Chapter 11 Chapter Eleven
Little Ah Ling was full of troubles in her heart, while her father Taiichiro was racking his brains for the banquet menu for the "Exorcism Contest".All had to prepare vegetarian dishes, Asada had black dishes, and Shirakoya had white dishes—this problem was really tricky.
Unfortunately, because of the revelation that appeared in A Ling's dream, Taiichiro decided to use loach, crucian carp and eel from the river as the houseboat's signature dishes, and all his thoughts have been spent on how to cook the fish for a while.Having said that, this was his first time cooking vegetarian dishes, and he had never cooked orthodox vegetarian dishes when he was at Takadaya.
Taiichiro decided to consult Shimaji.
Shimaji runs a food delivery restaurant "Hayashiya" in Hayashicho near the Nimebashi bridge in the main office. Because Takadaya Shichihei agreed with him, he agreed with him to come to help if there is a shortage of manpower or difficulties after the opening of the stern. Do kitchen work.Unexpectedly, the "Boat House" has been plagued by disasters since it opened, and no guests came to the door. So far, I have only been to the "Boat House" a few times.However, he also knew about the haunting of the ghost, so he silently followed the movement of the houseboat.Taiichiro plans to meet Shimaji formally, chat with each other, and report to him what happened so far.
Shimaji was almost fifty years old, much older than Taiichiro, and had worked and served as a trainee at Takadaya for a while.Taiichiro didn't know the ins and outs of his acquaintance with Shichibei, and Shichibei didn't explain.
But Shichibei seems to be quite familiar with Shimaji, he once told Taiichiro about Shimaji.According to Shichibei, the delivery restaurant in Hayashicho was opened by Shimaji's parents, and Shimaji has an older brother who is two years older, so he is not qualified to inherit the shop.
Shimao lived behind his elder brother since he was a child, working diligently to help his elder brother, but unfortunately his cooking skills were far behind his elder brother.Not only that, after the elder brother took charge of his own affairs, even the young man cultivated by the elder brother quickly passed the island.Qibingwei said this, and quickly added: "Shimaji is definitely not a bad cook."
Perhaps it was Taiichiro's expression at the time that seemed to say: Is it reliable to invite such a person to the "Funaya" as a helper?
"He's just inconspicuous, what should I say? He didn't put in the effort to delve into the dishes, he lacked the drive to surprise the guests, and he didn't intend to compete with fellow chefs at the same time. He lacked the desire to cook top-notch dishes."
It should be said that he is not so thoughtful, not smart enough.
"But if you decide to make a certain kind of cooking, he can do it perfectly. No one is more reliable than him. It must be no problem to let him be your helper."
After hearing this, Taiichiro was finally convinced.
Shimaji worked silently until the age of forty under his elder brother who was in charge of the forest house.He didn't have a family, and he didn't drink, gamble, or whore.I heard that people often criticize him behind his back, saying that he has no goals in life and is a boring man.No one cared if he was there or not, talking uncomfortably little, like a wandering ghost.Shimaji's reputation in "Lin House" is not very good, but he himself does not seem to care.
When Dao Ci was forty-two years old, his elder brother died suddenly.The elder brother who married late left behind a wife in poor health and four young children, the oldest of whom is ten years old.
According to blood, Shimaji should inherit the shop.But there is a young chef in the shop who is more valued by his brother than Shimaji and has been trained by his brother for a long time. Compared with Shimaji, who is incomprehensible, this young man is more popular in the shop.The other party is also ambitious, wanting to take the shop away from Shimaji, and always looks like a successor to "Lin House".
No matter how you say it, he is not qualified to inherit the shop, and it is impossible for Shimaji to remain silent—when the neighbors and regular customers are worried about the future of the "Lin House", the person concerned Shimaji readily agrees to give up the shop to him. The young guy that the elder brother took a fancy to, and expressed his willingness to work under the young man as he had assisted his elder brother before.
"This is more suitable for me, and it can also retain guests." Shimaji said.
But in this way, other problems arise.If an unrelated third party takes charge of the "Lin House", the position of the elder brother's wife and children will become very embarrassing.The frail and sickly proprietress can no longer work, and the children are still young.Although the new owner of "Lin House" has vowed that he will never neglect the benefactor's orphan, relying on him, who is tantamount to usurping the shop, to stick to his oath, is really no different from gambling.
As a result, Shimaji said straightforwardly: "Then I will start a family with my sister-in-law."
He said that it was just a formality, not really intended to be a couple, but a stopgap measure until the children grew up.Before the children are old enough to plan their own future, marrying his sister-in-law and staying in the "forest house" can also suppress the arrogance of the new boss.
