Chapter 225: It’s cold, so of course you need to eat something warm

Inside the Palace

Emperor Jingning stared at the chessboard and quickly placed the black piece on it.

"How is the effect of the reward system that Mr. Mo implemented in the Imperial College some time ago?"

After this move was made, the black piece, which had been at a disadvantage just now, suddenly found a way to survive.

Mo Zhishan smiled and said, "Your Majesty, so far, the effect is quite good."

As he spoke, he placed a white piece on the chessboard.

Emperor Jingning looked at the chessboard, raised his eyebrows slightly, and his expression was unreadable.

With a "pop", the black piece fell on the chessboard, blocking the white piece's path.

Emperor Jingning raised his eyes and said, "Mr. Mo, I'm grateful for your concession."

Mo Zhishan looked calm and said, "Your Majesty's chess skills are superb. I, an old minister, am willing to admit defeat."

"Hahaha, Mr. Mo is too modest."

Emperor Jingning seemed to be in a good mood and started to laugh.

Andersen stepped forward at the right time and removed the chessboard.

Emperor Jingning picked up the teacup beside him, slowly blew away the hot steam on it, and took a sip of tea.

For some reason, he suddenly thought of the words of the Minister of Agriculture.

Emperor Jingning put down the teacup and suddenly looked towards Mo Zhishan opposite.

"Mr. Mo, do you think that the imperial examination is about selecting talents or people?"

Mo Zhishan didn't understand why Emperor Jingning suddenly asked him this question, but he still answered: "Your Majesty, the imperial examination is to select talents for the country. Since ancient times, virtuous and wise people have been able to serve as officials in the court."

Emperor Jingning asked again: "What if there are people with outstanding talents but are not allowed to enter the government due to their status?"

Mo Zhishan: ???

Someone who has outstanding talents but cannot enter the officialdom due to his status?

There were officials of humble origins in Daliang. In theory, as long as they were good enough and passed the imperial examination, they could serve as officials in the court.

Could it be that the person is disabled?

No, Your Majesty is talking about the status, not the body.

Moreover, if he is truly a rare talent in the world, then being disabled is not a big deal.

As long as Your Majesty wants, you can let him serve the country.

Could that person be a national of an enemy country?

This possibility is not very high. If he is really from an enemy country, no matter how talented he is, Your Majesty will not have the intention to win him over.

For some reason, Mo Zhishan suddenly thought of the mass production of potatoes and the rewards Zhou Chengan and Shen Huazheng received.

The person your majesty is talking about is Yinghua County Lady? ?

If it's really her, then everything fits together.

Although he was extremely talented, he was not allowed to enter the officialdom due to his status.

There are some female officials in the palace, but they are actually just palace maids of higher rank who can discipline other palace maids.

Not really an official.

Princess Yinghua's intelligence and insight are no less than those of men.

Based on her merits, His Majesty gave her a noble status and even a fiefdom, but these were not a big deal.

Even the clan members accepted this fact, and no one came to His Majesty to make trouble.

However, it is rare in this world for a woman to enter officialdom.

If Your Majesty really wants Princess Yinghua to enter the government, I'm afraid he will face considerable resistance.

Mo Zhishan stood up, knelt before Emperor Jingning and said, "Your Majesty is the ruler of the world, and everything you do is for the people of the world. As long as it is a decision made by Your Majesty, this old minister will fully support it."

The emperor's thoughts are not so easy to guess.

Even though their Majesty has always been known for his kindness, that is only because he wants others to see his kind side.

Although Mo Zhishan suspected that the person Emperor Jingning was talking about was Shen Huazheng, he couldn't be completely sure.

But one thing is certain, what Emperor Jingning wants now is his attitude.

No matter what, he has to show his attitude.

Emperor Jingning looked at Mo Zhishan and slowly smiled.

"Mr. Mo, please get up. I'm just talking to you, why are you kneeling down?"

He looked at Andy Ann at the side again: "Hurry up and help Mr. Mo sit up."

"Master Mo, please get up quickly."

An Desheng came to his senses, hurried forward and helped Mo Zhishan up.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Mo Zhishan breathed a sigh of relief and stood up with the help of An Desheng.

He returned to his original seat and sat down, and Emperor Jingning started chatting about other things very naturally, as if the previous conversation had never existed.

When Mo Zhishan left the palace, the sunset glow had slowly dyed the sky red and poured down onto the earth.

He looked up at the sky full of rosy clouds and sighed slightly.

It is unclear whether it is a good thing or a bad thing for Lady Yinghua to be valued so much by the king.

However, Princess Yinghua is a blessed person and has many helpers around her, so there is no need to worry.

Of course, if there is anything he needs, he won't refuse.

