I'm watching the gate in the jail

Cases like theft are never prosecuted by the people and not investigated by the officials.

The riot lasted until midnight yesterday, and the eunuch couldn't see any results, so he had no choice but to calm down and let the shopkeeper go.I packed up my bags early this morning, and it is said that I left before dawn.

According to Yang Xiuxian's speculation, he should have gone back to the barracks.

Since this morning, many spectators have come to the room where the fat eunuch used to live.

They pointed and commented on the plum blossom on the wall of the room, and even many people who were not staying in the hotel came in to look at it.

"That's the 'Big Flower Picker', the one that Xu Xiaoqi mentioned in the capital yamen before. Do you still remember?"

In the back kitchen of the hotel, Beizhen Fusi's undercover squad, including Yang Xiuxian, were stationed here, chatting, helping Wanda and making snacks.

Wanda directs Gao Hui to knead the dough with one hand, and directs Yang Xiuxian to beat the eggs with the other hand.Anyway, these two people have a lot of strength, so it's not in vain.

Turning his head, Wanda saw Qiu Zijin was like a little squirrel, eating squirrels, his mouth full of cake crumbs, wishing he could bury his whole body in those fragrant and sweet cakes.

"Xiaoqiu, it's time for lunch, can you still eat?"

Wanda stretched the dough into a long strip, made a circle again, made it into the shape of a butterfly, and fried it in the oil pan.

He was very worried whether the school bully would get hurt.

Is it considered a "work-related injury" if I get injured on a business trip?

"Don't worry. My stomach for snacks and my stomach for meals are separate."

Qiu Zijin rubbed his stomach, shook his head, picked up the teacup on the table, moistened his throat, and continued to eat shortbread.

The shopkeeper of this hotel took their money and handled things very quickly.

Early this morning, I arranged for the staff to prepare all the ingredients for making dim sum, and respectfully invited Wanda into the back kitchen.

Because the two ordered dry dim sum that had been stored for a relatively long time, dim sum such as multicolored buns and various steamed cakes did not meet the requirements, so there was no need for a steamer to appear.

And because there is no such professional equipment as an oven in this small port shop, this time the dim sum can only be produced by frying or baking in an iron pan.

Wanda looked at the room full of eggs, sugar, candied fruit and flour today, thought for a long time, and finally opened the menu.

Wanda studied Chinese food in its "previous life". Although it has dabbled in western pastry, it is not its strong point.The most important thing is that there is no ready-made butter, cream and cheese here, making it impossible for him to make pastries.

Fortunately, he has also learned "Chinese Baian" - that is, Chinese dim sum.And the test scores are pretty good.

Among the white cases, all kinds of pasta such as noodles, steamed buns, and flower rolls are called "big cases".In addition, all kinds of banquet snacks, salty and sweet snacks are called "small cases".

The next thing to do is the "small case" snacks.

The man said that desserts are for women and children, they should be sweet and beautiful.According to this idea, the route of delicate and delicious refreshment and palace pastry is taken.

Wanda decided to make shortbread pastries, fried cakes and a small amount of baked pastries.

In terms of taste, Wanda decided to go north and south together. For the dim sum in the north, we chose Shaqima brought by the Qing Dynasty bannermen after they entered the customs. People in the Ming Dynasty probably haven’t seen this stuff yet, and it should feel very fresh.

In addition, there is Jiangmi candy, which everyone likes to eat during the Chinese New Year. Flour noodles are fried and coated with a layer of white frosting.

Both of these are sweet, as long as they are fried and cooled, the operation is simple and convenient, and they can withstand long-term storage, not easy to deteriorate, and they are ready soon.

In the south, the pastries represented by Yangzhou refreshments are naturally the most popular ones. This is also the main direction Wanda uses to show off its skills.

This kind of dim sum is different from the desserts that came from foreign countries and the West 600 years later. It can be said that it is a Chinese artistic collision of lard and flour, representing the height of Chinese food imagination.

To make puff pastry, the most important thing is the ratio of water-oil dough and dry puff pastry.The most important thing is to test the mixing and kneading of water, lard, shortening and flour.

In order to cater to the child's favorite taste, and to be worthy of the price of the two ingots, Wanda spared no effort to add milk, eggs and a lot of sugar to it.

In the previous hour, Wanda had already had a profound experience of how terrifying the Ming Dynasty people's pursuit of sugar was.

Just look at the pile of "failed products" that Qiu Zijin is holding. There are Shaqima made by him, some eyebrow sorrel, and sesame crisps. Except that he has not made dim sum for a long time, some of the finished products are not very good-looking and were eliminated. In addition, the main reason is - not sweet enough!

