Chapter 50

As soon as Xu Yi's people left, A Xu and A Jin were in the kitchen, staring at the several extra dried meats. The two little faces looked at each other, not knowing where to start.

Ah Jin stared at the dried meat for a long time and swallowed. She had eaten a lot of meat these days, and seeing so much meat, she still felt greedy subconsciously. She asked Ah Xu, "Brother, how do you eat this meat?

A Xu said with some worry: "Lang Jun asked us to do it, saying that it can be cooked enough to serve as a meal." A

Jin blinked and said childishly: "But neither my brother nor I know how to make delicious food. " Yes, we used to only cook wild vegetable porridge and steamed rice, but my mother-in-law said that dogs wouldn’t eat the rice we cooked.”

A Xu said silently.

An imperceptible sadness flashed across his eyes. Ah Jin was still young and didn't know what this sentence meant, but he understood it.

If you don't let them have access to more food, you are afraid that they will eat it.

A Xu was silent before saying: "Don't mention this again."

A Jin lowered her head, a little confused, and a little confused about what she knew. She said softly: "Brother, aunt and father don't want us anymore." , Only the husband wants us now, I know that. "

She will be obedient and will not make her husband angry, so that she can always stay by his side and have food and meat to eat.

A Xu: "Yeah."

A Jin said again: "Then brother, have you thought of how to cook it? This meat looks so dry and hard, how to make it delicious."

A Xu scratched his head: "How about..."

Ah Xu: Jin suddenly said: "How about we go find Mrs. He! Mrs. He can make delicious food. She must know how to make this delicious jerky."

...

A Xu and A Jin, carrying rabbit jerky, So he went and knocked on the door of He's house.

After a while, a young man came out to open the door. He Linqiu saw that it was two little cubs, and asked doubtfully: "Who are you? Who are you looking for?"

When A Xu saw that someone else opened the door, he was a little at a loss at first, but thinking about him Those who are now the husband must not embarrass the husband outside.

He made a servant salute and said in a clear child's voice: "I am A Xu, come to see Mrs. He."

A Jin said waxingly from the side: "I am A Jin."

He Linqiu was even more confused after hearing this. Who are the two children? Why had he never heard of his mother knowing such an older child? Why did he come home for the holidays and seemed to have changed a lot, and I don’t know where to start.

At this time, Mrs. He came out of the house and saw A Xu A Jin. She walked happily and said: "A Xu A Jin, why do you have time to come here? Come on, come to me, you are outside in the sun, Brother Qiu." Go and pour two glasses of water, then dig out two spoonfuls of honey from the jar in the cabinet on the left and put it in.

He Linqiu said: "..."

He stared blankly at his mother holding one hand at a time. The child entered the room and couldn't understand, but he still listened to his mother and poured two glasses of honey water in.

After entering, he stopped leaving and planned to see what happened.

The two children took the honey water and said obediently: "Thank you, brother Qiu."

He Linqiu twitched the corners of his mouth slightly: "You're welcome."

Madam He asked A Xu and A Jin not to be polite, saying that they all came to her house to have a drink. What about the sugar water, and then asked them with concern why they came here, but encountered problems.

When it came to business, A Xu stood up first as his brother and said: "We have something to trouble Mrs. He. Yesterday, Lang Jun brought this dried meat back from outside. We didn't know how to make it delicious, so we came to ask Mrs. He for help. Help us."

Mrs. He could tell that it was dried rabbit meat.

This dried meat looks like it weighs a pound. It smells neither fishy nor heavy. It has been marinated with a small amount of spices and then dried in the sun. It has a light flavor of cooking and meat.

Mrs. He said: "This dried meat is well dried. Where did your husband get it?"

A Xu said: "It was for treating a patient, and the patient gave it to my husband."

Patient? Langjun?

He Linqiu next to him heard the key part and couldn't help but said: "Is your husband Xu Yi?"

A Jin's eyes lit up and said: "Brother Qiu, does he know my husband?"

He Linqiu: "..." How could that be? Don’t know me! No, when did Xu Yi's family have two more children?

"Mom, what's going on?"

Madam He then remembered that she hadn't told Brother Qiu about it yet.

Mrs. He smiled and said: "I forgot to tell you, this girl A Xu and A Jin were bought by Brother Yi from the Na Ya people. They are good children. They are brothers and sisters. Now they are living in the Xu family. ."

When He Linqiu heard what was going on, he felt in his heart that it was Xu Yi, and this was what he had done.

