There is a popular folk song in Chang'an City, called disproportionate. "Poor Persia, sick healer, thin sumo wrestler, fat bride."

Literally, the Persians are rich and cannot be poor; It is impossible for a doctor to be crooked; Sumo wrestlers don't have skinny people; The new daughter-in-law has to take care of the housework, and there is no obesity. So it's disproportionate.

The Persians here refer to all the merchants from the Silk Road, such as the Great Cannibals, Persians, and Turkic People, collectively referred to as the Persians, also known as the Hu merchants.

There is a street in Chang'an West City, called Persian Di, which is a gathering place for Hu merchants. One of the most famous Hu merchants in it is called Abdullah. Hamid was a serious Persian, mainly selling high-end luxury goods such as big food, gold and silver utensils, ivory, rhinoceros horn and other places in Persia, and buying tea, porcelain, silk and other items from the Tang Dynasty to sell them back.

Hamid is 18 years old, tall, with a nose and deep eyes, a mustache, and a handsome appearance. He was born noble, his grandfather was the prime minister of the Sassanid Dynasty in Persia, he could have relied on the status of his ancestors to enter politics, but he had a bold personality, he did not like restraint by nature, and would rather be an idle rich man, so he chose to do business and came to Chang'an.

Hamid has a hobby, likes good food, wine and beautiful women, and is also a foodie. Recently, Hamid spotted the bread and cakes that appeared in the market, which piqued his interest and sent someone to buy fresh bread and cakes every day to complement his delicacies.

On this day, Hamid was sitting on a precious Persian carpet, and was enjoying his meal in the service of two orchids from the Western Regions, when the servant came in and said, "Master, the shopkeeper of the Magpie Trading Company has come to visit. ”

Hamid knows a little about the Magpie Trading Company, and in addition to bread and cakes, they also sell brick tea. Hamid still admires the shopkeeper of the Magpie Trading Company, who was able to invent these things. When I heard about the visit of the shopkeeper, I also wanted to see him.

The great cannibal was hospitable, and Hamid personally greeted him at the door of the guest room. Zhou Qian appeared in a crimson dress.

The color of clothes in the Tang Dynasty was strictly regulated, with the royal family ochre yellow, the officials above the third rank purple, the sixth rank above crimson, and the seventh rank below cyan. Officials' family members may wear clothes of the same color as the officials.

The people wore white, which was the so-called white ding. Untouchables are slaves and criminals and wear black. Merchants generally wear white.

Zhou Qian didn't look like he was just a eunuch, but the master behind the family was tough, he was outside, and in order to act conveniently, he specially put on crimson clothes.

Hamid saw that the person who came was a family member of an official, although he was of noble birth, but after all, this was the Tang Dynasty, and officials could not be offended casually. Therefore, he saluted Zhou Qian very formally.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Qian did not return the salute, but just flashed his body to the side and bowed to the back.

Hamid saw two young men in blue robes behind him.

Hamid was a little curious, the color of Zhou Qian's clothes was obviously higher than the latter, why would he be so respectful to them?

Hamid was very clever and immediately thought of the words "Weifu private interview". He also respectfully saluted the visitors.

The visitor was very polite and saluted Hamid in accordance with the etiquette of the Tang Dynasty.

Hamid said in half-baked Chinese: "Honorable guest, may I ask you, who are you?" ”

Zhou Qian said: "Hamid, this is His Royal Highness the King of Qi of my family, and this is the son of my uncle's family of the Yin Kingdom." ”

When Hamid heard this, he saluted again.

After returning the salute, Li You said: "Mr. Hamid, please forgive me for taking the liberty of visiting. ”

Hamid smiled: "It is an honor for His Highness and Yin Gongzi to visit, and the small shop is full of brilliance. ”

Li You saw that Hamid was a talented person and behaved generously, and he suddenly had a good impression in his heart, and said: "Mr. Hamid, I heard that you have a lot of Persian food here, and you are a little greedy today, so you came to bother me, don't you mind." ”

Seeing Li You's politeness, Hamid also liked it in his heart, and said, "Your Highness likes food, and I have heard of it for a long time. The scent of musk cannot be hidden. My Highness and I are like-minded people, and I am honored to have you as a guest. After speaking, he invited Li You and the others to sit inside, and at the same time instructed the servants to prepare the dishes.

