Great Imperial Merchant

In terms of geographical location, Wanxi is naturally inferior to Quzhou.But it is close to the imperial capital, which is the last threshold for the north to enter the capital. Therefore, the commercial development of the entire Wanxi is actually somewhat similar to that of Quzhou.

There are countless inns and restaurants, and there are many carriage and horse post stations. The commercial street here is prosperous and long. Looking from the corner of the street, you can't see the end at a glance.

The inn where Yang Zhongyuan's family lived happened to be next to Che Ma Yi, and the business has always been very good.Walking from here to the depths of the alley, even if it was empty on New Year's Day, they still walked for nearly half an hour before finally reaching the end of the street.

It was lucky to say that although there was only one Tianhong restaurant doing business on this street during Chinese New Year, there were also many shops living in the back room of the shop.They don't open a shop, but they always open the door to visit relatives and friends, so it is convenient for Cheng Weizhe and Yang Zhongyuan to see the decoration of the shop here in Wanxi.

Although they were shopping with the young and old, Yang Zhongyuan and Cheng Weizhe were not idle.

They not only want to look at the decoration and layout of these shops, but also carefully study their famous signs. Even if there are no shops open on a street, Yang Zhongyuan and Cheng Weizhe still whisper while watching.

There is a custom of one place, one place. Danluo is located in the north of the Imperial Capital. Although it is still very far away from Shangyu, its architectural style is also rough.And Wanxi is close to the Imperial Capital, so the whole commercial street looks magnificent and exquisite.

Neither Yang Zhongyuan nor Cheng Weizhe has ever been to Quzhou, but they also know that it is the most prosperous commercial center in Daliang, where all vehicles traveling from south to north converge, which makes Quzhou's very complicated environment and customs.

The reason why they chose Quzhou to settle down is for this reason.

There are many foreigners in Quzhou, and anyone with some ability will go there to make a living, so even if their family goes there, it will not be conspicuous, and they will soon blend in.

After their family finished shopping in this street, they returned to the entrance of Tianhong Restaurant, just in time for lunch.

The waiter at the door had very good eyesight. Seeing them standing still at the door of the restaurant, he hurriedly stepped forward to say hello: "Guest officers, Happy Chinese New Year, please come inside."

Cheng Weizhe nodded with a smile, let the two elders enter the hall first, and then led Xu Xiaotian and Yang Zhongyuan into the hall side by side.

As soon as he approached the room, he felt a warm feeling blowing on his face. Cheng Weizhe looked around and saw several copper heaters around the lobby, and the odorless and smokeless silver filigree charcoal was quietly burning inside.

Yang Zhongyuan touched Cheng Weizhe's arm and motioned him to look at the table.In the center of the lobby of Tianhong Restaurant, there are round tables for six to eight people, while the surrounding places facing the street are all square tables for four people. It is cold winter, and there is a red plum in the center of each table. Slender, revealing a different beauty and elegance.

Cheng Weizhe nodded, looked at each other with Yang Zhongyuan, and said "wonderful" at the same time.

The head of the Tianhong restaurant this time has exhausted his mind.

They came earlier, and there were not many people in the hall at the moment. Yang Zhongyuan took a rough look, but there were also some ordinary-dressed diners dragging their families around the round table with smiles on their faces.

Remembering what the innkeeper said about the New Year’s meal here being more expensive, Yang Zhongyuan asked the mistress: “Little Er, we are here to play in Wanxi. May I ask how your family eats this year’s meal?”

The waiter was very winking, Yang Zhongyuan's family was all dressed in brocade, and everyone was very stylish, they didn't look like ordinary people, so their attitude was more polite.

"Guest officer, you can ask the right person. There are several kinds of tables for the New Year's dinner in our Tianhong Restaurant. The cheapest five taels of silver per table can only be eaten here in the hall. The chef who cooks during the Chinese New Year It’s not enough, so if the seat is full, it’s over, if you don’t get a seat, you have to ask early tomorrow.”

This is interesting. Table reservation means that the dishes are pre-ordered. Even if some of the chefs are not around, the dishes can be prepared and presented quickly. It is convenient to order ingredients in the store. The chef is easy to cook and the dishes are served quickly.The diners ate happily, so naturally they left early. Although the wages of the waiters and chefs were higher than usual during the New Year's Eve, the store also made a lot of money.

After Cheng Weizhe heard this, he immediately became interested, and he quickly guessed all the doorways inside, and then asked the waiter: "What about upstairs?"

Hearing that they said they were going to the second floor, Xiao Er immediately smiled and rolled his eyes: "Of course the second floor is our shop's signature dishes. The ones in the lobby on the second floor cost ten taels of silver per table, while the ones in the private room cost 20 taels." I don’t know what the guest officials think?”

Cheng Weizhe and Yang Zhongyuan looked at each other, and said in unison: "Let's go to the private room."

It costs 20 taels of silver to eat a meal, which is enough to make a living for many families in January.Xiao Er got the order and shouted happily: "Five people in the private room on the second floor, good luck and good luck."

He could talk, Xu Xiaotian was amused by him, and then went up to the second floor with the elders.

If the first floor of Tianhong Restaurant looks simple and elegant, then the second floor is very delicate and elegant.