"Isn't it sweet enough? I put all the candy in it, it's a lethal dose!"

Wanda pointed at Jiangmi Tiao and shouted loudly.

Is this still rice noodles?This is white sugar wrapped in flour and fried in a pan!

"It's really not sweet enough!"

Not only Qiu Zijin, but also Yang Xiuxian and Gao Hui said so.

The shopkeeper of the hotel listened outside, and walked into the kitchen curiously, picked up a piece of snack and put it in his mouth.

"Fragrant enough, crispy enough, but not sweet enough."

The boss shook his head, shaking off Wanda's last insistence.

There is no way, Wanda can only surrender to this group of ancient people with heavy taste.

It is said that when Wanda first came to this era, the family was so poor that they couldn’t get rid of it, so they could only go to the group camp to get a meal, so naturally they couldn’t eat any good snacks.

After he went to work in a restaurant, his money gradually became more abundant. He once curiously bought a sugar dumpling from a pastry shop on Bazhou Street.

At that time, I was so sweet that I shed tears of fear.I couldn't help thinking of the only experience of being sweetly cried in my "last life".

In the "previous life" Wanda had a classmate in the same dormitory. He went to Kyoto, Japan for a holiday, and when he came back, he brought a box of exquisite and beautiful Japanese wagashi.

Amidst the astonishing admiration of the crowd, this guy opened the exquisite snack package, and invited Wanda and other classmates with a sinister smile to "share the good taste of Japan together."

Everyone picked up the snacks and took a bite...

Wanda immediately understood why this guy was smiling so maliciously just now—this stuff is so sweet that it can squeeze the brain out of the mouth.

Afterwards, everyone drank at least two cups of black coffee each, finally diluting the sweet taste in their mouths. In the end, the whole dormitory didn't sleep all night, so they had to collectively drink black coffee.The next day, I was named and criticized by the old class, and I had to write a review.

The sweetness of this bright sugar dumpling is even worse than that of Japanese wagashi.

Since then, Wanda has never touched the dim sum of the Ming Dynasty.

Even if Wan Zhen'er insisted on letting him taste the dim sum in the palace every time he entered the palace, he was still grateful.

At the time, Wanda thought that the people of Bazhou had strong tastes, but only now did they realize that they were completely wrong.

It's not Bazhou, it's Quan Daming, and even the people of this era are crazy about sugar.

Well, in this era when basically even meat and eggs can only be obtained during the festivals, advocating a healthy life of reducing sugar and salt is simply synonymous with "why not eat minced meat".

Snacks, preserves, and candies are all luxuries in this era.High sugar and high oil content are exclusive to the rich and dignified.

Eating dim sum is leisure, and leisure is synonymous with money and leisure.

Even monks and nuns with the mildest taste are addicted to sweets when they eat snacks.Bitter tea with dessert can stimulate the nerves, and keep people awake during meditation.

In this day and age, there is no such thing as a low-sugar snack.

"Add more sugar, more sugar..."

Gritting her teeth, Wanda sprinkled a large amount of white sugar between the layers of pastry while spreading the pastry.

Qiu Zijin put down his teacup and turned to look at Yang Xiuxian curiously.

Early in the morning, Mr. Yang held an umbrella and went out to the market for a walk, and heard a lot of interesting news.

"My lord, isn't he the 'Flower Picker'? Why did the one upstairs just steal money and run away last night?"

Qiu Zijin's face suddenly changed, "Could it be...that eunuch was..."

Thinking of the middle-aged man with a face full of fat and putty from yesterday, Qiu Zijin suddenly felt that the pancakes in his hand were no longer delicious.

The taste of this "flower picker" is really terrible.

"This person commits crimes not only in one place, but he has appeared in Xunzhou Mansion, Guilin Mansion, and even Baoqing Mansion. A year ago, the sea arrest documents issued by the government have spread all over the Huguang area. But so far there is no trace of him. Nothing."

Yang Xiuxian has already gone to the gate of the government office to inquire.

Yang Xiuxian stretched out his index finger and pointed to the top of his head, "It is rumored that he not only steals things, but also steals 'people'. He doesn't care about men and women, young or old, and he doesn't care about meat or vegetables. Many victims are in a trance after being found by their families. , speaking incoherently. Not only did he not accuse him of crimes, but he also helped him escape the government's pursuit... Moreover, he has friends all over the rivers and lakes, and they eat both black and white. These people also protect him, so they can always avoid the government's pursuit Chase and flee."

