Chapter 122

This happened suddenly, but looking back on everything before, I feel that it is not so accidental. Xu Yi had already imagined this scenario before giving away the agarwood pills, although not much.

He didn't plan to hide it for long. There was nothing to hide. Of course, he wouldn't tell everyone that he had two pieces of top-grade agarwood in his hand.

Xu Yi took the box, and the agarwood pills were still inside. The prepared agarwood pills had a subtle and elegant fragrance.

It smells good and makes you feel calm.

Xu Yi gave this agarwood pill with the original intention of giving it to Xing Yuesen. Xing Yuesen had to read so many books every day, so agarwood pill was perfect.

"You really gave me a difficult problem." Xing Yuesen pinched his eyebrows and sighed, "My father..."

Xu Yi asked: "Got it?"

Xing Yuesen hesitated for a moment and nodded: "That's right. , my father asked me to ask you if you can part with me."

After he said this, he paused for a moment and stopped talking.

But he still told what he knew.

The reason is very simple. The Xing family opened a flowing banquet this time. There were many guests coming and going, many people were invited, and countless gifts were given. Xing Yuanwai originally took the gift list that the butler had checked out and took a look at it. It turned out that the butler was a good person and wrote the gift from Xu Yi at the front.

When Officer Xing saw the word "Agarwood", he paid more attention to it, and he became more interested when he asked if it was Xu Yi who sent it.

Ask the housekeeper to present the agarwood pills given by Xu Yi, and the problem will be revealed at this glance.

Officer Xing is indeed a lover of incense and loves agarwood very much, Xu Yi thought to himself.

He smiled and said: "Uncle Xing has sent you to ask, so there is no need for the word "cut off love", but I don't have much agarwood in my hand."

He didn't have many things to take out, so he had to keep some agarwood in hand. Inside.

Xing Yuesen sighed: "Brother Yi, you don't have to force it out for my sake."

Xu Yi was stunned and laughed: "No, it really isn't."

Xing Yuesen said helplessly: "That's the best agarwood, not ordinary. There are few pieces of this spice in Yanting County.”

“That’s because Yanting County doesn’t produce agarwood,” Xu Yi said bluntly.

Agarwood has its own grades. If you want ordinary agarwood, there are plenty of it in spice shops, but the best agarwood is hard to find, which makes it even more precious.

When it comes to the origin of agarwood, the Guangdong and Guangxi regions and Hainan have been famous since ancient times. Among them, Hainan Island is the most famous.

If I have the chance, I would like to visit Hainan Island in the Song Dynasty.

This opportunity was still very slim. After arriving here, Xu Yi gradually understood that it was not easy to travel far in ancient times.

Not only does it require financial support, but inconvenient transportation is a big obstacle. It’s not difficult to climb over mountains and ridges, but sleeping in the wild is difficult.

Humans are social animals and have fixed residences. Around the city, a residential circle opened by the common people will expand. However, as long as you leave this circle of human traces, you may not be able to find a village within ten miles of the wild.

In this regard, Xu Yi had already experienced this once on the way to Maozhou City.

Back to the topic, Xu Yi wanted to give Xing Yuesen agarwood, but Xing Yuesen refused to accept it.

"The agarwood you sent is not enough?" Xing Yuesen said, "Since my father has spoken, it is natural to buy it."

When Xu Yi heard this, he immediately remembered the piece of agarwood that he had entrusted Agent Li to sell.

After such a long time, no third person knew about this matter.

When Xu Yi saw that he wanted to buy it, he was not polite and said: "According to the market price, whatever the price is at the tooth shop."

Xing Yuesen exhaled.

If this thing can be done, he can go back and deliver the work.

