Yu Wu

Chonghua's national power has risen rapidly in recent years, and restaurants in the imperial capital have sprung up one after another, but Mo Xi led Gu Mang to a restaurant that was clearly aged.

Honghu Pavilion.

This restaurant was one of the top restaurants in the imperial capital back then, only the princes and nobles could afford it, and the price was shockingly high.But in recent years, the attitude of the swan house has eased, probably feeling the competition. This old swan has to follow the example of the cheap and high-quality chicks next to it. The price of vegetables is no longer so aggressive, and ordinary monks can also enter Door.

But even so, Lao Honghu's spirit is getting weaker and weaker day by day. At this time, it's time for dinner, but the outside of its shop is still a sad scene of deserted and sparsely populated.

Mo Xi entered the store, and Gu Mang followed suit.The shopkeeper was a fat and greasy man, surnamed Liu, who hurriedly came to greet him: "Oh, Mr. Xihe, I haven't seen you for a long time, how about dinner?"

"The compartment."

"Okay, is it still the old one?"

Mo Xi paused, and said, "Yes."

Shopkeeper Liu invited them into the room at the end of the second floor. There were thin curtains made of bamboo, and the floor was covered with thick woven blankets embroidered with the sun, moon and stars.Mo Xi still remembers the first time he led Gu Mang into this cubicle, Gu Mang followed behind him, was so shocked by the overwhelming aura that he couldn't speak, grabbed himself for a long time and said with a green face - first Let me ask you clearly, brother, do you have a treat?Otherwise, I can't afford it if I sell it.

But just like the great splendor of this restaurant, the golden threads on the weaving carpet that were originally shining with light have been dimmed and dusty.

Mo Xi flipped through the dishes, but couldn't see anything because his mind was in a mess.In the end, he "slapped" the exquisite dish table embroidered on silk and pushed it to Gu Mang.

"You come."

Gu Mang was still playing with the small bronze medal on his neck ring, and was startled when he heard this: "I don't know how to read."

Mo Xi said: "There is a picture, this silk has been imbued with spiritual power, you can see the picture."

Hearing what he said, Gu Mang opened the vegetable case, hugged it to his chest, and read it carefully.

"I want this... this... and this..." He stretched out his finger to poke on the vegetable table for a while, and then bit his hand to point out God, "I'm so hungry."

Mo Xi remained silent, turned his head to the side, and did not look at him.

Gu Mang noticed it, so he asked, "Are you still angry?"

"No."

Gu Mang thought for a while, then suddenly said, "Don't be angry, you are important."

Mo Xi's heart moved, but he still said coldly with a straight face: "...Why flatter me, I don't have a sachet for you."

Gu Mang smiled and said, "But you gave me a necklace."

"..."

If it was said that the emotion in Mo Xi's eyes was originally jealousy, as soon as these words came out, most of the jealousy faded immediately and became a kind of bleakness.

He glanced at the pitch-black slave ring on Gu Mang's neck, but he couldn't get angry anymore.

After all, the major turning point in his life was given to him by Gu Mang. Without Gu Mang in the past, there would be no Mo Xi today.

After putting aside the national feud, what else could he complain about Gu Mang?

……

When his family was in trouble, it was Gu Mang who reached out to him. When he was unknown, it was Gu Mang who accompanied him. When he was helpless, it was Gu Mang who smiled and encouraged him.

Gu Mang was kind to him.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine."

"No matter how bad it is, even if your uncle made you miserable, you are still a nobleman. Look at me, I am a slave, and I don't worry about it. What do you worry about?"

"If one day you are really run-on by your uncle, you will have half of my house and half of your meals, okay?"

"You still have me."

How many things has Gu Mang done for him?

Mo Xi's future was uncertain, and when he was squeezed out in the ranks, only Gu Mang would pay attention to his mood and whether he had eaten enough.Mo Xi has a cold and stubborn personality. The few nobles who lived with him at that time looked down on him, thinking that he lost his father in the early years, and now his mother remarried regardless of the scandal. When the time comes, Mo Xi will be in a miserable situation extreme.

They would even deliberately throw his rations on the ground.

Seeing that the down-and-out young master was being bullied, Gu Mang always gave him his rations.But the food for the slave soldiers was not tasty, Gu Mang could see that Mo Xi didn't say anything, but the food was extremely painful.

So he thought about it, using the pretext of buying jewelry and rouge for the girl every now and then, asking his brothers to cheat and steal some money—and then silently buying a few more snacks for the little junior brother, so as to make the poor little happy.

At that time, everyone in the army said that Gu Mang was too carefree, and his buddies also said that he was too unfeeling.