"Roar……"

Wanda and Qiu Zijin frowned, and Gao Hui even forgot to knead the dough.

handsome man?

How handsome is it to make the victim speak for him?

"I won't talk about the small cases, but let's talk about a few big ones." Yang Xiuxian counted on his fingers, "The earliest case happened in the Xunzhou Prefecture. Gemstone made a bun and shaved off the little concubine's head when he left. Turned the beauty into a little nun."

"Wow……"

"When we arrived in Guilin Mansion, it was a rich local silk merchant who suffered the disaster this time. I don't know what method he used to evacuate his entire warehouse. Many of the silk in that warehouse were to be paid tribute to the capital. The tribute satin. Not only the silk merchants, but even the people in the yamen have been eaten up."

"drink……"

"Then there is Baoqing Mansion. The one who suffered was also a rich businessman. But this time it was very powerful. Not only did he rob the bank, but he also robbed a 60-year-old kitchen helper from the rich businessman's house. After two nights, that Somehow, the old woman appeared at the door of the rich businessman again. The family asked her where she had gone, whether she had seen the real face of the thief, and where the thief is now. The old lady just shook her head, and she didn’t know what to ask. If she asked again, she would cry, cry Everyone has no choice but to let it go... It is because of this that they have the title of 'Big Flower Picker'."

After Yang Xiuxian finished speaking, he also felt happy.

A 60-year-old lady... this thief is probably too meaty and vegetarian.

Everyone was tsk-tsk endlessly, no wonder they all said "the world is full of wonders".

"Because this man leaves a pattern of plum blossoms on the scene of the crime, on the wall, or on the paper every time he does something. That's why everyone calls him..."

Yang Xiuxian drew a "one" with his fingers.

"One cut plum."

Ok?

After hearing this, Wanda couldn't help laughing secretly.

One cut plum?

The snowflakes are fluttering, the one with the north wind blowing?

Oh, if this "Yijianmei" is really as handsome and fair as Yin Zheng, it seems that he won't suffer from being "picked" by him...

"In short, it is very likely that the eunuch who attacked the eunuch yesterday was 'Yijianmei'. Even if he was not, he was acting in the name of 'Yijianmei'. The money must have been stolen. But is he "human"? Well, only God knows."

Yang Xiuxian couldn't help but said.

The Ming Dynasty had a very strict management system for eunuchs. Eunuchs like this who left the barracks and went out privately would not do anything good.It must be considered unlucky for him to meet "Yijianmei" who specializes in stealing rich people.

Here they are chatting in full swing, the smell mixed with milk, fruit and cake, has drifted outside along the door of the kitchen, causing people to stop and look at the door from time to time.

"Shopkeeper, what are the kitchens doing? It's so sweet? Take it out and give us a taste."

Those who came were all the residents of the store yesterday and the neighbors nearby.If it wasn't for the pattering rain outside, the scent might have attracted everyone from the whole street.

"That's right, it's the first time I've smelled such a delicious pastry smell since I've grown up. Shopkeeper, have you hired a new pastry chef?"

"Aniang, it smells so good, I want to eat it."

A beautiful and lovely girl of different ethnicity with silver jewelry on her hair tugged at the corner of her mother's clothes and begged.

"Hey, hey, where, where."

The old shopkeeper stood at the door, bowing to everyone.

"The kitchen of the shop was borrowed by two men from the north. Someone ordered cakes and pastries from them, and they picked them up two days later. They are busy in the kitchen. That is not the cook of the shop, nor is it the shop. There's a cake business going on. Sorry, sorry."

Seeing everyone's disappointed expressions, the shopkeeper kept clasping his fists, "I'm sorry, it's not that I'm stingy, it's really not my business."

"It must be the young man who borrowed the kitchen last night."

A big man sat on the bench and patted his leg heavily, "I could smell the fragrance while sleeping in the bunk yesterday... Good guy, I woke up from hunger. Shopkeeper, I heard that this person also opened a shop." Son? Hey, I don’t know where he will open a store in the future. When he comes out, I must ask and try it if I have the opportunity. I said the shopkeeper, you should also hire a good cook. Your cook It’s completely incomparable with others.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

The shopkeeper laughed awkwardly, stepped aside, and let a group of people point and point at the kitchen.

"Do it today."

Wanda carefully put the finished snacks into the specially bought bamboo food boxes.

"I think it's going to rain heavily in the afternoon. I'm afraid that the humidity will be too high, which will affect the taste. I'll make some more tomorrow when the sun clears. It will be enough to make up a box."

