Song Sanniang's Journey to Wealth

Chapter 209 End of the Game

Not long after the two of them went downstairs, the food delivery boat came up and put the food on the table. Everyone sat down in turn.

Jin Qishan said loudly, "Everyone, please try the delicacies of Hangzhou and compare them with those of Xiantao Prefecture."

Song Sanniang suddenly remembered that everyone used to joke that Hangzhou had no good food, and the best food was KFC and McDonald's.

She couldn't help wanting to laugh, but she tried hard to hold it back, and then listened to the steward's introduction of today's dishes.

Of course, the first one is the famous West Lake dish, West Lake Vinegar Fish. It is said to be very unpalatable, so Song Sanniang decided to try it to see how unpalatable it is to be a famous dish.

Then there are Longjing shrimp, Longjing tea chicken, Dongpo pork, Hangzhou three fresh, Qiandao Lake fish head, shrimp and eel noodles, West Lake water shield soup, West Lake smoked fish, shepherd's purse and mushroom soup,

There are also three desserts: West Lake sugared lotus root, West Lake lotus root powder, and Longjing tea pastry.

Song Sanniang first tasted the taste of vinegar fish. West Lake vinegar fish is made by cooking grass carp with black vinegar, sugar and other seasonings.

After taking a bite, she seemed to understand why this dish was so disliked, because this dish seemed to be similar to the sweet and sour fish, both of which tasted sweet and sour.

But the vinegar fish is served with black vinegar, which has a strong taste, and the fish itself has a fishy smell.

The thick black vinegar sauce mixed with the fish meat further stimulates the fishy smell of the fish meat.

These two flavors are not the best combination, and people who eat it for the first time will find it difficult to get used to it, as it tastes sour and fishy.

At the dinner table, everyone had a hard-to-describe look on their faces after eating West Lake Vinegar Fish. After all, these people are used to eating delicious food on a daily basis.

He Xiaodi shouted directly, "This fish is so disgusting." This caused everyone to start talking about it, but everyone soon continued to taste other dishes.

After dinner, the boat took everyone around the ten scenic spots of West Lake before we headed to the next destination.

The Leifeng Pagoda of later generations that Song Sanniang saw at this time was just an ordinary pagoda, completely different from its appearance in later generations.

The next place you have to go is Lingyin Temple. If you want to go to Lingyin Temple, you have to mention Feilai Peak.

Feilai Peak is opposite to Lingyin Temple. It is just a small peak, but its body is made of limestone. It has been eroded by groundwater for a long time, forming many fantastic caves, such as Huyuan Cave, Shexu Cave, etc.

The strange rocks in Feilai Peak, such as dragons, running elephants, and crouching tigers, make it an excellent place for Buddhist cave statues.

There are more than 340 Buddha statues on this small hill. With the introduction of the manager of the Jin family in Hangzhou, everyone experienced the atmosphere of the Buddhist kingdom. The Buddha statues of all sizes inside are breathtaking.

When we entered Lingyin Temple, the manager had already greeted the temple, and the abbot of the temple, Master Baoquan, received us.

He took everyone to visit the temple, and everyone kowtowed and burned incense before the various gods and Buddhas enshrined in the temple.

With a wave of his hand, Jin Qishan raised the money for the incense offerings for Lingyin Temple for the whole year.

The Lingyin Temple at that time was not as grand and magnificent as it is in later times, but it did not affect everyone's stay here for a night.

Everyone had a vegetarian meal here and listened to the monks chanting in the temple. They had another vegetarian meal the next day before leaving.

The next stop is Suzhou. The winter snow scene in Suzhou is as beautiful as a poem and a painting. The snowflakes blend with the misty rain in the south of the Yangtze River, forming a beautiful winter picture.

Snowflakes sprinkled on the ancient gardens, alleys, and stone bridges, contrasting with the blue bricks and black tiles, creating a graceful and beautiful look.

