Chapter 43 Chapter 43 Warm New Year's Eve Dinner Hot Pot Dessert, Spring...
Since the two old servants in the Yuan Mansion were both relatively old, and Yuan Shenji himself did not attach much importance to the festival, the Yuan Mansion just replaced the peach charms with a new one as a token of their appreciation, and did not even pickle any bacon.
At this moment, Yuan Shenji stepped into the mansion with a gloomy face. The mansion had changed into a lively place. A row of maids carrying red lanterns walked silently in the corridor. When they saw him, they saluted him politely. The older woman who walked at the end smiled and said, "My dear, you are back? Lunch has been prepared. The master and the lady are waiting for you in the Zhenxia Pavilion."
Yuan Shenji had some respect for this wet nurse who had been by his side since childhood. He nodded slightly, then went back to his room, took off his Ming Guang armor and cold sword, and strode towards the Zhenxia Pavilion.
Yuan Shenji's father, Yuan Xie, was holding his second son, Yuan Shenji's stepbrother Erlang, and was joking with the New Year's money strung together with a red rope in his hand. His stepmother Lin was standing by with a smile on her face, cooking snow and making tea.
What a warm family of three. Yuan Shenji showed a hint of sarcasm at the corner of his mouth, but he did not refuse his father's face. He just crossed his hands as a greeting and said, "Shenji greets Father."
Before Yuan Xie could speak, Lin put down the tea grinder in her hand and smiled coquettishly: "Da Lang is back. You can see that there is no New Year atmosphere in your house. I have sent the maid to the East Market to buy some New Year wine, tea, fruit, rice balls, and glutinous rice cakes. The kitchen has also ordered the kitchen to prepare the New Year's Eve dinner. The family will have a good New Year."
Yuan Xie had always liked this beautiful and lively step-wife, and he felt that her words were very thoughtful. He could not help but nod and said, "My dear, you are very thoughtful."
Yuan Shenji did not interrupt her performance. He waited for her to finish, then folded his arms and said, "Don't bother. I have somewhere to stay for the New Year's Eve, so I won't disturb your family reunion."
Lin's smile froze on her face. Yuan Shenji looked at her with a bit of sarcasm, and ignoring his father's loud scolding, he turned around and strode out of the Zhenxia Pavilion.
He walked quickly to the backyard, picked out the fastest horse from the Western Regions, and, ignoring the attempts of several maids to stop him, he whipped the horse and left.
He still remembered that when his mother was still alive, on snowy days like this, she would take him to build snow lions, hold him in her arms, and coax him to eat a piece of Yu Lu cake.
Then his mother passed away suddenly. As soon as the mourning period was over, his father could not wait to marry Lin, who was about the same age as Yuan Shenji. In a rage, he joined the army.
He used to receive two letters from home, but after he had a stepbrother, even one disappeared. No one knew or cared whether Yuan Shenji had starved for three or four days due to lack of food or had been shot by a Turkic arrow and needed bone scraping for treatment.
Later one day, letters from Yuan's family and various relatives came like snowflakes. But Yuan Shenji knew clearly that this was not because of anyone's conscience.
Instead, he was alone outside Yumen Pass, risking his life to cut off the Turkic food supply route under a hail of arrows, adding a great military achievement.
The sage praised: "You have the style of Wei and Huo."
This sentence helped Yuan Shenji rise rapidly and also helped him regain the false family affection, even though he no longer needed that affection.
Chang'an is exceptionally cold today. The winter wind hurts my face like a knife, but Yuan Shenji hopes that the pain can be stronger, stronger...
The aroma of chestnut-braised chicken was already wafting from the clay pot in the fire room, and the spring rolls were fried into a golden and crispy texture. Duan Zhiwei clapped his hands and then set about preparing the last dessert.
The dessert is first-grade plum blossom yam. This dessert is not difficult to make but it is quite time-consuming. You have to hollow out the middle of the yam paste and put in the red bean paste filling. Then seal the opening with yam paste and smooth it out, cut it into a plum blossom shape, and cut the hawthorn cake into long strips to make the branches of the plum blossom.
Finally, sprinkle with cooked lotus seeds and melon seeds, boil the sugar water into a thick syrup, pour it on the yam paste, and steam them together.
After doing all this, the preparations for the New Year's Eve dinner were basically completed. Duan Zhiwei fetched a bucket of well water and washed his hands carefully, then went to the front hall, where several people in the restaurant sat around the fireplace playing the champion chip.
The champion chips are a set of cards that compare the size of the cards. The number of bets is determined by the degree of fame. Naturally, the champion is the largest, followed by the runner-up, the third place, etc.
Zhen Hui will be taking part in the Spring Examination soon. To have a good start, please beg her to give him a hand.
Everyone wanted to give way to Zhen Hui, but seeing that he was playful, they wanted to tease him, so they all said that he must be ruthless and win based on his strength, which made Zhen Hui so anxious that he was sweating.
