It’s not yet dinner time, but a lot of customers have already gathered in front of the door. Judging from their clothing, almost half of them are “Australians” - because of the taste, there are very few local citizens with a little bit of “worth”. Although patronizing, many working-class people at the bottom came to try it out.
In front of the shop, there is a big stove, and Dong Xiang is sweating profusely while spreading pancakes on the iron griddle. This pancake is no different from the multigrain pancakes of later generations. It is also baked with various grain flours, but the Dong family There are two kinds of batter in the shop, one is pure grains, and the other is added with flour, which is more expensive.
As for the stuff wrapped in the pancakes - we don’t grow green onions locally, so we have to use cucumbers for the basic version. As for the other things, there are a variety of things, including vegetables, pickles, crisps, fried dough sticks, etc., as well as braised and dry-cut meat. It is the so-called "poor man's happiness" to live in the water, be rich and thrifty as he pleases, large in quantity and low in price.
Before Li Ziyu entered the store, Dong Xiang, who was making pancakes at the door, greeted him warmly: "Hey! Officer Li, I haven't seen you for a long time. Please come in. I'll fry this pancake for you as soon as it's finished!"
The back door of her house opens on Nanjianzi Lane, and this area is Li Ziyu's patrol area. The mother and daughter of the Dong family were again on the "separate list" of the Political Security Bureau, and they received "care" from Li Ziyu from the beginning.
As a patrol officer, Li Ziyu has to spend more than ten hours on the road. When she is hungry, she can buy pancakes for little money but is full. He became a regular customer here. After going back and forth, I became very familiar with this family.
"Don't, the most important thing in this new life is for us all to maintain order. I'd better wait in line at the back." Seeing the murderous looks from the people in line, Li Ziyu quickly stopped Dong Xiang from opening the back door. Not to mention disciplinary issues, many of the people in the queue are genuine "old fake kuns". New "fake kuns" like myself should be more discerning.
"Yes, yes, then you sit in the room first, and I will bring it to you later." Dong Xiang smiled and shouted to the back room: "Lan'er, give Officer Li a bowl of porridge first!"
Li Ziyu opened the bamboo curtain and entered the house, feeling cool all over. There are about a dozen small tables in the room. On the polished counter next to the wall, there are seven or eight large porcelain jars covered with sarongs - they are filled with various side dishes to go with wine, such as boiled sprouted beans. , cold bean sprouts, Australian pickles, and boiled razor clams. There are wine jars and porridge buckets on the counter. The wine vessels, bowls and chopsticks are all wiped clean and shiny, making it look refreshing and clean.
Since it was not a meal, there was not a single customer at the table. The wine seller was a young woman in her early twenties, Dong Xiang's wife Lan'er. When she saw Li Ziyu coming in, she quickly came out to greet him and led him to a table. He smiled and said, "Officer Li, you haven't been here for a long time! I heard you were promoted?"
Li Ziyu pretended to be reserved and said: "I'm not getting a promotion, it's just that I was transferred to the city bureau."
"Isn't that called a promotion?" Lan'er said, serving a bowl of herbal tea, "My lady still mentioned you, saying why you suddenly stopped coming to the store, is there something wrong with the store's greetings? "
"No, no, I'm transferred to the city bureau. This place is no longer my responsibility. Naturally, I can't come here often." Li Ziyu quickly explained. I'm afraid that others may misunderstand what I said. The bureau has a very tight grip on the relationship between the patrol police, film merchants, and ordinary people.
"That puts me at ease. I'm going to call our lady right away - she always talks about you. Officer Li, please take a few sips to quench your thirst, and I'll serve you the porridge."
Before she finished speaking, she had already gone inside. Li Ziyu took a sip of the herbal tea - considering his status as a boss, this herbal tea was extremely cooked: the ingredients were wrong, the taste was off, and the heat was even worse. However, considering that Dong Mingxuan brewed it himself, it still tasted quite delicious. .
After a while, a lithe girl about sixteen or seventeen years old came out from the curtain, wearing a pleated skirt of cocoon silk with a blue background, dark green armor, and half-arm cover. Wearing some emerald gold on the head and walking around, it is both frugal and solemn. She looked very generous, and came to Li Ziyu with a smile to give her a blessing: "Hail Officer Li."
Although she was not old, she had a calm expression, sophisticated words, and overwhelming momentum. Li Ziyu stood up quickly, and just as he was about to salute, he suddenly remembered that he was wearing casual clothes, and said quickly: "I don't dare, I'm polite."
"Officer Li, you're welcome," Dong Mingxuan smiled slightly and said, "Please sit down."
After the two parties sat down and exchanged a few polite words, Dong Mingxuan said: "Thanks to Officer Li for driving away those ruffians and beggars a few days ago, otherwise the business in the slave shop would probably not be possible. I originally thought that Officer Li would not be able to do anything anymore after he came." Thank you very much, but I haven’t seen Officer Li arrive for a long time. I thought it was because I didn’t greet you well and made you angry.”
When Dong Mingxuan said this, his smile was like flowers, and his beautiful eyes were looking forward to it, which made Li Ziyu feel uneasy.
