When the old man went to Jiang's Antique Soup, Jiang Yanyi happened to get the news that the young owner of the noodle shop was willing to meet with her to discuss the transfer of the noodle shop, so she took Yang Xiu out.
Chu Yangui learned that his sister had gone out to discuss business, and fearing that no one would be watching the accounts, he asked Chu Zhong to move him to the counter in the front shop, while Chu Zhong took over as a waiter in the hall on behalf of Yang Xiu.
The old man drove his ox cart out of Feng's house and stopped at the door of the store. He sat on the cart, with his hands in his sleeves, and shouted inside: "Is the boss here? The wine I ordered is here!"
Chu Yangui looked out and found that the driver was an old man with white hair and beard. He didn't know that Jiang Yanyi had bought wine, so he said, "Sister has gone out for something. Old man, please come into the store and sit down and warm yourself by the fire."
He turned around and told Chu Zhong to move all the wine jars on the ox cart to the yard, intending to wait for Jiang Yanyi to come back and inspect the goods before settling the payment for the wine.
After winter came, Jiang Yanyi hung a wind-proof bamboo curtain at the door of his shop. When he lifted the curtain and went inside, he saw charcoal braziers burning under every table, and the air was warm.
It was still early and there were not many customers in the store. After the old man entered the store, he felt the warmth blowing towards him and sighed with comfort.
He was dressed in rags, but the shop assistant did not look down on him. Instead, he offered him hot tea and invited him to warm himself by the big fire in the kitchen. The old man began to have a good impression of the shop.
He glanced at the layout of the store, and when he saw Feng Shuo's fu, he couldn't help but shake his head and laugh. His gaze lingered on the young man sitting at the counter for a few seconds, but when he saw the book in his hand, his expression suddenly became silent again.
What Chu Yangui held in his hand was the Six Strategies - Mu Zi's Notes.
In the early years, Wu Hou's son Mu Xuanqing had made great achievements in military strategy, and his annotations to the Six Strategies were also sought after by many strategists. After the Mu family was raided, all the major bookstores burned all the contemporary classics written by Mu Xuanqing for fear of getting into trouble. Even if there were a few left, they had to be hidden away secretly. After years of seclusion, this was the first time he saw someone studying the books left by his old friend.
The old man asked casually, "What book are you reading, young man?"
Chu Yangui saw that although the old man was old, his eyes were bright and his demeanor seemed extraordinary. He couldn't help but doubt the old man's identity.
Next to him was a bamboo basket filled with various poetry collections and contemporary essays, which could well conceal the banned books in his hands. Chu Yangui did not show any panic, and only said, "Just some idle books to kill time."
His leg doctor said that he had no hope of standing up in the future and his official career was over. Chu Yangui thought that if he wanted to stand out, he could only become someone else's staff member. The "Six Strategies" annotated by Mu Xuanqing in those days was regarded as a golden rule by all strategists.
Chu Yangui was spoiled by Madam Jiang in the past, and Minister Jiang rarely asked about his studies. He played cockfighting with a group of playboys in the academy, and had very little knowledge. Writing an article was almost a death sentence for him, and most of the time he asked the family's servant to write for him.
It was impossible for him to become successful overnight. It was very difficult for him to read this collection of notes on military books. However, he still forced himself to read it every day. If there was something he didn't understand, he would ask the old scholar, who could give him a literal explanation. Chu Zhong, Yang Xiu, Bing Shao and others had served in the army, and they could describe in a very vivid way some things that neither he nor the old scholar knew.
In this way, although this collection of military notes was boring, he was able to understand it slowly.
Seeing Chu Yangui's calm expression, the old man felt a little admiration for him. Although he no longer worked for anyone and was hiding in a corner selling wine, he still knew a lot about the news outside.
The Chu family left the capital, and the emperor was furious. Now the Chu family settled in Xizhou. The owner of the Gudonggeng is a young girl named Jiang. The boy looks like that girl, so the old man guessed Chu Yangui's identity almost instantly.
