The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 62: Drought and Famine (VIII)

The attraction of four plates of dim sum and a pot of tea is undoubtedly huge. As soon as the waiter finished shouting, many onlookers outside Taifeng Building were tempted.

If the bet is right, the winner will grit his teeth and stamp his feet, then pull over other gamblers he knows who have also won money, and they will sit at a table together and walk in with their heads held high.

Needless to say, the little followers following Chen Huihong all filed in. The waiters in the restaurant went out one after another to greet the guests, some bowed, some made balls, some announced the names of the dishes, and so on.

Those who like to watch the fun sit on the first floor and specify the table next to Chen Huihong. Those who like quietness go to the private room on the second floor. When going upstairs, they also remind the waiter to serve all the dishes that Chen Huihong has eaten, so as not to miss any.

The top streamers are just like this.

As for Chen Huihong's seat, Shopkeeper Lu had already reserved it. It was on the first floor, by the window, facing the storyteller who was telling a story. It was the best seat.

As soon as Chen Huihong sat down, the waiter quickly brought four stacks of dim sum and a pot of tea. Qin Huai took a look and thought the dim sum was pretty good, with only two or three pieces of sachima, eight-treasure cake, white jade square cake and red bean paste cake on each plate, small and exquisite.

After serving tea and snacks, the waiter brought a plate of melon seeds, a plate of peanuts and a plate of dried fruits. Chen Huihong sat upright, her back straight but her posture relaxed, eating melon seeds and listening to the storyteller's story about the Three Kingdoms. The story had just begun, talking about the Three Heroes of Peach Garden.

Seeing that Chen Huihong was listening with great interest, the diners nearby laughed and said to the people around them, "Miss Feng also likes to listen to the Three Kingdoms."

"Miss Crazy also loves to eat melon seeds." Someone by his side laughed and raised his hand, and a waiter came over trotting with his back bent.

"Give us a plate of melon seeds."

"Okay, do you need peanuts, candied fruits, or dried fruits?" asked the waiter.

The man glanced at Chen Huihong and saw that she had already eaten the dried fruit. He nodded and said, "Your dried apricots look good. Give me some more."

As they were talking, another waiter handed Chen Huihong a small and exquisite hand warmer. Chen Huihong didn't like this thing very much. She felt that it would disturb her while eating melon seeds, so she put it directly on the table.

The waiter silently took the hand warmer away, and at the shopkeeper's signal, quietly placed a brazier in a corner not far from Chen Huihong.

Qin Huai glanced out the window and saw that it was snowing again.

Large flakes of snow fluttered down. Huddled in a dark corner, beggars wearing thin, tattered clothes stuffed with straw were shivering as they occupied their space, waiting for the upcoming leftover food distribution.

In the restaurant, most of the windows were tightly shut, with only a few small windows in the corners left open to let in air. The dim sunlight shone into the restaurant through the expensive glass, but despite this, candles were still lit in the restaurant for brightness, and there were braziers everywhere for heating.

The waiters were walking around to meet the needs of the guests. Shopkeeper Lu was going in and out of the lobby and the kitchen as if he was urging the food to be served. The storyteller's diligent performance drew applause from time to time, and the waiters who were carrying food boxes and preparing to take out the food all pricked up their ears and listened carefully.

Qin Huai couldn't help but sigh in his heart that the inner city and the outer city are really two different worlds.

The outer city is a dead silent world of ice and snow covered with heavy snow, while the heavy snow in the inner city is more of a beautiful embellishment.

Qin Huai was just sighing when the food was served.

Three dishes, Phoenix Egg, Jade Cabbage and Crispy Duck.

The waiter gave explanations while serving the dishes.

"Miss Feng, this Phoenix Egg is our chef Jiang's specialty. The meatballs are made of fish meat. We used live fish that were just caught from the river this morning. The bones were removed, and the fish were finely pounded into fish paste and kneaded into fish balls. The outside is wrapped in a layer of egg skin. In addition to cuttlefish and radish cubes, there is also a whole shrimp."

"The shrimps were delivered this morning. They were fresh and tender after being shelled and chilled in ice water."

"This dish is all about freshness. My boss Lu knows that you like fresh food. The freshest dish in our restaurant is this phoenix egg."

The waiter was explaining it in a flurry, but Chen Huihong barely listened. She clumsily picked up the chopsticks and tried to pick up the phoenix egg with them. The egg skin was too slippery, and the phoenix egg rolled around on the plate. Chen Huihong was so angry that she could only poke one hard and swallow it in one bite.

Chen Huihong nodded with satisfaction and told the waiter that the dish was indeed delicious.

The diners who were watching the eating show closely could not help swallowing their saliva. After realizing their loss of composure, they laughed and scolded the waiter: "You are the only one who talks too much. When we usually come to eat here, why don't we see you introduce the dishes to us in such detail?"

The waiter smiled and gave a thumbs up: "Gentlemen, you are all well-known gourmets in the capital. This is how I treat food. How dare I show off my skills in front of you?"

