At half past two in the afternoon on the third day of the Lunar New Year, Hua Zhenxing and Man Man came to Binjiang Road in the old town of Wucheng. This road was built along the Jushui River in ancient times, and was the most important material transportation terminal and a prosperous business area in the seat of the state capital.

In modern times, inland waterway shipping has declined, but Binjiang Road is still lined with shops. More than 30 years ago, Binjiang Road was renovated, and the old wooden buildings with great fire hazards were basically demolished, and row houses were built on both sides of the road.

Most of these storefronts are two-storey, with shops on the first floor, warehouses at the back, and houses on the upper floors, and most of the operators are still the original tenants. Many years ago, local villagers went to the city to buy things and often visited here.

Since the beginning of the new century, with the development of the city and the prosperity of the market, it is no longer a prosperous area, and many scattered small businesses have closed one after another. In the past decade, with the rise of online shopping, more and more original brick-and-mortar stores have closed down.

While the city is expanding, the total population has reached its peak and is starting to fall.

The number of new students is decreasing year by year, and the younger generation, who have spending power and competitiveness, is also constantly leaving, looking for opportunities and dreams in bigger and more prosperous cities.

The newly absorbed population from the surrounding towns and county towns has gradually failed to make up for the decline in the original population of the city. The surrounding towns and counties are hardly replenished, and the decline in fertility and the one-way net outflow of population coexist.

Most of the shops on this one-kilometre-long riverside road are always open, but their business items are constantly changing.

The reason why few shops close completely is simple, because most of these storefront houses are owned by families, and there is no rental cost, just look at what to buy and sell to make a living.

Nowadays, many of the shops here are engaged in special local products, selling things that are not easy to buy elsewhere, and also serve as a base for online stores, as well as some stores of local manufacturers and service stores of foreign merchants.

There are significantly fewer traditional shops such as clothing, shoes and hats, tobacco, alcohol and daily necessities, agricultural materials, and haberdashery, and many new service stores such as specialty restaurants, housing agencies, Internet cafes, foot baths, and nail salons.

This road was built more than 30 years ago during the renovation of the old city, and it is a two-way four-lane road, which was quite high by the standards of the time, but now it seems a little narrow. There are often many cars parked on both sides of the road, leaving only two lanes in both directions in the middle.

Cars can't drive fast here, and it feels like a pedestrian street without separating people and vehicles.

More than 30 years ago, when Binjiang Road was first renovated, it felt very new and beautiful, prosperous and fashionable, but now it seems to be outdated, and even the tiles on the walls are a little mottled and dull.

In many places, the old town gives people a similar feeling, and there are also new urban areas around Wucheng with high-rise buildings, smooth roads and clean environment, but most of them are not as popular as here.

Zhiwei Building is somewhat different from the buildings on both sides of it, although it was built in the same era, but it is well maintained, and some very traditional decorations have been added one after another, both like three hundred years ago and like three years ago.

When Hua Zhenxing and Man Man walked into Zhiwei Building side by side, the doorman took the initiative to open the door very politely and nodded and said, "Welcome!" Then he was surprised, "Director Hua? ”

This sentence was spoken in the voice of divine consciousness, and ordinary people at a distance could not hear it.

The doorman is a young man, he looks older than Hua Zhenxing, his eyebrows are clear and his eyes are in his early twenties, Hua Zhenxing doesn't know him, and he is sure that he has not seen this person.

In today's information age, Hua Zhenxing has publicly set up a dinner at the Spring Banquet for so many days, and the small videos are estimated to have spread all over the sky, and it is normal to be recognized by a Kunlun monk.

Hua Zhenxing nodded and smiled: "It's me, may I ask who you are——? ”

Doorman: "Ye Zhujing, a disciple of the Carefree Sect." You met your father Ye Zhifei at the Spring Banquet. ”

Hua Zhenxing: "Oh, I'm glad to be happy!" To introduce, this is Manman, the director of our Jili Country Yuanshu Center. ”

Before the words fell, I only smelled a faint fragrant breeze, and a pleasant voice came: "Oh, why did Director Hua come here for the New Year?" This is Manman Daoyou, look up for a long time, please come in! ”

When I looked up, I saw an acquaintance, who was actually wearing a warm velvet cheongsam and a little white coat.

