Volume 1 Little Yuanba Chapter 17 Little Brother B
Li Dan called to Brother Yi: "Take the book and run to Hongsheng's wine shop. Quickly ask him to prepare some wine and meat. He said I will be there soon." Then he turned around and asked Yang Biao to lead the horse and follow him.
.
"Third uncle, what about this deal...?" Yang Biao asked in a low voice.
"Do you really know this horse?" Li Dan asked with a smile, Yang Biao didn't dare to hide it from him and grinned. Li Dan glanced at Yang Dayi behind him and said:
"This horse comes from Xifan and is a descendant of the military horse raised by King Tuyuhun in the Tang Dynasty. It was called Hequ horse in the former and later Song Dynasties. It is powerful and durable and can travel long distances.
The first-class horse charges into the formation and destroys the front, and takes the general's head from an army of ten thousand people, just like what Qin Shubao sold in the past;
A second-class horse can run three hundred miles without breaking a sweat and act as if nothing is happening;
Third-class horses are good at pulling, and one horse can pull 1,500 kilograms.
This jujube horse is one of the first-class, and it is worth seven or eighty taels. So let it go, it is not something you can accept."
After saying this, Yang Biao gave up. His ability as a horse was half-assed and he had no confidence. Just now he dared to make a big move in front of Xiao Yi, but when he came to Li Dan, he showed his talent after being poked.
There is a shortage of horses in this dynasty, especially in the south. It is common for a horse to cost more than a dozen taels of silver, but if you are an ordinary horseman leading a thousand-mile horse around, it is no different from going out with a gold ingot in your hand. It is purely for yourself.
Looking for trouble.
But..., he turned his face and looked at the horse slowly following behind him:
"Third uncle, this animal looks listless. It doesn't look like a first-class horse. Maybe it will be better if it has enough forage?"
Just as he finished speaking, a carriage came towards him. It looked like the manager of some house was out to make a purchase.
Seeing this, Zao Liuer suddenly raised his chest, raised his hooves, raised his head and raised his mane, and made a "squeaking" sound. The horse opposite him was so frightened that he shook his head and backed away. The groom quickly jumped off the car and held the bridle tightly, looking here in surprise.
, while moving the car to the side of the road.
Li Biao was also startled and almost let go of his hand and jumped into the shop next to him. Yang Dayi behind him laughed loudly, stepped forward to take the reins and said: "I didn't expect that Sanlang knows horses so well at such a young age!"
"There is a golden room in the book. Today is the first time I have seen a Hequ horse so close, and it is such a good one!"
After Li Dan finished speaking, he pushed Yang Biao: "Go and call Gu Dali!"
Gu Da is one of the first brothers to follow Li Dan. Now he is assigned to be responsible for running the market, with a dozen brothers under his command.
He has a leopard-like head with ringed eyes and tangled beard and hair. He looks very fierce (in fact, he is very brave), but Li Dan knows that this man is the most loyal and a trustworthy person.
When he heard Li Sanlang looking for him, he quickly ran over and clasped his fists and said, "Sanlang is looking for me? But what are your orders?"
"Da Lang, this is my friend Brother Yang. He is coming from the North, and I am going to treat him well.
I still have something urgent to do here. You first take him to the public bathroom to wash him well, give him some syrup and snacks, and then go to Lao Ji's clothing store to replace him with new ones inside and out.
Wei Shizheng took him to Hongsheng's place for a drink together, remember?" He said and took out a banknote and handed it over.
It was obviously not the first time that Gu Da had done something for him. He took it over unceremoniously and said:
"Sanlang, it's very inconvenient for Brother Yang to walk around on the street with weapons, and he has to be questioned by businessmen, which is very troublesome.
How about finding a place to put him down and then I take him to you?"
As soon as Li Dan thought about it, he nodded and said, "Then we'll put him at the Renli Inn." He turned around and asked Li Biao, "Do you recognize Han An from that inn?"
"Who doesn't know about Sai Kuixing?" Li Biao replied with a strange smile: "Even if you don't know him, you still need to know his wife."
Gu Da coughed, but Li Dan ignored him and continued:
"You take the horse, bring Brother Yang's weapons, and ask Master Han to take a look at the horse and tell him to take good care of it. The food, soup and medicine will be all wrapped up on me!"
Li Biao responded, took the weapon and led Zao Liuer away. "Okay, then Brother Yang will follow my brother first, and we will meet at the restaurant later."
Yang Dayi was still mumbling about taking a bath and buying ready-made clothes, but his stomach would continue to growl for who knows how long.
Seeing that he assigned the tasks in an orderly manner, the two of them could not help but be very surprised. They smacked their lips secretly, thinking that he was indeed the son of the prefect, and he had such tricks at such a young age.
