royal family

The fragrance of tea in the garden gradually dissipated, and the elders gathered at the main table to discuss. Mr. Wang took the tea leaves that Shao Yan had found for him by the orderly and flipped through them repeatedly. How is tea made?

Mr. Wang took a piece of dry tea and put it in his mouth to chew. While chewing, he sighed regretfully: "It's a pity, a pity, such a good tea that is so fragrant when brewed with boiling water, should be brewed more carefully." That’s right. The water I drank just now was of average quality, if I could cook it with top-quality mountain spring water and add a few grains of Dahongpao, the taste would definitely be amazing!”

Mr. Gao only drank tea that tasted good, but he didn't know much about professional knowledge. He was surprised to hear that this tea was compared with Dahongpao in Old Wang's words: "How much does your Dahongpao earn every year? There are two Two? This tea was brewed by Shao Yan privately, and according to you...can it be compared with Dahongpao?"

"It's hard to say, the taste is different, and each has its own merits." Mr. Wang carefully sealed the opened tea bag. They are such tea-loving connoisseurs, but they don't pay too much attention to the value of imported tea like ordinary people.Although Dahongpao is expensive, it doesn't mean that it is invincible in taste. Although Shaoyan's tea is not as rich and mellow as Dahongpao, it is sweet and sweet, and the taste is between Pekoe and Longjing, so it has a special flavor.

On the table of the juniors, except for the Wang family, there were only two children from each family.The cloaked girl and Gao Yuan are undoubtedly the protagonists outside the main table. Everyone is smiling on the surface, but only you know what is going on in your heart.The personalities of the people on the table vary from good to bad, and the economy is affluent. There are only a few people who have never been to Yumenxi, and everyone can tell a few dishes of Yumenxi that impressed them deeply.

"I went to S city before, and my favorite food was their roasted pig. I couldn't taste the taste of Yumenxi in other people's small suckling pig shop, which was only two months old. The pork skin is so crispy... …The fat meat inside is oily but not greasy, the lean meat is full of juice, and you can eat half a catty with an empty mouth. My girlfriend is the least willing to accompany me to S City. I feel bad if I don’t go to Yumenxi there. Go and come back At least two catties increased, and tears came to my eyes when I said it was delicious on the phone... Haha, women are really troublesome."

"Why don't you be vegetarian? Doesn't Yumenxi have a small vegetarian banquet now? I just came back from City A last Monday, and found that the dishes in City A are updated much faster than City S, and the vinegar and celery there can be bought back in small quantities. It’s home. It’s expensive. I bought half a jar and felt like it was weighed with gold. I wanted to eat it slowly when I came back. The last time my grandpa drank, I took it out to serve him. Since then, I’ve been eating again I have never seen my pickle jar. If you say that Yumenxi’s products are really exquisite, you can’t pick out a single old celery or bamboo shoots. It is said that the jars used for pickling are still wine jars. Every sesame is fried and fragrant. When I ordered it for the first time, I thought the price of a plate of sauerkraut was too much, but after eating it, I think it’s worth the money.”

The distance between the tables is not far. The old people heard a group of juniors chatting from meat dishes to vegetarian dishes, from staple food to desserts. It would be a lie to say that they are not greedy.They are at this age, and their families are in a good situation. As long as they are physically able to support them, they can be regarded as reading all kinds of delicacies.But as they get older, people become less and less sensitive to taste, and the drinks and dishes that are often sold at sky-high prices in the market may only taste acceptable to them.The two-course wine of Yumenxi is a rare product that has caused a commotion in their circle these years. Because of too much pursuit, their impression of this brand has gradually been fixed on the wine. They praised Shao Yan's craftsmanship like this, and the old people were both looking forward to it and fearing disappointment.

Mr. Wang gave the tea leaves to the orderly, and asked the other party to take good care of them for him. He said, "It's rare that my little granddaughter can praise others. A pot of celery is really a small thing."

