The interior of this bistro is not large, and the entrance is a three-sided wooden counter with paper towels and bamboo chopstick holders, cruet bottles and a dozen or so upside-down beer glasses, which is about three or four square meters. The partition inside the counter is neatly stacked with all kinds of dishes and a few ingredients.

Outside the counter are single chairs built around it on three sides, which can seat ten people in terms of numbers, and inside there are two tables and chairs placed together by the window, and at the bottom is a set of double seats, which is all the seats in the tavern.

The counter is missing one in three directions, which leads to an open kitchen. A tall, lanky short-haired man in a blue kitchen coat with a long white kitchen skirt around his waist is facing away from the counter, busy on the countertop.

The short-haired man heard the wooden door of the tavern being opened, and the wind chimes hanging under the edge of the door were blown by the air, and a crisp and clean voice sounded, and he shouted without looking back, "Welcome, please sit down first, wait a while." At the same time, the other guests in the izakaya also raised their heads in unison and looked at Rusihua who had entered.

Lu Xihua glanced at it, the time was just past twelve o'clock in the middle of the night, according to the words of the little cat demon, this store had just opened, and there were already several customers waiting inside. It's just that they didn't sit at the table, but they all sat around the counter, it seems that the kitten demon recommended it well, the food here is indeed unique, otherwise there would be no customers waiting in the seats, you must know that some drunkards who like to drink are not willing to wait for a while.

At most, there are only about ten people seated at the counter, and now there are three people, a middle-aged uncle is drinking with his head bored, a young man is also drinking with his head bored, and a young white-collar woman is holding her mobile phone and looking at the text messages inside.

The three of them seemed to have their own thoughts, Qi Qi glanced up at Lu Xihua, and when he saw that it was an unfamiliar young man who came in, he immediately turned his head back again.

Lu Xihua was going to spend a lot of time here, so he chose a place near the counter and sat down, looking around with interest. It's almost entirely a wooden izakaya, with a clock hanging on the wall and a rice cooker in the corner of the counter. In the corner of the wall, a small bird with red feathers was standing on the bird shelf, looking at Lu Xihua curiously, tilting its head to look at the uninvited guest.

After a while, the smell of food came from the kitchen.

"I've kept you waiting~" The tall, thin, short-haired man came out of the kitchen with food, finishing his busy hand work.

"It's your tonkatsu~"

"I'm really looking forward to it, and I want to come to the boss for a meal before I leave Tokyo, and that's the best choice. The middle-aged uncle took the plate, which was filled with fried golden pork cutlets, and said with a smile on his face.

"Matsumoto, you're welcome. Xiaoshan, this is your skewer and edamame. ”

"Thank you to the owner. ”

"And your tea-stained rice. ”

"I was finally able to fill my stomach, I was hungry and working overtime until now, and I have been looking forward to this bowl of rice from my boss for a long time. The white-collar woman put down her mobile phone with a smile, took the bowl with both hands, and before she started eating, she closed her eyes first, and took a deep breath with her nose against the bowl, "Sure enough, the rice brewed from hot tea is the taste of home~"

"So, this new guest, what do you need a little bit?" the short-haired boss didn't seem to smile, turned his head to Lu Xihua and asked, handing over a moist white towel.

Lu Xihua took the white towel and wiped his hands, only then did he notice that the tall and thin middle-aged short-haired boss, from top to bottom in his left eye, had a very obvious knife mark across the eye socket, separating the upper and lower eyelids conclusively, it seems that the middle-aged boss also had a lot of stories when he was young.

"Why don't you have a menu here, what should I order?" Lu Xihua asked with a smile.

"There are always customers who want to eat something different, so if I have the right ingredients, I do everything I can. The boss replied with a cold face, I don't know if it was because the knife marks on his eyes affected his muscles, almost no smile, but it looked very kind.

"I was recommended by a lady who frequented the place, and I'm going to pass the time with a few drinks at your place, and order some side dishes to accompany the wine. Lu Xihua was not hypocritical, and said directly.

"Little brother, the craftsmanship of the owner here is great. The middle-aged uncle, who was drinking with his head down, suddenly looked up and said to Aoba.

"Uncle, do you have any recommendations?" Lu Xihua kept smiling, not at all like he had just killed someone, and everyone seemed to be just an ordinary young man who was harmless to humans and animals.

