In the early morning, when the sun shone on the east side of the market, the cart had already been pushed to the fixed intersection. Nie Yunzhu and Hu Tao packed up some things and then carried the basket to deliver the goods. She was still dressed in plain cotton clothes with a headscarf wrapped around her head. She seemed to be dressed like most village women, but even her figure could not hide the extraordinary temperament she once had. If one were to talk to her face to face, one would naturally be unable to overlook her elegant and beautiful appearance.
Yesterday, she delivered the first century eggs to Chun Yi Restaurant, which was a start. Today, she went there again. According to Ning Yi's plan, she put several different ingredients in beautiful small porcelain bottles, and then prepared porcelain plates. After delivering them, she took a century egg and cut it into four pieces. She took four small plates, poured a little sauce on each plate, and displayed it in different styles. The appearance of the century eggs after they were cut open was not bad. Coupled with the red, black, and white sauces, the visual impact was definitely sufficient. Even though the restaurant did not display them in the most conspicuous place, they had sold more than ten of them yesterday.
This kind of development made Nie Yunzhu a little unprepared, but if there was a second restaurant, the plan of 30 century eggs a day would basically be completed.
Under the same morning light, just as she carried the basket across the street to Chun Yi Restaurant, Li Pin was walking out of the alley and paused for a moment. Then he went to the Four Seas Restaurant on the other side of the street. A friend had already arrived and was waiting for him there. "Brother Xie, you're early … Where's Zishan?"
"Zishan didn't come with me today. He said that he met a good friend last night and will come with him later."
"That's good."
Everything went on as usual. Li Pin's appeal was still no problem. In the past three or four days, he found some friends who usually ate in different nearby restaurants and asked them to help him ask the waiter to buy century eggs when the restaurant was busy. It was no trouble at all. Since Ning Yi said that a few people were enough, he didn't tell too many people. These friends were also relatively secretive, so there was no problem with a casual performance. Yesterday, he heard that Chun Yi Restaurant had already put the century eggs on the table, which could be considered as a preliminary result.
Li Pin was curious about Ning Yi's talent, but as for the century eggs, she didn't care too much about it. At this moment, he met up with his good friend, Xie Jiang. After chatting for a while, they went upstairs. After waiting for a while, another good friend arrived. This person's name was Shen Miao, and his courtesy name was Zishan. He was also a somewhat famous scholar in Jiangning. There was another person who came with him. He had a dignified appearance and was in his twenties. He had a rather steady temperament. As soon as he entered the door, he greeted Li Pin and Xie Jiang.
"De Xin, Xi Shen, long time no see."
"Yan Zhen!"
Li Pin stood up in surprise. This person was actually an old acquaintance of theirs. Originally, in Jiangning, he was on par with Li Pin and Cao Guan. Gu Hong, Gu Yanzhen, came to the capital three years ago. It was said that he would take the high school entrance examination. Since then, he had been active in Bianliang, using all kinds of methods to find a real job. Unexpectedly, he had returned from there.
Everyone was overjoyed.
"Just when did he arrive? He actually didn't contact us immediately. I'll remember this."
"Let's hold a banquet at the Golden Wind Pavilion today to welcome them."
"Fine!"
"What have you seen and learned in the three years in Dongjing? Can you tell us in detail?"
The four of them smiled and sat down at the table. Gu Yanzhen talked about some trivial matters in the capital with them.
"Nowadays in Dongjing and other places, the most talked about is the recent conflict between Liao and Jin. Since His Majesty appointed Prime Minister Li, he has reorganized the military affairs and strictly enforced military discipline. Now the court is full of excitement. If my guess is correct, in at least three to five months, at most a year, the court will seize the opportunity to form an alliance with the Jin. Since Tan Yuan, the whole country has been depressed. Recovering Youyun is just around the corner! "
Since the second half of last year, the Jin under the leadership of Wanyan Aguda had a large-scale conflict with Liao. Recovering Youyun and reviving the fate of the country had been the most frequently discussed topic among the scholars of the Wu dynasty. Sixty years ago, Tan Yuan. Six years ago, Black Water. A hundred years of oppression. Now the opportunity had finally come. Since His Majesty appointed Li Gang as Prime Minister, he had vigorously reorganized the military affairs. Now the situation was clear. Everything seemed to be pressing on a string. The future seemed to be separated by a thin piece of window paper. Once it was broken, they could see the army leaving Yanmen and going straight to Youyun, restoring the landscape of the Tang dynasty. At this moment, the four of them were excited. Then, Gu Yanzhen also talked about his harvest this time.