He asked, "During the battle of Huaixi, Marquis Huai'an fled in the middle of the battle. In order to buy time for the people of Huaixi to evacuate, the prince of Wuhou tied brooms to the tails of livestock and led two thousand personal soldiers to drive the livestock to meet the enemy. From a distance, the enemy army looked like an elite force. The dust behind them was full of dust, and it seemed that there were tens of thousands of horses. In the end, they retreated without fighting. Was this a brilliant plan?"
This was a battle that made Mu Xuan famous when he was young, and many military strategists used this strategy as an allusion.
Although Chu Yangui was uneducated before, the capital city is such a small place, how could he not have heard of the glorious military exploits of the young hero, the Prince of Wuhou.
When Mu Xuanqing was annotating this military book, he cited many wars in the current dynasty or previous dynasties as examples in some places, and the battle that the old man mentioned was also among them.
Chu Yangui didn't know why the old man suddenly asked these questions, but looking at the old man's old but sharp eyes, he somehow expressed his truest thoughts: "It is indeed ingenious, but I think it is a bit risky. If the enemy general is a bellicosity, this battle will definitely be lost."
The old man slowly lured him: "So what do you think should have been done in the battle situation at that time?"
Chu Yangui couldn't look away, as if he was captivated by the old man's eyes. "Block the main road of Huaixi River, lure the enemy to cross the river, and then dredge the river to release the flood."
The old man's eyes became sharp and stern: "The enemy army was drowned in the flood, and all the good farmland and houses in Huaixi can be spared?"
Even though he knew that the old man's reproach came out of nowhere, Chu Yangui was still inexplicably shocked, as if a thunderclap had exploded in his ears, shaking him to pieces.
Chu Yangui met the old man's gaze, his eyes alert and stubborn.
After Chu Zhong moved the wine jars, he saw an old man and a young boy standing at the counter with subtle expressions.
He stepped forward and said, "Old man, please go inside and warm yourself by the fire."
The old man's dignity disappeared in an instant, and he seemed to have turned back into the kind and greedy wine seller.
He turned to Chu Zhong and said, "Cook me a mutton pot. I want to eat something to warm my stomach after roasting the fire."
The old man went to the yard at the back, and Chu Yangui's hand on the counter trembled slightly twice, and he secretly put the military book under the counter.
After he gave the answer, the old man's look made him inexplicably afraid, several times more than when he was caught skipping school by the teacher.
He couldn't help but wonder, is this really just an ordinary wine seller
Before Chu Yangui could think about it, Chi Qing also came into the store. Chu Yangui didn't recognize him, but Chu Zhong did.
Chu Yangui saw that Chu Zhong was quite respectful to Chi Qing. When Chu Zhong came to the counter, he asked in a low voice, "Who is the young man who just came into the store?"
Chu Zhong lowered his voice and whispered, "He is the military advisor under the command of the King of Liaonan."
A favorite of the King of Liaonan, he was a figure whom all the powerful people in the entire Xizhou would rush to curry favor with.
Chu Yangui nodded calmly and picked up a poetry collection from the book basket beside him to read.
After a while, the old man came over from the yard and sat at the table with Chi Qing to eat mutton hotpot. He also ordered a portion of all the signature dishes of Chef Yao in the restaurant.
Chu Yangui sat at the counter, his face calm, but his heart was already in turmoil. Was this old man an acquaintance of Chi Qing
Although there have always been rumors that the emperor and the King of Liaonan are not on good terms, the King of Liaonan has not yet started a rebellion. He has read the banned book. What if these two people start a rebellion and bring trouble to my sister
For a moment, Chu Yangui felt a little regretful. How could he have known that the old man could tell what book he was reading at a glance
While he was feeling uneasy, the old man and Chi Qing were enjoying the mutton soup pot.
The old man asked Chi Qing: "What do you think of the young man at the door?"
Chi Qing picked up a piece of mutton and put it into his mouth: "He is quite handsome, but he is not as good as me."
The old man said: "In the Battle of Huaixi, he said that we should use the water of Huaixi to attack the enemy."
