Improving Food

The next day, when the red sun rose, Gulan and het team set out under the scorching sun.

If nothing unexpected happens, we will reach Jiaocheng in two days. Perhaps it was because they were not far from Jiaocheng, or perhaps it was because they had rested for a day, everyone's energy and physical strength had been restored very well. They walked until noon and everyone was in very good spirits. No one mentioned taking a rest. No one who was walking was tired, and Gulan was even less tired. The horse was well fed in the morning and had plenty of water, so it seemed to be in good condition for a while, and Gulan did not mention stopping. The team continued to walk westward along the official road.

After about half an hour, a village that did not look too large appeared in the distance. It was a bit surprising. Except for towns, villages were rarely built next to official roads. This was also the reason why they rarely saw villages along the way. When Gulan and her friends arrived at the place, they found that there were not only teahouses but also restaurants on the side of the road. Although they were not large, they were their own businesses and any money they made was good money. Seeing the restaurant, Gulan really couldn't walk anymore. After so many days, it was time to improve the children's food. Gulan, who was holding the reins, was the first to stop. As Gulan stopped, the large group behind her also stopped one by one.

We didn't feel it when we were walking, but when we stopped, we suddenly felt a little tired. We simply rested on the spot and took out food from the packages to fill our stomachs. The further west they go, the more wild vegetables they have. They no longer have to eat only one meal or two meals a day as before. Sometimes they can even have a piece of wild vegetable cake at noon to restore their strength.

At the same time, the sudden appearance of so many people on the official road also scared the owners of restaurants and teahouses on the roadside. They became nervous and almost closed their shops. If these people had not stopped to rest some distance away from them, the two bosses would have really closed the shop.

Gulan parked the carriage directly in the open space next to the tavern, and the Li family's mule cart that had been following Gulan also stopped here. After securing the carriage, Gulan tied the reins to a tree in the open space. It was obvious that this place was specially prepared for parking. Li Da and Li Er also tied their horses here, and also tied up their own mules. Old Man Li and his companions sat down on a wooden block in the open space for people to rest and take a break. Although he knew that it was not good for them to occupy the store's space, since Gulan had already taken the lead, Li Da also shamelessly followed.

The store owner naturally noticed their arrival and came out to take a look, but seeing so many of them and looking exhausted, he finally held back and said nothing. It's empty anyway, so just stop here.

The owner wanted to give some water to the people in the open space of the tavern, but he didn't dare to do so. There were so many people sitting on the roadside that no amount of water would be enough.

"Brother Li, please help me watch the carriage," Gulan shouted to Li Da after feeding the horses.

"No problem," Li Da agreed readily.

Looking at Gulan's eyes, I knew what this kid meant. I had already discovered it when I was in Lingshan Town. He would not treat his people unfairly, let alone his son. Smelling the aroma coming from the wine shop, Li Da could only envy his father squatting beside him and sigh about life. Not having money is a disadvantage!

"Look at what you have accomplished," the old man Li said to his eldest son.

"Dad, you don't want to go in." Li Da winked at his father and teased him.

"Go away." He slapped his son with a palm as big as a palm fan. The child was so old but still needed discipline.

However, Li Dama dodged it easily, which made the old man Li so angry that he blew his beard and glared.

When Goudan saw AnAn walking into the tavern, the little guy's eyes lit up and he skillfully broke free from his mother's hand. He ran to AnAn's side, took AnAn's hand, and walked in with them. The older brothers and sisters who saw this were extremely envious, but unfortunately they were too old and not as shameless as Goudan.

"Goudan..." Goudan's mother called out helplessly, but unfortunately the child had already entered the tavern with Gulan and the others. Li Si patted his wife. There was helplessness in both of their eyes, but more of it was gratitude. Thanks to Goudan's behavior of eating for free from time to time, this kid has gained a lot of weight and his physical condition has improved. He no longer looks listless.

In the tavern, Gulan came in with Yunjin, four children and a dog. It's a very simple restaurant with only a lobby. The most luxurious thing is probably the two screens in the lobby that are used to separate diners. The hygiene seems to be good, at least everywhere is clean at a glance, which is rare in a place like this. There were only two tables of guests in the lobby. It wasn't crowded, which was normal since this wasn't a busy town.

Seeing the people coming, the owner of the store hurried over to greet them, "Hello, would you like to have dinner?" As he spoke, he led them to a seat near the window where they could look up and see the scenery outside.

As soon as he came in, the owner of the store knew that this was a wealthy man who wanted to eat. What was different from the people resting anywhere outside was that their clothes were neatly dressed without patches, and one of the tall men was even wearing a fine cotton coat. Even though he earned some extra income from opening this store, he and his wife never wore fine cotton clothes. They only wore coarse linen clothes, but without patches.

Gulan: "What delicious food does the store have?"

"We have chicken, duck, fish and meat here. The specific dishes are on the wall. You may want to take a look." The owner stopped pouring water, looked at the wall on the side of the counter and said with a smile.

Following the shop owner's line of sight, Gulan discovered that there were more than twenty thin wooden pieces of the same size hanging on the wall, with patterns and names of dishes engraved on them.

"Brother Jin, is there anything you want to eat?" As she spoke, her eyes were still glancing at the wall.

"Give me a serving of lotus leaf chicken and a serving of braised pork." Xiang Yunjin looked at the children and ordered two dishes that the children all liked.

Gulan nodded, looked at it for a while, and then ordered a fish soup and two vegetarian dishes, with rice as the staple food.

"That's all," Gulan nodded to the shopkeeper.

"Okay, wait a moment, sir." The owner smiled attentively and even ordered three meat dishes. It was a surprise, and it also meant that he could earn more. In this day and age it is already very good to be able to eat a meat dish, and the owner was very happy.

They didn't have to wait too long and the food was served quickly. Looking at the table full of steaming delicious food, everyone couldn't help themselves and picked up their chopsticks to start eating following Gulan's voice. As for whether she would encounter a black shop, Gulan was not worried at all. Even if it is a shady shop, there are so many of them here in broad daylight, how blind must the boss be to dare to do such bad things.

Although the shop is small, the taste is pretty good, especially the braised pork, which is soft, delicious and not greasy. It can be said to be very delicious. The shop owner is quite capable. Just as they were working hard to eat, a new customer came into the store. Gulan took a glance and was a little surprised. It turned out to be Daya and Erya's mother. The family of three was standing at the door of the store. Gulan glanced at the two little girls secretly, but she didn't expect that the eldest and second girls didn't react at all. They were busy eating and didn't seem to notice the appearance of these three people. It seems that they are really heartbroken.

When someone comes in, the shop owner naturally welcomes them and rushes to greet them.

"What would you like to eat, gentlemen?" He looked at Baodan Mother and her two companions calmly while speaking. Compared with the previous customers, these three people were too shabby. It's not that their clothes were tattered, but there was too much dirt on their clothes. However, the owner still greeted them with a smile when they came to the store.