Chapter 300 Spicy Chicken (2)

Naturally, the first thing I picked up with my chopsticks was the chicken covered in sesame seeds. The chicken is not big in size and is fried at high temperatures twice to make it extremely crispy on the surface. When you bite into the crispy skin, the chicken inside is juicy and locked in oil. Because the chicken pieces are not big, you can put them all into your mouth in one bite. When chewing, the crispy texture of the skin dominates, and because of the juicy chicken inside, the two textures merge with each other to form a very special texture. Unique, with a bit of elasticity and toughness.

This peculiar taste made Ah Bing and Tang Yuan Ji Buyi, who had tasted all kinds of delicacies made by Wen Mingtang for more than half a year, unable to stop.

The spicier taste than the so-called "spicy dishes" in the past made the tongues of the three people who had just adapted to the spiciness in the past feel a little hot. The bottom of their tongues could produce more fluid to deal with this spicier food. Spicy. While inhaling "hissingly" to feel the "passionate" spiciness, I couldn't resist the fragrant and crispy taste that followed the spiciness.

It's hard to resist the spiciness. There is not enough fluid on the bottom of the tongue and there is still rice in the bowl to make up for it. The chicken nuggets are shiny and chewy and are wrapped in the rice. With one bite, a big mouthful of rice is immediately consumed.

After eating just a few pieces of chicken, there was only half of the rice left in the bowl. Ji Caimai couldn't help but sigh: "It looks like another meal!"

"It's good to go with wine, or as a snack!" Wen Mingtang smiled and took another chopstick of spicy chicken into his mouth, chewing it carefully, savoring the spicy, fragrant and unique taste of the chicken.

Seeing Wen Mingtang stuttering the spicy chicken noodles without changing his expression, Ah Bing and Tang Yuan, who were holding rice in their mouths, looked envious: they also wanted to eat so calmly, but their tongues couldn't handle such spicy "enthusiasm".

In the entire Dali Temple, I am afraid that only Lin Shaoqing and Master Wen can use this thing as snacks.

The same plate of spicy chicken was accompanied by two large bowls of rice. After eating, Ah Bing burped with glutinous rice balls, touched his belly, and turned to look at the sky outside the public kitchen: it was less than half an hour before lunch. It's been an hour, and I don't know how the officials and servants of Dali Temple have gained today.

…

…

Although Guanshi Mao was just a steward of the internal affairs office, his family was not an "Old Chang'an" like the old Shi Ling, and had ancestral heritage. I heard that he was a foreigner who came to Chang'an to make a living in his teens. He had no background or support. He was now in his forties, and after more than twenty years, he was very "promising" and worked hard to build a "huge family fortune."

Although the house where Manager Mao lives is not very wealthy, it seems that the surrounding neighbors who come and go in carriages are all reputable merchants. The house also employs more than a dozen servants, maids, and servants. Although she is not married and has children, her life is very comfortable. She opens her mouth with food, puts her hands on clothes, and feeds her with tender skin and tender meat.

When I walked into the house, I immediately saw the steward lying straight on the ground. He lowered his head and took a look at this wealthy and noble man. His fat face was blue and purple, and two clear marks on his neck were visible at a glance.

One was from hanging from the beam, and the other was from strangulating the poor steward to death.

It was clear at a glance whether it was suicide or homicide.

Wu Bucai, who came over, had already finished the autopsy. Pointing to the strangulation marks on his neck, he came over and said to Lin Fei: "Well, I don't need to say more when you see this!"

"The murder was committed in the middle of the night." Wu Bucai summed it up in two concise sentences, "The concealment method was extremely perfunctory. I didn't really want to hide it completely, it was just a show!"

When Lin Fei heard this, he nodded, looked at Wu Butai, and said, "Is there anything else?"

Wu Bucai said "hmm" and said, "I didn't find any signs of struggle on my body."

Lin Fei paused when he heard this and turned back to look at Wu Bucai.

Wu Bucai raised his two hands, gestured at his wrists, and said: "There are no rope restraint injuries, no struggling injuries from random grasping on the hands, and no Mongolian sweat medicine was found in the mouth and nose..."

In this case, there was only one possibility: the steward named Mao was awake and willing to be strangled to death.

"It was fine last night," Wu Bucai said, looking at the servants who were being questioned by the guards outside, and said, "The man named Mao lived a very particular life. He never tires of fine food and meticulous food. Every day The food for the morning is all decided one day in advance, and the eight-piece set was decided last night."

Lin Fei, who was listening to Wu Butai's words, couldn't help but be startled when he heard this. He frowned and looked at Wu Butai: "What is an eight-piece set?"

This was the first time he had heard of such a meal.

Wu Bucai, who came early and not only completed the autopsy but also listened to the officer's questions, answered the question on his behalf.

"It's the type of Chao delicacies ordered by Mao himself, a total of eight dishes, various exquisite side dishes..." When Wu Bucai said this, he couldn't help but shake his head, "The Holy One is frugal, and the imperial dining room only prepares eight kinds of side dishes. He It's amazing, the rules I live by behind closed doors are almost as good as those of the Holy One."

Lin Fei's eyebrows became tighter and tighter, and when Wu Bucai's voice fell, he immediately said: "Does he have no other occupation besides the internal affairs office?"

"The shop has been bought and rented out. He is only responsible for collecting the rent. I haven't heard anything else." At this point, Wu Bu paused and hurriedly said to Lin Fei, "I heard this from the servants. .”

"Then he's really awesome!" Lin Fei said, glancing at a row of expensive flowers and trees planted in a corner of the yard, and turned to ask Wu Bucai, "How did he, a foreigner, come to Chang'an to seek a living, and get into the Internal Affairs Yamen?"

"It's not clear yet," Wu Bucai shook his head and spread his hands to show that he had only heard so much. He paused and then said, "The servants are just servants. I guess they don't know the secrets inside."

This manager surnamed Mao obviously did not follow the right path. The "business" in which this kind of people made their first pot of gold is often the beginning of their unrighteous path, and they are not heretics.

Liu Yuantong, the officer in that compartment, also finished asking the servants below, came over, and after saluting with his hands, he said: "Lin Shaoqing, this man named Mao lives an extremely luxurious life, not to mention the normal salary of an internal affairs yamen steward. Even if there are dozens of such internal affairs office stewards put together, they can't live like this."

Having said this, Liu Yuan shook his head and said, "He doesn't live on his monthly salary!"

Isn't this nonsense? Wu Bucai on the side heard this and glanced at Liu Yuan: Anyone with eyes knows that this man surnamed Mao will not live on his monthly salary.

The key is where that money comes from.

This is where the headache comes in. Liu Yuan, who came back after asking around, looked unhappy. When he met Lin Fei's gaze, he still said: "None of the servants below have seen him go anywhere to get money. Except for the internal affairs office. , even when I go home, I usually go out to buy things, and the money... seems to be conjured out of thin air!"

Happy New Year's Eve!