During the Northern Song Dynasty, Jiangning Mansion was a famous city in the south, and Fuchun Street was the most prosperous snack street in the city.

But on this day, the shopkeeper Liu Yide of the restaurant "Qingxin Pavilion" was frowning and sat at the gate and sighed. At this time, a man came out of the restaurant with a burden on his back and comforted himself: "Shopkeeper, think about it, everyone has almost left, and I have to go back to the countryside to serve my mother." Liu Yide muttered.

Back then, "Qingxin Pavilion" was known to everyone in the entire Jiangning Mansion, and braised meat was particularly famous, and the business was prosperous all year round. But today is not what it used to be. An earthquake two years ago caused the "Qingxin Pavilion" to spill a pot of secret old brine, and the taste of the dishes was not as good as before. Now the restaurant is depressed and neglected, which makes Liu Yide's heart like a knife.

Just as Liu Yide was upset, a voice sounded, "Shopkeeper, give me something to eat." Liu Yide looked up and saw that it was a young beggar, about eighteen or nineteen years old. Liu Yide looked at him carefully, and although he was down and out, he was neither humble nor arrogant. Liu Yide felt compassion and said, "Come in, I'll fry some vegetables and give you some steamed buns."

The little beggar staggered into the restaurant and sat down. After a while, the side dishes and steamed buns came. The little beggar was so hungry that he opened his mouth and ate quickly. The little beggar wiped the sweat from his head and the soup around his mouth, smacked his lips and said, "Shopkeeper, Xiaosheng has been helping the kitchen in the hotel since he was a child. If you are willing to hire me, just give me a straw shop."

Liu Yide waved his hand and sighed, "Young man, didn't you see that my restaurant's business is bleak? After half a month, the rent is due, and I have to close the door and leave." He glanced at the little beggar and said, "If you don't dislike it, all the helpers in the store have left, and there is a shortage of errands to deal with the sundries."

The little beggar stayed in the "Qingxin Pavilion" restaurant like this. Strange to say, the restaurant was about to close down, but the business was booming over the next ten days, and customers kept coming. It turned out that the brine soup prepared by the little beggar had a unique fragrance and a long aftertaste. With this brine, the cooked food was extremely fragrant, and the restaurant was full of diners who came every day.

This little beggar's real name is Baosheng, who escaped from other places and worked as a chef in a restaurant before. He told Liu Yide that this brine recipe was passed on to him by his uncle.

After a long time, Liu Yide asked about Baosheng's life experience, but Baosheng was always hesitant, secretive, and unwilling to talk more. Baosheng also said little, never picking up guests in the lobby to serve meals, and always wearing a bamboo hat when he went out, lowering his head and unwilling to contact strangers.

In a flash, more than a year has passed. That evening, it suddenly rained heavily, and there were very few guests in the restaurant. Suddenly, Liu Yide heard a rustling sound from the woodshed, and he thought: "The beggar ran to my house to take shelter from the rain? But why didn't he go into the lobby and run into the woodshed?

Liu Yide quietly touched the woodshed and took a look at the lantern. A familiar figure stood in front of him. "Baosheng, why are you not in the back kitchen and coming here?"

Baosheng was very flustered, he took off his coat and hesitated: "The shopkeeper's... nothing."

Liu Yide looked at Baosheng and felt that something was wrong. He said, "It's raining heavily. The guests are almost gone.

Soon, it was dark, and there were no more customers in the store, and a young man was cleaning up the tables and stools. At this time, a man came in from a distance, with a black beard on his face, a felt hat on his head, and a pair of leather boots on his feet. He hung a board axe on his hip, and held a simple knife in his hand. He lifted the felt hat on his spine, opened his chest, and sat in the middle of the store, shouting loudly, "Bring the wine to the uncle and serve the food!" Looking at the running hall, he was already frightened in his heart, and hurriedly replied, "Yes, yes, the little one will go and prepare." Liu Yide came out to see that this person was not kind, and he thought of Baosheng's abnormal behavior just now, and suddenly an idea popped up.

Liu Yide hurriedly greeted the guest with a smile: "Sir, what dishes do you want to eat?"

"Whatever." The man stared straight ahead, his eyes almost freezing cold.

"This is a bit... difficult to handle, right?The smile on Liu Yide's face froze.

"Whether it's good or not depends on the knife in my hand." The man snorted coldly.

