Chapter 47 East Exit
It was cold in spring, and old man Wu was sitting on a gray-yellow wooden chair wearing a cotton coat, panting. The wine grape flag flying high with the cold wind on the road danced twice like a loach, and then hung down feebly.
"There should be a lot of business today."
The country of Yue is located in the south, with a hot and humid climate. It rarely snows in winter, and the heavy snowfall last year was even rarer. The heavy snowfall made it impossible for carriages and horses on the entire Guli Road. Old Man Wu only received three groups of guests all winter, and now spring has arrived. The snow is melting and it's quite chilly, so it's a good time to drink.
Old man Wu leaned on the wooden chair lazily, and the broken chair under him creaked. He squinted his eyes and saw a burst of yellow dust rising from the path in the distance through the window.
He quickly stood up, limped to the door, and raised his voice:
"Meat - wine -, mutton - meat -"
Seeing the carriage and horse slowly arriving and stopping in front of him, Old Man Wu quickly said:
"Master in front, the shop has some meat and wine, and the spicy and sour side dishes are also delicious..."
But he saw the car curtain lifted, and two men wearing furs stepped out.
The leading man looked less than seventeen years old, with a handsome appearance and a long knife in his hand. His face was still a little immature, and he looked at the wine shop with a smile.
The man behind him looked to be in his mid-twenties, with a sword hanging on his waist. He had a fairly handsome appearance, and his eyes were bright, looking at Old Man Wu warily.
"It seems that the elders have come out to look after the younger ones. This young man seems to have some experience in the world of martial arts and is very alert. Looking at the sword, he should be a child of two wealthy families. He will make a profit today!"
Old man Wu immediately became concerned, smiled flatteringly, and said:
"You two, please come in. Our specialty snowflake meat wine is the delicacy of this dish."
After saying this, he turned around and said loudly:
"We have a visitor——"
As soon as the two of them sat down at the table, two men came running down from upstairs, hunched over and smiling ingratiatingly, standing behind the old man Wu.
"Bring a pot of snowflake wine and some dishes."
Wan Yuankai put down the long knife in his hand, and when he saw the old man ordered someone to do it, he cheerfully explained to Li Tongya:
"This snowflake wine is made from thin slices of mutton gizzard meat, boiled in fine wine, finely chopped and ground into a paste; then the mutton marrow and kidney fat are melted into oil in a pot, and the meat paste is mixed in. When used, soak it in warm wine and drink it."
Wan Yuankai swallowed his saliva and whispered:
"My brother from the same clan came here five years ago and ordered this pot of snowflake wine. He was immediately amazed. I still remember it. I only eat it in a few ways at home, and it has long since faded away."
Li Tongya sat unsteadily on the road for several days, eating dry food and drinking cold water every day. Hearing this, his index fingers moved and he couldn't help but look forward to it.
The two of them chatted for a few words when a noise came from outside the door. Several men in cotton-padded clothes came in, sat down and said loudly:
"Old man Wu, serve the wine!"
"Hey, you guys are here."
Old man Wu hurriedly greeted them with a smile, flattering everyone one by one.
"It's really freezing this spring. My brothers stayed at the east entrance all night, and the birds were almost frozen to death! I was released during the shift change, so I hurried up and had a few sips."
The sturdy man at the head laughed and continued:
"I don't know what happened in the past few days. The roads are strictly controlled. Several aristocratic families in the county have sent people to the roads, so no one dares to say a word!"
"Dahu, you don't understand this. You come here every few years. It's good to get used to it! Several aristocratic families in the county held on tight, and it passed in a few days."
A voice came from the table and spoke slowly.
Wan Yuankai listened with his ears perked up for a while, then whispered with a smile:
"This place is close to Guanyun Peak. I guess these people are the secular servants of the Xiao family."
Li Tongya nodded, Xiao Yuansi's appearance suddenly appeared in his mind, and he couldn't help but feel a little more favorable towards these men.
The waiter brought a pot of hot wine, a few side dishes and a bowl of snow-white mutton paste.
Wan Yuankai quickly picked up a small spoon, dug lightly into the paste, put it in the bowl, picked up the wine pot and poured it into the bowl. As he drank, an alluring aroma of mutton suddenly filled the air.
The leader of the tiger twitched his nose, his eyes lit up, and he praised:
"It smells so good, it's snowflake wine!"
Wan Yuankai didn't answer the man's words. He took a sip and motioned to Li Tongya to give it a try.
Li Tongya smiled helplessly, smiled politely at the man, brewed the snowflake wine, and took a sip after soaking.
The mellow aroma of the wine and the deliciousness of the mutton mixed with the faint taste of milk immediately rushed to the tip of his tongue. Li Tongya finished the bowl of wine without realizing it and chuckled:
"It's really delicious."
Seeing that Li Tongya and the others ignored him, the strong man pursed his lips in embarrassment and said in a low voice:
"There are a few bad money..."
Looking at the next table with envy, Dahu swallowed his saliva and turned around to chat with his brother.
Wan Yuankai had just taken a few sips when he saw another commotion outside the door. A group of people came from a distance and surrounded a young man in gorgeous clothes and entered the wine shop.
"Brother clan! Don't look at this shabby wine shop. This snowflake wine is the best on the road. The barren mountains and ridges at the east entrance are deserted, so this wine shop can only be used for entertainment."
A man in gorgeous clothes was bowing and gesticulating flatteringly in front of the young man in rich clothes. The man looked in his mid-thirties, but he was bowing his body and calling the young man in rich clothes as a clan brother. It looked quite funny.
"Um."
The young man in gorgeous clothes has slender eyes, is covered with snow-white fox fur, and has a golden brocade bag tied around his waist. His appearance is quite handsome, and he looks like he is well-fed and has fine skin and tender flesh. He just said lightly. He responded softly.
"It's bad, why is the steward of the master's family here!"
The face of the strong man named Dahu suddenly changed. He turned away and pretended not to recognize him. The whole table of strong men also lowered their heads, trembling and not daring to say a word.
"The young man in the gorgeous clothes is probably a direct descendant of the clan. The manager usually looks aloof, but when he meets this person, he acts like a dog."
Dahu glanced at the group of people quietly, and finally recognized two of them. They were all important figures among the Xiao family's soldiers stationed at the east entrance. At this moment, he stood respectfully behind the housekeeper, not daring to say a word.
The young man in fine clothes frowned slightly when he saw the environment in the store, but the middle-aged manager was so frightened that he lowered his head and did not dare to say a word.
The middle-aged steward thought about the words in his mind for a long time, but as if in a dream, he heard the young man in front of him laugh, and he was immediately frightened to death.
"This brother has a spiritual acupoint and has entered the immortal way. He has always been arrogant and domineering. I have been guarding the east entrance for more than ten days and I have never seen him smile. I'm afraid he is laughing instead of being extremely angry!"
The young man in rich clothes bowed his hand politely, with a kind smile on his face, and said softly:
"I didn't expect to see two fellow Taoists in a remote shop here!"
