Cranes and Blazing Sun - C71

An ancient city with a long history. It was originally the most beautiful city in China. Since ancient times, it had always been a place where all the armies had to fight, so it was very prosperous here. The area is located in the northwest of Hubei Province, the middle reaches of Hanzhong River and the inner reaches of the plain.

At this time. The four of them arrived at Xiangyang City and entered through the eastern gate. On both sides of the street, there were rows of shops. It was very busy. Miao Rufei said, “This big city is different.”

Lei Qiuting said, “We are finally here. Along the way, we rode four horses to their deaths, travelling day and night at the same time.” They had finally arrived at Xiangyang City. It was the fifth day after all. There are still three days until the deadline, so there’s still a time limit. ” Zhang Qingyun said, “Thank you for your hard work, everyone.”

Miao Rufei answered, “The hard work is still secondary.” As long as we can save a little bit of Cang and the others, this bit of suffering will be of no consequence. Lulu, now that we have arrived at Xiangyang City, how can we contact Hua Ruyan and the rest? ” Mu Zijun said, “Hua Ruyan said that she will send people to find us as soon as we enter the city.” We don’t need to find her. ” Miao Rufei said, “We don’t need to find her. How would she know when we would enter the city?” From which door? ”

Zhang Qingyun said, “That’s not difficult. The Divine Bird Hall under the Ice Magic Sect is located in Xiangyang City, so there will be many members of their sect here. Everyone we see right now might be from the Ice Cold Sect, so as long as we enter the city, she will immediately know.” He wasn’t worried about how to contact her at all. “It’s already past noon, we should all be hungry. Why don’t we go find a place to eat something while waiting for someone like Hua Ruyan?”

Lei Qiuting said, “Alright, I’ve been wanting to eat since a long time ago. After walking for so many days, I’ve been eating dry food on the road. It’s time to go to the city and eat some good food. ” Miao Rufei said, “Xiangyang City is so big, there must be a lot of delicious food here. I wonder what special delicacies are in this place.”

Lei Qiuting smiled. “When you come to Xiangyang City to think of something, you can just ask me about it. I came to Xiangyang City with my father a few years ago and he told me that if you came to Xiangyang City to eat, Li Ji’s beef would be the first choice.” Li Ji’s beef noodle soup was very spicy and fragrant. It was incredibly beautiful, completely different from the meat noodles found in other places. “It’s especially delicious.” Mu Zijun said, “Sister Tingting, is it as delicious as you said?” I can’t help but want to pay you back. ”

Lei Zhaoting replied, “Of course there is. I’ve eaten quite a lot in Xiangyang and the taste is still fresh in my mind.” He even tried the landlord’s plain rice wine while he was eating the noodles. That would be even better. The rice wine here was a little like the rice wine made by the farmers themselves. It was sweeter. However, the alcohol was stronger. I’ll get drunk if I drink just a little bit. ”

Miao Rufei said, “I didn’t think that Xiangyang would have such a good wine.” When an alcoholic heard you say that, he must be secretly amused. ” As he spoke, he looked at Zhang Qingyun with a smile.

Lei Zhaoting didn’t know who she was talking about, so she asked curiously, “Drinking, are there any drunkards among the four of us?” His eyes scanned the other three.

Zhang Qingyun smiled and said, “Don’t listen to Fei’er’s nonsense, there’s no drunkard here. Tingting, since you’ve come here before, what is there to eat in Xiangyang City?”

Lei Zhaoting said, “If you want to eat food, then the braised prawns here are unique. “The other places are definitely not as tasty as the ones here. The large braised prawns cooked here are unique in taste, fragrant, spicy and very tasty.” Zhang Qingyun said, “Tingting, since you’ve said all these things are so delicious, then we’ll go and compensate the beef noodles and braised prawns here. What do you think?” The three of them clapped. The four of them had only walked a few steps down the street when they saw Li’s signboard, which was as large as a beef noodle [1]. The signboard was so large that one could clearly see it from several dozen zhang away. All four of them were thinking that such a big signboard, Li’s reputation, was indeed very famous here. As they approached, they saw that it was written on it, “A Hundred Years Old Shop; Li’s Ox Meat Mask”. The store had two floors. The moment the four people entered, they saw that the store was very big. However, when people entered, they were shocked that there were no customers in such a large store. Even the two waiters were sleeping on the table. Zhang Qingyun felt that this shop was very suspicious. There was a hundred-year-old shop outside, but there was no one inside. Such a shop was mostly a place to cheat people of its name, so it was better not to enter. Lei Qiuting was the first to walk into the shop. Seeing that the waiter wasn’t going to come out to greet them, he was just lying on the table to sleep, this was simply preposterous! She strode over and knocked on the table, “Are all of Xiangyang’s waiters like this?” When guests come, they don’t come to greet them. Instead, they just lie on the table and sleep. The service attitude is too bad. ”

The two waiters were jolted awake. He barely opened his sleepy eyes, which were still bloodshot, as if he had yet to wake up. When Zhang Qingyun saw Lei Zhaoting walk into the store, he followed the other two into the store. He had to remind Tingting to pay attention to the shop later.

