Of course, this kind of person pays great attention to socializing with official figures. [Read the latest chapter] Jinyiweishan Baihu, although his official position is low, is a powerful figure in the local area. Huang Shunlong has the purpose of having more temples to burn incense, and he has always been very fawning towards such figures. As soon as the county magistrate approached him, he immediately agreed.
The general called a one-by-two sedan from outside, asked Li Yongxun to sit on it, and cleared the way to Huang Shunlong's house.
Huang Shunlong's family lived in a Chinese residential area in Macau. The sedan was carried directly to the door of Huang Shunlong's store. Lin Ming looked at the dark shop with some doubts. There were two sturdy Kunlun slaves holding short sticks at the door.
On the way, Tongshi boasted about the enjoyment of Mr. Huang's house - Lin Ming didn't take it seriously: since Huang Shunlong was in Haojing'ao, all kinds of foreign goods were naturally available. But the styles of foreign goods are limited to those things - the Australian goods that have emerged in recent years, and he has seen a lot of them in Foshan.
"Mr. Lin, please come inside." Tongshi whispered.
Led by a dark-skinned little Kunlun slave, the group walked through the store and passed through a long, semi-dark corridor. Li Yongxun felt a little scared and leaned tightly against Lin Ming's body. A faint smell like orchid and musk came from him. Lin Ming was originally holding her arm, but now he took the opportunity to wrap his arms around his sister-in-law's waist. As soon as I took it, I felt that my waist was soft and my fingers gently rubbed it. My sister-in-law just said "hmm" twice, and she felt so happy that I wished I could walk the whole corridor.
At the exit of the corridor, there is a very neatly maintained fountain garden, which is not large in area.
, in the middle is a small fountain, dripping with water droplets. The ground around the fountain is covered with mosaics and inlaid with various patterns. Surrounded by lush flowers and trees, there is an exquisite and small pavilion.
The surrounding walls and buildings are towering, isolating everything from the outside world, and it is very quiet.
Huang Shunlong greeted him respectfully in the pavilion. He was dressed in bright clothes and had a majestic air. With his professional sensitivity, Lin Ming could tell at a glance that there were at least a dozen places where the clothes on his body were out of compliance. Even in Guangzhou, where imperial uniforms were regarded as waste paper, there was no such exaggeration. Hao Jing'ao is indeed a barbarian land.
Huang Shunlong was very enthusiastic and immediately asked them to "change clothes" first, and said that he would call a doctor immediately.
A servant came over to help the two of them wash and change clothes. Lin Ming changed his sister-in-law into men's clothing just to avoid unnecessary trouble and did not want to conceal her gender. Now of course she no longer had to conceal her gender when she was in someone else's private residence. The clothes sent by the maids were all brand new and the materials used were very exquisite. Lin Ming was very satisfied. The doctor who was invited took a look at Li Yongxun's foot and thought it was fine. He just needed to apply a patch of medicine and rest for a few days.
The banquet to catch the wind and wash away the dust is set in the pavilion in the garden. The walls here are high and the cold wind cannot enter. Various Persian velvet rugs are hung around the pavilion, woven with various colorful patterns. There are two braziers on the ground, and the fine hardwood charcoal is mixed with exotic spices. The whole pavilion is full of fragrance and full of spring.
The tables and chairs were all made of rattan, but they were all of a style that Lin Ming had never seen before—small and beautiful. Because it is winter, the seats
Thick cushions made of Nanjing felt are added to the backrest and backrest, which is very comfortable. Li Yongxun looked around curiously, especially at the rattan round table.
Lin Ming saw that there were no fancy dishes or lion fairy candies on the table, and he knew that this was a family banquet - he really couldn't bear it if it was a formal banquet with three-for-five offerings. The family banquets of wealthy merchants have always been famous for their exquisiteness. Looking at the scene put on by the Huang family, I thought there was something extraordinary about this meal, and I couldn't help but look forward to it.
Sure enough, the dishes are different from Cantonese food in Guangdong. The flavor is quite unique, with a strong taste and a slightly greasy sweetness. It was the first time for both Li Yongxun and Lin Ming to try such a flavor. According to Huang Shunlong, this is a Franconian dish, and it was made by his wife herself.
"This crab is made from sea crabs, the meat is removed, and the outside is seasoned with cheese..." Huang Shunlong talked eloquently,
The most fashionable Guoshi Wushuang in Guangzhou is used for wine. Lin Ming had often bought this wine for his colleagues in the north before. Whenever someone came to Guangdong from the north for business, he would buy a few boxes as a favor. Sometimes he would also ask someone to send a letter for him to purchase on his behalf. From time to time, Lin Ming would send people to Guangzhou to buy this kind of wine. Sometimes the person above him would be a big or important person, and he would have to pay for it himself. Gao Zhi was not a small person who he could just ask for filial gifts from. This cost him a lot of money. Of course, Guo Shi Wushuang's wine tastes pure and sweet, which is indeed not comparable to ordinary earth-baked wine. Since Wang Zunde "asked for Kun", because the source of unparalleled national scholars was cut off, his net worth has doubled. Lin Ming rarely drank by himself.
"This is
Why is something still bubbling? "Li Yongxun looked at the orange water in the glass with fine bubbles rising from the bottom of the glass in surprise.
"This is Australian water, the most refreshing and thirst-quenching."
Li Yongxun took a sip, with a complicated expression on his face: "It's numbing and sweet. It also tastes like orange."