"You snatched the child's rations, why didn't you say that you are shameless?" Elder Gao always liked to block him with words, and after laughing and scolding, he was really curious, "What kind of vinegar... is it really so good?"

Mr. Wang glanced at him, with contempt and pride in his eyes: "Isn't that knowledgeable? That vinegar parsley at Yumenxi... tsk tsk tsk, I don't know how to say it, that taste...in short, it's absolutely amazing! Why do you think I'm thinking about it?" Do you want to taste Shao Yan's cooking? Thanks to my children's filial piety, otherwise, I'll be buried neck-down, and I don't know if I'll be able to taste the dishes in their mouths until I die."

A group of old guys became sentimental while they were greedy.At their age, life is visibly passing by every year.Because they were injured when they were young, their health may not be very good. They take care of themselves carefully on weekdays, and they may not be as healthy as ordinary old people. There are very few people like Wang Lao who can live to eighty.There are fewer people to meet every year, and the age of 70 seems to be a "life and death mark". If you want to enjoy yourself in time, your legs and feet can't bear it.

Mr. Wang is happy, what can he regret?He has been down, rich, suppressed, and rehabilitated. He has made great military achievements and is covered with medals. He thinks that he has walked with a clear conscience in this life.The family is also full of children and grandchildren, and the population is prosperous. Although the younger generation is not harmonious enough, after the fall of his main beam, the brothers and sisters who have lost their support will unite sooner or later.He has already enjoyed everything that should be enjoyed, he lacks nothing, he lacks nothing, even the imperial gate seat that should have been a pity, had a chance to taste it before leaving, no loss, no loss!

Everyone was rubbing their cups of tea sets sadly, and they suddenly smelled a sweet fragrance coming from nowhere.The juniors who had long been accustomed to the way the dishes were presented at the imperial gate banquet looked up one after another, and the elders subconsciously searched around, and saw three orderlies walking in through the courtyard gate with three extremely large plates.

The things on the plate are steaming, looking exquisite, beautiful, pink, tender and lovely, it is a mountain of longevity peaches piled up in the shape of a pyramid.Mr. Wang has good eyesight. When he saw peaches from afar, he laughed and said, "I also made birthday peaches? Oh, I thought it would be good to eat a normal meal. There are so many birthday peaches, have you put in a lot of effort?"

The birthday peaches were placed in the middle of the table, and the pink peaches, which were fake enough to be real, exuded a strong noodle fragrance.Mr. Wang is from the north, and he especially loves to eat pasta. He just reached out and took a peach tip, stuffed it into his mouth, and bit off half of it.

"Well!!!"

Everyone only saw his eyes light up instantly, and the children of the Wang family almost jumped up from their chairs in fear of him choking on seeing him eating so hard.

Mr. Wang ate a meat filling, chewing on it, his mouth full of thick fresh juice.Probably because he took care of his taste, the minced meat was made soft and palatable, but it didn't feel greasy at all.The soft outer skin of the birthday peach is slightly sweet, and the fat is just right, matching the oily aroma of the meat filling, which relieves greasiness without looking bland.

He had a big appetite, and he finished one in two bites. He raised his hand and took it again, and caught a fresh bamboo shoot stuffing. While eating, he raised his hand and said: "Eat! Put your stomach first!"

The birthday peach occupies the stomach, and the juniors originally planned to save their stomachs to eat vegetables, so they don't want to move.When I heard the greeting from the old birthday star, I reluctantly raised my hand to take it, but I couldn't stop my mouth after biting it down.

Is this really a birthday peach? ?As a birthday peach, how does it maintain its external shape with so many fillings? !The candied flower stuffing is moist and sweet, the diced bamboo shoot stuffing is delicious and crisp, and the juicy meat stuffing is overflowing with rich flavor, which is even more amazing!

Sure enough, it was the handwriting of Yumenshi!

"Shao Yan must have made this!" Gao Yuan, who knows how to do it, whispered to the cloaked woman while chewing, "His apprentice has not seen such a skill. How long will he have to make so many birthday peaches? Too much attention ?”

