Green poplars and grasses, light pistils obliquely red, it is another year of fragrant days.
After walking north for a while, a few days before the car arrived in Taoxi, Sui Sui suddenly felt a cold, and the little girl was full of yang energy, and within a few days, she turned into a fever and started coughing. After passing Taoxi, there are endless mountains and valleys ahead. It will be a long time since they can't find a decent hotel, let alone medicine. Get well and move on.
Taoxi belongs to Wuling Mansion. The reason why it is called Taoxi is because there is a hill that is not very high nearby. It is strange to say that there is a mountain spring from this hill, and the spring water merges into a clear stream and flows continuously. Perhaps the clear and sweet water of the stream attracted the heart of the Peach Blossom Fairy, who came down to live here for a long time.
Therefore, every spring, the town is covered with white stamens and pink peaches, and there are also some flowers such as winter jasmine, daphne, and wintersweet, which are red, yellow, pink and green. Before the weather completely warms up, Taoxi town is already colorful, with black tiles and white walls. Trapped among hundreds of flowers, it is like being in a sea of flowers when looking down from a high place, which can be called one of the wonders of Wuling.
Spring begins every year, and countless literati and elegant guests gather here to enjoy the scenery and listen to poems during spring outings.
Yu Jinnian and his party were travel-laden, they searched for three or two inns, they were all full, and felt worried for a while, but the third son of the Min family was diligent in traveling, and had a lot of strange contacts. When he visited this place in his early years, he met A confidant who is a fan, and now this confidant also opened a store in this Taoxi Town, so they settled down.
The inn where I stayed was named Zhuhuage, and it was very elegant. The furnishings in the store were quite plain, but not shabby. On the table were light glazed goose-neck bottles with a single branch of winter jasmine or snow plum, and the tea in the hall was fragrant. Curly and fragrant, it just caters to the hypocritical preferences of those poets and scholars.
The proprietress is from the Su family of Liyang. She is called Qing'er in two characters. When Yu Jinnian and others unloaded their boxes and entered the door, the lady proprietress was huddling among many literati, and she praised in a low voice with a smile on her face. He refused, and immediately ordered the little girl beside him to hang up.
Several people came in, Su Qing'er opened several upper rooms, and ordered someone to tidy up a common bunk for the accompanying attendants to live in, then took Min Mao to drink and laugh for a while.
After settling down, it was noon, Sui Sui missed her mother, had a poor appetite, and grew up in Xin'an County, and was not used to the taste of Taoxi. After taking a few mouthfuls, he lost interest, and became angry again, saying that he refused to take medicine, Yu Jinnian couldn't do it, so he had to let her sleep deeply all afternoon.
Hearing Sui Sui coughing from time to time, with the sound of phlegm rumbling in his throat, Yu Jinnian was also worried, and always felt that this was not the way to go, so at night, he prepared to cook some delicious meals by himself.
Fortunately, Su Qing'er admired Min Mao very much, and even the group of them were treated as honored guests. Yu Jinnian asked to borrow the kitchen and ingredients, but she didn't stop her, but just as Yu Jinnian picked up the kitchen knife, she suddenly separated Putting on his sleeves, he squeezed Yu Jinnian's hand ambiguously, and said in a low voice, "It's just that this kitchen stove can't be used in vain, the young master has to pay me something."
Yu Jinnian immediately retracted his hands into his cuffs and looked at her in horror.
Su Qing'er leaned against the door frame to cover her mouth and smiled: "Look at the young master is also a scholar, why don't you leave a calligraphy treasure with me?"
It turned out that she was begging for ink treasures, just now when she entered the door, she saw her collecting calligraphy and paintings everywhere, I don't know if she really loves this thing, or is she trying to earn an elegant reputation for the inn? But no matter what, Yu Jinnian said that he was really dirty-minded and misunderstood others, but when he mentioned calligraphy, he couldn't help but blushed, and said in shame: "I'm sorry, lady boss, I actually... don't know a lot of big characters, The handwriting is more like a dog crawling, I really can't get it out."
