Mantra

Chapter 13
Chapter No.16: Blue Lantern

It seems ridiculous that a lantern can make the ass of me, a big man who has been a soldier, frighten me out of my ass.

But the key problem is that not only have I been a soldier, I am also a cook, a cook who has learned orthodox Chinese cooking from the old squad leader.

I know a little about the rules on the lantern.

What rules?In fact, it is also very simple. If we think about it carefully, we will find that in this land of China, apart from selling lanterns, only the catering industry seems to like hanging lanterns the most, especially red lanterns!

If we pay more attention, we will also find that any Chinese food pipe with a little more attention will hang at least two lanterns on the door.Moreover, the habit of hanging lanterns in restaurants is very special. Most other businesses hang them up during festivals, but restaurants often start hanging them as soon as they open, and this is the case all year round.

Before learning the art, I only thought that this habit of hanging lanterns was for auspiciousness and eye-catching.

But after becoming a cook, I knew that the reason for this was not that simple.

At that time, my old squad leader told me in detail about the "exquisiteness" of hanging lanterns in this restaurant.

That was in the days when I was about to be discharged from the military...

At that time, the news of our division's reorganization and disarmament had spread, but there was no conclusion as to who would go and who would stay.Those of us who are soldiers inevitably make some jokes in our anxiety. We all like to brag that we don’t want to be in the army any longer, and we want to do something after retiring. In short, everyone is so awesome, it seems that they are all in the barracks Qu Cai is average.

In fact, thinking about it now, what I said at the time was more of a cover-up of my inner uneasiness.When it came time for us to leave the army, no one said such nonsense, and no one was willing to leave the training ground where they had sweated and sweated.

I even remember that when the order to dismantle the entire company was issued, the humming and crying of the entire company on the playground, and the heads of the comrades desperately raised, that was the last dignity of a soldier!

Just half a month before the disbandment of the company, I asked my old squad leader a question, what do you want to do after you retire?

The old squad leader was stunned at the time, he never seemed to have considered leaving the army.When I asked this question, I was speechless for a long time.

After thinking about it for a long time, the old squad leader told me slowly but nervously: "I will open a Shandong cuisine tube in the future, the kind with two red lanterns."

I laughed at that time. In order to ease the nervousness of the old squad leader, I teased him and said: He is the boss of the cooking class in the division, and he will not be discharged early.And why do you have to hang two red lanterns when you open a restaurant?Today's young people like to be unconventional, why not hang a few pumpkin lanterns and bat lanterns, so as to attract customers and keep in touch with the times...

What I said made the old squad leader smile helplessly.

Then, the old monitor interrupted my teasing with a wave.

He told me that there used to be a rule in the chef profession, and lanterns are not something that can be hung around. In the past, it was even more important than a restaurant's signboard.It is a "sign" that must not be changed casually!
As soon as I heard this, I immediately became interested, so I asked the old squad leader about the rules of hanging lanterns in this restaurant.

The old squad leader told me that this lantern was called "Bing Deng" in the past, and it belonged to the virtue of fire.It is the most yang thing.In ancient times, every household would hang up lanterns on the night of major festivals, in order to use its fire virtue to drive away the filthy things in the night.It is a symbol of auspiciousness.

In the hotel industry, lanterns also have special metaphors.To some extent, it replaces the role of "door god".

In the past, people posted door gods in every household to prevent ghosts and suppress evil, but only the food and beverage industry could not post this door god.

Because according to the old superstition, door gods can not only block ghosts, but also people.Who are you blocking?Naturally a villain, a villain, a villain.

But the shopkeeper of the restaurant thinks that "blocking people" is not a good sign.

People at that time were very superstitious, and cooks generally believed that restaurants and restaurants were opened to eat "official meals".What's the matter with blocking people, it also makes visitors feel uncomfortable! ?Therefore, not only can't post the door god, but also have to open the door all the year round to show "Open the door Najib".

Later, I don't know which dynasty or who came up with a compromise idea. In the restaurant, the door god's position was replaced by lanterns.Because lanterns belong to fire, they can not only block ghosts and ghosts, but also illuminate the way for guests who are sharp at night, killing two birds with one stone.

As a result, the custom of hanging lanterns at the entrance of restaurants has gradually spread. With different regions and food cultures, the lanterns hanging at the entrances are also different.

Knowledgeable people don't even need to enter the store, just by looking at the lanterns, they can know what color is operating in the restaurant and who is corresponding to it.

Generally speaking, the ones with a white paper lantern are wild shops and small businesses, and the small lamp is called "Warm Heart Pavilion".Most of the restaurants with red lanterns are Dalu restaurants oriented to wage earners, and the two red lights herald "booming and hot".Most of the eight-faced palace lanterns are from southern restaurants and private kitchens, which means "wealth comes from eight sides, and the production is fine"!
Speaking of this, the old squad leader opened up the conversation box, and he also told me: "Besides, the content depicted on the lantern is also very particular."

