In fact, apart from the yellow and white horses, Jiang Shuo and Dugu Xiang carried the purple velvet blanket as the most valuable thing they carried with them. Dugu Xiang completely shocked the Hu Shang Bartlett with the two horses and the blanket. How could they know that they were both here? In fact, he doesn't have much possessions.
Bartlett became more attentive and thoughtful, and asked with a smile: "Have you two eaten?"
Dugu Xiang said: "We came all the way, and you pulled us into the store as soon as we arrived at the city. How can we have time to eat?"
Bartlett smiled and said: "That's great, that's great..."
Dugu Xiang glared and said, "Yeah! What's good? Do you think it's good for us to be hungry?"
Bartlett hurriedly waved his hand and said, "What I mean is that you two can just try our delicious food."
After saying that, he clapped his hands again, and a boy came in. Bartlett whispered a few instructions to him. The boy sang loudly and went out.
After a while, the curtain was raised, and two orchids in silk shawls came in and presented them with dried and fresh fruits. The fresh fruits were nothing more than rose peaches, honeydew melons and the like. They may be rare in Luoyang, Chang'an, but they are rare in the Western Regions. Strange.
This dried fruit is something the two of them have never seen before. It is mainly peeled walnut meat, plus dried rose peaches, almonds and other dried fruits. After adding caramel, it is steamed, and then sprinkled with sesame seeds to increase the aroma. It condenses into a large piece when it is taken out of the pot. , when it was served, it was broken into pieces for everyone to eat. It tasted so fragrant and crispy that the two couldn't help but eat a few more pieces.
Bartlett smiled and said, "You two, don't overdo it. This is just an appetizer. The good food is yet to come."
He clapped his hands again, and the two Hu Ji entered through the curtain again, one holding a gold plate and the other holding a jade plate.
There was a jade pot and two jade cups on the jade plate, both of which were carved from the beautiful local Khotan jade. The Orchid placed the jade cup in front of the two of them and poured the sweet rose wine contained in the jade pot into the jade pot. It is extremely thin and can transmit light and shadow. The green wine sloshes in the cup like a pool of spring water.
The contents of the golden plate made Shuo and Xiang frown when they looked at it. Duguxiang asked Jiang Shuo quietly: "What is this?"
Jiang Shuo said: "I think it looks like a ball used for Cuju..."
Dugu Xiang gave Jiang Shuo a slap and said, "Cuju balls are made of pig's guts. Wouldn't the Khotanese be so disgusting?"
Bartlett heard this and smiled: "Don't be surprised, little lady, that's pig belly you're talking about. People in the Western Regions don't eat pig meat. This is sheep's belly, which is the stomach of a sheep."
Dugu Xiang felt a little more relieved, but still frowned and said, "What's delicious in the sheep's stomach?"
Bartlett came forward, held his belt with his hand and said with a smile: "This sheep belly... there is a universe inside!"
As he spoke, he suddenly pulled out a dagger from his waist, flashed past the two of them with a "swipe" sound, and gently placed the dagger on the table. This series of movements were smooth and flowing, very free and unrestrained, not like a person at all. As flexible as a big fat guy like him can be.
Jiang Shuo and Dugu Xiang were secretly surprised in their hearts, thinking that they couldn't tell that this old man was still a master. Bartlett was even more surprised. He had performed this trick of suddenly drawing out the dagger in front of countless guests, and everyone was surprised. It is normal for a young woman like Dugu Xiang to jump with fright, but the young man and woman in front of him But he was unusually calm, with a calm expression on his face.
Dugu Xiang said angrily: "Old man! What are you doing?"
Bartlett was surprised in his heart, but it didn't show on his face at all. He raised his hands and said, "Please close your eyes..."
When the two of them looked down, they discovered that the whole lamb tripe in the golden plate had been split into two halves. The lamb tripe split open, revealing the mutton wrapped in soup inside.
