Lord of Puro

Chapter 716: Forget-Sorrow Mother

"I recognize the Forget-Your-Sorrow Lady on Tiewangang!"

Li Banfeng knew that his wife had fought in the Sui Wasteland, and Tiewangang was adjacent to the Sui Wasteland. His wife had recovered a lot of memories during this period, and perhaps she had contact with Wangyou Niang.

As expected, Li Banfeng guessed correctly. Not only did Wangyouniang have contact with the lady, but their friendship was quite close.

"When I was at war with Neizhou, Tiewangang went around collecting reinforcements to ensure that the front lines were not cut off from supplies. Just for this friendship, I should never forget her!"

Li Banfeng told the record player that Pan Dehai wanted to form an alliance with Wangyou Niang: "My dear, why don't you take this opportunity to go see Wangyou Niang."

The lady thought for a long time and said, "My husband, it's okay to take a look, but you know Pan Dehai's character. If Wangyou Niang doesn't want to form an alliance with him, what should we do?"

Li Banfeng said, "Don't worry, my lady. I won't force you to do this. If Wangyou Niang doesn't agree, I'll just take you to reminisce with your sisters."

The wife was filled with joy: "Then the little slave will wait for my husband in the main room."

Li Banfeng went to Tiewangang and wanted to find Wangyouniang. It was not a difficult task. She was different from other local gods. Wangyouniang did not hide in the dark. She lived in the open.

Tiewangang is a city, which is smaller than Lvshui City but slightly larger than Haichiling.

Haichiling is divided into three ridges. The first ridge is a city, the second ridge is a town, and the third ridge is a village.

Tiewan Post is divided into two posts, one is the outer city and the other is the inner city.

Li Banfeng arrived at a post and looked at his pocket watch. It was 12:30 pm, time for lunch.

He wanted to find a restaurant to eat. The main street in Yidagang was more than ten miles long, and there were more than a hundred restaurants of all sizes on the street.

With so many restaurants, are there so many customers coming to eat?

It’s true. Many big restaurants were full. Li Banfeng went to several of them but there were no seats available.

Judging from the occupancy of restaurants, Tiewangang has a large population and they live a fairly affluent life.

Li Banfeng entered the alley and found a small restaurant. The restaurant was quiet, with two rows of tables in a room of less than 20 square meters, but there was not a single customer.

"Are you still doing business?" Li Banfeng asked.

The shop owner was a man in his fifties. He sat behind the counter and stared at Li Banfeng for a moment: "Would you like to eat?"

"Ah."

The shopkeeper pulled up a chair and said, "Please sit down."

Li Banfeng sat down and waited for the menu.

The shopkeeper brought a bowl of stewed meat and a bowl of rice: "Eat as you like. If you think it tastes good, give me some. If it doesn't taste good, just pretend you haven't been here."

If it were someone else, they would be scared away. How can you do business like this?

Li Banfeng didn't ask much. He picked up a piece of meat, put it in his mouth and chewed it. The soup seeped into his mouth along the texture of the meat, and the rich aroma filled his mouth and nose.

The fat is smooth and fragrant, and the lean meat is firm. Li Banfeng chewed the meat for a long time and was reluctant to swallow it.

This guy is such a good cook.

Li Banfeng ate the whole bowl of stewed meat, mixed the broth into the rice and ate all the rice. After roughly weighing the price of the bowl of meat, Li Banfeng put down two bills.

He stood up to leave, but the shopkeeper stopped him and said, "Sir, please tell me, is this meat delicious?"

Li Banfeng nodded and said, "It's delicious."

"That's all," the shopkeeper stuffed the money into Li Banfeng's pocket, "I'm not going to do this business anymore. The shop will be closed tomorrow. This meal is for you. Please take care."

Li Banfeng frowned and asked, "Why don't you do business?"

The shopkeeper lowered his head to clean up the dishes: "Because I am not worthy of being a cook."

"You don't deserve it? Then who can deserve it?"

"Who is worthy of her depends on what Wangyou's mother says. Those who are worthy of her all live in Erdaogang," the shopkeeper put away the dishes and smiled at Li Banfeng.

"I have been doing business here for thirty years. Every time I go to see Wangyou Niang, I always bring this bowl of stewed meat. In these thirty years, I have gone there hundreds of times, and every time I try to do better, but every time she says the same thing: I am not worthy.

If I am not qualified to be a chef, why should I open a shop? This business has come to an end.”

"Does he look down on your home-cooked meals?"