"I said the day before yesterday that I wanted to buy jade hairpins for Xiaolan, but today I came to ask for money again, saying that I wanted to buy hairpins for Xiaodie. Alas, this romantic seed."

Gu Mang's best friend at the time, Lu Zhanxing, also said, "Ah Mang, what's the matter with you? I haven't seen you being so extravagant before, and you were released after you joined the army?"

Gu Mang's response was to salivate and stretch out his hand: "Brother, give me some reward? I'll wash your clothes for a month later."

Lu Zhanxing said in shock: "Which girl are you looking at again?!"

Gu Mang said nonsense: "The daughter of the old man Wang from the next village."

"...She is only six years old!! You are insane!"

No one knows the truth.

No one knew that Gu Mang, who "frantically spends money to chase girls", actually sneaked away to wash dishes in the back kitchen of a small dilapidated restaurant in a nearby city under the pretext of visiting brothels.

Gu Mang used the disguise technique and changed his clothes. No one could tell that he was the military master of the garrison. He was washing piles of soup bowls and rice bowls. Even the shopkeeper looked at him with admiration.

"Young man, let's see if you want to come to me as a long-term worker? Is this the salary for you?"

The easy-going Gu Mang's eyes were still bright, as if there were stars all over the summer night: "Thank you shopkeeper, but I usually have other things to do, and I can't get away..."

"Oh, that's a pity." The shopkeeper patted his head, "It's rare to see such a diligent young man like you."

In order to take care of him, his brother Gu suffered from unknown hardships and endured unknown tiredness.

But Mo Xi didn't know it at first.

Until later, when he saw the blood-stained letterhead of his comrade, he realized that he actually loved this man who was three years older than himself. He braved the wind and snow and couldn't help but confess to Gu Mang, but there was only Lu Zhanxing in the tent, and Lu Zhanxing told him:

"Gu Mang? Gu Mang has been dragged to play in a flower house in the city! A young man is in vain if he doesn't flirt! Hahaha!"

At that moment, Mo Xi only felt that a sap hit his head. He waited for a long time, but he still couldn't restrain his emotions, so he galloped towards the romantic scene that Lu Zhanxing had mentioned, but he found Gu Mang's place. A few friends, but Gu Mang was alone.

He didn't give up, it seemed like an unstoppable fire was burning in his chest, so he searched for one merchant after another in the small town near his residence.

Finally, in the back kitchen of a small restaurant, he saw Gu Mang who was "going around brothels".

Gu Mang changed his face, Mo Xi shouldn't have recognized him originally.But at that time, he was careful, as soon as Gu Mang raised his head from the side of the water basin, Mo Xi caught the eyes of that man bumping into him.

With just one glance, Mo Xi recognized that he was Senior Brother Gu he was looking for.

From the disappointment when he heard "Gu Mang went to the brothel", to the shock when he saw Gu Mang washing the dishes.

At that time, Mo Xi's heart really hurt terribly.

He suddenly didn't know how to express his feelings, and his heart surged with passion, making his eyes look hot and fiery when he looked at Gu Mang.

But the so-called one-boom, then decline, three exhaustion.When he just wanted to confess his love, he went to the camp, but he didn't find this person.When he rushed to the brothel angrily, possessive and wanted to drag Gu Mang out, he still couldn't find this person.

When he really found him, the eagerness to ignore him was not so impulsive anymore.

Panting in the wind and snow, he strode open the wooden gate of the fence, causing the chicks in the backyard of the restaurant to run around, and he walked straight towards Gu Mang who didn't know what he was doing wrong.

He saw Gu Mang's hands soaked in the water. It was a severe cold day. In order to prevent the shopkeeper from finding out that he was a monk and couldn't use spells, Gu Mang's hands developed frostbite.

Mo Xi's throat suddenly stopped, and he didn't know what qualifications he had to say this word of love with his current status, and what qualifications he had to ask Gu Mang for more.

He silently pulled Gu Mang up from the small bench, his long eyelashes drooping, and he held Gu Mang's cold fingers.

He held his senior brother's hand in his palm, stroked it, and asked softly, does it hurt you?

Gu Mang smiled and said it's okay.

"What kind of chilblain is this? It's a manly man. It's better to be rough." Gu Mang scratched his head with his swollen radish hand, and grinned, revealing a small canine tooth, "Your brother Gu Mang is the most handsome."

This is too nonsense, no one would think that two frozen radishes have handsome fingers.

But Gu Mang didn't listen, what he meant was, since you're in the army, you're in the same team as me, and you're my junior, then I can't let you be wronged.

