Win the Ding 1617

A conference came to an end in the last session.

All the children who had been planted with vaccinia stood collectively on the stage.

Hundreds of pairs of slightly nervous, curious, and excited eyes looked at the dark crowds of people below the stage. Some children couldn't help crying "Wow", and some children didn't cry, but they were nervous. Wetting his pants became the subject of ridicule and ridicule by his peers and friends for decades to come.

But this situation soon changed.

Shou Han appeared on the stage again, and gave each child a bag of pastries and candies, followed by more than a dozen soldiers holding huge bamboo baskets.On the bamboo baskets and the paper bags of pastries and candies, the words "made by Daoxiang Village by order and respect" are clearly printed.

Smelling the bursts of sweet fragrance from the snack bag, the children's emotions stabilized. Shouhan took a silver coin from the tray in the hands of the soldiers, which was two circles larger than the silver coins in circulation on the market, and handed it to them. A child at the head of the line.

This is a vaccinia commemorative coin produced by the mint overnight.One or two coins of silver, mixed with other metals, with the words "Nanzhong vaccinia planting commemoration" engraved in neat small letters on the top, and the words "Vaccinia planted for the first time in June of the tenth year of Chongzhen" on the back, and a blooming lotus flower Carved lifelike.

Holding snacks and holding high silver coins in their hands, the children walked down the high platform happily, holding commemorative coins to show off to their parents.They don't know that such commemorative coins have been hyped up to a price point where one commemorative coin can be exchanged for one thousand silver dollars decades later.But there is still a price but no market, the reason is very simple, having such a commemorative coin is a status symbol.

"I was the first to be inoculated with cowpox back then, and I even received snacks and commemorative coins from the master!"

"What do you think?"

People dispersed one after another, and only shopkeeper Huang and his party remained on the school grounds.Several Jiangxi businessmen who accompanied them also left on their own after pleading guilty.

Watching groups of soldiers and civilians leaving in an orderly manner, the place where they sat just now was clean, without any garbage, peels, food residues, etc. The etiquette and discipline of the soldiers and civilians in Nanzhong is amazing. the point.On the other hand, Shou Han's ability to restrain and control the soldiers and civilians under his command is far beyond that of those generals in the mainland.

Such military discipline.Replace it with a team from any military town in the Mainland.Can't do it.

"Should I go back and discuss with Dadong's family, and establish a relationship with the South China Army? We can't let the treasure go away." Such a thought flashed through the mind of the shopkeeper Huang.

Shanxi Merchants, as a huge business group, maintained good relations with vassal kings, officials, generals, eunuchs, and scholars in various places in the Mainland. This is obvious.privately.Take advantage of Zhangjiakou, a commercial border market known as Dongkou.It also maintains close trade relations with the Mongols and Liaodong rebels.Not only that.Because of the relationship with the Datong township, the Shanxi merchants and the Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai troops of the Shaanxi Peasant Army who are currently traveling between the Jianghuai River and the Han Dynasty, as well as Lao Huihui, Ge Liyan and others who are raising troops and resting in the Dabie Mountains.Li Zicheng, who is preparing to enter Sichuan, has maintained a good relationship.

However, with regard to the South China Army, a military and political force that has risen rapidly in the past ten years, the Shanxi merchants found that they had almost no relationship that could be said to be on the table.

How can this be justified? !

If the Southern Central Army gains power in the future, this great business opportunity, a lot of money, no, it is silver as high as a mountain, wouldn't it be cheaper for Fujian businessmen, Jiangxi businessmen and Guangdong barbarians? !

Looking at the thoughtful faces of the crowd, Shopkeeper Huang suddenly felt that this was not the place to talk about these things.

"Okay, okay! Others have snacks to eat, but we don't have anything. We should find a place to fill our stomachs before we talk. Today is also the day of the Teeth Ceremony, Meng treats guests, let's find a restaurant so we can have a raw meal !"

(Meng is the accent of the Wutai area in Shanxi Jinzhong, meaning I, I, etc. There was a saying in Wutai back then, the governor’s surname is very Meng, and Meng and the governor’s door are opposite each other. Translated into Mandarin, what is the governor’s surname me? As far as the surname is concerned, the governor and I are old neighbors door to door. Governor is the old man in Shanxi's name for Yan Xishan.)