Man Man took the initiative to step forward and said, "It's Man Man, and I've heard of the fairy in blue a long time ago. Xiaohua said that you are more beautiful than me, and it was so when I saw it today! ”

Manman's words made Zhang Lanyi not know how to answer, so he had to cover his mouth and say: "Director Hua is really humorous, he is duplicitous, teasing you!" ”

Walking into the lobby, this restaurant is not as big as expected, and it is slightly smaller than the Spring Banquet.

In the lobby on the first floor, there are six round tables, the kind that can seat six to eight people, and twelve square tables by the window and the left and right sides against the wall, which are suitable for four people.

In addition to the two offices on the second floor, there are twelve private rooms, and the innermost box is unexpectedly incomprehensible. Of course, Hua Zhenxing didn't dare to forcibly spy on anything with his divine sense, but only slightly sensed.

Hua Zhenxing: "I didn't expect to meet a blue-clothed Taoist friend here!" ”

Zhang Lanyi smiled and said, "I'm the lobby manager here. ”

Manman: "When?" ”

Zhang Lanyi: "I just came here in January this year, and I finally had such an opportunity to stay in Wucheng Zhiwei Building for half a year." ”

Man Man: "In this way, can you still go to Dongguo cuisine for a few miles on the ninth day of junior high school?" ”

Zhang Lanyi smiled again: "Just ask for a leave, and I will definitely come to the door with my head Xing at that time!" By the way, why did Manman Daoyou and Hua come here today? ”

Hua Zhenxing: "We are here to visit the master of the Mei League, and I heard that he works as a cleaner here. ”

Manman: "Stop by for a meal." ”

Zhang Lanyi was stunned, a little at a loss, but her tone quickly returned to naturalness: "In this way, then you sit down first, and I'll go to the back to see if the Mei League Master is there." ”

The time they entered the door was half past two in the afternoon, and the Zhiwei Building was three o'clock to receive the order. The so-called acquiring means that you can no longer order, and the chef and waiter also need to take a break.

Although you can still order food now, it has long passed the lunch point, so there are not many customers still in the lobby, and there are only three sets left. One was already ready to check out, and the other two were supposed to have drunk some wine, and although they had finished eating, they were still chatting there.

Hua Zhenxing and Man Man found a square table against the wall and sat down, and there was a recipe on the table. Hua Zhenxing picked up the recipe and handed it to Man Mandao: "The recipe of Zhiweilou is worth studying. ”

Manman: "I heard that there is also a small cookbook, which is only for monks. ”

Hua Zhenxing: "I'll take a look later." ”

At this moment, a middle-aged man came out from behind, wearing an apron and sleeves, holding a bucket in his left hand, which contained half a bucket of clean water filled with detergent, a rag on the edge of the bucket, a T-shaped eraser in his right hand, and a white towel hanging on his arm.

The sleeves, aprons, towels were all snow-white and spotless.

This person is about 1.8 meters tall, and his appearance can remind people of the eight words "thick eyebrows and big eyes, and good facial features" at a glance.

He came to the table and asked, "Hua Daoyou, Man Daoyou, I heard that you are looking for me?" ”

Hua Zhenxing and Man Man hurriedly stood up, bowed down and said, "Happy New Year, Lord Mei Meng, we are here to greet you for the New Year!" Good luck and good luck! ”

Mei Yeshi smiled: "Thank you, thank you!" Happy New Year, everyone...... You haven't had lunch yet, have you? ”

Manman: "Not really. ”

Umeno Stone: "Whatever you want, I'll treat you!" ”

Hua Zhenxing: "Then how embarrassing ......"

Mei Yeshi: "The younger generation comes all the way to the house to pay New Year's greetings, how can they not care about food?" What's more, I'm the one who runs a restaurant! Sit, sit first, you're welcome! ”

As he spoke, Umeno put the wipe into the bucket and took the white towel to wipe the table.

