many people nearby to watch the fun, the big stage set up over there is closed with a curtain and let them perform."
Zhang Kang ordered Wan Yuanbao like a half-master, and then said to the others with a smile: "Everyone, please excuse me. Anyway, today is just a preview. If you want to go down and prepare the booth, you can just watch the excitement here."
That’s okay too.”
"You know, it's rare for Twelve Rains from Tingyu Xiaozhu to perform "Jinling Yan" on stage, which was also known as "The Peach Blossom Fan" in the past. Once it was performed in the past, it was hard to get a ticket, even if the dignitaries wanted to
It’s not even possible to invite people to go home and perform it. After all, even the emperor once took Princess Yongping to see it and clapped her hands and applauded it. This is considered to be a clear path before the emperor."
After seeing Zhang Kang say this, he invited Liu Zhiyuan and Lu Sanlang to go upstairs. Fourth Master Hua whispered a few words to shopkeeper Hua who was standing aside. Seeing him leaving in a hurry, he followed the people in front of him to go upstairs. Sure enough, when they arrived on the second floor
, saw that on the stage surrounded by curtains downstairs, string and bamboo orchestral music had begun to play, and two women came on stage shortly after, and he couldn't help but look at them with interest.
But when he thought they would sing, he was stunned. It turned out that it was not the various singing styles he was familiar with, but... but the ups and downs of the vernacular! He stared in disbelief.
With my eyes open, I saw only Zhang Kang, Liu Zhiyuan and Lu Sanlang upstairs, as well as other businessmen at the meeting. Only a few were surprised, but most of them smiled knowingly.
What kind of drama is this?
Shopkeeper Hua also had doubts in his mind. However, when he heard the dialogue below, he was just surprised. When he saw the interested looks of many people watching, he realized that this kind of form was definitely not uncommon in the capital.
Otherwise, there would not be such recognition. Sure enough, after walking around for a while, he heard a lot of comments, some of which were quite insightful.
"Twelve Rains recited the lines much better than before. I thought that the voice was really weak and weak at the beginning, but now it has a sonorous sound, which fits the atmosphere before the fall of the Southern Song Dynasty. The soldiers are weak and weak, but the women are sonorous and decisive. It's really
It’s wonderful.”
"Business girls don't know the hatred for the country's subjugation, but they still sing songs in the backyard across the river? Tsk, that's just the complaint of some literati. If you really have a grudge against the country's subjugation, you should raise your arms and shout against it! I can only sit here
We are drinking in a restaurant to soothe our sorrows, but we still laugh at a singer who doesn’t know how to hate the country’s subjugation? Haha, how hypocritical!”
"Brother, what I'm saying is that many people in the court criticized the play of Twelve Rains, saying that it was unhistorical and that it was all fabricated. It's okay to say it's fabricated. Those guys in the Southern Song Dynasty are currently fighting among themselves.
Not as good as a singer! By chance, I once went to see the complete version of Once Upon a Time with someone, and it was really wonderful. Hey, the last days of the Southern Song Dynasty were simply vividly performed!"
The people talking were obviously knowledgeable, so Shopkeeper Hua simply stood and listened for a while. As expected, all he heard was people talking endlessly about the theme of the so-called "Jinling Yan" and how it developed later.
What roles did the Twelve Rains play in it... so much so that Shopkeeper Hua was distracted and missed many lines behind the curtain.
"In short, you can't tell how famous it is by listening to it. You have to go in and see it! If during the imperial chef selection competition, I can really go in and taste the skills of the future imperial chefs and watch Twelve Rain's plays, I would rather save money and go there.
Join in the fun!"
Although the people around were very interested in the discussion of the few people just now, many still showed disapproval when they heard that they had to go to the theater even though they were frugal, but Shopkeeper Hua smelled something unusual.
After all, ordinary people may not have the money to go to the infield to taste delicious food and watch a movie at the same time, because something unexpected happened today, and there are few people with money and leisure in the outer city. But after today's warm-up day, the news spread
What happens after you get out? How many people will hear the news and come to join in the fun? How much money does this involve?
Just as Shopkeeper Hua was thinking more and more excited, he suddenly heard a shout: "Authentic Yangzhou refreshments, the emperor's eldest apprentice appointed the Yangzhou Royal Chef... personally cooks! Boil dry shreds, stew lion's head, Yangzhou fried rice...
