Chapter 3 North and South Pots

I saw the white fat old man busy in the back kitchen for a while, and soon served two plates of side dishes. The side dishes are also ordinary side dishes, a plate of fried bean sprouts, and a plate of roasted eggplant. Later, a jar of wine was brought from behind the adobe counter. Although the Runquanyong pot wine is the loudest in a radius of 100 miles, the dressing is also the same as the local pot dressing method, all of which are filled with black and red glazed pottery jars, sealed with cement, red silk cloth on the outside, and finally pasted a "wine" word on the waist of the wine jar. But Zhang Shuting still saw at a glance from the sealing technique that this jar of wine was not the wine of his own pot, but from the Beiguan Waiju and Yong pot.

The relationship between the North Gate Waiju and the Yong Pot and the South Gate Rinrun Spring Pot is not far away. The two masters are not only surnamed Zhang, but also have the same ancestor. The owners of the two pots also knew that when the Runquanyong pot was passed on to the ninth generation, the ninth generation had two sons. According to the rules of the ancestors of Runquanyong pot: the pot is passed on to the big but not the small. But the ninth-generation heir saw that he was old and couldn't do it anymore, so he was ready to hand over the pot to his son to take care of. However, the eldest son of the ninth generation has been sick for many years, and he is okay in the front yard shop, but not in the backyard retort, mill or curved house. The second son is strong and strong, not only can manage the shop, but also can go down to the retort, the mill and the curved house, and he is a good hand inside and out. So, the ninth generation was ready to break the rules of the ancestors and decided to hand over the pot to the second son to take care of. If you don't give it to the second son, the eldest son won't say anything, and when it is clear that he will hand over the pot to the second son, the eldest son will not do it. Not only did he not do it, but in the end, he even made a fuss about separating the family, and it was not enough to do it if he didn't separate the family. However, it is said that the eldest son is sick, but in fact, there is no disease, but his body and bones are a little weak, and he has been weak since he was a child. It is precisely because of his weak body that the old man has favored him since he was a child, and he is also afraid that he will hand over a pot to him and can't stand the tiredness. I didn't expect the eldest son to understand the old man's heart so much. Not only was he ignorant, but he also forced the old man to give him half of the pot, if he didn't divide it, he would have split up at first, and then he would not live again. But there is still a rule on the ancestor of Runquanyong Burning Pot: which is to divide the family and not divide the pot. If you burn the pot, it is equivalent to being distracted, and you are dismantling your own table. As soon as the second brother saw him like this, he was also angry, and he had to take care of the pot in Quanyong, the two brothers were originally brothers, and the relationship has always been very good, but at this time, they did not give in to each other, and they became enemies again. not only became an enemy, but also fought several times. The old man didn't regret it, and after thinking about it, he raised funds again, chose a site outside the north gate, and rebuilt a pot that was exactly the same as the Runquanyong pot. Even if the boss's body can be rested, at this time, the pot will be handed over to the boss to take care of, and it will be difficult to take care of it if the second child is here.

The name of the new pot is Juheyong, which also means that the two brothers will be reconciled forever. Then the two sons caught lots, and finally the eldest son caught Juheyong outside the north gate, and the second son caught Runquanyong in the south gate. The boss was even more angry when he saw it, but he caught it himself, and he couldn't blame others. So, he remembered the revenge on the second child. In the operation of the pot, it is compared with the Runquanyong pot, but it is a pity that it has not been compared to the Runquanyong until death. It is precisely because of his death that he has not been compared to Runquanyong, the boss left a message before he died, and the boss explained to their son: "According to the rules of the ancestors, Runquanyong should have been handed over to him, but it was finally handed over to the second child...... Our Zhang family, if you don't eat this steamed bun, you have to fight for this breath, when is it better to gather and Yong Burning Pot than Runquanyong Burning Pot, when will you go to my grave and tell it, so that I can be blinded under Jiuquan! ”

It is precisely because of such a will that the two pots, originally from the same sect, have become enemies who will never get along. But outsiders are not completely aware of these, only know that Runquanyong and Juhe Yongben are the same ancestor, so they are accustomed to call the South Gate Inside Runquanyong Pot as the South Pot, and the North Gate Outer Juhe Yong Pot as the North Pot.

However, despite this, Zhang Shuting didn't mind who he was drinking. Within a radius of 100 miles, not only within a radius of 100 miles, Zhang Shuting has drunk all the wine of the big and small pots. Speaking of which, this is also the rule left by Zhang Shuting's ancestors, only by comparison can there be progress, or in other words, only by knowing oneself and knowing one's opponent can the wine of the South Burning Pot be better. The wine that runs the spring spring pot is good, and I'm afraid the reason is also here.

