After Wei Zhice's introduction, Zhang Cheng found out that the person who came out to greet him was none other than the new shopkeeper of the store, that obscure scholar, Wang Zhaozheng, the nephew of the wife of the imperial censor Yu Shangyou.
If you look carefully, you can see that this man is also tall and fat. On the surface, he doesn't look like a scholar at all. He has a big round face that always smiles. He looks quite suitable to be a shopkeeper.
"Are you Wang Xiucai?" Zhang Cheng asked.
"Returning to the general, it is student Wang Zhaozheng who has reserved a seat for you upstairs. Yu Shi left a message and will be there in a moment, saying that he will bring you two friends."
Zhang Cheng was not surprised at all. When he left the capital last time, he left two hundred taels of silver for Yu Shi so that he could make more official friends in the capital and help those officials in the capital who were unhappy.
Under the guidance of Wang Zhaozheng, Zhang Cheng and his party went up the stairs to the second floor. He did not enter the private seats directly, but stopped at the railing of the hall on the second floor and looked at the street outside.
The capital city is indeed prosperous. There are many shops of various sizes on both sides of the street. There are also many vendors setting up stalls and selling on the street, or hawking along the streets with carts and burdens. There is also constant traffic of pedestrians.
Moreover, this area is close to Zuo'anmen. Not only is the public security very good, there are many inns around it, and the people living here are also from well-to-do families. Even the people who come and go on the street are mostly officials and their family members.
He turned around and said, "Zhi Ce, the place you chose is indeed a good one!"
Wei Zhice smiled, and before he could say anything, Wang Zhaozheng came up to him and said, "General, I guess Master Yu and the others are coming soon. You and Brother Wei go into the private room and rest first, and I'll make you a cup of fragrant tea."
, moisten your throat first."
Next to him, Niu Sheng also said: "General, Mr. Chen, brothers Liu, and brothers Li will rest in the hall here first. The food and drinks will be served in a while. You guys are having a good time eating and drinking. I will go to the backyard to check out this accommodation first."
Is the room arranged?"
Zhang Cheng and Wei Zhice walked into the private seats facing the street. Chen Zhong and others chose a separate seat in the hall on the second floor near the private seats that also faced the street, and sat down around it.
After a while, two waiters ran up and made tea for both tables. Wei Zhice sent the waiters away and then said to Zhang Cheng: "General, I have already taken care of the Ministry of War. You can go to the Yamen of the Ministry of War to collect the report tomorrow morning."
In body and official uniform, would you like to pay a visit to Mr. Yang Ge?"
Zhang Cheng took a sip of tea and then said slowly: "Mr. Yang Ge has taken great care of us. Although he and Gao Laojian secretly restricted us during the previous reign of King Qin, after all, we still have to look forward.
Well."
"Zhi Ce understands. I will prepare a generous gift tomorrow morning and send it to Mr. Yang Ge, and then make an appointment for the general to visit Mr. Ge." Wei Zhice nodded and said, he very much agreed with Zhang Cheng's assessment of the situation.
"Gifts are a must, but they don't have to be too expensive. Just be elegant. By the way, how did Aunt Wu decide?" Zhang Cheng asked.
"Zhi Ce went to Mr. Wu's house yesterday evening. Mrs. Wu said that she would go to Mr. Na Ji's house to walk around in the past two days. If it is convenient, see if she can ask Miss Na Ji to come over and give Miss Wu some needlework instructions.
Techniques.
If Mrs. Ji and Miss Ji agree, they will send a message to us at that time, and the general can go to the Wu Mansion to see the Wu family aunt at that time, or he can have an opportunity to meet Miss Ji." When Wei Zhice said this, he narrowed his eyes and smiled.
Then he looked at Zhang Cheng.
Zhang Cheng felt a little uncomfortable when Wei Zhice saw him. Before he could say anything, the voice of the shopkeeper Wang Zhaozheng came from outside the door, and the two of them heard that Yu Shangyou had already arrived.