Makes sense, such words are still valid.In fact, Shimaji was a bachelor. After his brother passed away, some people urged Shimaji to marry his sister-in-law and inherit the "forest house".Although Shimaji's final decision was somewhat different, at least it would allow the deceased brother's wife and children to have a stable home.
In this way, Shimao suddenly had a wife and four children ten years ago.Shichihei smiled wryly and said, "However, the relationship between the husband and wife was not very good. The deceased husband had an open-minded personality. Although he yelled and yelled when he got angry, the anger disappeared after a long time. He had a simple personality. Shimaji had a gloomy personality, taciturn, and The elder brother is much inferior in comparison. The appearance of the two brothers is also very different. Shimaji's elder brother is fair-skinned and handsome, which is not uncommon among chefs, but he was especially popular when he was young, and women changed one by one; Shimaji was thin and thin , plus his left eye was injured when he was young, his eyesight was not good, and his eyes were not bright."
"Anyway, that's it. That guy has no place in the Forest House."
After Shichibei finished speaking, he frowned and folded his arms and continued:
"He is a good person who thinks about others, but unfortunately he has never encountered good things, and his life has been very difficult."
Taiichiro replied: "What a lonely life." Shichibei also said with a wry smile: "It is true."
When Shichihei approached Shimaji to discuss the matter of helping the "Funya", the new owner of "Linya" and Shimaji's wife and children, who were already in charge, persuaded Shimaji that this was a good thing and told him to live in the boathouse to help.In fact, the boss and Shimaji's wife have been arguing endlessly over the past few years about the successor of the "Lin House", and when they meet, they are tit-for-tat, but they agree on the matter of wanting to drive Shimaji away.
The new boss sees Shimaji as a thorn in his side from the very beginning; Shimaji's wife wants her children to inherit the "Lin House".The eldest son inherited the culinary talent of his deceased father, as long as he cultivates it well, he should be able to become a talent in time.Now that the child has grown up so much, she doesn't need Daoci anymore.
In short, neither of them took Shimaji seriously. There are less than ten "Lin House" helpers even doing odd jobs, but they are divided into the current boss faction and the eldest male faction, and the shop is full of undercurrents.The eldest male faction is reasonable, but the current boss who supports the "Lin House" and expands the scale, it is impossible to simply say "I understand" and give up the right to manage the shop.One side said that it was only entrusted to you to manage it temporarily, while the other said that he officially inherited the shop, because of this kind of debate that never reached a consensus, the current situation of "Linya" is not very good--Schihei concluded in this way.He went on to say:
"So, Taiichiro, I hope you will treat Shimaji kindly. He is a hardworking man, I can assure you of that."
When Taiichiro and Shimaji met for the first time half a year ago, they really felt that the other party was extremely gloomy and withdrawn, which made people uncomfortable.Although the scale of the banquet was small, it was after all a formal banquet where food and drinks were prepared. Shimaji not only said nothing at the banquet, he didn't even drink any wine.When talking to him, he either nodded or shook his head, never looked at Taiichiro directly, and cowered as if he had done something wrong.
Generally speaking, short men tend to have a strong personality, and Taichiro thought that Shimaji might also have a strong heart.Shimaji calmly examines the strengths and weaknesses between himself and his brother and apprentice, considers the mood of the guests, and takes the initiative to give up his position; and in order to make the family stable, he accepts women who know he hates him and children who don't get close to him.Without considerable courage, this kind of thing would never be possible.But Taiichiro also felt that Shimaji's strength and generosity seemed to be unable to settle in his thin and small body, so he was in great pain.If he was a timid and selfish man, he would definitely choose to escape or only think about himself. In this way, his expression would not be so gloomy.
After the banquet that day, there was something that impressed Taiichiro deeply.When parting, Shimaji bowed deeply to Shichibei and Taiichiro to thank him. The way he bowed was crisp and neat, and Taiichiro liked it very much.
Shimaji also probably knew that Shichibei had mentioned various unpleasant housework in the "Lin House" to Taiichiro. Otherwise, according to common sense, Taiichiro would not be able to ask Shimaji, who is older and experienced than himself, to be a helper. To put it mildly, it is a helper. But just an assistant.And Shimaji knew that Taiichiro knew the truth, but he thanked him in a neither humble nor overbearing way, as if he was saying that he would do his best to help the boss in the future, with the enthusiasm of a young man.
Taiichiro thinks that Shimaji cannot be judged by his appearance.There may also be people in the world who are upright, open-minded and cheerful, but have gloomy facial features.Maybe Shimaji's heart is as white as a freshly pounded rice cake, and he doesn't lie or hide it, but he looks wretched because of his bad eyes.The appearance of a person cannot represent the heart, no, maybe sometimes the inside and outside are the same, but the appearance of a person is not necessarily true.