Li You sat on the Persian carpet like Hamid and said, "Mr. Hamid, what do you think of the food in Chang'an?" ”

Hamid said, "Life is a school, and the storehouse of wisdom is full of proverbs." The food culture of the Tang Dynasty is broad and profound, and I deeply admire it. ”

The Persians were fond of proverbs when they spoke, just as the literati of the Tang Dynasty were fond of saying proverbs.

Li You didn't like this tone, and said: "Mr. Hamid, let's not come to those sour Confucians, speak directly, don't say proverbs, I don't say it, how about it?" ”

Hamid laughed and said, "Refreshing, to my temper." After saying that, the originally straight waist collapsed.

He clapped his hands and said, "Take these down and replace them with new ones." ”

A few low-chested, shirtless orchids came over and laid out some Persian fruits, including pistachios, dates, cherries, melons and grapes.

Hamid said: "First of all, I am an anon-sectarian and have no taboos. IMHO, the food in Chang'an is relatively simple and tastes average. However, there has been a big improvement recently, and it is said that it was researched by you, Your Highness. ”

Zhou Qian interjected and said: "That is, my prince is the first gourmand in the Tang Dynasty, and there are a lot of delicacies in the palace." ”

Li You smiled: "Zhou Qian, how many times have I told you, keep a low profile, don't let Mr. Hamid laugh." ”

Yin Guanghao was not interested in their topic, and just concentrated on dealing with the cherry in front of him.

Hamid asked, "Your Highness, what kind of dessert is the bread and cake you made that are not filled with purple sugar?" ”

As soon as Li You heard this, he knew that this guy had a good sense of taste and had the potential to be a foodie, and said with a smile: "Mr. Hamid, hey, it's really awkward, do you think this will work, I call you Lao Ha, do you call me Lao Li Xing?" ”

"Lao Ha, Lao Li? Haha, interesting, okay. Hamid laughed.

Li You talked about sugar and exchanged interesting facts about food with Hamid.

Hamid is really a foodie, and when he talks about this, his eyes light up, and he constantly explains Persian cuisine, saying that he wants to invite Li You to taste them one by one. Li You was also excited, and he was foaming at the mouth.

Yin Guanghao saw the two like-smelling foodies with their eyebrows fluttering, and moved his ass to the side, so as not to drown in their spit.

Soon, the wine and food came up. There are grilled lamb chops, Chirokha Baobu, Fissingjiang, Obu Gushit, etc., as well as the indispensable naan. The wine is Sanle pulp, and there is also Gaochang wine. Hamid was a well-thought-out man, and the utensils used for his meals were all gold and silver vessels.

The taste of these dishes is really good, Li You is more interested in grilled lamb chops, he tasted it and praised: "Okay, the heat is good, the ingredients are also fine, if you add cumin." ”

Hamid asked, "What is cumin?" ”

Li You remembered the cumin barbecue, and his saliva began to flow down, and he said, "Cumin is the king of seasoning." If cumin is used in barbecue, the taste is tsk. ”

Seeing Li You's expression, Hamid also felt that his taste buds began to swell, and he asked, "Where is this cumin?" ”

Cumin is mainly found in Central Asia in India, Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Xinjiang in China, and Russia. It is also found near Ctesiphon (32 km southeast of Baghdad), the capital of Persia.

Li You said: "There is one near Ctesiphon. He gave a detailed account of cumin-related information and drew the morphology of the cumin plant.

Harold asked, "Have any of you ever seen this plant?" ”

The orchids who were waiting next to them all came up to look at the pictures. An orchid said: "Master, the slave has seen this weed, and this kind of weed was common in the mountains of the slave's hometown when I was a child. ”

Li You said: "Lao Ha, you send someone to try to find cumin, so to speak, no matter how much you get, I will buy it at a price three times higher than the pepper." ”

Hamid saw that Li You attached so much importance to this cumin, and immediately said: "Lao Li, don't worry, I will send someone to find this cumin immediately." ”

"Okay, okay." Li You said happily.

The more Li You and Hamid talked, the more cheerful they became, and they felt a sense of regret and sympathy for each other. He and Hamid chatted until the West Market closed, and then left unsatisfied. Before leaving, he said: "Lao Ha, you can come to my house to taste the food when you are free, you don't need to report, you can do it at any time." ”

Hamid was very happy and got acquainted with the powerful people of the Tang Dynasty, and his life in Chang'an would be better in the future.

On the way back, Li You said to Yin Guanghao: "There are a lot of good things in Persia, and the market is also very large, our business will be in Persia in the future." ”