A dozen young men, dressed in short red coats with three eye-catching yellow characters of "Wang Fu Ji" embroidered on their chests, lined up neatly in two rows and bowed in unison when the gate opened.
Looking inside the store, the festive red color is the main color. Although the decoration is not as luxurious as that of a large restaurant, it is simple and elegant, revealing a sense of heroism.
There used to be a row of tables in the back of the store, but they have been removed and replaced by a huge bluestone screen, which is carved with pictures of thousands of miles of rivers and mountains, sun, moon, mountains, rivers, birds and animals, rare treasures, all-encompassing.
There is also a couplet on the bluestone screen, "Fire sets the heaven and earth, and the pot melts the heaven and earth."
Majestic atmosphere.
There is also a temporary platform in front of the bluestone screen, covered with yellow cloth.
Zhang Fugui pulled off the red cloth from the sign in front of the door.
Five gilded characters first came into view, "Wang Fu Ji Hot Pot."
And on the lower right side of the plaque, it is marked "No. 1 Store".
At the same time, Gu Weidao came with a group of county school students.
"Everyone, please come inside." Zhang Fugui laughed loudly and extended his hand toward the store.
Gu Weidao and the students from the county school were the first to enter the store. The other people surrounding them looked at each other and then followed in.
"Boss Zhang, what is hot pot!?"
"Yeah, I've never heard of it."
…
Finally someone couldn't help it anymore and asked.
The waiter Li Changan had trained in advance enthusiastically and skillfully led everyone to sit down.
Gu Weidao and eighteen county school students were divided into five tables and sat around the stage.
Zhang Fugui did not explain directly, "Everyone, the first thing today is to wrap up the major events of the past few days. I believe everyone can't wait."
"As for the hot pot, Gu Jiaoyu and the county school students will show it to everyone."
As he spoke, a boy came running over with five red-oiled brass hotpots.
Everyone's eyes were focused on these five strange-shaped little pots.
Just this small pot feels like something is going on.
Brass conducts heat quickly and starts bubbling quickly.
A fragrant, numb and spicy smell spread out.
"Gulu..."
There was a clear sound of swallowing, and a man near Gu Jiaoyu's table smiled sheepishly, "Boss Zhang, is this hot pot?"
"Yes, this is hot pot." Zhang Fugui said with a smile.
The lobby was already full of people, and there were people outside the door peeping in.
The fragrance overflows, and many people can't help but smack their lips.
"What does this smell like? Why do you feel like your mouth is watering when you smell it?"
"I thought it was my problem, so did you?"
"It's really strange. I don't really eat well in the first place, but why do I feel hungry when I smell this smell?"
…
There were murmurs of discussion everywhere.
Zhang Fugui didn't need any further explanation. When the five hot pots were brought out and the aroma was smelled, everyone understood.
Gu Weidao took down the chopsticks first, and then the other county school students started to use their chopsticks.
This move of the chopsticks was so unusual that everyone originally just wanted to taste it because of the smell.
But now I see that even the county school students and Gu Jiaoyu are eating without caring about their manners. Who can bear it?
The glutton was immediately drawn out.
Is hot pot really that delicious?
Everyone craned their necks and looked at the county school students who were already eating in full swing.
Shopkeeper Xie, who was sitting on the edge of the table, frowned and felt a hint of uneasiness in his heart. Something seemed a little wrong.
"What is hot pot? Why have you never heard of it?"
Shopkeeper Xie looked at the corner of the table, where he also wrote how delicious the hot pot was.
Why should I eat tripe? Is it better to eat hot pot with iced sour plum soup? There is also an introduction to various pot bases.
How to target a dish that has never appeared before, or even heard of?
This is even scarier than the special dishes. A large restaurant only has a few special dishes, including special side dishes.
But Wangfuji Hot Pot has turned the table upside down and created a whole new cuisine.
Shopkeeper Xie secretly thought that something was not right just by thinking about it.
The previous arrangement is of no use at all.
The categories of wine shops are limited to this, and everyone sells similar things, so it is very convenient to target them, but how to target the hot pot in front of you?
What everyone sells is different, and it’s totally wrong.
"Thank you, shopkeeper, this hot pot looks very simple."
The person next to me came over and said softly, "As long as you eat it twice, there will be no secrets."
"When more hotpot restaurants open, Wangfuji's business will naturally be affected."
Shopkeeper Xie looked at Zhang Fugui who was about to go on stage. He felt something was wrong and shook his head.
"It's hard to say. It's not that we don't know Malatang. It's very easy, but we just can't learn the taste."
"The same is probably true for hot pot. It doesn't taste right. After eating it a few times, people won't come back again."
"The reason why special dishes are special dishes is not because no one can steal them, but because they can't learn them. These are the special dishes and their signatures."
The person next to me continued, "Since hot pot has several flavors of pot base, we can definitely develop a new pot base."
"As long as we can attract some of Wangfuji's customers, it will be enough. When we open more restaurants in Linxian, Wangfuji's business will definitely be affected."
