Chapter 33 "First Grade"

When Sun Yixie and Huang Donglai walked up to the second floor, more than ten people in the lobby on the first floor stared at them and took note of their faces.

These people, without exception, are all members of the martial arts world.

Among them, there were invitees like Sun and Huang who came to attend the Young Heroes Association, seniors from the Jianghu community who came to Luoyang to watch the fun, and local gangsters... And the reason why they looked at this was because It's because they all understand that the "upstairs" of the No-Return Building is not so easy to get to.

Everyone who knows anything knows that this Bugui Building has three floors.

The lobby on the first floor is the busiest place on weekdays. If you have money, you can sit down and eat, but the price is really not cheap.

The second floor is called "Zhixian Pavilion". It has several private rooms and a large kitchen that is separate from the kitchen on the first floor. On weekdays, most of the time, There are no customers on the second floor, because there is a rule for eating on the second floor - you have to pass the three levels of "one taste", "one glance" and "one word" before you can eat the food on the second floor.

If you don’t go up, that’s fine, but if you go up and fail the third level, then I’m sorry; not only will you not be entertained on the second floor, but you won’t be able to visit the first floor again in the future. If you enter, you will be on the "blacklist" of this no-return building. If you dare to come again, I will blast you out directly at the gate.

You want to ask why? It's simple, because you don't know your own abilities.

Buguilou’s boss hates people who don’t know their own abilities the most.

Of course, you can argue with the boss, that’s fine, the boss is on the third floor; he named the third floor “Siyuju”, where the boss has his own food and accommodation. Do you want to “ "Complain", you can go up and talk to the boss yourself.

Anyway, in the past few years, there have been many people who have complained vertically and come out horizontally saying they are "very satisfied".

Even if those prominent people in Luoyang City come, they must abide by the boss's rules without exception; that is to say, no matter how rich you are, as long as you can't pass the three levels, you will be on the second floor. You just don't deserve to sit down, so you have to stay on the first floor.

Over time, the number of people who went up to "humiliate themselves" basically disappeared.

As for the distinguished guests who can go to the second floor, they are undoubtedly very capable people. For example... Shen Youran can go to Zhixian Pavilion to eat at will; however, most of them are at his level. People here are very busy and don’t have time to run here every day. Those who do have time may not have that much spare money... After all, the food on the second floor is more expensive than the one on the first floor.

However, tonight, Sun Yixie and Huang Donglai, two freshmen who looked like they were just seventeen or eighteen years old, actually walked up to each other.

There is no doubt that everyone who saw this scene in the lobby on the first floor was waiting to see their joke.

"These two boys must not understand the rules here, or they are ignorant and fearless. They will probably be kicked out without much effort." - This is the vast majority of people present... No, it should be It is said that everyone who noticed the two of them had the same thought.Law.

This speculation is actually not wrong, but... things are unpredictable.

……………

“Two guests, please sit here for a moment, and I will go and inform you sir.” The greeter led Sun and Huang up. After reaching the second floor, he left them in a place similar to the front hall, then turned around and left.

Although there were seats and small tables with teacups in this place, no one served them tea, and there were no fruit plates or snacks.

"What's going on?" Sun Yixie felt a little unhappy when he saw the other party leaving, "What's going on in this store? I'm here to have a meal and I still want to see 'Mr.' Do you need to take a test first before eating?”

He said it casually, and it turned out to be correct.

"I don't know either." Huang Donglai answered, "But I just took a look around on the first floor. The food here is really good. Maybe we got into a restaurant that's really awesome." It's a shop, so there are many rules?"

"Hmm..." Sun Yixie thought for a moment, "When you put it this way...it seems possible, but if you open the door for business, can you still do it? Do you want to set up rules that prevent others from coming to spend money?”

“It’s hard to say.” After all, Huang Donglai is from a martial arts family. Even though he hasn’t been around much, he still knows about some strange people and strange things. "I have actually heard of a store that sets a threshold for consumption. There is one in the capital, called the 'Zhuangyuan Building'. The best banquet there is, you can't buy it with money, you have to exchange it for poems or pairs. Of course... poems need to be good and accurate, and illiterate limericks like yours will definitely not work."

"Go away!" Sun Yixie curled his lips and said, "Is it okay for me to have gone to a private school?"

p>

While they were chatting like this, they suddenly heard footsteps.

Not long after, a thin figure came from the direction where the greeter left.

The man was about forty years old, not tall, with a beard, white face, and rosacea. He was dressed as a scholar. He held a paper fan in his hand and walked lightly. He spoke with a Shaoxing accent: "You two." , I, Xue Tui, whose courtesy name is Qingshi, was given the number one 'Little Dezu', and I haven't asked for advice yet..."

