Pastoral Splendor

"Liuhua, don't talk nonsense in front of the young master." Boss Xiao hurriedly pulled Liuhua aside. Liuhua's meaning was all too clear. She clearly wanted Xu Yixuan to give her money to buy meat.

Looking at Xiao Laoda's flustered appearance, Yan Ying couldn't help but sigh. How can a person not have any ambition? In this respect, Liu Hua is much more ambitious than Xiao Laoda. Eating meat every day is not an unattainable goal, but Xiao Laoda regards it as an unachievable goal.

"Miss Xiao, don't sigh yet. Tell me quickly, how much silver do you want? I didn't bring any silver with me today. I'll have Xiuyun bring it to you when we get back." Xu Yixuan felt a little embarrassed. Why didn't he bring any money with him today?

"Young Master Xu." Seeing Xu Yixuan's embarrassed appearance, Yan Ying thought to herself, "This Young Master Xu is really compassionate. I must use his name to make a good fortune." Last time, she heard from the old woman in the villa that he had gone back to the villa to avoid the passing of the year, and he might not come back to Yuzhou after a year. She must save up some money in this year.

"Hmm?" Xu Yixuan suddenly felt a little embarrassed. When he saw Yan Ying's bright black eyes, his heart skipped a beat, and he felt his breathing become unsteady.

With a sweet smile on her face, Yan Ying asked Xu Yixuan, "Was my cooking good? Would you like to try the stir-fried minced pork with pickled bamboo shoots?"

Xu Yixuan nodded obediently: "Your cooking is much better than the cooking of the cooks in our family. I'm still thinking about your stir-fried minced pork with pickled bamboo shoots. When can you make it for me?" A smile appeared on Xu Yixuan's face, and his eyes were filled with joy: "How about tomorrow or the day after?"

"Not now, it will take about thirteen or fourteen days. But I would like to ask Prince Xu for a favor, as a reward for Yan Ying." Yan Ying wiped her hands on her clothes before picking up her chopsticks and taking a bite of tofu. The fire was a bit too big, and the tofu was overcooked and the outer shell was a little hard. She would have to be more careful next time.

Seeing that Yan Ying stopped mid-sentence, Xu Yixuan became somewhat anxious: "What do you need my help with?"

"Young Master Xu, in ten days or so, go to the restaurants in Yuzhou City and ask for the dish 'Stir-fried Minced Pork with Pickled Bamboo Shoots.' I don't think any of the restaurants in Yuzhou City should have this dish." Seeing Xu Yixuan's disbelieving expression, Yan Ying smiled and said, "If they do have this dish, Young Master, you can order it and try it, then shout that it's awful and disgusting!"

Jian Yifei, who was listening nearby, suddenly interjected, "Miss Xiao, do you perhaps intend to go into town to sell pickled bamboo shoots?"

Yan Ying glanced at Jian Yifei, genuinely surprised. This seemingly honest and simple man was actually quite shrewd; he had figured out her intentions after she had only just begun. She smiled and nodded, "Exactly."

"No wonder you picked so many bamboo shoots. I spent quite a while peeling them for you today." Jian Yifei looked at the foot basin on the steps, which was piled high with small bamboo shoot tips, white and tender, just like slender fingertips, squeezed together.

Xu Yixuan, however, was still pondering Yan Ying's words, his tone tinged with disbelief: "How do you know there's no pickled bamboo shoots for sale in Yuzhou City? And how do you know that the pickled bamboo shoots and minced meat stir-fry others make is terrible?"

"Didn't I ask you for help?" Yan Ying glanced at him: "If you don't want to help, then forget it."

Seeing that Yan Ying seemed angry, Xu Yixuan became a little nervous and quickly changed to a flattering expression: "I asked the wrong question, okay? Don't worry, I promise I'll go to Yuzhou City in twelve or thirteen days to ask about the pickled bamboo shoots for you!"

"It all depends on your abilities. The bigger the commotion, the more my pickled bamboo shoots will sell!" Yan Ying blinked in satisfaction. "I believe in your abilities, Young Master. This is a piece of cake for you, isn't it?"

Xu Yixuan was flattered by Yan Ying and nodded smugly: "Isn't that right? I guarantee that every restaurant in Yuzhou City will be looking for those pickled bamboo shoots to cook with!"

"Thank you very much then." Yan Ying smiled and nodded at Xu Yixuan: "Young Master Xu is so kind."

Yuzhou City isn't very big, but the layout of the prefecture and the bluestone pavement are somewhat uneven. When you step on it, you feel like you're going up and down. If you were riding a fast horse and galloping along, you wouldn't know what it's like.

"Who is that young master? He's dressed so elegantly, and riding such a magnificent tall horse." Several pedestrians on the street whispered among themselves, their eyes filled with envy as they watched the tall horse gallop past. Compared to cattle and sheep, horses were precious possessions. Only those with more money than they could handle would use horses for transportation. Even the wealthiest families in Yuzhou City only owned one carriage; most people preferred to have servants carry them in sedan chairs throughout the city.

Anyway, Yuzhou City isn't that big, with only a dozen or so streets in total. A ride around in a sedan chair takes about half an hour. Unless you're in a hurry, it's better to stroll around the city at your leisure. You can even see young wives and girls selling cosmetics, standing on the street in bright colors, haggling with peddlers over their rouge boxes.

