"Bafanglou" Shen Rui got off the carriage, looked at the three-story building with white walls and gray tiles in front of him, and couldn't help but nodded and said: "A good name is also a good word!"
Different from the majestic and grand buildings in the north, the buildings in the south of the Yangtze River are graceful and graceful. Even the restaurants in the market look very elegant. Shen Jue curled his lips and said: "Brother Rui is so good, how can he imitate those corrupt Confucians to put up plaques? This is a place for eating, not a study or painting studio!"
A waiter stood at the door. When he saw the two people getting off the carriage, he hurriedly stepped forward to greet them and greeted warmly: "You two guys, please come in quickly."
Shen Jue didn't say anything. His eldest follower, Wang An, stepped forward and said, "Xiaoer, I came over in the afternoon to book a private room on the third floor with my fifth brother!"
The waiter recognized Wang An, his face became more and more attentive, and he led everyone to the private room on the third floor.
Looking at the several long followers and book boys following him, Shen Jue waved his hand and said boldly: "Now that we have arrived at Bafanglou, you can also go to the first floor to order some dishes for the toothpaste." Then he said to Qixing: "Look after me. Liu Cheng, please see that he is honest and honest, don't let others bully you."
The chief of staff followed the waiter downstairs, and only Shen Rui and Shen Jue were left in the private room.
Although this is the third floor, the hawking sounds on the street can still be heard very clearly. It's just different from the loud hawking sounds in the north. The hawking sounds in the south are not loud in volume, but they have a set of sales words, all with different meanings. Somewhat elegant.
Shen Rui walked to the window and looked at the street scene in front of him. He felt that everything was good and he enjoyed what he saw. Although he had followed Wang Shouren to the north and had seen some of these market customs, he was on the road and had heavy daily homework. The state of mind is different; now I am in a leisurely mood, putting aside those thoughts about the imperial examination and official career, and looking at these pictures of the market, it is another kind of comfort.
Seeing him like this, Shen Jue squeezed next to him and looked around. There was nothing strange. He couldn't help but wonder: "What is Brother Rui looking at that makes him reluctant to look away?"
Shen Rui pointed to the cart selling glutinous rice cakes on the street corner and said, "Brother Jue, where are you looking?"
Shen Jue followed Shen Rui's hand and saw a small cart parked at the corner of the street. An old woman was selling cakes next to it. There was a long queue in front of the cart.
"That's Grandma Bai's rice cake. She's quite famous in this street. Her sesame sticky cake is the strongest. She only sells a few pieces a day and disappears later." Shen Jue thought Shen Rui wanted to eat it, so she finished. Then he went out to greet the waiter, grabbed half a handful of copper coins from his purse and said to him: "My brother wants to eat sticky cakes, you go out and buy one."
A rice cake can cost a lot, so the rest is naturally a reward. The waiter happily agreed and went downstairs diligently.
Shen Rui laughed twice and said: "Brother Jue, I don't want to take the cake. I see no one is maintaining order over there. Everyone is in good order and no one cuts in line..."
Shen Jue asked curiously: "There is a first-come, first-served basis for shopping. Isn't it right to queue up? If you don't queue up, it will be messy, but it will waste your time."
Looking at the crowded street, Shen Rui always felt that there was something wrong with him. He thought about it for a while before he finally remembered and said, "Why don't you see the beggar? Did someone drive him away?"
Shen Jue shook his head and said: "Songjiang is already wealthy, and it is not a disaster year. There are so many beggars everywhere. Even if there are people who come from outside, most of them enter Huimin Yuan." When he said this, he sounded like a little adult. , said: "Chief Jiang is indeed a good official, but it's a pity that he will take office next year. I don't know how he will take over next year."
Songjiang Prefect Chiang Kai-shek will be promoted to the prefecture next year until his term expires. Since he has been re-elected once as prefect, he will most likely be promoted this time. Except for county magistrates and prefectural magistrates, who are close to the people and will serve for three consecutive terms, there are fewer prefecture-level and above chief officials to prevent local entrenchment. There are those who have been re-elected for three consecutive terms, unless it is a border province with a remote road, and the chief official has no need to mobilize himself. For a fat vacancy like Songjiang Prefecture, it is not easy for Chiang Kai-shek to be re-elected once, but it is because of his younger brother He is a Hanlin bachelor, otherwise he would have been squeezed out long ago.
Shen Jue just said this, not because he was afraid that the prefect would come to take over the situation. Several families with big surnames in Songjiang, not to mention relatives, had many children in the officialdom. Unless it was a stupid young man, who would offend these local gangsters? How can it be so easy to do something stupid? The prefect who was dismissed from office half a year after taking office was because he was dazzled by the wealth of Songjiang and regarded Songjiang as the fat in his bowl. In the end, he was dismissed from office after being found guilty.
Hearing Shen Jue mention Jiang Zhifu, Shen Rui thought of Jiang Rong, the third son of Jiang.
The third son of Chiang Kai-shek came to Beijing in the 11th year of Hongzhi and participated in the Spring Festival of the 12th year of Hongzhi. Unfortunately, he was not listed on the list. However, he did not return to Songjiang after that, but stayed in the capital to prepare for the next subject. After being recommended by his uncle, Bachelor Jiang, he became the Minister of Rites. Wang Hua became a closed disciple. When Shen Rui saw him again, he would be called Master Uncle.
Zhuang Gongren and the Sun family are friends of interest. They were once favored by Shen Rui, and they were entrusted by others to be loyal to others. They protected one or two more because they were mothers who cared about innocent children and were more concerned about face. It's not that serious. Wang Shouren fled to Songjiang for half a year, and was asked by Shen Li to take in Shen Rui, a student. Outsiders knew that something was wrong, but Zhuang Gongren was one of the few people who knew about it.