Perhaps he was stimulated by Huang Donglai just now, or he heard the scholar greet him. The method was very impressive. Sun Yixie also acted on a whim and said: "It's easy to talk. I'm Sun Yixie, whose nickname is 'Yifeng' and is known as 'Sea King'."

Huang Donglai was listening and almost missed it. He laughed out loud, but then he thought about it, it was quite fun, so he jokingly added: "Then I am Huang Donglai, nicknamed 'Gong Ren', nicknamed 'Xudong Old Immortal'."

He muttered in his heart: "Where did these two idiots come from? Are they here to make fun of us? Don't you know where we are? Or are you here to cause trouble on purpose?"

I think so. I think so, but he won't fall out after just saying a few words.

Xue Tui thought for a few seconds, and then said in his slightly arrogant tone:"Okay, since Mr. Sun and Mr. Huang are both here, it means that you are here well prepared, so I won't go into details about the rules..." He paused and glanced at the two of them, "Then, what are you doing? Who has been to this 'First Grade' level?"

It should be noted here that the three levels of "First Grade", "Yiyan" and "Yiyan" of Zhixian Pavilion do not necessarily have to be all composed of one level. Because the private room here can accommodate eight people at the same table, so as long as one of the eight people can pass these three levels, it doesn't matter whether you pass the three levels alone or three of you each pass one. Any level is fine; but one thing remains the same... you can only challenge each level once, and you cannot try again if you fail, and if you fail, all eight of you at the same table will be blacklisted from now on.

"Uh..." When they heard this sentence, Sun Yixie and Huang Donglai both came to their senses - it seemed that their casual guess just now was indeed correct.

But now that the matter has come to this, the face-loving Brother Sun must not know how to pretend to understand and pretend to be fat. So, after a brief hesitation, he gritted his teeth and stamped his feet, taking a step forward. : "I'll do it!"

"Heh..." Xue Tui sneered in his heart, seeming to have read something from the expressions of the two of them, but he didn't tell the truth and just continued calmly, "Okay. This way, please."

After saying that, he turned around leisurely and led the two of them along the corridor.

After turning two corners, the three of them arrived at a fairly spacious teahouse, where an old man was already waiting.

Sun and Huang just took a look and knew that the old man was a cook, and a famous chef.

In Dashu, people pay a lot of attention to their clothes. Generally speaking, the colors are red, green, green, gold, blue, soap, tea, and white, and the styles include skirts, helmets, robes,襕, silk, shawl, coat, scarf; of course, there are actually far more than these 8864 correspondences. Here is just a general list of the most common combinations.

Most of these common colors and styles have certain symbolic meanings. They can not only symbolize status level and professional characteristics, but sometimes also refer to the five elements, direction, or character... These characteristics have a certain inheritance in today's opera stage, but not many people are interested in them.

In those days, cooks, even if they were relatively humble, usually wore green. But if the cook became famous and rich, he could also wear red, because the Stove Lord is a fire person. .

Going up one level, the imperial chef has a special official robe, with a "fire skirt" around the official robe for working.

If the imperial chef quits one day...those who are kicked out do not count...the few who can leave the palace safely will not be able to wear official robes, but the fire skirt can be left behind.

In addition, the waist badge used by the cook in the palace can also be brought out.

The waist plate is divided into two parts, yin and yang. There are two carp tails carved on the plate, one with its head facing upwards and the other with its tail extending upwards. One of the two fishes is protruding like a relief, and the other is concave like a cake mold. The raised pattern is the Yang card, and the sunken pattern is the Yin card; in the palace, going in and outThe reader and the palace guard each hold one piece. During the inspection, the two cards can be passed if they fit together, which is very clever.

When the cook leaves the palace, he can take the yang card with him and the yin card will be destroyed directly. After leaving the palace, this waist card will be a symbol of your status as an imperial cook... Of course, this operation requires money. Moreover, the eunuchs and guards must be filial, otherwise they will take away your badge.

Right now, the old man in front of Sun Yixie and Huang Donglai has a belt and is wearing a fire skirt, so his identity is self-evident.

"Old Master Yuan Fangzhi, I have met the two young masters." After Xue Tui's brief introduction, Yuan Fangzhi also bowed and then asked, "I wonder... which one Mr. Sun would like to 'taste' ""

When he heard this question, Sun Yixie realized that the so-called "first taste" turned out to be tasting food, and he responded: "What kind of food are there to choose from?"< /p>

"Huh..." Yuan Fangzhi had already exchanged glances with Xue Tui just now. He knew that the two boys in front of him probably broke in by mistake, so he responded with a somewhat arrogant attitude, "Heaven and earth, mountains and mountains. Treasures, birds, animals, water, trees, fruits and flowers...all are acceptable."

When Sun Yixie heard this, he thought to himself that this old guy is very arrogant. He is trying to get in my face. Plus, he is. I was already a little hungry, so I couldn't help but feel a little evil: "Huh... that is to say, flying up, running underground, swimming in rivers, jumping in grass huts... it all works, right? ?"

