Kaifeng Bistro

Chapter 85 Disappearing out of thin air

"Have you ever told others about these things?" Tan Zhifeng asked Chen Qing after he calmed down a little.

"No. I'm wondering whether to tell Brother Zhou. He has always taken good care of me, and his family members are not here. If he can be persuaded to leave Kaifeng and take his family members to find a place to hide, maybe they can I escaped." Chen Qing said hesitantly.

"Under the overturned nest, how can there be any eggs?" Xu Gan's deep voice suddenly sounded from the other side of the room.

The front door had been locked by Yi Yi, and everyone looked back, and it turned out that Xu Yan came in through the door connected to the next room.He looked at Chen Qing and asked him: "If the world is really in chaos, where do you want to hide?"

Chen Qing lowered his head in shame, and said to Tan Zhifeng: "This... I have never known what to do in my heart, so, that's why I suffered a lot. Now the military strength of the Song Dynasty is far inferior to that of Xixia or even Liao. Even if I want to Abandoning the pen and joining the army, I'm afraid it's just going to die for nothing..."

"No matter what, thank you for telling us these things." Tan Zhifeng patted the back of Chen Qing's hand lightly, and comforted him: "However, from now on, you must never mention to anyone that your mother wrote you a letter." thing. Remember, don’t tell anyone.”

"Okay." Chen Qing nodded, "Zhifeng, will you tell Lord Zhan about this?"

"For the time being..." Tan Zhifeng looked up at Xu Gan, and then replied, "I won't tell him for the time being."

Chen Qing seemed relieved.He nodded, put away his things and went out.Tan Zhifeng told him again: "We will think about it carefully, don't worry, we will look for you later."

After all, Tan Zhifeng turned his head and clapped his hands and said to everyone: "Okay, get ready to open soon, the more it is at this time, the less it will make people see anything strange."

Yi Yi and Zhuo Zhuo stood up full of worries and went to the back kitchen to get ready.Tan Zhifeng walked up to Xu Yan and asked him in a low voice, "Did you meet anyone in the south of the city?"

"No." Xu Gan shook his head, "I went to the blacksmith shop and the place where A Yuan lived, and there was no movement in these places."

"It seems that for some reason, they have become more careful." Tan Zhifeng frowned while talking: "However, we still have to think about why they did this."

Xu Gan looked at Tan Zhifeng without blinking, and Tan Zhifeng felt a little embarrassed by him.At this time, he even felt that when Xu Gan was still "Xu Gan", they got along more comfortably.Now that Xu Gan's soul has left, his memory no longer exists.Xu Gan's body in front of him has been completely replaced by the soul of Ying Long who has been with him day and night for thousands of years.He stood in front of Tan Zhifeng like an old friend who was once familiar with each other, but Tan Zhifeng didn't know how to face him because of the long separation.

"Come on, talk while you work." He waved to Xu Gan, and the two entered the back kitchen together.Seeing the steamed pancakes lying on the floor, Xu Gan tilted his head and asked curiously, "What is this?"

"Oh, this is called Crispy Qiongye." Speaking of food, Tan Zhifeng immediately calmed down a lot: "Actually, it is to cut the overnight steamed cakes into thin slices, which can be coated with honey or a little oil, and then put on fire Bake it on top, and spread it on the paper to dry, like this..." He pointed to the steamed cakes that were lying on the floor, "It's to get rid of the anger. Now it's dry, do you want to try it?"

Xu Gan bent down and picked up a piece, held it in his hand and looked at it over and over as if looking at something rare, and then just bit into it lightly, and suddenly the crispy steamed cake made a light sound.Xu Gan tilted his head and chewed slowly, before smiling at Tan Zhifeng for a long time: "Not bad, it's delicious."

