Chapter 253

This one? Since Mr. Zhou asked, I won't hide anything anymore. Please try our dish, Mr. Zhou. Hou Laoban pointed to a braised turtle on the table and said.

I picked up a piece with my chopsticks and tasted it.

After two bites, I deliberately said, "This dish is really spicy."

Yes, our dishes here are mainly spicy and salty; the chefs won't stir-fry without chili, and they also add a lot of salt. I've told them many times, but they're used to it. This time I went to Sijiucheng mainly to inspect the food,

I want to introduce a few special snacks to enrich our hotel's menu. So, I thought Mr. Zhou, who has long lived in Sijiucheng, would know some of its cuisine.

I heard Hou Laoban ask that, and smiled: "Hou Laoban, what's popular in Sijiucheng now is southern cuisine, plus Sichuan and Hunan dishes; if you want to recommend food, you might as well just find chefs from those places."

I don't understand: Zaocheng isn't a mountainous, hot and humid area, so why do they eat so much spicy food?

Hou Laoban then raised his wine cup again,

Let me toast Mr. Zhou another cup.

Our Zaocheng is near the Grand Canal, with many people traveling north and south along it,

so our eating habits are especially mixed,

Because this place is poor and only produces coal, chili peppers can dispel the dampness underground, and gradually they became a staple.

That's just a local specialty. Hou Laoban took a sip of wine.

I also took a sip of wine, then put the cup down.

My mind began to recall the foods about Sijiucheng written in the books,

I made up for Hou Laoban: "Actually, my hometown isn't Sijiucheng; it's to the west, mainly wheat-based foods. Only after following my brother into Sijiucheng did I gain some knowledge of its cuisine."

But my understanding is not complete.

In early Sijiucheng, the dishes were mainly Shandong cuisine, and the few well-known restaurants were all run by Shandong people.

For example, the famous Dongxing Lou serves Shandong cuisine, which roughly splits into two branches: the Jiaodong branch and the Qincheng branch.

The most famous bao du ren is made at Dongxing Lou,

This bao du ren has three preparations—oil-blasted, salt-blasted, soup-blasted—each with its merits; the most enjoyable aspect of this dish,

in texture, it's neither soft nor hard nor tough but crisp when chewed, making it an excellent accompaniment to drink.

Zhimei Lou is run by the Jiaodong branch, mainly featuring seafood; their braised shrimp is superb.

Sijiucheng also has famous roast duck, which we call roasted duck there.

Sijiucheng's roast duck has two main places: one is Quanjude, the other is Bianyifang; one uses a braised oven, the other a hanging oven, each with its own strengths.

Why is Sijiucheng's roasted duck so delicious,

mainly because they use Tongzhou's stuffed duck; what is stuffed duck? It's packing food into strips, like a sausage, forcibly shoved into the duck's belly until it's about to burst, then locking it up so it can't move.

The purpose is to fatten the duck; only a fat duck tastes good when roasted.

Also there's traditional mutton hot pot: the pot is copper, burned with pine-branch charcoal, using lamb that must be Inner Mongolian lamb; most importantly, it must be hand-sliced, and the slices should be at their best,

A few seconds in the pot makes it most fragrant. The former Zhengyang Lou was famous for it, but not anymore.

Other Beijing snacks, like stove-cooked fire bread, were what poor people used to eat.

In Sijiucheng, many laborers like to have soup and dishes together, and they also like a lot of oil.

This can't be eaten too much, or it raises uric acid. As for the other douzhi, I don't like drinking it—it's sour—and I also don't like the fried dough twists.

Hou Laoban, what I've said are Sijiucheng's past foods; now it's different, already occupied by southern live seafood.

At upper-class gatherings, it's basically Australian lobster, sea cucumber, fish maw, etc.; there's nothing much to say about them,

because the ingredients are expensive, so only the big shots eat them.

After I finished speaking, Hou Laoban clapped,

Hearing Mr. Zhou say that is better than ten years of study. It seems Mr. Zhou knows Sijiucheng too well; these foods are as familiar to him as his own belongings.

Mr. Zhou, I have a request; I don't know if I can say it.

Please go ahead. I said that, then picked up the spicy chicken with my chopsticks and started eating.

You shouldn't say that; the spicy chicken at Zaocheng Grand Hotel is stir-fried quite tastily, not inferior to the chefs of our former Da Heng Group.

I took big bites and ate it.

Seeing me eat it so fragrant,

Hou Laoban was very pleased,

Mr. Zhou, because I'm not familiar with Sijiucheng, I hope this trip to Sijiucheng will let you recommend these foods to me,

I want to properly taste these foods.

Then I'll look for suitable chefs to work at Zaocheng Grand Hotel.

I wiped my mouth with a napkin,

That's easy to say, but I can't go for now because I have official duties; Hou Laoban, when you're free. I'll return to Sijiucheng and contact you.

Okay, then first thank you, Mr. Zhou. I'll toast you another cup. Hou Laoban said politely.

Hou Laoban, you're too polite; we're friends, so as friends we don't need to be polite—once you're in Sijiucheng, I'll warmly welcome you. I also raised my cup and drank heartily.

The less restrained I am, the more heartily I drink, the more Hou Laoban will trust me.

We drank and chatted, and also talked about other rumors concerning Sijiucheng.

I also recounted them one by one.

Hou Laoban then asked: "Mr. Zhou, I've heard that the celebrity Bingbing is kept by a southerner; is that really true?"

It seems Hou Laoban cares a lot about Bingbing, always inquiring about her news.

I laughed: "That southerner is just a name; behind him there are other people; these celebrities are all like that."

They say some boss is keeping them, but actually those bosses just lend their name, doing favors for the people behind.

Hou Laoban, about Bingbing, I can only say this much.

That southerner boss doesn't even dare to touch Bingbing, because she is the woman of his elder brother Li Yong.

Oh dear, I've had a bit too much to drink today, so I'm talking a lot. What we just said with Hou Laoban was like a gust of wind that blew away; don't go spreading it around.

Hou Laoban immediately laughed and said, "Mr. Zhou, we're friends; how could I possibly spread such talk?"

I just love reading celebrity gossip news, checking up on their updates to kill time.

Between us, there's no problem chatting about these things; we wouldn't talk about officialdom matters.

Are celebrities also in it for the money? If I had a few hundred million, keeping a mistress like Bingbing would still be easy.

I also laughed,

Hou Laoban, these women are all pretty much the same, just like the packaging of this liquor—when we see the packaging, we immediately think it's high-class,

but once opened, no matter how you drink it, it's still liquor, and drinking too much gets you just as drunk.

It's no different from the cheap liquor we usually drink. Actually, the women of Sijiucheng are just like that cheap liquor—straightforward and fiery in temper.

This commentary is brilliant—women are like liquor, appearance is like packaging, haha, it's so fun. Talking with Mr. Zhou is different; he's clearly from Sijiucheng, well‑versed, having seen all kinds of women, and his comments are spot‑on.

I truly admire him.

Mr. Zhou, have you ever tried the women of Zaocheng?

If the women of Sijiucheng are like that cheap liquor, then what kind of liquor would the women of Zaocheng be?

Haha, men's talk always revolves around women—the women of Zaocheng are like Lanling fine wine, aged through the years. I laughed hahaha.