Divine Tang Era

Chapter 167 Hot Pot Restaurant Opening

Today is the opening day of the hot pot restaurant. Xu Dan dared not slack off. After practicing his skills with Xiao Que'er, he opened the store door and cleared the snow.

The little magpie also grabbed a broom and eagerly helped, while the ever-observant little eagle flapped its wings vigorously to help blow the snow into a pile.

The black bear wasn't idle either; it diligently swung its tail, using it as a broom to sweep the snow.

Inside the shop, Niang, Rui Wuni, and Chi Lei'er, who had arrived early, had already begun preparing the ingredients.

The sky after the snow was as if it had been washed clean, a deep blue like a jewel, so clear that there was not a single impurity.

The gentle sunlight bathed the earth, draping everything in a golden veil. The snow, shimmering in the sunlight, sparkled like countless tiny diamonds scattered on the ground. A thick layer of snow covered the rooftops, and occasionally a few snowflakes drifted down with the breeze, like the last gentle touch left behind by the sky.

The air after the snow was exceptionally fresh, carrying a hint of chill, yet it felt incredibly refreshing.

According to the Chinese almanac, today is an auspicious day for opening a business.

After sweeping the floor, Xu Dan stood at the door and looked into the shop. Suddenly, he felt that the Xuanwu Zhenjun statue inside was a bit too dazzling. After all, diners come to eat, and it seemed a bit inappropriate to face a majestic deity directly as soon as they enter the door, so he went and bought a screen to block it.

A screen was also placed on the left side facing the tables and chairs so that the statue of the deity could not be seen, lest anyone feel uncomfortable.

He planned to move the statue of Xuanwu Zhenjun upstairs first thing tomorrow morning, since it was a privately worshipped deity and shouldn't be displayed in front of others. If other people came to offer incense and pray for blessings, the incense offerings would become mixed and impure.

Besides, everyone has different desires. If you ask me, I ask him, and he asks you, should the gods bless him or you? It's best not to put the gods in a difficult position.

Time flies, and it was noon in the blink of an eye, but no customers had come to the door yet.

Xu Dan then thought about whether he should find some firecrackers or something to set off, so that people would know that his hot pot restaurant was opening. Or he could find a gong and drum, and then he could put on a black bear bodysuit, act as a lion dancer, bang the drums, and dance around to make it lively.

Lost in thought, a group of people walked towards us from the east.

Xu Dan recognized them; they were from Fengzhen Temple. He wondered where these guys were going to exorcise demons this time.

Contrary to his expectations, the Pleiades Star Lord, the Winnowing Basket Star Lord, and the Wood Kui Star Lord, along with a group of people from the Fengzhen Temple, did not leave the city but instead headed towards his hot pot restaurant. Xu Dan quickly went to greet them, saying, "Please come in, everyone. Would you like a raw or cooked hot pot?"

Pleiades Star Lord glanced at the statue of Xuanwu True Lord hidden behind the screen and asked, "What is a raw pot, and what is a cooked pot?"

"Raw pot is where you put raw meat, raw vegetables, and other similar ingredients into the hot pot and cook them yourself, adding as much as you want. Cooked pot is where the raw meat and vegetables are pre-cooked and served ready to eat. However, the meat in the cooked pot will be slightly coarser and not as sweet and tender as the freshly cooked meat, but the advantage is that you don't have to wait and can eat it immediately. You can choose whatever you want," Xu Dan explained.

"Let's try a pot of each kind," said Pleiades Star Lord.

"Only one hot pot can be served per table. Since there are many of you, you can put two tables together so that you can serve two kinds of hot pot."

"Okay, we'll do as you say."

Xu Dan then told Yun Niang and Rui Wu Ni to move the two sets of tables and chairs together.

When Pleiades Star Lord saw Rui Wu Ni, he was visibly taken aback for a moment, but quickly composed himself and pretended nothing had happened. Looking around, he realized that neither Ji Water Star Lord nor Kui Wood Star Lord, nor the others from Fengzhen Temple, had discovered Rui Wu Ni's identity, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

If they recognize me, this meal will be quite uncomfortable.

Rui Wuni had actually taken Ya Zhu's advice and changed her makeup and made minor adjustments to her facial features. But while appearances can be altered, a person's innate temperament is difficult to conceal.

Moreover, Pleiades Star Lord was once her suitor and knew her very well, so he recognized her immediately. However, although he recognized her, he didn't dare to say it, nor could he, nor could he, say it.

However, when Rui Wuni brought the food up, his attitude inevitably became more respectful.

Once most of the dishes had been served, Xu Dan picked up a pair of chopsticks and went over, saying, "Since this is your first time eating hot pot, you probably don't know how to eat it. Let me demonstrate for you. You don't need to worry about the cooked broth; just start eating."

"Do I really need you to demonstrate? Just give it a quick scald, won't that do?" said Ji Shui Xing Jun.

"Many people think they can do it, but they can't."

Xu Dan said something, then picked up a piece of meat and put it into the hot pot to cook. As he cooked, he said, "There's a trick to cooking meat like this. You have to dip it three times, be quick and careful, and the cooking time can't be too short or too long. If it's too short, the meat will be raw; if it's too long, it will be tough, and the texture will be greatly diminished—it won't be as tender. After cooking, dip it in my special sauce, and the taste is simply divine! 'This meat should only exist in heaven; how often can one taste it on earth?'"

"If Du Fu knew that you had changed his poem like this, he might come up from below and spank you," Pleiades teased.

"He might even thank me for bringing this poem to new heights; otherwise, how would ordinary people know this poem?"

"That makes sense." The person from the famous Fengzhen Temple nodded in agreement.

"What kind of logic is that? It's all fallacies," another person from Fengzhen Temple retorted.