... "By the way, what

were you doing when I came over just now? " Yes, it's all marinated." Xu Yi touched his nose a little embarrassedly. He spent half of his time in the pharmacy every day, and it was indeed marinated. "I'm making facial fat." Xu Yi said, and then told him what the facial fat was used for. This noodle fat recipe is improved from "Wenzhong Nianzhi recipe". It is said that it was created by Cao family of Zhang Wenzhong. By the later Song Dynasty, facial oils that could be used for skin care had developed into categories and divisions of labor, and corresponding names were given based on the main medicines used. For example, "Almond Paste", "Angelica Angelica Paste", "Sheep Marrow Paste", etc., these types of facial fats are very diverse. Therefore, Xu Yi originally did not plan to make any money from this facial fat. After all, the market in this area has long been occupied by various rouge shops in the city. Until yesterday, Mrs. He and Mrs. Chen came to the door and told him something. The rouge shop in the city sells facial oil that can be used for skin care, but the price is too expensive, several times more expensive than the ordinary facial oil that is only used for smearing the face. However, most doctors in medical clinics are only good at treating various diseases and do not have deep research on beauty and beauty. Most facial fat recipes are in the hands of a few rouge shops. If other people want to make facial fat, they will suffer from the lack of prescriptions, and the facial fat effects will be very different. They saw that Zhang Tiegou had obvious effects after applying it on his face for a few days, so how could they not be moved? Xing Yuesen was very surprised when he heard that Xu Yi knew how to make facial fat: "How come you know how to do this?" Xu Yi said: "There is a method for refining fat in "Qian Jin Yao Prescription". " Xing Yuesen frowned and said: " I have read this medical book, but I don’t understand pharmacology, so I can’t use it.” Xu Yi said: “Every method is inseparable from its origin. The facial fat sold in the rouge shop is nothing more than the effect of the fat refining method. , you can add the medicinal materials you want on it to create the desired medicinal effect." Xing Yuesen was lost in thought. Xu Yi didn't go on. In fact, the method of facial fat can also vary from person to person. In the use of medicine in traditional Chinese medicine, the emphasis is on one person treating the same disease with different treatments. In fact, this statement is also very suitable for making facial fat. The facial makeup he made for Madam He and Madam Chen used different recipes.

Ms. Chen cooks and lights fires all year round. She has been exposed to it a lot, and her skin is more fragile and sensitive. It is easy to get red when exposed to cold. She sweats in summer and is also prone to erythema.

The formula Xu Yi gave her contained magnolia bark, astragalus and yam.

As for Mrs. He, her skin is drier than Mrs. Chen's. In modern terms, it is "dry skin."

Xu Yi added an extra layer of wilted rice to the dough he prepared for her.

Wilt root is also called Wei Rui, also known as Polygonatum odorifera. The fresh leaves and roots can be eaten as food. After being dried in the sun, there will be knotted lines. It can be used to replace ginseng and astragalus. It can be used to treat weakness. It has a wide range of effects and can be used as a common medicine.

Use it internally or externally. If you insist on it for a long time, you can remove dark spots, improve the color and moisturize the face. [Note 1]

After listening to Xu Yi’s words, Xing Yuesen felt that there was so much knowledge in this little facial fat.

He unconsciously thought about that image in his mind.

Well, it is true as Xu Yi said, everyone uses the same prescription, and the efficacy of the medicine used by different people will be different. Some people will find it easy to use, while others will find it useless after using it. It just varies from person to person.

"Brother Yi, have you finished cooking?" Xing Yuesen asked him.

Xu Yi said: "That's almost it."

Xing Yuesen was thoughtful and asked, "Can you make one for my wife?"

Xu Yi raised an eyebrow at him.

There was a smile in Xing Yuesen's eyes: "My wife doesn't have many other hobbies, but she likes to take her to the rouge shop to buy all kinds of rouge and gouache. I look at those, I'm afraid they are not as good as yours."

Xu Yi shrugged. Shrugging: "Then I have to ask my sister-in-law to come."

"I'll tell her." Xing Yuesen narrowed his eyes, "She has long wanted to see you."

Before leaving, Xing Yuesen had a box in his hand, and It is a top-quality agarwood of quite good quality.

It was about the size of a child's palm, and there were more than three taels, enough for him to take back to Commissioner Xing for diplomatic missions.

...

As for what Xing Yuanwai will do after getting the agarwood, Xu Yi doesn't know.

In the evening, there is still light in the sky.

Mrs. Chen ran out of food and came to knock on the door with an empty bamboo basket on her back.

It was Ah Jin who heard the noise and ran to open the door. Seeing that it was Mrs. Chen, she happily led people to the main room.

At this time, Xu Yi had already made facial makeup and recorded today's medical records in the study.

When he heard the commotion, he put down his pen and came out to receive Mrs. Chen.

"Brother Yi, I saw someone selling peaches in the market today, so I bought some for you." Mrs. Chen saw him and took out a bag of summer peaches from the bamboo basket with a smile.

