When Yang Haiyan heard this, she was surprised that Lord Du had already arrived. To be honest, she was really surprised. Then she was a little nervous. Whether it was facing the hero or the heroine, or Wei Ting, she had never been nervous. The hero and the heroine were still young boys and girls at that time. To put it bluntly, she was not nervous at all, or she could be said to be indifferent to them. Of course, this indifference did not mean contempt, but meant that she, a 28-year-old aunt, would not be afraid of young people under 20 years old, and she knew the plot.
When facing Wei Ting and Manager Chi, she truly understood what power was like. However, this was different from facing Du Ke. This was an old fox who had been in power for half his life in the novel. Her little tricks were not enough in front of him.
So, how could Yang Haiyan not be nervous.
Speaking of which, besides being nervous, there is also a sense of anticipation. Du Ke is a celebrity to Yang Haiyan. Just like if she were to travel to the Song Dynasty and write a novel, she would be looking forward to seeing Bao Zheng. If she were to travel to the Tang Dynasty and write a novel, she would be looking forward to seeing Di Renjie.
Although Du Ke has different personalities from Bao Zheng and Di Renjie, they are similar to each other in terms of Qi State. In other words, Du Ke is closer to Di Renjie. Du Ke is an excellent politician and military strategist.
In this case, how can Yang Haiyan not be afraid and expectant
"I understand. I will make arrangements. You go and report to the general and ask him to rest assured." Yang Haiyan knew what Qin Fang meant, and specifically told her that Lord Du had not eaten yet, which meant that she should prepare the meal quickly.
Qin Fang's appreciation for Du Ke started in the military camp. In the military camp, they privately discussed the matter of the centurion. Du Ke proposed Wei Wu, and Qin Fang proposed Han Zhen. Qin Fang was also nervous at that time, fearing that Du Ke would not agree. But Du Ke did not, and listened to his analysis. At that time, Du Ke felt that this man was different from those high-ranking officials.
Later, he arrived in Huanshui County. Du Ke was the imperial envoy. Qin Fang accompanied Du Ke and watched him solve the problems of the common people. At that time, he believed that Du Ke was a good official.
Later, Du Ke's reply was full of earnest teachings and careful instructions. Qin Fang naturally felt Du Ke's intentions. As smart as Qin Fang was, his feelings towards Du Ke changed from a high-ranking official and a good official to the expectation of having a mentor and helpful friend.
What made Qin Fang happy the most was that Du Ke's letter mentioned the matter of accepting apprentices. In ancient times, teachers were like fathers, like reborn parents. Qin Fang was born in a poor family, and his grandparents and parents could give him little education and guidance, almost nothing. In his life when he was only 22 years old, and even in most of his life, the one who could guide him must be his future teacher, that is, Du Ke. Therefore, Qin Fang respected him very much, like a father.
Yang Haiyan knew about the relationship between Qin Fang and Du Ke, so she would treat Du Ke well. However, she was also curious and looking forward to Du Ke.
Nanny Lian said, "Now that Lord Du has arrived, we must entertain him well. Mr. Xiangjun, how should we entertain him?"
The assistant minister of the Ministry of War is of the third rank. He is not a minister, but of the second rank.
Although Yang Haiyan is also a county lord of the third rank, this third rank is completely different from Du Ke's third rank. One is a title, which sounds nice, and the other is real power.
Let alone comparing with Yang Haiyan, even if they were both third-rank officials in Beijing, there were still differences. Even if they were both third-rank assistant ministers in the six ministries, there were still differences.
Now that the emperor has just ascended the throne, all kinds of power are being consolidated. Among the six ministries, the Ministry of War is the most important.
Yang Haiyan said, "Madam, don't be nervous. Lord Du came from the capital and is from a noble family. What good things has he not seen? What grand banquets has he not participated in? I'm afraid there is nothing in the palace that he doesn't know. So, we can just be calm."
Nanny Lian was also extremely worried, but she was relieved when she heard that Yang Haiyan knew what was going on. "Does the county lord have a plan?"