…”
Before he could finish hearing all the shouting about the names of dishes, shopkeeper Hua hurriedly squeezed out of the crowd, only to see that a stall had been set up downstairs at Xinglong Tea House.
It is said that it is a stall, which is much better than the hawkers in the market who only have one cart and one stall, because there are several square tables around it, and the carts have everything from stoves, firewood to various chopping boards and utensils.
, a tall cook was skillfully stirring the pot by the stove, and many people gathered around him in an instant.
After all, when you only hear her voice but don't see her, the fragrant food is much more attractive than the beauty acting.
Seeing this scene, Shopkeeper Hua's heart skipped a beat, especially when he saw Lu Chai Bang Yu standing at the head of the meeting behind the chef with his arms folded triumphantly. He suddenly realized that he had been robbed first.
.
Therefore, he had no time to worry about the strange drama of Tingyu Xiaozhu Twelve Rains or what the people in the capital were thinking at the emperor's feet. He only knew that the Suzhou Guild Hall was already one step behind the Yangzhou Guild Hall, and it would be over if it fell further behind.
Although the construction of a port in Cangzhou has been proposed, it has not been completely finalized. If even under the current open system, Suzhou people cannot send an imperial chef to the imperial kitchen, then how can they have the dignity to meet the elders in their hometown?
So, when Zhang Shou brought Xiao Cheng and Xiao Huanhua to the vicinity of Xinglong Tea House, he found that the flow of people had increased twenty times compared to when he entertained Song Tuiguan and Lin Huhu here yesterday.
Not only that. Even when he was still far away, he could hear the huge noise over there, like a hawker.
“Yangzhou specialty crystal meat!”
"Gusu delicacy intestines and lung soup, ten cents a bowl, only ten cents, common people's delicacies, aristocratic taste!"
"Shandong Confucius cuisine allows you to taste the craftsmanship praised by the sage!"
Little Peanut's eyes almost popped out of his head. He had long heard from Old Xianyu about this so-called imperial chef selection competition. He originally thought it was just a formality, but in fact, the corresponding person had already been selected, but now he arrived at the scene.
When he saw it, he felt that everything had subverted his imagination. How could it be so grand and lively?
When he thought that this was Zhang Shou's suggestion, he couldn't help but glance to the side, but before Zhang Shou's answer, as he continued to move forward, he heard an unusually soft libretto in front of him. Although he had never heard it before,
Even though I had heard such singing, I was still almost fascinated by it. I couldn't help but move forward and even passed Zhang Shou without realizing it.
Seeing this scene, Zhang Shou completely believed his initial judgment.
No wonder Little Peanut accidentally said the word "operating" in Xiao's house before, and then when he mentioned that a theater troupe was coming, he also showed great interest. It turned out that he was a theater fan. However, in today's era, actors have always been regarded as lowly.
Karma, just like the Twelve Rains performing on the inner stage at this time, if it were replaced by twelve ladies from good families, I'm afraid it would cause an uproar.
If Little Peanut is really interested in this business... He doesn't care. Will Old Salted Fish be so angry that he beats this kid to death?
Zhang Shou had this ridiculous thought in his mind and didn't even notice that he became the center of attention in an instant.
When he travels on weekdays, he doesn't like to go to crowded places, and he doesn't go shopping much - and at that time, he is often accompanied by Zhu Ying. The Zhu family's guards are all around, and others can only watch from a distance, but now Ah
Liu took the horse and didn't know where to place it. Except for Xiao Huahua and Xiao Cheng, there was Yang Hao Zhengdang beside him. The few half-year-old children had no deterrent effect. How could they deter others?
So, not to mention the young girls and young wives, there were actually several men who saw his appearance. They couldn't help but look at each other and then quietly came over. Seeing a group of women looking at this handsome young man, one of the men suddenly shouted softly:
"Well, you runaway slave, I have been looking for you all over the place for many days, and you still dare to come out and show off in the market. Go ahead, take him back and ask for a reward from me!"
Just as he finished speaking, a laugh came from the heights of Xinglong Teahouse: "Hey, Dr. Zhang is here too?"