Xu Yixuan paid no attention to the gossip of pedestrians on the street and, together with Jian Yifei and a few guards, headed towards the restaurant in Yuzhou City.

I must complete the task assigned by Miss Xiao properly, lest she underestimate me. Xu Yixuan specially instructed Xiuyun to dress me up in an exceptionally luxurious manner today, so that the restaurant owner would pay more attention to me.

They hadn't walked far into the city when they saw a restaurant. It looked rather dilapidated from the outside, with a layer of dust covering the signboard, suggesting the owner's health might not be very good. Xu Yixuan frowned and told a guard to go in and inquire if they had stir-fried pork with pickled bamboo shoots. The restaurant owner lazily raised his eyes: "Stir-fried pork with pickled bamboo shoots? No!"

After visiting several restaurants, all of which said they didn't have the dish, Xu Yixuan became increasingly curious. The group continued their journey, and before they knew it, they had arrived at East Street, the most bustling street in Yuzhou. The guards looked around and spotted a large sign that read "Ruyi Restaurant" in gold lettering on a black background. The restaurant had three floors, and strings of small red lanterns hung down from the green trees, giving it a rather imposing appearance.

“Your Highness, this must be the largest restaurant in Yuzhou.” Jian Yifei looked around and saw two carriages parked at the entrance. Several tables were already occupied in the lobby on the first floor. He nodded and said, “It’s almost lunchtime. Let’s eat here before we go back.”

"Alright, I'll do as Master says." Xu Yixuan nodded, dismounted, and the waiter standing at the door smiled and welcomed them in. Seeing Xu Yixuan's imposing manner, he bowed and asked, "Gentlemen, would you like to go to a private room upstairs?"

"Are you blind? Lead the way!" several guards shouted. "Is that even a question?"

Seeing the fierce looks of the guards, the waiter dared not say another word. He led Xu Yixuan and the others to a private room with trembling hands and asked with a smile, "What would you gentlemen like to eat? Let me list the dishes first."

A long list of dishes came out of the waiter's mouth. He recited it very fluently without pausing for a moment. After finishing reciting the names of the dishes, the waiter took a breath and looked at Xu Yixuan expectantly: "Sir, what would you like to eat?"

"Stir-fried minced pork with pickled bamboo shoots," Xu Yixuan said casually without even raising an eyebrow.

"Alright, stir-fried minced pork with pickled bamboo shoots!" The waiter leaned out and called down, "Private room number two, one stir-fried minced pork with pickled bamboo shoots!"

The shopkeeper peeked out from behind the counter, his round belly almost bursting out of his seat. He yelled, "Qian Xiaosi, are you out of your mind? We don't have any stir-fried minced pork with pickled bamboo shoots here!"

The waiter tapped his head, then suddenly realized what he was doing. He opened his mouth wide and looked at Xu Yixuan with a hint of embarrassment: "Sir, we don't have this dish of stir-fried minced pork with pickled bamboo shoots here."

"I don't care, you just said you had it!" Xu Yixuan slammed his hand on the table, making a loud bang. "If you hadn't told me the name of this dish, how could I have come up with it? Let me tell you, this is the dish I want to eat today!"

The waiter covered his mouth with one hand. When did he mention this dish? No way, Ruyi Restaurant doesn't have this dish. How could he have mentioned it? He looked at Xu Yixuan with a worried expression. Seeing his unhappy look, he turned and went downstairs to the manager: "Manager, that customer must have stir-fried minced pork with pickled bamboo shoots."

The manager shoved the waiter aside, glared at him, and looked at him with a disappointed expression: "You've been here for two months and you still don't know how to be clever. People want to eat stir-fried minced pork with pickled bamboo shoots. Can't you just say that our restaurant has other signature dishes? Just recommend a few dishes and that'll be enough."

"Shopkeeper, you make it sound so easy! I saw that young master wearing a purple-gold crown, and his robes looked incredibly expensive. He also had a necklace around his neck that was so bright it dazzled my eyes!" the shop assistant said, feeling wronged. "Why don't you go and see for yourself?"

"Looks like a cowardly, timid little thing!" The shopkeeper came out from behind the counter and rolled upstairs like a ball. When he reached the door of the private room, he peeked at Xu Yixuan and his heart skipped a beat. This young master was dressed in dazzling jewelry, even more so than the son of Prefect Lin.

Without thinking, the shopkeeper lowered his voice: "Young master, our shop does not have this dish of stir-fried minced pork with pickled bamboo shoots. Would you please order another dish?"

"This dish isn't available?" Xu Yixuan jumped up, slammed his hand on the table, and shouted, "Grab him by the ear and shove him out the window!"

The shopkeeper trembled all over, his round face shaking uncontrollably: "Young master, let's talk this out, don't be violent! Even though this is the second floor, rolling down here can still cause serious injury."

"I didn't ask them to throw you out. I just wanted you to see the couplet at the entrance of your restaurant." Xu Yixuan pushed open the window and yelled at the manager, "Your restaurant has nothing here and nothing there, but you've got plenty of bragging rights, and top-notch bragging rights at that!"

There is a couplet at the entrance: "Drink all the fine wines of the East and West, and taste all the delicacies of the North and South."

"Doesn't this couplet mean that your restaurant can cook all kinds of dishes from the north and south?" Xu Yixuan tapped the table with his chopsticks: "I want to eat stir-fried minced pork with pickled bamboo shoots. Hurry up and tell the kitchen to make it for me and bring it up!"

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