Duan Zhiwei was not very interested in this thing. He just sat there and watched for a while, ate some melon seeds, looked at the sun, and wondered why Yuan Shenji hadn't come yet.
Perhaps the charcoal in the hall was burning too vigorously, and she felt a little uneasy. So, she left the restaurant under the pretext of "the front hall was hot", and leaned against a pillar to gaze into the distance.
It was already cold and it was New Year's Eve, so the streets were empty. The cold wind blew the sign of the tavern opposite, making it look a little desolate. Duan Zhiwei put the hot water bottle in his arms and jumped a few times at the door to keep warm. Joyful laughter broke out again in the restaurant.
After staying for a while, the blush on her face caused by the stove was blown away by the wind, and her hands and feet turned from hot to cold. She suspected that Yuan Shenji might break his promise on New Year's Eve.
Duan Zhiwei felt somewhat dissatisfied: "Really, if you don't come, you won't need someone to talk about it."
It was a pity that she had specially prepared several meat dishes which took a lot of time and effort. Duan Zhiwei felt a little disappointed. He turned around and walked into the restaurant, preparing to nail the door shut.
In the distance came the sound of horses neighing. She subconsciously looked up, only to see Yuan Shenji galloping towards her from a distance. When he arrived at the restaurant entrance, he suddenly pulled the reins and then dismounted.
Duan Zhiwei hurriedly put down the door panel, lifted her skirt and went down the steps to greet him, looked up at him and smiled, "The captain is finally here, I've been waiting for so long."
I think it was for the New Year, today she finally took off her usual plain linen dress, and put on a goose yellow padded jacket, an apricot red skirt, and a newly opened plum blossom on her temples, making her fair skin and apricot cheeks look even more delicate and lively.
Yuan Shenji looked down at her, and met her watery almond eyes. He felt that all the depression in his heart was gone, and then he smiled: "It's me who is late, please don't be offended, my lady."
He carried a basket of fresh fruits and walked into the warm restaurant with Duan Zhiwei.
More than half a year had passed, and Yuan Shenji reported to the restaurant almost every day, rain or shine. This military officer held a high rank and was also tall and fierce. Everyone was more or less afraid of him at first, but eventually got used to it.
Aunt Duan was the first to drop the champion chips in her hand and greet him: "It is an honor for us that the captain came to my shop. Why did you bring a gift?"
As he said this, he couldn't wait to take the basket from Yuan Shenji's hand. He looked down and saw a bunch of fresh oranges, lychees, cherries and other precious fruits neatly arranged in the food box. He immediately smiled from ear to ear.
A Pan quietly patted Duan Zhiwei's shoulder and pointed to the corner where there was a pile of sesame stalks and holly.
It is said that hanging sesame stalks and holly on the eaves on New Year's Eve symbolizes "prosperity and prosperity" in the coming year. However, the Duan's restaurant only had a low Hu bed, and no high stools like those in wealthy families, and no ladders were prepared in advance. Everyone took turns trying to stand on tiptoe but failed to successfully tie the sesame stalks to the eaves, and they were ready to give up.
But it’s better to give up the reputation of “rising higher and higher”. Besides, even if we really tie sesame stalks on it, will it definitely rise higher and higher next year?
But after A Pan reminded him, Duan Zhiwei finally realized that there was a nine-foot-tall general sitting among them.
She bent down and said that to Yuan Shenji, and he was easy to talk to. He immediately stood up, walked over, picked up the sesame stalks, and easily tied them to the eaves.
The people in the restaurant who had spent half a day trying to get it right and Aunt Duan who almost sprained her waist: "......"
Seeing the sky getting darker, Duan Zhiwei hurriedly stood up and said, "Come on, let's prepare the New Year's Eve dinner."
Apparently, the restaurant's long dining table couldn't hold all the dishes prepared on New Year's Eve, so the two gentlemen carried four or five dining tables and put them together to form a large square table.
The hot pot is placed in the center, with the milky white sauerkraut and pork soup constantly boiling under the action of the charcoal stove. Neatly arranged frozen tofu, various fresh beef, mutton and vegetables are available for you to choose from on the side.
The food table is filled with various kinds of wind fish bacon, crispy cabbage and pork spring rolls, fresh, tender and smooth steamed mandarin fish representing abundance every year, rich and delicious chestnut braised chicken, and sweet and non-greasy plum blossom yam, which are piled on a brocade plate.
Today, Aunt Duan was very generous. She went to the backyard personally and brought out a jar of Bamboo Leaf Green Tea, which she mixed with some well water soaked with medicinal herbs to make Tu Su wine.
She poured everyone a glass of wine and said with a smile, "Don't be polite, everyone. This is the Bamboo Leaf Green that I have kept for several years. The aroma of the wine is absolutely mellow."