Therefore, I suppressed my desire to eat, thanked him, and followed Gu Da to the hall.
Li Dan noticed that he put the baggage on his back and thought to himself that he didn't know what was inside. He would rather take care of the baggage than get it stolen. Maybe this was his errand?
Meeting Yang DaYi was an accident, but what Li Dan missed most was the few books in Xiao Yi's hand, so he changed his mind and sent the others away in order to talk to Yang Yi about it first.
When he walked into the hotel, dishes were already being arranged on the table by the window of the private room on the second floor.
Hongsheng is not the name of this restaurant. The restaurant is called Shanfang Restaurant. The eldest son of the shopkeeper Liu Anhe is named Liu Yuansheng, and the second son is named Liu Hongsheng.
This Liu Hongsheng was as short and squat as a tree stump sitting on the ground, but his body was as flexible as flying, so he was nicknamed: Taibao sitting on the ground.
Because he resented the bullying by local gangsters, he became good at boxing and kicking since he was a child, and he was especially good at Pao Chui and Yue Jia Quan.
After Liu Hongsheng got to know Li Dan, and with his help, the family business became more and more stable. Even the word "shanfang" on the banner at the door was inscribed by Li Dan.
The ruffians and scoundrels in this county will know that they can't afford to offend them when they see this flag.
The eldest brother, Liu Yuansheng, is different from his younger brother. He is a solid person who is willing to concentrate on studying the art of cooking. He also received the guidance from Li Dan, making the Liu family's pastry the best in the world.
For these reasons, shopkeeper Liu not only did not object to the brothers' association with Li Dan, but was very supportive of it.
Hearing that Li Dan was going to treat a guest, shopkeeper Liu asked his boss to keep an eye on the kitchen, and he personally supervised the workers to tidy up the inside and outside, sweep and mop everything.
Just as he stretched his neck and wondered why he hadn't come yet, he heard the voice of his second son talking outside the door. After a while, Liu Hongsheng led Li Dan in unsteadily and shouted: "Dad, Li Sanlang is here!"
Shopkeeper Liu came out from behind the counter cheerfully, and his eyes lit up when he saw that he was dressed in Confucian uniform today. He cupped his hands and said, "Sanlang comes to the shop to make Piper and Shenghui bright!"
"Uncle Liu's business is booming!" Li Dan made a junior salute and then said:
"Today I have to cook myself, making a dish of steamed pork with garlic paste and a dish of stir-fried pork with wild bamboo shoots. Uncle Liu, could you please cut some fresh meat for later use!"
Shopkeeper Liu saw that he was very interested and immediately agreed. While ordering people to do it, he asked his second brother to lead him upstairs.
Li Dan said no need, turned around and took out a banknote and handed it to Liu Hongsheng, telling him to hurry up and give it to Han An at Renli Inn.
"There is a friend I want to place with him. The man brought a horse. I first asked Li Biao to take it to Lao Han, but I forgot to ask him to bring money. You hurry up and give this to him.
Mr. Han comes from a family of famous doctors, and I can trust him. If you tell him to keep the horse at ease, I won't treat him badly."
Liu Hongsheng agreed, took the banknote and left in a hurry. He walked quickly, but he was out the door in a flash.
Yang Xiaoyi heard Li Dan talking from upstairs, so he caught him at the stairs, led him to sit in the private room, and asked softly: "Brother Dan, why are you here by yourself? But do you have something to say to me?"
"Where are those books?"
"Here." Xiao Yi picked up the still bundled book from the chair next to him and placed it in front of him.
Li Dan shook his head and said softly: "Brother Xiao Yi still understands me. I just brought these books to you."
"Give it to me?" Yang Xiaoyi was stunned for a moment: "Are you kidding me? Although I know a few words, I can barely read an announcement."
"I didn't ask you to read it." Li Dan stood up and closed the door. He came back and pointed at the books and told him:
"This book contains my aunt's savings over the years. There are always people at home who want to take advantage of them, so my aunt asked me to take it out quietly and find a secret place to hide it.
Brother Xiaoyi, do you have a suitable place?"
"Well..." Yang Xiaoyi took a sip of tea and said with a wry smile: "I really can't believe that such a thing would happen to you rich family? There is a suitable place. How about I take you to see it?"
Li Dan shook his head: "No need, you don't know who I am? You might as well do something illegal one day when you get angry.
Brother B, I think so. Brother Yang must be a capable person to come here from the North. I think he may be desperate, so I plan to take him in.
This way, if something happens to me one day, you, Brother Yang, and Gu Dabao will take good care of my aunt for me, so that she can spend the rest of her life safely."
