While the three of them were secretly embarrassed, the first dish was served. It was not a common porcelain plate, but a precious silver plate. There were three silver plates in total, and each silver plate contained a half-pound burnt tail. The carp is fried to a golden color, with a jumping posture, and the fish body is drizzled with crystal clear soup.
The Tang Dynasty was the dynasty of the Li family. At this time, people were not allowed to eat carp casually. Of course, he would eat it secretly when he was in the mountain village, but this was under the emperor's feet, so how dare he eat carp without hesitation.
Just when Changsheng was secretly puzzled, the young woman who served the dish announced the name of the dish, "The fish leaps over the dragon gate, and the tail is burned by the sky fire. It can be eaten by the scholars who have been specially approved by Zhongzong."
Seeing that there were only three fish, Datou wanted to give his own to Ni Chenyi, but after hearing the maid's words, he suddenly realized, "So this dish is called Fish Leaping over the Dragon Gate."
"Yes, sir," the maid replied softly, "it is said that after a carp jumps over the dragon gate, fire will come down from the sky and burn its tail to help it transform into a dragon. Therefore, the fish tail is burnt."
After the maid finished speaking, Ni Chenyi instructed the maid to pour wine for Yang Kai and Datou. Yang Kai raised his hand and refused, saying that he would not drink any wine.
It was obvious that Da Tou knew how to drink, but Chang Sheng and the others did not drink. It was inconvenient for him to drink alone, so he drank tea instead of wine like the three of them.
The reason why this dish of Fish Leaping over the Dragon Gate is listed as the first dish is because of its auspicious meaning; secondly, the carp cannot be eaten unless it is a lucky person, and it is rare and valuable; and thirdly, because of the way it is made, all the fish bones on the carp are completely intact. It has been removed, but its complete shape is retained. After being fried in oil, it is charred on the outside and tender on the inside. The honey just squeezed out of the honeycomb is sprinkled on top. It is sweet and crispy, oily but not greasy.
Then comes the second dish, which is also one for each person. It is served in a silver bowl. In the bowl is a milky white soup. In the soup, there is a square piece of white meat the size of a palm. In addition, there is a piece of three-person snack. A vegetable leaf without a name.
After being introduced by the maid, the three of them knew that this was a flying dragon bear's paw. The bear's paw and the flying dragon bird were cooked together. The vegetable leaves were a vegetable that had just been introduced from the Western Regions in recent years, called spinach.
Now that it's served, I can't refute Ni Chenyi's good intentions, but the three of them ate it very awkwardly. It was indeed delicious, but it didn't feel too delicious. The bear paws were not much different from the common white meat.
The third course was finally a little more normal. It was a meat pie, one for each person. It was called deer leather cake. The outside was crispy and crumbly, and the inside was wrapped in deer meat. Deer is a kind of deer. According to the maid, this thing is The taste is more delicious than that of deer, but Changsheng didn't taste it very delicious. Judging from the expressions of Yang Kai and Datou, they probably didn't taste anything special.
The fourth dish was a small silver jar filled with something white. If the maid hadn't introduced it as Mobei yogurt, Chang Sheng would have thought it was sour and rancid goat's milk. Some people might find it delicious, but he couldn't get used to it.
The fifth course was also served on a small silver plate. It was a fiery red fruit that looked a bit like a persimmon in shape, but not yellow. When the maid introduced it, it turned out to be a persimmon called Fire Crystal Persimmon. It was sweet and juicy and could be smoked. .
The sixth course is a small noodle cake just out of the pan. It is fluffy, soft and glutinous. It is called Wugu Fengden. It is made from a mixed fermentation of five kinds of grains from the southeast, northwest and northwest. It is delicious, but it is very small, only one bite.
The seventh dish was charcoal grilled camel hump. Changsheng had just met camels not long ago, and this time he actually had camel hump. There were not many, only two pieces, and some kind of pepper from the Western Regions was sprinkled on top. This thing is very expensive. But it tastes like that.
There are twelve dishes in total, and the other ones are mountain delicacies such as dragon buds, steamed mandarin fish, candied grapes, milk melon and pine mushrooms, and crab roe soup dumplings.
