Chapter 209: Fragrant

"A new tenant moved in next door?"

The leader came out of the courtyard gate and was about to get into the car when he suddenly stopped, moved his nose, and looked towards the next door courtyard No. 11.

The gate of No. 11 Courtyard was open, and workers wearing pointed hats made of rolled-up newspapers were painting with brushes. The gate was bright red, and the eaves and lintels were painted with various traditional patterns in yellow and blue, such as the Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea and Five Bats Visiting the Door.

Even the long eaves rafters, flying rafters, and eaves extending out from the house were carefully covered with red paint.

The orderly followed his leader's gaze and answered uncertainly, "Probably not yet?"

"Some cement, stone, sand, bricks and tiles were just brought in a few days ago to repair the house. The gate is still being repainted. I think they haven't moved in yet."

"No! Can you smell it again?" The leader's nose moved again.

The orderly sniffed hard when he heard this. "Hey, why does this paint smell so good? It makes me drool!"

"How could this aroma be paint? It must be stewing old hen!" The leader laughed, "People's lives are better now. They can work while the old hen is stewing on the stove. The smell will give them more energy to work!"

Then he frowned and criticized, "It's just that the new tenants are too corrupt and feudal. It would be better if they repaired the house to be more solid. Why make the gate so bright red?"

"Leader, do you want me to go talk to the other party?"

"Forget it," the leader waved his hand, "It's already been cleaned, do we have to shovel it again?"

"Mmm, it smells so good!"

The car beeped a few times, and after a puff of black smoke came out of the exhaust pipe, it disappeared on Andingmen Street in an instant.

How could it not be delicious? Tan’s cuisine is famous for its soup stock, and there are basically no dishes stir-fried over high heat. For example, the most famous dishes: braised shark’s fin and boiled bird’s nest, the flavor is completely brought out by the soup stock.

The hanging soup is made with a whole old hen, old duck, scallops and ham, which are put into a pot according to proportions and simmered over low and high heat for 2 days. The chicken and duck are completely boiled and absorbed into the soup, and then sifted through a fine sieve to produce a rich soup.

After the shark fins are soaked in warm water, they are put into the soup and cooked over low heat for a day before they are considered finished.

The shark fins stewed in this way are golden and shiny, rich, fresh and smooth, rich but not greasy, mellow in taste and with a long aftertaste.

Bird's nest, bear's paw, fish lips, hericium erinaceus, flying dragon and other delicacies from land and sea are also stewed in the same way. They have their own unique flavors but the same fragrant aroma.

This made the boss next door miserable. He lost his appetite when he saw the steamed buns and braised pork on the table. Why did the braised pork, which used to be so fragrant and delicious, smell so greasy? Maotai lost its flavor.
He frowned and called the orderly, "Go, ask who lives next door? What kind of dishes are they cooking? Why do they eat so much meat and fish all day long?"

"Yes!"

The orderly came back a moment later and raised his hand to report: "Commander, it is said that the people living next door are Soviet comrades who came to support us. They are preparing a celebration banquet for the successful completion of a research project, but they haven't started eating yet."

"What?" The leader chewed a few times and swallowed the fried yellow rice. His brows furrowed even deeper and he asked in confusion, "Why are the comrades supported by the Soviet Union living next door? Aren't we arranging an expert building for them?"

"The translator said that some Soviet comrades liked our traditional courtyard houses, so they bought them and lived there temporarily."

"Oh," the leader's brows relaxed, and he laughed, "They quite know how to enjoy themselves. What do they do? The master chef of Huaiyang cuisine? Never mind, just let him be." He tilted his head back and drank the Moutai in the glass.

“Tan’s Cuisine”

A month later, the leader smelled a faint fragrance again. Looking at the braised fish on the table, he asked in confusion: "Do they eat like this every day? Why do I feel like they never stop?" The orderly was hesitant to speak.

"Tell me, what's going on?"

"Commander, I heard from the translator that the Soviet comrades, because of the delicious food at the celebration banquet last time, specially invited the chef of Tan's cuisine to open a restaurant next door. They lent the three courtyards in front to the chef for free to open the restaurant. They live in the back room themselves and invite all kinds of Soviet experts who come to support them to taste the food almost every day."

"What the hell?" The leader's tone was as sharp as a whistle, and he pointed his arm at the next door and asked in disbelief: "So you're opening a restaurant next door?"

The orderly nodded.

The leader looked at the braised fish on the table and lost his appetite. He put down his chopsticks, stood up and put on his coat, "Let's go to the next door to satisfy our cravings! Who can stand this every day?"

The orderly did not stir.

"What's going on? Stop nagging. Let's go! Don't worry, I'll pay for it!"

The orderly moved his lips but didn't say anything.

The leader frowned, rolling his eyes up and down at the orderly, his face darkened, and asked, "You seem very strange today. Tell me, is there anything I don't know?"

"Commander, you can't afford it." The orderly replied in a voice as soft as a mosquito.

"What the hell? Louder!"

"Commander, I told you that you can't afford it!" The orderly mustered up his courage and answered loudly, "I've already asked, the cheapest dish on the table next to us costs over a thousand yuan! Your monthly salary is only 400 yuan."

"My" leader almost couldn't catch his breath. He paced back and forth in the room with big strides. The iron soles of his leather shoes made a clicking sound on the ground. Finally, he came to the dining table, picked up the rice bowl, smelled the fragrance, and took a big bite!
"I'm really making money! I can save money on vegetables by smelling this aroma every day!"

"."

Putting aside the follow-up of his leader, Wang Deming really had no other choice. This place was different from No. 18 Qinlao Hutong. As long as Diana was sent away, there would be no one else except the old man guarding the door. As long as he was careful, he could do whatever he wanted.

But the leader lives next door, and it is no exaggeration to say that the soldiers on guard and protecting are veterans.

If he made some noise in the middle of the night, Wang Deming might just emerge from the basement where the treasure was hidden and be pointed at him by a bunch of guns and cannons with the safety unlocked.
Alas, it is so painful to live in a treasure mountain but not be able to take it.

This used to be the residence of the Bordered Yellow Banner, which is the banner of my godsister Yan Baozhen's mother-in-law. This area of ​​houses used to belong to Li Lianying, the great eunuch in the late Qing Dynasty. How could he not have many fun things in his hands?
So when he was hosting a celebratory banquet and inviting Chef Peng and his colleagues from Tan's cuisine, he suddenly had the idea to move Tan's cuisine to Yongkang Hutong, hoping that the leaders would find it too noisy and move out as soon as possible.

But with the current situation, this wish is far away. Wang Deming can only put all his anger on the opposite sides, killing them as much as he can. He pushed the mahjong tiles in front of him and said, "Win!"

"Come on, pay quickly! All the same color, four of a kind, 100 gold rubles per person!"

Alexei and his two followers on the opposite side looked pale. They silently opened the drawer under the mahjong table, took out the money and threw it in the middle of the table.

The joy of receiving my salary just now disappeared just like that. 5000 gold rubles, how many good things can I buy?
There is a reason why we should stay away from pornography, gambling and drugs!
After reshuffling the cards again, the two henchmen looked at each other and one asked, "Alexei, when will the Xiangpiaopiao plant-based beverage be officially put into production?"

Another one immediately followed up, "Yes, I can't wait to go back to the Soviet Union to distribute the products."

Alexey, without even raising his eyelids, carefully arranged the cards with his thick and heavy fingers, and said casually: "It would be great if we can start trial production by the end of this year."

The two followers looked at each other again, wanting to cry but unable to, the hard times had just begun.
(End of this chapter)