Chapter 41

Hearing the two sudden heavy breaths, even though they disappeared in an instant, how could Dongku, who had trained in wind direction and position, possibly mishear them?

Dongku picked up his teacup without showing any emotion, took a small sip, and said, "Mr. Liu, it will take some time to organize these things. I'll send my helper back later and find a place to stay to sort them out slowly, and I can also try some long-missed delicacies."

"Good! I'll arrange these. I'll have Uncle Tie go to the opposite Fulaishun to book a room for you, and prepare a banquet for Mr. Dong at noon."

"Ha ha... My helper is a blacksmith. He now wants to return to his hometown, and I, thinking of his many years of service, have decided to fund him to open a blacksmith shop. This time, I came to Anle Town to buy an anvil and some tools."

"Oh..."

Liu Rujì responded with a light "oh" and said, "These small matters, I'll have Uncle Tie handle them. Mr. Dong doesn't need to go. Just let your helper follow, and he can buy whatever he needs."

"Then I'll trouble Mr. Liu. I'll go tell my helper first and settle in."

"Alright. Mr. Dong, go arrange it. I'll prepare the noon banquet." Liu Rujì didn't try to retain him and smiled as he saw him off.

Dongku followed his helper to the private room and saw that everyone had already finished eating, just staring at each other, waiting for him. He smiled and said, "You ate so fast. There's a big meal later. Didn't you leave any room in your stomach?"

"Boss, we just had a little snack. We'll eat our fill after we buy the things," Huzi said formally.

After the helper left, Dongku sat down, picked up a steamed bun, and took a bite. While chewing, he said, "Someone will take you to buy the anvil. After buying it, come back and eat your fill. After the meal, Huzi will stay behind, and Liu Zhong will be in charge. The rest of you take the anvil back to the mountains and watch out for any tails on the way."

"Alright."

A few people responded softly.

Dongku finished the bun in a few bites, picked up two slices of beef, and nodded to himself. Liu Rujì was indeed as strict with his chefs as he had initially judged. Whether in taste or presentation, the beef was as good as what he had eaten in the future, very flavorful.

Before he could swallow the beef, Uncle Tie lifted the curtain and entered the room.

Before Dongku could speak, Uncle Tie clasped his fists and said, "Boss, you can't buy an anvil here. There's only one blacksmith shop here, and you need to go to Mishan to buy it. Write down what you need, and I'll arrange for someone to go to Mishan. They should be back by tomorrow afternoon."

"Can't buy it, huh." Dongku thought for a moment. This thing isn't like radishes or cabbages; who would buy it if they don't run a blacksmith shop?

"Alright. Then I'll trouble Uncle Tie." He turned and instructed, "Go to the counter and get paper and pen."

"Alright, Boss."

Ganya responded and left the room. A moment later, he returned with paper and pen.

Dongku quickly wrote it down. Although the traditional characters were a bit more complicated, it didn't hinder his writing.

"Uncle Tie, here are thirty silver dollars. I'll also trouble you to help my helper book a room, and make sure they are good rooms." As he spoke, he handed over the silver dollars and the paper.

"Boss, you don't need so much. I asked about the anvil, and a complete set costs only two silver dollars. You don't have a bellows, so two sets will cost four silver dollars. Including the room, five silver dollars will be enough." As he spoke, Uncle Tie took five silver dollars from the pile and pushed the rest back to Dongku.

"Keep the rest for the brothers to drink. They've been busy, so you can arrange it as you see fit." Dongku said, pushing the silver dollars back.

Uncle Tie's cold face showed no emotion. After a brief hesitation, he took the five silver dollars and said, "Since Boss insists, I won't be pretentious. This is enough. Thank you, Boss. I'll arrange the rooms for you."

"Good! I'll trouble Uncle Tie."

Dongku stood up and watched Uncle Tie leave.

Even after Uncle Tie's back disappeared, Dongku was still recalling the two breaths he heard in Liu Rujì's room. These two breaths were definitely not Uncle Tie and Uncle Cheng; he was completely sure of that. If not them, could there be two experts working for Liu Rujì? This Liu Rujì must have great power. Running such a restaurant, there were no Japanese soldiers causing trouble, no puppet troops causing havoc, and even the puppet troops at the checkpoint treated a servant with respect. Truly a rarity.

