Chapter 18: The Five Grains Are Abundant and the Granaries Are Full

  When the sky turned dark, the welcoming Mercedes-Benz of the Kayla Hotel ended another day's journey under the leadership of several Audis from the Municipal Government and parked in front of the hotel door. The doorman opened the door, and Manager Feng and some members of the hotel management team stood at the hotel entrance to welcome them. They had received guests more important than Mr. and Mrs. Zuo before, but it was rare for municipal leaders to attach such importance to their guests.

  No sooner had the municipal party secretary and mayor, accompanied by over a dozen people from the municipal party committee office, gotten out of the car than they each shook hands with Old Zuo, inquiring about his well-being after a day of traveling. They must be tired, they said, and should rest early. Then they followed him into the hall, where several members of the municipal party committee went up to the elevator with Mr. and Mrs. Zuo. At this point, Minister Xu, who had been hosting them, finally let out a sigh of relief. Just as he was catching his breath in the hallway, Manager Feng came over and asked if they needed to prepare dinner. Minister Xu said they had already eaten, and that their afternoon schedule included visiting the Lüzhou Erxian Zhuang scenic spot. Manager Feng looked at Minister Xu's build and thought to himself that he was probably the most exhausted of all, and smiled wryly as he listened to Minister Xu's complaints.

  Just waiting for a while, the municipal party committee leaders went downstairs, and after seeing them off, Manager Feng pulled Minister Xu who was about to leave. Their relationship had always been good, and now they were going to borrow the leader's mouth to taste something special. This time, Minister Xu didn't leave, following Manager Feng all the way to the Chinese restaurant on the first floor. He called out to the waiter to bring it over, apparently it was already prepared. In an instant, it arrived, and at a glance, Minister Xu's eyes widened in shock, stunned.

  What is it? A pot of clear yellow soup, with a few round eggs floating in it. Director Xu thought for a moment and was able to guess what the driver had said, and before he knew it, this mountain stronghold version came out.

  "Taste it, and see how much different it is from that day? I'll invite Old Zuo to taste it again later." Manager Feng said, busily serving soup and picking out eggs for Director Xu.

  "Come on, you. How did you manage to squeeze into this empty space?" Director Xu was surprised and then burst out laughing.

  "I'm not done yet, I still want to get the hospitality unit of Zuo Shi Aluminum Industry down, you guys always take Old Zuo out to eat." Manager Feng put the soup in front of Minister Xu and made a inviting gesture with a smile.

  Minister Xu held the spoon and reminded him: "That family said it would take a week to prepare, can you get it done in two days?"

  "It's almost done, the first-class chef has been cooking for a while. Fan Shengyuan, you don't know, he's one of our old-timers, his soups are famous. The eggs are carefully selected free-range chicken eggs, and we've even replaced the egg yolks with turtle egg yolks. After three hours of high heat and several hours of low heat simmering, it's absorbed all the flavors, try some." Manager Feng persuaded.

  Minister Xu scooped up a spoonful of soup and brought it to his mouth, savoring the flavor carefully. There was a unique aroma of abalone and a hint of Cordyceps, but the taste...was indescribable, as if it was something but not quite. Minister Xu's chubby face jiggled with each bite, and Manager Feng watched with growing anticipation, expecting him to utter some words, but none came. He tried again, scooping up a few more mouthfuls, his lips curling first to the left, then to the right, looking very troubled, as if he couldn't quite put his finger on that elusive phrase of praise. After a while, he simply picked up another egg and placed it on his plate, only to realize that wasn't right either, and suddenly found himself unable to think of anything.

  Looking closely at the egg white, it's a pale yellowish color with a slightly darker tone. The yolk is golden yellow, which suggests that the flavor isn't very deep. After tasting and savoring it carefully, I found it even more difficult to describe. It does have some of the flavor of the soup, but it's like licking wood shavings - the egg flavor is particularly strong, and somehow doesn't quite match up with what I had that day.

  Minister Xu couldn't get a word out for half the day, and Manager Feng got anxious, urging him: "Oh no, Minister Xu, can you please say something? You're going to drive me mad!"

  "It doesn't taste right... Ah, I remember now. That young man, Dan Yong, he used a knife to cut open the egg that day. The eggs we saw at Resounding Horse Village were round and elastic, and when you bit into them, they still had some chewiness to them, not like this one that's overcooked and falls apart as soon as you touch it. He pointed and said: 'It was cooked over high heat, so it's overcooked and has become too old, and there's a big problem with it.'"