The puppies were picked up, and now even people can pick them up and take them home.

"A Xu is a sensible kid. I think he has a good seed, but I don't know which family is so damn wasteful that he does something inhumane." Mrs. He said, raising her hand to touch A Jin's head, "A Jin is well-behaved and good-looking. When she grows up, she will be a good-looking beauty who will be liked by everyone."

She fell in love with Jin when she saw her before she even had a daughter.

Besides, this child is so well-behaved. In the past few days, she has been listening to the two of them reading in the room, and she has even praised him several times.

When He Linqiu heard what his mother said, he answered: "Brother Yi actually taught them how to read? I see that the clothes these two people are wearing are not the clothes of the lower class. What do you think of Brother Yi? Mother, you can Do you know?"

Mrs. He said that she didn't know, but she also said that Xu Yi was a kind-hearted person, so he had his reasons for doing so.

He Linqiu didn't say anything else, but he was secretly envious of these two children.

He didn't find a good employer. He only received the monthly payment and didn't get any other benefits. He Linqiu knew that there was a wealthy family whose servants, servant girls, and mothers-in-law in the back room could receive two sets of clothes every year, one set was thin and the other was thick. Good things never happened to him.

While he was thinking wildly, Mrs. He and Asu Ajin on the other side were already talking about how to make the dried rabbit meat delicious.

Mrs. He has never made this rabbit jerky, but she has made other jerky.

She asked A Xu to soak the dried rabbit meat in water. When it was soaked enough to be torn apart by hand, he took it out, washed it and tore it into pieces, then simmered it in a jar until it was soft and tasted good.

Ah Jin was so drooling that she swallowed her saliva and asked: "Ms. He, what ingredients should be used to stew it?" Mrs. He

asked: "Do you have onions, ginger, Huaer wine, Sichuan peppercorns, and dogwood at home?" , star anise and cinnamon?"

A Xu said: "Only ginger and green onion, nothing else."

Mrs. He paused.

Why don't you have any information?

She asked A Xu if he had any copper coins in his hand, and went to the spice shop to buy some to keep at home so that he could stew or roast the meat to taste better.

A Xu nodded and said that Lang Jun had money at his disposal, but he just didn't know where the spice shop was and he didn't know the way.

Madam He said: "Brother Qiu knows, just let him take him there."

After that, she asked He Linqiu to take A Xu to the spice shop to find the way.

He Linqiu didn't say much and asked A Xu to follow him out. go.

So, Ah Jin went back to the house to soak the dried rabbit meat in water, while Ah Xu left with He Linqiu.

The two of them did not go to the spice shop on South Street to buy. He Linqiu said that although South Street is a place where poor families live, the bosses here are very smart. The things they sell are not cheap, and it is easy to pass them off as good ones.

He Linqiu said: "I know a spice shop. Their prices are the best in the county. If you buy more, they will give some away."

A Xu tightly squeezed the cloth bag containing money in his sleeve pocket and whispered. : "I don't have that much money."

Lang Jun gave him 150 Wen every five days and let him spend it as he pleased, but he was reluctant to spend it every time because he was afraid of spending money indiscriminately and wanted to save money for Lang Jun. With.

But just buying food would cost more than 20 cash every day, and the money saved was only a few dozen cash.

At this moment, the money bag he brought out contained hundreds of copper coins.

He Linqiu said, "It won't cost more than a few dozen fen."

After saying that, he paused and asked, "You have a few dozen fen with you, right?"

A Xu nodded.

He Linqiu said: "How many?"

A Xu looked at him, thought for a moment and then said: "Eighty cents." He said less than ten cents.

He Linqiu: "..." More money than he can control!

For a moment, the two of them said nothing more.

He Linqiu didn't know what to say to a little kid. A Xu himself was not a talkative person. He might talk more in front of Xu Yi and his sister, but with He Linqiu... they just met today.

While walking, the spice shop He Linqiu mentioned arrived.

As soon as they stepped in, they heard a familiar voice saying: "Shopkeeper, I bought so much musk and cinnamon, can it be cheaper?"

The two of them immediately looked over and saw Xu Yi. Wearing a long gown, he stood as straight as a pine tree in the crowd.

When he said this, he didn't care about other people's looks, he only looked at the shopkeeper in front of the counter.

The shopkeeper couldn't explain what he said: "What Xiao Langjun said, this musk is not an ordinary thing, how can it be so cheap, and you didn't buy much."

