Chapter 2: Tofu Pudding Rice.

During their school years, Li Junguo basically lived at Wang Congjun's house, and during breaks, Wang Congjun would stay at Li Junguo's house.

Zhu Chao'an smiled bitterly at Li Junge and said, "Ah, I feel inferior every time I see you two. There's almost no place for fat people in this world anymore. You say that I and that old hag Wang are busy with receptions every day, but her child doesn't grow, while I feel like I'm just blowing air, isn't it frustrating!"

Zhu Chao'an, with deep sympathy, said, "Look, look, see how big cities have tortured people, even eating a bowl of tofu pudding makes them want to cry."

Li Jungé said, "Let's talk about it later. I'll take a break first. If I don't go out again, I might have to rely on you, my brother."

A person came straight to Li Jungen's study, hugged him and exclaimed excitedly, "Li Erpi! You finally remembered to come back, you turtle! It's been so many years since I last saw you!"

All three of them are old acquaintances, very familiar with each other. While adding seasoning to their own plates, they started chatting. Zhu Zhao'an said, "Erpi, how long are you planning to stay this time? It's been several years since you last came back."

When setting off, the day is very early, and the weather is clear and cold. Therefore, it is customary to have two liang of white wine with meals, for warmth and strength. So, having early tofu pudding with wine is also a local custom.

Wang Congjun said, "In fact, there's not much excitement in working in big cities. People always say that our pace of life is slow, but in reality, city dwellers waste two hours on commuting every day. We just use these two hours for leisure activities, which makes us appear slow, haha..."

朱朝安 also said: "Exactly, exactly. There's nowhere you can't handle. Without saying anything else, based on your abilities, if you're willing to come work for my company, there's no way you won't become a vice president. Erpi, think about it, okay?"

The "Xiao Zheng Long" is also called "Zha Long Long Er", which is actually a small steamed meat dish served in small bamboo steamers.

Pigworm's real name is Zhu Chao'an, who is also a classmate of Li Jungé. His family runs a construction company, and he has been working there since graduation. Now he is considered a small celebrity in Jiachuan County.

Across the street, the towering skyscrapers stand in an orderly manner, blocking the view. After walking a few steps, the two-way six-lane roads intersect at a crossroads, with shops and businesses on both sides of the road, bustling with activity.

A person drinking alone is called "morning single bowl", while with two or more people it is called "wrestling wine".

Li Jungé picked up a piece of tofu pudding, dipped it in dipping sauce, placed it on top of the rice, took a bite, closed his eyes and chewed for a while before swallowing. He opened his eyes and said, "Sesame oil, coriander, hmm, how many times have I dreamed of the city, but the taste of home is still the best."

Ascending along the stone steps, leaving the pier, the scene that appeared in front of Li Junge was a bit bewildering.

The special feature of the small steamer is Xiao Erge's technique.

It is also a major feature of the mung bean jelly. The dipping sauce prepared by experienced diners leaves a lingering fragrance on the teeth and a long-lasting aftertaste, which is far superior to that of new diners.

Soon, the car stopped at the entrance of a restaurant. The restaurant was not big, but there were many diners. A small wooden sign hung at the entrance, with the words "Liuhe Yaochun" written in four small regular script characters.

The water level of the river is currently very low, revealing a vast riverbank.

The movements of Xiaoege are crisp and neat, like flowing clouds and running water, leaving diners amazed.

My goodness, does my buddy's pet pigeon have to be brought back to our hometown? Li Junguo tried hard to compare the scene in front of him with the memory of Jia Chuan Old Street, but he couldn't match it for a long time. There was no way, so he had to take out his phone and dial a number.

Tofu pudding is made from "danba", which is the residue of salt extracted from brine and dissolved in water as a coagulant, and then added to soy milk to solidify. This kind of tofu pudding is dense and elastic, and it is more in line with the taste of people from Jiachuan compared to gypsum tofu pudding.

Mr. Li Junge said, "Let's forget about it today. I have to take a boat back home in the afternoon. It would be even more dizzying if I drink and then ride."