Tan Zhifeng's heart beat faster again, and he quickly turned his head away.Just at this time, a series of footsteps came from the door, which resolved his embarrassment in time.It was already dawn, and the scholars in the alley came to the tavern in twos and threes, looking for seats to sit down and chat.Tan Zhifeng had already discovered that many times these scholars did not come to him simply to fill their stomachs. Unexpected things would happen every now and then in Kaifeng, which is a big university, and these things brought too much talk to people. Young people who "care about national affairs, family affairs and world affairs" always want to find a place to sit down and have a good talk with others.

Now, A Yuan's death has become a new focus.Tan Zhifeng brought the dried crisp Qiong Ye and the prepared pine yellow cakes as well as a few side dishes, such as meat bream, melon, and dried rot, and asked Zhuo Zhuo to bring them over: "Listen to what they are talking about. "He whispered to her as he handed the wooden tray into Zhuo Zhuo's hands.

Zhuozhuo turned his head and left, Tan Zhifeng turned around and put the freshly made lily noodles into the pot, and cut the mixed shepherd's purse into thin shreds and put it aside, when the noodles rolled in the pot and the color gradually became transparent, he put the noodles together Picking out the thread, pouring it with soup, steaming steam rose, and Changshang's eyes widened immediately: "Brother Zhifeng, it smells so good."

"You and Ling'er each share a bowl. He is sick, so he needs to eat lightly. It's just right to eat with this shredded shepherd's purse. In your noodles, I made you a stewed egg with bamboo shoot powder. You have to watch Ling'er carefully. You have to finish both, you know?" Tan Zhifeng put two bowls of fragrant noodles on a wooden plate, and carefully handed them to Shangshang.

Shangshang nodded vigorously: "Understood!" Tan Zhifeng opened the door for him and watched him walk into the next room.Ling'er sat quietly on the bed alone, as if he heard the sound of the door opening, he looked up expectantly, Tan Zhifeng walked over to him and asked him: "Ling'er, how are you feeling?"

"I had a dream. I dreamed that Daddy was gone." Ling'er said calmly, "He said you would take care of me. You...and..."

"And me." Xu Gan came over, and put his hand lightly on Ling'er's shoulder: "We take care of you, just like your father takes care of you."

A faint smile appeared on Ling'er's face.His face was almost transparent.Tan Zhifeng whispered to Xu Gan: "You can't let this kid stay bored in the house all the time. When the weather gets warmer, I have to ask Shangshang to take him to the yard to play more."

"Okay!" Changshang who was at the side happily put two bowls of noodles on the small table: "Brother Zhifeng, I saw Dafu Lin has a swing in his house, which is two thick hemp ropes tied to the tree. Just step on a pedal, and you can make one for Ling'er anytime, then I can play with him on the swing in the yard."

"Eat the noodles first." Tan Zhifeng picked up a bowl and carefully blew it while feeding it to Ling'er, but Ling'er grabbed Tan Zhifeng's belt with his cold hands. He didn't say a word, but Tan Zhifeng felt that he was still afraid of something in his heart.Tan Zhifeng picked up the noodles to let him smell the aroma, and then he smiled again, withdrew his hand and touched his stomach: "Brother Zhifeng, I'm hungry."

Tan Zhifeng asked Shangshang to feed him, and he and Xu Gan returned to the back kitchen.Xu Gan who hadn't said a word just now suddenly looked at Tan Zhifeng and said slowly, "He is Xu Gan's child."

"That's right." Tan Zhifeng raised his head and smiled at him: "Why, you're not used to it?"

Xu Yan came over and stood side by side with Tan Zhifeng in front of the stove, he said, "There are many things that I'm not used to."

"For example?" Tan Zhifeng turned around and began to clean up the steamed cake paper all over the floor, but when he looked up, he collided with Xu Gan again in the narrow kitchen.

Xu Gan took the dry, brittle, and crumpled papers from Tan Zhifeng's hands: "I don't know, many things I took for granted when he was still around. But most of the time—" He He raised his hand and pulled Tan Zhifeng up: "I know what I'm doing."