Cooking should also pay attention to the right time, place and people.

Confucius also said - do not eat without cooking, and do not eat from time to time.

This is the Chinese attitude towards food and nature, as well as a philosophy of life.

"Guru..."

A blind old man sat on the threshold, listening to the discussions of the people around him, trying hard to sniff the intoxicating sweet smell in the air, and swallowed hard.

"One...cut...plum..."

Looking at the five-pointed plum petals painted on the wall, Wanda clenched her fists and roared loudly, "You're sick! You even steal snacks! You don't want snacks!"

After such a short time, they put the snack box upstairs in the shade, then turned and went down to have lunch.

When I came back, I saw that all the snacks and boxes were gone.

On the top of the wall, that blood-red plum blossom mark is simply a mockery of this group of Jin Yiwei——Is Beizhen Fusi very good?I will still show it to you secretly!

After hearing the news, the shopkeeper first and Xiaoer ran over immediately, and saw that plum blossoms were painted on the wall of another guest room, and they wanted to cry without tears.

A good inn is turned into a den of thieves by "Yijianmei".They were stolen twice in two days, who would dare to stay in their hotel in the future!

After seeing off the shopkeeper, Wanda and the others faced the plum blossoms on the wall and discussed what to do next.

"Piss me off, piss me off!"

Not only Wanda, Qiu Zijin was also furious.

"There are so many cakes, eyebrows, sesame cakes, swan cakes, red bean cakes, and glutinous rice noodles and those who kill horses...all are gone, all are gone..."

Huh, I haven't tasted many of them yet, but they were stolen by the "Big Flower Picker".

Tanhualang was so angry that he wanted to eat people.

"What should I do? Do you want to report to the police?"

Gao Hui looked at Qiu Zijin who was circling around the room angrily, and looked at Yang Xiuxian in embarrassment.

"What did the reporter say? He said he lost a box of snacks? Yesterday, the eunuch lost 50 liang of eyes. Have you reported it to the official?"

Yang Xiuxian crossed his hands behind his back, and his head was full of question marks—didn't he say that "Yijianmei" was "picking flowers" and stealing money?Why doesn't he even spare snacks?

Is this still "no taboo for meat and vegetables"?

This is all "no taboo"!

"Besides, we are visiting privately on Weibo. If we report to the official, wouldn't we expose our identity? We can only admit that we have suffered a disadvantage."

Yang Xiuxian shook his head helplessly.

From entering the Jinyiwei Yamen in his teens to now, he has traveled a lot from all over the world.These hands do not know how many people's blood was stained.These eyes have seen countless lives and deaths in darkness.

Who would have thought that there would be a day when the officials of Beizhen Fusi, the emperor's eagle dogs, and the ruthless characters that everyone feared would have such a day?

"This can only show one thing - that 'Yijianmei' is really too courageous. After he stole the eunuch's money yesterday, he didn't run away immediately, but continued to stay here. It may even be... In this restaurant, I have never left."

Yang Xiuxian analyzed.

"Could it be..."

Wanda gasped when she heard the words, "This person not only saw the eunuch's identity, but also our identity? He knows we are Jin Yiwei. So - stealing snacks is fake, in fact, he wants to give A warning for us?"

The crowd fell silent.

If that's the case, then things are tricky.

Their goal is the Xunzhou Prefecture, and their identities have been found out before they even arrive in Guilin. How can they secretly investigate people's sentiments next?

His majesty's order is still in my ears, is it already a bad start?

The key is, where did the show show its feet...

Did this "Yijianmei" discover their flaws after they got off the ship, or..."Yijianmei" was actually on the passenger ship they came from, and followed them all the way from the capital?

If it is really as they speculated, this "Yijianmei" is not an ordinary person from the rivers and lakes.

There must be an organization behind him.

An organization that may challenge the imperial power.

"catch him."

Yang Xiuxian rested his right hand on his chin, frowned slightly, and said quietly.

"Catch who?"

Wanda and Qiu Zijin looked at each other, "Is it 'One Cut Plum'?"

"Correct."

Nodding slightly, Yang Xiuxian showed a cold smile.

"However, both Huguang and Guangxi have arrested him for a year, and he is still at large, isn't he?"

Qiu Zijin asked cautiously.

"That's because he didn't meet Jin Yiwei. He didn't see Beizhen Fusi's methods."

Yang Xiuxian sneered,

"It doesn't matter how much he knows. Catch him, and..."

He turned his head and raised his eyebrows at Gaohui.

"My subordinate understands."