A "大蒸笼" refers to a plate of steamed dishes that are steamed in a large steamer with a diameter of over one meter. Usually, two large steamers are stacked together, capable of holding seventy to eighty plates of steamed dishes. The plates are not large, with a diameter of about ten centimeters. The main dishes are sweet and savory, each plate containing exactly eight pieces of meat, just enough for one person to eat.

Li Jungé is quite excited, slapping the newcomer's back loudly. "You old hag! You've done pretty well, looking all polished and proper. Your hairstyle is so slippery that even flies would slide off! You've even got a car now, provided by the company, right? That's great, that's great."

Three people came back to the table holding dipping water and sat down. The boss had already served three bowls of douhua and three bowls of rice. The rice was "er guo fan", which means the rice was first cooked in a pot until it was about 70-80% done with a little bit of hardness in the center, then scooped out and steamed in a steamer until fully cooked. This kind of rice is loose and fragrant, with each grain separated, and it goes well with douhua.

Riding the riverboat from Yuzhou City to Manzhou City, Li Junge sat on the second deck of the boat, called the waiter to brew a cup of Sanhua, which is the three-grade jasmine tea commonly consumed by the people of Shudu Province. Enjoying the breeze of the river, admiring the bamboo forests and streams on both sides, the strange rocks on the riverbank, and watching the hustle and bustle of people coming and going at the dock during the midway stop, picking fish and buying shrimp, feeling particularly familiar and interesting.

Liuhe Douhua Rice is a specialty of Jiachuan. Its origin can be traced back to the boat gangs and horse gangs of the old salt road.

There is also a lot of attention to detail here. The dipping sauce for Jia Chuan's Liuhedouhua is very complex. Soy sauce is simmered with spices, and there are also chopped scallions, ginger, garlic, shredded cabbage, dried chili peppers, fermented chili peppers, crispy chili oil, sesame oil, Sichuan peppercorn oil, lettuce oil, wood pulp oil, chili oil, cilantro, perilla leaves, five-spice oil, sesame seeds, crushed peanuts, minced pork, as well as chicken essence, monosodium glutamate, salt, and other seasonings, totaling about twenty to thirty different types.

Li Jungé is all smiles and jokingly says: "Oh, my dear director, did you think I wouldn't recognize you just because you're wearing a vest? Hurry up and take me out to eat. We drank a lot of alcohol on the boat and are starving. Let's eat and chat, and you can pay."

Each stack of steaming baskets needs to control the heat at any time. The method of control is that the waiter will move the upper layer of baskets to the lower layer and the middle layer of baskets to the upper layer from time to time, relying on memory and timing control to ensure that each basket of "Shark's Fin Basket" has just the right texture, neither too soft nor too dry.

However, the new diners end up with thinner and thinner dishes as they eat, until the plate is filled with crushed bean curd and cellar water, without even a hint of saltiness.

The Wang family has some influence in Jiachuan County. This kid was in the same class as Li Jungé, who was admitted to the county middle school during high school, and was considered one of Li Jungé's staunch supporters in the class.

The county's development is going well now. Many out-of-town workers have returned and are not going out. It is said that there is a shortage of migrant workers in Guangdong Province. The county has been in contact with the labor export companies several times this year, but still cannot organize enough manpower.

At Jiachuan, the well salt from Yandu's self-flowing wells and Gongjing wells is transported by boat to Chongqing, and by horse caravan to southern Guizhou. Therefore, the Six-Union Tofu Flower Rice still retains the characteristics most favored by boat and horsemen, such as quick preparation, filling, delicious taste, and satisfying hunger. The first meal for Jiachuan people returning home must be this.

In recent years, Jiachuan County has undergone tremendous changes. The Binjiang Avenue was constructed along the Yangtze River.

Wang chuckled and said, "It's not my turn to pay today. I just called Zhu'er Chong, and he said to meet at the restaurant for a meal. With him as the big spender, we can eat to our heart's content."

Ha ha ha, little piggy, why did your child gain another circle of fat? Now the name is truly fitting. Li Jungé immediately burst into laughter upon seeing the visitor.

Jiao does not leave Meng, Meng does not leave Jiao.

