newbobooks Chapter 126 Why Did You Kick Me Again?
Chapter 126 Why Did You Kick Me Again?
Zhou Hanzhang had no interest in such things. Since Liu Niang had already said that the restaurant next door had opened entirely because of its reputation, there was no need for him to waste his time.
Liu Niang wouldn't lie to herself about this. "There's no need for that. Since you said this place is better, it must be better here. Since there's something better here, there's no need for us to go to the side."
"You just saw that I'm familiar with the waiters and the manager here. Aren't you afraid that I'm colluding with them to cheat you so that they can have better business?"
Liu Niang smiled and joked with Zhou Hanzhang.
“You don’t need to go that far,” Zhou Hanzhang replied to Liu Niang, and then fell silent.
Liu Niang laughed again, "The guest trusts me, but since you are also from Jiangnan, you should be able to taste the difference. The dishes here are indeed very authentic."
She turned to the Gu family father and son, "You two must try it later."
“I saw it when I came in. The dishes on the other guests’ tables looked and smelled delicious, so they must be of high quality. There were even some dishes that are rarely seen in Jiangnan. I even saw water caltrop. Aren’t water caltrop and such things rarely served?” Zhou Hanzhang asked Liu Niang.
“You’re absolutely right. Now that you’ve said that, I wouldn’t believe it even if someone said you weren’t from Jiangnan.”
With a smile, Liu Niang explained to the bewildered father and son of the Gu family, "Because water chestnuts and lotus roots come from the mud, slightly wealthier families don't like to serve them directly to guests. But the owner here has a secret method to make water chestnut soup delicious and flavorful. You'll know once you try it."
As soon as Liu Niang finished speaking, A Fang brought in a pot of sweet soup and served each of them a bowl.
Liu Niang gestured for them to try it, saying, "The main course won't be served so soon, but you can try this sweet soup."
She didn't give much of an introduction, but as soon as the soup touched their lips, everyone's eyes lit up. Zhou Hanzhang looked directly at A Fang and asked, "This soup seems to have a hawthorn flavor?"
"Our guests are truly amazing. Our sweet soup is indeed made by stir-frying hawthorns and simmering them into a thick broth, then pairing it with handmade glutinous rice balls and water chestnuts. It is refreshing, thirst-quenching, and good for the spleen and stomach."
Gu Qingfeng continued, "No wonder, just looking at it makes my mouth water..."
"It tastes great too. Is this chicken head rice?" he asked, scooping out a small glutinous rice ball.
Zhou Hanzhang gently kicked him from below. Gu Qingfeng looked bewildered and asked, "What's wrong?"
Liu Niang had already seen their interaction and quickly tried to smooth things over, saying, "These are little glutinous rice balls."
She pointed to the water chestnut next to her, "This is the real water chestnut."
Gu Qingfeng realized he had made a foolish mistake, but he didn't care. He often did this and was used to it.
He scooped up another spoonful of water caltrop and mixed it with the small glutinous rice balls, praising as he ate, "The sweet and sour hawthorn juice paired with the soft and glutinous water caltrop and the chewy small glutinous rice balls, how did the owner come up with this recipe? It's truly amazing."
Zhou Hanzhang couldn't help but laugh and said, "It is indeed wonderful, like pearls sinking in the green waves, with a subtle fragrance and a delicate sweetness. However, I remember that this water chestnut is not available after August, and we have to wait until next year to eat it."
"That's right. I'll go check with the guests to see if the dishes are ready." After saying that, A-Fang left.
The Gu family father and son loved the water chestnuts so much that they ate three bowls in a row. When they wanted to continue eating, Liu Niang stopped them, saying, "Even if this sweet soup is delicious, you should eat it in moderation. We need to save room for some Jiangnan specialties later."
As she said this, Liu Niang glanced at Zhou Hanzhang, as if to say, "Aren't you from Jiangnan? You haven't properly entertained them."
Zhou Hanzhang understood Liu Niang's look, of course. "This is not my fault. I have treated her very well."
"I didn't say anything, but you all seem to have a pretty close relationship."
Zhou Hanzhang's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly explained, "My grandparents are both in the capital. They spend half the year in Jiangnan and the other half in the capital, so we are quite familiar with each other."
Liu Niang nodded, "I knew that although you looked like someone from Jiangnan and seemed quite familiar with things from Jiangnan, you also seemed to have some of the air of people from the capital. So that's why."
She didn't dwell on the topic, but Zhou Hanzhang knew that Liu Niang must have suspected him, and he just hoped that he could get away with it this time.
If Liu Niang and You Ying had no connection, she could have claimed that she had urgent business to attend to and had no choice but to conceal her identity when You Ying found out about the matter.
But if she really is Youying, I'm afraid I would have already given myself away. I guess I'll have to be more careful going forward.
Zhou Hanzhang used to travel to various places in the modern era and had some understanding of the local customs and culture of Jiangnan. However, the modern era is different from the present. Not to mention that so much time has passed, this dynasty did not exist in history. He didn't know if there would be any discrepancies that he had not discovered.
Zhou Hanzhang smiled at Liu Niang, but didn't continue the conversation, and silently began to eat his food.
The Gu family father and son were even worse; those small dishes of Jiangnan cuisine were all gone in just a couple of bites.
“These Jiangnan dishes are really small. Look at this,” Gu Qingfeng pointed to one of the small dishes that had just been served, “just two pieces for a whole dish, not even enough for one bite of mine.”
General Gu felt the same way, but with Liu Niang right in front of him, he couldn't say it directly. So he kicked Gu Qingfeng again.
"Why did you kick me again? I wasn't wrong."
Seeing their antics, Liu Niang couldn't help but laugh and explain, "You two are really funny. That's how it is in Jiangnan; we call all dishes 'side dishes'."
Southerners have small appetites and eat less, so when cooks prepare food, they think about not wasting any and the amount served in the bowl is just enough to eat, so the amount of food doesn't look like much.
Secondly, the serving dishes are relatively small, which is determined by the amount of food. When serving dishes in the South, the food only occupies the slightly concave center of the bowl or basin, leaving "white space" around the edges according to custom.
Another point is that people in Jiangnan have a more refined way of eating. A fish is cooked separately, and a piece of meat is cut into pieces and boiled. This makes the food look small, like "small dishes," which makes the name easier to pronounce.
Liu Niang paused here and looked at Zhou Hanzhang. Zhou Hanzhang knew what she meant, so he continued, "That's right. Northerners like to drink from large bowls and eat large chunks of meat. This is a way of showing their generosity. In comparison, Southerners seem a bit 'small' in this respect."
But it's really okay. Look, we're having dozens of dishes on this table. It's a spectacular sight, just as impressive as anything in the north, don't you think? If you like any of the dishes, we can have them served a couple more times, no problem at all.”