Su Qing'er saw that he was tender and white, and he was not a scholar, so she was surprised for a while, but she was not the kind of messy person, seeing that Yu Jinnian didn't want it, she didn't force it, and then she watched him play with the ingredients. Very soon, the kitchen knife danced like flowers in his hand, so he really thought that he was just a cook who was appreciated by the master, so he didn't mention writing, just stood aside and watched him cook, and was not in a hurry to go out. .
It was the beginning of spring, and many wild spring amaranths appeared in the fields. Yu Jinnian saw many of them in the mountains and forests on both sides during the journey, but he didn't expect that there was a basket full of them in the back kitchen of Zhuhua Pavilion. It seemed that someone who was good at it People of the Tao specially planed this wild vegetable. Although amaranth can be picked in spring and autumn, only spring amaranth is the most fresh and refreshing. When picking the young shoots on the vegetable, make it into a pot, stir-fry and cook, it is very fragrant.
Yu Jinnian directly took a handful of spring amaranth, cut it into sections, blanched it in hot water and put it on a plate, then made a sauce with clear soy sauce, minced garlic, and small ground sesame oil, and poured it on the cooked spring amaranth , and finally sprinkle with a pinch of toasted white sesame seeds.
This is a simple and refreshing spring amaranth cold salad that can clear away heat and detoxify.
When the spring amaranth was finished, he took the fritillary fritillary that used to be used as medicine for Suisui, boiled water in Choshi, and then used sweet almonds and glutinous rice to grind the pulp. Grinding the pulp is a slow job. If you want a smooth taste, you need to be more detailed.
Su Qing'er saw that he was tossing around for a long time and didn't think it was troublesome. Suddenly, she had an idea, and hurriedly took a bag of things and put it in front of Yu Jinnian, and deliberately made things difficult for him: "I have a bag of fruits here, which are very sour. Is there anything you can do, sir?"
Yu Jinnian probed his head and saw that it was actually a bag of hawthorns. He asked curiously, "There are still Tang Dizi in this season?"
Su Qing'er said sadly: "The ones stored in the ice cellar were just taken out at the beginning of spring, and they were sent by an eccentric guest to his mother-in-law earlier. The guest likes to eat these things, but he is really tricky and doesn't eat hawthorn fruit. I don’t eat cakes, and I don’t eat fruit tea. It must be in its original form, neither sour nor too sweet. The most important thing is to look elegant... The guest will come in the next two days, which is amazing I'm really worried about killing Su Niang and me, I don't know if the young master has a way to do it?"
"It's not difficult." Yu Jinnian thought for a while, and readily agreed, but made another request, "That is, after this fruit is ready, Su Niang may decide to share a plate for my little girl to taste? She doesn't like to eat recently, and eating some of this can also appetize."
Su Qing'er said happily: "What's the matter, even if you don't mention it, I should give it to you, and the guests on the left and right don't care about these Tang Dizi."
The two thanked each other, and Su Niang went to prepare the ingredients Yu Jinnian would use: a can of osmanthus honey brewed in autumn, a bag of handmade brown sugar, hard fruits such as peanuts and walnuts left over from the first month, and glutinous rice Flour and Sesame.
When Su Niang came back, Yu Jinnian had already ground the almond rice milk, put it into the Choshi together with the Chuanbei water that had been cooked before, and put it aside to cool to dry, and then began to process the Tangdizi, making the Tangdizi Peel off the whole part of the dizi with the pedicle, then dig out the core with a small spoon, and discard it.
Because Su Niang said that although the guest liked to eat hawthorns, he didn't like sour hawthorns, so Yu Jinnian decided to steam the hawthorns that had been hollowed out. The water should not be too hot, otherwise the hawthorn will be soft and easy to crack, and will lose its firm taste. When the water temperature is 50% to 60%, the fruit is steamed, and when it is about to boil, take it out and drain it, so that the sour taste of the fruit will be reduced a little after heating.
At this time, Su Niang also followed his instructions, using hot sugar water melted with brown sugar and osmanthus honey to make the glutinous rice dough.
While steaming the dough, the two of them each crushed peanuts and walnuts with rolling pins, and mixed them with sesame seeds and sugar to make fillings.