"Exactly, this is orange-flavored Australian water." Huang Shunlong said with a smile, stroking his hands, "This is extremely rare in the local area, and it won't taste good without the steam."
At the moment, he said that Australian water is the most unfavorable - it is just fruit-flavored sweet water. Therefore, the packaging is all done in special thick glass bottles with wooden stoppers on them and tied tightly with wires. Every 12 bottles are packed in wooden boxes with grids and then transported. The journey is long and expensive. But it is indeed a delicacy to relieve summer heat and is very popular among Francois.
Then another servant brought a large porcelain pot. When he opened it, he saw that the pot was full of oil and red. Lin Ming looked carefully and saw that there were snow-white fish fillets and yellow eel backs floating in it, but underneath were soybean sprouts. There are also bright red fruits like small eggplants floating in the oil soup. A rich and strange fragrance floated in the air.
"This dish is an overseas flavor, unique." Huang Shunlong said with a smile, "It just tastes very strong."
"It seems to use a lot of Sichuan peppercorns." Sichuan peppercorns are a commonly used seasoning in Ming Dynasty dishes.
"Yes," Huang Shunlong nodded, "In addition to Sichuan peppercorns, there are also sweet peppers from the West."
Everyone raised their chopsticks, and Lin Ming felt that his mouth was extremely spicy. This feeling was different from the spicy taste of Sichuan peppercorns.
It's completely different. The snow-white fish meat is seasoned with this flavor and has a delicious taste. My appetite suddenly whetted and I ate several chopsticks. When Li Yongxun saw the bright red lantern-shaped fruit floating in the oil soup, he made a move like the wind. Before Huang Shunlong could dissuade him, Li Yongxun stuffed the pickled pepper directly into his mouth.
"Can't eat-" Before he could finish his words, Li Yongxun screamed, his mouth felt like it was on fire, his throat was numb and choking, tears and runny nose ran down his face, and he sneezed more than a dozen times. The maids quickly handed over water and towels, and she drank four or five cups of soda before she stopped.
"What is this?" Li Yongxun was breathless and almost speechless from the heat.
"This is pickled chili pepper." Huang Shunlong said, "It is used for seasoning and cannot be eaten."
Lin Ming was very interested in this, and after chatting, he realized that it was Lingao's "Heavenly Chef" pickled pepper. This is a commonly used item when cooking "Australian cuisine". Huang Shunlong talked about "Australian cuisine" with great interest. He had never forgotten it after eating it once at Ziminglou in Guangzhou. He specially sent a chef to Lingao to learn the art and learned how to make more than a dozen dishes and four or five snacks.
"Australian food?" Lin Ming was no stranger to Australians and Lingao goods. Yang Shiyi, the big shopkeeper of "Yangrun Kaitang", is very familiar with him. One of his cousins opened a drug store in Lingao and asked him to sell a large number of several kinds of patent medicines in Guangdong. The business was very good. When I was drinking and chatting with Lin Ming in my spare time, I would often talk about the situation with my cousin. Although it was just hearsay, it allowed Lin Ming to understand a lot of information about Lingao.
"Exactly, although Australians
They are overseas barbarians, but they enjoy all kinds of things as well as I, the Ming Dynasty. "Huang Shunlong saw that today's reception was very suitable for the distinguished guests, and he was talking happily, "As for the Australian dishes, many of them are things I have never thought of."
Lin Ming was casually perfunctory, drinking and eating. But he listened carefully to Huang Shunlong's every word. He felt that shopkeeper Huang seemed to have a very close relationship with the Australian in Lingao. Now he began to make insinuations - he speculated that the Australians had defeated the officers and soldiers this time and had troops approaching the walls of Guangzhou. They would definitely be enemies of the Ming Dynasty in the future, and they might still have to fight in the future. For this reason, Lin Ming was very concerned about the affairs of the Australians. One day, the imperial court would recruit a large number of soldiers to fight for Kun. If he was "Australian-savvy", he would be recommended for military honors, and he would be expected to be promoted and make a lot of money.
Huang Shunlong wanted to curry favor with him, but Lin Ming tried his best to deal with it, and the two of them became more and more congenial as they talked. Huang Shunlong was in high spirits and toasted Lin Ming with his own hands. He gradually felt relaxed as he drank and talked.
"Shopkeeper Huang must have a lot of contacts with Australians."
"There was some business dealings in the beginning." Huang Shunlong knew the role of the other party, so he was careful when he spoke, "Not much these days. They have a lot of novelty goods - all of them are best-sellers - but it's a pity that I'm not in Guangzhou , all the benefits of selling Australian products have been taken up by high-ranking officials."
"Does Shopkeeper Huang recognize a man named Guo Yi? I heard that he is the leader of the Australians in Guangzhou."
"Guo Yi? Of course I know him." Huang Shunlong nodded, "Who doesn't know the famous Dongzhu Guo? He has no property here, but he has people who often travel to the local area to buy the goods of the Franco people." He took a sip.
Guo Shi Wushuang, "It's really strange. The Francois have always only bought here but not sold much - after the Australians came, they especially wanted their things."
In fact, the relationship between Huang Shunlong and Guo Yi is much more than a simple acquaintance. Although Huang Shunlong's importance in the entire Lingao economic system has been greatly reduced, when Guangdong imposed an economic blockade on Lingao, Huang Shunlong's smuggling channels were still able to operate in small quantities. Import and export various goods to Guangdong. . ..
