Hearing that, Li Bai and Wang Wei looked at each other and found a place to sit down. Immediately, a teenager ran to them and asked, "What do you want to eat?"
"Half a kilo of deep-fried dough sticks, soy milk, and some pickles," Wang Wei said to Li Bai. Wang Wei said to the child. He didn't dare to let Li Bai order as it was easy to get drunk. Although Li Bai didn't drink as much now, his drinking habits hadn't completely changed, especially when he was outside. If he really drank too much, said the wrong thing and caused trouble, Wang Wei would also be implicated.
The kid didn't say much. He turned around and ran away. After a while, he ran back with a tray in his hand and put two bowls of soy milk and fruits on the table. Then, he took an iron tin box with pickles in it from the table beside him. He threw it there and ran to do other things.
Li Bai opened his mouth but didn't say anything in the end. In fact, he wanted to emphasize that the pickles he wanted were cold dishes mixed with vegetables and bought with money. Like the pickles now, he didn't need to spend money. He could eat as much as he wanted. Anyway, they were as salty as salt. He could eat as much as he wanted.
"Eat it. I guess there will be a problem." Wang Wei picked up a deep-fried dough stick with his chopsticks and pressed it hard. The deep-fried dough stick was bent and then he pressed it into the bowl of soy milk and said to Li Bai.
Li Bai didn't think that he was talented as he used to when he left his wife's house. He was much more restrained now. Besides, he was much better than the historical Li Bai that Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan knew.
At least he now understood the meaning of the words of the person who came to eat breakfast just now. Hong Nong was really going to have a problem, so he nodded and drank a mouthful of soy milk. He smacked his lips and found that there was no sugar. When he was about to ask someone to get it, Wang Wei said at the side, "Don't think about sugar. Didn't you hear that the price of the steamed buns has increased? Who put sugar in you? The original flavor is better. Don't you like it? "
"I never liked it. I was not born here. I'm used to eating porridge. The soy milk is tasteless." Li Bai didn't hide his dislike for the soy milk at all.
Wang Wei didn't persuade him. He wanted to call the "waiter" over to add another bowl of porridge, but was stopped by Li Bai, "Forget it. Soy milk it is. You can't drink the porridge."
"Yes," Wang Wei said naturally.
Li Bai looked at Wang Wei in surprise and kindly told him, "Brother Mojie, you can say this in front of me. If you go back to the capital and meet people from the Zhang Family and the Wang Family, don't say this. If they hear it, you will be in big trouble."
Wang Wei was puzzled. He looked at the soy milk in front of him and said, "I'm spending my own money. Why would they care? This is my own money, not theirs. "
"If you met Xiao Bei, would she talk to you about this? Today, you are wasting your own money, but tomorrow, you may be wasting the imperial court's money. Not to mention other things, every month, they will stop giving you food, drinks, and clothes in the capital. If you go to Between the Clouds and the Water again, you won't be able to eat such cheap food. "
Li Bai stayed with Xiao Bei in Jian 'an for a while. He was influenced by Xiao Bei's nine children and learned not to waste money. He felt that if he had money, he could eat all the noodles that cost 10 strings of coins. If he spent 10 strings of coins to order a table of dishes, he would end up with a pile of leftovers. That would be a waste.
Li Bai didn't know where Xiaobei and the others got this theory from. Anyway, this was what he did when he was with Xiaobei and the other kids. He had never seen Xiaobei and the other nine kids throw away food. When they were in Jilin Province, they only bought a little and ate a little. When they went to the restaurant to taste the new dishes, they would pack up the leftovers. If it weren't for the temperament they showed and the clothes they wore, others would think they were kids from poor families.
After hearing Li Bai's words, Wang Wei took it seriously. He was most worried about the attitude of the Zhang Family and the Wang Family. Now, not only did he care about the attitude of the Zhang Family and the Wang Family, but almost all the officials in the capital were afraid of being targeted by the two families. To be precise, they were afraid of being targeted by Xiao Bei.
When Xiao Bei and the other nine children lived in Chang 'an, they would come out every day. Who knew when they would meet them? If they were not careful enough, they would find something that could be used against them. It was not something that could be avoided with a simple smile.
"In this case, Brother Taibai, you should drink the soy milk. Look at the sky, it will still rain. After a few hours, the rain may be heavier."
Wang Wei secretly remembered Li Bai's words. He looked at the sky and became worried again.
"Three copper coins per kilogram of deep-fried dough sticks? Didn't it cost two copper coins before? " Perhaps others also saw the rain and were afraid of being wet, so they hurriedly finished eating and shouted in that direction when they paid the bill.
Li Bai and Wang Wei turned their heads and saw three people sitting at a table, two adults and one child. The two adults were drinking soy milk and eating fruits, while the child was just sitting there with no bowl and chopsticks in front of him.
It seemed that one kilogram of fruits cost two copper coins the day before yesterday, but today it was three copper coins.
