Although it was given as a cucumber, the portion given by the old lady was very generous.
A big plate full, enough for three people.
After Zhao Rang thanked him and was about to order some wine, the old woman said:
"I only have home-brewed local wine here. It looks a little muddy, but it tastes good! My old man eats a few bowls of it every day."
Zhao Rang readily agreed.
After a while, the old woman put a jar in front of Zhao Rang and asked:
"Do you want a big bowl or a small bowl?"
Zhao Rang thought for a while and asked:
"Are they any big or small?"
The old woman said:
"Then you're going to hit the bowl."
Zhao Rang nodded and said:
"Exactly."
This time the old lady went for a long time.
It takes longer than taking pictures of cucumbers and getting wine.
Zhao Rang was still a little strange.
It’s not a big deal to get a bowl, so why did it take so long?
But he was still patient and sat quietly waiting.
Little did he know that there were two pairs of eyes in the back hall, staring at him through the gap in the door curtain.
Finally, the wine bowl arrived.
The white porcelain wine bowl is very thin, and it is somewhat reflective under the light.
When the native wine is put into the bowl, the color is dim.
This wine should be made from corn mixed with sorghum and must have been aged for at least five years.
Zhao Rang took a sip of cucumbers, a sip of wine, and ate and drank happily. After a while, the bowl of wine was finished.
Putting down the chopsticks, there was a burst of noise in the street. It was time that the escorts had packed up and came out to have fun.
The door of the wine shop was kicked open with a bang, and several waiters came in first. They stood at the door and looked around, and their eyes finally landed on Zhao Rang.
"Boss, there is an outsider here."
The boss of the gangster is the bearded man.
It seemed that he was in charge of the goods that the Admiralty Escort Bureau brought to Baihe Mountain from the South this time.
"Well, it's okay."
The bearded man didn't care about Zhao Rang, and walked in with a group of bodyguards behind him, almost filling the small wine shop.
"Where are Lao Liu Lao Si and the others?"
After sitting down, Lu Xiu saw that there was no one around and asked.
The waiter replied:
"Sixth brother, you don't know? He never drinks and goes to play for money. Fourth brother, hehe, he is playing in the house!"
The bearded man didn't say anything after hearing this, so he asked him to quickly order some wine and meat.
When they saw that the person who came to support was an old woman, except for the beard, everyone's face was filled with disappointment...
Who doesn’t want to meet a coquettish boss lady everywhere?
Wine is the matchmaker.
Even if you can't get any real advantage, it's still okay to ask for a few words of advantage.
But when faced with an old woman with a stooped back, wrinkles on her face, and a trembling figure even when she squatted down, no one was interested in her, and she even thought it was a disgrace to the scenery!
"Old woman, you can have some good wine and meat, no need to ask."
The waiter turned his face to the side, not even wanting to look at the old woman.
"Hey! There's plenty of meat, and the wine is local wine brewed by ourselves, and it's very delicious!"
Perhaps it had been a long time since there had been so many guests. The old woman was a little excited and her hands were shaking even more.
Zhao Rang saw the old woman slowly lifting the door curtain and walking to the back hall, and suddenly thought that she only said that this store was opened with the old man, but she was always the only one in the store.
There was no business before, so it made sense for the old man to enjoy his leisure time in the back or sleep upstairs. There are so many people here now, which is a big business that only happens a few times a year, but he still doesn't come out to help. It's really unreasonable.
Meat is served faster than wine.
Because the meat has been stewed in the pot for a long time, everything can be taken out and served.
The old lady used a big basin specially.
There was beef, mutton, sheep's trotters, and pig's trotters inside, filling the big basin to the brim.
"Young man?"
The old woman lifted the curtain of the back hall and shouted to Zhao Rang.
"Um?"
"Come here and help me!"
Zhao Rang nodded in agreement, put down the wine bowl, and walked quickly to the back hall.
"Come and help me carry this big basin out!"
The pot full of braised pork stew was quite heavy, and the old woman walked very slowly, making it difficult for the two of them to cooperate.
After finally taking out the big basin and placing it on the table, the old woman was already panting from exhaustion.
The aroma of meat suddenly filled the entire restaurant, and the escorts were like hungry wolves when they saw the meat, their eyes glowed green, and they swarmed over to eat, their mouths full of oil.
Zhao Rang had seen such scenes so often in the Western Regions that he no longer found it strange.
He had finished eating the cucumbers and still had half a bottle of wine left, but the old woman cut a plate of braised beef alone and placed it in front of him.
"It's for you!"
The old woman was particularly kind to Zhao Rang, which naturally aroused the dissatisfaction of the escorts, who all clamored for her to bring meat to eat.
The old woman smiled noncommittally. After saying something about eating and drinking slowly, she moved back to the back hall.
Braised beef and cucumber patties have completely different flavors.
Soon, Zhao Rang drank the remaining half of the bottle of wine.
"This brother!"
Zhao Rang recognized the sound of a bearded man.
She turned to look at him with a questioning look.
"You might as well come and drink together!"
Zhao Rang politely refused:
"No, it's just the same if I drink here."
The bearded man continued:
"You've finished your drink."
Zhao Rang's eyes narrowed.
He had indeed finished his drink.