——In other words, whether I can cooperate with Shimaji-san smoothly, and whether I can bring out his strengths and allow him to help Funaya, depends entirely on me.
Taiichiro then made up his mind and looked forward to working with Shimaji.However, after the opening of the "Boat House", it has evolved into the current situation, and so far there has been no chance for Shimaji to participate.
——This time is a good opportunity.
Taiichiro went to the "forest house" in good spirits.
There are two modes of operation for food delivery shops. One is to deliver the prepared dishes to the customer's home; the other is to bring the ingredients to the customer's home and cook them on the spot in the customer's kitchen.But even for the former, you have to borrow the guest’s kitchen to reheat and plate the dishes before serving them on the table.
Cooking utensils are generally prepared by the chef himself.Eating food delivered is quite a luxury that is not available to ordinary people. Even so, the kitchen utensils of rich merchants or samurai are not enough for chefs.The bowls and plates for serving the dishes are discussed with the guests in advance to see that they are brought by the shop or used by the guests. Sometimes, for a luxurious meal, the shop has to borrow the bowls and plates from colleagues.
"Hayashiya" only accepts orders that bring ingredients to the customer's home for cooking. There is no conspicuous signboard outside the shop, and it is not like Takadaya, a rice-packaging shop. You can tell it's the atmosphere of a restaurant from the sound.The old two-story house is large but quiet.
Taiichiro asked: "Is anyone there?" Immediately a maid came out, she seemed to be working, boldly showing her arms.Hearing Taiichiro's purpose, the other party asked in surprise: "Are you looking for a small boss?" It seems that Shimaji is called a small boss in "Linya".
"So, boss, you are..." The maid asked, looking intently at Taiichiro without loosening the tie on her sleeves, "The owner of Fukagawa's houseboat?"
"um, yes."
After Taiichiro answered the same question, the maid asked with her eyes wide open, "I heard that there was a ghost in your place, and there was a lot of trouble. What happened after that? Did the ghost appear again?"
Taiichiro replied at a loss: "I'm sorry for disturbing everyone by not showing up. Nothing happened after that."
"Oh," the maid said without hiding her disappointment, "that's really a pity."
The maid asked Taiichiro to wait, and hurried into the back room.Taiichiro was concerned about the shoes stained with the dust of early spring, but at the same time he felt unhappy.
Not long after, Shimaji came out quietly.Taiichiro was lowering his head at that time, and he didn't realize it until Shimaji's shadow appeared in front of his eyes, and he was really shocked.The man's demeanor really would have been a little more spirited.
Taiichiro quickly explained the purpose of coming, Shimaji knelt on the edge of the floor where he was about to enter the inner room, and seemed to have no intention of inviting him in.If it is just to explain the purpose of coming, standing can also explain.But the next thing to be discussed can't be discussed at the back door of the kitchen like this - Taiichiro thought to himself.
"I understand." Shimaji replied straightforwardly, "Since this is the case, I am of course obliged. Although I am not qualified to make irresponsible remarks on the menu, I may be able to offer some ideas for Mr. Taiichiro." It is rare for Shimaji to say this decently words come.
"That's great."
"Sorry, it's inconvenient to talk at home, please move outside."
Taichiro didn't care.If I knew this, I should have sent Ari or Ateng to invite Shimaji to the "boat house".It's just that he decided to give up because Shimaji might feel that he was too arrogant to do so.
The two walked to the Matsui Bridge area and entered a soba noodle shop by the river.The two were silent along the way.Taichiro liked the taste of boiled soba noodles very much, so he told Shimaji excitedly, but Shimaji just replied indifferently: "The soba noodles here are not good. But there are few customers, so it's very quiet."
There was no one in the shop.
"This time you really received a rare business." Shimaji immediately cut to the chase as soon as he sat down, "I heard the ins and outs from the boss of Takadaya, and I didn't expect such an interesting customer."
Taiichiro smiled bitterly and said: "The boss said that it doesn't matter if the other party is a ghost or something, as long as it can be used as a selling point of the shop. But I can't think of it so easily. But if it's cooking, it's a different matter."
Shimaji crossed his arms, tilted his head and asked, "But, is it okay to give away real vegetarian dishes?"
"This is the request of the other party."
"However, the guests didn't come here for the funeral, did they?"
"It's to take care of your emotional problems."
"What are the moods of those two witches?"
"yes."
"Have the two ladies ever done something like this before?"
Taichiro didn't know this.
"I don't know...why do you ask that?"
"If there is a precedent, I would like to know the menu at that time."
"As a reference?"
Shimaji still folded his arms and shook his head and said, "I wonder if real vegetarian dishes were served at that time."
Shimaji is very concerned about this, Taiichiro finds it very strange.
"Is this important?"
