North and South groceries

Earlier than Luo Erniang's side, Xipo Village had already received the news that Luo Yong and others were going to open a shop in Chang'an City. Luo Yong said in the letter that they should deliver a batch of goods to Chang'an City in the near future. , the faster the speed, the better, and the more varieties the better.

At that time, someone from Guannei Road drove a group of poor horses to Lishi to sell them.

Although the road built by Luo Yong and others has not yet reached Liangzhou City, it still brings convenience to many places on the Guannei Road. Lishi's side is much more convenient than before. From Lishi's side, you can go south to Chang'an City and other places. Therefore, this winter, many people from the Guannei Road drove donkeys and horses, and transported a lot of them. Come to them to sell things like dried meat.

The price of that poor horse is much more expensive than that of a donkey. Luo Yong’s disciples were not very willing to buy it until they received Luo Yong’s letter. They pooled their money and bought twenty rough horses.

Equip these poor horses with carts for pulling goods, and then load them with the stocks in various shops, as well as the recent production of the Eucommia glue workshop, and purchase some goods locally, and then go to Chang'an City without stopping...

At this time in the early Tang Dynasty, the only city in Chang'an that had no curfew during the year was the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth days of the first lunar month, the three days before and after the Lantern Festival.

On the morning of the 12th day of the first lunar month in the [-]th year of Zhenguan, many people in the city were excitedly preparing for tonight's lantern viewing activity.

"Send a cake! Lishi Luo Sanlang send a cake!"

"Nanbei Grocery is open tonight! If you spend more than 38 Wen in one purchase, you will get a small cake for free!"

At around ten o'clock in the morning, some teenagers shouted in various workshops in Chang'an. They were seen in groups of three or four, holding stacks of papers in their hands, and handing out one to everyone.

Some curious people went over to take a look at it, and the first thing that caught their eyes was the big words "North and South groceries, grand opening".

Looking further down, there is another small text: "Three days before the opening, all customers who enter the store for shopping, no matter how much they buy or how little they buy, will have a chance to draw a prize. The contents of the prize include: Eucommia gum produced by Heng's Car Manufacturing The wheels are equipped with one Yanerfei, ten large gift bags of groceries from the north and the south, fifty Yanerfei bamboo chains...a paring knife...tofu..."

Further down, there are several rows of large characters printed with red dye: "On the 38th night of the first lunar month, the first day of Nanbei Grocery's opening, any one-time purchase of more than [-] Wen will give a small cake for free. The quantity is limited, first come first served .”

"What's written? What's written on it?" Many people couldn't read, so they had no choice but to chase after those who could. Fortunately, there are quite a few literate people in Chang'an City.

"That is to say..." Some enthusiastic ones would read the contents of this leaflet to them from beginning to end.

"38 renminbi, tsk tsk." Some people clicked their tongues when they heard the request of 38 renminbi, which is how much ordinary people earn in a month.

"The lucky draw above, no matter how much you buy, you can draw." You said humanely.

"I see that the things they have specified can't be cheaper."

"Not necessarily."

"Aunt sister's restaurant, there are expensive and cheap ones."

"Do you see what is printed on the back?"

Everyone turned over to look at the other side, and saw some small patterns printed on it in various colors. At first glance, it was because it was a print, but if you look closely, you will find that those patterns are actually engraved with the patterns of some commodities sold by North and South Grocery. And the price tag.

"Yan'erfei costs [-] cents a car, hey, I can't afford it."

"Their Yanerfei is made of eucommia rubber wheels, which are waterproof and can be walked in rainy days, and it is also smooth on the road. It is much more comfortable than wooden wheels and does not bump."

"How do you know?"

"According to the merchants who came over from Lishi, they just saw it once, and they couldn't buy it even if they wanted to buy it before. This time, it started selling in North and South Groceries."

"Look, there are also tofu sellers, and they cost two yuan for one penny."

"It's not expensive. The sister's shop also has a big piece of tofu. The one sold by Luo Sanlang should not be bad."

"There are also jujube bean cakes, which cost two cents a piece."

"Brine is also available."

"What is this bread?"

"I don't know."

"Why don't you go and have a look tonight, or buy some brine snacks to eat."

"You can still win prizes."

"Let's check out together, maybe we can get a cake."

"If this is the case, I'm afraid you can only touch the prize once."

"This is..."

After finally waiting until dusk, many people who lived near Fenglefang went to the grocery store of Luo Sanlang's house to watch the excitement.

