The second man coughed dryly and replied, "There were two guests sitting across from me, one fat and one short. Both of these men were dressed as ordinary businessmen, and there was nothing suspicious in appearance. Because of the relationship between the two of them, they talked to each other, and soon became acquainted with each other. A man of smaller stature came out of snuff to greet the guest. The other, obese man, with a little humility, accepted it, and after the two had smoked snuff. They became more intimate, and the more they talked, the more speculative they became. Unexpectedly, after a while, the fat man who was smoked suddenly stopped talking, and actually closed his eyes and snored. I didn't pay much attention to it at first, I was just surprised how this person suddenly fell asleep. ”

"And then?"

After a while, there was a sudden loud noise, and it turned out that we had arrived at our destination. The frustrated man who gave the cigarette hurriedly stood up and stretched out his hands under his seat to take out his baggage. The fat man who was napping had been snoring like thunder for a while. At this time, he suddenly opened his eyes and stood up at the same time. ”

"Woke up suddenly? What did he say? ”

"He said coldly: 'Friend, you have taken the wrong baggage - slow! There's also a pair of chains here, so please take them with you! Before I could finish speaking, a metallic sound shook my eardrums. I looked up and saw that the dwarf who gave the cigarette had not yet arrived, and a chain had already wrapped around his neck. It turned out that the person who gave the cigarette was a liar, but the fat man who was deceived on the surface was a character in the six doors. The liar was dazed, and went to Tai Sui's head to break ground, but the result was that he fell into the net. Do you want to be funny or not? ”

After the story ended, the corner of the back seat was quiet for a while, and Jing Mo listened to it with great interest.

The first person to speak commented, "Well, that's funny. I think the tool used by the liar must have been the bottle of snuff that was used by the scammer. Isn't it? ”

"Yes, you're smart, and you can guess it." The storyteller agreed.

"But since that fat man has already smoked the thief's snuff, why hasn't he been unconscious?"

"I doubted that, too. But according to the fat man's own account, after receiving snuff, he secretly changed a finger when he came to his nostrils to smoke it. The liar was so careless that he didn't find out, so he fell into the trap of the fat man. ”

Jing Mo looked at the beautiful scenery of the water and sky in the distance, and let a few drops of the still cold river splash on his fingertips hanging out of the boat, and let the somewhat cold river breeze sweep over his face. The sun had not yet come out from behind the clouds, and the sky was gray.

In the distance, the river and the sky are connected in a line, and it is impossible to tell where the sky is and where is the sea. Suddenly, Jing Mo saw that there was a patch of white behind the clouds that gradually turned red, the clouds in the sky, the snow-white waves, and the ice flowers on the beach were all dyed red, and there seemed to be a fire beating between the sky and the earth.

Yes! It's the sun! Little by little, the fiery sun is showing its face from behind the clouds. As a result, the river was instantly reflected red, like a red light veil. On the water and on the beach, there are strings of colorful halos, which are extremely beautiful. At this time, the warm sunlight shone on Jing Mo's body, so the cold river wind blew on his face, and it didn't seem so cold.

After the two arrived in Yangzhou, they found that the inns everywhere were full of people, and it seemed that Yangzhou's commerce and trade were still developed and prosperous, and there was an endless stream of rich officials and businessmen.

Later, the two had to stay in a medium inn. The inn's name is Taiyu, and it is located on Zuowei Street in the middle of the city, and the location is also quiet. That night, Nie Xiaoman's friend He Shuda came to invite him to dinner, and talked about the situation in Yangzhou for a while, and they were very happy with each other.

In particular, there is a Yangzhou lion head, which is full of praise from Xiaoman and Jingmo.

"Lion's head", Yangzhou people also call it big chopping meat, and the northern dialect calls it "big meatballs" or "four happy meatballs". It is said that its "distant ancestor" is the "Jumping Pill Burn" recorded in the "Book of Food" of the Northern and Southern Dynasties.

Legend has it that Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty took a dragon boat to cruise the Jiangdu and enjoy the beautiful scenery, especially for the four famous scenery of Wansong Mountain, Qiandun, Ivory Forest and Sunflower Gang very nostalgic. After returning to the palace, he instructed the imperial chef to make four dishes based on the above four scenes. The chefs worked hard to make four dishes: squirrel fish, money shrimp cakes, ivory chicken strips, and sunflower chopped pork. After Yang Guang tasted it, he was very happy, so he gave a banquet to the ministers, and for a while Huaiyang dishes poured into the government and the opposition.