After a while, Dongku shook his head,收回目光，在众人的注视下重新坐下，继续在脑海中分析着柳如寄。良久，他将自己利用柳如寄作为落脚点，并为今后的抗日积累资金的方案捋顺了一遍，最终，他还是认定，赚敌人的钱是没错的，让柳如寄在沈阳、哈尔滨，乃至天津、上海租界开饭庄，只要她不是汉奸，真的是单纯的生意人，就可以合作；即便是，先期，有资金源源不断，也可以保持合作关系，等自己站稳了脚跟，再收拾掉她也不迟。

“呼……”

门外传来脚步声的那一刻，董库长长地吐了一口气，迅速拿起筷子，夹住一片牛肉。

刘忠等人见董库突然的动作，也都收回了在他身上的目光，各自做出吃饭的样子，却没有人吱声。

门帘一掀，跑堂的伙计进了房间，规矩地站在桌子旁说道：“东家，铁叔已经安排了房间，福来顺天字一号二号房，另外，二掌柜子吩咐了，现在就给这屋上菜，并请您去掌柜子房间，大掌柜子给您接风洗尘……”

午宴非常丰盛，成叔和后厨的掌勺刘师傅作陪，边吃边聊，气氛很是融洽；柳如寄换了一身当时时尚的中国风味的服装，时不时银铃般的笑声，让午宴更显轻松愉快。

吃完饭，董库拿着准备好的一摞纸，跟已经在雅间吃完饭的刘忠等人一起去了对过的住处，独自一人，在房间里闷头写了起来……

一下午的时间，董库将所有的细节，包括装修风格，菜品的选料，都一一的备注，详细的解说，记在了纸上。

这些，都是他在学习庞杂知识的时候顺便记住的。他没有多少机会去大饭店品尝这些菜肴，就查看资料来满足一下精神上的需求，来填补口福上的缺憾，却不成想，这时候却用上了。

正一张张的翻看，看看有什么遗漏呢，虎子突然敲门说道：“掌柜子，铁爷来了。”

哦？这个点还不到饭口，铁叔来干嘛？

放下手里的纸张，董库说道：“快请铁叔进来。”说着，人已经离桌而起，迎向了门口。

“东家，掌柜子请您过去。”铁叔冷冰冰的说道。

“好。我正好要过去呢。”

董库也没在意，回身拿起那摞纸就率先向门外走去。

刚刚一探头，眼角的余光看到左侧一个头颅快速的缩回了房内，他心里一动，停下脚步，将虎子身上背着的包裹摘下说道：“也快到饭口了，招呼大忠子他们也去吃饭吧，这个就不用带了，回头明天一并到柜上结账就行。”说着，回身走到炕前，随手将包裹扔在了炕上，又将手里最后空白的几张纸拿了出来，放到了桌子上，没理会虎子询问的眼神，向门外走去……

“董先生，有位朋友想请您吃饭，不知道可否方便……”

换上了和服的柳如寄放下手里那叠纸张，微笑着说道。

“朋友？”

董库脑海里数个念头翻转，他知道，自己在这没有朋友，如果是外人宴请的话，或许是柳如寄的后台。

好吧！你想探我的底细，我还想着探探你的深浅呢！

念头闪现间，董库哈哈一笑说道：“董某闲人一个，怎么会不方便呢，尤其是有美食，只是不知道去哪呢？”

“董先生，就在里面，您请。”

柳如寄嫣然一笑，起身拉开身后的纸门让道。

“好！”

董库站起身来，没有丝毫牵强，迈步就进了里间。

一进去他才知道，这里，也是一个会客厅，布局，跟身后的房间一样，也是榻榻米。

就在董库打量房间里的格局时，身后的纸门轻轻的被拉上了。

董库抬头看了眼头顶的嘎斯灯，目光又看向了中式八仙桌，见一共三把椅子，已经摆好碗筷，并摆有四盘凉拼；董库没有过多停留，直接走了过去，四处环视了下，见没人，他也没客气，一屁股坐在了客位上。