The cloaked girl glanced at the elder's table, and saw that Mr. Wang was laughing because the first dish was pleasing to his heart's content, and the corners of his mouth curled up: "Do you think everyone is fooling around like you? I accept his favor."

The old men clamored for wine, but the orderly went there and couldn't get it, but instead brought new dishes.

A whole tray of small bowls, decorated with broken porcelain patterns, filled with clear and transparent soup and yellowish noodles, sprinkled with a few chubby shrimps and a handful of minced green onions, it looked like ordinary plain noodles.

"Where's the wine?" Elder Wang asked the orderly.

The orderly stood up straight with no expression on his face: "Mr. Shao said, 'Let's talk about drinking after eating noodles and staple food'."

"Hey, you say this person!" Wang Lao widened his eyes and pondered for a while, then slowly smiled, "He has character! He has character!"

Fortunately, Mr. Wang loves noodles, and he doesn't dislike eating noodles. Although the clear soup in the small bowl looks a little bland, but fortunately, there are only a small amount of noodles, so it's good to eat them to win the prize.

Mr. Wang smiled and picked up the noodles, and immediately found that the noodles were hand-rolled. Although the thin slices resembled dried noodles, the long ones could not be seen after being lifted for a long time.The juniors around him yelled for a long life, which made his face full of wrinkles and filled with joy. When he smelled the faint smell of chicken soup, Mr. Wang didn't take it seriously. After eating the noodles, he immediately felt like eating birthday peaches just now. Eyes wide open.

Shao Yan's dishes have always been carefully prepared, the more ordinary they look, the more effort has been put into them.In order to make this bowl of noodles, he and his apprentices started to boil the old hen soup a day and a half in advance, but the chicken that was kneaded in could only choose the freshest and tender young roosters, and the ingredients alone were very expensive.The soup base is the Yumenxi old soup brought by the young apprentices from City A, sprinkled with fresh shrimp and minced green onion, it tastes light and sweet, and it is best paired with noodles with a strong taste.

Mr. Wang has eaten noodles for so many years, where has he encountered such a taste in his mouth?

The noodles are delicious and difficult to make. The key is that Shao Yan's group of apprentices are always poorly grasped, so they have never been on the menu of Yumenxi.It was also the first time that a group of juniors who ate this noodles were all drunk. They really wouldn't believe that plain noodles could be made into such a pinnacle taste, if it wasn't made by Shao Yannong.The people who were thankful that the portion of noodles was not big immediately complained——

——"This bowl is too small!"

“Noodles are not enough for one bite.”

"It should be a big bowl!"

"Yes! Isn't this a staple food?"

While eating, Mr. Gao grabbed Mr. Wang's wrist, and demanded seriously, "You must give me a taste of that vinegar parsley!"

Wang Laosan finished drinking the noodle soup in the bowl, smashed his mouth and stretched out his chopsticks to pick up the noodles in Lao Gao's bowl: "You still have time to talk..."

Elder Gao hurriedly dodged, fearing that he would be robbed. Xili Hulu finished all the noodles in the bowl, regretting that the cow chewed the peony just now, and at the same time condemned the old friend who snatched the food with his eyes. laughed.

There are noodles and birthday peaches, and the speed of subsequent dishes is much faster.

The dishes for the birthday banquet are eaten by the elderly, so naturally they won’t be too greasy. Don’t worry about roast suckling pig, just like birthday peaches and noodles, the taste is mostly light.Several signature dishes of Yumenxi, such as golden bamboo shoots and crispy sea cucumbers, are naturally indispensable. The rest of the dishes, except for a few spicy dishes specially made for the spicy old people who are originally from S province and H province, The rest were researched by Shao Yanxin after participating in the guest contest.

