Plop!
The owner of the steamed bun stall suddenly knelt down.
He had heard one of them shouting "Futai" before, and he thought he had heard it wrong.
How could a man like Futai come to eat at a street stall like his? If he wanted to eat, he would go to the largest restaurant in Xuzhou.
But then the person who came after him opened his mouth and kept his mouth shut to shout.
No matter how confused he was at this time, he still knew that these people who came to eat were great people. Even if they were not Futai, he was still an official.
"Please get up quickly. When we come to eat at your place, we are your diners. How do you usually entertain guests? Just treat us like those diners." Hong Chengchou stood up and walked over to help the stall owner up from the ground and patted him. He patted the dust on his knees.
The stall owner looked at Hong Chengchou who was helping him up, and asked stammeringly: "Are you really an official?"
"Why don't you be an official? I'm your diner here, here to eat your steamed buns." Hong Chengchou said in a warm tone, without any official airs on his body.
Many times, when an official has reached the level of governor of a province, he no longer needs to put on official airs with ordinary people. On the contrary, it is easier for those grassroots officials to put on the airs of an official in front of the people.
The stall owner looked at Hong Chengchou and then at Yan Zhizhou, who came after him.
Although both of them were very strange to him, he did not feel the majesty of a senior official in the first one. On the contrary, the Yan Zhizhou who came later looked more like a senior official.
"This!" The stall owner hesitated.
He really wanted to regard these people as his diners, but the official was an official after all, and his legs were still trembling at this moment.
At this moment, the guard who went to buy cooked meat returned.
"Did you buy the meat?" Hong Chengchou asked.
The guard replied: "When I go back to Futai, I bought them all. Do you want to cut them open now?"
"Pay the bill for these steamed buns to the stall owner, and we'll take them back to eat." Seeing the stall owner's look, Hong Chengchou knew that he couldn't stay any longer, so he asked his guards to pay the bill and go back with the things.
The guard took out a few large coins and handed them to the stall owner.
Seeing this, the stall owner waved his hands and refused, saying: "No, no, no, no need to give it, just treat it as a treat for the great master."
"Don't worry, keep it. There is no reason in the world to eat without giving money." Hong Chengchou took a few large coins from the guard and forced them into the hands of the stall owner.
Then he left here with his guards and the newly arrived Yan Zhizhou.
The stall owner looked at Hong Chengchou and his entourage leaving, and then at the few large coins in his hand, with mixed feelings in his heart.
Usually when the yamen officers and policemen came to eat at his place, they rarely gave him money and they always gave him money on credit. Unexpectedly, the aloof Futai Master gave him money to eat steamed buns.
He decided to keep all these large sums of money and save them as his family heirlooms, so that his descendants could get a taste of the officialdom. In the future, he might have a descendant who would become a high official.
When Yan Zhizhou arrived, Hong Chengchou had no idea of continuing to wander around, so he took the steamed buns he had just bought back to the post house.
"Hong Futai is used to eating steamed buns?" Yan Zhizhou knew that he might have interrupted Hong Chengchou's interest, so he took the initiative to mention the steamed buns as a conversation starter.
Hong Chengchou looked back at the steamed bun stall behind him and said with a smile: "I had nothing to do, so I saw a steamed bun stall on the street and wanted to try it."
"Xuzhou's steamed buns are really good. If Hong Futai likes to eat them, next time I will find a chef with the best steamed bun skills to make steamed buns specifically for Hong Futai. Don't think Hong Futai is being stingy. , I can't bear to entertain Hong Futai with better food." Yan Zhizhou joked with a smile.
Hearing this, Hong Chengchou laughed and said, "Haha, don't worry, I'm not picky about food, as long as I can fill my stomach."
"What's the point of just filling your stomach?" Yan Zhizhou said, "Since Hong Futai has come to Xuzhou, he naturally wants to try the local food in Xuzhou. I will arrange it later to ensure that Hong Futai will not miss Shu and stay in Xuzhou. I’m willing to leave.”
Hong Chengchou said with a smile: "Then I will have a good taste. Then Yan Zhizhou just don't dislike me for eating too much!"
"Haha, even if Hong Futai eats, I don't have enough money to pay for it, so we must make Hong Futai feel like home." Yan Zhizhou said with the same smile.
Because he was walking out, Hong Chengchou did not leave the post house too far.
So it didn't take long for the group to return to the post house.
After returning, Hong Chengchou said enthusiastically to Yan Zhizhou: "Since Yan Zhizhou is here, don't go back yet. Why don't you come and have dinner with me later?"
"Okay, I'll have a meal at Hongfutai first." Yan Zhizhou took advantage of the situation and stayed.
The people in the post house went to prepare meals. Hong Chengchou asked people to give the steamed buns and meat he brought back to the cook in the post house, and asked the cook to serve them together when the meal was served.
After the two of them were seated as guest and host, the guard brought hot tea.
"Yan Zhizhou suddenly visited. Is there any news from your court?" Hong Chengchou asked straight to the point.
Except for seeing Yan Zhizhou once after entering Xuzhou City, he never saw him again in the following few days. Today he took the initiative to find him. Calculating the time, the news from Nanjing should have been sent.
Hearing this, Yan Zhizhou nodded and said, "As Hong Futai expected, the imperial court has sent news about Hong Futai. Hong Futai might as well take a guess!"
"It doesn't matter whether you guess or not, the result is the same." Hong Chengchou said, "It seems I should pack my things and rush to Nanjing."
Yan Zhizhou's face paled when he heard this, and he asked: "How did Hong Futai guess it? Is there any channel in Nanjing where he can get the news?"
"You don't need to ask me. I have no channels to get information in Nanjing. The reason why I can guess it is actually very simple." Hong Chengchou paused and continued, "Nanjing has three attitudes towards me. "
As he spoke, he raised his hand and stretched out three fingers.
Then he withdrew two of them, raised one finger and said, "The first scenario is to drive me away from Xuzhou without seeing me. If this is the case, Yan Zhizhou will not come to see me."
"That's not necessarily true. If I don't want to offend Hong Futai, I might even come to see him off in person." Yan Zhizhou said.
After hearing this, Hong Chengchou smiled and said: "If Yan Zhizhou really wanted to befriend me, he wouldn't not show up for several days, and if he really drove me away, Yan Zhizhou wouldn't be so calm. Sit here with me, and treat me, the governor of the Tiger Flag, to Xuzhou’s delicacies.”
