The Legend of the Long Room in the Red Mansion

Suddenly receiving a notice from His Majesty the Emperor to lead a team out of the palace, all the women, big and small, were surprised, puzzled, and flustered.

Sister Feng took out her old clothes—not of the concubine’s grade—and hastily dressed herself and her daughter up; Mrs. Xing’s clothes didn’t need to be changed, anyway, she didn’t have palace clothes; but since Yingchun and Daiyu entered the palace In the palace, the clothes and accessories were all purchased by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It was difficult to find the clothes of the common people at the moment, so I had no choice but to match a few ordinary clothes indiscriminately. The hairpins are only decorated with small decorations such as white bead flower hairpins and laurel side hairpins, and a pair of ordinary dripping jadeite earrings are hung on the earlobes before going out.

Ning Shan had said earlier that she could only bring female guards with her when she went out, so the maids reluctantly dragged the female guards to remind their masters of precautions, and the masters blushed slightly with excitement, hoping to leave the palace soon, because Sister Feng Sister Heqiao has no female guards, so Ping'er and Sister Qiao's nanny still needs to follow. In addition, a female guard in her early twenties named Changpu was borrowed from Yingchun. She used to be a small leader of the hidden guards. Later, she didn't want to go back to her hometown, so she combed herself and stayed in the palace as a female official to protect the eldest princess.

Yingchun was followed by Mufa and Shaoyao, and a female rider Xin Yi; Daiyu was accompanied by Xuncao; Xichun wanted to wear Jia Cong's men's clothes, but Ning Shan was so upset that she had to agree, so Xichun He and Jia Cong were allotted a young eunuch capable of martial arts, Qingfeng and Qingyun, all of whom were specially trained by the Minister of Internal Affairs in the palace.

Jia Shen ran out in a hurry, regardless of being beaten into the eye sockets of a bamboo bear in Sichuan by Jia Jing, he wanted to leave the palace while jumping around.Mrs. Xing wiped him with a powder box for a long time, but she couldn't hide it. In the end, Qiu Shi'an cleverly found a pair of western tea eyes, and at least they covered them.Qiu Shi'an also accompanied him. Although he was an eunuch, he had a lot of experience in pretending to be an ordinary person. Moreover, he was getting older, and his voice was not as shrill as the young eunuch's, which made people suspicious, but a fake beard would do.

So it was agreed that Jia She is the master, Mrs. Xing is the wife, Ning Shan is the uncle, Jia Cong is the third master, Xichun insists on surpassing Jia Cong as the second master, Yingchun is the eldest girl, Daiyu is the second girl, and sister Qiao is still the elder sister. The little girl was held by the nanny and dared not let go.Sister Feng took the initiative to ask Ping'er and Changpu to act as handmaids, mainly because Xichun became the second master, and she was too eye-catching as the second mistress.Qiu Shi'an brought the female guards and eunuchs, who were naturally housekeepers and maids, and a dozen or so imperial guards who pretended to be guards accompanied him.Although Ning Shan is proud of her martial arts, she still won't do the stupid things of Bailongyu Fu, especially when she has a lot of burdens around her.

A group of people went out, saying they were visiting relatives, and using Madam Xing's natal family as an excuse, Madam Xing naturally went back to her natal family to show off. No comment on this.The rest of the grandmothers and girls would be very happy as long as they could go out of the palace to play, and they all expressed their willingness to be obedient.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs sent a bag of broken silver, wishing the masters a happy time.The guards of Shenwumen inspected the waist badge symbolically, and let them go without even counting the number of people.

When I left the imperial city for a while, it was the time when the sun was high, and the traffickers and pawns everywhere were busy, it was quite lively, and it was a scene of peace and prosperity.Jia Amnesty was squatting in the carriage, with a look of pride and "proud" written all over his body.

Ning Shan rode the horse in the lead, while Qingfeng Qingyun led Xichun's and Jia Cong's ponies on both sides.Mrs. Xing also wanted to look out the window, but Jia She was too crowded to stick her head out, so she could only stare at him from behind.

Yingchun and Daiyu lead sister Qiao to sit in the second carriage, and Xin Yi is driving the carriage. The girl's family is virtuous and chaste, she only slightly lifted the corner of the curtain to peep around secretly, but no matter what, they couldn't be seen outside.

In the third carriage, Sister Feng led Ping'er and some female guards, and Changpu was driving, only the chattering and chattering could be heard in the carriage behind, not to mention how lively it was.After a while, even Jia Amnesty heard the voice, and angrily asked Qiu Shi'an to calm them down.

After exiting Zhuque Street, the main traffic artery in front of the imperial city, Ning Shan reined in his horse and stopped in place, asking Jia She, "Where do you want to go?"

Jia She replied in seconds: "Ningrong Street, Grand View Garden."

Ning Shan was silent for a while, trying to reason: "Actually, I haven't had breakfast yet."