People walked along the streets with the flow of people. It is rare that there are no transactions, transactions, accounts, exchanges, and contacts today. People have the mood to observe the streets and the scene in the city.

Because of the conference, it seemed that all the people in the city appeared on the streets, and the bustling crowd walked along the wide and flat ashes road towards their destination.

Out of a businessman's instinct, the shopkeeper Huang and his buddies and assistants used the eyes of a businessman to closely observe these people of all kinds who are rarely seen in ordinary times.Farmers in the outskirts of the city, craftsmen in nearby factories, clerks and employees in several large shops, and what interested them even more were the soldiers in summer military uniforms made of bamboo cloth and covered with bamboo armor.

What is amazing is that the army walks side by side with the common people. As long as the common people do not mix into the ranks of the soldiers, all is well. The ordinary people would pass by with a smile, and occasionally they would nod and say hello to acquaintances. In view of the military regulations, they could only nod in the team.

The neat and orderly pace, the kind of momentum of thousands of people as one, coupled with the clean and tidy red narrow-sleeved button-down military uniform, makes the movement full of vigor.The heroic posture of looking forward to self-importance is in stark contrast to the sluggishness of the Ming army elsewhere.

And these people are only the patrol battalion in the city, responsible for patrolling, public security, fire fighting, guarding and other affairs in the city, they can't be regarded as the elite field divisions of the Nanzhong Army.Most of them are recruits who have not been trained recently, and they are soldiers and horses drawn from various places to serve in various cities according to the standard of one soldier and one soldier.

Shopkeeper Huang once saw the troops returning from Guangdong outside the city, and he was quite surprised by the aura of a master of all battles.Compared with the soldiers and horses in Shanxi Town and Datong Town in his hometown, they are already much stronger in appearance and momentum. However, when others told him that this was Liao Dongzhi's troops who had just returned from Guangdong to Nanzhong for training, inside It's just that some officers, armor chiefs, etc. were transferred from various places to practice for a month according to the system of the South China Army.

"The real elite is the soldiers of the four battalions!" People in Nanzhong often say this when they mention their own army.That kind of tone and expression made people feel as if they were praising their own children.This surprised Shopkeeper Huang even more.

"Bandits are like a comb, soldiers are like a grate. Yamen servants are like a knife." This is an incomparably correct truth from south to north.People who hold knives and guns in their hands, no matter what kind of armor and livery they wear, respect ghosts and gods and stay away.Where can I praise it?

The so-called four battalions are the four battalions of Jinwei, Qilin, Phoenix, and Xuanwu.They were stationed at each key point.It acts as the magic needle of Zhenhai.

This is a soldier and horse that serves as a security patrol mission.And the newly attached army and horses are so elite, the four major battalion soldiers and horses known as the main force will be able to fight so elitely, the shopkeeper Huang can't imagine.

never mind.If you can't figure it out, don't think about him. Now that you are in Nanzhong, you always have the opportunity to witness how elite the soldiers and horses of these four battalions are, how far they are compared with the inland Jiading, and compared with the Baya La soldiers in Liaodong. Which one is strong and which one is weak, you will know when the time comes.

After making up his mind, he carefully watched the scenery beside the road.

Due to the professional habits developed over the years, whenever he goes to a city, the shopkeeper Huang Da always first observes the local prices, such as rice prices, cloth prices, oil prices, salt prices, and meat prices, and then the prices of various other commodities.

Back then, Shanxi merchants made their fortunes because they opened China and France, and contracted the grain and grass needed by the nine borders to Shanxi merchants. After the Shanxi merchants shipped the grain, they could exchange a small amount ([-] catties) of salt from the government. Others that can be exchanged for salt are cloth, silk, money, horses, etc. In short, it is because of the overall needs of the court that there is a business group of Shanxi Merchants.

"Northern and southern tastes, abundance and frugality are up to the person! Arranged banquets, big pots and small stir-fries, rice and noodles!"

A burst of lively yelling awakened Shopkeeper Huang from his thoughts, and everyone around him looked at him asking for instructions, "Shopkeeper, how about we have dinner here?"

