Three quarters past the hour of Mao.
At about half past five, Zhu Ping'an got up, washed up, opened the door, and another fresh morning came.
At dawn, the sky was slightly dark, with a hint of paleness in the east, and the sun was still rising below the horizon.
The entire capital city was still immersed in sleep.
Hearing the sound of the door opening, the little girls in the ear room rubbed their eyes, put on their clothes and went out. Seeing Zhu Ping'an who had already washed up and was ready to go out, the two little girls widened their eyes in surprise and subconsciously looked up at the sky. It was still dark, why did the son-in-law get up so early
"Morning... No need to prepare my breakfast, I'm going out for a while." Zhu Ping'an nodded, then walked out with a cloth bag slung over his shoulder.
"Don't you want to sleep, sir?"
It was not until Zhu Ping'an walked out of Tingyuxuan that the two girls came to their senses. They looked at their son-in-law's departing back and looked at each other with their mouths open, unable to understand why Zhu Ping'an went to bed so late and got up so early.
The night curfew had just ended and there were still few people on the streets outside.
Zhu Ping'an left the Linhuai Marquis Mansion and walked along Gonghou Street. He turned left at the second intersection, walked along the alley lined with weeping willows to another street, and after turning right, he saw an inner canal with gurgling water.
As usual, Zhu Ping'an found a good place by the river, sat on a rock, and leaned his back against the weeping willow.
When we sat down, the sun had already risen from below the horizon.
Zhu Ping'an leaned against the tree trunk, took out the book he borrowed from the Hanlin Academy from the cloth bag slung across his body, and began to read with relish under the golden light of the river.
A year's plan starts with spring; a day's plan starts with the morning.
Human memory is like the liver. There are several time periods when it is most efficient, and morning is the best time of the day for memory. Zhu Pingan has always had the habit of morning reading. He gets up early to read a book or an article, and he always gains something. After morning reading, he eats breakfast, which does not delay anything.
The sounds of birds in spring, cicadas in summer, insects in autumn, snow in winter, the wind in the willows in the forest, the gurgling of water in the stream... In the morning, no matter how early you get up, you will never be alone.
When it was bright that day, Zhu Ping'an put the book into a cloth bag, brushed the dust off his clothes, stood up and walked towards the awakened and bustling streets.
The streets are already crowded with people, and shops along the streets have either started business or are preparing to open.
The aroma from the breakfast shop spreads from far away, and there is always a taste that can arouse the taste buds of passers-by.
"Baozi, big buns with thin skin and meat filling, so juicy..." The boy in the bun shop was guarding the bun stove in front of the door. He opened a tray of hot meat buns and shouted to passers-by.
"Master Liu, you are here. Here are some freshly baked mutton Guada. Please buy some and take them home for your children and wife to try. Wrap them in lotus leaves, they are even more delicious..." The waiter at the pot sticker Guada shop stood by the roadside and cordially pulled a regular customer.
The breakfast shops on other streets, selling wontons, sesame cakes, fried cypress, hot and sour noodles, fried liver, shredded tripe soup, offal soup, etc., were all busy and the delicious aroma could be smelled from afar.
Zhu Ping'an, with a cloth bag slung across his shoulder, stood in front of a sesame seed bun and sundry food shop, watching the shop's master make sesame seed buns with interest.
The old master worked very efficiently. He wore a coarse cloth apron around his waist, and worked with dough in one hand and rolling pin in the other. He played with the dough in many ways, slamming the dough, rolling the dough, and rhythmically beating the rolling pin.
The clay oven emanates the delicious smell of sesame cakes.
"Sir, please sit inside." The shop assistant saw Zhu Ping'an standing in front of the clay stove and hurried over to greet him.
"What do we have in our store?" Zhu Ping'an asked.
Although sesame seed cakes are very fragrant, if the store only sells sesame seed cakes, the breakfast will lack the mixed taste.
"Fresh flour sesame cakes are only two cents each. Come and see the size of the sesame cakes... In addition to sesame cakes, our store also has handmade noodles, wontons, offal soup, tofu pudding, bean curd, and stewed food. If you want to eat something else, I will run errands to buy it for you in the blink of an eye..." The shop assistant bowed and greeted warmly.
hehe
Now that things have come to this, how can I not go in
"Okay, give me two sesame cakes, a bowl of braised pork, more sesame sauce, and more chopped coriander and chives." Zhu Ping'an nodded with a smile, walked into the store, and sat down at an empty table near the door.
"Okay, two sesame cakes, a bowl of braised pork, more sesame sauce, and more chopped coriander and chives..." The waiter bowed and invited Zhu Ping'an into the store, then looked up and reported to the kitchen.
The kitchen staff responded.
Soon, a bowl of hot stew was served on the table, along with two fragrant sesame cakes. In addition, the store also gave a stack of refreshing pickles for free.
The hot stewed food was paired with freshly baked sesame cakes and tasted delicious, which made Zhu Ping'an very hungry. However, the only drawback was that the side dishes provided by the store were not as delicious as those made by his mother, Chen.
Halfway through his meal, Zhu Ping'an heard a commotion at the door of the store, and many diners turned their heads to look towards the door.
Putting down his chopsticks, Zhu Ping'an turned his head and looked at the door, only to see a middle-aged man in tattered clothes coming in. He had a dark complexion, unshaven beard, and his hair looked like it hadn't been washed for more than half a month. He was carrying a bamboo basket on his back.
"Shopkeeper, can you give me a bowl of noodles? I went to the city to sell mountain products yesterday, but I lost my wallet. I haven't eaten for a day, and I'm starving."
The sloppy middle-aged man stood at the door, rubbed his hands, and asked the shop owner.
The shop assistant at the door was trying hard to pull him out, and the man he was pulling was wearing even more tattered clothes.
It was this person's appearance that caused the commotion.
"fraud... ... "
"Don't trust fake beggars."
"Boss, don't trust him. We've seen a lot of people like him."
"Don't be fooled. This scam is too common. I've seen a few of them in Dongzhimen before. They would borrow money from people they met on the street, saying they haven't eaten for a few days. These people make a lot of money every day."
The customers in the store pointed at the man at the door and talked a lot, reminding the shopkeeper and the people around him earnestly not to be fooled.
“Get out, get out…” The shopkeeper glanced at it and waved impatiently towards the door.
The shop assistant received the order and drove people out even harder.
"Wait."
Just as the man was about to be kicked out, a young man's voice was suddenly heard coming from inside the store.
who
Why are you so stupid
Why did you still fall for it after being warned
Everyone turned their heads and saw Zhu Ping'an waving at the shop assistant. Everyone couldn't help but sigh when they saw this.
"Make me a bowl of noodles and put it on my account. Also..."
Zhu Ping'an stopped the shop assistant from chasing the man away, called the shop assistant to his side, and whispered a few words in his ear.
Since someone has paid, the store owner will naturally not chase people away.
Soon, a bowl of noodles was served. After thanking Zhu Ping'an, the middle-aged man sat at the table and started to eat voraciously.
In less than a minute, he finished a bowl of noodles and even drank up all the soup.
After the middle-aged man finished eating, Zhu Ping'an took out a dime of silver from his pocket, worth about one hundred coins, and stuffed it into the man's hand, asking the man to go home quickly and not to worry his family.
The man thanked him profusely.
"You've been fooled."
"Hey, you've been deceived."
"That's a liar, young man."
After the man left, everyone said that Zhu Ping'an had been deceived and were very worried for him.
"I didn't ask the store to put salt in the bowl of noodles just now..." Zhu Ping'an said softly as he watched the middle-aged man leave.