Bartlett said with a smile: "This is the most delicious dish in Khotan, tripe meat! Cut the tripe open and wash it, stuff it with marinated mutton and various spices, sew it carefully with a needle and thread, and then put it in a big iron Cook the lamb tripe thoroughly in the wok, take it out on a plate, and cut it open in front of the guests after serving. The lamb tastes best at this time!"
At this moment, the mutton in the sheep's belly really exuded an alluring fragrance, and even Hu Ji, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but feel her throat twitch.
But Dugu Xiang said with a smile: "This is a good idea, but daddy, you only cut it once, how can we cut it with chopsticks?"
As she spoke, she suddenly pulled out the gold tooth dagger from her waist, but Bartlett's dagger swept across the two of them.
In front of him, Dugu Xiang swung his dagger straight at Bartlett, making Bartlett shrink back in fright. However, Dugu Xiang did not stab him, he just threw it forward and then withdrew it, gently putting down the gold tooth dagger. On the other side of the case, there are two daggers with Bartlett's, facing each other.
When Bartlett looked down again, he saw that there was an extra vertical incision on the tripe meat, cutting out a cross shape. The shell of the tripe completely collapsed, and the fillings inside flowed out and covered the golden plate, and the aroma was even more overflowing. .
Bartlet smiled awkwardly, sat up straight again, wiped his forehead with his sleeve, and said, "Young lady is very skilled. I wonder which general she is descended from."
Dugu Xiang picked up a piece of mutton with chopsticks and said to Jiang Shuo, "Brother Shuo, eat it while it's hot."
Seeing that Dugu Xiang ignored him, Bartlett had no choice but to give up. He raised his hand, and Hu Ji beside him immediately gave him an agate cup. People in the Tang Dynasty respected white jade. Although the agate cup was precious, it was lower than the white jade cup. , Bartlett's move also meant not to compete with the guests.
He filled a glass of wine and said, "I would like to pay tribute to these two young heroes."
Hu Shang saw the opportunity very quickly. From the BMW, the famous dagger and the relationship with King Huihe Khan, Bartlett had determined that the two must be the children of a certain famous general, so they were called "young heroes".
Dugu Xiang was indeed quite pleased with it. He raised his glass and drank, saying, "Yes, we are the young heroes of the Central Plains!"
Bartlett thought to himself, it turns out he is from Zhongyuan, he is probably a nobleman from Chang'an City, and he said with a smile on his face: "I just said that there seems to be no such a romantic person in the four towns, so it turns out he is a nobleman from the capital."
Dugu Xiang did not say that he was from the capital, but Bartlett had preconceived the idea that the two of them must be nobles, so he made up his own mind and concluded that the two of them must be from the capital. If they continued to talk, he would probably have to decide The two of them are the prince and princess.
Dugu Xiang smiled and said: "Old Ba, you are quite discerning. Can you still tell that we are from Chang'an?"
Bartlett said: "Yes, yes, I just don't know why you two are here alone?"
The doubt in his mind was: Normally, such a noble son should be cheered and supported wherever he goes. How come there are only two masters and no slaves?
Dugu Xiang stepped forward and said, "Hey...don't mention it, we encountered wind and sand on the road, and we got separated from my parents. The whole team didn't know where they went!"
Bartlett hurriedly expressed his kindness and said, "Who are you two? I have some connections in Khotan. I can inquire for you. All you need to do is sit here."
Jiang Shuo immediately started sweating on his back. He turned to look at Dugu Xiang and thought: That's it. Let's get into trouble. I don't have to reply when I ask your name. Now I ask your grandpa again, but it depends on how you answer...
Unexpectedly, Dugu Xiang suddenly shouted angrily: "Is my grandpa's name something you and other pigs and dogs can ask for?"
Bartlett was so frightened that he quickly fell to the ground and said, "I don't dare, I'm too talkative."
Dugu Xiang turned his anger into a smile and waved to Bartlett: "Old man, come here... come here and come closer to talk."
Bartlett dared not to obey, so he leaned closer to Duguxiang cautiously. Duguxiang whispered to him: "Our coming here is all a secret. Even the Anxi Protector doesn't know about it. Don't let me know about it."