Sure enough, after the door of the private seat was pushed open, Wang Zhaozheng appeared at the door. Next to him was Zhang Cheng's old acquaintance Yu Shi Yu Shangyou, and four other people. It was the first time for Zhang Cheng to see them, but they looked very unfamiliar.
After Yu Shangyou entered the private seat, he first said politely: "I feel sorry for General Zhang who has been waiting for so long."
Zhang Cheng also smiled and said: "Master Yu is willing to come here with honor, not to mention waiting for these times, even if he waits for three days and three nights, Zhang Cheng is also willing to do so."
Everyone laughed, and Yu Shangyou introduced the four people who came with Zhang Cheng, saying: "Come, General Zhang, Yu will introduce these four good friends to the general."
As he spoke, he introduced: "General Zhang, this is Mr. Yuan Pengnian, the head of the Ministry of Rites, Mr. Yuan, these two are Mr. Wang Tiaoding and Mr. Ma Jiazhi, the king of Like, and this is Mr. Si Liangyu, a pedestrian.
Lord Ming Liang."
Zhang Cheng cupped his fists slightly and said, "Nice to meet you, ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats."
Yu Shangyou hurriedly said: "This is General Zhang Cheng who shot Dorgon with an arrow and beheaded Yue Tuo. Now he is a third-grade general who is commanding the general affairs of Wandu and guarding the North Road of Xuancheng Town."
Then he introduced Wei Zhice and said: "This is the general under General Zhang whom Yu often mentioned. He is the commander of the Kaiping Guards, Wei Zhice."
Wei Zhice also said politely: "Don't dare, don't dare. In front of several adults, how can Wei dare to call himself an adult?"
Everyone was very polite and sat down in order of priority. Naturally, Zhang Cheng sat in the main seat, while Yu Shangyou sat at the head of the guest seat, and the others also took their seats accordingly.
Wang Zhaozheng was very knowledgeable and interesting. After he introduced Yu Shangyou and others to the dining room, he quietly left. After a while, the waiter came upstairs and placed a plate of mutton fried with green onions and several exquisite side dishes on the table.
Then Wang Zhaozheng personally presented a bowl of three-fresh soup made with sea cucumber, squid and shredded chicken. A waiter next to him also carried a live carp fin that weighed nearly three kilograms, and invited Zhang Cheng and others to see it with their own eyes.
Wang Zhaozheng asked Zhang Cheng with a smile on his face: "General, how do you want to eat this fish? One or two?"
"Master Yu, you are a guest. How do you eat this fish?" Zhang Cheng looked at Yu Shangyou and asked.
Yu Shangyou was a little embarrassed. He smiled and said to Zhang Cheng: "It's up to you, General Zhang."
Zhang Cheng was just being polite. Seeing that Yu Shangyou was very wise, he stopped trying to shirk and turned to Wang Zhaozheng, "Zhaozheng, how do we become so good at Tongchunlou?"
"General, why don't you make a carp and eat it twice? Half of it can be melted in sugar, half fried, half fried in sugar, and the leftover fish bones can be used as a fish bone baked noodle."
He introduced it warmly and politely, and then he said with a smile: "We have a new chef from Henan in Tongchun House. He makes good Henan cuisine. General, why don't you try something fresh."
Wang Zhaozheng is a man who understands the world very well. He calmly responded to such an occasion without saying a word, and even pretended not to know Yu Shangyou, so as not to embarrass everyone. Zhang Cheng was quite satisfied with this.
What Zhang Cheng heard was new, and he couldn't help but remember that he had eaten "six bites" of black fish in his previous life, but he had never eaten two bites of this carp, so he said: "Okay, do it the way you said.
Let’s try something new too!”
Seeing that Zhang Cheng agreed, the waiter hurriedly carried the live carp out of the dining room. He actually followed the rules in Henan restaurants and threw the live carp to the ground. Then he picked up the half-dead carp and walked downstairs with a smile.