"Who knows?" The shop owner put the dishes in the sink and sat behind the counter with an expressionless face.

Li Banfeng walked to the door of the store and turned back to ask the store owner: "What are your plans for the future?"

The shopkeeper shook his head and said, "There will be no future. I will die today."

Li Banfeng looked at the shop owner for a moment and it didn't sound like he was speaking in anger.

The shopkeeper said calmly, "What I just said was serious. If I really die, I will cook for my whole life and not even be considered a cook. Life is really boring."

Li Banfeng stopped at the door for a moment and asked, "Is there any more meat?"

The shopkeeper was startled: "Would you like some more?"

"Put it in a lunch box and take it to Erdaogang. I'll go with you. I want to ask Wangyou Niang who is qualified to be a cook."

The store owner thought Li Banfeng was crazy.

Li Banfeng went straight to the point: "Just treat me as crazy. You're going to die anyway, so you won't suffer any loss if you go out with a madman to relax."

The shopkeeper thought about it and it made sense. Both the soup and the meat were served in an iron bowl with a lid. He closed the lid tightly and followed Li Banfeng to Erdaogang.

While walking on the road, the two chatted, and Li Banfeng learned that the shop owner was called Yue Laotang. He had been in Yidaogang for most of his life and had never had the opportunity to do business in Erdaogang.

Tiewangang is the back three-point land. The territory is not special, but the people are special. People here are proud to be able to live in Erdaogang, and there are many people like him who stay in Yidaogang all their lives.

Erdaogang is slightly higher than Yidaogang and its area is much smaller than Yidaogang. However, in such a small place, there are more restaurants than in Yidaogang. On the entire street, except for a theater and two bookstores, the rest are restaurants.

But the quality of these restaurants is not high. There are only a few big restaurants, but a lot of small restaurants, and many of them push carts and sell things on the street.

Li Banfeng originally thought that Wangyou Niang looked down on the home-cooked meals in the small restaurant, but it seems that this is not the case.

Yue Laotang carried the iron bowl and came to Haiwan Street and entered Vudie Lane. This entire lane belonged to Wangyou Niang alone.

After entering the gate and arriving at the yard, the yard was not wide but quite long. From the gate to the house, it was estimated to be more than fifty meters.

The yard was full of people, each holding an iron bowl of exactly the same size and style. Yue Laotang introduced, "This bowl was sent by Wangyou Niang. These are all cooks from the first post, serving dishes to Wangyou Niang. As long as Wangyou Niang is satisfied with this dish, she can move to the second post to do business in the future."

Soon, more than a dozen people came out of the house and into the yard. There were men and women, old and young.

Yue Laotang recognized them: "These are all Wangyou Niang's disciples."

The disciples set up two rows of tables in the yard, and many cooks placed their own iron bowls on the tables.

Yue Laotang didn't dare to cut in line, and placed the iron bowl on the last table. A disciple shouted, "Open the bowl!"

A group of chefs opened their iron bowls one after another. Li Banfeng looked up and saw dumplings, noodle soup, roast chicken, glutinous rice balls, and one of them had a bowl of tofu pudding with marinade, sugar and chili oil on the side.

Yue Laotang snorted, "This tofu seller is too cunning. He asked Wangyou Niang to make the sauce herself. The taste will definitely be the same!"

"The stew is not the point." Li Banfeng stared at the bowl of tofu pudding for a long time. He didn't believe that a bowl of tofu could be better than stewed meat!
Not long after, Wangyou's mother came out of the house.

In Li Banfeng's impression, most food cultivators are plump. Xiaopang became that thin because of eating silkworms. The other food cultivators he knew were all of considerable size.

Unexpectedly, Wangyou's mother was an exception. She was not thin, but had a very well-proportioned figure. She looked to be in her thirties and was very pretty.

It's just that her clothes are a little tacky. She has a golden hairpin in her hair with two huge gold rings hanging on it. They jingle when she walks, as if she is deliberately telling others that the hairpin is very heavy.

Her face was covered with thick and greasy makeup, her eyebrows and eyes were deeply made-up, her lips were bright red, and she was wearing a green gauze shirt with the collar half-open, revealing a bright red bib.

She wore a red gauze skirt, which was so red that it was eye-catching, and a pair of green embroidered shoes on her feet. She insisted on wearing the red and green combination from beginning to end.

Wangyou's mother arrived at the yard, walked to the table and ate a dumpling first.

She was quite satisfied with the dumplings: "You have made progress. I will make two kilograms of wontons next month and come back again."

The dumpling seller happily agreed, and Li Banfeng asked, "Is this a success?"