Bartlet hurriedly patted his chest and said, "I understand, I understand, my boss has the strictest mouth and will never leak any information."
He even unconsciously called himself the nickname Dugu Xiang gave him, which made Jiang Shuo almost laugh out loud, and he could only suppress it by taking a swig of wine.
Dugu Xiang patted his shoulder approvingly and said, "Now that you understand, why don't you continue serving the food?"
Bartlett shuddered for some reason, he just felt that this girl was quite majestic. She must be a woman from a noble family to have such magnanimity. Little did they know that Dugu Xiang's performance today was partly based on the stories about Chang'an City that she heard from her elder sister, Princess Jingle, and partly learned from Li Zhuer.
Bartlett clapped again. This time it was two Hu servants who came carrying a strange shelf with a cold melon stuck on it.
Cold melons are rare in the Central Plains, but not uncommon in the Western Regions. Cold melons have green skin and red flesh. They are produced in summer. In hot summer, eating them tastes like drinking from cold springs.
Therefore it is called "cold melon" or "summer melon".
Moreover, it is already autumn, and the cold melons are almost out of the market. The melon that is lifted up is very big, but the skin of the melon is no longer green, but withered and yellow, and the melon vines on it are even shriveled and withered. Dugu Xiang I also ate cold melons on the way west, and I couldn’t help but frown and said, “It’s such a big cold melon, and the pulp is full of water, so we can’t eat it.”
Bartlett smiled and said: "How dare you offer an ordinary fruit like cold melon to an honored guest? This is still just a container."
Only then did the two discover that the melon had been roasted, so the surface appeared dehydrated and shrunk. This time, there was no need to use a knife to cut it. A Hu servant used a small steel fork to insert the melon vine at the end of the cold melon. , lift it up, and uncover the upper half of the lid, revealing the soup-like dish inside.
Bartlett smiled and said: "This is a Khotanese delicacy, grilled cold melon. First choose a big melon, cut it open and take out all the meat inside. Add the mutton and Feinu meat cut into pieces, and then take out the melon. Add the melon meat, mash and stir. After the melon juice is completely soaked into the meat, add gastrodia elata, ginseng, Ganoderma lucidum, scallions, onions, ginger, garlic and other seasonings. Be careful not to add salt. Put it in the fire and bake it like this. The mutton and Feinu meat will be extremely delicious."
While they were talking, Hu Ji on both sides had already filled a bowl of soup for each of them with white jade cups. The taste of the two of them was indeed unique. Most meat dishes in the world are salty, but this "roasted cold melon" is sweet. If The first dish, tripe-stuffed pork, has a unique character, and this grilled watermelon has an odd character. .z.
Then Hu Ji presented smoked horse meat and rose biscuits. Especially the rose cake. The fermented dough is rolled into a dough and wrapped in a secret flower sauce made by pounding roses. The baked cake smells of flowers and is even more fragrant when you eat it. . It's truly a delicacy you've never seen anywhere else.
As for other ordinary items such as rice pilaf and noodle soup, they were just put aside to enrich the table. Bartley did not introduce them much, and the two of them were not interested.
Bartlett had been carefully sitting aside, introducing the dishes to the two of them, and telling some anecdotes about Khotan, which made Dugu Xiang and Jiang Shuo amazed. Seeing that the two of them had finished eating, Bartlett asked: "You two Is there anything else I need to do for you? Just ask."
Dugu Xiang said: "We got lost with the brigade, and our clothes are all in rags. As you know, we can't go out to buy anything. Dad, since you are willing to help, go and buy some clothes for us."
Bartlett had already noticed that although the clothes of the two men were shabby and not made of expensive fabrics, they were the regular uniforms of a lieutenant general. This was one of the reasons why he initially judged that the background of the two men was not simple, but he did not know These were the clothes Shuo and Xiang changed into in Geshuhan's camp.
After hearing what Dugu Xiang said, Bartlett immediately said: "Don't worry, little lady, this little thing will be all taken care of by my father."