The shopkeeper heard it. The shopkeeper was in his forties and had an aquiline nose with a cat’s eyes. He had a goatee. Her cheeks glowed with oil. This person could tell at a glance that he was someone who was in charge. He had a bit of knowledge, but also a bit of sarcasm. The four of them walked into the store. He knocked on the heads of the two waiters and then said, “Sleep in broad daylight. Why don’t you go greet the customers?” Walking up to Lei Zhaoting, he said, “Esteemed guest, please have a seat.” “Sorry about before,” Ye Zichen turned around and kicked a waiter. He said, “What are you still standing here for? “Why don’t you hurry up and pour the guests some tea?” After being scolded by the shopkeeper for a while, the two waiters immediately entered the state. Throw the bugs out of the sky. A waiter brought four teacups and a teapot, his face full of smiles. “Esteemed guests, please take a seat.” Zhang Qingyun and the others found a table and sat down.

The waiter poured a cup of tea for each of them and pushed it in front of each of them, saying, “Dear guests, it’s been a long time. Please drink a cup of tea to quench your thirst.” The other waiter brought a menu. He said, “Four. Want to eat something. The most delicious and famous dish in the restaurant is the beef noodles.

Zhang Qingyun took the menu and looked around, saying, “Second brother, I have a question to ask.” The waitress said, “If there is anything you need, feel free to tell me.” Zhang Qingyun said, “Is this a hundred-year-old shop?” The waiter was stunned for a moment, not knowing why Zhang Qingyun would ask such a question, he immediately smiled and said, “Of course, the old signboard of our shop, Li Ji, has not been known for a hundred years. A hundred years ago, Li’s beef noodle soup had already taken up residence in Xiangyang City. In the north of the city, Li Dongchun had opened his first house, the Li’s Noodle Soup Dumplings. His business was exceptionally good. Following that, he opened many branches and continued to operate until now. Right now, Li’s big boss, Li Xinyang, is the one with beef noodles, and this store was opened by him three months ago. ” Zhang Qingyun said, “This shop has a long history, but why is there no one in here?” A hundred year old golden signboard should be filled with guests, so why is it so desolate? ”

The waiter said, “Dear guest, this is your first time in Xiangyang and you are not aware of the customs here. Xiangyang people usually ate noodles in the morning and had a few snacks in the evening, so they wouldn’t stay at home for lunch. Since the store had just opened, and it was only open for the night sky, there were no customers in the afternoon. Don’t think that our Guest Clan is so big. As long as it’s night time, we won’t be able to sit here. Furthermore, it is now afternoon and most of the people have gone to work. Who would have the time to come and eat noodles? ”

Lei Qiuting said, “It’s such a big hall and it’s full. “Second brother, you’re not bragging, are you?” The waiter said, “Esteemed customer. If you have the time, you’ll know when you get here in the evening. ” Zhang Qingyun saw that although the waiter’s words were simple and honest, he did not seem to be flustered, but he still found it strange that he did not believe what the waiter had said. He thought for a moment. He had said business was good, but there were only two waiters in the store. Wouldn’t they be too busy in the evening? But now that they had entered, they would be able to take care of whatever came their way. They just had to pay more attention to them. “This custom isn’t bad. We’ve just arrived at the precious place, so we’re not familiar with it. I hope the waiter won’t mind. Could you please give us each a bowl of beef noodles?” The waiter replied, “Okay, please wait a moment, sir.” He turned around and walked away. He headed towards the kitchen in the inner hall.

After looking at Zhang Qingyun for a long time, Lei Zhaoting finally ordered a bowl of beef noodles. In her heart, she was very nostalgic about the taste of the braised prawns. He then said, “It’s rare to be here. How can I not pay for the large braised prawns here? Innkeeper, please wait.” The waiter immediately turned around and said, “Sir, is there anything else?” Lei Qiuting said, “Also, give me two plates of stewed prawns.” Due to the presence of the waiter, Zhang Qingyun could only tell her that this shop was rather strange. When she spoke, he could only give her a meaningful glance, but Lei Zhaoting and the waiter did not notice.