Yue Laotang shook his head repeatedly: "It's far from it. If it works, it will be done today. If I ask him to come again tomorrow, I don't think it will work."

Mother Wangyou ate a few more dumplings and gave the rest to her disciples. She walked to the next cook and ate half a roast chicken in two bites. She sucked her fingers and commented, "It's almost cooked. Go to the kitchen and wait."

Li Banfeng asked Yue Laotang: "Waiting in the kitchen is considered a success, right?"

Yue Lao Tang nodded repeatedly: "This is still a bit hopeful. Anyway, I never have the chance to go to the kitchen."

Wangyou Niang ate the food from every family. She asked some to come back the next day, and sent some away on the spot. Only the cook who made tofu was kept by Wangyou Niang.

"Come to Erdaogang to settle down tomorrow."

The tofu seller rubbed his hands and said, "I haven't saved enough money to move yet. I'll be satisfied if I can push the cart to Erdaogang to sell tofu tomorrow."

Wangyou Niang continued to eat until she came to Yue Lao Tang's side. Wangyou Niang frowned and said, "Why are you here again?"

Yue Laotang lowered his head and said: "I just want to..."

"Didn't I tell you, you don't deserve it."

Li Banfeng spoke up: "Then who do you think is worthy?"

Wangyouniang looked at Li Banfeng. Before Li Banfeng spoke, she had not even noticed his presence.

"What a skill!" Wangyou's mother exclaimed, "Have you tried his stew?"

Li Banfeng nodded and said, "I have eaten it. I think he is qualified to be a chef."

Wangyou Niang smiled and said, "Okay, I'm also afraid that I might have made a mistake. You can go to the kitchen and wait."

Yue Laotang was so happy that he followed Li Banfeng to the kitchen. The man who was making the roast chicken was also there.

Wangyou Niang asked her disciples to prepare the utensils. She gave each of them a small bag of flour, a piece of pork, two eggs, a head of cabbage, and various seasonings, and asked them to make a bowl of noodles.

Cooking noodles is a basic skill for a chef. The roast chicken seller quickly prepared a bowl of noodles with soybean paste. Wangyou Niang ate half a bowl and nodded, saying, "Move your roast chicken shop to Erdaogang tomorrow."

"Can we move now?" Li Banfeng expressed his doubt.

Wangyou Niang asked her disciples to serve the remaining noodles to Li Banfeng, who ate them.

The taste was good, but it wasn't a big surprise. Li Banfeng put down his chopsticks and asked, "Is this a success?"

Wangyou Niang nodded and looked at Yue Laotang: "If his bowl of noodles is of this quality, then he will be successful."

Yue Laotang made a bowl of noodle soup. Li Banfeng took a bite, turned back to look at Yue Laotang, frowned and asked, "Did you do this on purpose?"

This bowl of noodles is quite lacking in taste. It's not delicious, but it's barely enough to fill your stomach.

Yue Laotang rubbed his hands and said, "I'm not good at making noodles."

Wangyou Niang smiled and said, "But you sell noodles in your restaurant."

Yue Laotang lowered his head and said, "I am good at stewing meat."

Wangyou Niang said, "But your restaurant doesn't sell stewed meat."

“I sell it, but not much…” Yue Laotang’s voice became smaller and smaller.

"Okay," Wangyou Niang waved her hand and asked someone to bring a piece of beef and put it in front of Yue Laotang, "You stew it, I'll wait."

Yue Laotang lowered his head and said, "I'm afraid this is not appropriate."

Li Banfeng asked Yue Laotang: "Why is it inappropriate?"

Yue Laotang remained silent, and Wangyou Niang answered for him: "Because he needs three days and three nights to stew a pot of meat. It takes one day to select the ingredients, another day to stew the meat and boil the soup, and another day to soak the soup to make it taste good. Do you still call this cooking? You are already refining the elixir.
When I got up early in the morning and arrived at the first post, I liked to eat that bowl of tofu brain. It was smooth and delicious. The taste could make people feel refreshed all day long. After eating it today, I would still think about it tomorrow. This is called a real cook. Such a person deserves to be the second post.

You put all your life's efforts into that pot of meat, and you only make a small pot in three days. When you're done, you come to me to compete with me. No one else can eat it. Why did I call you to Erdaogang? What do people eat in your restaurant? To eat your bowl of noodles that you can't swallow?"

Yue Laotang lowered his head and walked away holding the iron bowl.

Li Banfeng looked at Wangyouniang and gained some understanding of the temperament of this local god.