Shimaji's short forehead was full of wrinkles, and said: "I only know about the food delivery restaurant. Maybe the situation of the restaurant is different. But generally speaking, the business received by the food delivery restaurant is usually for weddings and weddings. There are customers for funerals, but for restaurants, there should be more guests for weddings, right?"
Indeed.
"The vegetarian dishes given out during the event are indeed as Mr. Taiichiro said, the emotional problem is very important. Whether it is the anniversary, the seventh anniversary or the thirteenth anniversary, because it is to pray for the deceased, it must be handled carefully and avoided. Meat dishes can also be regarded as a purification process.”
Taichiro nodded.
"But this time, frankly speaking, it's just a game. Although I don't know whether it will be a monster or a ghost that will appear at the time, I don't understand such things, but it has nothing to do with the people of Asada and Shiroko. The two of you Miss's spirit exorcism competition is similar to competing whose clothes are more beautiful."
"Hmm... makes sense."
"Since this is the case, I think it is inappropriate to give out formal vegetarian dishes. In the future, if a customer wants to do something to find a food shop, in case he thinks: 'Ah, isn't there a boat house? There was a ridiculous exorcism there before. In the competition, I once made orthodox vegetarian dishes. 'Isn't it bad for the stern?"
Taichiro was taken aback.Not only was he surprised by what Shimaji said, but also his eloquence and his words.The reason for Shimaji's extreme reticence may be simple, he just doesn't want to waste time on meaningless conversations.
"What Mr. Shimaji said is indeed reasonable. You reminded me of an important thing."
Taichiro nodded vigorously, expressing his approval.When facing Shimaji, it doesn't matter if you act a little exaggerated, it's best to express your intentions and feelings clearly.
"It's really not suitable to give out orthodox vegetarian dishes on such a fun occasion as the spirit exorcism competition. But how to do it well? You can't say that directly to the people in Shirako House and Asada House, after all, they are guests."
"Yes, to save face for the other party." Shimaji touched his chin, looked at the fuzzy tatami, and said, "I have to think of some excuses."
"An excuse..."
"Let's not explain it first, how about just serving a dish that looks like a vegetable in both appearance and taste? You don't need to work hard on every dish, just one is enough."
"Without explaining first, just add that dish to the menu?"
"Yes, after all the dishes are ready, give the menu to the guests for review, and then explain it. You can explain it in any way, for example, 'If you serve orthodox vegetarian dishes at this kind of banquet, it will be unlucky for the two families, and it will not be good. If you have a bad head, you will add a meat dish without authorization to avoid evil'... What do you think?"
"Mr. Shimaji, you are really thoughtful."
Taiichiro admired from the bottom of his heart.Shimaji shook his hands and said calmly, "As long as you make it sound like you really have such a colleague, any reason is fine."
This is indeed a good idea.By the time the menu is presented to the guests, the food has already been eaten, and the other party will probably not complain much.
"Anyway, the two families didn't come here to enjoy the food." Taiichiro couldn't help but said with a wry smile, "The two families of Shirakoya and Asadaya fought for the exorcism competition from the beginning. Maybe they don't even need to show them the menu." .”
"You're right." Shimaji's eyes lit up slightly, "If the two sides only focus on winning or losing and quarrel, they won't care about the quality of the dishes at all. But for the houseboat, if there are guests in the future Come here after hearing about the exorcism competition... We can show those guests the menu of the day and explain to them how much effort we have put into the dishes, which is the most important point."
Taichiro breathed a sigh of relief, and felt happy at the same time.It was a windfall that the houseboat was able to get help from Shimaji.The judgment of the boss of Takadaya Shichibei was indeed correct, and a warm feeling rose from the bottom of his heart.
The buckwheat noodles were finally delivered to the table. It took so long to cook a bowl of noodles, which clearly shows that the chef is not good at it.Both ordered Hanamaki Soba, but the soup was cloudy and the seaweed was sticky, which was not tasty just by looking at it.
"You don't want to eat this kind of noodles just by looking at it." Taiichiro whispered, "What kind of mentality are they doing business with?"
Shimaji still put his hands in his arms, meditating in front of the noodle bowl that was not hot enough, without even looking at the noodles in front of him.
"What about the main dish?" Shimaji murmured, "It's hard to decide whether to use rice or noodles, after all, the dishes of both sides are divided into black and white."
Taiichiro thinks this point is simple. Wouldn’t it be enough for both families to use white rice with a few grains of black beans?At most Asada's rice can be served with more black beans.
"Or do you have a better idea?"
Shimaji shook his head and said, "I can't think of it right now. However, there are not many tricks that can be changed with white rice."
"Hmm...but it's hard to make black noodles, right? Even the soba noodles in the countryside are not black."
"It's really not easy."
