Daming Military Empire

Chapter 494 Prosperity Chang'an

As night fell slowly, the business of Chang'an Restaurant became more and more prosperous. People kept opening the curtain and walked in. The first floor, where there were only a few sparsely seated tables, gradually became lively.

As the saying goes, companions are like companions to tigers. Although Zhu Cijiong is not the kind of moody tyrant, no one dares to talk in front of the emperor. Therefore, while waiting for the food to be served, Luo Yangxing, Cao Huachun and Wang Zhengnan all sat upright, staring at each other. Not squinting, not daring to say a word, the atmosphere can be described as extremely dull.

Zhu Cijiong was the kind of person who couldn't sit still, so he simply started the topic and discussed the clothes of the diners.

To say that Luo Yangxing came to the right place. Not only is this guy a foodie, but he also has a lot of research on clothing. Otherwise, Xu Erjue would not have asked him about the sales prospects of mink fur coats.

But he can tell one, two, three to anyone who comes in, whether it's clothes or shoes and hats.

For example, this person’s coat was bought by a certain time-honored brand, and it cost at least a few taels of silver; that person’s shoes were made of pure sheepskin with wool inside, at least a few taels of silver.

Another example, this person is sick, and wearing a satin cloak in winter is worth a few dollars, but it has no warmth retention effect at all.

Cao Huachun and Wang Zhengnan just watched the diners around secretly, and did not participate in the discussion, but Zhu Cijiong listened with gusto.

The money of ordinary people is generally spent on food, clothing, housing and transportation. This clothing is the best reference for judging the living standards of ordinary people.

From Luo Yangxing's description, he could tell that the people who eat in Chang'an Restaurant are basically expensive, and the clothes, shoes and hats cost at least a dozen taels of silver, and they are all rich people.

This Chang'an restaurant has five or six floors. Based on the area of ​​the first floor, at least it can accommodate thousands of people dining at the same time. At this moment, the attendance rate on the first floor is [-]%. little.

It seems that many Ming people have made a fortune in the past few years. Zhu Cijiong was secretly comforting himself there, but Luo Yangxing suddenly said in surprise: "Hey, this person seems a little familiar. The clothes are from Hengfengxiang, a time-honored Shanxi brand, and they are worth it." Not a few taels of silver. From Shanxi, with such a refined appearance, who is it? Why can’t I remember?”

Hearing this, Zhu Cijiong raised his head, he saw someone from Shanxi, he knew the person who came, it was Chen Zilong.

He was followed by someone who seemed to be Zhang Cai who was proposed to be the new minister of the Ministry of Commerce.

At this moment, Chen Zilong was graciously letting him in, his back was facing the lobby, and he didn't have time to look in, so he didn't find Zhu Cijiong and others sitting beside him.

Zhang Cai walked in and muttered there: "Oh, Mr. Chen, I am very grateful for you to accompany my subordinates out to inspect them. How can I let you treat me? This restaurant is not cheap at first glance. , let's go back and eat something casually, don't spend money."

However, Chen Zilong said with a smile: "Brother Shouxian, you are out of touch now. What are you calling Mr. Chen? After the new year, you will be a minister. Didn't I want to call you Mr. Zhang? I am no longer the governor. You are no longer the chief minister, and we will be friends of the same generation in the future. You can call me Maozhong or Zilong Xiandi, and you are not allowed to call me Lord Chen anymore."

Zhang Cai shook his head and smiled wryly: "Oh, Maozhong, we should not eat here, it's too expensive."

Chen Zilong insisted: "Is it worth the money for Chinese New Year? To thank you and brother Gandu for your great help in the northwest, this meal must be invited. Besides, not all dishes are expensive here. Let's order a few cheaper Yes, it doesn’t cost much, come on, let’s find a seat first.”

After all, as soon as he turned his head, he was about to pull Zhang Cai in, but he immediately froze.

It's not that there are no vacancies on the first floor, the main reason is that the emperor is sitting at the table closest to the gate, looking at him with a smile.

Zhang Cai is so strange, why did Master Chen just stand there all of a sudden?

He looked at Chen Zilong curiously, and asked while looking: "Maozhong, what's the matter with you, have you met someone you know?"

Now he also saw Zhu Cijiong, but he didn't see it at first glance, because the emperor was not wearing a dragon robe. When he realized it, he couldn't help but gasped, "Hiss".

Seeing this scene, Zhu Cijiong quickly winked at Wang Zhengnan.

Wang Zhengnan stood up knowingly, cupped his hands to the two of them and said, "Master Chen, Master Zhang, Mr. Huang is treating you today, if you two don't mind, come together."

Who dares to dislike the emperor's treat, Chen Zilong and Zhang Cai heard the words, hurried forward, imitated Cao Huachun's appearance, and sat down straight.

After the two of them sat down, Zhu Cijiong pushed the menu in front of them and said with a smile, "One person will order one more."

The two of them were in a daze right now, and they didn't even look at the menu.

Zhu Cijiong couldn't help joking: "It's not that I'm stingy, I've already ordered ten, and I can't fit any more."

When the two heard this, they laughed and began to order.

Soon, the dishes ordered earlier began to be served one after another, and the table was soon filled.

However, no one dared to move their chopsticks, because the emperor hadn't spoken yet.

Zhu Cijiong didn't speak at this moment, but looked at Cao Huachun.

Maybe this is a kind of contempt that has been formed for a long time and dare not eat things indiscriminately.

Cao Huachun was not too polite, he took out a pair of silver chopsticks like a magic trick, and took a bite of each dish seriously.

After a while, Zhu Cijiong couldn't help asking: "How is it?"

Cao Huachun used his internal strength to sense for a while, then nodded and said: "No problem."

Zhu Cijiong rolled his eyes, and said angrily: "I'm asking how it tastes."

Cao Huachun put down his chopsticks in embarrassment, nodded and said: "This one tastes very good, no different from the ones in the palace."

And this thing, folk cooks can actually cook the taste of imperial cooks?
Zhu Cijiong couldn't believe it, he found a dish that looked familiar, picked some up, tasted it, and it really tasted like the one in the palace!
It was really so powerful, he couldn't help looking at Luo Yangxing in doubt.

Luo Yangxing was so worried, he hesitated and said: "Uh, well, a few imperial cooks in the palace have retired in the past few years. I think they are idle, so I paid a high price to invite them here."

It turned out that this was the case, no wonder it tasted the same as in the palace, Zhu Cijiong was just curious, and didn't mean to blame Luo Yangxing.

He directly raised his chopsticks and said with a smile: "Come here, everyone, please don't be polite, eat."

This is the holy decree, no one dared to disobey it, they all picked up their chopsticks and began to eat carefully.

Zhu Cijiong was a little curious about Zhang Cai. He was originally asked to take office after the Chinese New Year. Why did he come to the capital now?

He asked casually: "Shouxian, didn't you tell you to go home and take a good rest before taking office after a year? Why did you come here so soon?"

Zhang Cai quickly put down his chopsticks and said respectfully, "Weichen, oh no, I have nothing to do at home, so I want to go to the capital first to see the difference between the capital and Shanxi."

When Zhu Cijiong heard this, he became interested, and immediately asked: "Oh, is there a difference?"

Hearing this, Zhang Cai sighed, "The difference is too great. The capital city is simply too prosperous. There are more shops on one Chang'an Street than in the entire city of Taiyuan. The bustle of the street far surpasses that recorded in ancient books in Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty. This scene is truly amazing." A rare prosperity!"

(End of this chapter)