Kaifeng Bistro

Tan Zhifeng, Yi Yi, and Zhuo Zhuo went back to the wheat straw alley together. Before they reached the entrance of the alley, they saw Shangshang and Ling'er waiting there with two small benches, one on the left and one on the right.Tan Zhifeng quickly stepped forward to pull them up, and asked them, "Why are you sitting here?"

"Brother Zhifeng, I'm worried about you." A smile appeared on Shangshang's sullen face just now, "Oh, Xu Gan said you would come back. So we'll wait for you here."

Tan Zhifeng patted his head lightly: "Yes, I'm back, let's go, go home and make something for you to eat."

"Don't worry," Changshang raised a small plum red box in his hand to Tan Zhifeng: "Just now the uncle surnamed Zhou went to the store for breakfast, and seeing that we didn't open the door, only Ling'er and I were at home, so he gave it to us." Saved some delicious food, look, here are Xiangtangzi, and Jinsi Dangmei..."

"Oh?" Tan Zhifeng picked up the box and glanced at it.Zhou Yanjing is already a student, he doesn't need to take an entrance exam today, so he can naturally come to the tavern for dinner at a different time.There were only a few ordinary candies in the box, Tan Zhifeng returned the box to Shangshang, and asked him, "Did Brother Zhou talk to you about anything?"

Changshang nodded and said: "He asked if the room in our house was vacant, and said that he had a relative who was coming to study, and asked if he could borrow it for a few days."

"You idiot, you won't tell people that...that guy is lying inside?" Zhuo Zhuo anxiously bent down and asked in a low voice.

"No, no, I didn't reply to him, and he didn't ask again..." Shangshang took the box that Tan Zhifeng handed back: "Brother Zhifeng, let's go back!"

Tan Zhifeng smiled and hummed, and Changshang happily picked up the two benches, holding the candy box, took Ling'er's hand, and led him to the alley.With lingering fear in his heart, he stroked his chest: "Zhifeng, don't just play around and disappear. I'm terrified. Not only do I have to worry about the two of you, but I also have to take care of this silly kid like Changshang... But these, all Without the fearful face of the great god, I have had enough..."

"I'm not missing, I'm going to spy on the military." Tan Zhifeng smiled at her: "After I left last night, nothing happened in the tavern, right?"

Zhuo Zhuo shook his head: "With a great god in charge, what can happen...Huh? You said you went to spy on the military situation? Then what did you find out?"

"Hmph," Yi Yi sneered, "I didn't find out anything, and I got all pissed off for nothing."

"Don't say that." Tan Zhifeng pushed open the door of the tavern, although he was only away for half a day, but looking at the familiar tables and chairs, he felt as if he had passed away.Shangshang and Ling'er sat down and began to share the candies in the box, while Yi Yi frowned and said: "Eating so much candy is bad for your teeth, you take two pieces each, and I will keep the rest for you." !"

Zhuo Zhuo and Chang Chang jumped up to grab the box together, but Yi Yi effortlessly held it in his hand and lifted it high, the two of them couldn't reach each other, they could only look at the ocean and sigh.Tan Zhifeng looked at them and not only smiled.He opened the doors and windows, letting the sunlight warm the entire back kitchen, which made him feel a lot more relaxed.But when he looked through the courtyard wall of the backyard at the Taixue who was only one street away, his heart became uneasy again.

He stood there in a daze for a while, realizing that it was time for him to start preparing to open.There are too many customers coming these days, and I have to go shopping several times a day, and there are not many rice noodles left. Yi Yi went out to buy goods after resting for a while. Seeing that some customers came one after another, Tan Zhifeng could only start There are only a few ingredients left, and I plan to make a few snacks first.

In addition to melons and fruits, there is also a lot of glutinous rice, and there is a small basket of shiny black fruits that Yi Yi bought yesterday, and they are cleaned and put there.Changshang came in to help, looked into the basket and asked Tan Zhifeng curiously: "Brother Zhifeng, what is this? Can it be eaten?"

Tan Zhifeng smiled slightly and replied: "Of course you can eat it. People in the south of the Yangtze River always say that there are three treasures under the water, which are water chestnuts, water chestnuts, and gorgon. It tastes delicious, because mallards always like to eat it, and later, people gradually called it water chestnut.” He said, peeling off one and handing it to Shangshang: “Actually, it tastes good to eat directly. The water chestnuts in this season are sweet, crisp, delicious and juicy. I’ll give you a few more, and you and Ling’er can try it together.”

Changshang happily lifted up the front of his clothes and put them in his arms for four or five times. Just as he was about to leave, he asked Tan Zhifeng again, "Then, do you want me to help you peel it for the guests to eat?"

Tan Zhifeng said: "No, it's good to eat raw, but I know there is another way to grind this water chestnut into fine powder and make it into cakes. Both you and Ling'er can try it."

After hearing this, Changshang hurriedly went out with the handful of water chestnuts in her arms, and sat at the small table with Linger, happily peeling the shells and eating.

Tan Zhifeng hurriedly began to wash and grind the glutinous rice, spread it on a bamboo mat to absorb the moisture, boil the sugar and mix it with the dried glutinous rice, put it in a cake basin and steam it on a pot.Then, he peeled the water chestnuts one by one, and began to prepare for grinding.It was past breakfast time, and he was sitting in the back kitchen facing the door of the tavern, seeing only a few imperial students outside chatting and sitting in his tavern in twos and threes because of today's class break, they asked for some pots of tea and some Snacks, fruits, talking in a low voice, other than that, no one else has come yet.