Xu Yi raised his eyebrows: "It's several taels."

The shopkeeper smiled and said, As if he was talking about an ordinary thing: "Young gentleman, you don't know. This musk is a good product. Although our county is small, there are many rich and powerful people. Many of them buy this musk and go back to make incense. You... The amount is a few taels, it's not much."

He added, "It's not that I don't want to give you a discount, so this musk can't be cheap, but I'll give you twelve taels less for the cinnamon, and I can't give you more for anything else. "

After Xu Yi heard this, he knew that this was the shopkeeper's bottom line, so he stopped bargaining.

He was about to take out his wallet when two footsteps came from behind him, and he turned around as if feeling something.

"Lang Jun!"

"Brother Yi."

Two voices sounded together, it was A Xu and He Linqiu.

Seeing them both appearing in front of him, Xu Yi only raised his eyebrows and asked, "Why are you here?"

He Linqiu said, "Axu wanted to buy spices, so my mother asked me to lead the way. I didn't expect to see you here. Brother Yi, what are you here to buy?"

Xu Yi said that he was here to buy some spices for medicine.

Musk can not only be used to make incense, it is also a medicinal material. The reason why I come to the spice shop to buy it is that the musk sold in this spice shop is cheaper than the medical clinic that deals with several prices.

He asked A Xu what spices he wanted to buy.

A Xu reported to Xu Yi the spices that Mrs. He told him. After hearing this, Xu Yi knew that the spices were to be bought back to make meat.

After a while, Xu Yi and the other three came out of the spice shop.

Seeing that it was still early, Xu Yi asked He Linqiu: "Let's eat some sweet-scented osmanthus rice balls stuffed with wine?"

After the summer heat comes the white dew, and now it's only a few days away from the white dew, and it's time for the early-season sweet-scented osmanthus to bloom. It is undoubtedly a pleasure to eat a bowl of warm fresh osmanthus rice balls with rice wine at this time.

He didn't give He Linqiu and A Xu a chance to refuse, and directly took them to a nearby teahouse.

This teahouse is quite large, with two floors. When you enter, you will see exquisite decorations. The beams, wooden columns and columns are all carved with birds and flowers. There is a chrysanthemum, bamboo, orchid and plum screen in the lobby. There are highly concealed pavilions above and bamboo curtains below. Separated, looming little rooms.

Xu Yi brought the people in, and a waiter came to receive the three of them.

"Guests, please come in. Should I sit in the lobby or go into a small room?"

Xu Yi said, "It's better in the lobby."

The waiter's smile did not diminish and he said, "Okay, sir, please come with me."

Among the three people he saw coming in, one was too young and the other was wearing ordinary clothes. The young man standing in the middle was eye-catching and handsome. Although the clothes he wore were not necessarily of good quality, only scholars could afford them.

The waiter, with Xu Yi as the center, asked what was going to be eaten.

They came here to eat sweet-scented osmanthus rice dumplings, and that’s what they ordered.

The waiter was a little surprised to hear that they only ate this sugar water, but he still asked again as usual.

Xu Yi had never been to such a high-end teahouse. When he saw this, he asked him: "Do you have any signature delicious food here?"

The waiter smiled and said: "We can't say enough about the delicious food in our store, sir." As for the signature dish, it is the braised peony beef slices. This beef is freshly slaughtered that day and is not available elsewhere.

There is also the old duck stew with dried bamboo shoots. All ducks are selected for more than one year. They are stewed without a trace of oil star, but they are very fresh and sweet. There are also roast duck, candied lotus root, and roasted blue and white flowers. These are the signature dishes of our restaurant.

If you, my guest, want to eat something to relieve fatigue and relieve the heat, there are also iced fruits and iced cheese.

This ice cheese is the only one in our county. My boss specially went to Bianjing to ask for the recipe. If the guests want to eat it, they have to send a waiter to line up to get it tomorrow morning. If they arrive late, they won't be able to eat it. "

Listening to what he said, Xu Yi guessed the level of this teahouse.

Especially the ability to purchase fresh beef was rare, and the "roasted blue flowers" he mentioned were actually roasted broccoli.

Broccoli was introduced from Myanmar in the Zhenguan year of the Tang Dynasty. By the Song Dynasty, there were many ways to eat it, and the names were simple, such as "broccoli" and "cauliflower". Later,

Xu Yi heard the name broccoli. If you have this dish, let him serve one, and pack two more, as well as the sweet-scented osmanthus rice dumplings. As for the "ice cheese" that the waiter mentioned,

they can't eat it today.

