Chapter 239 (1/1)
They were immersed in painting. Time passed quickly. I don't know how long it took. They felt that there was a noise below. Duan Tingxuan raised his head and frowned and said, ”what's the matter below? Why is it noisy?”
But Li Qiushan smiled bitterly and said, ”my Lord, madam, the Buddha jumping over the wall has been cooked for three hours. It's the end of the time. Not to mention the noise of the people below, the dozens of judges are also hungry. One of them is really hungry. He drank two pots of tea and water to cover his hunger. He ran to the toilet more than a dozen times.”
Duan Tingxuan was surprised and said, ”why? It's not that they are not allowed to eat.”
Li Qiushan said: ”these judges attach great importance to this competition, so before tasting the delicious food, they only drink a bowl of porridge in the morning and don't eat after brushing their teeth and gargling. They say they are afraid of affecting the judgment of taste.”
Duan Tingxuan and long Pingzhang were stunned. For a long time, long Da nodded and said, ”apart from others, this son's serious spirit and attitude are indeed commendable.”
Duan Tingxuan coughed and said, ”go and see your wife and ask her when she can finish it? How did it take so long? It was only two hours last time. By the way, if your wife hasn't finished yet, go to appease the judges and say that the son of the world and Lord long will go hungry with them.”
Li Qiushan promised, went into the kitchen and asked Su wennuan. When he came out, he smiled bitterly and said, ”Madam said it would take half an hour for us to be calm. Alas! Miscalculation. I knew I should have sent someone to get some water melon seeds and sell them in the crowd downstairs. I'm sure the business is booming. Although the money is small, a little makes a lot. How can we make a profit of tens of liang of silver. Miscalculation, miscalculation.”
As they spoke, they shook their heads and sighed and went downstairs to inform the judges of the ”bad news”. Duan Tingxuan and long Pingzhang looked at each other. Suddenly, they heard a cry downstairs. When they looked, they saw that there were indeed people in the dense crowd selling fresh water snacks. They couldn't help laughing: ”It's Linqing in the end. There is no shortage of people with such a flexible mind in a city that thrives on merchants from all over the world.”
When painting, I didn't realize that time was flying. It was really hard to do nothing for half an hour. The only relief was that long Pingzhang's head hurt again. This time, he finally remembered the appearance of the emperor, together with father-in-law Wen, the general manager next to the emperor.
After half an hour, ten dishes were finished. Li Qiushan took seven or eight tall and strong guys, four of whom carried the two big jars to the largest private room on the second floor. The remaining dishes were packed in food boxes and served by the guys at one time. Shopkeeper Li followed with his head held high and satisfied.
Duan Tingxuan and long Pingzhang were about to go to see Chu Xiu, but they saw Chu Xiu come out and said with a smile: ”my sister said, let's not go to the second floor for fun now. Why should we let others eat? Since this is the gratitude and resentment between Anle building and Fu Shengxiang, let shopkeeper Li stare at you and let you come in for dinner. Some of all kinds of dishes are reserved. It's right to eat while it's hot.”
This proposal was in their minds. At this time, they didn't care about the words of saints such as ”gentleman's far bud kitchen”. When they went in and looked at the dazzling table of dishes, the little Marquis felt his saliva ticking and couldn't help laughing: ”I haven't eaten the food you cooked since I left Suzhou. I can finally have a good meal today. Eh? What's this red dish? It's very beautiful. Yes, it's pepper. Thanks to your willingness, this... This plate can't have more than a dozen pepper?”
Su wennuan said with a smile, ”it's not? I'm in love. But forget it, the seeds have been collected. You can plant them next year and eat them at the end of summer. Today is to compete for the Dragon Pingzhang sidewalk in Anle building: ”I can't say whether it's delicious or not. There are some delicious, tender and smooth fish, but the taste is too overbearing. There seems to be a fire burning in my mouth, but it's strange. I can't stop chopsticks. The more spicy, the more I want to eat. What's the meaning?”
Su wennuan laughed and said, ”this is a masochistic constitution.” seeing long Pingzhang puzzled, she smiled and explained: ”It's nothing. That remark was just a joke. You're just a person who likes to eat chili peppers. But I'm afraid you can't leave it for three or five meals. But it's really overbearing. I don't know if the judges downstairs can stand it. Otherwise, as Tingxuan said, it's really a pity.”
As I was saying this, I suddenly heard a burst of joy and thunder outside. When several people came out of the kitchen, they first smelled a strong fresh aroma. Only then did they hear that those people were cheering and shouting ”good smell” and ”what kind of dish is this?” Like that, several people looked at each other and couldn't help smiling. They knew that it was the opening of the altar cover of the Buddha jumping wall on the second floor that caused such a sensation by allowing the strong aroma of the Buddha jumping wall to escape. It's unrealistic for the fragrance to float for ten miles, but it's still no problem to float five miles with the wind.
Back in the kitchen, Chu Xiu took advantage of the gap between Xiao Hou ye and long Pingzhang to attack the boiled fish. She ate his favorite streaky meat and mutton in the Buddha jumping wall. It was a pleasure to eat. She was surprised to see Su wennuan. She whispered, ”sister, it's easy to get fat with such a meat eating method.”
Chu Xiu stuck out her tongue and said with a embarrassed smile, ”it's delicious. Let me eat it once. When I get back to the capital, I don't know when I can eat my sister's craft.” (to be continued.)