Each dish is served per person, and is served in silverware. Silver can test for poison. The use of silverware in Yanbin Restaurant is undoubtedly to avoid suspicion. The unspoken meaning is that the food itself is non-toxic. If you eat it, you will die. Blame me.
After finishing the twelve dishes, the tea served was called Emei Spring Green. The color of the tea soup was green and pleasing to the eye, but the tea itself was nothing special.
"It's like a dream," Changsheng said while serving tea. "At the beginning of the year, I was starving and freezing in the mountain village, but at the end of the year, I was living in extreme luxury in Chang'an."
Hearing Chang Sheng's words, Yang Kai and Datou nodded. The three of them came from humble backgrounds and shared the same illness. Chang Sheng's mood at this moment was also their mood.
"It's just a meal, how can we talk about extravagance?" Ni Chenyi said with a smile.
"What Ms. Ni said is absolutely true," Datou said. "As the saying goes, the Taoist priest hides in the wild, the Taoist priest hides in the city, and the Taoist priest hides in the court. The Taoist priest was originally a practitioner, but now he has become an official. In fact, he is hiding in hiding to help the world. , taking both aspects into consideration, it’s not an exaggeration to have a good meal.”
After Da Tou finished speaking, Chang Sheng glanced at him with a smile. Da Tou was very clever and good at talking, but in fact, it was all forced. It was not easy for a three-foot dwarf to settle down and support his family in troubled times.
At this moment, someone knocked on the door softly. The maid opened the door and found Ni Tai standing outside.
"Miss, what you and my uncle ordered has been done." Ni Tai said to Ni Chenyi.
Ni Chenyi turned around and glanced at Changsheng, got up and went out, talking to Ni Tai from outside.
After Ni Chenyi left, Changsheng lowered his voice and said to the two of them, "I'm not full. Let's eat meat buns later."
The two nodded repeatedly when they heard the words. Although Ni Chenyi meant well, the three of them were rough people. They fought all day long and made some weird things. The three of them were neither used to nor full of food. .
Not long after, Ni Chenyi came back, holding two rolls of paper in his hand. He walked straight to Chang Sheng and handed the two rolls to him, "The other one is on the street ahead."
Although he did not open the paper, Changsheng knew that it was the deeds of two houses, so he took it and looked back at Ni Chenyi. Ni Chenyi's eyes were full of approval. Needless to say, Ni Chenyi also agreed with him.
After the meal was finished and the things were obtained, Chang Sheng took the two of them away as if they were running away. He didn't dare to ask Ni Chenyi how much money he spent on the meal. The biggest gain from coming to Yanbin Tower this time was to see the world. It turned out that High-ranking officials only eat some weird stuff.
On the way, he met a man selling roujiamo. Changsheng bought six of them, two for each person, and ate them while walking.
Seeing that Changsheng was devouring food just like him, the two of them felt closer to him. Changsheng did not act pretentious just because he defeated the crowd and married into a wealthy family, but he still remained frank and frank.
Datou lived in the Chengnan Inn and was not on the same road with the two of them, so he said goodbye to Changsheng at the intersection.
"Is there anything else in your inn?" Changsheng asked casually.
"No, this is my only burden." Big Head shook his head.
"Then there's no need to go back." Changsheng said.
Da Tou didn't know what was going on and looked up in confusion.
"You will stay in Chang'an from now on, and you can't live without a fixed place." Chang Sheng rolled out one of the scrolls and took a look at it, then handed it to Yang Kai, and then handed the other scroll to Yang Kai. Big head.
Both of them have spiritual energy cultivation and can see at night. They took it and read it, and were shocked, "House deed?!"
Chang Sheng stuffed the last bite of the meat bun into his mouth, "Don't refuse. Refusal will lead to success."
"This...this..." Datou was shocked and speechless.
"Taoist Priest, it's not that I refuse, but that I am alone and it is of no use to have that house." Yang Kai said.
"You are not alone, you also have a master," Changsheng said. "Senior ancients must have a place to stay when they come back."
Seeing Chang Sheng being so attentive, Yang Kai was very moved and speechless.
