"The owner of the inn? What's his relationship with the imperial envoy?" I looked at the man in front of the counter who was calculating abacus in confusion. I saw that he was short, a little chubby, probably in his early fifties, and had a round face.
, has a long beard and looks kind-hearted.
The black face took a sip of noodle soup: "What do you think he is doing? His name is Uncle Fu, he is the shopkeeper of this inn, he is just responsible for looking after the shop, he is not the owner!"
"Oh, then who is the owner of this inn?" I blurted out.
Fatty Wang took me to this inn for noodles half a month ago. I only heard all the guests call the waiter "Ah Wu" or "Fifth Brother". As for the real owner of the inn, they didn't pay much attention.
But today, I suddenly became interested. Wang Jiajia was right. No matter how big the portion of noodles was, it only cost three copper coins. So, could the owner still make money?
The black face ate another noodle: "How do I know this? I only heard that the owner of Jianghu Inn is a widow, known as 'Mrs. Mu'. She probably has several shops. I come here to eat noodles every day, but I have never
I have seen her figure."
"You come here to eat every day?" Wang Jiajia finished the noodle soup and said with surprise on her face: "Don't you think this noodle is too bland?"
"Too bland?" Hei Lian chuckled, "It's because there's no salt at all."
I took a few more mouthfuls of noodles, chewed them twice and then took a sip of the soup carefully: "Yes, there is no salt. If I wasn't hungry, I wouldn't be able to eat it.
Last time, Fatty Wang heard someone said that the noodles here were cheap, so he ordered two bowls and invited me to eat them together. It was hard to swallow, but he still had to pay 60 cents for not finishing the meal. He had an argument with the waiter named Ah Wu.
, and almost got into a fight. Then I had no other choice, so I spent two cents to buy a plate of kimchi and mixed it with the noodles before eating it."
"Haha, since Madam Mu is the boss, she must be very careful with her budget. The clear noodle soup in the noodle shops and stalls outside costs only five cents for a small bowl. She deliberately made it two cents cheaper to attract customers, and she also
No limit. Yesterday I saw a family of six coming to eat noodles, and Ah Wu served them in an iron basin.
In today's world, many poor people cannot afford to eat. A bowl of clear noodle soup that costs three pennies can still fill you up, so naturally you are happy to come. After all, three pennies is still easy to earn. Even if you are full and don't have money to pay the bill, you can go to the kitchen to help pick out two pots.
Water, or washing a hundred dishes, or even chopping a pile of firewood, can be paid for. Didn't you notice that she doesn't even have a few waiters in this shop? She relies entirely on these customers to help her with her work.
"
The black face said, having finished the noodle soup, he burped with satisfaction: "I have to go get some medicine for my Aye, so I won't chat with you anymore. Haha, you guys should take your time to figure out the secrets of this store.
Fifth brother, the money is on the table!"
"Okay, let's walk slowly."
"Waiter, here's a roast chicken, two side dishes, and a pot of peach blossom stuffing!" Two more men in long robes, one white and one gray, walked into the shop.
"Okay, you two gentlemen, sit here. Please have tea first. The food and wine will be ready soon." Ah Wu knew that these were real guests, so he quickly wiped the table next to me and entertained me warmly.
Roast chicken, stuffed with peach blossoms! I swallowed and seemed to smell the aroma.
When I entered the store just now, I saw the sign at the door. The peach blossom stuffed wine in this store is delivered from the most famous Thousand Cups of Non-Drunken Restaurant, and the specialty dish in the store is roast chicken. To thank new and old customers, they are all discounted at half price.
.
Half price! Haha, I touched the money bag in my arms, pursed my lips, and sighed softly.
"Hey, have you heard? The imperial envoy solved several big cases last night." The man in white said.
"I heard about it. I heard a lot of people talking about it when I went out for breakfast early in the morning. It was said that the imperial envoy found out the hypocrites in Shenlong Villa who were trying to collude with Tibet, and they had already sent people to escort them to Chang'an. They also found out the secrets of the Tianyan team.
I wanted to take them to Chang'an together and hand them over to the sage for trial, but accidentally, Na Xizhuo committed suicide."
The man in white sighed: "Hey, the Tubo people are eyeing me in Xiangzhou now. I wonder if there will be a war?"
The man in gray shirt also had a sad look on his face: "That's right. Now that the Anshi Rebellion has not been put down, the imperial court may not be able to take care of us in Xiangzhou at all. It is considered thoughtful to send an imperial envoy to guard us."
"Boy, the wine and food are here." Ah Wu trotted over with a tray and presented the wine and food, and a burst of aroma suddenly hit his nostrils.
"Yeah, it smells really good." The man in white rolled up his sleeves: "If Xiangzhou is also in chaos, I'm afraid we'll never be able to eat such delicious food again."
The man in the gray shirt picked up the wine pot: "Yes. I just hope that the entire Xiangzhou people will work together to prevent Tubo from being traitorous and courageous, so that our people can live a stable life for a few more years."
"Haha, you two can enjoy the bar without worry. Of course, if the sky falls, there will be tall people to hold it up." Ah Wu said, and set out the dishes and chopsticks: "Please use it slowly, I have something to tell you!"