The steward of Suzhou Jin's family came to greet everyone with great fanfare. Charcoal stoves were placed on the carriages, so it was warm when we got inside. Everyone was not too tired, so they went to the Humble Administrator's Garden first.

At this time, the Humble Administrator's Garden had an owner, but the Jin family and the He family still had some face. The Jin family's housekeeper had already arranged everything, so everyone could just go in and visit.

As we walked along the corridors and paths, the pavilions, towers, rockeries and lake stones in the Humble Administrator's Garden were all covered with a layer of white, and snowflakes fluttered in this artificially created garden of ancient charm and elegance.

"The white snow thinks spring is coming too late, so it penetrates the trees in the courtyard and turns into flying flowers." These two lines of poetry are perfect to describe the beautiful scenery at this moment. The flowers, plants, trees, stones, doors, windows and buildings here all demonstrate the elegant Chinese aesthetics.

When people walk in such beautiful garden scenery, they feel like they have accidentally entered a painting.

After leaving the Humble Administrator's Garden, everyone tasted Suzhou's specialties under the arrangement of the steward, including Gusu braised duck, pickled pork with preserved vegetables, fried eel shreds, squirrel mandarin fish, Longjing shrimp in Hangzhou, Biluo shrimp in Suzhou,

There are also cherry meat, Wansan pig's trotters, honey-glazed hot square, three-piece duck, water shield and whitebait soup, rotten paste, and mother oil boat duck.

After tasting all these, everyone rushed to the next place, which was Hanshan Temple. A song that has been passed down through the ages, "Night Mooring at Maple Bridge", made Hanshan Temple famous.

"The moon is setting, crows are crying, the sky is full of frost, Jiang Feng is fishing and the fire is facing melancholy.

At Hanshan Temple outside Gusu City, the bell rang for the passenger ship at midnight. "

In fact, Hanshan Temple and Lingyin Temple are both experienced vicissitudes and the baptism of time. During the change of dynasties, they were destroyed by wars time and time again, and then rebuilt.

Hanshan Temple was once deserted, with no income, few incense sticks, and few monks, but now it is at its peak.

Jin Qishan is a Buddhist. He has traveled extensively since taking over the family business. His daughter-in-law and mother always burn incense and pray for him at home, praying for his safety and success.

He had indeed encountered many disasters but was able to turn them into good fortune, so he was not stingy with the money for incense offerings.

We also had a vegetarian meal at Hanshan Temple in the evening. The vegetarian meal here was better than that at Lingyin Temple.

The next day, we set off for Yangzhou, our last stop.

Hangzhou has West Lake, Yangzhou has Slender West Lake. If we compare West Lake and Slender West Lake, West Lake is the graceful and generous eldest lady, while Slender West Lake is the graceful and shy second lady.

Slender West Lake is like a long scroll painting, slowly unfolding, with winding blue waves and shady trees on both sides. It also has more pavilions and towers scattered around than West Lake.

The carved doors and windows of these buildings are very exquisite, revealing the elegance and refinement unique to the Jiangnan water towns.

If you come to Yangzhou and don’t eat Yangzhou fried rice, you have never been to Yangzhou. The golden rice is paired with ham, shrimp, eggs and other ingredients. The distinct rice grains have a very rich taste.

A bowl of Yangchun noodles, with chewy noodles, clear and fresh soup, sprinkled with chopped green onions and a little soy sauce, is light and delicious.

There are also three-diced buns, pork cubes, chicken cubes, and bamboo shoots. The buns have thin skin and large fillings, and are delicious and juicy.

There are also boiled dried shredded silk, four-happiness lotus root starch balls, braised silver carp head, braised lion head, Wensi tofu, Yangzhou salted duck, and thousand-layer oil cake.

Yangzhou’s specialties are mostly staple foods, and it feels like the goal is to fill everyone up.

After finishing our trip to three scenic spots in the south of the Yangtze River, our boat sailed to our final destination - Beijing.