Datou knew that Yang Kai had saved Chang Sheng on the day of the competition, so he felt ashamed that he had received the reward for nothing, "Taoist Priest, I have nothing..."
Before Datou could finish speaking, Changsheng interrupted him, "I remember every word you shouted from the audience yesterday. At the critical moment, you rushed to the ring to delay time for me. You have offended the eunuchs. From now on, we will all You have to be careful and always on guard.”
The most touching thing for subordinates is that their efforts are seen by their superiors, remembered in their hearts, and listened to the immortal words. Datou is moved in his heart and his eyes are red.
"By the way, is Yang Shouyi, who was kicked off the ring by me yesterday, dead or alive?" Changsheng stepped forward.
"He vomited blood after being kicked by you, but he didn't die completely," Datou said. "I saw that he was still humming when he was carried away."
After finishing speaking, he said again, "Taoist Master, that Yang Shouyi is the adopted son of the great eunuch Yang Fugong. Yang Fugong was a lieutenant of the Zuo Shence Army Guards, and most of the imperial army in Chang'an was under his command. This man has more than a dozen adopted sons. Many of them are military envoys who command troops outside."
Changsheng nodded,
Datou lowered his voice and said again, "I heard that the current emperor ascended the throne with his support. You are right not to kill Yang Shouyi. If you really kill him, the eunuch will not let it go. .”
"You won't take over the house, but you want to draw a clear line with me?" Chang Sheng asked with a smile.
Datou knew that Changsheng was using provocation, so he simply stuffed the house deed into the baggage on his chest, "If there are too many lice, don't bite people. Anyway, we already owe a lot of favors, and we don't have more of this house."
The three of them were talking and walking. Changsheng only knew that Datou's house was on the street in front of Yang Kai, but he didn't know which one it was. Fortunately, Ni Tai was thoughtful and asked the servant guarding the house to carry a lantern at the door. waiting.
When I got closer, I saw that it was indeed here. The plaque on the door had already been hung, "Tiancanmen Courtyard," inscribed by calligraphy master Zhang Yanyuan himself.
When he saw the door plaque, Datou was trembling with excitement and his words were incoherent. His words of support under the ring yesterday were just to express gratitude for Changsheng's good fortune. He had the courage to go on stage and also wanted to make money. Who would have thought that Changsheng would be so kind to him? As an official, he also donated a house as a gift. The house in front of him was a second-level mansion. In a place like Chang'an, its value was no less than ten thousand taels of silver.
There were servants and maids in the house. Knowing that the new owner was coming, they all came out to greet him.
Some of them recognized Chang Sheng, and Chang Sheng exchanged a few words with everyone, and they then led Da Tou into the hospital and went home, while he and Yang Kai returned to their residence in the back street.
The plaque on the door was also changed, "Qingyun Mountain Villa," also inscribed by calligraphy master Zhang Yanyuan himself.
Yang Kai knew very well what this courtyard meant. It not only meant that the master and disciple had a family, but also meant that Qingyun Mountain could continue. This was in Chang'an, and anyone who walked by the door would know that there is still a sect like Qingyun Mountain in the world. .
Yang Kai did not thank Chang Sheng, but felt sad and sighed.
Yang Kai's spiritual energy cultivation has been restored, Chang Sheng did not live with Yang Kai, but took his belongings back to Baoqing Inn. The reason why he came back was because he was worried about Young Master Hei, who had not seen him for two days. He was worried that Young Master Hei would be upset because he couldn't see him.
Facts have proved that his worries were not unnecessary. When he returned to Baoqing Inn, he heard Mr. Hei whining uneasily in the backyard. He ran to caress and comfort him before he could go upstairs to put down his baggage.
Since he didn't come back yesterday, there weren't many people waiting for him at the inn, and since he came back too late tonight, there was no one to watch him. After Master Hei regained his composure, Chang Sheng returned to his room to lie down and rest.
Early the next morning, Yang Kai and Datou came together to look for him. It was obvious that the two of them did not sleep well last night.
After washing up, Changsheng went downstairs and went east with the two of them. There were two more battles today, and sixty martial arts scholars were selected from the two hundred and forty martial arts examiners...