Looking at the plaque hanging high at the entrance of the restaurant, it said, "Taifeng Building, what a mouthful!" There were bustling people having dinner inside, cups and plates intertwined, and boxing games were heard endlessly.A burst of aroma of pasta wafted out of the glass-separated kitchen, making these men who grew up eating pasta a little unable to move their legs.

In this way, a kitchen is separated by glass so that people outside can see what kind of hygienic environment the kitchen is. The important hardware of the restaurant grade.

In the glass compartment, a few white case masters are skillfully kneading the dough in their hands. The dough is constantly changing its shape in people's hands, and then it is pulled into individual doughs, and oil and water are sprinkled on the dough at intervals. In the middle, after flattening, mixed with sesame seeds, sprinkled with salt and some other spices, put it in the oven to bake, and after a while, a fragrant and oily sesame seed cake came out of the oven.

"Let's go! I won't eat that Lao Shizi's white rice today! My brain hurts from eating it!"

"It turns out that the big shopkeeper can't eat anymore? Let's see that the big shopkeeper is still very happy!" Several managers played a small joke with the big shopkeeper Huang.

A group of people entered the restaurant, found a pavilion to sit down, and the already clever guy trotted over to greet him with a water sign.

"Gentlemen, are you from the mainland? What kind of food and drink do you plan to use?"

"Pick up some of your famous dishes in Taifeng Building and tell me about them?"

A gentleman in charge cast a disdainful glance at the waiter. Although he was dressed in blue fine cloth trousers and coat, he was neat and tidy, an apron tied around his waist was also clean and crisp, and a white towel was draped over his shoulders. Over the years, the steward who has seen countless worlds, still doesn't think highly of this guy from Taifeng Building.

"Are we here? I don't know if you are halal. If it is halal, we can't do it. We are a Han people's restaurant. Besides the usual dishes, our specialty dishes are squirrel mandarin fish, fish-flavored shredded pork, and Kung Pao chicken." , spicy chicken, boiled pork slices, this dish is also divided into beef slices and pork slices, double-cooked pork, boiled fish, mapo tofu, etc. These dishes are all taught by the chef who came out of the general's mansion. If you If you don't know for a while, you might as well look at the name of the dish on the water sign first."

The waiter replied neither humble nor overbearing.

To be able to openly sell beef dishes in public, this place is really good.It should be known that restaurants all over the Ming Dynasty sell beef, but they dare to write it on the water sign and yell openly, but the shopkeeper Huang Da has never seen it in the mainland.The law of the Ming Dynasty expressly prohibits the slaughter of farm cattle, and offenders will be held accountable.

"What about wine?"

"We only sell shochu here. If you plan to drink rice wine, we have to go out and buy it for you. However, I will give you a suggestion. Our dishes here are extremely spicy. When paired with shochu, that is the wine that a man should drink !"

"What's with the pasta?"

"Noodles?!" Several guests were heard asking about pasta.The waiter looked at the guests in front of him. "We don't produce wheat in Nanzhong. The white noodles are all made from wheat brought from Tianzhu. It's not cheap. If you want cornmeal, or two kinds of noodles, it's much more cost-effective."

"Okay. My little brother, I'll give you the money. Please help us make adjustments. We need to eat beef, chicken, duck, fish, and noodles. The dishes you mentioned coming out of the general's mansion are different. I also want to eat noodles, and a jar of shochu."

Shopkeeper Huang's friendly face handed a few silver dollars to the waiter.

"Six silver dollars on the guest deposit box of the Renzi shop!"

Putting a towel on his hand, he took the money from shopkeeper Huang. The waiter raised his voice and yelled loudly, followed by the waiters all over the building.

After this yell, the waiter turned and left to deposit the silver dollars at the accountant at the door.

After a while, the same dishes were brought up by the waiter, "Although it's not the New Year's Day, you can't drink alcohol, but today I'm making an exception. Everyone has worked hard these days, so you can drink a little. Don't get drunk and cause trouble that is!"

Looking at the small jar of shochu brought by the waiter, and smelling the faint fragrance of the wine coming out of the mud seal, shopkeeper Huang greeted the staff with warm words.