Yang Haiyan smiled and shook her head: "How can I have any rules? I think that instead of spending some time on this and that, we might as well do something practical. I dare not guess what Lord Du is thinking, but I think Lord Du must want to see the real us."
Nanny Lian didn't have any rules either, so she could only say, "Listen to the township master."
Yang Haiyan said: "Mammy, let's go to the small kitchen. Lord Du will come soon. No matter how sumptuous the meal is, it is too late to prepare it. Let's stew an egg custard to warm Lord Du's stomach, and then serve some cold noodles. By the way, go and ask Niu Da how many good watermelons he can pick out. It doesn't matter if they are half-ripe. Let him pick out a few." Half-ripe watermelons can be squeezed into juice, or cut into pieces and added with some sugar, which will also taste good.
Nanny Lian said, "I will go right away."
Yang Haiyan thought for a moment and said, "You can also tell grandpa and grandma, and also tell the children at home, so that the children will not offend Lord Du and Lord Shen who came with them."
Aunt Lian: "Yes, I understand."
Yang Haiyan asked again: "Is there enough ice in the ice storage?"
Aunt Lian: "There are plenty, and we restock them every day."
When Yang Haiyan thought of ice and the chilled green bean soup inside, she thought of milk shaved ice, which tasted amazing. Unfortunately, milk shaved ice is not easy to make. Whether it is stone mill or manual labor, it can't produce the taste of modern milk shaved ice.
Lian Ma went to the orchard to look for Niu Da, and Yang Haiyan began to make egg custard. The egg custard was cooked very quickly, in less than a quarter of an hour. The egg custard was cooked and nestled in the pot, but Lian Ma had not returned yet. When Yang Haiyan went to check, there was a noise outside, and Aunt Yu said at the door: "My lord, the general has brought Lord Du to the outer courtyard and sent someone to inform us."
Upon hearing this, Yang Haiyan said hurriedly, "I understand. I'll change my clothes and you go to the orchard to call Aunt Lian."
Aunt Yu: “Yes…”
At the same time, Nanny Lian spoke up: "My Lord, I am back. Niu Xuan selected a few watermelons and brought them with him."
When Yang Haiyan heard this, she didn't bother to change her clothes. She looked at the watermelons that Niu Da had picked and put them in a small basket. There were eight in total. Yang Haiyan said, "Pick four, wash them, and put them in the fridge. By the way, Aunt Lian, follow me to the outer courtyard."
Aunt Lian: “Yes.”
Yang Haiyan changed her clothes, washed her face, and then went to the outer courtyard with Nanny Lian.
External Courtyard
Qin Fang, Du Ke and Shen Lixian were resting in the hall. They were not only hungry but also tired after all the trip. Fortunately, there was ice in the hall to cool down, so they could take a break. If it was normal, there would be no one in the hall, so where would they get ice? Now that saltpeter ice making has been developed, and saltpeter can be reused, Yang Haiyan doesn't feel bad about using ice.
Du Ke said: "This was once the Prince of Liang's Palace, but now, after two decades, it really has lost its luxury and glory." Apart from the size visible to the naked eye, who can tell that this was once a prince's palace
Shen Lixian said, "It's also because General Qin is thrifty that it doesn't cost much money to renovate the general's mansion." Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the general's mansion had hardly ever been renovated. Probably they just removed some things that didn't fit in with the general's mansion, and fixed the leaks.
Qin Fang said, "Lord Shen, you are too kind. This general's mansion is large and spacious. I have never lived in such a nice place in my life. This mansion is large, and it is very troublesome to repair it. However, many unused courtyards have been demolished and converted into fruit and vegetable gardens by my wife. In the past, the vegetables eaten in the mansion were all picked from the vegetable garden, which is very convenient. My wife also said that it is a good thing that this mansion is large, otherwise it would not be enough for her to renovate it."
Du Ke laughed out loud and said, "The country gentleman is a wonderful person."
Shen Lixian was also curious about her. From an ordinary maid, Yang Haiyan became the general's wife and then a local lady. Her life was full of miracles.
"Thank you for your compliment. I'm not worthy of it, but I've been lazy in the past. I'm grateful that my husband doesn't mind." Yang Haiyan said as she walked in.
