Xiang Xiaoqiang asked the two ladies to sit alone in a car at the back. He, Li Gensheng, and a colonel staff officer from the Northern Command of the People's Guard who came to pick him up sat in the same car. Xiang Xiaoqiang planned to spend more time with his subordinates, at least in public.
Together, less with the madam, although the two madams are also his subordinates. But because they are women and they are with him, the status of "Madam" naturally comes first. This is what Ming Dynasty said about modern times.
It's really modern, and if you want to say it's a traditional place, it's really traditional. There's nothing you can do about it.
The convoy drove into the city from the east and headed towards the southern suburbs headquarters. Xiang Xiaoqiang and Li Gensheng were sitting in the back seat, and the colonel staff officer was sitting in the front passenger seat. His name was Zhao Cunnian, whose courtesy name was Zisi, which means mobile.
The chief of staff of the team headquarters is also Li
Gensheng's direct subordinate is about the same age as Li Gensheng. He is thirty-six or seventeen years old. He was considered a young and promising student at the mainland university at that time. He is wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses under his big-brimmed hat. He is polite and has a bookish air.
He has a very "Confucian general" demeanor.
During the Northern Expedition, Zhao Cunnian was responsible for formulating and planning many of the People's Guard's combat plans. Xiang Xiaoqiang also knew him very well.
Xiang Xiaoqiang happily sat in the back seat and watched the scene of Xuzhou City through the car window. But Xiang Xiaoqiang felt that the city no longer had the same lifelessness, numbness and despair as when he came last winter. Liberation
In Xuzhou not long ago, although the houses were still low and dilapidated,
In the old days, passers-by were dressed in rags, but there were no longer piles of garbage on both sides of the street, and there were more pedestrians. Acquaintances would say hello loudly from far away, and then they would bow and pat shoulders, and the two would laugh and laugh.
So far away, it seemed like everyone was extremely happy.
Hope. This is hope. Although no "hardware" can be changed in these short ten days, the clothes on the people are still in tatters, the faces are still shabby, and the wallets are still shriveled, but everyone believes that from now on, one day
Getting better every day. This feeling can only be experienced by those who have just recovered from a fatal illness. Although the body is still weak, the disease has been eliminated. As long as you take good care of yourself, recovery is just around the corner.
"Zisi," Xiang Xiaoqiang said with a smile, "You have been in Xuzhou for a few days, do you know which breakfast shop in the city is better? Haha, I just said, treat everyone to breakfast! There are so many of us.
, I’ve reserved that breakfast shop!”
Zhao Cunnian turned his head with a smile and said:
"Sir, you are tired from the journey. Your subordinates have prepared breakfast for you and everyone in the new headquarters. Wouldn't it be nice for us to have breakfast in the headquarters and talk about the next grand plan?... Haha, let's talk about it.
, Xuzhou has just experienced war, and many places... I'm afraid they haven't recovered yet."
Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled and said:
"What the hell! Zisi, what you said is wrong. It is precisely because we have just experienced the war and all walks of life are waiting for revival, so we need to 'stimulate consumption'! Think about it, for example, Boss Zhang opens early
There was a war some time ago, the city was in chaos, and the Qing army was under martial law. He had no money and was about to close down. Now that the war is over, he is waiting for business to come to him!
Now dozens of us are filling up his shop at once. The losses in the past few days have been made back in one day, and Boss Zhang’s shop has been saved! Do you think this is more conducive to the revival of all industries? Haha
, I didn’t say anything, we’ll just eat in the city! We eat at the headquarters every day, but we can’t afford to spend it. Today I’ll be the host and take everyone to experience the local customs of our Xuzhou!”
Li Gensheng also smiled and said:
"Haha, Zisi, what you said makes sense. Besides, there are so many of us. This is the first time we go deep into a big city controlled by the former Beiqing Dynasty. It is also a rare opportunity to observe. What do you think? Just make arrangements.
"
Zhao Cunnian was startled, then smiled and said:
"Oh, yes, yes, yes, my subordinates have forgotten, this is your hometown! Okay, okay, that's what it should be. Then we, your Majesty, have to be the host of this meal! Then my subordinates will make trouble, haha
hehe!"