"Thank you for your sympathy, big shopkeeper!"

In the daily management system of Shanxi merchants, there are requirements such as not drinking, gambling and gambling.But that's only for the guys at the bottom, and the people at the top are also prostitution and gambling.

"Turn around slowly, your dish! Braised beef brisket with potatoes!"

"Boiled Pork Slices!"

"Kung Pao Chicken!"

"Squirrel mandarin fish!"

One by one, the waiter reported the name of the dishes and brought them up.

Roasted beef with potatoes is fine. Although I have never seen potatoes before, I have eaten a lot of beef.What made everyone stunned was that the pot of boiled pork slices was called Shui Zhu, but the huge porcelain pot was full of oil!

"Brother, is the dish wrong? What we want is boiled pork slices, why is there all vegetable oil in this pot?"

Shopkeeper Huang signaled the person in charge to ask the waiter who served the dishes.

The corner of the waiter's mouth twitched slightly, as if a bit contemptuous, but out of professional habits, he still politely explained to the shopkeeper Huang and the others: "I don't know, the so-called boiled dishes, It's called boiled, but it's actually made with oil. If you don't believe me, please look at the table next door, boiled fish, and it's made with a pot of vegetable oil!"

He turned his head and glanced into the pavilion next door, and it turned out to be a huge vegetable basin made of lily porcelain, with oil shining from the thin side of the basin.Looking down from the mouth of the basin, most of the basins are filled with yellow vegetable oil exuding oily fragrance.

Seeing this scene, the steward couldn't help but slander inwardly, "It's really extravagant to the extreme! Such a lot of vegetable oil! Putting it in our hometown in Shanxi, it may be enough for ordinary people to eat for half a year!"

But envy is envy, but the steward has no appetite for the tender and white fish fillets in the oil basin. In Shanxi recipes, the highest grade of table noodles is the so-called eight dishes and eight bowls.

Pay attention to eight cold dishes and eight hot dishes. The eight cold dishes have four meat and four vegetables, while the eight bowls are mostly meat. In the middle and late Qing Dynasty, Qixian County and even Jinzhong area, the eight dishes are: kelp, ocean rice, dried , agar, sliced ​​meat, shredded chicken meat, elbow flower, crystal hoof, the eight bowls are: roast pork, big meat, hoof, fried meat, crispy meat, layered meat, roasted sweet potato, meatball. ....

Did you find any problems?

That's right!There is no fish in the highest standard of Shanxi cuisine, but there is a story in it.It is said that the fish in this section of the Yellow River that flowed through Shanxi in ancient times was of poor quality, so Shanxi people at that time did not eat fish. This may be a fact, or it may be an ancient rumor.But Shanxi, which is located in an inland area and is relatively arid, is naturally not that interested in aquatic products, especially fish.Because I am not interested, I will not eat fish.There is a saying that ridicules Shanxi people, "Lao Xi'er eats fish and breaks it with his hands", which means that Shanxi people do not spit out the spines when eating fish, and they must first remove the spines from the fish with their hands.

"I think back when I first came out to study business, I paid monthly money and went to the beef shop opened by Pingyao people to cut up five yuan of sauced beef. I took a small bite in my mouth. What is fat but not greasy, thin but not firewood? It's all in your mouth!"

After taking a bite of roasted beef with potatoes and tasting the softness and fragrance of the beef, the shopkeeper Huang Da couldn't help but tell the young guys about the past.

"Later, when I was promoted to a higher position, I had more monthly money. When I could eat beef, I could have a sip of Changshengyuan's rice wine. The rice wine was made purely from broomcorn millet, and when I drank it, it was extremely mild and palatable."

"Boss, this potato was promoted in the north by Shanghai Xu Xiangguo back then, but the yield was too low, and farmers were unwilling to grow it. I don't want it to be so delicious here in the south."

A few people drank and ate vegetables, appreciating the food and wine all the time, which was quite pleasant.

While talking, there was a burst of talking and laughing at the door, and a group of people came in.

Seeing this group of people come in, shopkeeper Huang couldn't help but let out a "huh", and the color on his face changed even more. (To be continued..)