Maybe it's because Yu Jinnian's appearance is too gentle and delicate, he really doesn't look like a cook with pots and knives. The little cooks who help cook in the kitchen turn their heads to look at them from time to time, sometimes whispering whispers to each other, and occasionally cover their heads. With a sweet smile on his lips, the heart of spring in the kitchen, which was already in full swing, started to germinate.
Su Qing'er cast a glance at them, reprimanded them to work hard, then turned to Yu Jinnian and said, "It's thanks to you that you can figure it out."
Yu Jinnian shook his head and said with a smile: "It's not what I thought, it's the experience of the predecessors. When I opened a restaurant in Xin'an County, I also made more troublesome dishes! This is nothing." Mentioning Xin'an County, Yu Jinnian again I can't help thinking of Erniang, thinking of the happy days of the past, and I can't help feeling dumbfounded when I think about it far away, and I feel numb.
Su Qing'er was very happy, and when he heard that he also opened a restaurant, he chatted with Yu Jinnian about how to cook and open a restaurant. Su Qing'er was talkative, and after chatting a lot, she felt that Yu Jinnian and Yu Jinnian were already friends, so she couldn't avoid asking who the people who were walking with him were. She only knew that Min Mao's surname was Min, he had a good status and was generous, but she didn't know what he was doing, not to mention the other two noble sons who seemed to be higher than Min Mao.
Yu Jinnian also kept an eye out, only saying that he was a son of an aristocratic family who came out to play in Beijing, and he didn't want to reveal to her if there were many.
Su Qing'er didn't ask why because of side-talking, so she didn't mention it because she was bored, and continued to ask Yu Jinnian for advice on cooking experience.
The two grabbed the steamed glutinous rice balls, wrapped them with walnut, peanut and sesame stuffing, kneaded them into small balls, and stuffed them in the hollowed out hawthorn shells. Just as he was busy, Ji Hong came to find him and saw him recovering from a serious illness and busy in the kitchen, he couldn't help sighing and said, "I know you're here, you're running around before your injury is fully healed, you really use the kitchen as your home." gone?"
Yu Jinnian smirked: "I have nothing to do when I'm free, and I won't be tired if I do something happy."
"Yuan Huanxi." Ji Hong looked at his hands curiously, "This is it?"
Originally there was the last process, pouring syrup, but Yu Jinnian thought that he might not like to eat such sweets, so he conveniently lifted the Tangdizi that had just been filled with glutinous rice balls to Ji Hong's face: "Well, try it, it's originally I made appetizers for Sui Sui, I don’t know if you like it or not.”
The little red fruit is delicate and cute, plump and round. Ji Hong took his fingers and bit half of it lightly, tasting the taste in his mouth—sweet and sour in the mouth, with a glutinous aftertaste. After his teeth broke through the soft glutinous rice layer, the tip of his tongue touched I encountered another kind of crispy fragrance, which really makes people have endless aftertaste.
Swallowing the sweet and sour taste, Ji Hong said with satisfaction: "Just this name is enough to make people happy."
Yu Jinnian ate half of the remaining ones, then licked his fingers that were covered with glutinous rice sweet stuffing, and thought about it: "If you like it, pick a few and go back to eat, but you have a poor spleen and stomach, so you shouldn't eat more, just get your mouth full." .”
This place is not the back kitchen of my own bowl of noodle restaurant. The two of them are watched as they come and go, not to mention the group of fifteen or sixteen-year-old little chefs. How have they ever seen Ji Hong so handsome as a fairy? Compared with Ji Hong, Yu Jinnian is not good enough. The little kitchen ladies are all in the spring, staring at Ji Hong, so as not to burn the pot in their hands dry.
"Okay." Ji Hong only had eyes for the boy licking his fingers, and he naturally listened to whatever he had to say. But Yu Jinnian reacted first, turned his face in an instant, and pushed Mr. Ji who was in the way out of the kitchen: "You go back and wait, I will cook two dishes, let's go back to the room to eat."
"You don't need to make troublesome dishes, come back soon." Taking advantage of other people not paying attention, Ji Hong stole a scent on his forehead, pinched Yu Jinnian's fingers, and then went upstairs reluctantly.
