Chapter Forty-Four: Calm Surface

  After that, Wang Kuang's days passed without much turmoil. The safe was made very smoothly and one of them was sent to Lin Zhongbo, who looked at it and then invited Huang Bie to take a look. Then, under the leadership of Huang Bie, it was wrapped in red silk cloth and sent to Chang'an. Wang Ling also went with him because he was Wang Kuang's older brother. Since this safe was made by Wang Kuang, it was only natural that Wang Ling should share some credit. After Wang Kuang's careful explanation, Wang Ling knew more about the practical uses of the safe than others did. However, Wang Kuang didn't mention the name "safe", but called it an iron cabinet and said that Lin Zhongbo should give it a name. Lin Zhongbo then transferred this right to Huang Bie, who thought that since everyone was letting each other take credit, he might as well let the officials in the capital decide on a name. At present, Huang Bie had already become the de facto leader of Jianzhou and Shi Zhi had gone to the capital to report his duties. It is said that after reporting his duties, he would be directly transferred to another place without returning to Jian'an.

  As for the other two safes, the ordinary one was left in Sun's room, and the specially made one was buried by Wang Kuang and several partners of the inn in a hole dug on the floor behind the bed. The bottom and sides were filled with wooden charcoal, leaving only the door exposed on top, then a wooden board was placed on top, and the original wooden box was put back on it. Originally, Wang Kuang wanted to dig a hole in the only earthen wall and stuff it in, but thinking that the earthen wall was not too thick, and the other side of the wall did not belong to Fuli Inn, he had to give up.

  With the safe, many things can be stored in it later. This safe is so heavy that two strong men cannot lift it, probably weighing 400-500 kilograms, and it's not afraid of being stolen. Looking at the safe, Wang Kuang couldn't help but think of the Huarongdao brought by Li Guanshi from Lin's family, who actually brought it?

  It's already the twelfth month, and the weather is getting colder and colder. Snowflakes occasionally fall from the sky, which is in stark contrast to the rare snowfall of once or twice a year in northern Fujian in later generations. The number of traveling merchants has decreased, but the business of Fulu Inn has become better and better. However, there are fewer and fewer guests staying at the inn. As the New Year approaches, those who should return home have already done so, leaving only a few latecomers still on their way.

  The weather was cold, and Wang Kuang rarely went out. Even if he did go out, he wouldn't be able to hear anything, so it was better for him to stay in the inn. He had Sun Er set up a brazier near the kitchen door at the front and back of the hall, and every day he would huddle by the fire, drinking tea and occasionally picking up his brush to paint or draw something. However, no one could understand what he was drawing, and they all thought he was just scribbling randomly. When the people in the inn had nothing better to do and came over to warm themselves by the fire, Wang Kuang would chat with them, sharing some of his knowledge from the future that wasn't too outlandish for the present time. He enjoyed watching their stunned expressions.

  That day, he sat bored by the fire again, surrounded by several cowboys who were also idle and came to warm themselves by the fire. They were all listening to Wang Kuang's storytelling. They all admired Wang Kuang, wondering how such a small brain could hold so many things without bursting.

  This day, Wang Kuang had just sat down when Sun Er brought him a pot of tea. Now, the tea that Wang Kuang drank was directly brewed without boiling. Don't think that it was popular to boil tea during the Tang Dynasty and that the tea leaves were not good for drinking after being boiled - this is two different things. The tea leaves are still the same, and it can be said that there isn't much difference between the stir-frying method of the Sui and Tang Dynasties and now. The only difference is that green tea was rare during the Tang Dynasty, and almost all were black teas. Moreover, boiling tea doesn't necessarily taste bad - now, the Hakka pounded tea and the thunder tea in some southwestern ethnic minority areas or in Xiangxi can be said to have inherited the craftsmanship of boiled tea from the Tang Dynasty. Those who haven't tried it can go try it out - that flavor is absolutely good. Wang Kuang loved drinking brewed tea mainly because he liked the original taste, just like when he cooked food, he always considered whether the seasonings could enhance the flavor or cover up the original taste of the ingredients. This was a habit, and everyone had their own habits. After coming to Tang for more than two years, Wang Kuang actually got used to the taste of boiled tea - occasionally when his stomach was empty and he couldn't find anything to eat temporarily, he would also use boiled tea to fill his stomach. Boiled tea didn't just have salt; it also had many other things added according to personal taste - some added sesame seeds, some added roasted rice flour, and some added beans. Now, there were still not a few Hakka people whose breakfast was eating pounded tea.

  Just as they sat down, Niu Wa Zi and the others hadn't arrived yet. Although there were few guests in the guest department, there would still be one or two. Niu Wa Zi always had to take care of the guests before coming over. At this time, the door curtain was lifted, and a person rushed in, grabbing Gao San who was holding the dishes that the guests had finished eating: "Is your chef around?"

  The senior three was startled by him, the plate in his hand almost fell to the ground, and he hurriedly stabilized it. He irritably replied to him: "What's going on? Have you ever seen a chef in any restaurant just leave without saying anything?"