In the middle of summer, the woman in a yellow skirt looked very young. Of course, she was only eighteen years old, and she was young. For example, the ladies or women with titles in the capital, her dress was relatively clean and refreshing, and she looked lively.
Yang Haiyan came in and bowed as a junior to the middle-aged man in the first place: "Qin Yang Haiyan greets you, sir." As they were both genuine officials, and Du Ke was Qin Fang's teacher, although the apprenticeship ceremony had not yet taken place, it was most appropriate for Yang Haiyan to bow as a junior.
When Du Ke first met Yang Haiyan, she was different from the smart woman he had imagined. Although this Bingyun Township Lady was smart, her eyes were clear and calm, and she looked at him with curiosity and nervousness, not at all like someone who advocated the military camp land policy and the saltpeter ice making method. Du Ke originally thought that a woman who could advocate the military camp land policy and discover the saltpeter ice making method was a smart woman, just like the generous women he had seen in the past.
But the young woman in front of him was not like that. She was just like... an ordinary girl. No wonder a man like Qin Fang often talked about her. Speaking of which, this girl had a kind of agility.
Du Ke said: "We are all family, no need to be polite."
Yang Haiyan smiled and stood up: "Thank you, sir." Then Yang Haiyan gave Shen Lixian a polite lady's greeting, "Hello, Mr. Shen."
Shen Lixian raised his eyebrows: "Does the Lord recognize me?" This question was a bit tentative. Logically speaking, this was his first time here, and the Lord of Bingyun had never seen him. So this question seemed to be asking if Lord Du had informed him of something.
Yang Haiyan smiled and said, "I used to be a maid serving Mingzhu in the Yang family. When I was with Miss Yang, I met Lord Shen once." It didn't matter whether this was said or not, because there was really nothing wrong with what Yang Haiyan said.
Shen Lixian said: "I see."
Qin Fang said, "Yan Yan, Teacher and Master Shen have been waiting for me at the foot of the Beast Mountain for two hours. I haven't eaten yet. Do you have any food at home?"
Yang Haiyan said, "When my husband sent someone to tell us, we started preparing, and now it's ready. However, today is an auspicious day, so I guess the teacher and Lord Shen chose today to come." As she spoke, she said to the outside, "Come on, bring in the food."
Nanny Lian came in with lunch boxes.
Du Ke was quite curious and asked, "Why is it an auspicious day when Li Xian and I arrive?" Who doesn't like to hear good words? Especially when being praised by a clever little girl, just like being praised by his own daughter, Du Ke felt a bit like a loving father.
Not to mention Du Ke, even Shen Lixian was curious.
Yang Haiyan said: "Because in half an hour, I found a crop that is a vegetable and can also be eaten as fruit. Moreover, it only takes two months from sowing to harvesting this crop, and it is very easy to grow."
When Du Ke heard this, he was immediately happy: "Is it really such a coincidence? This is indeed a happy event."
Yang Haiyan said: "I have prepared the food, please teacher and Mr. Shen to taste it."
Nanny Lian and the servants took out the steamed eggs and cold noodles from the lunch boxes.
Yang Haiyan said, "I was in a hurry, so I only made two kinds of food. Please forgive me, teacher and Lord Shen. The steamed egg has already cooled down, so you can let it simmer for a while. The one on the plate is cold noodles made with sweet potato flour. The green shredded vegetables added to the cold noodles are the crops that can be used as vegetables and fruits, called cucumbers."
The steamed egg is fragrant and topped with shrimp, which makes people's appetites whet. Because the steamed egg has cooled down a lot, it is not as hot as when it comes out of the pot, so eating it with cold noodles will not cause stomach upset due to the cold or hot. Although it is a common home-cooked food and a very common steamed egg, it is indeed more appetizing than big fish and meat. Who said that this summer is hot, and people's appetites are also much worse.
Du Ke took a mouthful of egg custard, and the warm taste went from his mouth to his stomach. Moreover, this egg custard was not only delicious, but also bright in color, and had a soft and elastic texture. He had eaten steamed eggs before, but the ones he usually ate at home were not as good-looking as the one in front of him, no matter in color, aroma or taste.