"This is Miss Crazy's first time eating Phoenix eggs. Our shopkeeper Lu specifically asked me to introduce them to her. How dare I disobey him?"

In a short while, dozens of more orders for phoenix eggs were placed in the lobby on the first floor and the private rooms on the second floor.

The joyful meal time was short-lived.

Chen Huihong's main goal when eating is to finish her meals. Although she is not very skilled in using chopsticks, she eats very cleanly. Three dishes and a small bowl of white rice are just enough to finish them all. Only the snacks are left on the table. The melon seeds, peanuts and dried fruits have already been put in her pockets.

After eating and drinking, Chen Huihong wiped her mouth calmly, stood up and left without taking any snacks.

The waiter hurriedly followed and whispered, "Miss Feng, you like to eat dried fruits. My boss Lu specially prepared many kinds of dried fruits yesterday and waited for you to come and choose today. You see, your food is almost finished, would you mind going over and picking a few?"

Chen Huihong looked at the waiter for a few seconds, nodded, and followed him into the small warehouse to pick dried fruits.

The diners who had finished their meals and were sitting down to drink tea and chat saw this and laughed and joked, "This shopkeeper Lu is simply treating Miss Feng as his own lady. A few days ago, he even served her food and took her things away, but today he just let Miss Feng choose for herself. I think Miss Feng will have to come to Taifenglou to eat tomorrow."

"Then you have to serve Miss Feng well. Do you know what the rumors are? It is said that Taifenglou is the best restaurant in Peking because Miss Feng has been eating here for 7 consecutive days. Including today, it is the 8th day in total. I am afraid that Yongheju will be outshined by Taifenglou."

"Come on, what does Miss Crazy know? Last month, when she was kicked out of her home and took a maid to rent a house in the outer city, didn't Prince Guo take pity on her and reward her with a snuff bottle?"

"It was made of ivory. Miss Crazy didn't even look at it and just walked away."

"She is already a crazy lady, what can she know about snuff bottles? I think the crazy lady only knows which restaurant has delicious and tasty dishes."

"But which family is she from? Last time I heard someone say that she was a princess from the royal palace."

"Who knows? Rich families, especially princes and nobles, all have to maintain their reputation. Their young lady has gone crazy, and the servants neglected to keep an eye on her. She's been running around the streets every day, and the whole city knows about it. They'd rather kick her out than acknowledge her."

"Yes, I think Miss Crazy is crazy but she is still polite. Her demeanor is extraordinary. Maybe she is really a princess."

While the diners were chatting animatedly outside, the scene inside the warehouse was quite different.

Chen Huihong was eating candied fruit. The clerk who led her in had already left. Only Shopkeeper Lu was left in the warehouse. The two of them were not picking dried fruits, but counting the bills.

"Miss Chen, this is the salary we agreed on before, please count it." Shopkeeper Lu handed over a purse with a smile, "According to the previous agreement, you have to eat at Taifenglou for 10 consecutive days. But I see that 8 days is enough, 10 days is a bit too much. Tomorrow you can eat wherever you want according to your taste, Yongheju, Babaozhai, Yongfulou, Qingpingge, any one of them is fine."

"The money is still for 10 days. I will pay you all at once today."

Chen Huihong did not take the money bag, but said, "You will lose two days this way." Shopkeeper Lu smiled and said, "No, the moon waxes and wanes, and the water overflows. Taifenglou is a new restaurant from outside the customs. It has not built a good foundation and has not built a good foundation. A big tree attracts the wind. If it is too popular, it will not be a good thing."

Chen Huihong didn't respond to Shopkeeper Lu's question, but asked, "How much does a birthday banquet cost here?"

"Birthday, Miss Chen, is your birthday coming soon? What day is it? I'll send you a feast, and you don't have to come and get it in person. I'll have the shop assistants deliver it to the outer city for you."

"No need." Chen Huihong shook her head and pointed to her purse, "Is this enough?"

Shopkeeper Lu smiled but said nothing.

"Then make enough dishes." Chen Huihong said, "It doesn't matter what the dishes are, but there must be steamed buns. Black flour steamed buns... and white flour steamed buns."

Shopkeeper Lu laughed: "Isn't it a bit too shabby to eat steamed buns on a birthday? Even ordinary families have to have some fine grains and a bowl of longevity noodles for birthdays."

"Longevity noodles?" Chen Huihong asked, "What are longevity noodles?"

"A bowl of noodles only has one noodle, and you eat it all in one go. It symbolizes longevity," explained Shopkeeper Lu.

Chen Huihong really liked the meaning of longevity noodles and was very satisfied. She nodded and said, "Then let's change to longevity noodles, but we must have black flour buns. I... you think my maid likes to eat it."

Shopkeeper Lu was stunned: "Isn't it your birthday?"

"No." Chen Huihong said honestly, "I have long forgotten my birthday. My maid celebrates her birthday on a small year."

