Chapter 520 [Hiring a cat]

  The scenery in front of him is very good, and the stone under him is also hard, with edges and corners, but Fang Chang lying here is as comfortable as lying on his own jade bed.

  Here is a tip of a mountain. The hill is not high, but it is quite steep.

  There are a few huge stones on the top of the mountain, which have been exposed to wind and sun all year round, causing the surface of the stones to peel off from time to time, so there are a lot of debris under the few big stones, and the big stones themselves become mottled and cracked. Except for a few grasses and some moss in the cracks, the top of the mountain is very barren.

   It's good to lie here, suitable for thinking.

  The hill is steep, there are no special products, and there is not even much firewood, so no one usually comes to climb it, and naturally no one bothers Fang Chang.

  In the distance, the wind is rolling and the clouds are moving, and the sky is piercing the sky. It is obvious that there will be a heavy rain, but near the cloud, there is a clear sky. Like a big mushroom, the cloud was spinning rapidly, slowly rolling over the villages, farmland, towns, and roads below, and a few lightning bolts flashed inside it from time to time. The tops of the dark clouds dragged their long tails and were illuminated by the sun, leaving a golden red glow in the clear sky behind.

  He went down the mountain after the spring sowing, and it is already early summer, and in the distance before him, the summer rain clouds are about to show their power. In addition to the heavy rain, there should be some small hail, but at this time it will not affect people and crops much, so Fang Chang is still lying on the top of the mountain, looking at the spectacular scene in the distance, thinking about his own affairs.

   After a long time, Fang Chang jumped down from the top of the mountain after the dark clouds in front of him had gone away.

  He already has a plan.

   Anyway, don’t worry, you can go back to Yunzhong Mountain next, the crops on Xianqi Cliff should have sprouted. The flowers in the flower garden were in full bloom when he left, and they would wither to some extent. With plenty of rain in spring and summer, the surface of Jasper Lake is expected to rise higher, and the streams and waterfalls on the edge of the cliff will also grow stronger.

  Fang Chang walked towards the small town in front. It had just been baptized by the rainstorm, and the appearance of the small town looked very clean and fresh.

   But the streets inside are a bit messy.

  Due to the rapid rain, pedestrians and vendors on the street were busy looking for shelter from the rain, leaving behind a lot of sundries. The leaves that were knocked down by the showers were not completely washed away by the water, but were still lying on the road. The water in the ditches was deep and muddy. On some low-lying roads, residents still need to roll up their trouser legs and wade through water.

Fortunately, the wind, rain and hail came and went in a hurry. Compared with the rainfall, the rainfall was not too large, so whether it was a solid house in the city or a thatched hut in the countryside outside the city, they all withstood the strong wind and rain. The convective weather sheltered those who came rushing into the shelter.

  Fang Chang sat down at a stall that had been erected again, and the stall owner was busy cleaning up in the shed.

  Some people came over one after another and sat down on the stall. They seemed to be familiar with the stall owner, and one of them said to the stall owner:

   "The stall opened so soon, are you not afraid of rain again? It rained so fast just now, did you get wet?"

   "What are you afraid of? The clouds are far away. Can it rain again on this sunny day? The last word is to open the door and do business."

  The stall owner said, his hands kept moving, and asked at the same time:

   "Let me tell you who, what do you want today, is it still the old rule? There are few people today, and all kinds of ingredients are ready."

"Naturally, it's an old rule. Come to a bowl of rotten meat noodles, add a piece of stewed tofu, and put more shredded vegetables and sesame salt." Someone shouted immediately, "It happens that there are a lot of things accumulated in the warehouse at the moment, so it's just right when you're full. Go to work."

  So everyone spoke out one after another, expressing that they should eat noodles according to their usual old rules.

The noodles rolled by the stall owner are all ready-made. He boils the water in the pot, puts the noodles down, scoops them up after two boils, puts shredded vegetables in a bowl and tops them with rotten meat toppings. For personal taste, add sesame salt, vinegar, sesame paste and the newly popular hot pepper before serving them separately.

To do business these days, you need to have a good memory, and you must write down the preferences of regular customers. For example, the stall owner in front of you, although he can't name these regular customers, he can still remember clearly what everyone likes to eat. Nothing, even the amount of ingredients are exactly the same.

  Of course, for new guests like Fang Chang, he has to ask in person:

   "Guest officer, what do you want?"

   "Give me a bowl of rotten meat noodles too, just add more shredded vegetables, no ingredients." Fang Chang said.

   "Okay, wait a moment, guest officer." The stall owner turned his head and went to cook the noodles.

   This kind of food is very quick to make, just cook the noodles and pour toppings on it.

  It is more convenient if it is summer. You can cook a large pot of noodles in advance and soak them in cold water. It's just that the diners here will still ask for rotten meat stew.

   After all, the people who come here to eat noodles are ordinary people who work non-stop. The rotten meat noodles are big and delicious, and there is some oily water, which is most suitable to fill their stomachs.

  When everyone ate noodles together, the stall was quiet, and no one chatted while eating.

  It wasn’t until someone finished eating first, wiped his mouth comfortably, and then said: “Let’s be a donkey or a horse, and he’ll croak when he’s full of rotten meat noodles.” Then he began to wait for the people around him to finish eating, digest and chat.

  Fang Chang ate very slowly, slowly tasting the noodles in the bowl.

  This rotten meat stew and ordinary noodles, although not good meat or noodles, and the method and appearance are very rough, but the taste is really good.

  He listened to the chatting content of the people around him, and it was nothing more than gossip from parents, interesting stories from far and near, but not much news.

At this time, another young man in blue cloth hurried over to the stall with a few paper bags and sat down, then sighed, "It's raining heavily! It's almost late. Shopkeeper, bring me a bowl of rotten meat." Now, I'm going to hire a cat when I'm full."

  The people around heard this, and immediately congratulated him, and this person happily returned the salutes one by one.

  Fang Chang asked curiously: "May I ask what this 'hired cat' is all about?"

  The young man squinted at the boss below, and after a little scrutiny, he said, "Sir, is he from out of town? I guess I just arrived here not long ago, otherwise I shouldn't have heard of this."

"That's right, he came from another place." Fang Chang said, he was not surprised that his whereabouts were spotted so quickly. Every place has its own set of living habits, even if people from outside imitate them. , there must be other departments that cannot be considered.

"The word hiring a cat, no one can tell how long it has been around." The young man said: "In our place, adopting a cat and buying a cat can't be called picking a cat or buying a cat, but hiring a cat, which requires a gift It can be done with the letter of engagement. If it’s a domestic cat, you have to send something like salt or tea or sesame seeds to the owner as a dowry like me; if it’s a wild cat, the dowry is a bunch of small fish for the cat’s mother.”

  (end of this chapter)