Xu Yi smiled and said, "Thank you, Madam Chen. It's a waste of money."

Madam Chen flipped up her hanging hair and smiled softly: "It's not expensive, and these peaches are not expensive."

It is the season of summer peaches, and the peaches are sold in the market. , a pound is only a dozen cents.

As long as the family has some spare money, they will buy it and try it out. Besides, Mrs. Chen is not short of more than ten pennies now.

"You also made me facial cream. Such a big jar of facial cream would cost three ounces at the rouge shop outside." Madam Chen said it was expensive, and she was reluctant to buy it every time.

So Xu Yi only charged them for medicinal materials and labor costs, which was already a huge advantage.

Xu Yi whispered: "Anyone who sells skin care products, no matter where they are, is making money."

"Brother Yi, what did you say?" Mrs. Chen couldn't hear clearly and asked him again with her eyebrows raised.

Xu Yi smiled lightly and shook his head: "Nothing, I just want to ask Mrs. Chen, will you make cold drinks this year?"

"I want to do it, but I can't."

At this point, Mrs. Chen sighed deeply.

No matter what she wanted to do, she didn't know how to make ice water. Before she left the government, her parents would not allow her to get even half a step closer every time they made ice water.

Not to mention how to prepare the ice water, even if she knew how to prepare it, she didn't dare to let her father know about it.

Xu Yi looked at her: "Ms. Chen, I can make ice water."

Ms. Chen paused for breath: "Brother Yi, don't say anything." She shook her head at Xu Yi, "This is a method you learned on your own. Don't tell anyone."

"If I use it, I can only use it alone. It's not very useful." Xu Yi said slowly, "If you use it, Madam Chen, there will be another way to make money."

There are ways to make money everywhere. It is not easy for a woman to set up a female household, and it is even more difficult not to be bullied.

Although Mrs. Chen didn't say it, Xu Yi could also know how much she had paid to live the life she wanted.

"Ms. Chen, listen to me first." Xu Yi said to her with a smile.

There are so many teahouses, teahouses, and stalls selling drinks in the city. The price is tens of cents, while the cheaper ones are one or two cents.

Most of these drinking methods were introduced from Fucheng, and there is nothing new in the past few years.

But few people drink the mint-loquat drink he made. Those who have tried it are amazed by its taste. Selling it may be a good way.

There is no danger anyway, and it doesn't matter even if it is copied.

At worst, I'll change the drink and continue selling it.

After Xu Yi finished talking about his plan, Mrs. Chen clenched the handkerchief excitedly.

She trembled faintly: "I'm just a woman, I just sell some food, but this drink recipe is so important, as well as the method of making ice, and those who master the method never tell others about it, how can you do it so easily?" "You gave me the land?"

Xu Yi said, "I only have one pair of hands, and you won't pass on my recipe. What should I be afraid of?"

"But..." Can this be compared?

Mrs. Chen thought about how he had just told others what he knew so casually.

Except for Chen's Xiaoshi Pills, Xu Yi probably didn't notice anything else.

What's more, Xu Yi knew the young man of the Tao family. Why don't you give the recipe to Mr. Tao?

Mrs. Chen had doubts in her heart, so she asked.

Who would have thought that Xu Yi would answer so straightforwardly: "The Tao family teahouse does not lack a recipe like mine, but you, Madam Chen, do."

Madam Chen thought about it and said, "Then give me this recipe, and I will always give it to you." What to do.”

"From now on, Mrs. Chen will have to provide the cold drinks at home." Xu Yi said with a smile.

Mrs. Chen: "..." What kind of request is this? It's really too low.

She thought for a moment, then gritted her teeth and said, "No, if I take your recipe, the money I earn from selling the drinks in the future will be 50-50 cents as much as yours."

"Is 50-50 cents too little? Otherwise, it's still the same. Forty or six points." She changed her mind again.

Xu Yi couldn't help but smile.

Mrs. Chen glared at him and said righteously: "Brother Yi, don't laugh, I'm telling the truth. If you're not happy, then I'll pretend I didn't hear what happened today."

"No." Xu Yi stopped her.

"Ms. Chen, I was thinking of giving you the prescription, but after all, we don't have time."

He has a lot of things to do. A Xu now not only has to identify medicinal materials and learn pharmacology, but he also has to be a half-housekeeper. A Jin wants to To teach Zhang Tiegou how to read and write, he also had to work on everyone's needlework. When he had some free time, he also had to identify medicinal materials and learn pharmacology.