Wang Lao ate it one by one. Besides the noodles and longevity peaches, his favorite was the venison balls.This dish is actually an improved version of the dragon dish in the guest competition. It is cooked with venison and goose and filled with fillings, but it doesn’t need to be as complicated as before. Well, the stuffed meat also turned into minced fish and prawns.The sticky fish and shrimp paste can completely stick two semicircular meat coats together. After a little cooking, it looks like a red meatball soaked in the soup.Gao Yuan, who was drooling in the competition, finally ate this "signature dish" that conquered the judges. The soft and glutinous meat coating is mixed with the tender, smooth, sweet, crisp and juicy fish and shrimp in the meatballs. Similarly, Conquering his taste buds is just a matter of getting into his mouth.

Compared with the number of people on the table, there are obviously a lot of dishes, but every dish still needs to be grabbed.It's rare for a group of second masters who usually love to talk so much to be so imageless. They turned against each other in front of the food, and even at the main table, Elder Wang and Elder Gao quarreled.

"Hurry up and put your chopsticks back, today I am the birthday star." Mr. Wang squinted at the old friend who refused to budge, holding the last meatball on the plate.

Elder Gao snorted, "You even robbed me of wine on my birthday, why didn't you call me an old birthday star?"

"Didn't you take the wine away in the end!?"

"That's because you are not as quick-sighted as I am, otherwise how could you not snatch it back?"

At Wang's age, it's rare for him to be so full of energy, and his eyes are shining.The juniors were quite helpless, threatened by his eyes, they quickly lowered their heads and ate, fearing that their table would be taken away with their plates.

The cloaked woman couldn't stop chewing on the snake in her mouth, and said vaguely to Gao Yuan: "Why is your grandpa bullying my grandpa again?"

The skin of the snake section is fried crispy, with a light salt and pepper oil aroma, and the inside is well marinated. The snake meat is smooth and juicy. Take a bite, and combine with the crispy snake skin to form another rich delicacy.This is a seasonal dish of Yumen Sea, and it is not something you can eat every time.When she tasted it for the first time, she didn't dare to move her chopsticks because it was snake meat. After eating it once, she almost had to ask about it every time she went to Yumen seats. As long as there was any, it was a must.

Sweet words about snake meat that didn't smell a bit fishy came out of my mouth, and even the finely shattered bones were full of sweetness. The cloaked woman squinted her eyes, and her accusation was soft, like a joke.

Where did Gao Yuan have time to pay attention to her, he grabbed a spicy rabbit leg and ate it until his mouth became red. Sihasha took a breath, but he still couldn't resist the salty smell that penetrated into the fiber of the rabbit meat.The spicy rabbit leg is not big, it looks like it was fried and fried after being marinated, and the small bite of meat contains many flavors that can only be stimulated by special means.What's rare is that the rabbit meat is still fresh and tender after so many processes, and it doesn't taste like firewood at all. Although it's not as fat and juicy as the snake end, it becomes more and more flavorful when chewed dry.This dish was a bit spicy for him, but it seemed to be just right for the spicy-loving elders at the main table. A group of elders tore apart rabbit legs while chewing and eating them with birthday peaches, with great interest.

The birthday banquet was undoubtedly a success, at least Mr. Wang absolutely enjoyed himself.Recently, his appetite has not been very good. At home, he can only eat a bowl of rice with two kinds of wine from Yumenxi. The family always thought that his health had deteriorated, but looking at it now, it is clearly a matter of taste. Bar.Wang Lao ate several birthday peaches and a bowl of noodles, and fought with Gao Lao to eat at least seven or eight meatballs.The last meatball fell into his stomach, and he didn't seem to be full yet, so he scooped up a large bowl of tendon and sea cucumber soup and drank it.

The tendon and sea cucumber soup is filled with pork tendons, which are simmered in high broth until sticky and soft, and then stewed with sea cucumbers.The sea cucumber's sea flavor and tendon's meat aroma are stimulated to the extreme by long-term cooking. The thick soup is wrapped in crispy sea cucumber, and it is cut into two pieces with a spoon, which literally melts in the mouth. , The feeling of slightly sticky teeth when chewing with trembling tendons has become another kind of enjoyment.Tendon and sea cucumber are the darlings of medicinal ingredients. Usually, the nanny at home stews it with salvia miltiorrhiza.