After all, she is a woman from a wealthy family, and her every look and smile are different. "Li Ziyu thought secretly.
"Everywhere, it is the duty of our patrol officers to crack down on street turmoil and maintain normal social order. I saw it when I passed by that day, and naturally I would not sit idly by." Li Ziyu proudly said to Dong Mingxuan using the theory learned in the police station, I feel quite chivalrous.
Dong Mingxuan covered his mouth and smiled, which immediately put Li Ziyu in a trance.
"The policemen of the Song Dynasty are different from the policemen of the Ming Dynasty. They are all heroes and heroes. We, the common people, depend on you, Officer Li, to live a safe life." Dong Mingxuan also lost no time in complimenting him. .
"Everywhere, everything is under the leadership of the chief." Li Ziyu knew that no matter what dynasty or generation he was, it would never be wrong to talk about "Jun En Xian De", "I was originally a small soldier of the Guangzhou Guard. "If it weren't for the senate's support, I wouldn't be able to be a policeman. It all depends on the chief's cultivation, and the senate's policies are good."
What Li Ziyu said was absolutely correct. If in the past, the Dong family's mother and daughter would have been taken over by powerful men or deceived by bandits, let alone running a shop to make a living. They might have been abducted and sold to a brothel. Not long ago, there were a few people who were interested in the Dong family's mother and daughter. It's just that Australians now impose strict punishments and don't care about anything. No one dares to make mistakes. The Dong family's mother and daughter must thank the Senate for being in the situation they are in today.
"Officer Li, I also know that the rule of the Song Dynasty government is not to accept gifts. This is the dried honeysuckle from my hometown Pingyi - I saw some for sale in the city, so I bought some. I gave it to you. It's disrespectful to give some to Officer Li - it's not a valuable thing, so please accept it." Before Li Ziyu could say any kind words, Dong Mingxuan forced a paper bag into Li Ziyu's hand. Just when Li Ziyu was about to object, he felt a scent like musk and orchid coming to his nose, and he lost consciousness. When he realized it, Dong Mingxuan had already turned around and entered the room with a smile.
"Officer Li, just accept it! This is not a bribe!" Lan'er, who brought the plate, said with a smile.
There is a bowl of gruel on the plate - it is different from the local white porridge in Guangzhou, which is thick and sticky. This is an authentic "gruel", which is basically all water. There are some rice grains at the bottom of the bowl. Because of the hot weather, there are too many porridges. Got some mung beans. It tastes cool and refreshing, and goes well with the heavy-flavored pancakes. In addition to the porridge, it also comes with two plates of pickled vegetables.
Li Ziyu blushed as soon as she brushed her face. It was difficult to say anything, and it was inconvenient to get up and leave immediately, so she had to drink porridge first.
Li Ziyu, who was holding two pancakes and fruit, returned to the police station as the sun was setting. Dong Mingxuan's gift today caught him off guard. What does this mean? A small bag of dried honeysuckle is nothing, even if it comes from Shandong, it is not worth a few bucks.
However, what made his heart beat was the paper bag he held: It was a bag made of thick Australian paper. It was nothing unusual at first. However, there were several orchids painted on the paper. The brushwork was delicate and soft, with a hint of powder. It seemed like A woman's handwriting.
Could this be drawn by Miss Dong herself? Li Ziyu couldn't help but feel confused when she thought of this. Could it be that Dong Mingxuan was interested in him?
In the past, Li Ziyu had never thought about a lady from an official family like Miss Dong's family - even if she was a concubine. Even if he succeeded his uncle in the future, he would still be a military commander who was not valued by others, and it would be impossible for him to marry the daughter of the Fourth Rank Zhengtang family.
However, the world is now dominated by the Song Dynasty. Her father had already renounced himself from the senate and the people, and she, Dong Mingjuan, would have been a "family member of a sinner" in the past and would have been sent to the church as a slave. He, Li Ziyu, is an upright cadre under the Senate.
Even though he thought so, he still felt that he was "not worthy" of Dong Mingxuan, and suddenly felt discouraged. I couldn't help but hate Ming Dynasty even more.
Except for some staff on duty, everyone in the bureau went home after get off work, so Li Ziyu walked to the study room. He knew that most of the naturalized policemen transferred from Hainan were spending time in the study room because they had no home to return to in Guangzhou.
Because of the relaxed recruitment conditions for patrol officers, many people who were illiterate joined the patrol team. Director Pan set up a study room, which was actually a simple library with newspapers, books, and teaching facilities such as blackboards. . It allows police officers to learn business knowledge and understand the policy spirit of the Senate after work.
When the study room first opened, almost no one went to study. However, after the introduction of a policy linking business examination results with performance appraisal, the study room became popular. Especially a few days before the monthly exam, if you don’t reserve a seat in advance, you will never get a seat.
Since the monthly exam had just ended, there was no one in the study room. Most of them were police officers who were studying hard and needed to make up the exam. When he was hesitating, a small figure in the corner of the study room caught Li Ziyu's attention. ——The senior female police officer who came from Gao was quietly reading a book.