Gao Hui replied with a cold face and lowered his head.

Wanda and Qiu Zijin didn't say a word, they both had a sense of crisis that was about to come.

Early the next morning, the shopkeeper just came downstairs, ready to open the door to welcome customers.I saw a bamboo strip food box, which was placed upright on a table of the Eight Immortals in the center of the hotel lobby.

The surrounding doors and windows are closed, and no one has come in or out yet. I don't know how the food box was brought in, and how did that person leave?

When Wanda and the others went downstairs after hearing the news, they saw this familiar food box.

"Yijianmei" returned the dim sum to them?

He walked to the table, took a deep breath, and opened the lid of the food box.

There wasn't a piece of pastry left, but there was a piece of paper folded into a square lying on the bottom layer.

What's this?Warning letter?

Yang Xiuxian knew very well that people's hearts are sinister, and he was afraid that Wanda would be caught.

He pulled him behind him, stepped forward, held his breath, and slowly opened the note.

Yang Xiuxian's eyelids twitched when he saw the message on the note and the imprint of the arrogant red plum blossom in the lower left corner.

"What did you write? Tell me!"

Both Wanda and Qiu Zijin were anxious to death.

Could it be that this person really saw their identities, and if he didn't listen to him, he was going to hit them hard?

"See for yourself..."

Yang Xiuxian put the opened note into Wanda's hand.

Wanda lowered her head suspiciously, and saw the crooked three words on the note:

No, enough, sweet.

I don't know how the "one cut plum" was drawn for the plum blossom at the signature place.It's obviously just five ordinary red dots plus a black branch, but it actually draws a strong sense of irony.At first glance, it looks like a clown making faces.

To paraphrase a catchphrase in later generations - not very lethal, but extremely insulting.

"..."

Qiu Zijin was standing right behind Wanda, so he naturally saw it.

He touched his nose and said in a low voice, "Actually, I also think it can be sweeter..."

It's just that I got a little impatient when I saw you yesterday, my lord, and I didn't dare to mention it again...

"'One Cut Plum'..."

Angrily, Wanda rolled the note into a ball, threw it on the ground, and stepped heavily on it.

"I am at odds with you!"

Outside the window, raindrops slammed on the oil-paper umbrellas that were blooming one after another, and people on the road were in a hurry, each rushing to make a living.

Outside the city gate, in the corner of a dilapidated house that no one noticed, the blind white-haired old man took out a piece of cake from his arms, squinted his eyes and put it in his mouth.

"It smells so good..."

Beside him, a dirty little beggar swallowed, walked up to the old blind man and squatted down.

"Grandpa, can I have a piece?"

The little beggar opened his eyes wide and asked.

The old man didn't speak, just took out another oil-paper bag from his arms and handed it to the little beggar.

"Wow, there are so many delicious pastries. Come and eat."

The little beggar opened the oiled paper bag and found that there were seven or eight pieces of exquisite snacks that he had never seen before, and immediately called the other children around him to come over.

The children gathered around in the rain, and grabbed the snacks wrapped in oiled paper.

"Little brother, what is this?"

A little girl was eating a pastry and asked curiously, pointing to the red plum blossom on the oil paper at the bottom.

"I know, this is the sign of 'The Righteous Thief Yijian'!"

Another little beggar bowed his head and pointed at the plum blossoms.

"The old beggar in the east of the city was dying of illness. He had no money to buy medicine. When he woke up one morning, he found a piece of broken silver in the begging bowl. On the paper wrapped with silver, there was this plum blossom sign."

"'Yijianmei' is a good man. He is a hero who robs the rich and helps the poor!"

"It turned out that 'Yijianmei' invited us to eat snacks."

The children seemed to understand, and chattered.

"Grandpa... Huh? Where's the person?"

The earliest little beggar turned his head while holding the oiled paper with plum blossoms on it, only to see that the corner of the wall was empty, only the rainwater kept pouring down from the broken eaves.

Where else can you see a blind old man?

"What should I do? What else can I do? I can only do it again. Hey..."

In the back kitchen of the hotel, Wanda raised her head with her waist thrust up, and commanded Gao Hui to meet again.

"Shopkeeper, remember to make it sweeter."

Qiu Zijin said cautiously.

"Got it, I'm so annoying!"

Wanda kicked him angrily.

Yang Xiuxian cracked the eggs in the bowl and kept shaking his head.

An unremarkable man with a public face and an umbrella walked across the bluestone road outside the restaurant, smelling the seductive fragrance coming out of the restaurant again, and lowered his head with a smile.