Everyone has a lot to do. Cooking and making drinks may seem easy, but in fact they take up a lot of time.

There is not enough time in the first place, and if I continue to do trivial things like this with a hammer and a stick, time will be even more insufficient.

Xu Yi sighed. He hadn't eaten the food cooked by A Xu for several days.

These days, their meals were either cooked by Fang Liu Niang or bought by Xian Han from the restaurant. After eating for a long time, he really missed the food cooked by A Xu.

Mrs. Chen was silent.

She looked at Xu Yi in disbelief: "Just because of this, you gave the prescription to me?"

"That's pretty much it. Madam Chen, just because A Xu and I have worked so hard, share the burden." ." Xu Yi blinked pitifully.

Mrs. Chen suddenly felt a headache. If Xu Yi hadn't been her son, she would have wanted to hit him with a stick.

"You are really..." She finally saw it. Xu Yi was trying to control her, so he said this specifically because he expected that she would be reluctant to refuse.

"Look how pitiful you are. If you are really too busy and send me here at any time, will I come? You want to send me a prescription, but you still find an excuse."

Xu Yi said seriously: "Chen Madam Chen has taught you a lesson."

Madam Chen said: "..."

Later, the matter was settled between the two parties. Madam Chen insisted on dividing the money, but Xu Yi had no choice but to comply.

From the next day, A Xu taught Mrs. Chen how to make ice. After making it twice, Mrs. Chen mastered the technique.

As for the mint-loquat drink, the candied loquat is originally made by Mrs. Chen. She only needs to master the usage and dosage of mint.

There were a lot of mints planted in the Xu family's yard. Mrs. Chen dug up a few plants and planted them in the ground. Within two months, a large area would grow.

Too many to finish.

Tao Qinghao only found out that Xu Yi had given the recipe to Mrs. Chen when mint and loquat drinks appeared in the market.

Knowing this, he sat in the restaurant for a long time, listening to Miss Ayan singing, without touching a single chopstick of the food in front of him.

He was sulking at first, feeling that Xu Yi didn't regard him as a friend.

But he soon thought that when he drank mint and loquat drink for the first time, Xu Yi offered to give them the prescription, but they themselves refused.

In other words, it wasn't that Xu Yi didn't tell him, but that he didn't want it...

Tao Qinghao finally felt better when he thought of this.

After figuring it out, he asked his entourage to prepare a car. He wanted to go to Xu's house.

"Xu Yi, I also want a recipe for drinking loquat." Tao Qinghao said directly when he saw Xu Yi.

Xu Yi was making face cream for Xing Yuesen's wife. Hearing this, he raised his head and looked at him: "Okay, tell A Xu and he will tell you the recipe." "

..." Tao Qinghao asked him in shock, "Aren't you curious? What should I do with the prescription?"

Xu Yi had no choice but to stop and look at him: "Then what are you going to do with it?"

Tao Qinghao coughed twice and raised his chin and said, "Nothing. Just leave it to the cook at home and let her cook it for me."

Xu Yi said, "Since it's just for making drinks, what difference does it make?"

Tao Qinghao's mouth twitched slightly: "You always do this, I don't know. I have nothing to say."

Xu Yi laughed happily.

Because of this laughter, Tao Qinghao was a little angry, yelling that Xu Yi was bullying him, and refused to leave at Xu's house, saying that he would stay for dinner.

This is just a matter of having one more chopsticks, how could Xu Yi drive him away.

By coincidence, today’s dinner is braised pork with peaches.

Mrs. Chen brought the peaches, and Fang Liu Niang bought the pork belly from the butcher in the market in the morning.

This peach needs to be hard and crispy, and the spices are only star anise, cinnamon, ginger, onion, garlic, soy sauce, and sugar. Xu Yi doesn't like to eat fat, so the pork belly chosen by Fang Liuniang is suitable for fat and leanness. Cut it into pieces first, blanch it in water, and stir out the excess lard over low heat.

Pour out the lard and set aside. After frying the sugar color, add the meat pieces, add spices, and simmer over high heat. When the juice is almost reduced, add the sliced ​​peaches, stir-fry for a while, and then the juice will be reduced and the pot is ready.

