Chen Xing had been here once a few years ago, but this time it was obviously more like an ancient town than before. For example, this flag with the word "tea" on it is more interesting than an antique plaque.
Chen Minmin looked at the crowds of people passing by and said with some emotion: "This place has become commercialized. I remember that there weren't many foreign tourists here before." Chen Jie said: "There aren't many now, mainly during the New Year. Everyone wants to come and see the dragon dance." There were not so many people watching before.
Again, the New Year atmosphere in the city is getting worse and worse, even in towns like the New Territories with better economies. If firecrackers are not allowed, what else is there to do?
Why not come to this unique town to feel the atmosphere of the New Year. The streets in Xinchang Ancient Town are very narrow and compact. Walking on the streets of the ancient town, if you look up, you can only see a sliver of sky.
Because the eaves on both sides are relatively long, blocking most of the space. This is very beneficial. If you come to Xinchang Ancient Town, you don’t need to be afraid no matter how heavy it rains. The eaves on the streets are enough to shield you from the wind and rain, so you won’t get caught in the rain while shopping.
It's just these scattered wires, network cables, etc., which are a bit confusing. Every time you walk, you can see the charming fire wall.
Fire-sealing wall is also called wind wall or wind-fire wall. No matter where it is called, it always means the same thing. It is a wall building designed to prevent fire.
Especially in this kind of water town, it is small, has a large population and densely packed houses. Once a fire occurs, it will be widely implicated, leaving many people helpless.
Some smart people have discovered that the spread of flames is also regular. They always jump from the wall of one house to the wall of another house.
Therefore, some people think that if the wall is raised, wouldn't it be possible to prevent the fire from spreading? So there is this high fire wall.
In addition, Xinchang Ancient Town originally lived near the water, so it has been hundreds of thousands of years. Xinchang Ancient Town has never been burned by fire, and so many ancient buildings of the Ming and Qing Dynasties have been completely preserved.
Chen Zhong had been chatting with his little girlfriend and suddenly said: "I'm hungry, stop shopping, why don't we go have something to eat, mutton soup?" Like many ancient towns in other places, Xinchang Ancient Town certainly has its own special delicacies. .
Generally it’s tofu. Xinchang’s tofu, tofu curd and other bean products are famous throughout the surrounding areas, covering three cities and five counties. But people can’t just eat tofu here, so mutton soup, Zhouxuewang and other things are also available here. Very popular.
In Xinchang Ancient Town, New Territories and other places, the way to eat mutton soup is the way to eat Jianyang mutton soup.
Jianyang is a county-level city directly under the jurisdiction of Sichuan Province and is managed by Rongcheng. The way to eat mutton soup here is different from that in the north and south. Its uniqueness comes from the continuous improvement of Jianyang goat breeds and the innovation of cooking techniques based on the quality of this mutton meat.
I won’t go into too many introductions, but many people can’t walk due to the smell of mutton soup in the streets.
The two surrounding restaurants were already full of people, so those who wanted to eat had no choice but to move forward. Chen Jie said: "There are too many people celebrating the New Year. I remember there is an old shop in a small alley. We will go directly to have a look. If it is really full, we will hang out for a while and come back to eat after dinner. ." Chen Xing knew what he was talking about, nodded and said: "It's up to you." In fact, people who come here want to finish their meal early, and then go to the streets to watch the dragon and lion dances. The show is in the afternoon It starts at two o'clock. If you eat late, you won't be able to get a good seat.
They soon found an alley. Chen Jie wasn't sure if it was here, but it looked similar, so he led a few people towards it.
The main street is a road paved with bluestones, which is easy to walk. To turn into this alley, you need to walk up a long flight of stairs. There are houses on both sides. If you look in from those unobstructed places, you can still see A well drilled inside the house.
But many wells have been closed. Very few wells dug in the past are still in normal use.
Chen Minmin is very envious of the people who live here. Not to mention the good environment, there is such a big yard, which is very convenient for raising succulents. Even if you don't raise plants, it is good to raise a kitten. At least it can move around. large area.
Chen Xing also wanted to have his own house, but that was not the case. He said: "If I can renovate it, it will be about the same. If I keep the original appearance, the usable area will be too small."
"You want to live in a villa?"
"No." Chen Xing shook his head and said,
"I like high-rise duplexes that can see the big rivers. The lighting should be good. It is best to have an area of more than 200 square meters. The decoration..."
