There are many restaurants in front of Confucius Temple, just like today, students' money is easy to earn. Zhuangyuanlou is not outstanding among these many restaurants, the building has no unique style, but has a sense of historical sedimentation.
Zhu Ping'an stood downstairs of Zhuangyuan Building, looking at the three characters "Zhuangyuan Building" written in a flamboyant style on the building. A cultural atmosphere filled him and he felt it was extraordinary.
Although Zhuangyuan Building is inconspicuous, it has a large flow of customers. During the time that Zhu Ping'an stopped there, people came in and out in groups of three or four.
"Let's go. Today, Fatty is going to eat you into poverty!" The fat man still had some resentment about not being able to go to the other side of the Qinhuai River. He gritted his teeth and walked in first.
Zhu Ping'an smiled slightly and also walked upstairs.
There isn't much on the outside of Zhuangyuan Building, but once you go in you can feel a sense of elegance. There are mahogany furniture, wooden floors, and walls covered with calligraphy and paintings. A painting in the center is particularly eye-catching, with four large, realistic-looking characters "Zhuangyuan is Here" written in a flamboyant style.
"You have such a bad breath, I wonder what it tastes like." Fatty Xue Chi walked in front, glanced at the calligraphy and painting in the center, and pursed his lips.
"If you are not satisfied with the food here, we will not charge you." A neatly dressed waiter bowed with a smile on his face.
"That's what you said." Fatty Xue Chi waved his fat paw and pointed at the shop assistant.
"That's what I said." The shop assistant smiled and said, "Please come in, both of you."
Zhu Ping'an patted the fat man's shoulder from behind and walked towards the table the waiter had led him to.
Zhuangyuanlou is also divided into private rooms and lobby, but at this time the private rooms were all full, and only a few tables were left in the lobby. The waiter showed us a table by the window, which made Zhu Ping'an very satisfied.
There is a long wooden sign hanging on the wall, with the names of the restaurant's dishes written on it, making it easy to see at a glance.
"Give us a plate of your lion's head." Zhu Pingan casually glanced at the wooden signs. There were too many wooden signs on the wall, making it a bit overwhelming. However, Zhu Pingan still remembered the lion's head he had heard about a few days ago, so he ordered one.
"Okay, table number three, you'll have the first portion." Upon hearing this, the waiter shouted towards the kitchen.
Zhuangyuanlou is worthy of its name. The braised lion head is even the best.
As soon as the shop assistant finished shouting, the fat man on the side slammed the table, and the flesh on his face trembled, "Good, a good sign."
"Give us a whole serving of cold-boiled pig ears. And a jar of the best wine in your store." The fat man seemed to be excited by the waiter's monopoly, and started ordering food with his fat face like a bulldog.
"One portion of the Leader and one jar of Zhuangyuanhong." The shop assistant was good at speaking. After hearing the fat man order the dishes, he shouted towards the kitchen.
All of these words touched the fat man's heart, and he was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling.
The roast goose that made a splash when it didn't make a splash, the fish head and tofu soup that won the first prize, the four-happiness meatballs that won three prizes in a row... ...the table was filled with them.
It seems that fat people like this kind of good luck. Looking at the table full of food and listening to the waiter's singing, a fat face is full of satisfaction.
"Zi'er, what a coincidence."
The food on the table had just been served. Before Zhu Pingan even started eating, he heard a familiar voice calling him. He looked up and saw his uncle Zhu Shouren and other villagers coming in one after another. Everyone was smiling, except for his uncle's fat friend.
"Uncle, uncle..." Zhu Ping'an stood up and bowed from a distance.
"Angel." Several villagers bowed slightly with smiles on their faces.
"It's better to meet by chance than to meet in person. Now that the exam is over, why don't we celebrate together." Uncle Zhu Shouren stroked his beard and smiled brightly.
Fatty Xue Chi had also seen Dabo and the others. Besides, he was hoping for more people so that he could show off his chrysanthemum poem. He also enthusiastically invited the others to take a seat, and then waved his fat hand to instruct the waiter to serve six more of the restaurant's signature dishes.
"This little brother is so polite." Uncle Zhu Shouren praised with a smile after sitting down.