It's not that Mo Xi hasn't persuaded Gu Mang, he told Gu Mang that Gu Mang gave him too much, but his future path is not clear, he may not be able to repay these kindness.

But Gu Shixiong, the army ruffian, just laughed. His long eyelashes were full of snow seeds in the winter night: "Who wants you to pay it back? If you come to my team, you are my buddy. I have to cover you."

Mo Xi said: "But I..."

"Don't hate me, then if you feel sorry, just take a scroll and write it down. Write down everything you owe me, and pay me back with interest when you become successful." Gu Mang went away with a smile. Rubbing his head, "Oh, my princess is such a fool who cares about everything."

Mo Xi watched that young and lively smile grow wantonly in the light. At that time, he secretly made up his mind that he must return the best to Gu Mang in the future. give it to him.

He wants to treat him forever.

But in the end?

Gu Mang gave Mo Xi salvation, but what Mo Xi returned to him was the dark shackle around his neck.

And ironically, this is really the best thing he can give Gu Mang now, after experiencing such betrayal, hatred, and cold heart.The last thing he could give him.

It turned out that this was their whole life.

After the dishes were ordered, Mo Xi still sat silently with his hands folded, distracted.

Gu Mang suddenly said, "You're still not happy."

Mo Xi raised his head and glanced at him: "...It's really not this time."

Gu Mang insisted, "Why are you unhappy?"

"..."

"Don't you like it here? Let's change to another one."

Mo Xi sighed, pulled back from his memories, and said, "What's the change? The dishes in this restaurant are very good. There are a few dishes that you liked very much before, but I don't know if you just ordered it right."

"The old me..." Gu Mang murmured, "I like it very much?"

"I told you we knew each other before."

Gu Mang thought hard for a while and gave up, but he still said, "Okay, you know if you say you know."

This restaurant has a lot of Sichuan dishes, and Gu Mang is no stranger to spicy dishes. After all, Xishu Kingdom is an alliance of Chonghua Kingdom, and Gu Mang went to aid the alliance in the year of war in Xishu.Since then, he has gone from not being able to dip a little bit of spicy chicken, to eating a plate of red oil spicy chicken in one go without changing his face.

But if you can eat it, you can eat it, Mo Xi knows that Gu Mang still likes his hometown food.

I just don’t know, during those years when he rebelled abroad and surrendered to the enemy, looking at the wine on the table, did he miss the pancakes and steamed buns in his hometown, did he regret even a little bit.

Unlike the usual gentle cuisine in Chonghua, everything in this restaurant is warm.The kitchen is half open, only covered by a cloth curtain. The guests downstairs can hear the angry "sizzling" sound of hot oil, the "ding dong" sound of the spatula colliding, and the "boom" of the fire from time to time. The ground rises from the wok, reflecting the whole kitchen in intense red.

"Fish-flavored eggplant, cold chicken, a basket of pot knuckles, the two guests eat while it's hot." Xiao Er held the dishes in both his left and right hands, with one on his head, "It doesn't taste good when it's cold."

Gu Mang stretched out his hand, and silently took off the bamboo basket on Xiao Er's head.

Guokui is stuffed with lard and meat. When making burritos, minced pork and minced peppercorns are wrapped inside, as well as green shallots. Both sides are coated with lard and baked in the oven. Another burst of eager burnt aroma.

Gu Mang didn't like shallots, but after he fiddled with the shallots, he liked the pancake very much, and he held it in his hand and ate it seriously.Other dishes also came up one after another: twice-cooked pork, caught in the chopsticks, the meat slices with bright sauce trembled slightly, gleaming with oil.Boiled cabbage, the cabbage heart is softly soaked in the mellow chicken soup, refreshing and sweet.Stir-fried kidneys, sliced ​​into beautiful rolls, slipped out of the pot together with garlic sprouts, and even choked on the aftertaste of sparks when served, the taste was crisp and tender.

The aroma of the dishes is rustic and strong, and the seven orifices are instantly refreshed as soon as the chopsticks are dropped, and the numbness of the pepper stimulates the nasal cavity and tongue.The dishes on this table do not have expensive ingredients, but they are delicious—they are expensive because of their superb skills, which is why they used to charge extremely high prices.

"It's delicious." After Gu Mang finished speaking, he muttered to himself, "It seems like you've eaten it before?"

Hearing what Gu Mang said, Mo Xi's appetite, which was not very strong, became more and more sluggish, so he put down his chopsticks, and turned his head to look at the streets outside.

Gu Mang licked the crumbs on his lips: "Princess, what's wrong with you?"

Mo Xi didn't move at first, but after a while, he suddenly realized and raised his head: "What did you call me?"