Wangyou Niang asked her disciples to leave, leaving only her and Li Banfeng in the kitchen.

"My friend, since you are here to see me, please tell me your name first."

Li Qi gave his name, and Wangyou Niang was delighted: "I have heard a lot about you, especially about the incident in Suihuangyuan. That battle was very dangerous.

If Suihuangyuan is lost, Tiewangang will certainly not be able to be defended either. Those bastards won't even leave me a complete corpse. If someone wants to send me some delicious food, I'm afraid they won't even be able to find my grave. Brother Li Qi, what do you want to do with me?"

Li Banfeng didn't know how to start for a moment. It seemed that he shouldn't mention Pan Dehai's name in front of such a heroic woman.

"My wife is your friend, and she wants to come and catch up with you."

As he spoke, Li Banfeng quietly pricked his fingertips and spilled blood on the ground.

A halo of light passed through Wangyouniang's feet. It was very dark in color and Wangyouniang did not notice it. Li Banfeng knew that his wife was waiting in the main room. He used the technique of opening the bridal chamber to move his wife out of the personal residence.

Wangyou Niang was startled when she saw a woman in front of her. After looking at her carefully for a while, she asked, "Is this your wife? Do I know her?"

Li Banfeng was also stunned for a moment. The woman in front of him was his wife, so he naturally recognized her, but this makeup was not very common.

The lady had her hair in a bun, a blue ribbon tied around her head, a kingfisher headpiece, and a neat row of bangs sticking to her forehead.

Her eye circles were painted red with black lines, her eyebrows were long and slender, and her eyes were upturned, showing her charm. Her cheeks were smeared with lotus red rouge, and her lips were painted with bright red oil paint. The lady was dressed in green and stood in front of Wangyou Niang.

"Sister, don't you recognize me?" As soon as the lady opened her mouth, Wangyou's mother heard it.

"Yuxian! Is it really you?" Wangyou's mother was surprised and took her wife to the main room.

She sent her disciples away and cooked for her wife herself. Wangyou Niang was quick and prepared a table of food and wine in no time.

The two sisters ate and chatted. Wangyou's mother was straightforward and asked directly: "During the war, I heard that you were captured alive by Neizhou. How did you escape?"

The lady shook her head and said, "I had no ability to escape. It was Princess Long who saved me."

When she heard about the Dragon Princess, Wangyou Niang got a little excited: "Did the Dragon Princess take action at that time? I didn't know at the time, and I thought the battle was lost. They advised me to run away quickly. My territory is here, how can I just abandon it? I was planning to fight for my life here, but later I found out that the situation was slowly turning around."

Li Banfeng was confused.

My wife was captured alive by Neizhou and then rescued by Princess Long?

Isn’t the Dragon Princess my wife?
Li Banfeng asked Wangyou Niang: "What is the origin of Princess Long?"

Wangyou Niang smiled and said, "You'd better ask your wife. I know that Princess Long won many battles in Sui Wasteland. With her around, the battles went more smoothly. But I didn't see the princess until the battle was over.

Yuxian, where did you go after the war? "

"Send Princess Dragon home." The lady took a sip of wine.

Wangyou Niang was surprised: "You sent her back to Longwang Mountain?"

The lady nodded.

"What does Longwang Mountain look like?"

The lady thought about it carefully and said, "That place is very big, bigger than the entire Pro Province. I met some people there, they are all very capable. Princess Long said that these people are better fighters than her."

"So many people are better at fighting than Princess Long?" Wangyou's mother was even more surprised. "No wonder they all say that people from Neizhou are so scared when they hear about Dragon King Mountain."

Li Banfeng listened quietly to the two sisters chatting. His wife talked about something about Longwang Mountain and brought the topic to Pan Dehai: "Looking at the situation these days, I think there will be another war. Old Pan has some friendship with my husband. He wants to form an alliance with you so that we can take care of each other in the future."

I thought Wangyouniang would refuse outright, but after thinking about it for a moment, she actually agreed.

"I don't think highly of Pan Dehai, but I trust you. The contract needs to be written more clearly. If I really run into trouble, he has to help."

The alliance has been settled, which means that Li Banfeng can learn how to gain popularity from Pan Dehai.

The lady was happy for Li Banfeng, but she didn't see much joy on Li Banfeng's face.

Li Banfeng was still thinking about other things.

The two sisters chatted until late at night. The lady stood up to say goodbye. Wangyou's mother was reluctant to let her go: "Sister, I don't know when I can see you again?"