As soon as he left, the little cooks were all disappointed, and the spoons banged on the pot, as if venting their anger.
Su Qing'er scolded them with a half-anger and half-smile, "Little wave hoofs", and said: "Hurry up and work hard, you will let the pot go wrong!"
A group of people laughed and laughed for a while, Yu Jinnian weighed his feet until he saw Ji Hong's back disappear behind the door, then touched his forehead that had been kissed by him, turned back to the kitchen, Su Qing'er smiled and said: "Your master treats you very well. "
Yu Jinnian was stunned for a moment before he realized who the master she was talking about was, but he was too lazy to explain his relationship with Ji Hong, so he just nodded casually to fool him: "Yes, yes."
Su Qing'er also felt that there was some difference between the two of them, but she couldn't tell, so she had no choice but to let it go, only thinking that they were masters and servants, and didn't think too much about it.
After helping Su Niang prepare Yuan Huanxi, Yu Jinnian picked out several ingredients by himself. Because it is spring, when all things begin to grow and Yang Qi rises, there is a saying that "taste should reduce acidity and increase sweetness to nourish temper", and food should support Yang Qi.
There was lettuce at this time, so Yu Jinnian picked a piece of tender lettuce, peeled it and shredded it, added a spoonful each of sesame oil, sugar, salt, and vinegar, then sautéed the chili peppers with sesame oil, and when the spicy oil was completely cooled, poured it on the shredded lettuce. The sweet and spicy shredded lettuce is the most refreshing. Yu Jinnian thought about the combination of meat and vegetables, so he quickly fried a dish of shredded pork with celery, so that he could eat it with pancakes.
Although he has been traveling day and night recently, once he entered the kitchen, Yu Jinnian seemed to have forgotten the exhaustion of these days. Although the pots and pans could not speak, they never bothered him. The kitchen is more successful than making people busy. It gave him a quiet place to dismiss his troubles. After preparing some dishes, when I looked up again, it was already late, and a dark blue was gradually painted outside the window.
He came out with Chuanbei almond dew and cold spring amaranth prepared for Sui Sui, and when he came out, hexagonal gauze lanterns had already been lit in Zhuhua Pavilion, on which were painted pictures of ladies, smiling with fans or bowed funny cat.
Seeing the gauze lantern, Yu Jinnian suddenly called out, "Little Ding Dong!"
When he got out of the car just now, he was afraid that the cat would walk away, so he locked Tinker Bell in a small air-permeable box. Now that he was busy in the back kitchen, he completely forgot about it. The cat has been locked in the box all afternoon, and I don't know how to hate him! Thinking of this, Yu Jinnian hurriedly returned to the kitchen, and softly asked the little cooks for some dried fish and minced meat, and some rice to make cat rice, so that he could go back to appease Ding Dong.
Sui Sui's rice, Ji Hong's rice and Mao'er's rice, he couldn't carry so many portions by himself, so he had to come over and over again.
But I don't know what kind of temper Sui Sui is playing. Yu Jinnian entered the door. She was sitting by the bed with Qing Huan eating sweet tea. When she saw him coming in, she turned her head and fell down inside. Qing Huan tried her best but did not Coaxed well, so he frowned helplessly at Yu Jinnian. He himself really didn't understand the "daughter's heart". At this moment, he had a feeling that the old father was rejected by his daughter. He was very wronged, but he had no choice but to put the food on the table and told her to take care of it. eat, then quit.
He walked out of the room, but didn't leave. After observing through the crack of the door for a while, seeing that Sui Sui was finally willing to get up to eat under Qing Huan's persuasion, he was relieved.
The process is not important, as long as the result is right, he comforted himself.
Going back to pack Ji Hong and Ding Dong's meals in food boxes, it happened that the little cooks were cooking wolfberry tea, so he joined in the fun. In the evening, the Zhuhua Pavilion became lively, and the guests who stayed in the hotel came back one after another, gathered in the front hall to drink tea and poetry, and laugh and talk about the day's experience. Because they are all scribes who came from afar, with bookboys and maids beside them. Although they are young, they know the rules very well, which makes the front hall noisy and not chaotic, full of laughter.