The waiter quickly came over with a smile and said while tidying up, "The noodles have increased, the oil has increased, and so has the rice. Everything that can be increased is increased. If the deep-fried dough sticks are not increased, we will lose money. In fact, we will lose even one copper coin. Kitten, wait for me. I will go with you later. I have an umbrella."
The waiter's last words were said to the child, who was a little girl. After listening to him, she nodded and watched the two adults leave. It seemed that she also had the same intention.
Li Bai suddenly understood. Just now, he thought that the adults were abusing the child. Now he understood. The child would eat at the school, which was much more sumptuous than the restaurant.
Wang Wei put down his chopsticks and looked up at the sky again. "It's not good. The price has increased. It is only one copper coin, but it is 50%. Strange. The food has increased by 50%, which affects the people's livelihood. Who is so bold?"
"Maybe it is a temporary price increase." Li Bai knew what 50% meant. He was in charge of the Ministry of Revenue. Not to mention 50%, even a 10% price fluctuation could cause a great shock. Therefore, he attributed it to a temporary price increase.
Wang Wei did not believe in temporary price increase and said, "Do you think that the food supply between Chang 'an and Luoyang might be insufficient?"
"Then … who ate the leopard's guts?" Li Bai pondered. It was true. Hong Nong was between Chang 'an and Luoyang. How could he casually increase the price of food? Wasn't the county magistrate afraid of losing his head?
The two looked at each other and could not think of anything. The only thing they knew was that their task was very important.
The waiter over there cleaned up another table. When he came out again, he had an umbrella in his hand and a backpack on his back. He held the little girl's hand and skipped out of the restaurant. It seemed that it was time to go to school.
The heavy rain fell without warning, accompanied by flashes of lightning in various shapes in the sky. Streaks of water appeared on the glass of the carriage, like beans hitting a dustpan. There was also the sound of thunder from time to time, which made the rumbling of the moving train much softer.
Xiaobei and the others began to eat breakfast. They did not let the chef of the dining car do the work. There was a special chef in the team who borrowed the space of the dining car and served the dishes one by one.
Xiaobei chose the egg custard (cake). He did not allow the braising and only poured in the soy sauce. He smashed the cake with a spoon and pressed the bottom of the spoon to squeeze out the mixture of water and soy sauce. He drank it little by little. When it was almost finished, what was left was something like fish roe.
This was the way Zhang Xiaobao ate the cake. She learned it. She only thought it was fun and did not understand why her brother ate it this way.
In the past, Wang Juan also asked Zhang Xiaobao why he ate differently from others. At that time, Zhang Xiaobao smiled and explained that eggs were not something that could be eaten at any time in the orphanage. If he steamed the cake once, he was afraid that it would be finished in a few mouthfuls. Therefore, he ate it little by little. He drank the water first, and then the white things that were hard and unopened could be eaten as delicious snacks.
Who did not know that it was delicious when it was tender? It was just to keep it for a while longer. Not wasting food was also cultivated at that time. He was really afraid of hunger.
"Water." Xiaobei poured too much soy sauce. It was too salty. He stretched out his hand and asked for water. Immediately, someone passed over a cup of water. There was nothing in it, no sugar, no honey, and definitely not mineral water. The servants did not dare to put it casually. This was strictly stipulated by the young master and young lady.
"It's too salty." Xiao Yuan, who was sitting opposite Xiao Bei, raised his head and looked at Xiao Bei. He was also eating a steamed egg cake. The stewed egg was not expensive, but the stewed egg with mushrooms, fungus, Desert Cistanche, and venison meat was the most important part of this steamed egg cake.
Xiaobei was worried about how to eat the rest. When she heard Xiaoyuan's words, she smiled at him gratefully. When Xiaoyuan regretted speaking, she put the spoon into his bowl and scooped a large piece of cake back. Then, she used the spoon to poke the cake in her bowl. "Okay, Brother Xiaoyuan, you're so kind."
As she spoke, she wanted to scoop more. Xiaohai, who was eating the egg pancake, stopped and looked at his sister. "If you scoop more, Xiaoyuan won't have enough."
"Oh!" Xiaobei became obedient. Recently, she was a little afraid of her twin brother. Although her brother was always quiet, as long as he spoke, she had to do it. She even praised her big brother and sister.
She could not stay still. She took a soup dumpling, blew on it, and slowly took a breath. Then, she said, "I don't know why Uncle Emperor sent us here. It's still raining."
"Killing people." Xiaohai explained to her.
"Killing who?" Xiaobei was not afraid of killing people or dying people. She had seen too many of them. However, she could not think of who to kill. She looked at her twin brother with an expression of asking for advice. Usually, her big brother and sister would say that Brother Xiaohai was not bad. He had strong logical thinking ability.
"Killing officials and people who collude with officials." Xiaohai's answer was very short.
"Why?" Xiaobei did not care who to kill. She only wanted to know the reason.
"Because you're on the move." Xiaohai explained.
"Yes, I'm here." Xiaobei still did not understand.
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