Chapter 1828 Killing Time
Both Mrs. Tang and Mrs. Yang were very interested in this pot of soup and wanted to know how delicious it was. It unexpectedly received unanimous praise from Lord Tang and Lord Yang.
So they didn't wait until lunch. After arriving at the living room in the backyard, everyone sat down cross-legged and Mrs. Tang asked the servants to bring the bowls and chopsticks.
She said, "Drink it while it's hot. Otherwise, if you leave it until noon and heat it up again, the taste will change."
Her reason was unanimously agreed by everyone.
So Manbao opened the can and the aroma of chicken soup filled his nose.
Mrs. Tang and Mrs. Yang, who had never tasted it before, took a sip and said with a smile, "It's better than what we usually have at home."
But there is not much difference.
Yang Heshu and Tang He smiled and told them, "Drink more."
Mrs. Tang and Mrs. Yang stirred the soup with a spoon and drank a bowl slowly. They thought it tasted good, so they drank another bowl. It was not until they were almost finished that they began to react. In the past, no matter how fragrant and delicious the chicken soup was, they could not finish one bowl. But now they were on their second bowl.
Madam Yang lowered her eyes to glance at the soup at the bottom of the bowl, smiled slightly and said, "This soup is not only fragrant, but also not greasy. Did she skim off the oil?"
"No," Manbao said, "What's the use of skimming off the oil from the soup? My sister-in-law cuts out the buttery skin after killing the chicken and refines the oil. This way, she can use it in cooking, and the rest is used to make soup."
Originally, Xiao Qian did this to save more oil for the family. By killing a chicken, the family could use more oil for three or four days.
Lao Zhou has a large family, and in order to ensure that everyone can have a bowl of soup, she took great pains to make a big pot of soup for each chicken.
The soup and meat cooked in this way will not be very delicious.
But Old Zhou and Mrs. Qian didn't mind at all. How could meat be bad?
But there are too many people in Mr. Zhou's family, so the good meat is basically given to the children. If they eat the meat, the others have to drink some soup, right?
Therefore, no one objected to Xiao Qian's approach.
Who knew that the chicken soup made in this way would be just what Yang Heshu wanted. He had been thinking about it ever since he first had a bowl of soup at the Zhou family's house.
Later, every year when he went to Qili Village, he would stay for a meal at Zhou's house.
Old Zhou was also very happy to entertain Yang Heshu, because every time he came, perhaps because he had dinner at his house, Yang Heshu would bring a lot of meat to the Zhou family.
In his opinion, pork and mutton are much better than chicken, especially the fatty meat.
Old Zhou, who felt he had made a profit, would always remind Xiao Qian to make the soup well whenever Yang Heshu came to visit.
Mrs. Tang also savored it for a moment and nodded slightly. "The soup is quite thick, but not greasy. It's really delicious."
Bai Shan said very experiencedly: "The side dishes are also delicious, except for the chicken."
Everyone fished out the yam and shared a few pieces.
Mr. Tang sweated slightly while eating, and simply leaned back to relax, saying with a smile: "To have a leisurely half day like this every day, and then have a bowl of chicken soup like this, it's really a life of heaven."
Manbao also leaned comfortably in the chair and nodded happily.
Yang Heshu smiled slightly, finished the food in the bowl, put it down and rested.
After eating and drinking, they slowly moved to another place to rest. The decoration of the house here was more elegant. Mrs. Tang pulled Mrs. Yang and Manbao to occupy the best position - the wooden couch, and also brought her two children.
However, she was not very interested in children, so after looking at Madam Yang's son, she said to him, "Take your brother to play over there."
Mrs. Yang's son was only a hundred days old, so it was naturally impossible for him to play. So the wet nurse carried him to the other side of the couch to play with the young master of the Tang family.
After taking a look, Lord Tang asked Yang Heshu, "When will you leave Beijing?"
Yang Heshu said, "We have already made plans for Xiazhou before the New Year, and we will be ready to set off after the fifteenth day of the lunar month."
"The matter between Chongwenguan and the Ministry of Revenue..."
"Everything has been handed over. Minister An from the Ministry of Revenue will take over temporarily."
Manbao was drinking tea when he looked up and said, "Minister An is very stingy."
Yang Heshu couldn't help but laugh and said to her, "Minister An is quite reasonable. If you want to apply for funds from the Imperial Medical Bureau, as long as you have reasonable evidence and can convince him, I think he will grant you the funds."
But it is not as convenient as having one's own people. Most importantly, she doesn't know whether Minister An agrees with the Imperial Medical Bureau.
She knew that many officials in the court were opposed to the reopening of the Imperial Medical Bureau. The reason their initial work went so smoothly was, firstly, thanks to the support of the Crown Prince, and secondly, because the person who took over the Ministry of Revenue was Yang Heshu, who recognized them, so they were able to build the Imperial Medical Bureau so quickly.
After all, their Imperial Medical Bureau still has little say, so they have to live according to the wishes of their superiors.
Manbao felt extremely miserable in his heart, and then he asked Yang Heshu about Minister An's personality and character.
Yang Heshu also wanted to remind her, so he explained it in detail.
Lord Tang waited until they finished speaking before taking over the conversation. "When you get to Xiazhou, remember to write to let us know you're safe. It's cold and hard over there. If you encounter any difficulties, be sure to write."
Yang Heshu then asked with a smile, "You are neither an official from the Ministry of Revenue nor an official from the Ministry of Personnel. I have encountered difficulties. What can you, a magistrate of Chang'an County, do?"
Lord Tang choked and said, "I didn't do anything, but don't we still have your father and my father?"
"By the way, you and Uncle Yang..."
Yang Heshu shook his head slightly, the smile on his face fading a little. He said, "The Yang family has suffered such a great loss. Even if it is to calm the anger of the family, my father can't be too kind to me at this time. It will be fine after a while."
Lord Tang was very worried, but he said nothing in front of the three children because he found their excited eyes annoying.
Manbao and the other two looked at this one and that one, and felt very sorry when they saw that they had no intention of continuing.
Tang He glanced at them and sighed with Yang Heshu, "Once you're gone, there's no one left to talk to."
Bai Shan then said, "Brother Tang Xue, there are still us."
Tang He: "Forget it, you guys are just watching the fire from the other side and fanning the flames. I'm lucky I don't give you any compensation."
Mrs. Tang beside her asked quietly, "What about me?"
Lord Tang was startled and said quickly, "I mean, apart from my wife, no one else has spoken."
Manbao and the other two immediately lowered their heads and laughed secretly, and Yang Heshu also lowered his head and smiled slightly.
Tang He couldn't help but get angry when he saw that no one came to his rescue. He felt that Yang Heshu should be added to the three people. It was simply too much.
The seven of them stayed at the Tang family until the afternoon, and only said goodbye and went home when it was almost time for dinner.
Before leaving, he took a lot of return gifts from the Tang family. Tang He and Mrs. Tang sent him to the door and watched Bai Shan and the other two exchange New Year gifts with Yang Heshu before they went back home.
See you at 6pm
(End of this chapter)
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