There are private rooms on the second floor facing the street, and there are only six round tables in the middle lobby, each of which is covered with a dark red tablecloth, which looks very luxurious.

Because it was a little dark, there were still oil lamps on the surrounding fireplaces, and the Yingying lights made the whole lobby brightly lit.

The private rooms here are all made of hollowed out wood carvings, white juan as the surface, and eight doors are opened to form a small single room, which looks a bit unique.

Xiao Er led them to one of the private rooms, and as soon as he opened the door, a slightly older waiter immediately greeted him: "Guys, Happy New Year, I am Xiao Er from Tianzi No. [-], hurry inside Please sit down, the little one has just boiled hot water, what kind of tea do you want to drink?"

This private room happens to seat six people, and their family sits just right. When Cheng Weizhe and the others are all seated, Yang Zhongyuan said: "I wonder if your restaurant has any special tea?"

This Xiaoer is slightly older, he is already considered a young man, his face looks clean, his attitude is not too flattering, but he is quick and just right.

Hearing Yang Zhongyuan's words, he hurriedly said: "To tell you the truth, Wanxi does not have its own tea. But there are a lot of southern tea and northern tea. In our house, the southern tea Chongling Xueya is ordered the most. If you usually like tea, you should know that this is the tribute tea from the year before last. I heard that His Majesty likes it very much."

Among the few present here, Han Shiqian is the one who has the most research on tea. He said with a smile: "Chongling Xueya is very fragrant, but the tribute tea from the year before last should be a tea cake made of Chongling Xueya, called Qianzhong Xue, that one is fried with gold powder, which removes the bitter taste and adds a sweet fragrance."

After hearing a few words from him, Xiaoer talked about the characteristics of tribute tea, and was also very surprised: "Oh, old man, you really know tea. The little one only knows Chongling Xueya, and this is the only one in the shop. , The Qianchongxue you mentioned, our boss also went to order, but I don’t know if this year’s new tea has been ordered.”

Although Han Shiqian said that he has been reclusive for a long time, he still can't let go of the word tea. If he usually goes out, the teahouses are the places he goes most often.These news are heard from those places.

Has he ever drank Qian Chongxue?Of course it doesn't exist, but as long as he knows that gold powder is added in it, he can roughly guess the taste and texture.Although outsiders will not know other accessories, but generally speaking, there will not be too much deviation.

So when he heard Xiaoer talk about Chongling Xueya, he really wanted to ask Qian Chongxue to taste it.He has studied tea all his life, and only by drinking every kind can he not lose his sensitivity and familiarity with tea.

"It's fine if you don't have one. Let's just drink Xueya. But the taste is bitter, Xiao Er, is there anything for children?" Han Shiqian patted Xu Xiaotian's head and asked Xiao Er.

Xiao Er hurriedly replied: "Yes, there are freshly squeezed soy milk from early morning, and our special Meilu. It is the first time for you to come to Wanxi, right? Why don't you serve a cup of soy milk to the little guests, and then serve How would you like a pot of merlot? This one is sweeter, with honey added."

This Xiaoer is really good at it, because they set up the tables, so they can drink tea and drinks casually. Seeing that Yang Zhongyuan and the others came to Wanxi for the first time, they are not familiar with their own shop, so they talked about all the special things one by one. Come out, not afraid of spending money at all.

That's right, for a table of 20 taels of silver, even abalone and ginseng can be eaten open.

He is natural and generous, and Cheng Weizhe and Yang Zhongyuan have a good impression of him. They think that it would be great if they can hire such a capable mistress in their shop in the future, so Cheng Weizhe turned his eyes and pretended to jokingly ask him: "The attitude of the mistress is really too good." Well, you must have the best reputation in your shop, I wonder how many copper coins the boss will give you in a month?"

It's not the first time Xiao Er has been praised by a guest, and he just waved his hands after hearing it: "Where is it, you are so annoying, guest officer. Our boss is a nice person, and our monthly salary is naturally higher than that of other houses, but It’s not much higher. But the boss is always very kind, so we feel comfortable doing it.”

Yang Zhongyuan and Cheng Weizhe nodded clearly, both of them can do this.

Watching him go out to pick up tea, Han Shiqian rushed to Weizhe and said: "Weizhe, when we get there later, ask if this shop sells tea. We are familiar with Danluo's tea, but the varieties from other places There are so many, if you don’t understand each of them, you can’t make good tea cakes.”

Cheng Weizhe hurriedly stood up and saluted him, saying: "Master said, we are going to Quzhou, and we will pass through Liangzhou, so we will buy some when we settle down, and taste everything when we settle down."

Han Shiqian smiled, and stretched out his hand to greet him: "Okay, I'm not that strict master, you don't need to salute everything."

After he finished speaking, before Cheng Weizhe could answer, Zhou Quanxu interjected: "You speak well, you can scold him if you want to scold him."

To him, Han Shiqian always finds it very interesting. The two of them are old and have very different personalities, but it is very strange that they can bicker and make fun together.Usually, the children are busy, so the two of them get together to read and sew together, so they can spend their days leisurely.

After all, they are friends.

"Academic matters, of course I have to be stricter. All right, those who celebrate Chinese New Year, eat well."