Zhao Cunnian immediately picked up the radio in the car and gave some instructions to the lead vehicle. Then, the entire convoy changed direction, turned a corner to the southwest, and headed towards the "high-end business district" located in Nanguan Hubu Mountain.
Went there...but it was only a "relatively" high-end business district. Compared with the Confucius Temple business district in Nanjing, it was still a world of difference.
After a while, the motorcade stopped at the side of a quite busy street. Xiang Xiaoqiang looked out of the car window and saw that the restaurants along the street were very gorgeous, similar to the ones he visited last year with a stomachache. However, these high-end restaurants
The doors are all closed at the moment. There are a few shops that have opened, and the waiters inside also said that they are not open yet and will not open until noon.
Zhao Cunnian has been in Xuzhou for a few days and knows a little about the situation on the street. He originally wanted to take Mr. Xiang to a restaurant with good conditions for dinner. Because he knew that except for these few high-end restaurants, other small restaurants
What are the conditions? But now I have no choice but to make breakfast. Zhao Cunnian tried to persuade him again.
Xiang Xiaoqiang went to the headquarters to eat. But Xiang Xiaoqiang had already made up his mind and had to eat breakfast on the street. Now for him, this is no longer a matter of "returning to hometown in rich clothes" or "returning to hometown in rich clothes". In his opinion
, this city is a microcosm of the north under the rule of the Northern Qing Dynasty, and he must experience it for himself.
The motorcade drove out of this bustling street, turned a corner, passed through a side alley, and entered a civilian area.
Xiang Xiaoqiang saw a "Da Ma Ji Spicy Soup" on the roadside through the glass, and immediately ordered:
"Zisi, stop, we are right here."
The motorcade stopped on the side of the road, and more than a dozen officers also got off. Everyone looked at the "Da Ma Ji Spicy Soup" shop.
There were three shabby brick houses that were blackened by smoke. Outside the brick houses, a few wooden sticks supported a dark oilcloth tent. Under the oilcloth tent, there were several greasy and dirty wooden tables and stools.
The ground was so dirty that there was almost no place to step on. Large areas of black, gray juice and thick phlegm had all frozen. There were also places covered with slag ash, probably where someone had vomited before...
The officers of the Ming Army were almost nauseated when they looked at this environment. But they did not express it to the adults, and it was difficult for them to express it. Many people were wondering why there were either extremely luxurious restaurants in Beiqing, or...
In a place like a beggar's den, wouldn't there be a small restaurant that is suitable for ordinary citizens to consume, although it is not luxurious, but at least it looks like a decent small restaurant? If it were in Daming, no matter how small the county, such a clean and tidy small restaurant would be
There are a lot of them. But in the north, you can’t even see a single one!
Xiang Xiaoqiang had a sullen face and felt very embarrassed. He almost wanted to turn around and go back to the headquarters. But he finally said:
"Everyone, please go back to the headquarters for dinner first. I... have just returned to my hometown. No matter how simple the conditions are, I still want to taste the original breakfast of my hometown. Gensheng, please accompany me to eat here. Stay.
Just one squad of guards will do. Zisi, could you please take everyone back to the headquarters first. I'll be back in a while."
Xiang Xiaoqiang had good intentions and didn't want so many people to follow him and hold their noses to eat in this environment. But the more he said this, the less able others were to leave on their own. Zhao Cunnian quickly said that it didn't matter. Although it was a bit rough here,
But this kind of fun was rare. So, more than a dozen officers held their noses and sat down. Three trucks of guards also got out of the cars and scattered around to watch.
There were so many big people coming to the small shop at once, which made the boss very nervous. When the boss came out, he bowed and bowed. He almost offered a cigarette to each of the adults with fear and fear, and ordered the waiters to bring the other people in the shop.
The diners were all kicked out, and the whole store was freed up for adults to use.
It was almost past breakfast time, and there were already very few people eating. There were only four diners in the store. When these four diners heard what the boss said, they all dropped their chopsticks in panic and consciously wanted to leave.
Well. No need to give instructions to Xiaoqiang, Zhao Cunnian dissuaded the boss and retained him.
The four diners, twelve officers and Qiu Qiu Xiuxiu, a total of fourteen people, found four tables and sat down. There was still one empty table in the store. The four diners were also nervous and excited.