"Okay, okay, I also like the house you mentioned." Chen Minmin interrupted. Chen Jie also smiled and said: "It sounds like no one would like it. This is a river-view house. Chen Xing, do you want to buy a house in Chengdu?"
"I won't buy it for the time being." Chen Minmin suddenly sighed and said, "You have made a difference. It's not unusual for you to make a little effort to buy a house like this in Chengdu. Unfortunately, we still have to endure it. We don't know when we will be able to buy it." Developed." They only found out about Chen Xing in the past few days. The third aunt told people everywhere that they couldn't help but know.
But Chen’s mother didn’t say anything about Chen Xing’s millions. I just say that Chen Xing has made a career as a photographer, his work has won awards abroad, and he will soon go to Paris to study abroad, and he will be a turtle or something like that in the future.
For people of Chen's generation, turtles are still very respectable. As soon as Chen Xing was told that he was going to study in Paris, Chen Xing became famous at the New Year's Eve dinner table last night. Even he had never looked at Chen Xing before. All the elders toasted him with a glass of wine.
"Okay, we're here, it should be that one." Chen Jie found the right location. After coming up from the stairs, there is another smaller street. This street has a museum converted from a wealthy family's house. Going forward, They saw the old store they had been to before.
Compared with the newly renovated and brand-new shops on the street below, this is really an old store.
The house looks pretty solid, but the walls inside have long become damp and have traces of erosion from rain. And there is also a poster of a celebrity from twenty years ago. The young Hua Zai looks very handsome. .
The signature of this shop is Yaomei Mutton Soup. The owner is an old lady and has hired a slightly younger employee.
There were actually a lot of people, but at least there was no queue. When they came over, someone happened to be leaving the table, but Chen Zhong stepped forward and grabbed his seat.
A few people came over slowly, and Chen Minmin said: "Having a younger brother is still very useful. At least it is convenient to occupy a seat." Chen Jie said with a smile: "Then I will give it to you." Chen Zhong turned to his brother Rolling his eyes, he went to take care of his little girlfriend.
Chen Xing said: "Boss, first blanch a pound of mutton, with less fat, and add a portion of clear soup with blood." Chen Minmin also ordered a portion of hot and sour lamb blood. She liked this dish very much, it was appetizing and a good meal.
Chen Jie said: "Why don't you have some tofu when you come to Xinchang? Wouldn't it be in vain? Let's add two more tofu dishes, boiled tofu and landscape tofu."
"Okay." Chen Xing said. Chen Minmin was a little worried that she wouldn't be able to finish the meal. Chen Jie said: "Eat slowly. After you finish eating, you can go to the show. Besides, what are we, a group of twenty-year-olds, afraid of? Are you losing weight?"
"That woman doesn't want to lose weight?" Chen Xing said, "Then eat a cheat meal today and only eat this meal. After today, you can slowly lose weight alone." Chen Minmin muttered that she would cheat on meals every day during the New Year.
But when the food arrived, she was the most active. Jianyang Mutton Soup requires you to make your own dipping water, or oil dish, but generally it is dry dipping, and the ingredients are simple, dried sea pepper + MSG + salt, these three ingredients have completely satisfied the spicy taste of Sichuan people. Pursue.
You can also add red millet chili, green bell pepper and fresh green peppercorns. On the basis of the basic salty base, add onion, garlic, coriander, mint leaves, etc.
Mutton soup was served first. The soup is boiled until it turns white, like milk, with little oily flowers floating on it, and the fragrance is overflowing.
Chen Xing filled a bowl of soup in a separate bowl and drank it. The cooking of Jianyang mutton soup requires adding fish to the soup. One pot of fish and mutton highlights the umami flavor of the soup. Otherwise, in ancient times, why fish and mutton were combined to form the word "fresh"? It must make sense. .
Drink the soup in small sips. It has a fresh and strong flavor and a long aftertaste. Holding the bowl and drinking it in one gulp, a warmth spreads from the stomach to the whole body. The winter chill is quickly dispelled and the whole person is warmed up.
The mutton is also delicious, the meat is tender and there is no mutton smell at all. Chen Jie said while eating: "I remember that during the 2008 Olympics, 30 healthy delicacies were selected in China. Jianyang mutton soup was finally on the list. It was the only soup dish based on mutton." Chen Xing and Chen Minmin Not impressed at all.