"You're right, come on, come on, let's do it first!" The two people's worries disappeared, they toasted happily, and the aroma of wine overflowed.
I glanced at the roasted golden and shiny chicken, and quickly lowered my head to eat the noodles.
"Brother Jianghu, can you still eat?" Wang Jiajia said, after finishing the last mouthful of soup, she carefully put down her chopsticks.
"Yes. I'm done eating." I picked up the last few noodles with my chopsticks and sucked them into my mouth, then took two mouthfuls of soup: "Brother Five, do you want to check? We've all finished eating."
"Well, okay, hehe, you two gentlemen, go slowly and welcome us next time." Ah Wu smiled and walked us to the door.
"Brother Jianghu, you all know that the clear soup noodles here are terrible, why did you bring me here?" Wang Jiajia looked back at the shining golden signboard with a puzzled look on her face.
"Because the noodles in this store are cheap, I only have three copper coins left with me." I showed the gift in my hand: "It's almost noon, so go back quickly."
"Yeah. Aye said he came back at noon and stopped by to buy groceries. I don't know what he bought. I will make some more delicious food for you later." Wang Jiajia said with a smile.
I smiled sheepishly, maybe this silly girl also noticed how greedy I was just now.
I looked back at the words "Jianghu Inn" again. Yes, I knew the clear soup noodles here were bland, so why did I bring her here?
I know that after buying wine and longevity peaches, I still have more than ten copper coins in my purse, and I can have a leisurely meal at a roadside stall outside. I am not a person who will treat myself badly just to save seven copper coins.
Why did you come to this inn?
Is it because of the name of this inn? When Fatty Wang brought me here that day, I was very surprised that this inn actually had the same name as me!
Fatty Wang said that this inn used to be called Fuyuan Inn, but it was changed to Jianghu Inn three years ago. As for why the name was changed, it is impossible to know.
Fatty Wang said that the front of this store is the living room and the back is the guest room. There are few waiters inside, but the food is served very quickly. The roast chicken and peach blossom stuffing are the most popular in this store. I was full of expectations at the time, thinking I would be in for a treat.
Unexpectedly, Fatty Wang only ordered two bowls of clear soup noodles.
He is indeed a stingy master. I usually follow him around, and even work as his assistant when I meet him for an autopsy. I don’t even have half a copper for my hard work. I finally asked to treat me to a meal, but it was just a bowl.
It’s just noodles, and it’s the cheapest clear soup noodles in this store!
The clear soup noodles were served. I took a big sip and couldn't help but wonder: "Hey, waiter, did you forget to put salt in this noodles?"
Fatty Wang also slapped his chopsticks on the table: "How can you eat it if it's so bland?"
The waiter chuckled and said, "Boy gentlemen, please calm down. Didn't I emphasize this repeatedly when you ordered clear noodle soup? The clear noodle soup in our store is very light, but no matter whether it tastes good or not, no leftovers are allowed.
Otherwise it would be ten times the price.”
"You...call your boss!" Fatty Wang shouted with a dark face.
"Oh, Ah Wu, I'm really sorry. I haven't seen our boss for a few days. He is usually the manager of our shopkeeper. Unfortunately, today, our shopkeeper also went out to do some business and won't be back until evening. I will
Temporarily managing the inn."
"So you deliberately made the noodles so bland that it's hard to swallow, and you're asking for a lot of money?" Fatty Wang said angrily, and the veins on his neck popped out.
"Your Majesty, I have misunderstood. How dare you deliberately extort money? If you don't believe me, ask them, don't they all like to eat?" The waiter named Ah Wu is about in his early twenties, with a slim build and a pair of slender eyes that are very clever.
A clever mouth can also speak eloquently.
I looked around and saw that there were only ten tables in the entire living room. Including Fatty Wang and I, there were about thirteen guests. Most of them were noodle eaters. Some had one bowl per person, and some had two or three people in a big bowl.
Eat together.
"It's good if you have a stutter, how can you be so particular about it?" said an old man in ragged clothes, touched his mouth, and put down three coins with satisfaction.
"That's right, such white noodles only cost three pennies for a big bowl. Where can you find them outside this shop?" Another man next to him said, adding two chopsticks of noodles to the woman next to him, and another to the woman on his lap.
The child fed a few mouthfuls and then resumed eating by himself.
"Yes, yes, I think you are not hungry enough."
"That's right, I'm really hungry. I can eat wild vegetables, but do I still care whether the noodles are bland or not?"
…
Everyone was shouting at us, the waiter Ah Wu.
"I'm sorry, am I wrong?" Fatty Wang blushed and became even more angry: "I heard that you are cheap here, so I came here specially. So this is how you deceive people?"
Ah Wu was still smiling: "Young man, how dare you lie to others? You two ate every noodle like them, and it's still six copper coins. If not, you can leave now if you pay fifty-four cents more."
, these are the only two options.”
"What if I don't even choose? Jianghu, let's go!"
"Master..."
"Wait a minute!" Ah Wu put his hand on Fatty Wang's shoulder: "Why do you, sir, need to take the third route? Prison food is not as delicious as mine!"
"What? Do you still want to take action?" Fatty Wang said, already rolling up his sleeves.
"Who wants to do something?" Seeing this, several men eating noodles also put down their chopsticks and gathered around.