Duan Zhiwei took a sip and found it worthy of being a famous wine from the Northern and Southern Dynasties. It had a mellow, sweet taste with a faint medicinal aroma. In addition, most of the delicacies today were suitable for drinking with wine, so the jar of Bamboo Leaf Green was quickly finished.
Seeing that most of the food had been used up, Duan Zhiwei poured all the dumplings that had been frozen by the well and had been wrapped early in the morning into the hot pot to boil them together.
The dumplings were filled with leeks and eggs, lamb and green onions, and pork and cabbage. They were all homely fillings and nothing special, except that Duan Zhiwei stuffed a copper coin in one of them. It was said that whoever ate it would be the luckiest person in the new year.
The adults were fine with this, except Zhen Hui, who was worried about passing the imperial examination, and Pu Tao, who had a childish nature, were eager to try.
As luck would have it, Duan Zhiwei had invited Yuan Shenji on New Year's Eve, and fearing that there wouldn't be enough dumplings, he made more. Everyone had already put down their chopsticks to indicate that they couldn't eat anymore, but Zhen Hui and Pu Tao were still sitting there trying hard to stuff dumplings into their mouths.
At last the two of them could no longer fit in, so they lay down on the mattress with their round bellies.
After dinner, everyone gathered together to celebrate the New Year and played the game of Zhuangyuan Chips again.
Yuan Shenji drew the carved wooden plaque of the top scholar without any effort, and everyone congratulated him.
Zhen Hui said enviously: "Captain Yuan is indeed a fourth-rank official. He is blessed by the emperor's aura and even has better luck than others."
Duan Zhiwei continued: "When you pass the spring exam, I'm afraid your luck will improve."
Zhen Hui's eyes were red, and she wiped away tears with her sleeve: "Zhen's purse was stolen, and the innkeeper kicked me out. If I hadn't been lucky enough to be taken in by you, I'm afraid I would have frozen to death under the bridge in this cold winter. I don't know how my parents are doing at home."
Everyone fell silent, and Aunt Duan hurriedly handed him a handkerchief.
Ah Pan drank a mouthful of wine slowly and comforted him, "As long as my parents are safe, my father and mother are gone..."
Everyone was silent again.
Aunt Duan's mind was working quickly. In order to ease the atmosphere, she quickly said, "Have you ever heard of a special divination method for New Year's Eve called 'listening to the sound of divination'?"
It is said that families gather together on New Year's Eve. If the husband of a family is away on a journey and has not returned, the wife can sweep the floor, place incense, and pray devoutly in front of the stove. Then put the spoon into a large pot of boiling water on the stove, rotate the spoon, and go out with the mirror in the direction of the handle. The first person you meet and the first words he says will be the answer to your prayers.
Duan Zhiwei listened attentively: "On New Year's Eve, passers-by will naturally say nice things. How could there be such a blind person who would say unlucky things on New Year's Eve."
Everyone thought what she said made sense and nodded in agreement.
The night went on and it was soon approaching midnight. Pu Tao had already fallen asleep on his back, and everyone else was a little listless. Duan Zhiwei went to the well to wash some fruit, and when he came in he saw that Yuan Shenji was gone.
Ah Pan was concentrating on embroidery to prevent herself from falling asleep. She pointed outside and said, "The commander thought it was too hot inside and went out to get some fresh air."
Duan Zhiwei lowered his head and covered Pu Tao with the corner of the quilt, then stuffed the New Year's copper coins strung with a red string into her pillow, and then quietly went out.
Yuan Shenji was sitting on the steps. The sky was cloudless tonight, the stars were shining, and a red apple was handed to him.
"Why did you come out? It's cold outside." He reached out to take the apple, and his fingertips touched her palm, but he quickly retracted his fingertips as if he had been electrocuted.
Duan Zhiwei sat next to him, also propped up her head with her hands and looked at the stars: "I think... the commander is in a bad mood today."
Yuan Shenji paused holding the apple in his hand and said, "Madam Duan, do you want to know why I am so upset?"
She was silent for a moment: "If the captain doesn't want to talk, I won't force you. But if the captain needs someone to talk to one day, I will be waiting for you in the restaurant with good wine."
Duan Zhiwei spoke seriously, his voice was not loud, but it was like a trickle of water flowing into his heart.
"Actually..." He was about to speak when he heard the sound of firecrackers popping in the distance.
The smell of sulfur wafted into the air, and the whole Chang'an was bustling with red.
"It's midnight." Duan Zhiwei stood up excitedly, looked at him with a smile, and gave him a standard cross-arm salute: "Captain Yuan, I wish you a smooth career and success in the new year."
Yuan Shenji also looked back at her and clasped his fists in return: "I wish Madam Duan happiness and everlasting blessings."
The sound of firecrackers in the distance became louder and louder, waking up the sleepy people in the restaurant. Everyone had happy smiles on their faces, and they took out the firecrackers they bought in the market and started setting them off.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
