Lin Gao Qiming

Chapter 792 The Australian Way of Life

Of course, this kind of character pays great attention to socializing with officials.Although the Jinyiwei Shibai households are lowly and small in rank, they are powerful figures in the local area. With the purpose of burning incense in many temples, Huang Shunlong has always been quite flattering to such figures.As soon as the county magistrate asked him to talk, he immediately agreed.

Tongshi called a sedan chair from outside, let Li Yongxun sit on it, and cleared the way all the way to Huang Shunlong's house.

Huang Shunlong's family lived in a Chinese residential area in Macau. The sedan chair was carried directly to the door of Huang Shunlong's shop. Lin Ming looked at the dark shopfront with some doubts. There were two strong Kunlun slaves holding short sticks at the door.

On the way, Tong Shi boasted about the enjoyment of Mr. Huang's family - Lin Ming didn't take it seriously: Since Huang Shunlong is in Haojingao, all kinds of foreign goods are naturally nearby.But the variety of foreign goods is nothing more than those things—that is, the Australian goods that have emerged in recent years, and he has seen a lot of them in Foshan.

"Master Lin, please come inside." Tong Shi whispered.

Guided by a small, dark-skinned Kunlun slave, the group passed through the storefront and passed a long, semi-dark corridor.Li Yongxun felt a little scared, and leaned tightly on Lin Ming's body, a scent like orchid and musk deer came faintly.Lin Ming originally supported her arm, but now he took the opportunity to hug his sister-in-law's waist.When I touched it, I felt my waist and limbs were soft, and I rubbed my fingers lightly. My sister-in-law only said "hmm" twice, and she felt very happy at once, wishing that this corridor could not be finished.

The exit of the passageway is a well-repaired fountain pool garden. The area is not large. There is a small fountain in the middle, dripping with drops of water. The ground around the fountain is covered with mosaics and inlaid with various patterns.Surrounded by verdant flowers and trees, there is a delicate and small pavilion.

The surrounding walls and buildings are towering, isolating everything from the outside world, and it is very quiet.

Huang Shunlong greeted him in the gazebo.He is dressed in bright clothes and has an imposing manner.With the sensitivity of his profession, Lin Ming could tell at a glance that there were at least a dozen places where his clothing exceeded the standard. Even in Guangzhou, where the imperial uniform was regarded as waste paper, there was no such exaggeration.Haojingao is indeed a place of barbarians.

Huang Shunlong was very enthusiastic, and immediately asked them to "change clothes" first, and said that he would call a doctor immediately.

A servant came to help them wash and change their clothes.Lin Ming changed his sister-in-law into men's clothing just to avoid unnecessary trouble, and he didn't want to conceal her gender. Now that he was in someone else's private house, he didn't need to continue to conceal it.The clothes sent by the maids were all brand new, and the materials were carefully tailored, which made Lin Ming very satisfied.The invited doctor took a look at Li Yongxun's feet and thought there was nothing serious about it, as long as he applied some medicine and rested for a few days, he would be fine.

The banquet to welcome the wind and cleanse the dust is set in the gazebo in the garden. The walls here are so high that the cold wind does not enter. Persian velvet blankets of various colors are hung around the gazebo, woven with various patterns in colorful colors.There are two braziers on the ground, and exotic spices are added to the fine hard charcoal, and the whole pavilion is fragrant and full of spring.

The tables and chairs were all made of rattan, but they were all styles that Lin Ming had never seen before - small and beautiful.Because it is winter, thick cushions made of Nanjing felt are added to the seat and backrest, which is very comfortable.Li Yongxun looked around curiously, especially at the rattan round table, looking up and down.

Lin Ming saw that there were no high-end decorations on the table, Lion Fairy candy, and knew that this was a family feast——If it was a formal feast like three cuts and five offerings, he really couldn't bear it.The family banquets of wealthy merchants have always been famous for their exquisiteness. Looking at the scenes put out by the Huang family, this meal seems to have many extraordinary features, so I can't help but look forward to it.

Sure enough, the dishes are different from Cantonese cuisine in Guangdong as soon as they are served.The flavor is quite peculiar, with a strong taste and a slightly greasy sweetness.Both Li Yongxun and Lin Ming tried this flavor for the first time.According to Huang Shunlong, this is the dish of Frangji, and his wife cooked it himself.

"This crab is made of sea crab, the meat is taken out, and the outside is seasoned with cheese..." Huang Shunlong talked eloquently,

The wine used is the most fashionable Guoshi Wushuang in Guangzhou.Before that, Lin Ming often bought this wine for his colleagues in the north. Whenever someone came to Guangdong from the north on business, he would buy a few boxes back as a favor.Sometimes I even entrust someone to send a letter to let him buy it on his behalf.Lin Ming would send people to Guangzhou to buy this kind of wine from time to time, and sometimes the above-mentioned big or important people would have to pay for it by themselves—Gao Ju is not a small person who he can casually ask for filial gifts from the other party—— He spent a lot of money on this.Of course, the taste of Guoshi Wushuang's wine is pure and sweet, and it is indeed not comparable to ordinary earth burning.Since Wang Zunde "discussed the hair", because of the severance of the national scholar Wushuang's source, his worth has been multiplied.Lin Ming was rarely able to drink by himself.

"What is this, why is it still bubbling?" Li Yongxun looked at the orange water in the glass in surprise, which was bubbling from the bottom of the glass.

"This is Australian water, the most refreshing and thirst-quenching."