Shopkeeper Xie hissed and fiddled with the finger on his thumb, "That's true. You can give it a try. Let's try the hot pot later."
"I always feel that Zhang Fugui has prepared a back-up plan, otherwise he wouldn't have done this with such a big fanfare. He must have something to rely on."
"No matter what, let's get the one hundred taels today to prove that our Baihua Brewing in Qingyue Tower is the best in Linxian County!"
…
While shopkeeper Xie and others were still discussing,
Not far away, Li Changan and Liu Zhiyin mingled with the crowd, but found that there were no seats inside.
A young boy just wanted to step forward and salute, but Li Changan stopped him with a look. At this time, it was not suitable for him to attract everyone's attention. He could just keep silent and make a fortune.
The two stood in the corner, looking at the crowded lobby.
"Erlang, there are so many people there." Liu Zhiyin stood on tiptoes and whispered in Li Changan's ear, with a look of joy on his face.
As the fragrant wind blew in, Li Changan was slightly dazed, turned his head and replied, "After today, our Prosperity Records will definitely be famous throughout Linxian County."
Because what he said could not be heard by outsiders, their heads were very close to each other.
At this time, Zhang Fugui's voice sounded, and Li Changan was about to look up when someone squeezed his lower back, causing Li Changan to stumble.
The next moment, time seemed to have stopped.
Li Changan's eyes widened instantly, and the softness on his lips made his heart beat uncontrollably.
Li Changan didn't have time to reflect, so he quickly straightened up and protected Liu Zhiyin by his side, "Ahem... there are a lot of people..."
Liu Zhiyin's body trembled slightly, her pretty face suddenly turned red, and she was so pretty, and her smiling eyes were full of shame.
How...how could this happen?
Liu Zhiyin's eyes moved up little by little, and he secretly took a look at Li Changan's expression. He found that Li Changan was looking forward, but his face was also slightly red, and he felt even more embarrassed.
He panicked and cast his gaze forward, but unknowingly he turned his attention away. He just stared blankly, not knowing what he was thinking in his head.
Li Changan's heart felt like it was beating a drum. He had had several relationships in his previous life, and he was not a novice. But such a simple touch, just a kiss on the cheek, made him panic.
Damn it, wake up, this is your sister-in-law.
Namo Amitabha, Namo Amitabha...
Suppressing the throbbing in his heart, Li Changan turned his attention to Zhang Fugui on the stage.
At this time, Zhang Fugui opened the yellow cloth, and underneath the yellow cloth was a wine bottle with red paper on it. The wine bottles were all the same, and there was no difference visible from the outside.
"Everyone must have seen it. These are the good wines that everyone has sent over the past five days. There are forty three types in total."
"The corresponding wine name and the name of the person who sent it are posted under the red paper, and the number is marked."
"Each bottle of wine can be divided into thirty glasses, so I will select thirty people to come on stage to judge."
Zhang Fugui took out a box and said, "Thanks to Gu Jiaoyu and the students from the county school for their support today, I also ask Gu Jiaoyu and other students to help me complete today's judgment."
"There are students from the county school. This judgment is undoubtedly fair. People in the province say that I, Zhang Mangfu, have committed fraud."
As soon as these words came out, everyone in the audience nodded.
"That's exactly what it should be. It's perfect to have students from the county school judge it."
"As long as the document is presented, we can definitely ensure that no one lies."
…
Shopkeeper Xie's expression suddenly changed. This Zhang Fugui actually asked the county school students to take action.
He originally thought that Zhang Fugui would do the same as him and send more of his own people to make his wine the first.
But shopkeeper Xie never expected that Zhang Fugui made it clear that he wanted to be judged fairly.
Does Mr. Zhang Mang really think that his wine is the best in Linxian County?
When it comes to quality wine, Qingyuelou has never lost!
Zhang Mangfu, you are seeking death yourself, don't blame me.
Amid the applause of the crowd, three students from the county school, including Qin Zizhao, stood up, walked up the steps and clasped their fists, saying, "Thanks to Boss Zhang for his respect, we will naturally judge impartially."
After saying that, the three of them stretched out their palms, and three ancient and simple writing vessels with bronze luster slowly appeared.
The whole place fell into silence, and the eyes of everyone crowded in the lobby were intense.
This is the literati, the symbol of a literati. Only with the literati can one be considered a true literati.
Li Changan's heart is surging, is this a literary document?
Could the change in my mind also be related to Wen Lu?
No matter what I think these days, the darkness, which is full of cracks and has been radiating light, still cannot be broken.
Before the darkness, the white mist gathering up the monument also seemed to have fallen into silence, without any movement.
The bronze urns of the three people on the stage look like shrunken vertical monuments.
Although there are no patterns on it, Li Changan can feel the similarities between the two.
Just as Li Changan was thinking, the voices of Qin Zizhao and three others rang out, as bright as a bell, echoing in the lobby,
"No one can stand in this world without loyalty."
“Grammar—Let’s meet openly!”
Three rays of bronze light rose up, connected together, and turned into a curtain of light, hanging down on the steps.
"Those who pass through this light gate will have the same heart and speech."