Hello! Busybody, what's up? I'm back, where am I? I don't know where I am either. I just got off the pier and walked a few hundred meters to the intersection ahead. Oh, okay, I'll wait for you here.

Three people did not take a seat, but entered the shop directly and started preparing tofu pudding to dip in water.

Due to the wide variety of seasonings, the resulting flavors can be very complex. Therefore, the owners of tofu pudding shops usually only provide a basic dish with several common seasonings that everyone will use, and the rest are left for customers to add according to their own taste.

Wang Bapo glared with big eyes, "Get lost! Don't call me by my nickname anymore. I am now a senior government official. You should be aware of that and be mindful of your influence! Call me Wang Congjun! And why is your unit using this junky car? This is my private car. Using government vehicles for personal purposes is strictly prohibited now!"

A large pot is inverted on top of a wooden basin, and several steam holes are punched on the basin. Each steam hole is stacked with a pile of small steaming baskets, which are only the size of small bowls. The dishes in each steaming basket on the steam hole are different. Generally, there are several varieties such as steamed pork intestines with rice flour, steamed spare ribs with rice flour, steamed beef with rice flour, and steamed lamb with rice flour. Diners can choose according to their own taste.

This guy was brought into a government agency by his family after graduating from college. Now he is already the deputy director of the government office, and is considered one of the better-performing classmates in the class.

The so-called "Liuhe Yaochun" also has a special meaning, which includes a bowl of tofu pudding, a dish of dipping sauce, a bowl of well water, which is the water used to cook tofu pudding, a bowl of rice, a dish of pickled vegetables, and a small pot of wine. The six items are collectively called "Liuhe Yaochun". Of course, with the changes in the residents' dietary structure, meat dishes have also been introduced, mainly divided into "large steamer" and "small steamer".

Life in Jiachuan is comfortable. It is common for people to come out at 9:00 to have breakfast. In the roadside tofu pudding shop, you can often see old men enjoying a bowl of tofu pudding and a glass of wine. They can have a meal that lasts until noon, and the people of Jiachuan don't find it strange.

Traveling along the way, the riverboat finally docked at Jiachuan, and Mr. Li carried his small luggage off the ship.

Wang Congjun ordered two more Zhalong cages, one with salted and roasted fish, and said to Li Jungu and Zhu Chao'an, "I still have to go to work, so I can't order a single bowl. Do you two want something?"

Li Jungé narrowed his eyes and said, "Get lost! What I'm eating here is a taste of home, something you wouldn't understand."

When Li Jungé was in Yuzhou, he received him several times, introduced him to several colleagues who were engaged in design, occasionally helped him review drawings, designed small community gardens, etc., without discussing money. Each time it was just a matter of a few bottles of old wine. Both sides believed that they could trust each other. The relationship after graduation became even deeper than in high school.

Li Jungé opened the car door and said as he climbed into the car, "Liuhe Douhua Rice, even if we eat until we're stuffed, we won't spend much. This meal doesn't count. Let's go, let's go. Just talking about it makes my mouth water."

Folded the phone, stood by the roadside for a while, a gray FAW B50 stopped beside him, a guy jumped off the car, thick eyebrows and big eyes, with an old-fashioned big back head, hair gelled and motionless, wearing a white shirt, black trousers, a pair of shiny black leather shoes.

Whether someone is a regular customer can be determined by looking at the dipping sauce dish after the meal. Regular customers tend to have drier dipping sauce dishes, which ensures that the concentration of the sauce remains consistent from beginning to end.

Liuhe Douhua Rice originated from the Salt Gang. After resting in Jiachuan, the Salt Gang went west to Yunnan, south to Guizhou, and east to the Three Gorges. None of these routes were easy.

Li Jungé picked some Yuxiang vegetables and put them on a plate, saying, "I don't know, but I quit my job in Yuzhou and plan to take a good rest. At least half a year, I think."

The Spring of Luiheyao The small shop is booming, so they simply set up small wooden tables on the street. A fat man was occupying one of the small tables. When he saw Mr. Li and Mr. Wang getting out of the car, he quickly got up to greet them.