Li Yongxun took a sip, with a complicated expression on his face: "It's numb, and very sweet. It also smells like oranges."

"Exactly, this is orange-flavored Australian water." Huang Shunlong clapped his palms and said with a smile, "This product is extremely rare in the local area. It doesn't taste good when it's steamed."

At the moment, he said that Australian water is the most taboo to avoid stale water - it is just fruit-flavored sweet water when it is stagnant.Therefore, the packaging is all in special thick glass bottles, with corks on top, and then tied tightly with wire.Every 12 bottles are packed in wooden boxes with lattice and shipped, the journey is long and expensive.But it is indeed a good product to relieve the boredom, and it is very popular among Francine people.

Then another servant brought a large porcelain pot, opened it and saw that the pot was full of oil and red.Lin Ming looked carefully, and there were snow-white fish fillets and yellow eel back floating in it, but the bottom was soybean sprouts.In the oily soup, there are also bright red fruits that look like small eggplants.A rich and strange fragrance floats in the air.

"This dish has an overseas flavor and is unique." Huang Shunlong said with a smile, "It's just that the taste is very strong."

"A lot of pepper seems to be used in it." Pepper is a common seasoning spice in Ming Dynasty dishes.

"That's right," Huang Shunlong nodded, "In addition to Chinese prickly ash, there are also western peppers."

Everyone raised their chopsticks, Lin Ming only felt that his mouth was extremely spicy, this feeling was completely different from the spicy of Sichuan pepper, the snow-white fish was seasoned with this, it had a delicious taste.Immediately, my appetite was wide open, and I ate several chopsticks in a row.Li Yongxun saw that the lantern-shaped fruit floating in the oil soup was bright red and looked good, and immediately made a move like the wind, and before Huang Shunlong had time to dissuade him, Li Yongxun directly stuffed the pickled pepper into his mouth.

"I can't eat—" Before he could finish his sentence, Li Yongxun let out a scream, his mouth was on fire, his throat was numb and choked, tears and snot poured down his nose, and he sneezed more than a dozen times.The maids rushed to deliver water and towels, and she drank four or five cups of soda before she stopped.

"What is this!" Li Yongxun was dying, almost speechless from the heat.

"This is pickled pepper." Huang Shunlong said, "It's for seasoning, not for eating."

Lin Ming was very interested in this, and only after chatting with him did he realize that this was Lingao's "Heavenly Chef" Pickled Pepper.It is a common thing to cook "Australian food".Huang Shunlong talked about "Australian cuisine" enthusiastically. After eating it once at Ziminglou in Guangzhou, he couldn't forget it all the time. He specially sent a cook to Lingao to learn how to cook more than a dozen dishes and four or five dim sum.

"Australian food?" Lin Ming was no stranger to Australians and Lingao. Yang Shiyi, the big shopkeeper of "Yang Run Kaitang", is very familiar with him.One of his cousins ​​opened a pharmacy in Lingao, and asked him to sell a large number of proprietary medicines in Guangdong, and the business was very good.When they were free to drink and chat with Lin Ming, they would often talk about the situation with his cousin. Although it was hearsay, Lin Ming learned a lot about Lingao.

"Exactly, although the Australians are overseas barbarians, their enjoyment is not inferior to my Ming Dynasty." Huang Shunlong saw that today's reception is very appetizing to the distinguished guests, and he chatted happily, "Just say that there are many Australian dishes that I never thought of Have a good time!"

Lin Ming was perfunctory, drinking and eating.But he listened carefully to every word of Huang Shunlong in his ears.He felt that the shopkeeper Huang had a very close relationship with the Australian in Lingao.At the moment, he began to make insinuations—he speculated that the Australians defeated the officers and soldiers this time, and they came to the city of Guangzhou.For this reason, Lin Ming was very concerned about the affairs of the Australians, and one day the imperial court recruited a large number of soldiers to challenge him. If he was an "Australian expert", he would be recommended for military service, and there was great hope of being promoted and making a fortune.

Huang Shunlong wanted to curry favor with him, while Lin Ming tried his best to perfunctory, the two of them talked more and more speculatively.Huang Shunlong was in high spirits, he toasted Lin Ming with his own hands, and gradually he felt relaxed when he was drinking and talking.

"Treasurer Huang has a lot of contacts with Australians."

"At the beginning, there were some transactions." Huang Shunlong knew the character of the other party, so he was careful when speaking, "Not many recently. They have a lot of novelty goods—all of them are best sellers—it's a pity that I'm not in Guangzhou. , All the benefits of selling Australian goods have been taken by high-ranking officials."

"Does shopkeeper Huang know someone named Guo Yi? I heard that he is the leader of the Australians in Guangzhou."

"Guo Yi? Of course I do." Huang Shunlong nodded, "Who doesn't know the famous Dongzhu Guo! He doesn't have any business here, but some of his subordinates often travel to and from the local area to buy goods from Frangji." He took a sip of Guoshi Wushuang, " It’s really strange to say that the Franji people have always bought here but not sold much——after the Australians come, they especially want their things!”

In fact, the relationship between Huang Shunlong and Guo Yi is far more than a simple acquaintance. Although Huang Shunlong's importance in the entire Lingao economic system has been greatly reduced, when Guangdong imposed an economic blockade on Lingao, Huang Shunlong's smuggling channels were still able to sell in small quantities. Import and export various goods to Guangdong.

(End of this chapter)