In the Tang Dynasty, with the economic prosperity, the eunuchs and magnates also paid more attention to "not getting tired of eating, not getting tired of fine". Once, when Wei Zhi, the Duke of Xun Guo, feasted guests, the famous chef in the house also made these four famous dishes of Yangzhou, accompanied by the delicacies of the mountains and seas, water and land treasures, which amazed the guests. When the dish of "sunflower chopping meat" was served, I saw that the huge meat ~ the sunflower heart made of dumplings was exquisite, like the head of a lion. The guests took the opportunity to persuade the wine: "The Duke of Xun Guogong has been fighting horses for half his life, and his military exploits are brilliant, so he should wear the lion handsome seal." Wei Zhi happily raised his glass and drank it all and said: "To commemorate today's event, 'Sunflower Chopping Meat' might as well be renamed 'Lion's Head'." ”

As soon as Bainuo was called, Yangzhou added the famous dish of "lion's head". And what Jing Mo and Xiaoman ate this time is different from the usual practice.

This is a rare large, stuffed lion head in Yangcheng. The filling changes depending on the season, and includes salted duck eggs, dried plum vegetables, and diced water chestnuts, which smell fragrant and have a rich taste. If you take a spoonful, there will be several layers of flavor. The first layer is the flavor of the meat, the general lion head is only fat and lean ratio, after eating in one bite, it is particularly easy to leave a feeling of being fat and tender or partial to dry firewood, but the lion head of the lion building is about to exhaust the meat taste, and there is the delicacy of the egg yolk, the crisp sweetness of the water chestnut, and the dry fragrance of the dried plum vegetables.

This is really rich in taste, with a long aftertaste, and others such as Wuting buns, Yangzhou old goose, general crossing the bridge, and barbecued porked mandarin fish also have their own characteristics. The three of them pushed the cup and changed the lamp, and dispersed happily.

Xiaoman and Jingmo's bedroom is the number of the place, although it is close to the street, fortunately, the location is relatively secluded, and it is quite peaceful when sleeping, but there is one thing that is very coincidental. The two young men I saw in the river boat before also lived in this inn, and they were in the Xuanzi room on the right side of the two.

When Xiaoman and the two returned to the room, they met the young man wearing a robe with an otter skin collar. The young man also seemed to recognize Xiao Man, and some smiles appeared on his white and tender face. Jing Mo later learned that this person's name was Jia Huizhou, and his companion who wore dark clothes and high cheekbones was named Li Kerong. They probably couldn't find any other inns, so they were demoted to this Taiyu.

In fact, as Nie Xiaoman and Jingmo, they can go to live in the government-run free post house, but with Xiaoman's character, they would rather pay out of their own pockets than engage in those false gifts that are ushered in, this low-key and quiet way is also the way that Xiaoman and Jingmo have always been accustomed to when traveling.

That night, Su Jingmo suddenly became hot because he drank a few more glasses of wine; The next morning, the headache was cracking, but the fever did not subside. The two of them originally came to travel, but suddenly Jingmo was seriously ill, interrupting the tour, and they were a little unhappy.

Nie Xiaoman comforted Jing Mo and said, "Jing Mo, you don't have to be disappointed. Let's take a day off, and tomorrow when you're better, we'll swim together. This time, we are here for fun, and we don't publicize it outside, so naturally no one will disturb us. Even if we stay here for a few more days, we might as well do it. ”

After a while, Nie Xiaoman frowned again and said: "But it's hard to say, I see He Shuda was a little too happy to drink yesterday, if he goes back and tells the news that we came to Yangzhou, then it is inevitable that the news will spread far and wide." ”

Jing Mo replied: "If it is really spread by him, if someone comes to the door to ask for advice, won't our travel plan be interrupted again?" ”

Nie Xiaoman smiled: "That's okay." Tomorrow if we can find a better inn, we can quietly change places. ”

On this morning, Nie Xiaoman responded to He Shuda's invitation to visit Daming Temple. Because of the fever, Jingmo stayed in the room alone to rest. Since Jing Mo's body was a little uncomfortable and he was mentally bored, he inevitably began to think a little cranky, but there was one thing that caught Jing Mo's attention.

Jing Mo heard the sound of silver ingots coming from the Xuanzi room next door, as if someone was counting the money over there.

Jing Mo didn't know how much money these two people had brought, and what they were doing after all. However, the day last day in the river boat, Nie Xiaoman expected that there must be money in the basket between the two of them, and this has been confirmed now.

At dinner, Nie Xiaoman still didn't come back. The climate is getting colder. Jingmo still slept on the bed, although he didn't feel like a lonely lamp in the inn, but there was not even a copper stove in the room, so he was cold and lonely, and he couldn't sleep anymore.