"Zhu Xu, Xia Wei, what can you do?"
Zhu Xu said, "Our martial arts skills are no less than Xu Mo's, and we will definitely be able to protect Madam, Master Su, and the children. We are adept at using hidden weapons to kill people from a distance of a hundred meters. Gathering intelligence, following, and spying are all essential skills for us to be qualified secret guards. As long as Madam gives us instructions, we will do our utmost to complete them."
Xiao Lingyu nodded and looked at Xia Wei, "What are you good at?"
"Madam, I have a photographic memory and am adept at tracking people. It's difficult for ordinary people to get rid of me once I've set my sights on them."
Xiao Lingyu's eyebrows moved slightly when he heard this. He could show Tai Zhuo's portrait to him when the time comes.
"You might be overqualified for following me. I spend most of my time here protecting the children. Are you willing to follow me and serve me?"
Zhu Xu said, "We are willing to follow Madam and serve her."
Xia Wei agreed, "Yes, ma'am."
They were originally arranged by the prince to protect the princess.
Their staying with the princess was equivalent to carrying out the orders given to them by the prince for a long time, and naturally they did it out of sincerity.
"Well, you will be treated well here, and I will pay you a lot of monthly interest."
Xiao Lingyu called out, "Xingyun."
A moment later, Xingyun entered the room, "Madam."
"Give Zhu Xu and Xia Wei the left side room of the east wing to clean up. They will work with you two brothers to protect the children from now on."
"Yes, ma'am."
After the three of them left, Feng Jinyu said, "The two characters 'Xingyun' seem to be only one character different from Xingyi's name."
Xiao Lingyu remembered that the two brothers had taken the name from Xu Yulan and had not had time to change it.
"I'll talk to Xingyi later and ask him to give them both names."
"Xiao Yu." Su Xingyi entered the room. "Let's call them Su Yun and Su Ying."
Xiao Lingyu, "If that's the case, you can make the arrangements." Xiao Lingyu turned to look at Feng Jinyu, "You're leaving tomorrow. Xingyi and I will make you a tomato beef hotpot for dinner tonight. Is that okay?"
Feng Jinyu, "Tomato hot pot?"
"You can think of it as a chicken soup with vegetables. Tomato hot pot is similar in style. You'll know when you eat it. I guarantee you'll want to try it again after trying it once."
In the original owner's memory, the nobles in the capital loved to eat hot dishes, similar to the spicy hot pot in later generations, but they had very high requirements for the soup and were extremely particular about the ingredients.
In order to enhance the flavor, someone would go out to sea to catch local meat and kelp, and then use milk, wolfberry, jujube, chicken soup and other medicinal ingredients to make a pot of soup. The soup would be simmered on a small charcoal stove and served to the table. The guests would then put the vegetables in front of them into the broth and eat them.
In the future, when chili peppers become popular, eating dishes cooked in broth with chili peppers will surely be sought after by children from wealthy families.
Feng Jinyu smiled and said, "Then let's have tomato beef hotpot."
Xiao Lingyu then arranged for people to buy ingredients and related cookware, while he himself took advantage of everyone's lunch break to make his own secret dipping sauce with chili peppers...
"Mom." Xiao Xier called out out of habit after waking up from a nap.
Oh, I overslept again.
Xiao Xier got dressed and opened the door. The moment she smelled the scent of tomatoes, she ran straight to the kitchen with her short legs.
As soon as I entered the kitchen, my gluttony was summoned. I looked at the plates of sliced lean pork, pork belly, pork belly, beef, mutton, potato, sweet potato, cabbage, taro, mushrooms, fungus, shrimp, etc. on the counter and swallowed my saliva.
On another table were plates of crushed peanuts, minced garlic, chopped green onions, coriander, minced ginger, chopped chili peppers, chili oil made from dried chilies, sesame paste, sesame oil, etc.
"Mom, are we having a big pot meal tonight?"
Xiao Xier thought that there were so many side dishes, probably meant to be stir-fried together.
"We're having tomato beef hot pot tonight. It's a new way to eat it. You're sure to like it."
Xiao Xier stood on tiptoe and looked at the tomato red soup in the big pot. "The tomato beef brisket soup is a bit too much."
Xiao Lingyu scooped a small spoonful of tomato and beef soup into Xiao Xier's mouth. "Mother is making the tomato soup base. Your big brother is not here. These beef cubes are made by your father. How is it? Is it delicious?"
"It smells good! I came here just by smelling it." As Xiao Xier spoke, she caught a glimpse of a large plate of yellow dumplings. "Are these dumplings?"
Xiao Lingyu, "These are egg dumplings. They're made by wrapping them in egg skins made by frying eggs. When you're ready to eat, simmer them in tomato and beef broth for a while, and you're ready to eat."
Xiao Xier smacked her lips and said, "I've never tasted these egg dumplings before. I think they must be delicious..."
"Mrs. Su, the milk tea is ready."
"First, send the milk tea to the ice cellar to keep it cold, and then take it out when you start eating hot pot."
Li Yuanliang and Xu Mo followed their instructions and delivered eight large cups of original milk tea into the ice cellar.
Xiao Xier took a deep breath and said, "Mom, I'm going out. I'm worried that if I stay here for too long, I won't be able to resist eating."
Xiao Lingyu smiled gently, "Go ahead, go play with your second brother."
Study in the east wing.
Su Ningjie sat upright at the desk, writing big characters stroke by stroke. Because he was too focused, he didn't notice Xiao Xier coming in.
Xiao Xier looked at Su Ningjie in disbelief. If she wasn't sure that the face belonged to her second brother, she would have thought that the person in front of her was her third brother.
When did my second brother fall in love with reading?
Xiao Xier stood with her hands behind her back and looked at him without making a sound, just wanting to see how long it would take him to notice her.
After an unknown amount of time, Su Ningjie filled a page of paper before he noticed Xiao Xier and asked in surprise, "Sister, when did you come? How long have you been here? Why are you walking without making any sound?"
Xiao Xier didn't respond directly. "Second brother, are you still yourself? How can you sit here and practice calligraphy?"
Upon hearing this, Su Ningjie glanced at the desk. He had already filled twenty sheets of paper with writing. He was also surprised that he could actually calm down and practice calligraphy.
"Sister, when I returned to Huayang County this time and inspected our various shops, I discovered that I didn't recognize many of the characters in the account books. This made me realize the importance of reading and literacy. If I couldn't read, I would be easily fooled by the people below me, and I wouldn't be able to manage the family business, nor could I truly help mother with her worries."
Xiao Xier went over and flipped through the twenty pieces of paper. Although the second brother's handwriting was not as beautiful as the third brother's, he wrote every word very carefully, and sooner or later he would be able to write beautifully.
"Then from now on, mother will teach you to read and write, so you should worry less."
Su Ningjie said: "If you and big brother take the initiative to learn to read, mother will be less worried."
Xiao Xier nodded. "You're right. We've all taken the initiative to learn to read and write, and it really relieves Mom from worrying a lot... It's still early for tomato hot pot, so why don't you teach me a few big characters first, okay?"
Su Ningjie smiled and nodded: "Okay."
After everything was ready for the hot pot, Xiao Lingyu came to the east wing and saw the brother and sister sitting face to face, both of them writing seriously with their heads down.
Tsk tsk tsk.......
Xiao Lingyu couldn't help but marvel at it. The two children who hated reading and writing the most were actually sitting here obediently practicing calligraphy!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
