NOVEL NEXT Chapter 60 The Secret of the Box
Su Xuexue and Master Mi Yuan looked at the letter in the wooden box again and again, and shook their heads. They had never seen it before.
Zhang Xiucai stepped forward and read it together. The text seemed familiar to him: "Miss Ah Miao, can you show it to me?"
After studying it, Zhang Xiucai returned the letter to Shu Xi: "Miss Ah Shu, I think this text looks like a totem and commemorative symbol from the Miao area, because there used to be a Miao person in my hometown who worked as a carpenter in the village. See him using similar symbols to record."
Nalan Jue played with the wooden box and couldn't put it down: "Ah Shu, this wooden box looks a bit like the workmanship in the ghost market. You can go and ask, maybe there is a shopkeeper who recognizes this box."
Mao Xi was startled: "What is a ghost market? It sounds scary!"
Nalan Jue returned the wooden box to Mao Xi and said with a smile: "Ah Ma, don't be afraid. This ghost market does not sell anything with strange powers and deranges the gods. It opens at night from Haishi to Maoshi, so it is called the ghost market." ’, most of the items sold are counterfeit and lower than the market price.”
Su Xuexiu took the wooden box, played with it and said, "You can also find good items in the ghost market. My inkstone and paperweight were bought from the ghost market! Look at the patterns carved on this wooden box, which look like those in Shopkeeper Hong's shop. His family has opened a shop in the ghost market for many years."
When Ma Xi heard about this ghost market, she got a little excited. Isn't this a flea market? Maybe there will be many unexpected gains. She quickly asked Su Xuexue: "Su Xuexue, may I ask where the ghost market is?"
Su Xuexiu returned the wooden box to Shu Xi and said: "The nearest ghost market is in Kaitang County. There are basically them in every county and state. Shopkeeper Hong's [Gu Baoxuan] is located in the ghost market in Kaitang County." If you have any questions about this wooden box in the city, you can ask him."
After cleaning up the shop that night, Mu Zhiyuan prepared to take Shu Xi to Kaitang County.
Before leaving, Mrs. Chen took two packets of salt wrapped in red paper to Shu Xi and Mu Zhiyuan, and said with concern: "Ah Shu, Amu, take this salt with you. When you go out at night, you are afraid of encountering something unclean." Yes, after daybreak after leaving the ghost market, you should throw away this bag of salt."
Liuxiang Snacks was closed at Xushi. When they arrived in Kaitang County, the ghost market had not yet opened, so Mu Zhiyuan took Mao Xi to visit the lanterns in the market.
Although the Mid-Autumn Festival has just passed, the county fairs are still decorated with lanterns, and young men and women returning home late are still placing wishing river lanterns by the river.
"Ah Shu, let me take you to put the river lanterns!" Mu Zhiyuan bought two lotus lanterns by the river and took Shu Xi to the river. The river was filled with river lanterns and flowed down the river.
The Fanlou and Lelou in the distance are illuminated by night lights. Between the buildings, the light and darkness are connected, and the candlelight shines all night long.
"Ah Shu..." Mu Zhiyuan looked down at Shu Xi, as if he was about to speak.
"Brother Mu, since the ghost market is not open yet, can you accompany me to the night market and street shops? The last time I came to Kaitang County, I haven't tried the snacks here!" Ma Xi said, pulling Mu Zhiyuan away from the river. side.
The restaurants in the night market are brightly lit, with tiled eaves and lotus lanterns.
The hooked railings and tiles complemented the lights of the restaurant. Some women with heavy makeup gathered in front of the corridor windows and waved handkerchiefs to greet them.
Mao Xi sneaks into the snack street in search of delicious midnight snacks. The two stopped at a Xiangyinzi stall and drank a fruit drink.
When the ghost market opened, Mu Zhiyuan took Miao Xi to Gu Baoxuan according to what Su Xuexue said.
Shopkeeper Hong heard that it was Su Xuexu who introduced him and invited the two of them into the inner room.
Mao Xi took out the wooden box dug out of Savage Valley and the letter inside.
After checking it, Shopkeeper Hong felt very excited when he touched the wooden box: "This wooden box is indeed made by my Gu Baoxuan. The carvings and workmanship were made by my grandpa back then. May I ask how you got this box?"
"By chance, I dug it in the mountains. Shopkeeper Hong, please take a look at the letter in this box. Can you recognize the text?" Mao Xi opened the letter and gave it to Shopkeeper Hong.
Shopkeeper Hong put the letter under the oil lamp and looked at it carefully, and said: "This text is the language of the Miao tribe. The content of the letter is a letter from home. In the letter, the author wrote down his thoughts about his parents and little sister, and also He said that he would continue to live in seclusion in the mountains and let his family not worry about him."
"So that's it. I think what we saw in the valley that day was where this hermit originally lived."
Shopkeeper Hong put the letter into the wooden box and manipulated the outside of the box. A hidden compartment at the bottom of the box popped up again: "You don't know, my box has a second-level mechanism."
Mao Xi pulled out the hidden compartment on the bottom of the wooden box and got a piece of paper with pictures and Chinese characters written on it that everyone could understand.
"This is actually a recipe for making 'Beggar's Chicken'!" Mao Xi exclaimed. Although the painting said roasted pheasant, this method of cooking chicken with mud paste made her think it was "Beggar's Chicken". ".
Shopkeeper Hong and Mu Zhiyuan passed the map on to each other.
"Sure enough, the destination of this reclusive person is to be loyal to food! Miss Mao Xi, the name of your dish is interesting." Shopkeeper Hong also likes to delve into food on weekdays. He took a pen and stepped forward to ask, "I wonder if I can name it Do you have a record of this recipe?"
"Shopkeeper Hong, please excuse me." After saying this, Mao Xi and Mu Zhiyuan began to visit shopkeeper Hong's shop.
The main items sold here are antiques and ingenious devices. Shui Xi picked up a wooden Kong Ming lock and started playing with it.
Shopkeeper Hong finished recording and complained: "In this map, there is a description of a seasoning called "lemongrass". It is not available on the market. It should be found in the mountain where he lives in seclusion. Miss Maixi, if you find it in the future, Can you bring it to me for a look?"
"Shopkeeper Hong, I opened a food shop called Liuxiang Snacks in Lihua Town. If you are free, you can come and sit in the shop. When I find this spice, I will sell this 'Beggar's Chicken' in the shop. !”
"Hahaha! Then I will definitely visit you someday."
Mao Xi spent 10 Wen to buy two wooden Kong Ming locks from Shopkeeper Hong, and asked, "May I ask Shopkeeper Hong, do they sell some midnight snacks when this ghost market opens?"
"Girl Ah Xiao, you don't know something. Most of the things sold in this 'ghost market' are old and cheap. Most of the people here are refugees. The stalls are closed at dawn. The food they sell is naturally some food to satisfy the hunger. The most famous food here is , it’s Lao Longtou’s fried chicken rice.”
"Fried chicken rice? That sounds good!"
"Listen to me, the material used is the chicken bones with meat left over from the meals of some officials in the big restaurant. The old dragon head cleaned the meat and made it again. Each portion is only 5 cents. Although it sounds a bit unclean, But it also allowed the poor to eat meat.”