Jia She rubbed his belly and expressed his agreement: "Let's go to have breakfast first. Let's go, Dad will take you out of the restaurant. Qiu Shi'an, go to the south, no, go to the north, good team... Uh, no, sir. Say that the restaurants are all there." Ning Shan glared at him, how much does this guy know about Jingzhong Hualou?

Since ancient times, in the capital, the east is rich, the west is rich, the north is poor, and the south is humble, and the class division is extremely strict.

Officials mostly live in Dongcheng, and Ningrong Street used to be one of the bustling areas in Dongcheng;

Most of the west city is occupied by imperial merchants and big merchants. Salt merchants have shops here, but they generally don’t like to live in the west city, but sharpen their heads and move closer to the east city;

Most of the people in Beicheng are poor people. Naturally, they don’t have much money, but they are still good people. There are also many small businesses and hawkers in this area, and there are also many restaurants. Although they are not as exquisite and rich as the big restaurants, the taste is quite good;

There are many well-known opera troupes and flower houses in Nancheng, and there are also large restaurants where singers and storytellers gather, but beggars and hooligans are also everywhere. They belong to the low-end residential areas, and generally they can’t get along in Beicheng. Only those who came here, or the family members of officials who were convicted of crimes, were beaten here.

Jia She led the way to Xuanwu Street. This is the most famous street in the North District. Good things are sold here. By analogy, we can know that the most famous street in the East District is called Qinglong Street, and the West City is called Baihu Street. However, there is no Zhuque Street in the South City. , it is said that because they are not worthy to be listed as one of the four elephants, Suzaku Avenue became the name of the road in front of the imperial city where officials go to court.

After a while, the carriage arrived at a bustling street, and Jia She waved his hand: "Look, this is Xuanwu Street, I will leave the palace... er, and leave the house again, no matter whether it is eating or shopping, there is nothing wrong with coming here." wrong."

Ning Shan dismounted, threw the reins to the guards, and walked over on foot.Jia Cong and Xichun also hurriedly got off their horses and followed. Jia Amnesty threw Mrs. Xing on the cart and jumped off too, almost to the waist.Later, Sister Feng got out of the car and came to sit with Mrs. Xing. The female guards who acted as maids gathered around and followed the two cars, waiting for orders.The merchants on Xuanwu Street are all experienced in the world, and they knew that the people who came must be rich people after seeing the battle, and they yelled extremely hard, hoping to sell a few things.The rewards given by this kind of people are much more than what they get from doing business for a month.

Ning Shan also came to Xuanwu Street for the first time, and saw that the spacious street was lined with shops, cloth village pawnshops, restaurants and teahouses, and street stalls with fresh fruits and various gadgets. , couldn't help sighing: "If you can live such a prosperous and peaceful life in the world, you will live up to living in the temple once."

Jia She rubbed his waist and persuaded, "Don't think so far ahead, just look at the front, just look at the front."

However, Ning Shan took advantage of the opportunity to think that the emperors in the past loved private visits in micro-services. It turned out that there was some truth to it. After all, listening to the officials' praise of singing and dancing was not as good as seeing it with their own eyes.Thinking about it this way, he couldn't help saying: "What Dad said makes sense, if you find a chance, you should take a look around with your own eyes."

Although Jia Amnesty didn't know why, he could always tell that the eldest son was praising him, and he happily introduced him around, wishing to pour out all his knowledge, and he listed no fewer than ten breakfast restaurants.Jia Cong asked curiously: "Father, you didn't like to go out before, how do you know so much about this place?"

Jia She was a little disappointed, and sighed: "When my grandfather, your great-grandfather was still there, he loved to take me for a stroll here, saying that he wanted me to see the lives of ordinary people, so that I would not forget my roots, not be proud, and not be proud. Be the fool who says 'why not eat minced meat'."

Ning Shan interjected: "It's a pity that you have let down the old man's painstaking cultivation. After all, you have become a fool who is not much better than that 'why not eat minced meat'."

Jia Amnesty blushed, and pointed to a wonton shop on the side of the road to change the subject: "This wonton skin is thin and the filling is big, and the taste is strong. It is a well-known repeat shop on this street."

Xichun asked: "What is a 'turn back shop'?"

Jia She explained: "It's a store with a lot of repeat customers." By the way, he further explained: "Repeat customers are customers who come back after eating once. The more such customers, the more delicious this restaurant is."

Daiyu in the car pulled Yingchun and asked quietly: "I passed many places on the way to Beijing back then, and I always heard people say that the more people sitting in the store, the more prosperous the store is, but look at the wonton stall, there are obviously There is no one. But uncle... er, I mean... and this family is very famous, how do you count?"

As Yingchun put on her cone hat and was about to get off the car, she said, "What's the problem? Dad said it's a breakfast stall, but look at the time, I'm afraid I've already eaten what I should eat."

