"Hey, shopkeeper Xiaolin is here so early to buy new year's goods?"
"You're welcome, Shopkeeper Mo. I want to come and look at the red paper so I can write a couplet when I get back."
"I want it, it's Chinese New Year soon, so I have to write couplets."
"Shopkeeper Xiao Lin, the new firecrackers just arrived from the county. How many can you buy to put out to celebrate?"
"Hahaha, there is a labor and business boss."
Along the way, Lin Xiaolu bought a lot of things. He held an oil-paper umbrella and walked in front of Zhe Xue, while Ling Wei transformed into a personal maid and followed behind with large and small bags of things. The things in her arms almost exceeded hers. forehead.
"Shopkeeper Xiao Lin, don't you even have a ring to wear it?" On a snowy day, the little girl, with snow gradually accumulating on her head, muttered: "There are too many things and they feel heavy. I want to wear a ring to wear them."
"We are surrounded by common people. In the mortal world, it is better to follow the local customs." Lin Xiaolu glanced at her with a smile. Seeing that the girl's head was covered with snow, he moved the oil paper umbrella in his hand to cover the snow in front of her. She covers the snowflakes.
In the crowded market, Ling Wei, who was holding a lot of things, was immediately stunned by this slightly ambiguous scene, and her cheeks instantly turned red. She shyly wanted to say thank you in a low voice, but Lin Xiaolu took the first step. smiled and said:
"Come on, free up one hand to hold the umbrella for me. I'm tired of holding it."
Girl:……(◦`~´◦)
The two continued to go shopping. Lin Xiaolu was carrying a flat white porcelain wine bottle and was walking and drinking in front of him. Ling Wei was like a miserable little servant, holding New Year's goods in one hand and holding an umbrella for him with the other. His cheeks were bulging with anger, and his little mouth was pouting.
"Shopkeeper Xiaolin, you said you would treat me to some hot pot or something for lunch. You can't lie to me just because you are a senior."
Lin Xiaolu, who was walking in front, smiled: "Don't worry, on this snowy day, hot pot with wine is the best taste."
After that, he walked towards the stall selling beef and mutton.
Ling Wei had never eaten hot pot, but she heard that it was very delicious, so she looked forward to it. That morning, Lin Xiaolu took her to buy a lot of things at the market. Lin Xiaolu was not polite and treated Ling Wei for free. The prerequisite for eating hot pot was that she was responsible for carrying things to hold an umbrella, and was not allowed to use Najie. Ling Yatou, who had become a new generation of snack food, had no choice but to agree.
When we returned to the tavern, the snow was getting heavier and heavier, and the weather was not good either. It was overcast. Lin Xiaolu closed the tavern door, lit some wax in the lobby, lit a stove, and boiled water on the stove, ready to use it later. Hot wine.
Then, he went to the backyard to get a copper stove for making hot pot. After returning to the lobby, he quickly started playing with the ingredients.
Ling Wei was not idle either. She helped him cut shreds and chop garlic, and she worked very hard for a while.
While talking and laughing, Lin Xiaolu took a jar of rice wine from the wine cabinet, put it in the iron pot on the stove, and used the water boiled in it to scald the wine. At the same time, he looked after the bottom of the hot pot with seasonings on the copper stove.
"Girl, cut some prunes and shredded ginger, and put them in together with the brown sugar after the wine pot is hot."
"Oh, okay." Ling Wei obeyed and asked curiously: "Shopkeeper Xiao Lin, why are you drinking like this?"
"It tastes good. Drinking like this in the winter will keep you warm and keep you healthy."
Lin Xiaolu, who was leisurely preparing dipping sauce, said with emotion:
"I am not young anymore. I need to maintain my health properly."
Hearing this, Ling Wei curled her lips and thought to herself, you look about the same age as me.
Soon, the aroma of the hot pot started to rise, and the rice wine began to be boiled. The warm aroma of the wine quickly filled the lobby. The aroma was overflowing for a while, and it was almost intoxicating to smell it.
Looking at the bubbling hot pot, Lin Xiaolu greeted him with chopsticks:
"Come and smell it, does it smell good?"
Ling Wei took a look over curiously, then straightened her head and said excitedly:
"Xiang, shopkeeper Xiaolin, you are so awesome. You can make wine, eat wine, and even make hot pot. I think you should open a hot pot restaurant. Business will be good."
Lin Xiaolu smiled contentedly:
"I came to Jiangnan for a year and followed the local customs. It was winter when I first came here, so I learned a lot about the way of life here. However, this hot pot is not unique to Jiangnan. I also learned it after eating it elsewhere."
At the table, Lin Xiaolu poured two bowls of warm wine cooked with plum blossoms, ginger, and brown sugar. Then he picked up one bowl and savored it carefully. The wine went into his throat, and he slowly exhaled a breath of wine, with a hint of alcohol in his breath. There was a burst of soft fragrance, and Ling Wei on the side was feasting again, eating meat and wine like a girl, and she was very happy.
"Eat slowly." Lin Xiaolu held the wine bowl and said while watching the little pig eating.
"When you're done eating, go and help me write the couplets."
"Okay, what should I write?" Ling Wei asked with a bulging mouth.
Lin Xiaolu held the wine in one hand and groped his chin with the other, thinking for a moment, and then said softly:
“I don’t know the past, and there are many wonderful things that I don’t know. I’m afraid I will be the master of immortals.
The future is uncertain, all demons have been wiped out, and only the truth of martial arts can be pursued. "
Ling Wei didn't quite understand, but she wasn't much of a scholar either. While picking up the mutton, she continued to ask, "What do you write in the horizontal batch?"
Lin Xiaolu thought for a while, then smiled: "The chivalrous act is now."
…
…
"Leave the Jade Mountain Immortal Temple and go to the Cai Chan Moon Palace, looking forward to Zi Chen's face. Three lifetime wishes come true, and meeting you today is better than last year~"
The soft and melodious music was babbling in the conservatory of Furongfang. Lin Xiaolu leaned comfortably on the 90-degree angle formed by the back of the chair and the warm velvet wall, and licked melon seeds leisurely.
Across the table, Ling Wei was fiddling with her big elbow clumsily, gnawing happily.
She had been eating with Lin Xiaolu all day long. Strictly speaking, she had been eating all over Peony Town for the past few days. Lin Xiaolu estimated that it would not be long before this girl was raised into a chubby girl by himself.
"Shopkeeper Xiao Lin, aren't my handwritings particularly ugly?" Ling Wei said with some embarrassment while gnawing on her elbow, "You were completely confused when I wrote the couplet."
"Ugly doesn't count, it's just that my expectations for you are too high." Lin Xiaolu smiled as he flipped through the thread-bound booklet in front of him, looked at the pictures on it, and cracked melon seeds and said:
"My handwriting is not good-looking either. I thought that as a daughter of yours, my handwriting would be more graceful and dignified, but I never thought that my handwriting would be so bold, free and unrestrained, which is rare."
"Hehe." Ling Weili, who didn't hear the words, said happily:
"I didn't like to study when I was a child. I played wildly in the sect every day, so my handwriting is a bit ugly. But don't worry, Shopkeeper Xiao Lin. Your couplets are still very good and full of connotation."
Hearing this, Lin Xiaolu smiled helplessly, thinking that no matter how connotative it was, others wouldn't see the point of what he wrote.
In the conservatory, he turned to look at the two servants singing songs and said with a smile:
"You two girls have been singing for a long time and are really tired. Come over and have a cup of tea and take a break."