…

Shen Huazheng had no idea what was happening in the palace. She was busy making crispy rice cakes in the kitchen.

She suddenly wanted to eat crispy rice cakes. Although it was almost time for dinner, it was still okay to eat one or two to satisfy her craving.

Zhou had just bought a few pieces of jewelry for her good daughter and wanted her to try them on to see if they looked good.

When she arrived at Shen Huazheng's yard, she realized that her daughter had gone into the small kitchen again.

Zhou's pretty eyebrows slightly frowned. Did Zheng'er go to cook again?

No, she had to go and check, dinner time was almost here.

If Zheng'er eats too much, she won't be able to eat dinner.

As soon as Zhou walked to the kitchen door, she heard the sound of frying food coming from inside.

Zheng'er was indeed making food.

She couldn't help but quicken her pace and walked into the kitchen.

Shen Huazheng stood in front of the oil pan and put the sliced ​​rice cake into the pan with chopsticks.

As soon as the rice cake entered the oil pan, many tiny oil bubbles gathered.

As the pot gets hotter, the rice cake slices make a sizzling sound inside the pot.

The originally snow-white rice cake collided with the oil, and the surface formed a brown crispy crust.

As soon as Zhou entered the door, she smelled an enticing fragrance.

"Zheng'er, what are you doing?"

Shen Huazheng turned the rice cake over skillfully, "Mom, I'm making crispy rice cakes. They will be ready to eat soon."

Crispy rice cake?

Zhou walked forward and saw the rice cake that had been fried until both sides were golden and crispy.

Seeing that the rice cakes were already fried, Shen Huazheng used long chopsticks to pick up all the crispy rice cakes and put them on a clean plate, then took the bamboo sticks handed to her by Qingzhi and inserted them steadily into the rice cakes.

Next, start brushing the sauce.

"Mom, do you want hot sauce?"

Zhou, who wanted to persuade Shen Huazheng not to eat too much so that she wouldn't be able to finish dinner later, took a look at the crispy and tempting crispy rice cake and the rich sauce on the side.

"Just a little bit, not too spicy."

"good."

After receiving a positive answer, Shen Huazheng quickly brushed both sides of the rice cake with sauce, sprinkled some white sesame seeds on it, and then put it back on the plate.

"Mom, this is with sweet and spicy sauce, this is sweet noodle sauce, this is ketchup, and this is seafood sauce."

Zhou took a look at the crispy rice cake that was handed to her. The originally golden and crispy rice cake was brushed with sauces of different colors and was covered with white sesame seeds. It looked very tempting.

…

When Shen Kesi and Shen Keheng came back, they saw Zhou and Shen Huazheng holding crispy rice cakes in their hands and eating them with relish.

"Mom, Zheng'er, we are back."

Chen Huazheng waved at them happily: "Second brother, third brother, you must be hungry, come and have some crispy rice cake to fill your stomach."

Deep in thought: o(*￣▽￣*)o

Did Zheng'er forget to send them a full lunch box of snacks and delicacies at noon?

But he was still very happy in his heart, after all, this showed his sister's concern for him.

Shen Keheng:

Crispy rice cake, is it a food made of rice cake? ?

Whether it is or not, it is sure to be delicious.

My sister is so nice. She prepared snacks for them to eat while watching the game at noon, and now she has prepared delicious desserts waiting for them when they come back.

After experiencing all kinds of feeding and various kinds of food crits from Shen Huazheng, the Shen family would not be surprised when they heard or saw any new and exotic food.

The Shen Kesi brothers came and sat down next to Zhou and Shen Huazheng, feeling very happy.

"Zheng'er, is this crispy rice cake made of rice cake?"

Shen Keheng looked at the fragrant crispy rice cake on the table and couldn't help but ask what was in his mind.

Chen Huazheng nodded: "It's fried with rice cakes, and after it's out of the pan, I brushed the sauce on it and added white sesame seeds."

After saying that, she also introduced all the sauces used on the rice cakes.

Zhou looked at her two sons and smiled kindly.

"Eat it. Each person can only eat three, or you won't be able to eat dinner later."

In fact, these words were directed at Shen Keheng. Once he started eating delicious food, he had no restraint.

If there is no limit on quantity, he can eat all the remaining crispy rice cakes.

Shen Keheng didn't think too much about it. Just smelling the fragrance and looking at the crispy rice cake, the greed deep in his heart could no longer be suppressed and burst out.

He couldn't wait to pick up a crispy rice cake and take a bite with the familiar sweet and spicy sauce.

The rice cake has a crispy outer layer, but is soft and sticky inside, with a strong rice aroma.

It tastes a little sticky.

The crispy outside and glutinous inside texture of the rice cake, paired with the taste of sweet and spicy sauce and the aroma of rice, has a unique flavor.

