Seeing Lin Xi washing vegetables silently, looking a little unhappy. Li Tang said: "You are a girl. You can't work in the yamen for a long time, so you don't have to feel aggrieved. You can't live in a newly built house. The yamen has paid two taels of supplementary money in a month, which is good."
Li Tang said: "Yes. The two dollars are enough to pay our rent. Wouldn't it be nice for you and your daughter to live here from now on?"
Lin Xi stopped, was silent for a while and said: "Why do women have to suffer this injustice when we are doing the same thing? I understand the truth, but I just can't reconcile myself to this kind of thing! Even though my money has increased, I still can't reconcile myself to it!"
Seeing Lin Xi's angry look, Li Tang and Li Di laughed together.
Li Di said: "Since you are unhappy, how about I treat you to a drink tonight? The Han River is very lively right now."
Lin Xi pouted: "I'm a girl, how can I go drinking with you?"
Li Tang said: "You work with us every day, how can anyone treat you as your daughter's family? These days, your father is out discussing business with people, and he doesn't come back until midnight every day, so don't worry about him."
Lin Xi thought for a while. He gritted his teeth and nodded: "Okay, let's go! I haven't seen what Xiangyang City looks like at night!"
The three of them chatted and laughed and left the room. Go all the way north along the street, towards the Han River.
The sun has not yet set, the heat of the day has not dissipated, and the cicadas on the big willow trees on the street are still chirping. Many people had already walked out and were chatting at the intersection. The store hung up lights and some lit them up.
Lin Xi said: "It was so lively at night! I have traveled to many places, and only Kaifeng Mansion when I was a child can compare."
Li Tang said: "Yes. In other state capitals, there are no pedestrians on the road at this time, and nowhere can compare with Xiangyang Prefecture. There is no state army in the world that can compare with the prosperity here. We have been wandering for several years, and finally live a stable life. .”
The three of them chatted and walked along the street, and unknowingly arrived at the Han River.
There are more than a dozen painted boats on the Han River, brightly lit, and the sound of silk and bamboo can be heard from time to time. There were crowds of people on both sides of the bank, and vendors were weaving in and out of the crowd. All kinds of hawking sounds come and go, with southern and northern accents. A waiter stood in front of the shop, inviting people in from time to time.
Lin Xi looked at it for a while and then said: "So the most prosperous place in Xiangyang City is the riverside?"
Li Di said: "It should be. Other places may be lively during the day, but at night, there is no place as good as here."
Walked on the road for a while. Li Tang said: "The sun has set, let's go have a drink. There is ice-cold wine here, which is really a rare delicacy in this weather! In this hot weather, how can you sleep well without a few sips!"
As he spoke, he walked towards the brightest place beside the Han River. Li Di and Lin Xi followed closely behind, daring not to miss a step.
Just on the roadside, along the bank of the Han River, there is a row of small tables with small chairs next to them. In the words of later generations, it is Mazar. This kind of cross-legged stool was introduced from the Hu people, and was called Jiaozhi by the Song people, and it became popular for a while. Not only is it easy to make, but it is also very convenient to put it away as soon as the legs are closed. Particularly popular in places that require frequent movement.
I saw that the chair was full of people of all kinds, talking about anything at the top of their lungs.
Lin Xi couldn't help but frown: "How can you drink in a place like this, where the good and the good are mixed?"
Li Tang smiled and said: "Since King Observation took charge of Xiangyang Prefecture and cracked down on powerful people, all the snakes and rats in the place were wiped out. Where did the fish and dragons come from? The business here was first to recruit dock workers. Because of the good taste, people all over the city came to eat. .The price is not expensive and the most affordable!”
As he said that, he watched the middle family walk away. There was a sign on the roadside of this restaurant with the four characters "Fireworks in the World" written on it. There was also a light specially placed in the place where the smoke was placed, which looked a bit unique.
Sitting down at a small table next to him, Li Di said: "This is the first one to open, and it belongs to Zhenfusi. I heard that the name 'Human Fireworks' was coined by Wang Kuan, not only in Xiangyang, but also in Dengzhou and Tangzhou. There are troops in , Ruzhou, Suizhou and other states, and business is extremely hot!"
Lin Xi said: "A store like this, with a name like Fireworks on Earth, is a bit nondescript."
Li Tang shook his head repeatedly: "You are a girl, how do you know the benefits of this name? Wang observed that this stall has wine and it is not expensive. It has various grilled meats and stir-fried vegetables. This stall has the best taste. Fireworks in the world are four words!”
Lin Xi curled her lips, obviously not believing this. In a girl's house, the dining place should not be too luxurious, but at least it should be clean and tidy, and the dishes should be fresh. This place looks so crowded and messy, how can we eat?
A boy came over and quickly wiped the table with a rag. Asked: "What are the guests eating?"
Li Di said: "First a bucket of iced wine, and then a grilled catfish. By the way, let's fry a plate of frogs too!"
The boy agreed respectfully. Turning to look at Li Tang.
Li Tang said loudly: "Two more roasted lamb kidneys! The roasting time will be longer to get out the oil! By the way, ten skewers of roasted lamb! Three more roasted chicken wings, and another plate of edamame."
The boy agreed. He looked at Lin Xi who was silent, then turned around and asked, "Would you like some cold dishes for your three guests?"
Lin Xi heard this and asked hurriedly: "What cold dishes do you have here?"
The young man felt a little angry when he heard this, but he didn't take it seriously. He said: "The most commonly eaten ones are cold crispy lotus root, boiled edamame, cucumber with garlic, vermicelli with green onion, preserved egg, spinach with garlic, pig ear with green onion, fried loach, shredded chicken cold, and shredded belly cold."
Lin Xi had never eaten most of these dishes, so she couldn't help but be stunned when she heard them. He quickly said: "Then let's have a plate of crispy lotus root and a plate of shredded chicken."
The boy said yes. Seeing that all three of them had finished ordering, they hurried over.
Seeing the boy walking away, Lin Xi lowered her voice and asked, "Why are the food and drinks here so weird? We've seen a lot of roasted lamb and pork, so why are we talking about skewers here? And roasted chicken wings? What kind of pig ears, tripe, etc. are mixed with them? Loach, which one will eat?"
Li Tang smiled and said: "Niece, today I want to open your eyes and realize that there are many things to eat in the world! The prices here are cheap, how can we make it with big fish and meat? So what is used here are pig heads and pig ears. , pig intestines, lamb loin, lamb tripe, etc. Roast chicken wings because chicken wings are the cheapest, but roasted chicken legs are expensive!”
Lin Xi frowned even more after hearing this. Everything in this ghost place looks weird.
Not long after, the boy came over with a wooden bucket. There was ice water inside, and a wine bottle was soaked in the ice water.
Lin Xi's eyes widened. After a while, he said: "In this weather, what is the price of ice water? Is it used to brew wine here?"
Li Di picked up the jug, poured a glass of wine for each of the three of them, and said, "Xianmei doesn't know that ice wine is a specialty here, and many people come here just for this glass of wine. They have a kind of medicine that can be put into water." It will freeze, which is very convenient.”
How could Lin Xi believe it? When I was in Kaifeng Prefecture, there were many people selling ice in the summer, and they took the ice from the Bianhe River in the winter and saved it. With weather like this in Xiangyang, it is not easy to get ice, and it is impossible to collect and store it. I don’t know where the ice water here comes from.
In fact, it is not surprising that the ice here is made of saltpeter. Although there were methods of using saltpeter in this era, it was not popular. Wang Xiaolie had been experimenting with gunpowder and had a large amount of saltpeter, which he used as a gimmick for the store.