When Shao Yan came in from the courtyard with the wine jar in his hands, the people at the three tables were eating in full swing, obviously they were almost full, but reason could not persuade him to stop his mouth.Shao Yan was startled when he saw the empty plate of birthday peaches. He really didn't expect this group of people to be so edible. These trays of birthday peaches are clearly enough for a full meal for twenty people!

The opened jar in his arms exudes a rich aroma of wine that is not at all gentler than the dishes, and almost the moment he stepped into the yard, someone glanced at him, and when they saw him, they immediately put down their chopsticks and stood up to say hello: "Mr. Shao! "

"Yo, Mr. Shao is here?"

"Oh, please sit down, please sit down, thanks to you today, I had a great time eating!"

Shao Yan, who was upgraded from Mr. Shao to Mr. Shao, smiled slightly, and patted the wine jar in his arms: "You don't need to sit down. I'll bring you a jar of wine."

His attitude is not warm, it can even be said to be a little cold, but the people present didn't think anything of it, on the contrary, the more they looked at him, the more pleasing they were.Wang Lao had seen Shao Yan on TV a long time ago, his eyes lit up when he saw the real person, he smiled and stood up slowly while supporting the table.

Elder Gao hurriedly supported him.

Wang Lao is hunchbacked, looks relatively short, and has a hoarse voice, with the desolation unique to old people, but his tone is full of joy: "Come here, come and sit next to me!"

Shao Yan had nothing to do with the old man. Seeing that he seemed to be the protagonist of the birthday banquet, he had no choice but to go to the main table and put down the wine jar, and said dryly, "The old man is in good health."

Elder Wang stared at him with an expression that didn't show much emotion. He obviously felt that the other party was not good at saying such nice things, and the more he looked at him, the more he felt pleasing to the eye.

Shao Yan's cooking was so to his liking, that Mr. Wang could hardly remember the last time he had a meal like this to his heart's content.It seemed that the war was still going on at that time. He starved for three days in the trenches, his eyeballs were so thin and protruding. He finally got reinforcements and received a bowl of life-saving rice cake soup.The feeling of happiness that warms from the mouth to the whole body when drinking soup is really... the whole world is full of hope in an instant.In his twilight years, he could feel the beauty in his memory again. Besides being moved, Mr. Wang didn't know what he could do.He looked at Shao Yan, and thought of the news he had heard about the internal decision to support the development of Yumenxi, he raised his hand and patted Shao Yan's arm in relief.

"Good boy, good boy." Wang Lao sighed, "Since I'm Xiaoshu's friend, if you don't dislike me in the future, just let her call me Grandpa. There are not many talents like you in China. Our food and culture It is necessary for a capable person like you to carry forward. I will trouble you today and work hard. When you are free in the future, you will often come to Wang’s house to sit and talk with me, an old man.”

The cloaked woman who was still watching not far away opened her eyes wide in an instant, and then quickly returned to her normal expression. She turned her head and looked at Gao Yuan, and both saw the disbelief in each other's eyes.

The contents of Mr. Wang's words are so complicated that they couldn't figure them out for a while.The loud old man Gao took a sip of the wine, squinted his eyes and pretended to be intoxicated: "Oh! Is it really passion fruit wine? Your boy's wine can make our group of old bones tormented enough. Usually, if you get a bottle or two I have to save for a long time to drink. According to me, Yumenxi should have opened a branch in City B long ago."

Shao Yan couldn't call out the title of grandfather, and it was difficult to refute on the spot. Just as he didn't know how to speak, Gao Lao's words immediately relieved him, and he replied lightly: "I'm getting ready, my father and I are also paying attention to the store recently. , it will officially open at that time, and everyone is welcome to come and join us.”