Luo Yong and the others invited the lion dance team today, and when the closed door drum sounded, the two lions danced more vigorously.

In the open space in front of the main entrance of Nanbei Grocery Store, there is a round pile of prizes like hills. The Yanerfei with Eucommia rubber wheels is placed at the highest point in the middle, supported by a wooden frame, and there are many prizes beside it. There are many other prizes, large and small.

After the closed door drum has finished beating, the past is the time when the door of the square is locked, but this day announces the beginning of the night entertainment life.

The doors of the North-South grocery store were wide open, and many people entered the store one after another with the mentality of watching the excitement.

After entering the gate, there is a small door five or six feet wide, on which is pasted a red paper with the word "Entrance" written on it. On the left side of the small door, there are many stacked baskets for storing things. , and on the right is a row of counters of the same size, roughly where the checkout takes place.

After entering the shop, the first thing that greets you is the smell of brine, and then you can see that there are not only brine, but also cold dishes, soy products, various meatballs, and various desserts... At a glance, it is full of All kinds of food.

When many people see so much food, they feel a little helpless. They want to eat this, and they want to eat that.

The most lingering thing among them is the dessert area. The cream cakes are really mouth-watering, but it is too expensive. If you don’t need cream and only buy cake embryos, it will be much cheaper. There is a kind of food called bread. I don’t know what it is. No one has eaten it before. The price is much cheaper than cakes. There are various flavors, including cheese, salted egg, and sliced ​​meat. There is a price tag on all of them. The cheapest one can buy two for a penny, and the expensive ones can be bought for a dozen or so.

"Trouble, help me get this, and this, and this too." A few people over there were still hesitating, but someone on this side had already made their move.

On weekdays, it is not easy to go to Auntie's restaurant to eat a cake, but now that it is open for sale, many people who like to eat cakes naturally come to buy it.

The person in charge of selling the cakes today is also a disciple of Luo Yong, one of the elders, the five big and the three rough, who treat the food with care.

I saw him holding a clip in his hand, helping the customer to remove things from the shelf one by one. One piece of bread was wrapped in oiled paper, and the other two cakes were specially packaged from the cabinet for two cakes. The thickened paper they bought was carefully cut out according to their master’s instructions. At this time, just put the cake in the middle, fold a few paper leaves, and make a hole on the top, and a cake will be wrapped Yes, it fits perfectly, and there is even a handle on it.

One loaf and two cakes were wrapped, and then a pink note was taken from the side to write the price.

This piece of paper is also a bit strange in length, about one inch wide and two inches long.The cake seller picked up a goose feather pen from the counter and wrote the price on the note.

"This cheese and salted egg bread costs two yuan. These two small cakes, one is nine yuan and the other is fifteen yuan. The total is 26 yuan. When you go out later, you can pay the bill at the counter outside. Well, take this note and don't lose it."

"I also want a salted egg cheese bread." At this time, a customer who had been watching for a while also said.

The salted egg cheese bread looks delicious. It only costs two cents, and the price is not expensive. It is not stressful to eat it once in a while.

"Please bring me a cake, I want this kind of cake." There are also some people who deliberate and finally decide to buy a cake. On a day like today, it is only once a year. They have to buy it anyway, so it is better to spend a few more money Money, buy a cake for the children in the family to try something new.

"Okay." Luo finished wrapping the bread in front with that disciple, and quickly came over to get him the cake, took it off the shelf, and then wrapped it in a cardboard box just like before. I asked one more question: "How many people eat? Do you need to put two more forks?"

"Yes." The man who bought the cake rubbed his hands cautiously.

"Okay." The man who bought the cake smiled, and sure enough, he put two more forks in it, and then took a note and wrote the price on it and handed it to him.

The man took the cake, looked left and right, and found that there were already a lot of people in the shop at this time. He was afraid that someone would squeeze the cake in his arms, so he didn't dare to stay inside, so he hurried to the checkout counter outside.

The counters at the door were already occupied by this time, and there were queues in twos and threes. The man didn't quite understand how they collected the money, so he stood in line and looked ahead.

The man in charge of collecting the money took the basket from the customer in front of him, checked it against several different colors, and probably confirmed that it was correct, then calculated the total price, and then said: "Total It's 41 Wen."

The customer took out a string of money from his pocket, counted 41 cash and settled the bill. After paying the bill, the man who collected the money took out a small cake wrapped in a cardboard box from under the counter: "Shopping over 38 cash, this It's a gift cake."