"You're a recent college graduate, right?Come to Tokyo to work?Okay~ It's better for young people to come out for a walk, what kind of wine are you going to drink?" said the middle-aged uncle as he picked up a piece of tonkatsu from his plate and took a bite, showing a little enjoyment.

"Of course, it's draft beer, and in such a hot weather, you can only enjoy drinking beer. Boss, you should have a beer here!" asked Lu Xihua.

"Of course, can an izakaya be without draft beer?" the white-collar woman took over.

"Boss, do you have any recommendations? I have eaten a lot, please prepare more." Lu Xihua handed the question back to Boss Scar.

The boss didn't postpone it, "Okay, let's make you a grilled crucian carp first, and then I will serve you some side dishes, what do you want to eat with fried food and skewers?"

"Chicken gizzards, beef tongue, chicken wings, pork belly, large intestine, crispy bones are all fine, I don't have anything to taboo. ”

"The little brother is really young and has a good appetite~" The middle-aged uncle sighed, picked up the beer and took a big sip, his eyes were a little confused, and he didn't know what he was thinking.

"Understood, I'll go and prepare, please wait a while. Matsumoto, you'd better drink less. With that, Boss Scar turned around and went back to the kitchen to get busy.

Although the boss said that he was busy, a full cup of draft beer was quickly put in front of Lu Xihua.

Looking at the rich and mellow foam on the huge beer glass, as well as the golden and attractive liquid below, Lu Xihua did not hesitate to take a few gulps of the wine glass, and then put the wine glass on the counter, burped happily, and said boldly, "It's really comfortable, boss have another drink!"

"Little brother, what a lot of wine~" The white-collar woman praised it, and buried her head in eating her tea-stained rice again.

"Don't drink so much, although you are still young, please don't be too indulgent, wait a minute, the snacks will be fine immediately." If you are in a hurry to drink, go to the barrel and pick it up yourself. The busy boss Scar replied in the kitchen without looking back.

Lu Xihua was not polite, picked up the empty glass and walked to the barrel in the corner of the wall, unscrewed the faucet, and the liquid full of wheat fragrance poured into the cup.

The little bird, which was covered in scarlet feathers, also flew down from the bird's rack, stood on the barrel, jumped to the ground, and looked at Lu Xihua, with a slight squeak in its mouth.

Lu Xihua picked up the beer, held a huge wine glass in his right hand, raised the fingers of his left hand lightly, and the scarlet bird flew to Lu Xihua's fingers obediently, his two paws obediently grabbed his fingers, and a pair of small black eyes stared at Lu Xihua left and right.

"Huh~ Yan Jiang is rarely so close to people..."The white-collar woman was surprised and looked at Lu Xihua with surprised eyes.

"What kind of bird is this? Is it raised by the boss?" Lu Xihua returned to his seat, this time not taking a big sip of the beer in his hand, but just taking a small sip, letting the aroma of hops echo in his mouth.

The middle-aged uncle had already killed several pieces of pork cutlets, and the wine in the beer glass was empty, so he took out a cigarette from his body, "Xiao Yehe, can I smoke a cigarette?"

The boss's response came from the kitchen, "You suck it, Matsumoto, as long as the new guests are okay." ”

Facing the inquiring glance of this middle-aged uncle named Matsumoto, Lu Xihua motioned to feel free.

Matsumoto took out a lighter and lit a cigarette and took a deep breath, "Masawa-kun is a North Suzaku who came to Tokyo for the winter, and after falling to the roof due to an accidental injury and being rescued by the boss from the mouth of a wild cat, he was reluctant to leave. Matsumoto said as he pointed to the top of the izaka.

"Is his name Zhengyan?It turns out that the rock in the wild crane rock is him~" Lu Xihua couldn't imagine that the boss with a cold scarface had such a gentle side, maybe he was an animal lover.

The young man suddenly replied with a smile, "Masam is the name of the son of Boss Ono Tsuru, a few years ago..."

"Ahem~" The white-collar woman let out a few coughing sounds, interrupting the young man's speech, "Xiaoshan-kun." ”

"No problem, it's been so long, I've forgotten about it, or it's just you regular customers who like to take care of me, it's too much to go. Guest, your grilled flower crucian carp will be ready in no time. Xiaoshan, say whatever you want~" A cold voice that remained unchanged for thousands of years came from the kitchen.

