There are many restaurants in front of the Confucius Temple, probably the same as in modern times, and students can make a lot of money. Zhuangyuan Building does not stand out among these many restaurants. The building does not have a unique style, but has a sense of historical sedimentation.
Zhu Ping'an stood at the bottom of the Zhuangyuan Building, looking at the three words "Zhuangyuan Building" with flying dragons and phoenixes upstairs, a cultural atmosphere hit his face, and he suddenly felt good.
Although the Zhuangyuan Building is inconspicuous, it has a relatively large passenger flow. When Zhu Pingan stopped there, there were people in twos and threes coming in and out.
"Let's go, fat brother has to live in poverty today!" The fat man still had resentment about not being able to go to the other side of the Qinhuai River, gritted his teeth and stepped into it first.
Zhu Ping'an smiled slightly and walked upstairs.
There is not much outside the Zhuangyuan Building, but when you go in, you feel an elegance, with mahogany furniture, wooden floors, and the surrounding walls are covered with calligraphy and paintings. The one in the center is particularly eye-catching, with the four characters of flying dragons and phoenixes and the big Chinese characters "Zhuangyuan". here".
"The breath is so loud, I don't know how it tastes." Fatty Xue Chi walked in front and glanced at the calligraphy and painting in the center, and pursed his lips.
"If you are not satisfied with your meal here, we won't charge you." A cleanly dressed shop assistant bowed his head and smiled with a smile on his face.
"That's what you said." Fatty Xue Chi pointed at the shop assistant with his fat paw.
"I'm just kidding," the store clerk said with a smile, and then stretched out his hand, "You two, please come in."
Zhu Pingan patted the fat man on the shoulder from behind and took the lead in walking to the table guided by the store clerk.
The Zhuangyuan Building is also divided into private rooms and a lobby. However, all the private rooms are full at this time. There are only a few tables in the lobby. The shop assistant guided him to a table by the window, which made Zhu Pingan very satisfied.
There is a long wooden sign hanging on the wall. The name of the dishes in the store is written on the wooden sign, which is clear at a glance.
"You lion head, give us a plate." Zhu Ping'an casually glanced at the wooden signs. There were too many wooden signs on the wall, which made it difficult to see. However, Zhu Ping'an still remembered the lion head he heard about a few days ago, so he ordered one.
"Okay, table No. 3 in Jiazi has the best share." The waiter who followed heard this. He shouted in the direction of the kitchen.
The Zhuangyuan Building is worthy of being the Zhuangyuan Building, and the braised lion head can be said to be the best.
As soon as the store clerk finished shouting, the fat man on the side slammed the table, and the flesh on his face trembled, "Okay. A good sign."
"Give us a whole salad of pig ears, and some of the best wine in your store." The fat man seemed to be excited by the dominance of the waiter, and he started ordering like a bulldog with his fat face.
"One portion for the best, one for the top pick." The waiter was a well-spoken person. After hearing the fat man's order, he shouted towards the kitchen.
Everything was said in Fatty's heart, making Fatty so happy that he couldn't close his mouth.
The roast goose, which has become a blockbuster without even singing, the fish head and tofu soup that won the first place among the three armies, the Sixi meatballs that won three yuan in a row...the whole table was filled.
It seems that fat people like this kind of lucky thing, looking at a table of food and listening to the shop assistant singing. A fat face with a satisfied chrysanthemum blooming.
"Xie'er, what a coincidence."
As soon as the table was filled with vegetables and rice, before Zhu Pingan even touched his chopsticks, he heard a familiar call. When I looked up, I saw my uncle Zhu Shouren and other villagers filing in. Everyone at the table was smiling with their faces covered with chrysanthemums, except for the uncle's fat friend.
"Uncle, uncle..." Zhu Pingan stood up and bowed from afar.
"Brother An." Several villagers cupped their hands slightly, with smiles on their faces.
"It's better to meet by chance than to meet each other. As the exam is over, why don't we celebrate together." Uncle Zhu Shouren stroked his beard and smiled heartily.
Fat Xue Chi also met his uncle and others. Besides, this guy was eager for more people to show off his chrysanthemum poem, so he enthusiastically invited a few people to take their seats, and then waved his fat hand and told the waiter to add six of the store's signature dishes. More on that.