In fact, the table is very clean and does not need to be wiped at all, but after the guests sit down, they wipe it in front of them, and inadvertently show that the white towel is not dirty at all, which is also a service feature.

As soon as the towel was stretched over, it was snatched by Hua Zhenxing. There are not many people in this world who can snatch things from him, so the Mei Alliance Master is defenseless.

Hua Zhenxing: "You are an elder, how can you let you wipe the table for us, I'll come, I'll come!" "I didn't use a towel to speak, I secretly cast a spell with a wave of my hand, not to mention that the table was already very clean, even if it was dirty before, it was extremely clean now.

Mei Yeshi smiled and took the towel back again: "Then you sit down first, and I'll come over when I'm done." ”

Hua Zhenxing and Man Man bowed in unison and said, "You are busy with yours first!" ”

Ding Qi told Hua Zhenxing that he could do whatever he wanted when he came here, and it was really not nonsense. Hua Zhenxing is here to pay New Year's greetings to Mei Yeshi, he and Shi Shuangcheng are friends and alumni, and Mei Yeshi is considered an elder.

This elder runs a restaurant, and of course the younger generation will take care of the meal when he comes to the door during the Chinese New Year. Mei Yeshi works as a cleaner in his own restaurant, but how could Hua Zhenxing and Man Man sit still and let this elder stand and bend down to wipe the table for himself?

Of course, there must be politeness, whether you should grab a towel or grab a towel, and you have to bow down when you should bow down.

They sat down after Umeno turned to leave. Zhang Lanyi walked over and handed over another small recipe, and said with a smile: "If you want to order something, let's take a look first." ”

In fact, the waiter in charge of ordering in the lobby was not Zhang Lanyi, but at the moment, except for the doorman, the other waiters did not show up, so Zhang Lanyi did it for him.

It happened that someone wanted to settle the bill, and Zhang Lanyi went over to collect the money. Umeno pushed a small cart to clean up the cups and plates and wipe the table.

Zhang Lanyi walked to the other two groups of guests, whispered a few words, and the two tables of guests finally stopped chatting and grinding time, and all checked out happily and left.

At this time, there were no other guests in the Zhiwei Building, and Zhang Lanyi came over again and said, "Is it ordered?" ”

Manman ordered four dishes and one soup very neatly, four of which happened to be two cold and two hot, and the dishes were ready in a few minutes.

The four dishes and one soup flew directly out of the back kitchen, and they didn't spill at all when they landed on the table, and there were no outsiders at the moment anyway.

Seeing these dishes, Hua Zhenxing knew why it could be served so quickly. Regardless of the two cold dishes, the two hot dishes and soup ordered by Man Man were actually pot boys, lit with a stove.

The third day of the Lunar New Year is the best time for business, and dishes like these are all prepared at noon, just put them in the pot and light the fire.

Those powerful kitchens, as long as they make a move, they can pack the pot, and when they fly to the table, they will even be burned.

Hua Zhenxing and Man Man didn't move their chopsticks, they should normally sit facing each other, but at this moment, they sat side by side on one side of the table, leaving the opposite side empty.

I saw Mei Yeshi push the cart out again and clean up the last two tables. Hua Zhenxing and Man Man also got up and wanted to help, but they were persuaded back to their seats by Mei Yeshi with a smile.

The car pushed into the back kitchen, and when Mei Yeshi came out again, he had already taken off his sleeves and apron, turned his head and said to Zhang Lanyi at the counter: "Receipt!" ”

It was not yet three o'clock, but Zhiweilou had received the order in advance, and there were no other guests in the lobby. Except for Ye Zhujing and Zhang Lanyi, the other waiters did not show up in the lobby on the first floor.

But Hua Zhenxing could sense that many people were paying attention to the movement in the lobby in the back kitchen and on the second floor, and the monks didn't need to come to the front of them.