"Of course, of course, wait a moment, I'll do it now."

Liu Yide hurriedly returned to the back kitchen. Seeing that Baosheng looked flustered, he stared at Baosheng and asked, "Baosheng, what's going on? You must be hiding something.

Who knew that Baosheng knelt on the ground with a "plop" and cried, "Big shopkeeper, save me!"

Liu Yide pondered: "It really has something to do with you. Tell me, what's going on?"

Baosheng raised his head and revealed the truth: "My uncle used to run a restaurant in Xijin Mansion, and I helped him with the chores. Later, the Liao army went south to the Central Plains, and we were kidnapped and plundered into the mansion of the king of Liao. Because my uncle was a good cook, we were placed in the mansion kitchen as chefs. Once, when I was serving food to the prince, I accidentally heard the prince and his subordinates plotting to usurp the throne outside the window. Later, after a banquet, I leaked my mouth after drinking, which was a good thing, and the prince would definitely not let me go. So I escaped from the mansion overnight and took refuge in the south. I slept rough all the way, begged all the way, and escaped here. I thought there would be no more danger, but who knew..."

Liu Yide asked, "Are you sure this person is the killer sent by the prince?"

Baosheng said one by one: "I told you before that when I was eight or nine years old, both my parents died, and I begged all the way from my hometown to Xijin Mansion to join my uncle. On the way, I met a young man who was also fleeing, and we helped each other all the way to my uncle's house. The young man was recommended by my uncle to work as a short-term worker in a rich family, and we have always been in contact. Later, this young man was also arrested by the Liao people like us. The young man was the big man today. He was forced to join the Imperial Guard to serve the prince, and became a murderer without blinking an eye. I just went out to buy wine, and I accidentally took off my hat for a while, and I happened to be watched by him who was drinking in the winery. At that time, people came and went in the winery, and it was inconvenient for him to start, but he followed him all the way without thinking!"

Liu Yide thought for a moment and suddenly patted his head. "Baosheng, so you and that young man were inseparable all the way to your uncle's house?"

Baosheng smiled bitterly, "Things are unpredictable!"

Liu Yide said confidently, "Baosheng, I will cook the dishes that this man wants to eat."

After a while, Liu Yide was ready and brought it to the man himself. He smiled and said, "Sir, the weather is cold, so I only made a bowl of hot soup and drank it to warm my body."

The man glanced at the soup, which was clear and watery. He frowned and was about to break out when he suddenly smelled a familiar fragrance. He suddenly looked down at the bowl of soup, which was mellow in color and had no delicacies in it, only a few pieces of winter melon. The man picked up the spoon with his right hand trembling and took a sip... The man's eyes gradually became a little wet! After a while, he ate a large bowl of winter melon soup.

"Shopkeeper, check!" The man put down his chopsticks and took a long time to recover.

Liu Yide smiled and said, "Sir, this soup does not cost money. I dare say more, this is just a little thought from my apprentice. Things are cheap, but the friendship is deep, he is just a tiny little person, he just wants to spend the rest of his life in peace, and I hope the strong man will show mercy."

The man hesitated for a while and said slowly, "What should I say and what should I not say, let him weigh it carefully!" After saying that, he picked up the knife, put on the felt hat, and strode out of the store.

Baosheng, who was on the side, sobbed: "Thanks to the big brother shopkeeper, it is really unexpected that my Baosheng couldld escape today. I will never forget your great kindness and virtue."

Liu Yide looked at the man's back, smiled slightly, and explained the reason.

In fact, as soon as Liu Yide heard that the guard and Baosheng had fled to his uncle's place together, he remembered that Baosheng had said that the best meal he had eaten for so many years was a bowl of winter melon soup made by his uncle when he first arrived at his uncle's house. Although it was only a few slices of winter melon, the soup was filled with his uncle's homemade brine soup, which was very fresh; more importantly, this bowl of soup allowed them to find their place in the suffering, so the memory was still fresh. After the killer developed, he tasted countless delicacies from the mountains and seas, but the past hardships were deeply imprinted in his heart. How could he have imagined that he would eat this winter melon soup again today? This scene reminded him of the benefactor who saved him back then. His cold heart melted, and he finally put down the butcher knife in his hand.

After Liu Yide finished speaking, he sighed: "The world is warm and cold, and people also have feelings!"