The ice cream is basically made with milk, rock sugar and ice cubes, and various delicious toppings are added on top.

He Linqiu and A Xu stared at each other. They had never heard of many of these things.

After Xu Yi ordered the food, he said to them: "If you want to eat ice cream, you have to come early tomorrow, and let A Xu come over and queue up to buy it tomorrow.

He Linqiu shook his head hurriedly: "Brother Yi, I won't eat it. "

A Xu nodded and said, "Lang Jun wants to eat. I'll just come over and queue up tomorrow. Don't mention anything else. " "

The waiters here all said that "ice cheese" is a scarce commodity and must be sold at a high price. How could he eat

it? Xu Yi said indifferently: "It's not that expensive. "

If possible, he could buy fresh milk and make it himself, but he doesn't know the difference between the taste and the milk sold in teahouses.

If he has time, he can go to the countryside to see if he can find dairy cows. I bought some from them and tried it myself.

Soon, the waiter brought them the osmanthus fermented rice balls and roasted blue flowers.

Xu Yi was thinking about the fermented rice balls and couldn't wait to taste them when they were served.

The porcelain bowl used to hold sugar water in this teahouse is painted with elegant azure mist-colored orchids, just like a touch of misty blue decorated by literati on a quiet rainy day. The blue and white porcelain is baked on a pure white porcelain plate, but the baked things on it are cooked. The orchid makes it even more appetizing.

The rice dumplings sold in the market are not as exquisite. Each one looks round and uniform, like pearls soaked in water. And these meatballs are not ordinary meatballs, except they are white. , as well as pink and yellow.

According to the explanation of the waiter, the pink and yellow are dyed with the colors of the ingredients. As for the ingredients used, the waiter smiled and played with them.

He Linqiu and A Xu looked at this. They both smacked their tongues slightly as they ate, not daring to move their chopsticks. After Xu Yi reminded them twice, they took the spoons and ate the delicious green roasted broccoli

in small bites.

Didn't touch it.

Xu Yi had no choice but to put it on the plate in front of them with chopsticks and let them eat more.

If it weren't for the high nutritional value of broccoli, Xu Yi would have bought some in the market and fried it himself. Let's eat.

...

After eating, Xu Yi called the waiter to come over and pay.

The waiter smiled and said to Xu Yi: "Hello, sir, I have prepared two more dishes for you. One penny and twenty pieces of silver. "

" Bang -"

The spoon in He Linqiu's hand fell down.

He hurriedly checked the plate and the spoon to see if it was damaged. When he saw that it was not broken, he breathed a sigh of relief, and then he picked it up again.

One hundred and twenty coins!! !

Isn’t this just a few plates of vegetarian dishes? How can they be so expensive!

Seeing He Linqiu’s surprise, the waiter explained: “This guest doesn’t know that the broccoli in our store is special to Fucheng. Can't eat. Look at how exquisitely these rice dumplings are made. The taste is so good, how can it be compared with the few pennies in the market?

He Linqiu's breath was stagnant: "..." Xu

Yi's eyes told him to calm down. The price was within his acceptable range. He invited him to eat. He didn't consider the price before, but now... of course he doesn't need to. Think about it.

After all, I don’t often come to eat in such a top-notch restaurant. A meal in an ordinary teahouse and restaurant can be purchased for twenty or thirty cents.

“Doctor Xu? ! "

Suddenly, a shout came from in front of him. Xu Yi looked up and saw Tao Qinghao coming in with two boys.

Tao Qinghao was surprised to see Xu Yi eating in his restaurant.

In his opinion, Xu Yi was His sleeves are clean and empty, and he is a poor but proud and respectable man.

Besides, the food sold in his teahouse is not cheap, and an ordinary drink can cost 20 cents.

Although Tao Qinghao has not yet taken over the family. Teahouse, but his father deliberately cultivated him and asked him, the young boss, to check the books every month. He also liked to go shopping in the market and was not a playboy who didn't know anything.

Xu Yi narrowed his eyes and asked. : "Is this your teahouse?

Tao Qinghao said: "It belongs to my family. My family owns three of the famous teahouses and restaurants in the county. " "As he spoke, he clapped the wind fan in his hand and said displeasedly, "You came to eat in the teahouse, why didn't you tell me first so that I could treat you too.