The two ate the noodles slowly, discussing how to work on the cooking while eating, so they didn't care about the taste of the noodles.Taiichiro spoke with great concentration, while Shimaji made comments from time to time, and the two discussed enthusiastically.
"However, Mr. Taiichiro," Shimaji's cheek muscles relaxed, with a happy expression, "the restaurant is really interesting. The dishes made by the delivery restaurant are almost settled, so I can't show the chef's skills to the fullest. From this point of view , the two are very different.”
"I'm glad you think so. I hope Shimaji-san will help the boat house. To be honest, Shuta is terrified to death because of the haunting of ghosts, and I really want to go back to Takadaya. Otherwise, please come to the stern of the boat instead of Shuta..."
Affected by the atmosphere at the time, Taiichiro blurted out excitedly, but hurriedly shut up in the middle of the sentence, because Shimaji's face suddenly darkened.
"Well, I was only thinking of myself, and I'm really sorry for saying that. After all, Shimaji-san still has Hayashi House."
Taiichiro explained hastily, and picked up the empty bowl of soba noodles uneasily.
"It's okay, you don't need to apologize." Shimaji still murmured with a sullen face, "Boss Shichihei probably told you, and there is no need to hide the matter until now. Hayashi House doesn't need me at all, I can't stay any longer My sister-in-law and nephews will be very happy if I leave that house."
Shimaji still calls his wife "sister-in-law" and his children "nephews".Taiichiro couldn't respond, just stared at him silently.
"Mr. Taiichiro probably thinks that I'm not straightforward enough." Shimaji raised his eyes and said in a low voice with the corners of his mouth twisted, "Obviously I don't have the stamina to inherit my brother's career, but I'm still staying in the forest house..."
"That's not the case. Although Brother Ling's children have grown up, it's because you accepted Brother Ling's wife and children and took care of them all the time, right? In order to prevent the forest house from being taken away by outsiders, didn't you always supervise is it on?"
Taiichiro changed his sitting position, looked at Shimaji with his hands on his knees, and said: "Mr. Shimaji underestimates himself too much. You have rich experience and flexible brains. This is by no means a polite word. After talking to you today, I I really think so."
Shimaji smiled so much that his face wrinkled, and said, "No way, Mr. Taiichiro, you are too good-hearted, be careful that you will be fooled by others."
"I'm serious."
"Of course I know. It's just some ideas. You can't trust me so easily. Mr. Taiichiro really comes from a good background, and the boss Shichibei also said so."
This sentence made Taiichiro very surprised: "What kind of background is good? If Takadaya didn't adopt me, I would have become a waste long ago, or I would starve to death on the street. There will be no good life or good end."
"Ah, of course, you have suffered a lot." Shimaji still had a smile on his face, shaking his head and said, "That's not what I meant... hey, let's not talk about it."
After nearly an hour, no new customers came to the door.Taiichiro broke up with Shimaji in front of the soba noodle shop, Shimaji bowed sincerely, turned his back and walked quickly towards Hayashiya.Taiichiro watched his thin figure for a long time, feeling inexplicably sad.In order to get rid of this mood, he deliberately said what was in his heart: "Next, it's black and white cuisine..."
He turned his mind to the dishes of the banquet, and he kept thinking about this question on the way home.When he came near the boathouse, he could see brand-new roof tiles that had been renovated from a distance. When he smelled the smell of river water from the river, he suddenly had an idea.
——By the way, the things I've been thinking about recently came in handy.
Just use eels, loach and crucian carp in the river.Shirakoya's white dishes serve unseasoned grilled eel, while Asadaya's black dishes use loach and crucian carp.This is a good opportunity for Taiichiro to display his cooking skills.
- Now it's interesting.
Taiichiro straightened his back and walked back to the boathouse in good spirits.
The sun is getting hotter and hotter, and the days are getting longer every day.The season of cherry blossoms has long passed, and everyone is looking forward to the flower letters of azaleas and wisterias.No matter how eccentric the customer's personality, the shop still depends on the customers to survive.Maybe it's because the weather has improved, people's mood has also become more relaxed, A-Ling is very happy to see her parents and A-Teng busy preparing for the banquet for the exorcism competition.The last few days have probably been quite pleasant.
In fact, Ah Ling herself is also very busy. In order to "get rid of" the unkempt hair, she gathers with Gennosuke almost every day to discuss.
According to Xuanzhisuke, he is not very clear about Peng's previous name and identity.
"That guy is just like his appearance. He was originally a samurai. Just judging by his dress and shabby appearance, he may have been an unemployed samurai for a long time."
"Who killed him?"
After Ah Ling finished speaking, she felt a little terrified when she thought of the blatant malice contained in the word "kill".
"It's inconvenient for Pengfa to speak." Xuanzhisuke frowned and said, "When he made a big banquet that day, you couldn't understand what he was talking about, right?"