"Even fallacies are still logic. As the saying goes, 'Reason prevails everywhere, while unreasonableness makes it impossible to move an inch.' No matter what kind of logic it is, as long as it's useful, it's good logic. Everyone, stop talking and just pour the vegetables in, then you can start cooking the meat. If you need more meat and vegetables, you can add more, but it will cost extra," Xu Dan said.

"Young master, do you have any wine here? Bring me a jar." A man from Fengzhen Temple, who was eating a hot pot, asked.

Hearing his words, Xu Dan realized that his shop didn't have any alcohol. How could he run a shop without alcohol? But he was smart enough to immediately say, "What kind of alcohol do you want? I'll go find it for you."

"I don't care what kind of wine it is, as long as it's good wine."

"Okay, wait a moment, I'll be right there."

Xu Dan turned and ran out of the store, heading straight for He Rong's general store. Although their store was small, they sold everything.

"Grandpa, why are you running? Didn't someone go in to eat?" He Rong stood in front of the shop and couldn't help but be curious when he saw him running over in a hurry.

"The guest wants to drink. Do you have any wine here? Give me two jars."

"Of course, come on, I'll take you to the storeroom to get it."

The He family's general store is a mess; nobody knows exactly what they sell. They buy and sell everything. Despite the small storefront, the warehouses inside are huge, and there's more than one.

Ge Rong led Xu Dan to a room specifically used for storing wine. As soon as the door was opened, a strong smell of wine wafted out.

"Which kind of wine do you want?" He Rong asked.

Looking at the room full of wine, Xu Dan had no idea which kind he wanted, so he could only say, "Any kind is fine, as long as it's good wine."

He Rong pointed to a pile of wine jars in the corner and said, "Then let's take those over there. They're older, so they should be better."

Without saying a word, Xu Dan walked over, picked up a jar, and said, "I'll take one jar back first, and you can find me a different one. I'll settle the bill with you later."

"Okay, go ahead! The money isn't urgent." He Rong nodded in agreement.

Xu Dan hurriedly returned to the shop with the wine in his arms. He Rong then picked out a different type of wine before closing the storeroom and following behind him.

The wine had been stored for who knows how long, the jar covered in a thick layer of ash. Xu Dan found a rag to wipe it clean, broke the seal, and was about to find a bowl to taste it when a man from Fengzhen Temple, who had smelled the aroma, said, "Young man, don't bother, just bring the jar over, we'll pour it ourselves."

"That won't do. I have to taste it first and see if it's good. If it's not good and I sell it to you, wouldn't that be ruining our shop's reputation?"

The people at Fengzhen Temple fell silent upon hearing his words.

As the sealing paper on the wine jar was lifted, the aroma of the wine became even stronger. Xu Dan was about to grab the jar to pour the wine when Ge Rong, who was carrying another jar of wine, came in and quickly said, "Don't pour it like that. I have a wine ladle here; you can use it."

Xu Dan took the ladle, scooped some wine into his bowl, and took a sip. His face scrunched up in disgust. "What kind of rubbish is this? It's so sour, even more sour than vinegar. But the flavor is unique, with a strong grape taste. The liquid is also viscous, probably aged for many years. The color is still amber, truly living up to the poet Li Bai's line: 'Jingning wine, fragrant as tulips, served in a porcelain bowl, shines with an amber light.'"

Seeing him dawdling, a man from Fengzhen Temple stepped forward and picked up the wine jar. "Young man, if you can't drink, don't try to be a hero, and don't mess with other people's poems. Be careful, or the Taibai Sword Immortal might stab you with his sword."

"What do you know?"

Xu Dan rolled his eyes at him and said, "Li Bai's original line was 'Lanling wine, fragrant as tulips, served in jade bowls, gleaming like amber.' But we're not in Lanling, so naturally we should change it to 'Jingning.' And since we don't have jade bowls, we should change it to porcelain bowls to fit the occasion. That's called adapting to local conditions. You're just spouting nonsense without understanding anything. If you were in school, you'd definitely get a beating from the teacher. Little Magpie, don't you think?"

Xu Dan turned to the little magpie who had come over to watch the commotion and asked.

"Uh-huh"

Little Magpie nodded repeatedly and said, "Naughty children get their hands slapped by the teacher, but I'm very well-behaved and have never been slapped by the teacher."

The fat guy sitting next to me always got beaten by the teacher and cried. Then he got beaten by his mother when he got home. Once, his bottom was even red from the beating.

"How do you know his butt got red from being spanked?" someone from Fengzhen Temple joked.

Little Magpie, not shy at all, said, "During class, he took off his pants to show us."

Xu Dan quickly reminded her, "We girls can't look at boys' butts, or we'll get styes."

"I won't look. His butt is so dark and ugly. When the teacher saw him take off his pants, he hit him hard with a ruler. When he got home, his mother beat him too, and he didn't come to class for several days. He was so miserable."

It's really tragic, but what does it have to do with me?

Xu Dan muttered to himself, picked up a rag and wiped the wine jar that Ge Rong had brought over clean, preparing to open the second jar of wine.

Over there, the people from Fengzhen Temple were already pouring wine from wine jars, and the rich aroma of the wine wafted out, instantly filling the entire hot pot restaurant.

"What fine wine!" someone exclaimed upon smelling the aroma.

"It really is amber in color," someone said, looking at the wine in the bowl.

"This wine is at least thirty years old."

"It will take at least fifty years, not a single year less."

"At this rate, how long will it take you to pour all that wine? Watch me." One of the men, seeing how slowly he was pouring the wine, reached out and grabbed it. The wine in the jar flew out, landing in his hand and dividing into several portions, which then landed in the bowls in front of everyone.

The group immediately started drinking.