  "What's the big deal?" Manager Feng was a bit disappointed, having prepared for two days and still couldn't get it into the expert's mouth.

  "Others are stone pots, you're a high-pressure pot, how can the taste be the same?... And your dish has very distinct flavors, the turtle tastes like turtle, the cordyceps tastes like cordyceps, it's like several flavors were crudely put together. Others' dishes have a harmonious blend of flavors, none overpowering each other, if you don't pay attention, it's just one flavor, that's called 'heavenly creation', this is forced and awkward... resulting in a weird taste." Director Xu finally put down his spoon, realizing what was wrong with this knockoff version. After eating with public funds for decades, he still had some standards.

  "Ah!? Can't be that far off, right?" Manager Feng said in astonishment. After all, it was made by a great chef, and this gap was really unacceptable.

  "It's just this far, you're all so inexperienced and unsophisticated, don't embarrass Lao with your subpar cooking. I can tell you've added MSG to enhance the flavor, are you serving wild turtle or something? The color of the soup is off too, others have golden broth, but yours looks like muddy yellow... forget it, just serve this to those country bumpkins, I'm going home to drink a bowl of plain rice porridge, I'm on a diet and my cholesterol has gone up again these past two days."

  Just as he was about to leave, Manager Feng hastily stood up and saw him off, asking for advice on several different matters. After sending the person away, he turned around and found the driver who had just returned, pulling him all the way to the private room, determined to try that "son of a bitch" dish again.

  …………………

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  Ninth floor, room 906. After seeing off a group of city leaders, Zuo Xiying carried a bucket of mineral water and poured it into the thermos. Zuo Nanxia had already set up a travel tea tray, took out a can of tea leaves from her bag, sniffed the aroma habitually, and said with a sigh: "The overall environment is a notch lower than ours back then. They're all about infrastructure construction there, building residential buildings everywhere. Erxian Zhuang was built like a wealthy landlord's mansion, but it still has some rustic charm. What's special about Lucheng is the 'chivalrous' culture, which can't be seen in ancient relics."

  It was said that the scenic spot visited in the afternoon was where Qin Shubao sold horses, and Father had some reservations about the single-family villa built like a fort. Zuo Xixi smiled and changed the subject: "The water quality in the city is not good either, after boiling it floats on top, and when you drink it has a bitter taste and an astringent taste."

  "It's still good in the countryside, I really want to live in seclusion in our old mountain home by the reservoir." Zuo Nanxia said with a smile. Looking at his daughter smiling, he listened attentively to the sound of the kettle boiling and reminded her again: "Don't forget to take your medicine."

  "Hmm." Zuo Xiying responded lightly.

  "Get some rest, the principal is coming to invite you again tomorrow for another lecture, saying that the teachers and students are strongly demanding it... Hehe, I'm guessing they're going to give my old man a big hat." Zuo Nanxia said with a smile. The daughter smiled and put her hand on the handle of the teapot, clicking the switch to turn it on. When the water boiled, she saw that the daughter was holding the pot in one hand and lifting the lid with the other, pouring scalding hot water over the pot body and tea bowls. This first step is called "White Crane Bath", washing and heating up the tea utensils. Zuo Nanxia then added a handful of tea leaves to the pot, which is called "Guanyin Enters the Palace". In the blink of an eye, the daughter was skillfully performing the steps of brewing Tieguanyin tea - suspending the pot high, flushing with hot water, and pouring the tea into small cups. The seven small cups of tea were clear and bright, with a light yellow color, and emitted a fragrant aroma. Zuo Nanxia sniffed the tea fragrance, brought it to his lips, and savored it lightly, enjoying the delightful taste with a satisfied expression.

  "Xiying, why don't you take a rest tomorrow and not go to Luan Yuan with me?" Zuonan said inexplicably.

  "It's nothing, Dad." Xie Ying let it go, but a figure suddenly flashed before her eyes, causing her to frown. However, she relaxed immediately. This subtle movement was noticed by her father, who leaned in and asked in a low voice, "That guy named Shan Yong, did you give him your phone number?"

  "Hmm. Stayed." Zuo Xiying suddenly smiled, with a hint of playfulness in her smile.

  "Haven't seen him call you, have you?" Zuo Nan asked strangely, as if hoping his daughter had such a suitor.