"This little brother is so polite." Uncle Zhu Shouren praised with a smile after sitting down.
"Everywhere, you are all relatives and friends of Brother Zhu, and naturally you are also my relatives and friends." Fatty Xue Chi waved his hand casually.
Zhu Pingan waited for them to finish their greetings, then stood up and introduced them to each other. Let them get to know each other. The first two times, I was in a hurry for exams and didn't have time to introduce them to each other. This time I had time, so I introduced them all.
After the food and wine were served, the wine was poured and the vegetables were served, and everyone ate happily.
"Ahem, that re-examination..."
"That poem is like yellow flowers scattered like gold..."
After drinking a glass of wine, the fat man just opened his mouth to find an excuse to mention his chrysanthemum poem, when he heard a voice that coincided with him. He was Zhu Ping'an's uncle, Zhu Shouren. The two looked at each other and laughed in unison. .
Afterwards, Zhu Ping'an listened with pain in his face as they praised each other's chrysanthemum poem, including several fellow villagers who also recited their own chrysanthemum poems, all with proud faces.
The more proud they are, the more painful Zhu Pingan's pain will be.
A thousand cups of wine are too little to meet a close friend. After drinking a few glasses of water, his uncle Zhu Shouren and several other villagers got drunk. He slapped the table and boasted to Zhu Pingan with his tongue hanging out, "Brother An, you don't have it." It's such a pity to meet my friend's mentor with my uncle, really, it's such a pity..."
"Oh, how can you say that Brother Zhu is a pity?" The fat man's fat face came closer.
"You don't know, that day we were drinking with our friend and mentor, and during that time, someone pointed at the chrysanthemums outside the window and asked us to compose a poem... Tsk, tsk, you said it's a pity to be a pig..." The uncle drank wine and looked at Zhu Ping'an and sighed.
Hearing this, the fat man also looked at Zhu Ping'an with sympathy and shook his head, "Brother Zhu, it's such a pity. If I went with your uncle, I wouldn't have tried to post poems that couldn't compare with my chrysanthemum poem... ."
Hearing this, Zhu Pingan felt even more painful.
"Okay, She'er, next time, although the uncle and others will not need to take the college entrance examination in the future, you don't have to worry. In the future, the uncle will introduce you to a friend and mentor..."
"That's right, don't regret it, Brother An."
The uncle and others took it for granted that Zhu Pingan's aching look was a sign of regret, and they all offered words of comfort.
As a result, Zhu Ping'an felt even more miserable and had to lower his head and devote himself to this table of good wine and food.
In the private room on the third floor, there was a room where Tongcheng Xia Luoming, Su Song, Feng Shanshui and others were sitting. In addition to the few people who were always together, there were also a few unfamiliar faces. One of them was the one who spoke to everyone in front of Jiangnan Gongyuan that day. The dignified man who showed disdain to the students who sang chrysanthemum poems.
Looking out from the private room, the scene in the lobby is clear at a glance, and the sound can also be heard clearly.
"Chrysanthemum poem... Haha, this year's prime minister's skills are limited to this. You guys are exaggerating about him."
In front of the private room window, a well-dressed student turned away from the window and returned to his seat, smiling at Xia Luoming and others.
"Yesterday I heard him comment on the chrysanthemum poem, but I didn't expect it to be like this today..." The dignified man said lightly while playing with the wine glass in his hand.
"This is our fault. Who would have thought that he would be so unbearable? Brother Liu and Brother Guo, please forgive me. It seems that the real leaders of the case this year are these two dear friends." Su Song and Feng Shanshui stood up, holding up their wine glasses. He seems to have a lot of respect for these two people.
"If it weren't for Brother Liu's filial piety and Brother Guo's study tour, how could we have the honor to go to the exam with Brother Liu and Brother Guo."
Even Xia Luoming, who had always been conceited, put aside his arrogance and stood up to raise his glass.
Others present also raised their glasses together, and many of them looked ashamed. They must have also written poems about chrysanthemums and autumn.
Upstairs, downstairs, toasting glasses and changing glasses, it's fun.
Zhu Ping'an was so drunk that he went to the counter to pay the bill in advance, but was told that the fat man at the same table had already paid. In response, Zhu Pingan could only smile slightly and shake his head. (To be continued.)
PS: There will be at least three updates today. I won’t miss my appointment.
