Chapter 31: Learning and Applying
5:30, time to get off work.
Xu Jie, Zhou Min'er and Zhang Mingliang quickly stood up and ran out of the office at the speed of a 100-meter sprint.
After seeing this, the other colleagues in the column group were all frightened by the momentum of these three people. What happened to them? Was it a big sale on daily necessities in the supermarket?
Shi Fei was the first to . He didn't even have time to grab his bag. He just grabbed his down jacket and ran out.
The others were confused: Why did another one run away?
Shi Fei rushed out of the TV station's first-floor door and saw Xu Jie getting into Zhou Miner's car from a distance. He got anxious and his feet slipped, and he fell on his butt with a "thump". However, he ignored the pain and stood up from the ground, holding his butt, and shouted to the front: "Mingliang, Zhang Mingliang, wait a minute, I have something to tell you."
Zhang Mingliang was about to open the car door when he saw Shi Fei calling him, so he asked loudly, "What's the matter?"
Shi Fei did not speak immediately, but waved at Zhang Mingliang and said mysteriously: "Come here."
Zhang Mingliang was anxious, so he walked over and asked, "What's going on?"
"The new headphones you bought are very good. Where did you buy them?" Shi Fei asked pretendingly.
"Weidian, is that all?"
"Can you help me buy one and I'll give you the money later." Shi Fei said.
"good."
Zhang Mingliang was about to leave after he finished speaking, but was pulled back by Shi Fei.
"Hey, where are you going?" Shi Fei looked at Zhou Miner's car.
"Filming."
"What kind of film are we shooting? Didn't we shoot it during the day?" Shi Fei asked doubtfully.
"It's a film for the winter special program. We chose a hot pot restaurant. There were too many people when we went there at noon, so we planned to go early in the evening to queue up." Zhang Mingliang said truthfully.
"Really? Which store is so popular?" Shi Fei asked curiously.
"Laojiu's copper pot hot pot." After saying this, Zhang Mingliang shook off Shi Fei's hand and hurriedly got into Zhou Miner's car.
Shi Fei looked at the slowly driving car, his eyes gradually narrowed, and after a while, the corners of his mouth gradually rose, revealing a sly smile on his face.
The opportunity has come!
…
Xu Jie and his group hurried to Laojiu Copper Pot Hotpot. As soon as they entered, it was crowded just like at noon. There was a long queue waiting for a seat, and people outside kept coming in.
Xu Jie immediately asked the waiter for a number, which said: There are 46 tables waiting in front of you.
OK, less than at noon.
The waiting process is absolutely torture.
The hot pot restaurant is an old building, very narrow, and with so many people there, it feels extremely noisy and chaotic.
Zhou Miner frowned tightly and covered her nose with her hands. The smell of alcohol, smoke and heat filled the entire room, and she couldn't escape even if she wanted to.
"It's too noisy here. I'll wait in line. You guys go out." Xu Jie said loudly to Zhou Min'er and Zhang Mingliang, "I'll call you when it's our turn."
Zhou Miner shook her head after hearing this. How could she feel comfortable going out and leaving others to wait?
"If you want to wait, let's wait together. I want to see what's so good about the copper pot hot pot meat that I have to wait two hours to eat." Zhou Miner looked stubborn and her temper flared up.
For her, the purpose now is not only to take the film, but also to verify whether the two-hour wait is worth it, otherwise wouldn’t it be in vain?
Moreover, she didn't want Xu Jie to think she was a pretentious young lady.
Maybe because it was night, no one seemed to be in a hurry to leave. In the cold winter, it was pleasant to find a warm place to drink wine, eat hot pot, and brag.
But this is really hard for those who are waiting. Not only can they not get to eat the meat, but they also have to listen to people bragging. It would be fine if it was just one person bragging, but everyone is bragging. Those who don't know would think they are all big shots hidden among the people.
Xu Jie and his two companions waited from 6 to 9 o'clock, for three hours, and were finally arranged in a corner.
"Where's the menu?" Zhou Min'er asked the waiter while looking at the empty table.
"There is no menu." The waiter glanced at Zhou Miner, as if to say: Is this your first time here?
"Ah? How can I order without a menu?" Zhou Miner frowned, and she was on the verge of exploding with anger.
Xu Jie quickly stopped Zhou Min'er and said to the waiter, "One plate of each of the nine kinds."
The waiter was stunned, looked at the three customers in front of him and asked, "You ordered so much that you can't finish it all?"
"You'll have to bear the consequences if you fail." Xu Jie said.
The waiter didn't persuade him anymore and turned to go into the kitchen.
Zhou Miner couldn't help it at this time, she looked at Xu Jie and asked, "What's going on here?"
"I checked online. He doesn't have a menu. The store name is the menu." Xu Jie said. He also did his homework in advance and came prepared.
"Store name? Laojiu?" Zhou Miner tilted her head and thought for a long time, but still couldn't figure out what Laojiu represented.
"He has nine kinds of meat, taken from nine parts of the sheep, some lean, some fat, some tender, and some crispy. Regular customers know what to order without the waiter asking, and for new customers, the waiter will make recommendations based on the diners' preferences," Xu Jie explained.
"Nine parts? It sounds like steak." Zhou Miner thought that steak was also named according to its location.
"That's about the same." Xu Jie said.
"Xiao Xu, when are we going to shoot?" Zhang Mingliang patted the camera bag in his arms.
"Try it first. If it's really delicious, we'll take a picture. If it's not delicious, we won't take a picture even if you pay us." Xu Jie said seriously.
"Yes, that's right!" Zhou Min'er nodded vigorously.
Not long after, the copper pot was brought up. The bottom of the pot was filled with clear soup, with only ginger, green onions and wolfberries.
The meat was all hand-cut lamb, so it was served slowly. After about a few minutes, the waiter came over with two plates of meat.
"Sheep on the head, big three forks."
After saying that, he turned and left.
"So fat?" Zhou Miner stared at the plate of meat in front of her in a daze, "How can this be healthy?"
The point of winter food is to be both tasty and nutritious, but such fatty meat does not look healthy.
"That's dasancha, the meat from the upper part of the hind leg. Although it's fat, it's very tender and can resist the cold and nourish the body. It can relieve chronic bronchitis, asthma, and cough caused by the cold. It's also rich in protein, inorganic salts, riboflavin, etc. It's a bit one-sided to say it's unhealthy. No matter how nutritious something is, it's unhealthy if you eat too much of it. You have to know when to stop." Xu Jie picked up the chopsticks; his stomach had already started growling.
"Xiao Xu, great! I didn't expect you are a foodie!" Zhang Mingliang said in surprise.
"I just checked it out last night, and I'm learning it now." Xu Jie said embarrassedly, "Let's try it first."
Zhou Min'er looked at Xu Jie with twinkling eyes. She had also done her homework in advance, but not as carefully as the other party. This was also why she always liked to go out for interviews with Xu Jie, but it was a pity that he was already taken.
"I'll go get something to drink." Zhang Mingliang didn't see the waiter, so he stood up and walked to the front desk.
At this time, among the waiting crowd, a man wearing a mask was quietly pointing his mobile phone at Xu Jie and Zhou Miner, and pressed the shutter to take multiple photos. He was even boldly walking around the hot pot restaurant and taking photos from multiple angles. He didn't put away his phone until he saw Zhang Mingliang go back, and then he continued to hide in the waiting crowd.
…