The lady smiled and said, "Sister, there are so many delicious foods and drinks at your house. Even if you don't invite me, I will come by myself. I just ask sister not to tell anyone about this."

Wangyou Niang nodded and said, "Don't worry, sister, I will just pretend that I have never been here."

……

Back at Suishenju, Li Banfeng asked his wife, "Is there really such a person as Princess Long?"

The lady shook her head and smiled, "Didn't I tell my husband before that I am the Dragon Princess?"

Li Banfeng was puzzled: "Then how can you say that Princess Long saved you?"

The lady held Li Banfeng's hand and touched his cheek: "It depends on whether my husband dislikes me."

Li Banfeng looked at his wife in confusion: "Why should I dislike you?"

The lady smiled bitterly: "Don't you dislike actors?"

Li Banfeng said, "You don't dislike lunatics, so why should I dislike actors?"

The wife held Li Banfeng's cheeks with both hands, her eyes full of love: "My husband doesn't dislike me, but some people do. When I came to Tiewangang, I remembered many things.

When I was fighting in the wilderness, many people looked down on me because I was an actor. If I hadn't won a few battles, they wouldn't have recognized me as a general.

But war is not always smooth sailing. When things go wrong, they all take their anger out on me. When there is a battle, I am captured alive. I am sure no one will come to rescue me. If I die in the enemy camp, the desert will be doomed.

Later, someone rescued me. When I returned to the military camp, I lied to them and said that it was the Dragon Princess from Longwang Mountain who rescued me. When they heard about Longwang Mountain, they were convinced. After that, every time we won a battle, I would say that the Dragon Princess secretly helped us.

From then on, the battle went more smoothly, so that when the battle was over, not many people remembered Huang Yuxian, but many remembered Princess Long. "

While saying this, the lady had a smile on her face, but she could not hide the bitterness.

Li Banfeng took a piece of candy and stuffed it into his wife's mouth, and the bitterness was reduced a little.

"Who rescued you from the enemy camp?"

The lady looked in the direction of the second room: "Red Lotus's master, the goddess."

At that time, the goddess had already regarded the lady as an ally.

"Madam, is there really such a place as Dragon King Mountain?"

"I don't know about that," the lady shook her head, "I heard that the goddess is from Dragon King Mountain. There are similar legends in Neizhou."

After resting for a night at Suishenju, Li Banfeng left Tiewangang and when he reached a guard post, he saw Yue Laotang.

He did not go looking for death, but continued to stew meat in the shop. The meat was ready in half a day. It seemed that he had made some progress this time.

When they arrived at Haichiling, Pan Dehai was overjoyed and immediately took Li Banfeng to Sandaoling to teach him the technique of gathering popularity on the spot.

Li Banfeng asked: "How long will it take to learn this method?"

Pan Dehai estimated: "Ordinary people may need three to five years to learn, brother, you are a virtuous person, half a month is enough!"

It’s nonsense to talk about being virtuous. The key lies in how Lao Pan teaches.

Li Banfeng was really a little anxious. He wanted to ask the Luo sisters where the legend of Longwang Mountain came from.

……

Shang State, Chaoge, Erdao City.

Luo Yanjun transformed into a human form and sang the piano book "The Legend of White Snake" in the teahouse. Snail shells were placed next to her and decorated to make it look like a pagoda, which was difficult for ordinary people to distinguish.

After two rounds of conversation, the teahouse closed, but one customer stayed and wanted to talk to Luo Yanjun alone.

Luo Yanjun moved the snail shell to the backstage and invited the guest to her private room.

The guest lowered his voice and said, "The Ministry of Works discovered that the altar was short of a lot of stone materials, and the construction period will be delayed again. Master Qiao was so anxious that his condition worsened."

Luo Yanjun pulled out a letter from her sleeve and handed it to the guest: "Give this letter to Lord Xie, and be careful about the timing. Don't let Lord Qiao see it."

The guest took the letter and left the teahouse.

……

Erdao City, Qiao Yi’s residence.

Qiao Yi had just eaten half a bowl of porridge and went to bed.

Xie Gong took out a letter and showed it to Zhu Jin.

After reading the letter, Zhu Jin's eyebrows trembled and he was a little surprised.

Xie Gong looked at the candlestick beside the bed, and Zhu Jin understood and quickly burned the letter.

Qiao Yi slept all night, and Zhu Jin didn't sleep all night.

When it was dawn, Zhu Jin woke up Xie Gong and nodded slightly to him.

PS: Big business is coming.

(End of this chapter)