Chi Qing paused where he was putting down his chopsticks and turned back to look at Chu Yangui. Chu Yangui was also looking over here. Their eyes met, but they quickly looked away.
Chi Qing used chopsticks to pick up the fish soup on the plate and said nonchalantly, "You're quite fierce."
There is an unwritten rule among those who use military force that is, as long as a problem can be solved with gentler means, they will not take extreme measures.
There have been wars of massacres in previous dynasties, but they have always been condemned by later generations. Therefore, in modern military strategies, the words "benevolence and martial arts" are emphasized.
In the Battle of Huaixi that year, Mu Xuanqing and Huai'an Hou worked together to suppress the rebels. In order to win the hearts of the people when they were attacking cities, the rebels even claimed that they would not touch a single brick or tile of the people in the city after they captured the city. If the officers and soldiers defending the city blocked the offensive and harmed the interests of the people, they would naturally lose the hearts of the people.
The method Chu Yangui suggested was good and could defeat the enemy, but the people would complain, and even if they won, there would be a mess left behind.
Feng Shuo was too decisive and used many extreme means in the war, which earned him a reputation for cruelty and ruthlessness.
The old man looked at Chi Qing, with a trace of melancholy in his eyes: "When your brother passed away, you were only as old as him."
Chi Qing picked up the soup bowl and drank the soup. Perhaps because it was too hot, he grinned, as if he was laughing, but his eyes were slightly red: "If my brother had a cruel heart, this wouldn't have ended like that."
Mu Xuanqing, the son of Wu Hou, was born into a brilliant and handsome family. He was the ideal husband that many Kyoto ladies dreamed of marrying. He was a unique and handsome man, like no other in the world.
In the last battle of his life, because he was too kind and gentlemanly, he was framed by others and Feng Shuo almost died there.
After hearing what the old man said, Chi Qing roughly guessed what Feng Shuo had told the old man. He said, "Old man, if you want to accept me as your disciple, just do it. Why are you arguing with me? Can I embarrass him behind his back?"
The old man said, "I heard that he hasn't even finished reading the Four Books yet, so naturally I have to let you take care of the early stages."
Chi Qing choked on a mouthful of meat in his throat, almost choking to death. He glared at him and said, "You should handle the job you accepted yourself, don't try to push it to me."
As he picked up the cup and poured tea into his mouth, the old man said faintly, "The girl from the Xie family has sent another letter."
"puff-"
Chi Qing spat out most of the water, but was still choked. He wiped his face with a towel in embarrassment: "Isn't it enough for me to teach you? Don't write back to the capital."
Chu Yangui didn’t know what the two of them were talking about in detail. He just saw them looking at him from time to time, and he felt a little uneasy in his heart.
If... they really want to embarrass my sister, Bing Shao and Chu Zhong are in the store. Both of them are good at martial arts and can take them down, but how to deal with the aftermath is beyond Chu Yangui's ability, and he can't figure it out for the time being.
***
When Jiang Yanyi came back, Chi Qing and the other two had not left yet.
When she entered the store, she saw Chu Yangui standing at the counter with a gloomy expression. She immediately asked, "Didn't I tell you to rest in your room? Why are you in the store?"
Chu Yangui didn't say that he wanted to help her with the accounts, and smiled and said, "I feel bored in the room, so I came out to get some fresh air. An old man who was delivering wine came to the store and was having dinner with an acquaintance. Sister is back, is the business going well?"
Jiang Yanyi glanced at the account book on the counter and saw that it had obviously been calculated. He knew that Chu Yangui came here to help him.
They were siblings, and she knew Chu Yangui said that because he was afraid that she would not let him work hard, so she replied, "It's going smoothly, and we can start work soon."
The owner of the noodle shop owed a lot of debts, and the gambling house had asked the noodle shop to be sold at a very low price, wanting to use the noodle shop to pay off the debts. So when Jiang Yanyi wanted to buy the noodle shop, the young owner was extremely anxious and did not argue with Jiang Yanyi, and closed the deal with three hundred and fifty taels of silver.