Du Ke ate a few mouthfuls of egg custard, and then picked up his chopsticks to eat the cold noodles. After a mouthful of cold noodles entered his mouth, Du Ke opened his eyes wide and said, "This tastes special and makes people very hungry." More importantly, it is cool and makes people feel comfortable all over.
Shen Lixian agreed: "It's sour, is there vinegar?"
Yang Haiyan said: "Master Shen is right, vinegar was indeed added. In summer, no one has an appetite, and acetic acid can stimulate the appetite."
Shen Lixian: "You must be very knowledgeable about food. General Qin is so lucky."
The blessed General Qin said sourly at this time: "My wife only has eyes for the guests now, and has forgotten me." He also wanted to eat.
Everyone couldn't help laughing when they heard this. General Qin was the only one in the court who took it for granted that he could even be jealous.
When Yang Haiyan heard this, she really forgot about Qin Fang, and immediately said, "Husband, please wait a moment. I will go prepare it for you." After saying that, she bowed to Du Ke and Shen Lixian, and withdrew.
After Yang Haiyan left, Du Ke praised: "My student is indeed lucky to have married a good wife."
Shen Lixian smiled, but didn't agree. He was different from Du Ke. Du Ke was an elder, so there was nothing wrong with praising the county lord. However, he was of the same generation as Qin Fang, so it was inappropriate for him to praise a married woman.
Qin Fang actually likes people praising his wife, and he is happier than when people praise him. When people praise him, he will be a little modest, but when people praise his wife, he is not modest at all. So Qin Fang said, "My wife is very good."
Yang Haiyan returned to the inner courtyard and asked Qin Fang to bring a bowl of cold noodles over, but without the steamed egg. Then she asked Nanny Lian to bring the iced watermelon.
Yang Haiyan cut a watermelon first, and only one-third of the whole watermelon was red. She dug out the red side, and then cut a second one. The second one was the same, one-third was also red, but the third one was better, it was all red.
Yang Haiyan crushed the flesh of the watermelon and squeezed out a bowl of watermelon juice, which she then had delivered.
At this moment, everyone in the hall had finished their cold noodles. In fact, for Du Ke and Shen Lixian, who had been hungry for so long, a bowl of egg custard and a bowl of cold noodles were not enough to fill their stomachs, not to mention that the man had a big appetite.
So they were really shocked when they saw the servant coming up with a bowl of red tea.
Du Ke asked curiously, "What kind of tea is this?"
Qin Fang's eyes lit up when he saw the watermelon juice: "Is the watermelon ripe?"
The servant said, "Not yet. The Lord prepared a watermelon to make this juice."
Qin Fang nodded, sent someone down, and then explained to Du Ke and Shen Lixian: "This is watermelon juice. Watermelon is a kind of fruit. Last year when I was at the border, my wife bought a lot of fruit seeds from traveling merchants, and watermelon is one of them. This watermelon tastes really good, and you will know it after you try it, Teacher and Lord Shen."
Du Ke and Shen Lixian looked at the slightly cool red water in the bowl. Juice? They had never drunk this kind of thing. They knew about fruits, but no one in the capital city crushed fruits to make juice. They cut fruits into pieces and ate them.
However, after tasting it, they realized that this fruit called watermelon was indeed delicious. Suddenly, the two looked at Qin Fang with envy. Compared with Qin Fang's life, their previous life was not a life at all. It was mainly because the country gentleman was too good at making food.
After drinking the watermelon juice, Qin Fang took them to rest. After traveling for several days, everyone could see the fatigue on their faces.
Shen Lixian's yard was the one that Chief Steward Chi had stayed in that day, and Du Ke's yard was on the other side. Because Wei Ting was still in Yunxiang County, no one was arranged to live in the yard that had hosted Wei Ting that day, in case Wei Ting came and stayed overnight.
Qin Fang first sent Shen Lixian to the courtyard, and then sent Du Ke. "Teacher, you can rest here first, and we will have a good reunion in the evening."