Shen Kesi was eating crispy rice cake coated with ketchup. With a "crack", the outer skin of the rice cake was bitten through, revealing the white inside.

The white rice cake and the bright colors of the sauce complement each other and look very beautiful.

Because it is fried, the rice cake has a crispy and delicious outer skin while maintaining a soft and glutinous texture on the inside.

The soft and glutinous inside and the crispy outside form a sharp contrast, and every bite is full of surprises.

Shen Kesi and Shen Keheng praised the food for being delicious while concentrating on eating the crispy rice cakes in their hands.

Take a bite and you’ll find the sweet and salty flavors intertwined without conflict. Instead, they create a unique flavor.

[Find some time to make some seaweed, and use it to roll up rice cakes next time. 】

Zhou & Shen brothers: ???

Seaweed? ?

What is this? Is it seafood or something like that?

[In addition to rolling rice cakes with seaweed, you can also roll rice balls with seaweed, make egg rolls, and deep-fry seaweed with tofu skin. Well, I have to make some snacks. I have to ask Mianzhou County to send some seaweed when they send seafood over, so that I can make seaweed. ]

Emperor Jingning has already included Kuiyang Town in Mianzhou County, so now when Mianzhou County sends things to Chen Huazheng, there will always be some seafood in it.

Just two days ago, Chen Huazheng received a letter from Mianzhou County, saying that they would send some more things soon, and asked Chen Huazheng whether she was satisfied with the things she had received before.

Shen Huazheng swallowed the rice cake in her mouth, picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea.

She decided to go back to her room and write a letter to her fiefdom after taking a walk after dinner, and she had to write it carefully.

At least we need to let them understand what seaweed is so that we don't send the wrong thing.

Zhou: (*^_^*)

It turns out that nori is made of seaweed~~

But what is laver?

The brothers Shen Kesi: ( )

Wow, Zheng'er is going to make some fancy food again.

As for what seaweed is...

Never mind, just eat it.

Anyway, it must be delicious, hehehe~~

After they finished eating the crispy rice cakes and drank some tea, it was time for dinner.

Shen Huazheng took a sip of hot tea: "Mom, second brother and third brother, how about we have pork tripe and chicken pot tonight?"

When the weather gets cold, you want to eat something warm.

In this kind of weather, eating a hot pot is the most comfortable thing.

Come to think of it, she hadn't eaten pork tripe and chicken pot for a long time.

Before Zhou and Shen Kesi spoke, Shen Keheng spoke first: "Pork tripe and chicken stew? Is it the pork tripe I was thinking of?"

Chen Huazheng smiled and said, "Yes, it's the pig's stomach you were thinking of. Stuff a whole chicken into the cleaned pig's stomach and cook it, then add various medicinal herbs to make a chicken stew."

【Food supplements are better than medicine supplements. In such a cold weather, eating pork tripe and chicken stew can dispel the cold. When sleeping at night, my parents and brothers will not feel cold.】

Shen Kesi & Shen Keheng: ω

It is a blessing to have such a good sister.

"Okay, let's eat this tonight."

"Zheng'er, whatever you need to do, second brother will help you."

"Zheng'er, Third Brother is coming too."

…

Shen Zhaonian and Shen Keting returned home feeling cold, and found that everyone else in the family had gathered in the side hall, waiting for them to come back. They immediately felt warm in their hearts.

And some... self-blame.

In the imagination of Shen Zhaonian and his son, their family was always hungry, waiting for them to come home and have dinner together.

Shen Zhaonian's eyes were full of disapproval: "Madam, you don't have to wait for us for dinner in the future. You can eat first. What if you get hungry?"

There is no need to worry about his two sons who are strong and tough, but his wife and daughter are so delicate, how can they starve?

Although Shen Keting didn't say anything, he agreed with his father's words.

The weather is so cold, Niang and Zheng'er should eat something to warm their stomachs first.

Zhou didn't know that her husband and eldest son had imagined so much, she just smiled and said, "You guys are not late, what's the matter with you guys waiting?"

Chen Huazheng: "Dad, big brother, please sit down quickly, we are going to have a pot of pork belly and chicken tonight."

Shen Zhaonian and Shen Keting both came to their seats and sat down without saying anything else.

I just secretly decided in my heart that I would try to go home earlier in the future so as not to keep my family waiting.

There was a stove in the middle of the dining table. The maids deftly placed a large casserole on it and then opened the lid of the casserole.

A lot of white mist came out of the clay pot. When the mist dissipated, everyone in the Zhou family could see the food in the pot clearly.

The hot soup in the pot is milky white, dotted with chicken pieces, pork tripe, red wolfberries and red dates.

A rich fragrance hits you in the face, instantly whetting your appetite.