Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 108 Li Xing

It was almost noon, and Xia Maosheng said with a smile, "Shall we go get something to eat? Let's celebrate."

Xiao Wei smiled and said, "Okay, on the hour. Anyway, I don't have anything to do this afternoon. I can come over tomorrow at noon and keep you company on the hour."

The two watched the car cross the road and head straight for the bone restaurant.

When they arrived at the bone restaurant, there were no customers inside yet. The owner and a man and a woman were sitting at a table inside, making dumplings. They turned around, saw the two of them come in, and said, "You're here? What are we having today?"

Xia Maosheng walked over with a smile, handed the boss a cigarette, and said, "Are you taking payment today? If not, then go for the most expensive one."

The boss clapped the noodles in his hands, smiled, took the cigarette, lit it in Xia Maosheng's hand, and said, "Dream on. Not a penny less, take it or leave it. Oh, we made our own dumplings today, I'll bring you a plate later, free of charge. Sound good?"

Xia Maosheng said, "Yes, that's good. Come on, get some good stuff. Let's have something special today, a bottle of Lingta, boss, come and have a drink with us."

The boss stood up and said, "So, something good has happened? Did you get the job done? Okay, let's have something. How about a bottle of 'Century'? It's new, not very strong, is that alright?"

Xia Maosheng said, "It's okay, high alcohol content is a pain to drink, low alcohol is just right. Hehe, I can't drink. Xiaowei, our Lingta is a really good wine. Let me tell you, in the whole Northeast, only the wine from Chaoyang tastes good, with a domineering flavor."

The boss said from the side, "That makes sense. Our local liquor is based on Jinxi Fenjiu. Fenjiu has very high requirements for water quality. In the whole Northeast, only our area can produce the right flavor. This distillery has been around since the Ming Dynasty. Back then, it was run by people from Jinxi, using the same methods as Fenjiu. As a result, we ended up brewing the Lingta we have today. During the Qing Dynasty, Lingta was even a tribute liquor."

Xiao Wei found a place to sit down and said, "Okay, I'll give it a try. I don't know much about alcohol, and I don't usually drink much."

The boss sat down next to Xiao Wei, handed him a cigarette, and asked, "What's your name, brother? You've been here several times and still don't recognize me."

Xiao Wei took the cigarette, lit it himself with his lighter, and said, "My name is Zhang Wei, from Nanhu, Fengtian. What's your surname, boss?"

The shopkeeper said, "My surname is An, which is a common surname around here. My family has been here for generations." He pointed to Xia Maosheng and said, "He knows me. My buddies all call me Lao Wu. I'm not very capable and I don't have a job. But I've been lucky enough to open a small shop in this good time. This skill has been passed down from generation to generation, and you, brother, have managed to taste it."

Xia Maosheng had just sat down when he heard this and started laughing so hard he almost fell to the ground.

Xiao Wei glared at Xia Maosheng and said to Boss Wu Ge, "Not really. I didn't taste the main ingredients. I know there's another ingredient, but I've never seen it before and don't know what it is. It should taste a bit bitter when raw. The reason your stew tastes so good is probably because of this ingredient. Bone powder only enhances the flavor of the soup."

Old Man An gave a thumbs up and said, "Brother, you're a natural at this. This kid's a chef, and he's been with me for years but hasn't figured out what's going on. I also added a spice packet, white cardamom and angelica. White cardamom can enhance the flavor of meat, but it's a bit special. You can't cook it with the meat. You have to add it when the meat is almost cooked, and you have to take it out before taking it out of the pot, otherwise it won't work."

Xiao Wei thought for a moment and said, "Is that Chinese medicine?"

The boss nodded and said, "Yes, Chinese medicine. Aren't all the seasonings we use in cooking Chinese medicine? Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, cinnamon, even ginger—these are all Chinese medicine. Can Chinese people eat and cook without Chinese medicine?"

Xiao Wei asked, "That medicine isn't poisonous, is it?"

The shop owner laughed and said, "Chinese herbs are all plants; you don't eat them raw. Using a little bit is only good for your health. Take cardamom, for example. There are several kinds of this stuff, each with different functions. White cardamom is for stimulating appetite and promoting digestion. Do you think it could be harmful?"

Xia Maosheng said, "Yes, it whets the appetite and aids digestion, which just makes people eat more, which hurts their wallets."

All three of them laughed, and even the proprietress, who was making dumplings at the same time, laughed.

The owner asked, "What would you like to eat today? Oh, by the way, I got some lamb yesterday, from Kazuo. How about I make you some hand-pulled lamb chops?"

Xiao Wei nodded and said, "Yes, yes, this is good."

Xia Maosheng said, "Stewed sauerkraut, it's too cold today, let's eat something warm. You can decide what to do with the rest, there are only three of us, four should be enough."

The boss agreed and stood up to go to the back to make arrangements. Just then, the door opened, and two more people came in: "Maosheng? When did you come to Chaoyang?" The first one was also a tall man, in his early twenties, no shorter than Xia Maosheng, with a strong build. Despite it being the dead of winter, he had a buzz cut, wore a long black leather coat, a navy blue scarf around his neck, and a pair of police officer boots. The officer boots in the military are called "military hooks," and actually, the two styles of shoes are quite similar, both with steel plates covering the toes.

He greeted Xia Maosheng as he took off his leather gloves.

Xia Maosheng was leaning over the table talking to Xiao Wei when he heard the voice. He turned around, smiled with surprise, and stood up to greet him: "Hey, what the hell? What brings you here? Come on over, come on over! When did you get here? What brings you here?"

A few people sat down around the table. The guy threw his gloves on the table and said, "Come learn, let's set up the scene, you can't refuse. Oh, this is my colleague, and also my buddy, Liu Huasheng. Huasheng, this is my buddy, Xia Maosheng, you should have heard of him, right?"

Xia Maosheng and Liu Huasheng nodded to each other in greeting. Xia Maosheng then said to Xiao Wei, "This is my buddy Li Xing, you can just call him Tiezi, his nickname is Tiedan'er. He's a policeman, and his dad is the head of our local police station. Tiezi, this is Zhang Wei, from Fengtian. By the way, his uncle is also a policeman. As for Liu Huasheng, this is the first time I've met him today."

The two sides got to know each other just like that; the young people started chatting after only a few words.

After a while, the boss brought up a steaming bowl and placed it on the table. He glanced at Li Xing and said, "Tiezi's here too. What brings you here? You four can join in. I'll make dumplings." He took two bottles of Linghe Bai Nian from his pocket and put them on the table.

Li Xing said, "What's wrong, Fifth Brother? You're not even sitting at the table now that I'm here?"

The boss pointed to the dumpling-making area and said, "Stop talking nonsense. I'll finish making the dumplings first, then come over for a drink later, okay? I'll make do later."

After a few jokes, the boss, Fifth Brother, went to make dumplings, while the four of them started drinking. Without saying a word, each person poured themselves four ounces. Xiao Wei picked up his glass, licked it, and smacked his lips. It wasn't very spicy, a little sweet, and very mellow. Xia Maosheng said from the side, "How is it? Tastes good, right? I'm not exaggerating at all. This light-aroma liquor is unique to Northeast China. Do you know why our Northeast liquor is all cellar-aged? Water is no good; it's just spicy and has no aftertaste. The further north you go, the worse it gets. The Russian liquor is just like pure alcohol."