Tan Zhifeng looked in the direction of Taixue. The gong had already sounded there. It seemed that the examination room had been closed and the examination had officially started.Separated by a street, there seem to be two worlds on both sides of the street. The Tai students in front of him made the atmosphere of this tavern extraordinarily relaxed and leisurely, but Tan Zhifeng wished from the bottom of his heart that he and Xu Gan could sit side by side in the tense and solemn examination room.

He sighed, and was about to bow his head to work, when he suddenly heard footsteps coming from the door, and when he looked up, it turned out that it was Wang Chao and Ma Han who walked into the room with two scribes.

Tan Zhifeng hurriedly wiped off the fuci powder on his hands, and went out to meet them.For some reason today, Wang Chao lost his usual carefree look. He stood up straight and said to Tan Zhifeng with a serious expression, "Tan shopkeeper, how are you doing?"

Tan Zhifeng had just exchanged messages with him a few days ago. He thought that the dynasty would bring people to guard nearby, but he didn't expect that these two weak civil servants would follow them.He looked out suspiciously.Wang Chao whispered to him: "There are only four of us, let Zhuo Zhuo bring two pots of hot tea."

Tan Zhifeng nodded hurriedly, and called Zhuozhuo to entertain them.Tan Zhifeng retreated to the back and took a closer look. He saw that the two men were both wearing double-breasted gowns and dressed as ordinary scholars. One of them was in his early forties with an elegant and kind face, but his eyes were very sharp, and there was an awe-inspiring expression in his eyes. A respectable fortitude.The other person was younger and more handsome, with three long beards floating on his chest, his eyes were less majestic and more intelligent, making him seem more approachable.Tan Zhifeng was wondering about the identities of these two people, but the stove was hissing. It turned out that he had just made a baked cake out of glutinous rice.

Tan Zhifeng hurriedly took the steamer off the stove, asked Zhuo Zhuo to fill it up for himself, and took it out for the guests to taste. The Fuchi powder in his hand was ready, Tan Zhifeng thought about it, and made it into a piece A piece of crystal clear cold cake, with a few goji berries sprinkled on each piece, was placed on a plate, and Zhuozhuo asked her to take it out.

Who knows, but after a while, Zhuo Zhuo ran back and told him: "Zhifeng, the person who came with Wang Chao and the others asked you to come to the front and say a few words, will you go?"

Tan Zhifeng looked out, only to see those forty-something scholars raised their hands to him, Tan Zhifeng hastily returned a salute, and told Zhuo Zhuo: "Of course I'm going, but what does he want from me?"

Zhuo Zhuo shook his head, and Tan Zhifeng followed her to Wang Chao's table, saluted slightly, and said, "What are your orders?"

At this time, those Tai students left one after another, and there were only a few of them left in the room.The scribe raised his hand to give way to Tan Zhifeng, and said, "Shopkeeper, please sit down and say a few words."

Tan Zhifeng nodded, and moved a stool to sit at the table. The other party first pointed to the cold cake made of scorpion and asked him: "Shopkeeper, do you know what this is?"

Tan Zhifeng smiled slightly and said, "It's Fuchi, do you know that? It's something that people often use to satisfy their hunger during times of famine. Now, in times of peace and prosperity, I didn't expect to be able to buy such fresh Fuchi in the capital. It’s been a long time since I’ve made this cake, how do you like it?”

Hearing this, the literati looked at Tan Zhifeng more seriously. After that, he picked up the scorpion cake, sighed softly, and said, "Is this a peaceful and prosperous age? But when I was in my hometown, I saw Those poor people had no choice but to dig goats everywhere to feed themselves when they encountered a famine. My family was relatively rich, and my grandfather and father often opened warehouses to help them, but separated by a village and a river, those who could not be rescued... ...I heard that many of them died by the side of the road."

The younger scribe next to him also stroked his long beard and sighed: "Natural disasters and man-made disasters, the people who suffer the most are often the common people. In the previous dynasty, someone wrote a poem saying: "One piece of gold can be exchanged for reeds, and one piece of bamboo can be exchanged for goats...Grabbed and dead. The pillows are all separated." This is about the tragic situation of the people after the locust disaster in Huaiyou at that time. The harvest in the north in the past few years was not good. This was a natural disaster. And there is no such thing as gourd to satisfy the hunger, I really don't know how the people can survive it!"

Tan Zhifeng heard that the two of them talked well and worried about the national economy and the people's livelihood, so he couldn't help respecting them a little more. At this time, the person who spoke first pointed to the baked cake and asked Tan Zhifeng, "This is the cake from my hometown. Could it be you?" Have you ever been to Luzhou in the south of the Yangtze River? How do you make it so authentic and delicious?"

Tan Zhifeng's heart trembled when he heard the words, he quickly raised his head and replied: "The villain has never been to Luzhou, but I have heard people talk about the way of baking cakes before. Recently, because of the opening of the Taixue Museum, there are many guests coming and going. , there is not much food prepared in the tavern, only some glutinous rice is left, so I want to try it out, I did not expect to be appreciated by you, my lord, I..."

Before Tan Zhifeng could finish speaking, he smiled at Convenience: "It seems that you already know my identity?"