"En." The young man nodded, took the cake, and called the servant who had been waiting at the door to come over and help him get things.

At the counter, the man in charge of the checkout stuffed the colored paper slips he had just received into several different boxes one by one according to different colors.

"Just a cake, give me the note." After distributing the note, he continued to receive the next customer.

"Oh."

"A total of nine coins."

"Hey."

"Go out this way, there is a lottery outside."

"Hey."

The man paid the money, carried a small cake, and walked out of the shop happily. He felt that he had learned a lot today. Such a big shop and so many foods were things he had never seen before. The people here are also very nice, and they don't dislike him for his shabby clothes.

"Look for the prize! Get the prize! Let's see who can touch Yan'er Fei!"

After paying the bill, I walked along a path surrounded by short piles and ribbons, and walked to the lottery place naturally. I saw a young man in his 20s with a turban on his head, shouting and talking. Arrange them to draw prizes for customers who come out of the shop.

"Come and see how your luck is tonight."

"Yo, it's a paring knife. A paring knife is good. A paring knife is better than tofu."

"Ha ha ha ha."

"See what this guest has touched? Let me see..."

"null!"

"Hahahahaha!"

"I'm not feeling very lucky today. It's okay. We have lucky draws on the [-]th, [-]th, and [-]th days. I can't figure it out today and come back tomorrow."

"Back behind!"

"What is this?"

"North and South groceries spree!!!"

"Look, everyone! The first big gift bag has come out tonight!"

"Wow!"

"Hold it well, this basket is a bit heavy, and it's all food that can be eaten right away. Oh, you're lucky!"

"..."

When it was the man's turn to buy cakes, he was quite nervous. His wife and a few children were waiting for him outside, and they all came over at this time. What about gift bags?

"Let me see what you touched?"

"Yo, another paring knife."

"Don't be disgusted, this paring knife is also good. Just now, quite a few people have touched 'empty', and there are also those who have touched tofu. You are better than them."

"Just a paring knife." The man grinned, holding the cake in one hand and the paring knife in the other, walking up to his wife.

"The paring knife is very good. I heard that in their shop, a paring knife costs four yuan." said his wife.

"I don't know." The man said with a naive smile, "I just finished buying the cakes, and there are more people there. I'm afraid the cakes will be crowded, so I hurried out."

"How much is this cake?" asked his wife.

"Nine coins." The man said.

"Good luck, let us touch a paring knife again." His wife smiled, and she must feel distressed just to say that a small cake costs nine cents. However, the financial situation in their family has improved slightly recently. It's rare to eat this time, so I don't say anything, besides, there is a paring knife.

"Aye, I want to eat cake." The youngest girl in the family said at this moment, pulling at the hem of Aye's clothes.

"Okay, let's eat cake." The man said happily.

The couple led the family's three children, big and small, all the way out of Fenglefang, and sat down under a big tree by the canal on the west side of Zhuque Street.

Every year during the Lantern Festival, this Suzaku Street is very lively, especially in the area near Suzaku Gate, where there is a lot of people coming and going. The annual lantern activities are mainly in this area, on the big tree beside them , There are also several large colorful lanterns hanging.

The family of five sat down under the big tree, and then the man carefully opened the cardboard box in his hand, and placed a palm-sized cake in front of his children.

Under normal circumstances, a small cake is only equipped with one fork. The man who sold the cake just asked him and gave him two more forks. At this time, there are three bamboo forks, and each of his three children has one. just.

"Eat." The man said with a smile as he divided the three forks into the hands of his children.

"Won't Ye Niang eat?" the oldest daughter asked.

"Ye Niang doesn't want to eat it, you can eat it." Their mother also said.

"Aniang, this cake is so delicious!" The youngest girl carefully scooped a little cream with a fork and put it in her mouth, smacked her lips after eating, and turned to her Auntie and said.

"Is it delicious? Next year's Lantern Festival, ask Aye to buy it for you again." A Niang reached out and touched the soft hair on the little daughter's head, and said.

"Auntie, you can eat too."

"Ah."

"Is it delicious?"

"good to eat."

"Aye, you eat too."

"You eat what you eat."

"Aye, this cake is delicious."

A family of five eats a cake together, which is also very enjoyable. From time to time, people who come out to enjoy the lanterns pass by, and some children run over with lanterns, laughing, young men and women in twos and threes...