Du Ke nodded: "Well, you go and get busy."
Qin Fang retreated respectfully.
Du Ke watched Qin Fang retreat, and did not turn back to rest immediately. He took a bath first, and sat in the bathtub, thinking about what to do after arriving in Yunxiang County.
But the one who thought the most was Yang Haiyan. Thinking back carefully, from the military camp fields, saltpeter ice making, to potato flour and sweet potato flour, and now to watermelon, this girl is not as simple as she seems.
His old father said that Qin Fang was a lucky man. But in Du Ke's opinion, perhaps the truly lucky person was the local gentleman.
Watermelon, cucumber.
Du Ke knew a little about the Hu tribe. He had heard of a small tribe that migrated during the wanderings in the past, but it was not worth his attention. Today, when he heard the local gentleman talking about the Hu tribe and Hugua, Du Ke suddenly had an idea. Many small tribes are easily ignored because they are not even a small force. But in fact, these small tribes also have all kinds of precious things.
For example, the cucumber of the Hu people. This crop is easy to grow and takes a short time to grow. Isn’t it a treasure for the common people
Look at the watermelon that the local gentleman brought out today. The seeds were bought from the traveling merchants. The fruit produced by this kind of fruit is indeed not available in Qi State. Even the emperor did not miss it. Du Ke suddenly had an idea. If someone could travel to various small tribes and record the precious things in these small tribes and bring them back to Qi State, would it be important for the development of Qi State
If Yang Haiyan knew Du Ke's idea, she would be even more surprised, because this is similar to Zhang Qian's mission to the Western Regions and Zheng He's voyage to the West.
Du Ke was a strict self-disciplined person. He would never sleep if he had something on his mind. So he asked his attendants to prepare their belongings and write down his thoughts about watermelons and cucumbers. After writing them down, he began to write memorials to the emperor.
Qin Fang returned to the inner courtyard. Before he could speak, Aunt Yu said, "General, the lady is in the kitchen."
Qin Fang nodded and went to the kitchen again.
There were quite a few people in the big kitchen, and today Kun Zhang and others helped Yang Haiyan. It must be said that Yang Haiyan had never been so attentive to the food prepared by Wei Ting and Manager Chi, and she had entrusted it to the big kitchen to prepare. Today, when Du Ke came, she spent a lot of time preparing it.
"Greetings, General." Seeing Qin Fang coming, everyone hurriedly saluted.
Yang Haiyan turned around and asked: "Why are you here? Aren't you going to accompany Master Du?"
Qin Fang said, "I'll take the teacher back to the courtyard to rest. Is there anything I can help you with?"
Yang Haiyan said: "No, I will prepare the dinner myself. You are tired too. It is not dinner time yet. Go and have a rest first."
Qin Fang said, "Not tired." He was in good shape, running back and forth in the Beast Mountain every day. His physical fitness was incomparable to that of ordinary people, so how could he be tired? "By the way, Yanyan, I have invited Lord Wei to come to my house tomorrow night."
It means that we have to prepare a dinner party tomorrow.
Yang Haiyan said, "Okay, I understand. Then let's prepare a family dinner tonight. No need to spend a lot of money."
Qin Fang said, "Okay. This year's watermelons are ripe earlier than last year. Last year they were ripe in August." He remembered the taste of watermelons very well, especially when he came back from harvesting, he could eat half of one, scooping it up with a spoon, which was very interesting.
Yang Haiyan said, "No, the watermelons are not ripe yet this year. Only one out of four is ripe. Even if they are ripe, they are not sweet enough. It will take another half a month. But Niu Da said that the land here is much more fertile than that at the border, and the crops mature faster than at the border."
Qin Fang didn't understand this. "Niu Da is still amazing."
Yang Haiyan smiled and didn't answer. She wouldn't praise other men in front of Qin Fang. "Then let's go pick up grandpa, grandma, dad and mom for dinner tonight, and let them meet Lord Du. When Lord Wei comes tomorrow, dad and mom won't have to sit at the table. I'm afraid they won't be used to it."
Qin Fang said: "Okay, you are still thoughtful."