The experienced noodle makers in the noodle shop were all family slaves. Their indentures were given to Jiang Yanyi. Jiang Yanyi and the owner of the noodle shop went to the government to transfer the ownership of the shop. Now the land and the people in the noodle shop belong to Jiang Yanyi.
Although he had spent all his savings, Jiang Yanyi was still happy in his heart. As long as instant noodles started to be produced on a large scale, he would be able to make the money back in no time.
When she came back, she remembered the duck necks she had been craving for for days, so she bought a few ducks to have a celebration banquet.
Yang Xiu carried a few ducks into the backyard.
At this hour, there were already more customers in the restaurant. Jiang Yan suggested that the old man and Chi Qing sit together to eat. Considering that the old man was familiar with Feng Shuo, it was not surprising that he recognized Chi Qing.
She came forward with the teapot to add some tea to them, and greeted them with a smile: "Military Advisor Chi, old sir."
Chi Qing nodded in greeting, and the old man smiled and replied to Jiang Yanyi: "Your shop is well decorated and the pots are well made."
Jiang Yanyi said, "You are too kind. I didn't know you would bring wine today. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for so long."
The old man waved his hand: "It's okay, it's okay, I'm eating right now."
Jiang Yanyi said, "Then you eat first, and after you finish, we can come back and discuss the amount of wine and settle the bill."
The old man nodded and said yes.
Jiang Yanyi went into the kitchen, and Chi Qing glanced at Chu Yangui at the counter, and asked the old man with a smile: "Guess what that little bastard at the door was thinking with a gloomy face before?"
The old man ate meat without saying a word.
Chi Qing said: "He is probably thinking about how to get the two martial artists in the store to tie you and me up."
The old man coughed twice and said, "Isn't this quite ambitious and strategic? You should practice on him first."
This time, Chi Qing drank the soup silently.
The old man obviously planned to teach Chu Yangui himself at first, but changed his mind after asking that question.
Chi Qing was known as a smiling tiger in the army, because except for his clean face, his heart and intestines were all black. Although Chu Yangui was still young, he was ruthless in his bones. If these two people were to fight in the future, it would be hard to say.
Naturally, the old man didn't want his disciples to kill each other, so he asked Chi Qing to teach Chu Yangui in the early stage, so that they could temper each other's tempers. No matter what situation the two of them were in in the future, they would have the friendship between brothers and sisters, and would not fight against each other and suffer death or injury.
***
Jiang Yanyi was rubbing his hands while stewing sour radish and old duck soup in the kitchen. In this weather, it was perfect to drink some sour and warm soup, which was both nourishing and appetizing.
She chopped the washed duck into pieces, boiled water in a pot, added cooking wine and ginger slices, blanched the duck meat to remove the fishy smell, scooped it out and washed off the blood foam, then put it into a casserole and stewed it with broth.
Cut the pickled radish into pieces and put them into the casserole. Add onion, ginger, cinnamon and star anise. Slow cook for an hour to make a clear old duck soup.
She kept the chopped duck neck and planned to make braised duck neck together with the duck neck she bought.
There is no way to sell duck necks alone, but duck necks have little meat and many bones, so no one likes them, whether they are rich or poor. Jiang Yanyi is willing to sell duck necks to people for money, which everyone is happy about. Anyone who buys a duck will have the duck slaughtered at the butcher's place and then cut off the duck neck and sell it to Jiang Yanyi.
Yang Xiu couldn't quite understand Jiang Yanyi's behavior, and for a moment she thought Jiang Yanyi was so happy that he was crazy.
The advantage of moving to a bigger yard is that when Jiang Yanyi wants to cook something delicious, he no longer has to compete with Chef Yao for the kitchen.
The kitchen in the west wing was more than twice as big as her original small kitchen.
Jiang Yanyi put the processed duck neck into a pot of cold water and boiled it. After the blood foam in the duck bones was fully cooked out, he pulled up the duck neck and drained it.