While talking, the old man brought the wine jar from the adobe counter, and was ready to unveil the red silk to open it for Zhang Shuting. Zhang Shuting hurriedly stopped with his hand and wanted to do it himself. Outsiders do not pay attention to the mouth of the altar, but in the eyes of Zhang Shuting and other insiders, there are many particulars, such as the silk rope that fixes the red silk cloth at the mouth of the altar, with different colors of red silk rope, it represents the wine of different pots, or with the same color of red silk rope, the style of knotting is different, and it also represents the wine of different pots. If there is any difference, it is the cement that seals the mouth of the altar under the red silk cloth. Although most of the sealing mud is cement, and most of the cement is supported by lotus leaves, but the number of layers of lotus leaves or cement used in each pot has different exquisiteness. It is precisely because of the difference in attention that Zhang Shuting can see at a glance from the sealing method which pot produces the wine. And because the south pot and the north pot come from the same ancestor, the sealing technique is exactly the same, the same is two layers of lotus leaf bottom, columnar cement plugging, wrapped red silk, knotted with yellow silk rope. The difference is on the word "wine" written on the black ink and red paper on the waist of the wine jar. Back then, because the north pot was given to the boss, the word "wine" was written bigger, and because the south pot was given to the second child, the word "wine" was slightly smaller. For many years, it has been used like this.

Zhang Shuting opened the mouth of the altar very slowly, which was also a process of enjoyment for him, just like opening a meat paper bag with fragrant meat inside. Then, I poured a sea bowl. Smell it, but there is a little bit of sweetness in the rich aroma of the wine, take a sip, and swallow it slowly, and feel soft and a little mellow, round and plump. What is missing in the North Pot Wine, the South Pot Wine has all the things, not only has it, but also gives people a sense of wine aroma and long aftertaste when it is drunk. This is also the biggest difference between the south and the north pot. It is precisely because of the same ancestor and such differences that the owners of the North Burning Pot have been unwilling for generations. Here's why, too.

Zhang Shuting drank very slowly. He liked the feeling of the wine being clean, without any other adulterations floating in his stomach, even though the wine produced in the North Yakuza was not as authentic as his own wine. But Zhang Shuting really likes this wonderful feeling. Indulging in wine and capturing the aroma of wine with every pore on the body is also a skill that the men of the Zhang family must practice.

Zhang Shuting has been drinking very slowly, and the amount of each drink in his mouth is very small, and when he drinks in his mouth, he swallows it very slowly, little by little. It should be said that Zhang Shuting is not using the taste of the mouth, but using the whole stomach to perceive the taste of wine. I saw the fat old man, and saw that he only drank and did not speak, and he was also busy with his own affairs.

To make a long story short, it was not until the sun was in the west that the tavern was dim that Qi Zhankui woke up from his drunken state. Until this time, Zhang Shuting had already eaten two jars of wine.

Seeing Qi Zhankui wake up from his drunken state, he first raised his hand and rubbed his face, and between rubbing his face, he also saw Zhang Shuting sitting at another table through the kerosene lamp that had already been lit in the room.

"When did you arrive?" Qi Zhankui stopped and asked.

"This guest has been here since noon." The white fat old man on the side saw Qi Zhankui wake up and talk to Zhang Shuting first, and he didn't wait for Zhang Shuting to speak, so he replied first.

Qi Zhankui shook his head, and said apologetically to Zhang Shuting and said:

"I'm so sorry, I was going to wait for you, but I didn't know that I drank too much."

Zhang Shuting also smiled. also saw that it was not early, and also felt that Qi Zhankui had just woken up, and it was not time to talk about business, so he simply hugged Qi Zhankui across the table and said:

"Shopkeeper Qi, it's getting late today, I'll send Shopkeeper Qi home to rest first? Regarding the matter of inviting the shopkeeper Qi to the Runquanyong store to be the shopkeeper, we might as well discuss it again tomorrow! ”

Seeing Qi Zhankui hear this, he hurriedly shook his hand and said:

"Don't dare to be called the shopkeeper anymore, I'm not the shopkeeper now."

After that, he smiled at Zhang Shuting ashamedly and said:

"The young owner brought a letter to invite me to be the shopkeeper of the South Burning Pot, and I am very grateful."

After a pause, he added:

"But I can't go to the South Burning Pot. This is also what I want to make clear today to the owner of Nanxiang Pot. ”

Qi Zhankui didn't say this, Zhang Shuting thought that Qi Zhankui would agree. As soon as Qi Zhankui said this, Zhang Shuting couldn't help but be taken aback and said:

"Why?"

Maybe he expected Zhang Shuting to ask why, but he saw Qi Zhankui laughing miserably, and then said something that Zhang Shuting never dreamed of.