Xu Gan's deep eyes were shining, and Tan Zhifeng suddenly remembered the night they left Tianqing Temple. At that time, under the courtyard wall, Xu Gan's eyes were also deep, and his gaze was also focused and persistent. His cheeks were touching, but Tan Zhifeng only had the bright light of the full moon in front of his eyes, a little bit blurred like cloud shadows in the sky, and it continued to diffuse in the center of his eyes.

Xu Gan's fingers brushed lightly between Tan Zhifeng's eyebrows: "Your appearance is exactly what I thought." He said, "I have thought about it many times..."

At this moment, Tan Zhifeng also looked back into Xu Gan's eyes. He was surprised to find that Xu Gan's face seemed to have changed slightly. It is profound and incomprehensible, but Tan Zhifeng felt a sense of familiarity in his heart little by little. Before he stepped into this world full of disputes, these eyes once looked at him seriously and said to him: "... ...I need...a being like you to keep me company."

"I did it." Tan Zhifeng couldn't help muttering: "I didn't do it well, but I did it."

Those familiar eyes narrowed slightly, and the two of them squatted in front of the crackling stove, listening to the noisy voices outside, but Tan Zhifeng felt that the kitchen was extremely quiet.The heavy and huge stone in his heart finally fell down. Although nothing that happened in the past has changed, those things are no longer important to Tan Zhifeng, at least they no longer bother him.

"Uh, let me tell you, aren't you... not hot?" Zhuo Zhuo stood at the door of the kitchen holding an empty plate, looked at Tan Zhifeng maliciously and said with a smile: "Zhifeng, the piece of paper behind you is almost burning. "

Tan Zhifeng was so frightened that he hurriedly looked back. The paper he had gathered just now was far away from the stove. A fire would be a terrible thing for anyone living in Kaifeng. The cloud spreads the rain, but Tan Zhifeng absolutely does not want to try it at this juncture.

"Don't be angry, Zhifeng." Zhuo Zhuo walked in with a smile.

Before Tan Zhifeng could speak, Xu Yan also stood up, and Zhuo Zhuo withdrew his smile all of a sudden: "Hehe, I'm here to report to Zhifeng about the situation outside..."

"Let's talk." Xu Gan said coldly, "What are they talking about?"

"What else can there be?" Zhuo Zhuo spread his hands: "Ah Yuan died so badly! Most people said that Bai Yutang did it, only Brother Zhou and Lu Yang spoke for him, but I watched carefully for a long time. I don't see who will be able to steal Bai Yutang's knife one day..."

"The knife is not as conspicuous as Juque. You usually throw it at the door with the clothes of the guests. Everyone was drunk that night. Anyone can wrap the knife with the clothes when they take the clothes. Get out!" Yi Yi also came over, angrily reprimanding Zhuo Zhuo.Zhuo Zhuo immediately retorted: "Yes, but who would have thought that someone would take the knife away that day?! His knife was often thrown there before, and nothing happened..."

"Okay, okay, stop arguing!" Tan Zhifeng hurriedly stopped them, "Why do I feel like the Dynasty is coming, you go and have a look, he is usually in Kaifeng mansion at this time, he will not come to our place. "

Before Tan Zhifeng could finish his sentence, Wang Chao had already passed through the crowd and walked towards the back kitchen. To Tan Zhifeng's surprise, this normally carefree man now looked very panicked, as if he had encountered something terrible.

"Did Master Zhan not come here?" He asked when he saw Tan Zhifeng and Xu Gan.

"No." Tan Zhifeng looked at him suspiciously, but Wang Chao turned and left, took two steps and stomped his feet and came back: "I...I'd better tell you, Shopkeeper Tan..." He looked at it nervously as he spoke. Looking at Xu Gan who was leaning aside with his hands folded in front of his chest, he lowered his voice and whispered in Tan Zhifeng's ear, "This is a serious matter. A Yuan's body...is gone!"