For example, most of the restaurants with dragon and phoenix patterns drawn on the lamps have a royal background, and most of the ancestors are from royal chefs, and the ones with the names written on the lanterns are century-old restaurants, and they must be run by at least three generations...

At that time, I was enlightened when I heard Mao Sai, and I thought that the Chinese food culture is really extensive and profound, just a lantern at the entrance of the restaurant has so much attention.Hey, people nowadays probably have almost forgotten it. There are probably not many old cooks like the old squad leader...

When I thought of this, I inadvertently asked: "Squad leader! If there is nothing hanging on the door of the restaurant, why are you so particular about it?"

At the time, I was just curious.After all, there are many restaurants that don’t hang lanterns now. Even if they are hung, I’m afraid few understand the meaning of them, and they are just copying the gourd.

At this time, the old squad leader giggled a few times, and said to me: "First, the ancient prostitute restaurants did not hang lanterns. Once their lanterns are hung up, it means that the prostitutes are 'working'. Let everyone avoid it first. As for the second Two..."

I looked at the boss's face and felt that he had something to say.

However, the more he kept silent, the more curious I became.Finally, under my repeated urging, he told me:
"A restaurant with nothing at the door is a black shop!"

"Oh?!" I was a little puzzled, thinking that this black shop is not afraid of people knowing?But why do you still leave a "tail" and tell others that they are a black shop?

The old squad leader quickly answered my questions.

He told me that it was an "advertisement" not to hang lanterns in black shops, because the society at that time was chaotic and there were many people in the world. Retaliation, so I came up with such a "widely advertised".

By doing this, they not only showed their identities to the brothers and channels in the world, but also avoided unwarranted retaliation, killing two birds with one stone.

I suddenly realized, and kept nodding my head and said: "The old rules in this lantern are really dangerous. Those who don't understand can lose their lives!"

At this time, the old squad leader smiled and said: "Black shops are not good, but as long as you understand the rules in black shops, there is no danger to your life if you go in and have a meal, but the real darkness is dangerous... It can't be ranked No!"

From what the old squad leader said, it seems that there are "restaurants" in this world that are more terrifying than black shops.

"A shop darker than a black shop? What!" I kept asking.

At this time, my old squad leader lowered his voice and told me: "There are two more dangerous than black shops! One is the Yin shop with green lanterns, and the other is with black lanterns, which are specially opened for spirits and wild ghosts." 'Ghost shop'."

This is the first time I've heard the term "Yindian".My state of mind at that time, apart from surprise, was curiosity.

"What is this yin shop for? What is a ghost shop?" I asked impatiently.

The old squad leader shook his head slightly and told me:

Ghost shops are not run by people at all.He hadn't seen it either, and it was probably made up by some feudal superstitious storyteller.However, there is a real thing about this yin shop, and in the late Qing Dynasty, stories of yin shops harming people often happened, and there was even a lot of excitement at one time.

That kind of store is very special, and it is often opened in a hidden place without a storefront plaque.But at night, a turquoise lantern will be lit, hung on the door, and it will only open in the middle of the night.

The old squad leader especially emphasized that this kind of shop is very overbearing!Their blue lanterns are like a warning to a viper's wick!Warning to those in the know, stay away from here.No matter what kind of fairy you are, once you enter the yin shop, you will have to peel off three layers of your skin until you squeeze out your money and even your life.

As for the methods inside, most of them involve the methods of gods, ghosts, poisons and Gu, and they are not comparable to ordinary black shops.

How much I hate the methods of the Yindian, the old squad leader gave me an example: the Mongolian sweat medicine and human flesh buns used in ordinary black shops are not even considered pediatrics in the Yindian!At best, it's just an appetizer before a meal.
The old squad leader finally concluded: "The yin shop is a black shop among black shops! Even if you can save your life from the yin shop, the food there will turn you into a ghost, and you will not be able to survive or die."

After the old squad leader told me all this, I felt a biting chill down my back.

That blue solitary lamp penetrated deeply into my heart just like that.

At that time, I didn't fully understand what the old squad leader said, and I didn't even fully believe it.

And I always think, now is a new society, I am afraid that no one will do those things that happened tens or even hundreds of years ago, and the so-called Yindian may also be forgotten in the garbage dump of history.
Until I met this blue lantern, I completely understood.I understand the shadyness of that yin shop.

Isn't Xian Hongye's illness the same as the old squad leader said "neither human nor ghost, life is better than death"? !
This "Zhenwei private kitchen restaurant" is an out-and-out yin shop!

It not only seeks wealth and kills, but also eats people without spit out bones!

(End of this chapter)