When the third son of Jiang became a disciple, Zhuang Gongren got the news in Songjiang. He also sighed at the fate, but he showed more sincerity and attention to Shen Rui. The king of heaven and earth is his teacher. For scholars, the teacher-student relationship is second only to the kinship relationship. , sometimes it is even more helpful to be related by kinship. Third Young Master Jiang is Wang Hua's disciple, Shen Rui is Wang Shouren's first disciple, and their biological mothers are related to each other, so they can also help each other among Wang's disciples.
Since the banquet had been reserved, the two of them entered the private room and waited for the waiter to buy back the sesame and glutinous rice cakes before the food was served.
When Shen Rui saw that four dishes of cold dishes were served, he knew that the number of plates of hot dishes that followed would be even more important, so he asked, "Is it too much?"
Shen Jue said: "I just think there are few people, so I only made reservations for third-class banquets. For second-class banquets, twenty-four banquets are required, and for first-class banquets, thirty-two banquets are required."
Four cold dishes, four stir-fried dishes, four steamed bowls, one dessert, one soup, and two dim sums, a total of sixteen delicious dishes.
In order to make it easier for Shen Rui and Shen Jue to eat, these dishes are concentrated on the side where they are seated. The six-foot-diameter round table is half empty. Because of the word "Bazhen", all the ingredients of these dishes are "Hai Bazhen" "," Cao Bazhen", "Qin Bazhen", "Lu Bazhen", they look exquisite, but the portion is not much.
In the eyes of Shen Rui, who has seen the eight major cuisines of later generations, these dishes are nothing, they are just Huaiyang cuisine mixed with Shandong cuisine. But comparing the food in the fourth room of the Shen family in the past few days, Shen Rui's eyes looked at these delicacies. But it's bright.
Shen Jue was also back to Bafanglou for the first time. He had already picked up the chopsticks, picked up a piece of braised fish maw and put it in the bowl. Both of them had developed the rules since they were young. They did not talk when eating and sleeping, so they would not behave like a storm. With such a posture, the speed of eating is really not slow, and the number of times I pick up food is also significantly increased.
Shen Rui used two bowls of rice and drank half a bowl of soup before putting down his chopsticks.
Shen Rui had already rubbed his belly and said: "No wonder this meal costs four or two cents of silver, but it took me two months. I don't know how they made the same shark's fin. Compared with the one made in the kitchen at home, I became a fan. ."
"So expensive?" Shen Rui couldn't help but be surprised when he heard the price.
When he went north with Wang Shouren, the cost of a meal was only a few dozen cents to a few dollars, but here the price was dozens of times higher. Although the banquet in front of him was a "mixed eight delicacies banquet", the main course was nothing more than shark's fin and sea cucumber. category, the remaining side dishes are poultry and fungi, which are not scarce, but the dishes are more exquisite and novel.
Shen Jue raised his eyebrows and said: "This is the chef who came from the palace. Can the price be the same as that of a restaurant outside? You know, not everyone in Songjiang Mansion dares to book a table on the third floor!" He asked, revealing a few words. Very proud.
Shen Rui couldn't help but smile after hearing this. Does this mean he doesn't seek the best, but only the most expensive?
In later generations, it was just an imitation meal. However, the education at this time made the scholars and common people fear the imperial power to the core. Even if the restaurant was branded as an imitation meal, no one dared to say it. Everyone could only cook the dishes. The master was once the imperial chef. Talk about your identity.
I just don’t know who the owner of this restaurant is. It’s not a big deal to hire a retired imperial chef to be the chef. He dares to set the price so high, which is a bit bold. No matter how the food tastes, just this price will make the diners confused. The identity is limited.
There are definitely not a few people like Shen Jue who think they can afford a meal with two months of pocket money.
Just as he was thinking about it, Qixing came in and said, "Fifth brother, the second uncle is in the private room next door. I heard that fifth brother and Master Rui are there, so I sent someone to invite them."
After Shen Rui heard about this relative relationship, before he could react for a moment, Shen Jue frowned and muttered in a low voice: "Why are you so unlucky to meet him..."
After Qixing finished his report, he turned sideways and revealed a young man in green clothes behind him, who bowed and said, "Master Cousin, the second young master of the Shen family. My second master heard that you two are here, so he sent me to invite you."
Shen Rui has already realized that Shen Jue's maternal family is the He family, and the person Shen Jue calls his cousin is the cousin of the eldest wife of the clan, He's family. Wouldn't that be the second master of the He family, He Nansheng? But as far as he knows , Shen Jue has never been close to his maternal family, why did Mr. He think of calling them over?
In the private room next door, He Nansheng was sitting there. Opposite him were two people, one in his fifties and one in his early twenties, with somewhat similar looks. Judging from their attire, they were from ordinary families.
"Seventh Uncle, Kang Sheng, the one who is having dinner with my cousin's fifth brother next door is Brother Rui, the legitimate son of the fourth room of the Shen family. It's a coincidence that you should meet him too." He Nansheng held the wine pot and filled the cup for the old man.
The old man looked a little uncomfortable and said hesitantly: "But I haven't said a word about marriage yet..."
He Nansheng smiled and said: "With me as guarantee, Qi Shu still can't trust his nephew?"
The old man smiled reluctantly, and the young man next to him put down his wine cup with a "pop" and sneered: "What the second brother said is better than what he sang! What a wonderful marriage, why do you think of our family? My sister is only eighteen, do I have to go to school?" Are you going to fill an old man's house with a pole? Second brother, it's better to be cautious and not make another joke. If something unexpected happens and your clan is not harmed, we can't bear it. My eldest sister has already married away from home. Could it be that my third sister will also end up marrying far away..."