"Brother Dan, what are you talking about?" Yang Yi was frightened and his eyes widened: "How could something happen to you? What could happen to you?"
"It's hard to say." Li Dan shook his head calmly: "There have been too many incidents of this kind of fighting over property that harmed people or were harmed. I was just worried, so I told you in advance.
Find a place to hide it, where the wind can't blow it and the rain can't touch the ground. After you put it away, let me know if you want to go take a look.
If something happens to me, you should find an opportunity to tell my aunt the location and follow his instructions on how to spend it."
Yang Yi lowered his head and looked at the books. He didn't expect that Li Dan would entrust him with such an important matter. After being moved, he nodded heavily: "Then shall I go now?"
"Is it far?"
"Not too far away, Nanguanwai Chanlin Temple."
Li Dan rubbed his chin and thought: "Then you can borrow Shopkeeper Liu's donkey and go there. It will take you an hour to get back to the city."
"It won't take an hour." Yang Yi stood up with a smile: "That gray donkey is a good animal, and the Huaixi guy has very good feet! Brother Dan, you guys chat first, I'll be back soon!"
Li Dan smiled, and then heard him say something to someone downstairs, and then heard the sound of footsteps. Liu Hongsheng came upstairs first, followed by the panting Li Biao.
"Sanlang, it's all done." Liu Hongsheng looked a little excited: "Hey, this is the first time I have seen such a big horse, taller than my brother!"
"That's called Hequ Horse. It was left by Tuyuhun Khan during the Tang Dynasty. What do you know?"
Li Biao was learning and selling now, then he smiled flatteringly at Li Dan and said:
"Third Uncle, Mr. Han said that there is nothing wrong with the horse. It is just that it is exhausted and hasn't received any concentrated feed. It is a little... uh, acclimatized! It is said that it is just like people, it needs to be conditioned, and it will be fine after conditioning."
He gestured with his hands: "I saw that he found a big wooden bucket and said he wanted to boil water to give the horse a bath first, and then soak some medicinal materials for it to boil water for drinking.
This guy is really interesting, he doesn’t even smile when he talks, but he treats animals better than people!”
"Perhaps in his heart, animals are the most sensible and benevolent people." Li Dan said with a smile.
"Hey, where did Brother Xiao B go? Isn't he eating dried fruits and drinking tea upstairs?" Liu Hongsheng asked, looking around.
"Oh, I asked him to do something. If the guests arrive, let's eat and drink first, don't wait for him."
As soon as Li Dan finished speaking, a waiter came up with a piece of pork belly and asked: "Third Young Master, the shopkeeper wants me to ask, what should I do with the meat after I buy it?"
"I'll come, I'll come!" Li Dan shouted, jumped up, and called the two of them again: "You two have tea first, and I will go to the kitchen to cook two dishes to go with the wine!"
Liu Hongsheng and Li Biao were overjoyed to see the meat. It was especially rare for Li Biao to encounter such a scene. They were so greedy that they almost dripped with greed. They shouted over and over again: "Third uncle, you go, you go, my nephew is with me, don't worry!"
Liu Hongsheng couldn't laugh or cry after hearing this: "I'm in my restaurant, what do I need from you to accompany me?"
When the steamed meat was thoroughly cooked, Gu Da arrived with Yang Da Yi, and the time was just right. Li Dan was still not finished, because he saw steaming fresh tofu in the kitchen, so he improvised a show for Liu Da.
He first stews fish heads, chicken bones, onions, ginger, rice wine, salt and star anise in an iron pot to make soup, and puts it in a porcelain cup;
Then use a knife to finely shred the tofu until it is not broken, lift it up and put it into warm water. The tofu will immediately spread into chrysanthemum shapes;
Wash off the remaining foam, then quickly move the tofu pudding into the soup stock in a porcelain cup, and put the green cabbage heart into it;
Then steam it for half a minute, and finally add a soaked wolfberry.
Liu Yuansheng's eyes widened when he saw it, and he said with a trembling voice: "It's really a wonderful work of art. I didn't expect that Sanlang could make tricks out of ordinary tofu."
"It's nothing." Li Dan shook his head: "I can make three or four shapes of this 'Chrysanthemum Tofu' for you. When I have the skills, I will make it for you to see!"
This cup is too hot now, please wait a moment and ask the waiter to bring it to you." After saying that, he took off his apron and prepared to go back upstairs to greet everyone.
As soon as he reached the stairs, he saw Yang Yi throwing the donkey's reins to the clerk, wiping the sweat on his face with his sleeves and striding in. He smiled when he saw him and said, "Sanlang, I'm back!"