How old were they then? Not to mention the Yanjing Olympics, I didn’t have much of an impression on the next few Olympics. The only thing that impressed me was this year’s opening ceremony of the island country... Regardless of whether it was good-looking or not, it was indeed famous.
People are professionals, who says notoriety is not fame? The girl brought over by Chen Zhong said to Chen Zhong: "Try this, it's delicious too." She was talking about boiled tofu.
This dish is very simple, super simple. You just put the tofu in boiling water and cook it. When it is slightly cooked, fish it out. You can eat it directly as it is, or you can eat it with water.
What you eat is the freshness of the tofu. Good tofu is rare in the city. It is just like the seafood in coastal cities. Most people cannot eat the freshest tofu.
Everyone thinks that seafood has a strong fishy smell, right? Actually no, many seafood have no fishy smell at all when they are first caught, and the meat even has a bit of sweetness.
That’s why people along the coast love steamed seafood so much that they can’t wait to just nibble on it. The same goes for tofu. It's freshly made by hand, and it's still hot when it's boiled in water.
This kind of tofu tastes particularly tender, delicious, and clears away heat. Shanshui Tofu is also a steamed tofu dish. Cut the tofu into small pieces like Mapo Tofu, then add salt, pepper, MSG, and ginger juice to taste. Add green pepper shreds, red pepper shreds, and coriander, and then put it in a steamer. Steam.
You can eat it directly after steaming, and it will be fresh and tender. A few people cleared most of the food from the table, so nothing was wasted.
Chen Minmin touched her belly without looking like a goddess and burped.
"It's been a long time since I've eaten so much. I'm so miserable. I'll definitely gain weight tomorrow."
"Kacha!" She looked up in confusion and saw Chen Xing putting down the camera.
"You photographed me!" She quickly went to grab Chen Xing's camera.
"No!! Delete the photo for me immediately!! It must be ugly as hell!" Of course Chen Xing refused and dodged with great skill. She chased him, but he ran away. On the way, Chen Xing said: "You just ate something, don't run away." , let me show you, it’s not an ugly photo, I took a really good-looking one!” Why delete it? Is he the kind of person who takes ugly photos of people?
Forehead. Putting this aside, Chen Xing is a well-known up-and-coming photographer in the French photography industry. Wouldn’t the things he takes look good?
The accusations made by my cousin are simply slanderous. The other three people watched the show with smiles. Chen Jie and Chen Zhong are worthy of being born to the same mother, and they both have the same expression when they smile.
"Okay! Then show it to me first!" Seeing that she stopped chasing him, Chen Xing found the photo just now, showed it to Chen Minmin, and said, "I thought your laziness just now was beautiful. , I just took it, you still don’t believe me.” In the photo, Chen Minmin was leaning on a chair, with her hands on the armrests of the chair, her eyes half closed, very comfortable.
I have to mention it again here. What is the most important thing about taking portraits? It's a model. As long as the model is beautiful, no matter what the model is doing, it will look good in the photo.
Chen Minmin was finally relieved. She patted Chen Xing awkwardly and said, "Hahaha, hahaha, you told me earlier. Remember to pass this photo to me. It's not bad. My sister's love for you is not in vain." Chen Xing was speechless.
Chen Minmin was not far different in age from him, and there was little care for the two of them when they were growing up. On the contrary, Chen Xing helped her solve a lot of troubles when she was studying.
After resting for a while, everyone got up and got ready to watch the show. At this moment, there are already many people in performance costumes in the ancient town square, who are getting ready in full swing.
There are about a dozen people in the dragon dance team, holding a big dragon in their hands, and there are people beside them holding cloud lanterns, dragon beads and other decorations.
In addition, there are big black cows, lion dances, stilts... They have to be busy from two o'clock in the afternoon until night.
Chen Xing and the others didn't go to the square. They knew with their feet that there must be circles and circles of people around there, so there was no need to squeeze in with those people.
The team has to come over anyway. The smart people had already occupied the best position on the roadside, waiting for the dragon dance team to come over.
Chen Xing and Chen Jie were young and strong, and Chen Zhong was a young man in his mid-teens. They were not afraid of being scolded at all. They protected the two girls and easily pushed their way to the front, occupying the best spot on the street.
Not long after, Chen Xing and the others heard the sound of gongs and drums. Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang...