This paragraph is a phrase from cross talk. Huang Donglai has also heard it, and he knows that as soon as the other party agrees, Brother Sun's next sentence will be "wipe paper".

Huang Donglai felt that arguing would not help them get food faster, and if the other party really took out the butt-wiping paper and gave it to Brother Sun, Brother Sun might suffer a serious blow, so he hurriedly stopped him: " Okay, okay... Brother Sun, give me some face and don’t commit suicide, okay?”

His vulgar words made both Xue Tui and Yuan Fangzhi frown, but Sun Yi Xie really listened: "Okay."

Sun Yixie took another deep breath, paused, and then said to Yuan Fangzhi: "Then... I'll choose 'fish'."

"Oh?" When Yuan Fangzhi heard the word "fish", his expression was a little subtle, and he smiled immediately, "Ha...Okay, okay, sir, wait a moment." After saying that, he turned around. Went to the kitchen.

In less than a cup of tea, Yuan Fangzhi returned with a large tray.

On the tray, there are five small plates, each with something in it. At first glance, each plate is filled with fish, but it is obviously not possible to tell what they are just by looking at them.

Yuan Fangzhi quickly put the plates on the table next to Sun Yixie's seat, then stood aside, looked at Sun Yixie with a smile and said: "Master Sun... please."

Obviously, in Yuan Fangzhi's mind, Sun Yixie had already committed suicide at this level.

You said that if you choose something like pork or tofu, you might have a chance to guess where the ingredients come from, or at least how to make them; like black pig whitePig Jinhua pig, fried and boiled in southern paste and northern stew, most people have heard of it.

Fish? With the aquatic knowledge and fishing technology of that era, even fishermen sometimes couldn’t figure out what they were catching; to take a step back, even the fish that are well-known to the public have an extremely wide variety... So, this It can be said to be the most difficult choice.

But Yuan Fangzhi never expected...

"Huh...that's it?" Sun Yixie hadn't moved his chopsticks yet, but just took a look at the five plates. The thing already showed a disdainful smile.

At this time, the smile on Yuan Fangzhi's face disappeared, because he vaguely felt that the other party was not bluffing.

Tuk tuk.

Sun Yixie lazily picked up his chopsticks, tapped them on the table in a very uncivilized manner, and then tasted them: "Angler fish liver, boiled in white wine." Alas, his second chopsticks had already been taken out, and the aftertaste of the previous piece of fish in his mouth hadn't gone away, so he ate what was on the second plate, "Fugu sashimi, with a few drops of soy sauce." Then, The third bite, "Dried pickerel, pickled with chili, salt, cooking wine, onions, ginger, garlic, etc." The fourth bite, "Squid, steamed until soft and then mixed with black bean sauce." Finally, after the fifth bite, the fish is put in When he reached his mouth, he smiled again, "Ha... As for the last way to prepare the whitebait, let's just make do with it; considering that you cooked five kinds of it in such a short period of time... Oh no, the dried pike should be ready-made. It’s really difficult to cook four kinds of fish, so the cooking method is a little rough, so I don’t care.”

Huang Donglai was not surprised by Brother Sun’s pretense. After all, they know each other well.

But Xue Tui and Yuan Fangzhi were stupid...

Xue Tui was stunned and thought to himself: "Did I make a mistake? Did they deliberately lie when they reported their names just now? ? Wait... He just said he was the 'Sea King'?"

Yuan Fangzhi was even worse, his face was crooked; Sun Yixie not only got it right, but he also said What kind of fish and how to make it, and also mentioned the term "sashimi" which he had heard for the first time, as if he knew more about it than he did.

Yuan Fangzhi thought to himself: I wasn’t taught this way when I was cooking for the Emperor, right? What is this thing called?

But his idea is actually overkill - what does the Emperor know about this? They don't even know how much an egg costs per pound, or how to make meat out of the water first. Of course, they can't challenge you. But Sun Yixie has been dealing with the fish market for his whole life. You are being hypocritical with him. ? It's like a human swimmer discussing diving with an Atlantean.

"Humph...that's not a bad tone." Sure enough, Yuan Fangzhi thought about it for a while, but still wasn't convinced, "It's true that Mr. Sun guessed what my five-flavored fish is, and it passed the 'First Grade' This is a test, but if you say that my method of making whitebait is 'just okay', I would like to ask you for advice."

The translation of this is: "You.You say I can’t do it, right? Then come up and show me a demonstration. "

Actually... it's a bit messy.

But Sun Yixie doesn't mind trying to compete with the opponent in this situation of a sure win: "Okay, Come on, where's the kitchen? "As he spoke, he had already stood up, and turned to Huang Dong and said, "Brother Huang, come over together. I'll make an appetizer for us first. ”