  "I left my phone number, but missed a few digits. I guess he won't be able to figure it out, and tomorrow he might even call me again with that shameless tone." Zuo Xiying said with a smile, those three people she met at Lingyun Village were indeed delightful.

  Looking at his daughter's smile, Zuonan nodded slightly to one side, seemingly disapproving, and said straightforwardly: "This is not right, isn't this equivalent to teasing others? Young people should be happy when they're supposed to be."

  "Hmph, who made him tease me first."

  Zuo Xiying said with a pleased expression, her cheeks flushing. If only the second half of the meal at Guang's restaurant had been good, maybe there would still be some good feelings left now it was just a mix of good and bad. Zuo Nanxia seemed to have something on his mind, wanting to speak but stopping himself, however seeing his daughter so happy he could only follow her lead, some things can only be followed by fate. Zuo Nanxia thought to himself quietly, then picked up the third cup of tea when the doorbell rang, Zuo Xiying exclaimed and got up to open the door. The hotel's service staff was standing at the door holding a box, it was for her father, she thanked him and returned to sit in the room.

  "Who's there?" asked Zuo Nanxia.

  "It's a gift again." Zuo Xiying smiled and held up what was in her hand.

  When poor, no one asks in the bustling city; when rich, there are distant relatives in the deep mountains. On this trip to Luoyang, everyone I met became a relative - the municipal government, the municipal investment promotion bureau, the municipal cultural bureau, and even some departments and bureaus with obscure names. The number of souvenirs and local specialties given by these units is quite impressive, and more than a dozen have already been piled up in one corner of my room. Just as I was about to throw them all away together, Zuo Xiying suddenly raised her voice, held up something, and asked her father in surprise: "Dad, this doesn't seem like a souvenir."

  "Bring it over and let me see." Zuonan said. However, as soon as he raised his eyes, he was taken aback for a moment. The white wood with a hint of purple was unmistakable - it was a small box made of thin poplar wood, exuding an inexplicable rustic charm. When he took it in his hands, it still felt damp. He casually asked, "Who sent this?"

  "The waiter didn't say, just said someone had put it on the counter." Zuo Xiying also asked, being attracted by this earthy thing. She curiously asked: "What is it, Dad? Is your name written on it?"

  "Ah, good character, Zuo Nanxia personally opened it, practiced Wei Bei's style, and didn't bring any title, just called my full name." Zuo Nanxia made a joke, his daughter followed with laughter, found something hard to open the box, directly picked out a tea knife, slightly pricked it open, as soon as it was opened, Zuo Nanxia took a cold breath, his eyes widened, and immediately showed extreme joy. Zuo Xiying also froze, after a moment of stunned silence, she let out a shocked scream.

  What is this? Twelve vivid and lifelike zodiac animal figurines, emitting a wheat fragrance. At first glance, it's clear that they are steamed buns shaped like animals. However, what's astonishing is that each of the palm-sized buns is incredibly lifelike, with endearing expressions. There's a cute piglet, a majestic tiger cub, and a uniquely-shaped dragon figurine. Zuo Xiying couldn't resist reaching out to touch them gently, taking a closer look, and exclaimed: "There are two small black beans on its eyes... This is the sheep bun, even the horns are shaped out... Dad, dad, look at this, little mouse, its tiny paws are distinct... Wow, it's like a work of art! Who could bear to take a bite of such a steamed bun?"

  Zuo Xiying was like a little girl, happy and smiling, while Zuo Nanxia explained with a playful tone: "This is our custom in Luzhou, called 'filling the warehouse'. The earliest record of this can be traced back to the Ming Dynasty. It's written in the city annals as '仓瘐庖厨、燃灯填供，俗令也' ( Warehouse full, kitchen full, lamp lit, offerings made). We call it 'filling the warehouse' because we wish for a bountiful harvest and a full granary... The material used is millet flour. I've never seen anyone shape it so beautifully, even your grandma's skills aren't as good."

  Zuo Nanxia was also enjoying himself, but his daughter's enthusiasm was even higher. One by one, they looked at each other, and Zuo Nanxia told an interesting story about the "filling warehouse" - inside the warehouse, there were hidden secrets. As he spoke, he broke open a sheep-shaped pastry, and indeed, it had a deep red bean paste filling. Zuo Nanxia handed half of it to his daughter, who tasted it and found it delicious. Perhaps due to their good mood, even this flavor was praised by the father-daughter duo without end. After eating a few bites, Zuo Xiying suddenly remembered something, got up with her camera, scolded her father for being greedy, and quickly took a few photos to preserve the memory of the twelve zodiac animals that had been eaten incomplete.