"… This time in Dongjing, I finally won the favor of Lord Qinsou and got a seventh-grade position. Ha, Rao Zhou's Leping County Magistrate will take up his post in July. There is still some time before I return to Jiangning to have a chat with you …"
The Lord Qinsou he mentioned was Tang Ke, Tang Qinsou. In the eyes of these scholars, he was also quite famous. They asked him again. Naturally, they were all envious, jealous, and hateful of him for getting the position. After a while, they talked about some elegant affairs. Gu Yanzhen was originally considered a romantic figure in Jiangning. He was favored by all kinds of beauties. After going to Dongjing for three years, naturally, there would not be no romantic affairs. Gu Yanzhen smiled and talked about some trivial interesting things.
"In fact, reputation and talent are not much different from Jiangning. Most of the women in Dongjing are arrogant, and there are scholars all over the world there. It is not easy to subdue them. I have been in Dongjing for three years. Among the most popular girls recently, I have only met Li Shishi once …"
Time passed in the conversation, and it was already the busiest time in the restaurant. Li Pin was thinking whether she should call century eggs over. Suddenly, Gu Yanzhen stopped, patted the table, and then said to the waiter, "Bring four century eggs."
Naturally, there was no egg in the restaurant. Then, Gu Yanzhen pointed out the place, and he was actually very familiar with it. Li Pin looked astonished. Only then did Gu Yanzhen laugh and say in a low voice, "Yesterday at the Jade-Green Screen Building I was chatting with Mufang Xiong, suddenly I heard him calling this Century Flower Egg in a very serious manner. When I asked him, I found out that it was Dexin Xiong's request, so I will keep it in mind. Ah … did I say anything wrong? I don't know what the relationship between century eggs and Dexin is. "
Li Pin also laughed, "There is no relationship. It is also a friend who asked me to do it. It is just a game, but we can't deliberately publicize it with our own fame."
"Understood." Gambling and joking, there were all kinds of things. Seeing that Li Pin said it was a game, Gu Yanzhen no longer cared about it. Then, he talked about the scenery of Tokyo. After eating and drinking, Li Pin and Gu Yanzhen chatted alone for a while. Then, Li Pin joked, "When talking about those Tokyo women, Yan Zhen seemed to be a little hesitant. Could it be that he suffered a setback in Tokyo? It's hard to say now."
Gu Yanzhen laughed, and then shook his head helplessly, "Dexin is very perceptive. There are indeed some things, but they have little to do with Tokyo … Well, there is something to do with it … I don't know if Dexin has been to Golden Wind House in the past few years?"
Li Pin shook her head, "I rarely go to Golden Wind House. In retrospect, Yan Zhen did go there often. Heh, recently, Golden Wind House's Yuan Jin 'er is quite close to Cao Guan. Yan Zhen also knows that Cao Guan is my Lichuan's arch-enemy. If I go there, I'm afraid I will also be rejected … Well, what is the matter? "
"Three years ago, before I went to Tokyo, there was a confidante in Golden Wind House. A few days ago, I entered the city and went to look for her that night. Unfortunately … after three years, she is no longer in Golden Wind House …" Gu Yanzhen's fingers tapped on the table, and his expression was slightly melancholic. "To be honest, I used to be a playboy. I have seen many women, but only this woman … made me feel the most intimate. My heart is the most tranquil, and her literary talent and temperament are completely unlike those of a prostitute. I remember when I bid farewell to her three years ago, she said, 'I wish Young Master a good result in the imperial examinations and a glorious return …' This time, I can be considered a good result in the imperial examinations and a glorious return. It's a pity … If I had known this, I would have redeemed her freedom even if she had refused three years ago … "
Li Pin thought for a while and said, "If that's the case, three years ago … Yuan Jin 'er used to be Pan Shi. Hmm, I heard that she had indeed redeemed her freedom and married someone …"
"How could it be Pan Shi?" Gu Yanzhen raised his eyebrows in disdain. "Pan Shi is just a common woman. How could she be worthy of my love? I'm talking about Miss Yun Zhu. She has always been low-key. If not for her refusal to fight for fame, how could Pan Shi have stood up for Golden Wind House … This matter can only be said to be fated but not fated … "
"Yun Zhu … I seem to have heard of this name in the past …"
"If De Xin had met her in the past, he would naturally know how good she was. This woman is excellent in poetry and singing. Her thoughts are also different from those women who want to be the top courtesan and fight for fame. Although I don't know about her past, if she didn't have a rough life, how could she have fallen into prostitution? I originally thought that I could help her, but I knew her character, so I didn't dare to mention redeeming her freedom. Alas, now I know that when a flower blooms, it must be plucked straight. Don't wait until there are no flowers, but it's too late … "
"Have you inquired about her current whereabouts?"