Daiyu nodded thoughtfully and said: "What you said makes sense. They are laborers, and they must get up earlier." Thinking about it this way, she can't help but sigh that she is still lucky. After losing her parents and property, she can still work hard. There are now leisurely days when you come to clothes and stretch out your hands to eat.

Xin Yi and Chang Pu helped the female relatives get out of the carriage, and looked at each other a lot. Sister Qiao was young, not yet old enough to avoid people.Mrs. Xing, on the other hand, is middle-aged and married again, so she doesn't have to cover her face when she goes out with her husband.Sister Feng, who is between the two, is naturally courageous, not as shy as a lady, and because she is pretending to be a maid today, she just shows up in public.Jia Amnesty was not very happy, and gave her a vicious look, but Ning Shan didn't argue, he never thought that the current etiquette restrains women so much.

There are mostly small tables outside the wonton stall. The boss saw such a big family, and put several tables together in a hurry. Qiu Shian took a step forward, wiped the tabletop with the handkerchief he brought, and served Jia She Ningshan Sit down, turn around and help Xichun and Jia Cong pull out the chairs.

Sister Feng followed suit and wiped the tables and chairs with a handkerchief. She invited Mrs. Xing to sit down and served Yingchun Daiyu, but she laughed and avoided them.Sister Feng took Ping'er with her, and the nanny hugged Sister Qiao, and sat at another small table, and the rest of the female guards sat down around the masters in twos and threes, raising their vigilance.

Jia Amnesty yelled, "Bring in the wontons according to the number of people, and ask for the warm ones in the bucket."

When the boss counted the number of people, he immediately burst into joy. He picked up a stack of large bowls and went straight to the big bucket in front of him. He arranged the bowls in a long line from shoulder to palm, scooped up the wonton soup with his right hand and poured it one by one without leaking. And there were no more or no less than eight wontons in each bowl, Xichun and Jia Cong watched without taking their eyes off, clapping their hands in applause.

The bowls were brought over, the first wave was only five bowls, Qiu Shi'an took it, and with his sleeve slightly stretched, an inch-long silver needle was silently poked into the bowl, and he waited for a moment, without any change of color, before offering it to Jia Shen with confidence.Jia Amnesty took it and wanted to push it to Ning Shan, but Ning Shan didn't want it, so he reached out to take the second bowl from his younger brother, Qiu Shi'an offered the third bowl to Mrs. Xing, and Mrs. Xing looked at it regretfully, only regretting that she should not have used it too early. For the meal, Yingchun also said that she and Daiyu had eaten it, but Xichun didn't care, and Jia Cong and Jia Cong were holding a big bowl, biting into wontons and eating them deliciously.Madam Xing was greedy after watching it, she couldn't help scooping up one and ate it, her mouth full of lingering fragrance, she persuaded Yingchun and Daiyu to try it too.Both of them tasted one and were full of praise.

Jia Amnesty held the big bowl, ate and sucked, half of the bowl went down in a blink of an eye, and when she looked at Ning Shan, she had finished eating.Facing the surprised gazes of the people at the table, Ning Shan rubbed her nose and said, "In the past, in the army, the military order did not wait for anyone. If there was something to eat, eat as soon as possible. I am used to it. You eat what you have, and don't look at me." It's fine to put on airs in the palace, but he doesn't want to play tricks when he's out of the palace.On the other hand, Jia She, who was always as delicate as a big girl who has never left the court, can eat so fiercely now, which shows that the wontons of this family really suit his appetite.

Jia She, who had a good appetite, finished eating, wiped his mouth, raised the bowl and called the boss: "One more bowl." Jia Cong hurriedly called out: "Father, can I have another bowl too?" Ning Shan saw it and told the boss directly : "Put five more bowls and put them on this table." The boss skillfully rushed to the bucket of wontons, and another wave came...

The wontons that day were delicious. The accompanying male and female guards could eat them but didn’t know how to carry them. After eating bowls of wontons, they shouted for more. The boss was so busy that he was sweating. No matter how fast they scooped up, they couldn't keep up with the eating speed of this group of people. In the end, they ate up the entire bucket of wontons.If so, several guards touched their bellies and said to each other: "Are you full?" "I think I can have another bowl." "Me too, let go of the amount and eat at least two more bowls."

At the end of the bill, the boss wanted to count the empty bowls, so Qiu Shi'an directly handed over a silver ingot, at least eight taels in weight: "You don't need to look for it, our master will reward you if you have more." The boss smiled happily, and asked if there was anything else he could do for him.Jia She slumped on the chair and hiccupped contentedly, and said in a drawn-out tone, "Tell me what's new recently."

The boss clapped his hands: "You're asking. We recently moved into a family of lunatics, and the old woman told everyone that her son was the emperor, and she should be the empress dowager. Isn't that ridiculous?"

"Hi'er..." The Supreme Emperor froze on the chair.

At this time, the voice of a half-grown boy came from the side: "Boss, here is a bowl of wontons."

Jia Cong turned his head abruptly and exclaimed: "Brother Huan!"