此时，刘忠等人已经坐在雅间里开吃了，虽然还不到五点，可也不耽误这些大胃王的狼吞虎咽；尤其是麻辣的鱼肉火锅，更是倍受欢迎，不到半小时，已经是第三锅上来了。

刘忠等人早就得到了命令，就是狂吃，喜欢吃什么就上什么，不要怕花钱。

这个命令让猛子和牤子这样的大胃王当然欣然执行了，他们，就算长这么大，也没有吃过这么好吃的东西，更是吃的满嘴流油。

“伙计大哥，一会来一个你们那个铁板烧。”虎子招呼门外走过的伙计吩咐道。

“好嘞！东三号铁板烧一份……”

伙计拖着长音，一路喊着，离开了东屋。

董库坐了没两分钟，纸墙外面就传来了脚步声，紧接着，自他进来的对面，一道纸门被拉开，燕儿端着一个大方盘走了进来，随之，一股浓郁的香气飘进房间。

董库没有说话，他拿出品尝师的派头，看着端上来的四道菜。

这一看，吓了他一跳，只见四道菜里，一道是熊掌，一道是乌苏里江里的同花鱼，一道是小块浑圆的肉块，像是鱼肉，又没有切口，还有一道是不知道是什么炒肉，但能跟这三道菜一起上来，显然也不是普通肉。

这是谁？居然有这么大手笔，这要是放在后世，单单这一对熊掌和同花鱼，就要几万，且还不是随便能吃到的。

没等念头转完，燕儿已经回身离开了桌子，接过了门外的另一个方盘……

是日本人？还是柳如寄本身就是日本特高科的，今天是她的上司宴请自己？

看到方盘上的另四道菜，董库有点不淡定了。这四道菜显然是精美的高级菜，如果没记错的话，这是满汉全席里的菜式，包括盘盏……

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翻页上AD结束

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Hearing the two sudden heavy breaths, even though they disappeared in an instant, how could Dongku, who had trained in wind direction and position, possibly mishear them?

Dongku picked up his teacup without showing any emotion, took a small sip, and said, "Mr. Liu, it will take some time to organize these things. I'll send my helper back later and find a place to stay to sort them out slowly, and I can also try some long-missed delicacies."

"Good! I'll arrange these. I'll have Uncle Tie go to the opposite Fulaishun to book a room for you, and prepare a banquet for Mr. Dong at noon."

"Ha ha... My helper is a blacksmith. He now wants to return to his hometown, and I, thinking of his many years of service, have decided to fund him to open a blacksmith shop. This time, I came to Anle Town to buy an anvil and some tools."

"Oh..."

Liu Rujì responded with a light "oh" and said, "These small matters, I'll have Uncle Tie handle them. Mr. Dong doesn't need to go. Just let your helper follow, and he can buy whatever he needs."

"Then I'll trouble Mr. Liu. I'll go tell my helper first and settle in."

"Alright. Mr. Dong, go arrange it. I'll prepare the noon banquet." Liu Rujì didn't try to retain him and smiled as he saw him off.

Dongku followed his helper to the private room and saw that everyone had already finished eating, just staring at each other, waiting for him. He smiled and said, "You ate so fast. There's a big meal later. Didn't you leave any room in your stomach?"

"Boss, we just had a little snack. We'll eat our fill after we buy the things," Huzi said formally.

After the helper left, Dongku sat down, picked up a steamed bun, and took a bite. While chewing, he said, "Someone will take you to buy the anvil. After buying it, come back and eat your fill. After the meal, Huzi will stay behind, and Liu Zhong will be in charge. The rest of you take the anvil back to the mountains and watch out for any tails on the way."

"Alright."

A few people responded softly.

Dongku finished the bun in a few bites, picked up two slices of beef, and nodded to himself. Liu Rujì was indeed as strict with his chefs as he had initially judged. Whether in taste or presentation, the beef was as good as what he had eaten in the future, very flavorful.

Before he could swallow the beef, Uncle Tie lifted the curtain and entered the room.

Before Dongku could speak, Uncle Tie clasped his fists and said, "Boss, you can't buy an anvil here. There's only one blacksmith shop here, and you need to go to Mishan to buy it. Write down what you need, and I'll arrange for someone to go to Mishan. They should be back by tomorrow afternoon."

"Can't buy it, huh." Dongku thought for a moment. This thing isn't like radishes or cabbages; who would buy it if they don't run a blacksmith shop?