Not long after, a luxuriously decorated carriage stopped leisurely in front of Zhuhua Pavilion, with a dozen solemn servants, the driver of the carriage carried a lantern, and went straight to the proprietress when he came in, Su Qing'er bowed his head and listened to him , hurriedly got up to greet him. All the people in the store didn't know who was coming, so they whispered among each other. There was that little maid who couldn't hold back, who was lying in front of the window and peeping secretly, but was reprimanded by the owner for "not understanding the rules".
Su Qing'er waited in front of the car, saying "Mr. Lu" softly.
The curtain of the car was lifted from the inside, and a tall and thin young man leaned out. He was not very handsome, but he exuded an arrogance and extravagance for no reason. His chin was slightly raised, but he was not overly arrogant. Dressed in an elegant style, he is full of talent. Mr. Lu got out of the car, turned around and stretched out his hand to pick up the other people in the car, and everyone saw two beautiful girls coming out of the car.
The one who came out first was younger, wearing a cherry-colored satin skirt, bright and charming, and as soon as he came out, Mr. Lu grabbed his wrist, and the two of them looked affectionately and looked at each other. The apricot-clothed woman who came out later did not have such kind treatment, the carriage was quite high, she seemed to have some foot injuries, she hesitated for a long time but did not dare to jump off, so she had to look left and right to see where the groom was.
On the contrary, the woman in cherry clothes at the front pulled her hand away from Mr. Lu, and trotted back to help her.
Although the apricot-clothed girl is not as bright as the former one, she has an elegant appearance and is dignified and generous. The two walked into the Zhuhua Pavilion arm in arm and kissed, leaving Mr. Lu aside.
Someone in the Zhuhua Pavilion recognized him and greeted him familiarly: "It's actually Yan Jia! I haven't seen him for many months, and Yan Jia's younger brother is even more handsome! I think these two are madams? Oh, they are so beautiful Yunyue... Brother Lu is blessed!" As he spoke, he glanced at Mr. Lu's shoulder, secretly coveting the two beauties behind him with their own charms.
Lu Yanjia returned to his senses and glanced at this person, chuckled in his heart, but respectfully said: "Brother Zhao, don't come here without any harm!"
The three of them took their seats one after another, Mr. Lu chose a place near the window, gently pushed open the window leaf with the bamboo fan in his hand, and he could see the colorful flowers in the distance, and the wind blowing from the window was also full of flowers fragrance, which made his heart feel relaxed and happy.
But it is also surprising, usually the noble sons of the high mansion are in the backyard, and it is rare for wives and concubines to live in harmony. This Lu Yanjia is a descendant of the side branch of the Lu family in Jingzhong. Although he doesn't have much contact with the direct line of the Jingzhong lineage, he is also the most orthodox nephew and niece among the side branch's nephews and nieces. The children and grandchildren are no different.
The head of the Lu family of this generation grew up outside of Beijing, and they missed the past, so they promoted Lu Yanjia, a distant nephew, very much. Lu Yanjia was romantic but not obscene, and he left many affairs in the Red Square and Green Pavilions in his early years, the most famous of which was his "Seven Strings of Love". It was added by others.
The reason is that Lu Yanjia went south to visit friends a few years ago. When he passed by a place, he heard the singing of Yaoqin and singing on the river. It was the Qixi Festival, but he heard the piano and songs very sad. match. Afterwards, Lu Yanjia came here every day, but the two of them were separated by a painted wall, neither of them saw each other, they only met each other with music, so for half a month, the singer in the boat never spoke.
Half a month later, it was time for Lu Yanjia to set off to return to his hometown. Before leaving, he came here to paint the boat as usual, and said through the painted wall: "You wait for me for ten days. After ten days, I will bring money to redeem you."
The singing girl knew in her heart that it was fine to say what a benefactor said, and not to take it to heart, but ten days later, Lu Yanjia really rushed to her, redeemed her body with real money, and hired her back as a concubine. After taking the money and tearing up the deed of sale, the singing girl carried Yaoqin and got into his carriage. So far, the two have really met each other for the first time.