  They had one, and the remaining eleven were reluctant to split, so the father-daughter duo chatted about it for a long time. When the second pot of water was opened, the father-daughter duo almost simultaneously realized something, and with a stroke of silver hair, they suspiciously asked: "Huh? Who sent it?"

  "Really, could this be sent by that unit?" Zuo Xiying asked in surprise, holding the wooden box. The father and daughter studied it, and the thin wood still had a woody smell, which was fresh and should have been made recently. Taking them out one by one, they flipped through and found a label on the bottom of the box with "Jia Yun Takeout" and a delivery phone number. The two looked at each other, understanding each other's thoughts. Zuo Xiying found the phone and dialed the number. After a while, the call was answered, and Zuo Xiying said to her father in disappointment:

  "No one answered."

  What a strange gift, it made the father and daughter guess for a long time but still couldn't figure out what it was.

  ………………

  ………………

  The other end of the phone call was actually on the big road opposite the Kayley Hotel, and the phone was in Shanyong's hand. With one hand holding the phone and the other hand propping up the palm with the number, except for four "X"s, everything matched, but the four leaked digits were a very unexpected number: 1, 4, 8, 0.

  At that moment, Shanyong suddenly became happy and hung up the phone, switched to another card, but missed four digits and made him confused. He searched for the meaning of the numbers in his pocket, such as 53771 representing "I want to kiss you"; 53981 representing "I want to beat you up"; 5421 representing "I only love you"; 5491 representing "I'm going to find you"... Shanyong always thought that it was a joke played by Zuo Xiying, and the joke should be in the numbers, but this number seemed to have no meaning.

  But Dan Yong also thinks that it shouldn't be meaningless, otherwise Zuo Xiying wouldn't have such a seductive smile. All the numbers are almost homophonic, reciting 1480, 1480, 1480... This "1" must be you, "4" must represent "is", right, should be what is 8?

  "You're... you're eight... BA, BO, BENG... Are you stupid?" Dan Yong suddenly had an epiphany and muttered strangely. Eight is stupid, zero is egg, but what's the meaning of stupid? Suddenly he understood Zuo Xiying's intention: if you can't find the answer, you're stupid; if you do find the answer, the answer is: you're stupid!

  Suddenly, Dan Yong was amused by this game. If he hadn't copied Lei Da Peng's idea, he would have been a fool and an idiot. This time, Dan Yong was satisfied, at least he only played the fool and not the idiot. He picked up the phone and dialed Li Xuan Ying's number. The call connected, and a long-familiar voice came from the receiver: "Hello."

  Shan Yong didn't say a word, and for a moment he felt his blood rushing to his temples, his emotions extremely tense.

  "Hello, who are you looking for?" came Left Xiying's voice again.

  "I've finally found you, sister! I made over a thousand calls before I got through to you!" Sun Yong exclaimed.

  "Is that you!?" The other person's tone changed, surprised and delighted, then burst into a playful and teasing laughter. "Haha, I guess you're laughing at this silly guy who made over a thousand calls," Dan Yong said with a smile. "The missing number is 1480, it took me a whole day to find you, not too stupid, right? Master sister, you promised me, I have many philosophical questions to ask you."

  "Uh, yes, but today... it's too late, I'm resting." Zuo Xiying gave a soft and reserved response. But unexpectedly, Shan Yong smiled and imitated Zuo Xiying's uncertain tone, saying: "But... but I'm standing right under your window, looking up at you!"

  "Ah?!"

  A cry of surprise, Zuo Xiying rushed to the window, opened it, and looked down at the street where car lights were like a dragon. Then she saw, on the other side of the street within her line of sight, Shan Yong standing far away waving his hand, as if afraid that Zuo Xiying wouldn't see him. He put his fingers in his mouth and let out a sharp whistle, the sound reaching its peak before turning around and shooting up to an even higher pitch.

  This whistle blew several scales in a row, so melodious and bright, joyful and straightforward, surpassing "Xi Yangyang", Feng Suo surpassed "Feng Qiu Huang", it seems that whether or not to stir up the master sister, the suspense has become smaller and smaller...

  (I've been working overtime and finished a chapter, now I'll exchange it for some recommendations, clicks, and collections. Looks like I can't slack off, as soon as I do someone says I'm not being generous enough.)