"Then I'll be rude~" The young man named Xiaoshan raised his wine glass and saluted the back of Boss Onozuru, took one bite of the contents of the glass, and continued, "Zhengyan is the name of the boss's son. Seven or eight years ago, as a junior high school student, he passed by the canal on his way back from school, and never came up again because he rescued a primary school student who had fallen into the water. Three years ago, after being rescued by the boss, this northern Suzaku wandered around and never wanted to leave. We all laughed and said that it might be the reincarnation of the boss's son who wanted to go home. So, the boss graciously accepted the little guy and called him Jeongam. ”

"Guests, your grilled crucian carp and fried chicken nuggets. Boss Ono came out of the kitchen and ended his busy figure.

On a snow-white porcelain plate, a roasted yellow and white mandarin fish lies proudly on it, next to a cluster of pickled kelp shreds, mixed with a dash of natto, and then a ball of snow-white radish puree is placed in a small orchid bowl and dotted next to the flower crucian carp.

"If you like the rich flavor, you can add a little soy sauce to the radish puree, so that the taste is richer. Boss Ono Tsuru instructed, "Masamwa, don't disturb the guests. ”

After listening to the boss's words, the northern Suzaku immediately flapped its wings and flew to the boss's shoulder, and obediently pecked the boss's earlobe with his small beak, looking coquettish.

Another dish is served in a small bamboo basket, the inside of the bamboo basket is padded with snow-white paper towels, on top are eight or nine golden fried chicken nuggets, and a few lemon slices that have been cut in a third are lying on the paper towel, which looks very tempting.

"The boss's craftsmanship is really great, then I'm welcome. Lu Xihua squeezed out the juice evenly from the lemon slices, poured it on the fried chicken pieces, took out a pair of chopsticks from the bamboo tube, happily picked up a chicken nugget, and put it in his mouth.

Sure enough, the combination of charred chicken and sour lemon juice not only does not affect each other's tastes, but rather resonates mystically like a chain of chemical formulas, elevating the flavors of both to a new apex and making it unforgettable.

"The skewers will take a little time because of the pickling, please wait a little longer~" Boss Ono Tsuru explained, "Matsumoto, do you still want to drink? It's not too early, don't you still have to go to the hospital?"

Matsumoto smiled bitterly, "Please please give me another bottle of plum wine, thank you." ”

"Well, okay~" Boss Ono Tsuru didn't say much, everyone could see that this middle-aged customer named Matsumoto had something on his mind, but private matters are private matters, and the guests themselves don't say it, and as an izakaya owner, he has no right to ask.

Boss Ono took out a bottle of wine from a special refrigerator, "Try this, I'll invite you." ”

Matsumoto quickly stood up and bowed, "I'm really sorry to let you break the bank." ”

The transparent liquid pours out of the mouth of the thin bottle, and because of the low temperature, it quickly condenses into a beautiful smoothie in the glass, gathering high into a small mountain, and the aroma of the wine spreads from the middle, as if a faint fragrance is interspersed with the temptation of food, which cannot hide its essence and make people feel excited.

Matsumoto picked up the wine glass and drank it in one gulp, his throat involuntarily made a comfortable sound, and two tears quietly slipped from the corners of his eyes at the same time, "It's really enjoyable!"

Matsumoto poured his wine without hesitation, and when the glass was full, he drank it all without pause. A porcelain vase, which had only a capacity of three or four taels, was quickly emptied.

Matsumoto propped his hands on the counter, slowly stood up, paid the money without saying a word, and walked to the door, no one spoke, all quiet.

Matsumoto opened the wooden door, suddenly turned around, and bowed to Boss Onozuru, "I have been taking care of you for a long time. I'm going back to Aomori today, and I hope to have the opportunity to come to Tokyo in the future and enjoy your food again. ”

Boss Ono asked in surprise, "Didn't you come to Tokyo to take care of your lover?

Matsumoto had a smile on his face, "I was relieved that she was finally gone two days ago, and now I just want to go back to the countryside of Aomori, only there are still memories between us." Boss, I'm leaving, thank you for your hospitality. Matsumoto bowed again and closed the wooden door, and from outside the door came a soft singing that seemed to be a country tune, beautiful and elegant.

"Thank you for your patronage, please walk slowly~" Boss Ono Tsuru also bent down and bowed to the closed wooden door, took out a cigarette, took two puffs and extinguished it, and returned to the kitchen without saying a word.