, it was the first time in my life to experience the feeling of eating in a shop with so many "officials".
The most "high-end" food in the store was immediately served: fried dough sticks and spicy soup. This was indeed the most high-end breakfast for local people. The original four diners only had sesame seed cakes and porridge in front of them.
Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled and asked everyone to start eating.
Needless to say, deep-fried dough sticks are similar all over the country. However, the deep-fried dough sticks in the south are few and very thin, while the ones here are typical northern deep-fried dough sticks, which are thick and large. Moreover, the deep-fried dough sticks at this time are darker in color, and there are no deep-fried dough sticks in later generations.
So beautiful. Xiang Xiaoqiang
He knew that this was because there was no washing powder. He didn’t know if there was washing powder at this time. Even if there was, the price would be n times that of flour. At this time, restaurants used washing powder to fry fried dough sticks, which is equivalent to restaurants in the future using salad oil.
When cooking, you are seeking to lose money.
As for the spicy soup, it is a classic breakfast in Xuzhou. It is somewhat similar to the "hot and sour soup" in the south, except it is not so sour. It also contains a lot of pepper, which is dark and spicy. There is also gluten in it,
Shredded chicken, shredded eel, taste fresh and spicy, very enjoyable in winter.
To be honest, as a local, Xiang Xiaoqiang feels that the fried dough sticks and soup taste good. Even in later generations, breakfast shops with a good business may not taste as good as this one. Especially the spicy soup, which has a unique flavor.
The aroma is very tempting. Xiang Xiaoqiang's mouth is very experienced, and he drinks it in one go. The big pot of soup in this restaurant is filled with smoked shells. In Beiqing at this time, smoked shells were very popular.
The stuff is probably easy to get and not expensive.
However, I estimate that my early meal has made everyone around me miserable. Except for myself, these officers are all southerners. Except for a few Sichuan and Hunan people who are not afraid of spicy food, the others are from Jiangsu and Zhejiang. At this moment
The already burning nose and tears came one after another, and they all took out their handkerchiefs. It was better for Qiu Qiu, who was from Nanjing, but Xiuxiu was so burning that she almost fainted.
Xiang Xiaoqiang was hesitating whether to take care of his wife alone. Zhao Cunnian called the waiter with a wink, removed the spicy soup for the two ladies and replaced it with porridge. This was considered to have saved Xiuxiu's life.
Xiang Xiaoqiang ate his portion completely, and saw that the others were pinching their noses, as if they were being tortured every time they took a mouthful of soup. He sighed that his idea was really bad, and called the boss,
Hu Jiong was asked to pay the bill, and he was asked to reward the boss a lot of money. The boss was frightened, bowed repeatedly, and was overjoyed.
…
The group of people got into the car again and drove towards the Quanshan military camp headquarters in the southern suburbs outside the city.
Before driving through the headquarters gate, Xiang Xiaoqiang suddenly shouted:
"parking!"
Then he pushed open the car door, bent down and stretched out his head. Li Gensheng and Zhao Cunnian exclaimed at the same time:
"Sir, be careful!"
As soon as the car stopped, Xiang Xiaoqiang said "Wow" and vomited out like a tide.
Suddenly, the entire convoy stopped, and the officers in front and behind also ran over and asked in panic. Qiuqiu and Xiuxiu ran over, guarding him nervously. Qiuqiu was so frightened that his face changed color, and he just clapped his hands towards him.
Xiaoqiang's back. He bent over towards Xiaoqiang and couldn't speak. He just waved his hands and vomited at the same time. His face was as white as a piece of paper, his lips were livid, and his legs were shaking as he vomited.
.
First I vomited out all the contents in my stomach, and then I continued to vomit. At the end of the vomiting, I actually vomited out bright red blood.
At this moment, everyone was stunned. Zhao Cunnian also turned pale, turned his head and whispered to his men:
"You, drive to the headquarters immediately and ask the doctor to come over! You, with a squad, immediately go to the store just now and don't let anyone inside out! You, immediately go to the intelligence office of the headquarters and ask them
Thoroughly investigate the details of that shop owner!"
The three of them went their separate ways.
Suddenly, Zhao Cunnian's face changed drastically, and then he immediately bent over and started vomiting like a tide.
As if they were infected, after a moment, four officers started vomiting one after another.