Mei Yeshi walked over and said, "I'm sorry, I'm just done." ”

Hua Zhenxing and Man Man hurriedly got up: "It's because we're sorry to disturb you, and the Mei League Master didn't have lunch, right?" ”

Umeno Stone: "We all eat after we receive the bill, so we can just be together." ”

Hua Zhenxing: "Please take a seat!" ”

Mei Yeshi sat down on the opposite side steadily, and took the initiative to beckon: "You guys also sit, do you want to have some wine, Huadiao drinks?" ”

Manman: "Drink, Xiaohua often uses it to cook." ”

Mei Yeshi raised his head and beckoned, "Xiaolan, take a box of old spring yellow." ”

Zhang Lanyi: "How many years?" ”

Mei Yeshi: "According to the age of these two children. ”

Hua Zhenxing and Man Man are both nineteen years old this year, but they have not yet reached their birthdays, strictly speaking, they are in their early eighteenness.

Wine is not the better the older it is, and different wines have different particularities when the storage conditions are qualified.

For example, the best taste period of strong flavor liquor is between 50 and 100 years, while that of sauce-flavored liquor is more than 100 years.

As for rice wine, it usually reaches its best taste when it is close to 20 years, and the taste decreases after 30 years.

Hua Zhenxing carried wine with him, but he didn't take it out when he heard Mei Yeshi say this. The so-called box sounds scary, but in fact it is only six catties of rice wine, and the three of them can drink it completely.

didn't let Zhang Lanyi reach out to help, Hua Zhenxing took the initiative to open the box and pick up the bottle, poured all the wine glasses on the table, and then took the glass with Man Man and said: "We are here to give you New Year's greetings, first wish you good luck Kunlun and longevity!" ”

After drinking this cup, Hua Zhenxing said again: "Thank you for lending me that rune!" ”

Mei Yeshi also drank a glass of wine, waved his hand and said, "Sit, sit down and talk, don't always stand up." "He didn't seem to have a shelf, and he didn't seem to need to put it up.

After sitting down again, Man Man took the lead and said: "On the ninth day of the first lunar month, we will feast on the Taoist friends of all factions in Kunlun at the newly opened Jili Dongguo Cuisine in Pingjing City. On behalf of Yangyuan Valley, we specially invite you to enjoy the light at that time! ”

Mei Yeshi shook his head: "I won't join in the fun, Shi Shuangcheng can attend on behalf of the Three Dream Sect, and I heard that Guangren was also sent as a representative by Zhengyimen." You're all already old friends, how close young people are! ”

This is a normal result, and Hua Zhenxing can predict it before coming. Sanmengzong and Zhengyimen sent Shi Shuangcheng and Guangren as representatives to attend respectively, which was already to support face.

When he was in Jinghu, Hua Zhenxing of course also invited Mr. Ding. Ding Qi didn't want to go, and although Fang Waimen was not excluded among the various factions in Kunlun, it was also regarded as an alternative and did not have much contact.

Zhu Shanxian thought that someone had to go, which had nothing to do with the Kunlun factions, but for Yangyuangu and Hua Zhenxing, so he sent two young deacons Shi Buquan and Shang Ni to go on behalf of Fang Waimen.

This is the same as the practice of the Three Dreams Sect.

Man Man took the opportunity to ask: "I heard that the employees of Zhiwei Building are all rotated by monks of various factions, how long will you be a cleaner here?" ”

This sentence is a temptation, because Ding Qi guessed the day before yesterday that Mei Yeshi would be punished until Hua Zhenxing came to the door.

Mei Yeshi's tone was not shocked: "After finishing this busiest New Year, you can change someone to guard Zhiwei Building, and I will be replaced by Tao Ranke, a senior from West Kunlun." ”

Wucheng Zhiwei Building, in addition to the disciples of each faction on duty, there are also high-ranking seniors who take turns to guard. The last town keeper was Yu Cangwu, and now it is Mei Yeshi himself. The next one was replaced by Tao Ranke, and Hua Zhenxing had also heard of this name.

Tao Ranke came here to replace Mei Yeshi, of course, not necessarily as a cleaner.

Hua Zhenxing couldn't help but secretly praise in his heart, Mr. Ding really guessed right! As soon as he came to the door, it meant that Umeno Stone's punishment was over. It's just that it's not easy to say this directly, and it is estimated that Mr. Feng will not let the leader of the Mei League say it.