"That's great!" Mr. Gao patted Shao Yan's arm, and said, "I've been friends with you for a long time, and it's so easy to meet once, it really is a young talent. Leave a phone call later, and you can do it more often Come to Gao's house and sit down, if you need anything about opening a store, don't hesitate to ask, my children have no other skills, and I know a few friends, so it's okay to solve some problems."

Shao Yan couldn't bear his enthusiasm, so he nodded with a smile.The other old people at the table saw the message they wanted to express, and they all said the same thing as Shao Yan.

The scent of the unsealed passion fruit wine wafted all over the courtyard, whetting the appetite of those who hadn't enjoyed themselves.After Shao Yan left, Mr. Wang's personal orderly sent a note with the phone numbers of the Wang family and Gao's family, and left Shao Yan with his own contact information. He only said that next time Shao Yan would come to play and call them to pick him up. just fine.

Shao Yan stood in the dark and fanned the wind with a note, apparently not quite understanding the value of the information on the note, he pondered over the words that Mr. Wang and Mr. Gao had shown good intentions, and he couldn't convince himself after a long time of enlightening himself. Call out "Grandpa" at them.

He threw the note into the arms of Shao's father who had been fidgeting all the time. Shao's father held it with both hands like receiving a baby, staring at the rows of numbers above, his arms trembling: "This, this, this, this..."

Shao Yan clicked his tongue, didn't see his father's gaffe, and sat sideways on the table with folded arms and asked Yan Daichuan: "I suddenly thought of something."

Yan Daichuan glanced at Shao's father who was like a sieve, and then stared at Shao Yan who was in deep thought. For some reason, he felt that the question asked by the other party would not be normal: "What?"

"I set up three tables of food, right?" Shao Yan stared at Yan Daichuan with a serious look, "Have you discussed the price with them? How much will you charge for a single table? You can't do white work, right?"

"..." Yan Daichuan thought it was true, and sighed, "Don't worry, it will be calculated as five times the normal price of Yumen seats, plus 40.00% of labor costs, and you won't make your work for nothing."

-

When he was leaving, Mr. Wang got into the car contentedly with a small pot of tea that the orderly had ground from Shao Yana, waved to his children who were worried about his health, and said that he was fine, and sat side by side with Mr. Gao.

Holding the unfinished jar of passion fruit wine, Mr. Gao waited for the car to drive silently for a long time before he said with a smile: "You old boy, you pretend to admit your grandson after eating a meal, don't you?" Seeing the look in Shao Yan's eyes when you asked him to call you grandpa in the future, he seemed so worried that his hair was about to fall out."

"Hehehe, that brat." Elder Wang also felt coke, and laughed, "I haven't met someone who dislikes me so much in many years."

"However, if he really calls you grandpa on the spot, I will look down on him instead." After laughing for a while, Elder Gao's expression calmed down again, and his eyes flickered, "It's rare, there are not many young people who are so down-to-earth these days, if Ordinary people, when they encounter this kind of opportunity to have a relationship with you, they don't know how enthusiastic they will be."

"He has been the opening guest of this food competition, and there is some intention to support him internally, but the opinions are not unified." Wang Laodao, "Cannibalism is short-mouthed, it should be contributed, and you should also show something at that time. Let's Now the promotion of the cultural market is not optimistic. I am dedicated to supporting economic development. For aggressive culture like food, I really should give more support. Give this opportunity to Yumenxi, and I am afraid it will be very well received. results."

"Fake public affairs for personal gain." Elder Gao snorted.

Elder Wang glanced at him and sneered: "Then you can find another restaurant with better taste than Yumenxi? I ​​have no objection. By the way, return your jar of wine to me."

The corner of Gao Lao's mouth twitched, and he immediately made an expression that he hadn't heard anything, and An An couldn't speak anymore.

Mr. Wang shook the pitifully small tea pot in his hand, recalling Shao Yan's expression at the dining table just now when he heard him ask him to call him grandpa in the future, he couldn't hold it back for a while, and fell into the car laughing again. on the wall.