What I poured out just now was the last half bowl.
But how did the bearded man know?
Unless he's keeping an eye on himself.
"Boss, why did you call this country bumpkin?"
The waiter is concentrating on dealing with a big pig's trotter.
The bearded man's eyes widened, and he immediately closed his mouth and just sat there holding the pig's trotters in his hands.
Then the bearded man took an empty bowl, filled it with wine himself, placed it on the table, and greeted Zhao Rang from the distance.
Zhao Rang thought for a while and said:
"good!"
Everyone gave him a seat, facing the bearded man.
As soon as Zhao Rang sat down, the bearded man raised the wine bowl in his hand, touched it lightly with the wine bowl in front of Zhao Rang, and drank up his neck.
He used the largest punch bowl.
A full bowl contains almost half a catty.
This home-brewed local wine has a low alcohol content and is easy to drink, but has great staying power. If you are greedy for the taste and drink too fast, you won’t even know how you got drunk in the end.
But he was invited and took the initiative to pour wine and clink glasses. This first bowl, Zhao Rang still had to pay attention to some etiquette, so he also picked up the bowl and drank it all in one gulp.
"Brother, open up!"
The bearded man wiped the wine drops hanging on his beard and waved, and the waiter next to him immediately filled another bowl for the two of them.
The two drank three large bowls in a row before stopping.
A sound of relief came from his throat involuntarily.
"I heard from the innkeeper that you are here to visit your relatives?"
Zhao Rang's mind moved, what should come will eventually come.
"Oh... why are you marrying me?"
"Is not it?"
The bearded man asked rhetorically.
Zhao Rang grabbed a piece of beef with his hand, put it into his mouth, chewed it, and said sadly:
"When you are useful to someone, you are a relative. If you are not useful, you have broken the relationship between the bones and the tendons. If you say you don't know them, you won't know them anymore!"
After saying this, all the bodyguards and escorts lamented over and over again.
Most of those who work in this business come from poor backgrounds.
As the saying goes, a penny can defeat a hero. Everyone has experienced the harsh world that Zhao Rang mentioned.
The bearded man listened to Zhao Rang's sincerity and immediately nodded secretly, but still said:
"Then you're here anyway?"
Zhao Rang took a sip of wine and said:
“I’m just here to eat. I’m full for myself, and the whole family is not hungry. Anyway, it’s better to live than die!”
The bearded man smiled and said:
"Brother is still very young, why do you speak so lifelessly?"
Zhao Rang put down his wine bowl, pointed in the direction of Baihe Mountain and said:
"If I still have the energy to be adventurous, can I come to Baihe Mountain to work as a handyman and beg for food?"
Although these words were extremely spineless, Zhao Rang said them so loudly that no one could refute them.
"But brother doesn't look like someone who can serve others."
"Then what do I look like?"
The bearded man paused and said:
"Like someone who is waiting for someone else to serve him!"
Zhao Rang burst out laughing and said:
"I thought too. It's a pity that I don't have this life!"
After that, he drank all the wine in the bowl, cupped his hands with his beard, and said:
"Everyone, I'm going to take my leave. I'm going to have a good time tonight. When the sun comes up, I won't be so free!"
Walking to the counter, Zhao Rang took out the money and paid the bill, taking the plate of beef with him.
You can eat cucumbers for free, but not beef.
Although Zhao Rang is thick-skinned, he doesn't take advantage of everything.
After leaving the restaurant, he felt that it was not so cold outside.
It must be the wine he drank just now, and his energy is slowly building up now.
Zhao Rang didn't want to gamble, he had no interest in it, but if he stayed in the wine shop, he would have to deal with those people asking questions.
Zhao Rang still understands the principle that talking too much leads to mistakes.
No matter how well she disguises herself, the fake is fake and there is always the possibility of being exposed.
What's more, that bearded man is very thoughtful and hard to fool.
Zhao Rang knew what he just said, and even if the innkeeper gave him proof, Lu Hu didn't believe it.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have given Zhao Rang a look and let him keep an eye on Zhao Rang as soon as he went out.
From this point of view, Zhao Rang felt that there was no point in going anywhere else. It was better to go back to the room and wait until they were done making noise before exploring what was in the one hundred and eighty-eight large boxes.
The restaurant is only a few steps away from the inn.
When the innkeeper saw Zhao Rang coming back so quickly, he couldn't help but said:
"Can't you stand the noise from those charlatans? I just said it's not a good time to drink tonight!"
Zhao Rang smiled and said:
"Actually, it's okay. I'm just a little scared when I see them like that!"
These words were meant for the person who was following him, but unexpectedly, they started talking to the shopkeeper.
"You're so right!"
The shopkeeper slapped his thigh, looked around and saw no one around, then leaned closer and continued:
"Especially their boss, the one with the beard, his arms are thicker than my legs, and the knife on his waist is wider than my face..."
As he spoke, he couldn't help but shudder.
"Oh...it's hard! That's how it is when opening a store and doing business. Regardless of your own preferences, as long as someone walks in the door, you have to serve them. It's really difficult..."
Zhao Rang agreed with the shopkeeper and said a few words. When he was about to go upstairs to his room, the shopkeeper grabbed his arm and dragged him into the counter.