The singing girl flying up the branch is the girl in cherry clothes in front of her, her name is Hanxiao.
Gossip spreads quickly, let alone this kind of romantic affair. Within a few days, the news of the singer's high marriage spread all over the streets and alleys. Some people even wrote an excerpt based on this, called "Yaoqin Resentment", and sang it so that all the prostitutes and singers in the entertainment hall caressed a seven-string Yaoqin, hoping for an infatuated son who would redeem their lives behind the curtain.
But the story is the story, and Lu Yanjia's embrace of the beauty also aroused the envy of many people. Everyone congratulated him on enjoying the blessing of E Huang Nuying, but secretly wished that his backyard would catch fire and make some jokes earlier. After all, the one already in his mansion can barely be called a lady of the family, who has been in the mansion for many years, how can he bear Lu Yanjian to accept a lowly singer
However, three or two years have passed, and the Lu family's backyard is actually calm, without any waves at all.
Today Lu Yanjia took his two wives out to pick spring, everyone had to observe carefully, it was really strange to see that the two beauties didn't compete with each other for their husband-favor-love, they just sat next to each other There was a place, pouring tea and water in a polite manner, without any appearance of jealousy. The waiter in the shop served some snacks, and the two of them were very humble, and they were really friendly.
Seeing this, everyone in Zhuhua Pavilion couldn't help but lament that Mr. Lu's ability to control his wife made the two beauties so compliant.
After sitting down and eating hot tea to warm up his body, Lu Yanjia waved his hand to order food, and then asked the waiter to tidy up the two upper rooms first, heat up the hot water needed for bathing, and go straight back after dinner later. Rest in the room, and go out to the city tomorrow to pick up the spring.
Because Lu Yanjia's orders were hard dishes that took a lot of cooking, the waiter nodded and said that he would have to wait for a while. After hearing this, Lu Yanjia's face turned slightly cold, and he tapped the tip of his fan impatiently on the table. Seeing this, Han Xiao hurriedly stood up, and said softly: "This dish will not be delicious until it is cooked, I will go to the back kitchen to have a look, and bring some delicious refreshments and fruits to appetize my husband and sister."
Lu Yanjia was in a bad mood, didn't say another word, walked lightly to the back kitchen with a smile on his face.
In the back kitchen, Yu Jinnian finally waited for the tea soup to boil. After scooping up a pot, he carried the food box and prepared to go back to the room. As soon as he stepped over the threshold, he ran into a person head-on. The other person was a woman with a slender figure. He staggered a few steps and fell to the ground. Yu Jinnian hurriedly put down the food box to help, but was swung away by the other side with a horrified expression. While dodging, her cuff slipped down, revealing a jade lotus-like arm.
Yu Jinnian said in surprise, "You hurt—"
Before he finished speaking, Han Xiao hurriedly covered his sleeves, just at the same time that Qing Huan came downstairs to ask for hot water for washing his face, seeing this scene, he thought something had happened, so he rushed over to help, helped the woman on the ground He apologized again and again, and after looking closely, he couldn't help being surprised: "...Hanxiao? Are you smiling?"
Yu Jinnian wondered: "You... know each other?"
With a smile on his head, he hid in the kitchen with an embarrassed expression, and soon came out with a plate of Yuan Huanxi poured with sugar sauce, seeing that the two of them hadn't left yet, he could only shake his head in a low voice and say, "You misidentified the person. "
Qing Huan argues: "How can you recognize—"
"Smile."
A stern voice sounded from behind the three of them, interrupting Qing Huan's words. Yu Jinnian turned his face back, and saw a young man in brocade clothes holding a bamboo fan, looking over with a slight smile on his face, but for some reason, Yu Jinnian always felt that this person was very strange, especially those eyes, hidden in his smile. An inescapable predator.
Lu Yanjia took Yuan Huanxi from Hanxiao's hand, and embraced her with a smile: "I've been away for a while, don't let my husband worry."
Listening to the lingering, Yu Jinnian couldn't help shivering.
It turns out that this person is the guest that Su Qing'er mentioned, who has a weird temper but likes to eat Tang Dizi