Shopkeeper Lu looked at Chen Huihong deeply for a few times and sighed, "Sometimes I really can't guess whether you are really crazy or pretending to be crazy, really stupid or pretending to be stupid."

"unimportant."

"The important thing is that Xiaonian is Hui Niang's 15th birthday, a ceremony for her coming of age. You must remember to include black flour buns and longevity noodles in the dishes."

Shopkeeper Lu took back the money bag and said, "Don't worry, I will remember this. After all, our cooperation will last a long time."

Chen Huihong thought that the matter was over and turned to leave, but Shopkeeper Lu stopped her and stuffed two bags of dried fruits wrapped in oil paper into her hand, signaling her not to reveal the truth. Chen Huihong took the dried fruits in her hand, thought about it, asked Shopkeeper Lu for a copper coin, and left.

Seeing Chen Huihong coming out, the guests who were still outside called the waiter and asked for a few packs of the same dried fruits as Chen Huihong's.

After going out, Chen Huihong continued to stroll on the street.

At this time when she had finished her meal, Chen Huihong was not as noticeable as before. No one was following her, and people on the street would just take a second look at her. Chen Huihong was walking and eating dried fruits, looking very happy.

After walking around, Chen Huihong saw that it was almost time, so she walked back.

On the way back, I met a vendor selling candied haws.

The hawker's business was not good. He only sold one-third of the candied haws in the morning and noon. Now he was probably tired and sat on the street holding the haystack to take a rest.

Chen Huihong walked forward and handed the copper coin to the vendor.

The peddler caught it subconsciously without reacting to what Chen Huihong was going to do.

Chen Huihong took a candied haws and left, leaving the vendor standing there in a daze. After several seconds, he reacted and muttered, "My candied haws is three copper coins."

Then, in a burst of ecstasy, she shouted at the top of her voice: "It's the candied haws, the delicious and inexpensive candied haws, the candied haws that Miss Crazy paid for!"

Chen Huihong returned with a full load, holding dried fruits in her left hand and candied haws in her right hand.

By the time she walked back to the outer city, it was already getting dark.

There were beggars on the street, and passersby saw a woman holding so many things and wanted to snatch them and run away, but they were kicked to the ground by Chen Huihong as soon as they started to move, and lay on the ground howling. Then the onlookers shook their heads and said that she was definitely a newcomer, and they didn't even know that Miss Crazy was stronger than an ordinary strong man.

When Chen Huihong returned home, Hui Niang was cooking sweet potatoes.

Seeing Chen Huihong coming back, Hui Niang went to greet her with surprise. Chen Huihong stuffed the candied haws into her hands and said, "Eat the black flour buns in a few days. Eat this first today."

Hui Niang took the candied haws and took a bite eagerly, saying with satisfaction, "It's sweet!"

"Oh, by the way, sister. This afternoon I heard that the grain store in the west will have a new batch of cornmeal arriving tomorrow. The price should be cheaper. The day after tomorrow is the Little New Year. Tomorrow I will go buy cornmeal and some vegetables, fish and shrimp. I will steam steamed buns and stir-fry some side dishes for you in the evening."

"Do you have enough money?" Chen Huihong asked a soul-searching question.

"It's enough. I got a new laundry job this afternoon, and I have some extra money. I can buy some fish and shrimp for the Little New Year, and I can buy some meat from the meat shop on New Year's Day." Hui Niang said happily, "As my mother said, this is definitely a good year."

Chen Huihong frowned: "Washing clothes in such a cold day?"

Hui Niang shrank her chilblained hands and said, "It has always been like this. Before I fled the famine, I stayed at home and had to do laundry when the weather was cold. But at that time, I was doing laundry for the landlords and I didn't get paid."

Since Hui Niang said so, Chen Huihong didn't say much: "It's up to you. Just make breakfast on the day of the Little New Year. I remember you don't eat lunch. Manager Lu of Taifenglou will send someone to deliver the banquet in the evening. By then... there will be your favorite dishes."

"Wow." Hui Niang's face was full of admiration, "Sister, you are so amazing."

"It's nothing, just an equal exchange, each taking what they need." Chen Huihong pushed the door and wanted to go into the house to take off her outer clothes, then went out to eat melon seeds.

As soon as she opened the door, Chen Huihong seemed to remember something and asked in confusion, "Do you really only like to eat... black flour buns?"

The tone was exactly, is your taste really that weird?

Hui Niang smiled embarrassedly: "The black flour buns are already very delicious. This kind of good thing can only be eaten during the Chinese New Year at home."

"You paid for the rent, and you paid for the cotton-padded clothes and quilts. You don't eat at home, so I eat and drink for free every day. It's good enough for me to eat black flour steamed buns."

"Okay." Chen Huihong said nothing more, "As long as you are happy."

Or two in one
I have a severe cold and a splitting headache. I haven't saved any drafts yet.
It will be released on the 1st, but I don’t have any manuscripts saved yet

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(End of this chapter)