Gu Yanzhen shook his head. "I have, but they haven't given me an answer … Oh, since they haven't given me an answer, she must have married someone. If she had only left Golden Wind House, she would still be famous in Jiangning. Based on our relationship that day, she wouldn't have refused me. "
Love is a thing, and the most sorrowful thing is to miss a chance like this. Li Pin thought for a while and said, "Why don't you ask more? At least you know where she is now. "
"What's the use of asking? I'm indeed curious about who she chose in the end, but … if I can avoid seeing her …" He looked at Li Pin and smiled. "Maybe not seeing her … is better than not seeing her."
Li Pin nodded and patted his shoulder. "Well, she'll forget about it after a while."
While a group of people were talking about these things in Sihai Tower, the busiest time in the restaurant had passed, and the number of customers gradually decreased. The waiter who had just gone to buy century eggs discussed with the people who had been asked to buy it two days ago and responded to the manager. The manager looked at the four people who seemed to be of high status and waved his hand to give instructions. The waiter went out of the door, crossed the street, and went to the intersection over there. He asked Nie Yunzhu to send century eggs to her tomorrow. Before that, a waiter from Cuiping Tower also came over and said the same request.
The next morning, before dawn, Nie Yunzhu was waiting in front of the stairs of the small building. When Ning Yi came over, he happily told her the news that the sales had expanded to three stores. As he said this, he also paid some attention to Ning Yi's expression with some doubts. In fact, the situation of the market expansion was a bit strange for her. People often asked the waiter to buy century eggs from the restaurant, but they hadn't made a name for themselves yet. How could there be such a situation? Perhaps he was behind it.
If that was the case, she would admire him. However, although she was good at observing people's expressions, Nie Yunzhu naturally couldn't see too much content from Ning Yi's face at this time other than happiness. In fact, she was also happy that she could be self-reliant. She discussed with Ning Yi that there wasn't enough pickled in the beginning and emergency measures in case there was a shortage in the middle.
Early in the morning, at the intersection, in the car, in Sihai Tower. When Nie Yunzhu came over with a bamboo basket to tell the waiter about the various combinations, she decided to inquire a little about the inside story. In her opinion, most of the things should be related to Ning Yi.
"… Waiter, who are the people who asked you to buy century eggs a few days ago … I want to know who likes to eat this."
"Oh, they're all learned scholars. Some of them also say that this is called the Jade Egg and the Rich Egg. Yesterday, this lowly one accidentally heard that one of them came back from Tokyo, a high school master … This kind of person also knows the name of the Century Egg. Could it be that Miss Nie's Century Egg is a novelty that you learned from Tokyo … No wonder it's not sold in other places … Oh right, look, Miss, the one who asked for this Century Egg yesterday was that scholar master."
Nie Yunzhu smiled and looked back. Two scholars were walking in. Shen Miao was the first to see the century eggs taken out from the bamboo basket on the counter. He thought that Brother Li's purpose had been achieved, so he poked Gu Yanzhen with interest. When Gu Yanzhen looked over, he saw a village girl with a headscarf taking out the century eggs for sale. He was also quite interested. Shen Miao chuckled a few times. After a second or two, he was still talking, but his eyes were already stunned …
*****
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