Drain the water from the pot and add oil. When the oil temperature comes up, add bay leaves, cinnamon, star anise, pepper, cornel and other spices into the pan and stir-fry until fragrant. Then add the duck neck and stir-fry until it is well-seasoned. If you want a good color, you can add some soy sauce. In order to enhance the flavor, Jiang Yanyi also added a small spoonful of sugar.
After stir-frying evenly, pour in boiling water to cover the duck neck. Dark brown bubbles will bubbling in the pot.
Jiang Yanyi covered the pot, boiled it over high heat for a while, then turned to low heat to simmer until the sauce was almost dry. Turned off the heat and opened the lid to let the rich aroma fill the air. The braised duck neck was reddish-brown in color, and some of the meat on the surface had fallen off during the stir-frying, leaving it strands that were very tempting.
Jiang Yanyi found a few plates to pack the duck necks into, and took them to the small kitchen outside to share with Chef Yao and Aunt Guo and the others. He also brought a separate plate for Chu Yangui.
Because there weren't many duck necks and the portion was limited, everyone was still very satisfied.
When the old man entered the yard to check the amount of wine and drinks with Jiang Yanyi, Jiang Yanyi invited him to eat duck neck together, and Chi Qing followed him in as if he had eyes on the back of his head.
When it comes to eating, he has never had any principles.
After the old man asked Jiang Yanyi how to make duck neck, he thought for a moment and asked, "Can chicken neck be used to make this?"
Jiang Yanyi thought of the dozen chickens in the old man's yard and suddenly became worried about them. She smiled awkwardly but politely: "This... probably not possible."
After paying for the wine, Jiang Yanyi thought that the old man had come all the way to bring her wine, so she gave him a large bowl of sour radish and duck soup.
The old man held the soup bowl, and was shaken for a moment. When he left, he whispered to Chi Qing: "Xiao Chi, if you are too embarrassed, I will not blame you. I will teach you myself..."
"It's not difficult. What's difficult about it?" Chi Qing walked out of the store while gnawing on the duck neck, looking quite annoyed.
He clearly felt that there was still meat on the bone, but he just couldn't chew it off, and he was reluctant to spit it out. It was so frustrating!
***
When Chi Qing returned to Feng Mansion to report, the food box on Feng Shuo's desk had not been taken away yet. Chi Qing saw the unfinished dumplings inside at a glance.
He gloated, "I told you there were carrots in it, but you didn't believe me. Take the rest back for my midnight snack!"
He reached out to take the food box, but couldn't move it. He looked carefully and saw Feng Shuo had one hand on the top of the food box. He said sinisterly, "Can't I keep it for a midnight snack?"
Chi Qing pursed her lips and deliberately boasted: "I went to her restaurant and not only ate the mutton soup pot, I also ate duck neck."
Feng Shuo: “…Oh.”
Chi Qing continued, "The old man said that the Jiang family kid hasn't finished learning the Four Books and Five Classics yet, so he asked me to teach him for a while. Can you arrange for me to live directly in the palace, or in the west wing of her house?"
Feng Shuo's eyebrows were furrowed so tightly that they could kill a fly: "Live in the palace."
This was already expected by Chi Qing. He said without knowing why he deserved a beating: "By the way, Wangfu doesn't need to prepare three meals a day for me. I think Jiangji can provide meals."
Feng Shuo took out a stack of memorials from the table: "... I suddenly remembered that you must be very busy recently, so you can take these and deal with them. If you don't have time to teach others, don't force yourself. I will teach them when I have time."
Chi Qing:!!!
Then there will be no chance of getting free food and drinks there in the future!
He immediately changed his words: "The food in the palace is so delicious. I like the food cooked by the chef in the palace."
Feng Shuo gave him a sad look, and Chi Qing quickly gave him a flattering smile, and then Feng Shuo put the letter back to its original place.
The author has something to say: The author stayed up late last night to update, and suddenly I had a nosebleed. I was so scared that I quickly called my mother. My mother said that the nosebleed could be cured by patting the back of the neck with cold water.
I took the photo, and then... I can't even speak because I have a cold today...
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