Xu Yi smiled and said: "The teahouse I entered casually, I didn't know it belonged to your family. "

Tao Qinghao was happy and said: "Now you know, let me treat you to this meal to thank you for the mint and loquat drink you treated me to last time. " "

Although the weather is getting colder, people in the county are afraid of the heat and still love to eat cold drinks.

He still remembers the mint and loquat drink made by Xu Yi. Looking at Xu Yi like this, he unconsciously started to salivate.

"What about you? Are there still candied loquats? Tao Qinghao couldn't help but ask.

Xu Yi said: "There are some more, do you want to eat them?" Tao Qinghao waved his hand and said, "

I can't always take advantage of you. You have to keep your drink well. Don't just tell others casually like before." If you ask me, that's the only bad thing about you. Fortunately, Xin Yao is heartless. If it were someone else, he would have had second thoughts and stolen your recipe. "

Xu Yi smiled lightly and said nothing.

He would only be generous in front of people he recognized.

Tao Qinghao wanted to invite him, but he didn't refuse. Friendships can only last longer if they come and go.

Farewell to Tao Qinghao, Xu Yi took He Linqiu and the two of them home with food in hand.

On the way back, He Linqiu was curious about how Xu Yi knew the young owner of the teahouse. He had met this person from a distance before. His master's family was invited to attend a banquet, and he went as a servant to accompany him. He remembered that day, this man was standing among a group of richly dressed nobles, looking carefree and talking and laughing happily.

Such a noble person would be so casual in front of Xu Yi. Looking at Xu Yi again, he seemed to be accustomed to this.

When did the gap between him and Xu Yi reach such a huge distance?

He Linqiu was worried. When he waited outside Xu's house, he saw Xu Yi took out a portion of the food he had brought back and handed it to him, telling him to take it back to Mrs. He. He was stunned for a long time.

"Brother Qiu, what's wrong with you?" Xu Yi saw that his expression was wrong and asked softly.

He Linqiu shook his head quickly and said that he was just distracted.

Xu Yi looked at him: "Yeah."

...

Hearing the noise, Ah Jin opened the door for them.

I was very happy to see that my brother came back with Xu Yi.

She told Xu Yi that the dried rabbit meat had been soaked until it could be torn open, and asked A Xu if she had bought the spices.

"Bought it back." A Xu replied to her and added, "Lang Jun also took us to eat delicious food. He didn't forget my sister and brought you a portion too."

A Jin's eyes were bright, holding the food Box, bent down and shouted: "Thank you, Mr. Sir!"

The voice was loud and crisp.

Xu Yi: "..." A sense of shame arose in his heart.

It stands to reason that Xu Yi should get used to others calling him "Lang Jun". Outside, some people call him "Lang Jun" as an honorific title, but at home, it is the title used by the servants for the master's family.

The meaning is different.

Because of this difference, Xu Yi was still not used to having such a young child call him that way, so he still shouted loudly.

Xu Yi thought for a while and said with a smile: "Keep your voice down, don't let other people know."

Ah Jin didn't understand: "Why is Mr. Lang?"

Xu Yi: "You will know later."

While Ah Jin When you're still young, you can bluff a little bit, but when you grow up, you probably won't be able to bluff.

In the evening, the Xu family had braised shredded rabbit meat for dinner.

A Xu knew that Xu Yi liked spicy food, so he first stir-fried the dogwood and Sichuan peppercorns with lard until they were fragrant, then added sliced ​​ginger and green onions to stir-fry out the flavor of the spices.

After the aroma comes out, you can add the soaked rabbit meat, fry for a few times, then add other spices, add well water to cover the meat, simmer over low heat until the juice is reduced, and then you can eat it.

When Xu Yi tasted it, he found that A Xu's cooking skills were even better than his, and he couldn't help but feel happy.

So, he planned to leave the kitchen work to A Xu in the future.

As a result, the surprise was yet to come. After dinner, Xu Yi took a walk in the yard to eat. When he returned to the house, he saw Ah Jin sitting in front of a kerosene lamp.

What she was holding was Xu Yi's washed clothes. Yesterday in the mountains, he accidentally hung his cuffs on a tree branch and tore a hole.

Ah Jin was holding a needle and thread, mending the torn hole. She held the needle carefully, picking and sewing, and only saw a few centimeters of tear, which disappeared visibly to the naked eye.

Xu Yi: "..."

Did he save the two babies?

Why do a ten-year-old and an eight-year-old have better life skills than him?