The waiter smiled and walked over again, “This lady, she is really an expert. She knows that we have such famous dishes in Xiangyang City, there are hundreds of thousands of other restaurants in Xiangyang City that can cook such big braised prawns. However, the braised prawns cooked by me, Li Ji, are even more excellent. I can’t find a second one in Xiangyang City with this taste. The young lady then ate the braised prawns. Could you also have a pot of yellow wine? The special wine made by our shop was also excellent. The taste is especially good, and eating it together with the large stewed prawns is even more comfortable than cooking it into a deity. ” Since the waiter had said so, Zhang Qingyun didn’t wait for Lei Zhaoting to speak before saying, “Many thanks, brother Er. None of us will drink wine, so we don’t need the yellow wine.” “Alright, please wait for a moment, the noodles will be ready soon.” He turned around and walked into the kitchen.

Miao Rufei smiled and said, “Brother Qing Yun, I saw you drinking alcohol a few days ago. It’s such a good opportunity today, why didn’t you drink alcohol?” Lei Qiuting said, “Yeah, Brother Yun, didn’t you sometimes drink a little wine before? You came to Xiangyang City and ate all the noodles and prawns, but you didn’t eat any alcohol. Wouldn’t it leave a tinge of regret?”

Zhang Qingyun and the waiter walked far away and glanced at the shopkeeper at the counter. They saw that the shopkeeper was also looking their way, and seeing Zhang Qing looking at them, he smiled and lowered his head to fiddle with the abacus. Zhang Qingyun also smiled back and turned around, wondering if it was just a coincidence or if he had been watching us all this while. He couldn’t help but become even more suspicious of this shop. He immediately said softly, “You can stop talking. If you want to drink yellow wine, you can go to another shop.” Don’t you think this shop is a little strange? Besides, drinking is a mistake. Don’t forget why we’re here. ”

When Lei Miao and Zhang Qingyun heard what Zhang Qingyun was talking about, they immediately shut their mouths. They couldn’t help but look at Mu Zijun, who had a worried expression on his face. In her heart, she seemed to be worried about her junior brother. Her face was full of sadness, but she didn’t say a word. When the two of them arrived, all they said was that they wanted to eat and drink. Miao Rufei said, “What’s so suspicious about such a large store? Big brother Qingyun, what did you see?” Lei Zhaoting said, “How could we forget? If it’s like this, first, we can have a good meal, and secondly, numb the enemies, making them think that we’re just here to eat and drink. They think we’re vulnerable. ”

Zhang Qingyun smiled and said in a low voice, “Don’t say it so loudly. Don’t forget that we are in the center of the country, and that everyone around us could be enemies. Therefore, this place is not safe, so we shouldn’t talk too much about it.

Seeing that he was doing something with his head lowered, he rubbed his face. Luckily, he did not see the expression on his face just now, and immediately returned to normal, saying softly, “Brother Yun, it can’t be that you’re mistaken, right? Such a big shop could poison a customer’s food, that’s unlikely. Even a black shop wouldn’t open in this city.” And hanging such a big signboard, “Zhang Qingyun continued,” It doesn’t matter what kind of store he is, or what path he takes, we won’t provoke him. Right now, we are in the enemy’s heart, so it’s better to be careful in everything we do.

Not long after, two waiters came over with four bowls of beef noodles and two plates of large stewed prawns. They placed the large stewed prawns in the middle of the table and placed a bowl of beef noodles and a pair of chopsticks in front of each of them. The two of them withdrew.

However, no one dared to move the beef noodles in front of the four of them. Because Zhang Qingyun had just said that there was a high probability that there was already poison in the soup, the two waiters seemed to be members of the Cold Ice Sect. They were both wondering if they could really eat this and if there really was poison in it.

Zhang Qingyun could not help but feel his face turn hot. Not so many women had looked at him in unison before. He could not help but lower his head and ask, “Why are all of you looking at me? Since the noodles are here, why aren’t you guys eating! ” Lei Qiuting said, “Didn’t you say that this dish is poisonous? Who would still dare to eat it? Do you want to poison us to death? ” Zhang Qingyun said, “I didn’t say it was definitely poisonous, but it’s just possible. I told you guys to be careful, even your faces are coming. We can’t just sit here and not move. That way, they would suspect that the shopkeeper is still watching us.”

Lei Qiuting suddenly turned around. As expected, the shopkeeper was looking at her again. He also smiled at her. His smile was so sweet, so kind, and so amiable. However, Lei Zhaoting felt goosebumps all over her body, feeling that this smile was extremely evil. His smile was not that kind of amiable, it was like a sinister smile. Even his back felt cold. Turning back, he let out a breath and said, “This shopkeeper is really watching us closely. What are we going to do now? In the past, we shouldn’t have come to this shop, so we might as well leave some money and leave. If the customer asks us if we want to eat, he can’t do anything to us. “