Yes, Ah Ling couldn't understand most of Pengfa's calls that day.
"At the end he yelled 'Oops, I want it,' which was like 'I don't want it.' That's what the guy would say every time he was in trouble, so that's all I could understand."
"What the hell does he want?"
"If you know, you don't have to work so hard."
Gennosuke said nonchalantly.Ah Ling wanted to beat him but was in vain, Gennosuke laughed when he saw this.
"You can also add, oops, Mr. Xuan is really annoying, people don't like bad-hearted men."
"Now is not the time to joke!" Ah Ling changed her sitting position angrily.
"I see, I see, your expression doesn't have to be so scary."
It was dusk, and the two were still sitting in the middle of the stairs.The last slanting rays of sunlight dyed the end of the corridor leading to the kitchen dark red.From downstairs, A-Ling's parents could occasionally hear heated discussions about the menu. They seemed to be trying cooking, and the smell wafted over from time to time.
"That man is not stupid." Gennosuke said, "Sword skills are good, but his speech is terrible. He must not be able to stand out among the samurai in his lifetime, and he may even have difficulties in making a living. In this case, he can only rely on his sword skills , reduced to the point of making money by illegal means. Since he embarked on that road of no return, he must have been killed by cronies in the end."
"So what kind of murder and robbery has he done?"
Gennosuke didn't respond immediately, but raised one eyebrow and squinted at Ah Ling.
"Don't cry out of fear after listening to it." Xuanzhisuke warned in advance.
"Nothing scares me anymore."
"It's really brave. Okay, then I'll say it... I mentioned that murderous monk in Xingyuan Temple..."
"En." Ah Ling was still secretly surprised when she heard that.
"How do you think he killed so many people?"
"What method... like poisoning?"
"Well, there are different ways to kill people. Just like A-Ling said, poisoning, or strangling people to death, or pushing people down from heights, or crushing people to death with heavy objects, etc. For samurai, the best The easy way... is to cut people with a sword."
Ah Ling became frightened again, and shrunk her body to get close to Gennosuke, but it was a pity that Gennosuke had no physical body, and Ah Ling could not get comfort from him.
"Having been with Pengfa for so many years, I suspected that that guy might be employed by the abbot of Xingyuan Temple, and the abbot probably used him as a murder tool."
"Does the abbot of Xingyuan Temple ask Pengfa to kill someone?"
"It shouldn't be that simple. Pengfa may have been desperate at the time, or the abbot grabbed him and threatened him."
"Has Pengfa mentioned this matter?" Ah Ling asked.
Xuanzhisuke shook his head and said, "How is that possible. It's just that that guy... was planning to kill a monk who happened to come to visit the courtyard once when this place was still in the courtyard."
"Cut the monk..." Ah Ling's eyes widened.
"The monk couldn't see Pengfa at all, and he didn't feel any difference. The other person's age and build were similar to the abbot of Xingyuan Temple. As soon as Pengfa saw the man's bald head and cassock, he rushed out and brandished a long knife."
Like at a Tsutsuya banquet.
"That day Pengfa made more trouble than usual, repeatedly yelling "I don't want it, I don't want it. Ami and I managed to persuade him, but that guy kept waving a long knife and crying no, no."
Ah Ling recalled what happened at the banquet in the tube house, and she still had lingering fears.It's just that when thinking of Pengfa's pitiful experience, he was too sad to speak, maybe Gennosuke's depressed voice also affected it.
"Not only that, Pengfa and Monk Laughing couldn't get along either. He chased Monk Laughing several times with a knife. Monk Laughing suffered a few times, and finally got really angry and stopped showing up with us."
After hearing this, Ah Ling felt that Peng Sheng must have had something to do with the "monk".Moreover, there used to be a horrible temple like Xingyuan Temple in this place, so it is not surprising to associate the two together.
"This is just my guess, and I can't say too much. But I think that on the day of the banquet in the tube house, he may show up if there are guests who remind him of monks and monasteries. Pengfa rarely appears in front of people. He has a reason for showing up every time."
This is well worth investigating.
"Does anyone here know the details of the Xingyuan Temple incident?" A-Ling asked, "Master Gennosuke is not directly related to this incident, right? However, since it happened thirty years ago, there must be some Witnesses who witnessed or heard about the commotion still remember the whole story. Let me inquire and see, maybe I can find clues related to Pengfa."
"That makes sense, that's what I was going to propose." Gennosuke said with a cheerful smile, "A-Ling is very smart, that's great."
"No matter how sweet your mouth is, there is no reward, hum." Ah Ling pouted.
At this time, the last ray of sunset shining on the corridor disappeared, and the surroundings became dark.Then suddenly came the call of a young girl.
