Opening a Tavern in the Tang Dynasty

The next morning, Yu Yu and his family got up early.

Xiaoyu got up and said, "The emperor is coming today, hurry up and get ready."

Yuyu jumped into the kitchen: "Yes, yes, I'll go see how the lobster is doing."

Li Hao opened the door of the tavern and said, "I'll go get some wine from the private room on the second floor."

Yuyu opened her eyes wide and waved to Xiaoyu excitedly: "Mom, come and see, this lobster is jumping around and looks more energetic!"

Xiaoyu smiled, her eyes full of pride: "Of course it's like this because they've been soaked in the spiritual spring water of the space. The same goes for the fish we prepared. Every one of them is full of vitality. The emperor will definitely be satisfied."

As she spoke, she reached out and gently stroked the fish's scales: "Some of these scales have been scraped off."

Xiaoyu clapped her hands and shouted, "Alright, alright, Lihao, come over and help after you finish moving the wine. Let's start making the seafood feast."

Yuyu responded cheerfully, picked up the lobster skillfully, and placed it on the chopping board: "There are quite a few lobster claws here."

Li Hao also returned to the kitchen and began to scrape the fish scales: "This fish feels so spiritual." He scraped them one by one.

Xiaoyu washed the pot and prepared the seasonings: "If it were modern times, there wouldn't be many fish and shrimps left. There are only so many as in ancient times."

Yuyu first washed the lively lobster with clean water, and held the lobster's claws firmly in her hand: "Lobster claws are really biting."

She placed it on the chopping board, raised her knife, and cut the lobster into pieces neatly, revealing the crystal-clear shrimp meat. "Wow, this lobster meat looks so good. Mom, come and take a look."

Xiaoyu came over and put the shrimp meat into the pot. With a "sizzling" sound, the shrimp meat rolled in the hot oil and gradually turned golden. "Yes, yes, I haven't eaten lobster meat since I traveled back to the Tang Dynasty. I need to chew it a little to savor it."

Li Hao was handling the fresh fish. He expertly scraped off the scales, opened the belly, and cleaned out the internal organs. "Yes, yes, yes. But I've been in the Tang Dynasty for a while now, so I'm pretty used to it."

Then he made a few cuts on the fish and sprinkled salt and spices on it: "The fish is ready."

Xiaoyu nodded and picked up the shrimp meat: "I'll come."

She put the fish into the steamer, and soon the fresh aroma of the fish began to spread: "What a delicious fish!"

Yu Yu pried open the scallops, removed impurities, sprinkled them with special garlic sauce, and then placed cheese on them.

Hearing Xiaoyu calling her, Yuyu looked over and said, "Really? The fish is delicious, the lobster is delicious, and the scallops are ready too."

Xiaoyu lowered the lid of the pot, cleaned the plump crab, tied it up with a rope, and put it into the pot to cook together with the shrimp, conch, etc.: "Crabs are also good, let's cook them together."

Li Hao came over and asked, "Are you planning to make canned scallops again?"

Yuyu shook her head: "No, yesterday's were canned scallops, and now these are for cooking."

Xiaoyu stirred the pot: "Yuyu, bring the scallops over too."

Yu Yu gently put the processed scallops into the pot. The soup in the pot rolled slightly, splashing small water: "Just wait and cook."

As the seafood feast cooked, the aroma gradually became richer and filled the entire Zuixianlou.

Just then, "The Emperor has arrived!"

Li Shimin, dressed in a dragon robe, walked into the house with steady steps. He smelled the rich aroma and asked, "Is this the seafood feast you mentioned to me?"

"That's right, Your Majesty, please go to the private room on the second floor and wait." Xiaoyu answered respectfully.

"Okay." Li Shimin nodded slightly and walked towards the second floor with the gait of a dragon and a tiger.

The Yu Yu family skillfully served the delicacies such as lobster, fish and scallops out of the pot.

Yuyu carefully picked up the lobster with long chopsticks. The lobster was bright red. "Slurp~ It smells so good~ It smells so good, so good, so good!"

Xiaoyu brought out the steamed fish, which was intact, radiating an attractive sheen, and dotted with spices: "Yuyu, don't let your saliva drip onto the lobster dish. The emperor wants to eat it."

Li Hao served the golden-brown scallops with slightly melted cheese. The rich aroma of garlic and cheese instantly spread out. "It's been cooking for so long, I must be hungry. Hurry and serve it."

Private room on the second floor

Li Shimin sat in the private room, sniffing the aroma that was getting closer and closer: "Here it comes, it smells so good."

The Yuyu family filed in, placed the delicacies on the table one by one, and responded with a smile on their faces: "Yes, yes, your majesty, this is a seafood feast."

Yuyu sat down next to Xiaoyu, with Lihao on the other side of Xiaoyu. Yuyu muttered: This ancient emperor had never eaten lobster or fish, I wonder what it tastes like.

Li Shimin chewed the lobster, his eyes full of surprise: "This is a delicacy I have never tasted before! The shrimp meat is firm and chewy, and the unique flavor is wonderful!" After that, he picked up another piece and continued to taste it.

Yuyu peeled a lobster claw: "I caught these yesterday at the river."

Li Shimin picked up another piece of fish and put it into his mouth, chewing it slowly, his eyes showing an intoxicated look: "This fish is tender and melts in your mouth. The flavor of the spices and the freshness of the fish blend perfectly. It is truly the best delicacy in the world."

Li Hao picked up a piece of fish and said, "It smells delicious. This fish is really good."

Li Shimin then picked up another scallop, put it in his mouth and chewed it gently, nodding his head repeatedly. "This scallop is also very delicious. The combination of garlic and cheese is just right. It not only adds to the rich aroma, but also does not cover the sweetness of the scallop itself. Wonderful, wonderful!"

Xiaoyu chewed the scallop meat and said: "I also caught these by the river. There are so many of them."

Li Shimin nodded and picked up the crab, a puzzled look on his face: "How do you eat this? It looks strange, but I've never tasted it like this before."

Yuyu quickly bowed and replied respectfully, "Your Majesty, the crabs were first cleaned and then tied up with string to prevent the legs from falling off during cooking."

Xiaoyu nodded: "Yes, yes, after cooking, untie the string, then break off the crab legs, bite open the shell and suck the tender meat inside."

Yuyu picked up a crab for herself and said, "Open the crab shell like this and taste the crab roe and crab paste, which is rich and mellow. Finally, eat the crab meat, which is tender and juicy, and extremely delicious. Your Majesty, please try it."

Li Shimin picked up a few crabs and said: "I saw your tavern closed yesterday"

Yuyu chewed on the bouncy lobster claws and said, "Yesterday, my family went to the river."

Xiaoyu nodded while eating, "Your Majesty, my family and I originally went to the river to rest, so we closed the tavern yesterday."

Li Hao took a sip of wine and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, those lively fish, shrimps and crabs by the river were all carefully selected by us, hoping that they would suit Your Majesty's taste."

"Is that so?" Li Shimin nodded slightly, a hint of understanding flashing in his eyes.

Yuyu nodded and said: "I also found this lobster by the river. I didn't know if it was edible, but I didn't expect it to taste so good."

Li Shimin ate fish while looking out the window: "There are so many rivers in Chang'an, it seems I have something to eat."

Xiaoyu nodded quickly: "Yes, yes, yes, no one has ever fished in the river before. There are so many lobsters, fish, scallops and crabs that we can't eat them all."