  "That's good, that's good." The newcomer let out a visible sigh of relief and repeatedly bowed to Gao San: "I'm really sorry about earlier, it was just that So-and-so was too anxious. May I ask him to come out and meet?"

  "What's the matter?" Gao San eyed the newcomer warily, who was dressed in ordinary gray linen robes and carrying a bundle on his back. His feet were also clad in ordinary cloth boots, the only difference being that he wore a large leather hat on his head instead of a hood. This kind of hat was rarely seen in Min and Zhongyuan, only Yiyue had it. Could he be a barbarian? Looking at his face again, he appeared to be around thirty years old, but somehow didn't quite look like a barbarian either.

  The man rummaged through his clothes for a long time, finally pulled out a paper package, and judging from its appearance, it seemed to have been on the road for many days, frozen stiff, and could barely hold the package steady. He opened the package and showed it to Gao San: "I'd like to ask if your chef can make this dish?" After finishing speaking, he looked at Gao San with hopeful eyes.

  "Isn't this just flour? You can buy it at any rice noodle shop, why come here to bother us?" Gao San looked at it, freed up one hand and pinched a bit.

  "This is indeed flour, but not ordinary flour. Please ask your chef to come out, I beg of you, it's a matter of life and death." The visitor pleaded: "Your Rich Come Inn is my last hope, for half a year, I have run all over Jiangnan, no restaurant or hotel can recognize it, I also heard that the chef of Rich Come Inn is formidable, the food he makes is different from others, so I came to take a look."

  "Oh? What's this about a matter of life and death? Tell me more." Wang Kuang heard the phrase "matter of life and death" and, having nothing better to do, became interested and walked over to ask.

  "Who are you?" The newcomer eyed Wang Kuang suspiciously, seeing that he was dressed better than the average young man from a good family. Moreover, when Wang Kuang approached, the fellow in front seemed to yield and didn't dare question why such a young kid had come to join in on the fun.

  "This is our Xiaodong's house, you're lucky to have met us, Xiaodong's vision is broadened, he can recognize this unusual flour, I don't know what's so special about it, isn't it just flour? Anyway, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference." Gao San held a plate in his hand and didn't want to say more. Since Xiaodong was here, naturally there was nothing for him to do. If Xiaodong couldn't handle something, what's the point of me, Gao San, being here? Might as well go call Wang Shifu and Kuang Da from the back, if that really is unusual flour, let them take a look too, so they don't pretend to be experts in front of me all day."

  Wang Juan also picked up a bit of flour, rubbed it in her hands, and then returned to her seat. She poured some tea water on the flour and rubbed again. Then she opened two fingers, but they had adhesion without elasticity.

  "Is the food made from this flour crystal clear?" Wang Kuang still wanted to confirm.

  "Exactly, exactly." The man was overjoyed. For half a year, he had run all over the two Jiangnan provinces, but no one could identify this face powder. Yet, the young man in front of him had only used water to test it and immediately revealed its origin. It couldn't be said that this young man must know the origin of this face powder.

  "It's just a calm surface, how can it be life and death again?"

  Originally, this person's surname was Deng, and he was a chef in a wealthy Deng family in Yangzhou. He had a son who was eight years old this year and had been serving the young master of the wealthy family since childhood. Unexpectedly, this summer, his son accidentally broke a priceless Persian glass cup, and the master of the house was furious and wanted to kill his son on the spot. After he begged bitterly, the master of the house took pity on him because his family had served in the mansion for three generations, so he intentionally showed mercy, but with one condition: the wealthy merchant had once eaten a dish in Chang'an that he liked very much, and after returning to Yangzhou, he couldn't forget it. As a result, he sent people to Chang'an several times to find out about this dish, but others refused to teach him. After many attempts, he finally got some noodles back, but they looked no different from ordinary flour. Therefore, if the chef Deng could find the recipe for this dish before the end of the year, his son's life would be spared.

  "If you had this food in Chang'an, why didn't you go to Chang'an to find it?" Wang Kuang was very puzzled. Logically speaking, one should go to the source, so why waste half a year in Jiangnan?

  "The master of the house couldn't find it even in Chang'an, let alone a humble servant like me. Moreover, traveling from Yangzhou to Chang'an takes four or five months round trip, and time is not on our side. That's why I've been searching for it in Jiangnan as a last resort. If I still can't find it, I'll have no choice but to follow the young master." The chef with the surname Deng also spoke with a face full of helplessness. Even the wealthy master couldn't accomplish this with his vast resources, so how could he? But there's always a glimmer of hope, and that's why he spent the past half year searching all over Jiangnan. Finally, he heard that the food at the Jian'an Fugui Inn was exceptionally delicious, so he came here with a thread of hope."

  Wang Kuang didn't expect that in the Tang Dynasty, there were already crystal-like foods appearing. It seems that the food industry at that time was more advanced than what people thought later on. Now that he has no worries, and his brother has settled down, and the grievances of Wang Village have been redressed, and the relationship with the Lin family has taken a step forward, it's time to take bold action.

  Division

  It's about to unfold, and the characters who need to be set up have been set up.

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