The extra lard is used to stir-fry dried bamboo shoots and mushrooms, stir-fry them and mix them into the rice to make dried bamboo shoots and mushrooms mixed with rice.

This way of eating was thought up by Xu Yi.

Fang Liu Niang did it once, and everyone fell in love with it, and they would do it two or three times every month.

Tao Qinghao was quite looking forward to it when he heard that it was eaten like this. When the food was served and he smelled its aroma, his appetite was whetted.

"It smells so good. Mother Fang's cooking skills are as good as ours."

You know, their family owns a restaurant and teahouse.

Tao Qinghao has eaten a lot of food, but he was still surprised by this niche way of eating.

"This peach braised pork is even more delicious than flat peach rice." After finishing the meal, he was still unsatisfied and wanted to go to Mother Fang immediately to discuss how to make it.

Xu Yi said: "Put aside the discussion, I have something else to ask you."

"What's the matter?" After Tao Qinghao had eaten his fill, he slumped on the back of the chair.

But he saw that Xu Yi was still sitting sternly, and silently straightened his paralyzed waist.

Xu Yi said, "Did you look for Xin Yao before you came?"

"No..." Tao Qinghao paused and widened his eyes, "It's bad, he also knows about Fang Zi."

Xu Yi smiled: "Even if you don't come to me today, I will still come to you."

After saying that, he got up and went to the study, took out two written prescriptions and handed them to Tao Qinghao.

"As I said before, this recipe can only be used by yourself and cannot be used for profit."

"What kind of person am I?" Tao Qinghao hummed twice and quickly stuffed the recipe into his arms.

Having known each other for so long, he knew what kind of person his friend was. As long as it didn't go against his rules, he could do whatever he wanted, but he had a bottom line and couldn't touch it.

Like Tao Qinghao, after getting to know Xu Yi, he hasn't had fun with those friends for a long time, and he rarely even goes to the horse riding stable.

Nowadays, he only runs between three o'clock and one line. Apart from the teahouse run by his family, it is the Xin family and the Xu family who run the most diligently.

After Tao Qinghao hummed, he patted his chest and said firmly: "You can rest assured when I act. I understand that you are doing it for Mrs. Chen. If you treat Mrs. Chen well, Xinyao and I will not go against you. Besides, There are a lot of drinks in the teahouse, and there is no shortage of ways to make money."

He could understand his intentions, and Xu Yi breathed a sigh of relief, no need to explain.

However, one thing reminded Xu Yi.

Xu Yi asked him if he wanted to go to the pharmacy.

Tao Qinghao has not yet entered the pharmacy at Xu Yi's home. To him, it is a secret place that outsiders cannot enter.

But Xu Yi invited him, so he must go in.

After he entered, he looked left and right and found that the pharmacy was quite similar to the medical clinic outside. There were three rows of long cabinets inside, each with dozens of compartments.

The grids are all covered with paper, with the corresponding medicinal materials written on them.

There is a long table of nearly ten feet in the middle, with various utensils placed on the table, including Huiyi troughs, stone pounders, medicine cutting knives, etc. that Xu Yi often used, as well as various pottery plates, pottery pots, and pottery pots filled with medicine. Bottles...

there are a lot of things, but they are arranged neatly and not cluttered at all.

"What are these?" Tao Qinghao asked when he saw that a jar contained not medicinal materials but solidified oil, took it and smelled it.

Xu Yi said: "It's refined pig fat."

"So this is pig fat, and it smells quite fragrant." Tao Qinghao muttered, holding the jar and continuing to ask, "Why don't you put it in the kitchen?"

"This pig fat It’s different from the lard we use for food,” Xu Yi explained.

The preparation of pork fat is more troublesome, and it cannot be fried directly in pork fat. It should be soaked with water for seven or eight days, and the water should be changed every day. After frying, take out the clear fat and let it solidify for later use.

After hearing this, Tao Qinghao narrowed his eyes: "What does this have to do with you asking me to come to the pharmacy?"

Xu Yi brought a can of prepared facial fat and handed it to him.

"In addition to running a teahouse, does your family also open a rouge shop?"

Tao Qinghao raised his head and glanced at Xu Yi, but he didn't expect Xu Yi to know: "There is one, just in the North Street Market, but this rouge shop is not mine. I'm taking care of it."

At this point, Tao Qinghao gritted his teeth.

The rouge shop is managed by Butler Tao.