"Is anyone here? Is anyone here? I am A Jing, the daughter of Bai Ziwu. Is anyone here?"
As soon as there were pattering footsteps, Ateng ran out in a panic and said, "Oh, oh."
Ah Ling was still sitting on the stairs, stretching her neck to look downstairs.Instead of appearing at the front door of the houseboat, visitors are called from the back door.
"What's going to happen?" Xuanzhisuke muttered to himself, touching his chin and said, "This is not very good."
"why?"
"Of course not. Ah Jing came here, didn't she just want to inspect the scene one step earlier than Ah Lu? Don't you think it's cunning to do so?"
The visitor, led by Ateng, stepped into the corridor from the back door of the kitchen. She was dressed in white, and there seemed to be a follower behind her...
Coincidentally, Ateng lit the candles on the wall in the corridor, and Ah Ling happened to have a good look.The other party was wearing a crisp white dress with a high silk belt and a high chin. She was a beautiful girl.The other was a tall man wearing a jacket with the brand name of Baiziwu, who followed her step by step like a bodyguard.The daughter of a big shop would never hang out alone, especially when she came to Shenchuan area.
"It's rude to visit suddenly, and I sincerely apologize to everyone."
The man nodded to Ateng and said so. Although his words were polite, his manner was very rude. It seemed that this kind of courtesy was enough for the servants to greet each other.
"To be honest, Ms. Ah Jing suddenly saw an evil spirit accumulating in the direction of the houseboat this afternoon, which might make it difficult for the exorcism competition to go smoothly, so she came to have a look. If it can get rid of the evil spirit, I will get rid of it by the way. That's why I came here to visit. "
The high-spirited tone seems to say: You should be grateful, you should be very happy and honored.Ah Ling began to hate this pretending follower.
"It's so annoying." Ah Ling said while tugging at Gennosuke's sleeve.He pursed his lips and said with a smile: "I enjoyed watching it, it's really interesting."
At this time, Taiichiro and Duohui also came out of the kitchen, and there was a sudden commotion.If the group wanted to go to the guest tatami room on the second floor, Ah Ling planned to hide, but Taiichiro and Duo Hui led the unexpected guests to the small room downstairs.
Ah Ling went downstairs on tiptoe, hiding in the corner of the corridor to observe what was going on in the room.The voices of the attendants were heard intermittently inside, and Taiichiro responded respectfully.
A Teng opened the paper door and walked out, probably going to prepare tea fruit, A Ling hurriedly hid behind the pillar.Looking up, he found Gennosuke was also hiding together.Although A Teng couldn't see him at all, it's not that A Ling couldn't understand his mood.
Ah Ling asked: "How do we get rid of the evil energy? Sprinkle salt?"
Gennosuke scratched his neck and said, "If it's just sprinkling salt, at least it's useless to us."
Ateng came from the kitchen with a tray, and ran to the small room with small steps.Ah Ling quickly ran from behind the pillar to the kitchen. There was no one in the kitchen. There was a charcoal fire on the stove with an iron pot on it. The cooking utensils were cleaned up and even the water droplets were wiped dry.There are several dishes on the working table that looks like a large chopping board.It seems that I have tried a few dishes in the afternoon, and I am going to try them and think about serving them.
"This dish is really special."
Gennosuke moved his face to a plate and sniffed it close to his nose.
"Can you smell it?"
"Of course, don't underestimate me."
The dish that Gennosuke heard was shaped like rice cakes or glutinous rice balls, made into a round shape, drenched in a shiny black sauce, at first glance it looked like an elegant red bean rice cake.Ah Ling also leaned close to her nose and sniffed, but she smelled a fishy smell completely different from red bean stuffing.
"this is……"
"It doesn't look very tasty." Ah Ling couldn't help blurting out, but said very softly, "Abba is probably still trying to make it."
Gennosuke was already smelling the second dish, and this dish was immediately recognizable as grilled conger eel, but half of the conger eel skin that seemed to melt on the tip of the tongue was peeled off.When Ah Ling was in Takadaya, Shichibei often took her to taste delicious food. For a child of Ah Ling's age, she is very particular about food.She felt very strange.The skin of grilled conger eel is fragrant and delicious, why do you need to peel it off?In addition, the conger eel skin is inherently thin, and once the fish is peeled off, it will loosen, which is not good for presentation.This conger eel should have cost a lot of money to buy——Thinking of this, Ah Ling remembered an important thing.
"By the way, Gennosuke-sama, Dad said that he finally got permission to fish in the river."
This is what happened last night.The parents, who went to bed very late, chatted about the shop for a while before going to bed, which was overheard by Ah Ling.The topic was nothing more than how to save money, and A-Ling eavesdropped on it in a feigned sleep.However, when Abba mentioned the eels and loaches in the river, his voice was very cheerful, and Ah Ling was also very happy to hear it. "The approval should be approved in private." Gennosuke sniffed the other dishes and said, "Probably bribed the arrester, please turn a blind eye to him."