"Alright. Then I'll trouble Uncle Tie." He turned and instructed, "Go to the counter and get paper and pen."

"Alright, Boss."

Ganya responded and left the room. A moment later, he returned with paper and pen.

Dongku quickly wrote it down. Although the traditional characters were a bit more complicated, it didn't hinder his writing.

"Uncle Tie, here are thirty silver dollars. I'll also trouble you to help my helper book a room, and make sure they are good rooms." As he spoke, he handed over the silver dollars and the paper.

"Boss, you don't need so much. I asked about the anvil, and a complete set costs only two silver dollars. You don't have a bellows, so two sets will cost four silver dollars. Including the room, five silver dollars will be enough." As he spoke, Uncle Tie took five silver dollars from the pile and pushed the rest back to Dongku.

"Keep the rest for the brothers to drink. They've been busy, so you can arrange it as you see fit." Dongku said, pushing the silver dollars back.

Uncle Tie's cold face showed no emotion. After a brief hesitation, he took the five silver dollars and said, "Since Boss insists, I won't be pretentious. This is enough. Thank you, Boss. I'll arrange the rooms for you."

"Good! I'll trouble Uncle Tie."

Dongku stood up and watched Uncle Tie leave.

Even after Uncle Tie's back disappeared, Dongku was still recalling the two breaths he heard in Liu Rujì's room. These two breaths were definitely not Uncle Tie and Uncle Cheng; he was completely sure of that. If not them, could there be two experts working for Liu Rujì? This Liu Rujì must have great power. Running such a restaurant, there were no Japanese soldiers causing trouble, no puppet troops causing havoc, and even the puppet troops at the checkpoint treated a servant with respect. Truly a rarity.

After a while, Dongku shook his head,收回目光，在众人的注视下重新坐下，继续在脑海中分析着柳如寄。良久，他将自己利用柳如寄作为落脚点，并为今后的抗日积累资金的方案捋顺了一遍，最终，他还是认定，赚敌人的钱是没错的，让柳如寄在沈阳、哈尔滨，乃至天津、上海租界开饭庄，只要她不是汉奸，真的是单纯的生意人，就可以合作；即便是，先期，有资金源源不断，也可以保持合作关系，等自己站稳了脚跟，再收拾掉她也不迟。

“呼……”

门外传来脚步声的那一刻，董库长长地吐了一口气，迅速拿起筷子，夹住一片牛肉。

刘忠等人见董库突然的动作，也都收回了在他身上的目光，各自做出吃饭的样子，却没有人吱声。

门帘一掀，跑堂的伙计进了房间，规矩地站在桌子旁说道：“东家，铁叔已经安排了房间，福来顺天字一号二号房，另外，二掌柜子吩咐了，现在就给这屋上菜，并请您去掌柜子房间，大掌柜子给您接风洗尘……”

午宴非常丰盛，成叔和后厨的掌勺刘师傅作陪，边吃边聊，气氛很是融洽；柳如寄换了一身当时时尚的中国风味的服装，时不时银铃般的笑声，让午宴更显轻松愉快。

吃完饭，董库拿着准备好的一摞纸，跟已经在雅间吃完饭的刘忠等人一起去了对过的住处，独自一人，在房间里闷头写了起来……

一下午的时间，董库将所有的细节，包括装修风格，菜品的选料，都一一的备注，详细的解说，记在了纸上。

这些，都是他在学习庞杂知识的时候顺便记住的。他没有多少机会去大饭店品尝这些菜肴，就查看资料来满足一下精神上的需求，来填补口福上的缺憾，却不成想，这时候却用上了。

正一张张的翻看，看看有什么遗漏呢，虎子突然敲门说道：“掌柜子，铁爷来了。”

哦？这个点还不到饭口，铁叔来干嘛？

放下手里的纸张，董库说道：“快请铁叔进来。”说着，人已经离桌而起，迎向了门口。

“东家，掌柜子请您过去。”铁叔冷冰冰的说道。

“好。我正好要过去呢。”

董库也没在意，回身拿起那摞纸就率先向门外走去。

刚刚一探头，眼角的余光看到左侧一个头颅快速的缩回了房内，他心里一动，停下脚步，将虎子身上背着的包裹摘下说道：“也快到饭口了，招呼大忠子他们也去吃饭吧，这个