"No, no, you are all Brother Zhu's relatives and friends, and naturally you are also my relatives and friends." Fatty Xue Chi waved his hand casually.
Zhu Pingan waited for them to finish their greetings, then stood up and introduced them to each other so that they could get to know each other. The first two times he was in a hurry to take the exam and had no time to introduce them to each other, but this time he had time, so he introduced them all at once.
After the wine and food were served, everyone poured wine and picked up food, and the meal was enjoyed by everyone.
"Ahem, that retest..."
"That poem makes the yellow flowers look like scattered gold..."
After drinking a glass of wine, the fat man just opened his mouth to find an excuse to mention his chrysanthemum poem when he heard a voice that coincided with his. It was Zhu Ping'an's uncle Zhu Shouren. The two looked at each other and laughed at the same time.
Afterwards, Zhu Ping'an listened with a pained look on his face as they praised each other's chrysanthemum poems. Several fellow villagers also recited their own chrysanthemum poems together, all with proud looks on their faces.
The more proud they were, the more upset Zhu Ping'an felt.
When drinking with a bosom friend, a thousand cups are not enough. After a few drinks, Uncle Zhu Shouren and several other villagers drank a few glasses of water. They were drunk and slapped the table. They boasted to Zhu Pingan with a big tongue, "Zhi'er (Ang'er), it's such a pity that you didn't go with me to meet my friend's mentor. It's really such a pity..."
"Oh, why do you say it's a pity for Brother Zhu?" The fat man's fat face came closer.
"You don't know, that day we were drinking with our friend and mentor, and he pointed at the chrysanthemums outside the window and asked us to compose a poem... Tsk tsk, do you think it's a pity for Zhu'er..." The uncle drank and sighed as he looked at Zhu Ping'an.
Hearing this, the fat man looked at Zhu Ping'an with sympathy and shook his head, "Brother Zhu, it's such a pity. If you had gone with your uncle, your test poem would not have been inferior to my chrysanthemum poem..."
Hearing this, Zhu Pingan felt even more upset.
"Okay, Zhu'er, next time, although uncle and others will no longer need to take the college entrance examination, you don't have to worry. Uncle will introduce you to his friends and mentors in the future..."
"That's right, don't regret it, An Ge'er."
Uncle and others took it for granted that Zhu Ping'an's distressed look was a sign of deep regret, and they all tried to comfort him.
As a result, Zhu Ping'an became even more annoyed and had to lower his head and concentrate on dealing with the delicious food and wine.
On the third floor, there was a private room where Xia Luoming from Tongcheng, Feng Shanshui from Susong and others were sitting. In addition to the people they usually stayed with, there were also a few unfamiliar faces. One of them was the imposing man who had shown disdain to the students who were reciting chrysanthemum poems in front of the Jiangnan Imperial Examination Hall that day.
Looking out from the private room, the scene in the lobby is clear at a glance, and the sounds can be heard vaguely.
"Chrysanthemum Poetry... Haha, this is the only first prize for this year's government case. You guys are exaggerating."
A student with a distinguished demeanor was standing in front of the private room window. He turned away from the window and returned to his seat, smiling at Xia Luoming and the others.
"I heard his comments on chrysanthemum poems yesterday, but I didn't expect it to be the same today..." The handsome man said lightly, playing with the wine glass in his hand.
"This is our fault. We never thought he would be so incompetent. Please forgive me, Brother Liu and Brother Guo. It seems that the real winner this year will be one of you two gentlemen." Feng Shanshui from Susong stood up with his glass raised, and it seemed that he was quite respectful of the two men.
"If it weren't for Brother Liu's filial piety and Brother Guo's study abroad, how could we have the honor of taking the exam with Brother Liu and Brother Guo?"
Even Xia Luoming, who was always conceited, put away his pride and stood up to raise his glass.
Other people present also raised their glasses, and many of them looked ashamed. It was probably because they had also written poems about chrysanthemums and autumn.
Upstairs and downstairs, people were toasting each other and having a great time.
Zhu Pingan was drunk and went to the counter to pay the bill in advance, but was told that the fat man at the same table had already paid. Zhu Pingan could only smile bitterly and shake his head. (To be continued)
ps: There will be at least three updates today. I won't miss it.