“嗯，好像是这样。”阿铃踮着脚探看玄之介手中的盘子，问，“那是什么？”
"what you think?"
像是果冻，上头淋上淡白色的酱汁，只是果冻并非平日看惯的半透明状，而是有黑斑花纹。
“味道可能很不错，不过……”
“好像蛙卵啊。”阿铃说。玄之介皱着眉头说：“我也这么认为，只是不好意思说出口。你真是不孝。”
“可是……”阿铃就是这么想的嘛，有什么办法？
玄之介环视了工作台上的盘子，叹道：“黑白料理毕竟不容易。无论什么山珍海味，保持食材本色就很美，现在却要特地去掉本来的美感做成黑白料理。”
“是吗——”阿铃川右手食指蘸了一下蛙卵上的白色酱汁，舔了舔。呃，很辣。
“哎呀，阿铃你不可以这样啊。”
阿铃遭到大声斥骂，跳了起来。她的指头还塞在嘴巴里，根本无从辩解。
阿藤大姨先是板着脸瞪了阿铃一眼，又马上转回笑脸。她利落地走近炉灶，看来是要换茶水。
“那是太一郎先生还在试做的料理，不好吃吧？”
阿铃老实点头，说：“白色的东西是什么？有点辣。”
“里面加了山葵，为了让颜色变白，又加了白芝麻。”
“这个有斑纹的果冻呢？”
“那也加了芝麻，其实很香的。”
玄之介已消失无踪，阿藤突然出现大概吓到他了，厨房里只剩阿铃和阿藤。
“大姨，阿律和修太在哪里？”
父母不过暂时离开，厨房里就变得空无一人，实在很奇怪。
阿藤沉下圆脸，一辈子也没剃过的粗眉歪斜得不像话。
“他们两个回高田屋了。”
“回去了……”
“是呀，阿律胆子很小，被幽灵吓得要死，常喊着要辞职。修太也是，明明还年轻，竟然说在这里工作会被坏东西附身，真是一点志气都没有。”
阿藤用力将铁壶搁回炉灶，水滴了下来，炭火发出呻吟般咻咻作响。
“我去汲水给铁壶添水。”阿铃乖顺地说，“大姨，我在这里守着，免得猫来偷吃。客人还要待上一段时间吧？”
阿藤恢复心情笑着说：“阿铃真是乖孩子，不过没关系，太一郎先生和多惠马上就回厨房了。”
“客人要回去了？”
“不是，好像还有事。我现在要带他们参观房子。”
阿铃瞪大双眼问：“在屋内四处看吗？”
“是啊，说是要找出积存邪气的地方，再祛除邪气。说是在丑寅（东北方）方向。”
“那个人，真的是白子屋的阿静小姐吗？”
正把茶具搁在托盘上的阿藤停下动作，撅着嘴告诫说：“不能称人家是'那个人'。”
“对不起，可是她真的是白子屋的小姐吗？真的是本人吗？”
“是啊，不然还会是谁？”
阿铃借用玄之介的话，说：“这么做不是很狡猾？要是阿陆小姐知道了，难道不会生气吗？”
阿藤莫名其妙地问：“浅田屋为什么会生气？”
阿铃说明：“在决定菜单之前，比赛的日期还没办法决定不是吗？现在只排定在这个月举行，双方还没决定日期，阿静小姐先来探路实在不好。”
阿藤用指头搔着发髻，她似乎没想到这个问题。
“可是，那该怎么办呢？难道要对她说你这样做太狡猾，赶他们走？”
"But……"
“万一惹恼了白子屋，他们取消比赛，到时该怎么办？这么一来船屋就会失去两组客人。阿铃还是个孩子可能不懂，对眼前的船屋来说，他们可是非常重要的客人。要是惹火了他们，船屋大概就经营不下去了。我们不能莽撞行事。还是阿铃有更好的法子？说来给大姨听听。”
阿藤很少这样执拗地斥责阿铃，形势急转直下，阿铃垂着头盯着工作台上的菜盘。那些颜色晦暗的菜肴看上去就跟阿铃一样垂头丧气。
“小孩子不用担心太多。”阿藤说完，似乎想要弥补自己过于严厉的口气，摸着阿铃的头说，“懂吗？乖，小心不要打搅客人。太一郎先生回厨房后也许会做饭团给你，你肚子饿了吧？”
阿藤自顾自说完，走了出去。阿铃感觉像是捧着对方强塞过来的行李，呆立在原地，愈想愈生气，却毫无办法。
爱你又想你今晚没出息见了又只会说些无聊话——
Notes:
Notes: