Chapter 1845 Heartache
Bai Erlang had finished eating and was reciting a copy of the Records of the Grand Historian. He wanted to read it thoroughly before writing it down, so that he could write faster. This was the experience he had accumulated over many years of copying books.
Yin Huoxiao asked Zhou Man and Bai Shan, "Do you need our help tomorrow?"
Manbao and Baishan shook their heads and said, "Forget it. There are too many people going. Our master will definitely be angry when he sees them. It would be bad to punish me for an extra month."
Yin Huo nodded and did not mention the matter again.
Feng Zongping and Yi Ziyang had also finished their meal. They pushed their lunch boxes aside and walked over to look at them. They asked curiously, "You guys made such a big splash yesterday, but why did Zhuang Shijiang not praise you but punish you?"
Yes, in just half a day, the news that Bai Shan, Zhou Man and Bai Cheng were punished by Zhuang Shijiang spread throughout the Chongwenguan.
Bai Shan did not explain why he was not punished, but acquiesced.
Seeing that the three of them were silent, Feng Zongping shook his head and said, "Just because you were sitting on the railing to eat? Minister Zhuang is too strict..."
Bai Shan said: "We won't tell you the reason, so don't ask."
Feng Zongping hesitated for a moment, then said, "I'm just concerned about you, not gossiping."
Not to mention Bai Shan and the other two, even Yin Huo and Liu Huan on the side didn't believe it. Maybe it was because his grandfather was the Minister of Justice, but he was particularly interested in these things and was so well-informed about the news in the palace that even Zhao Liulang couldn't compare to him.
You have to know that Zhao Liulang is the queen's nephew and has a lot of relatives in the palace. From time to time, he can go to his cousins to have dinner and talk, but no one is more informed than him.
Yi Ziyang on the side laughed out loud and pulled Feng Zongping away, "Alright, let's go, go and have a rest for a while, we still have classes in the afternoon."
Speaking of classes, Manbao remembered that she had to go to the Imperial Hospital in the afternoon to discuss some matters of the Imperial Medical Bureau with Xiao Yuanzheng, and then she had to go to give acupuncture to the empress dowager, so she immediately started to eat quickly.
The three of them lived a very fulfilling life for the rest of the decade, with basically no time to play, so as soon as they left the palace, Manbao couldn't help but lie down on his bed and sleep in.
The same goes for Bai Shan and Bai Ji Lang.
When they woke up, they smelled the aroma of meat in the air. They followed the smell to the kitchen in the West Courtyard and saw Xiao Qian preparing steamed pork with rice flour. She had already prepared dozens of bowls.
Manbao opened his mouth in surprise and asked Xiao Qianshi, "Sister-in-law, has our family made a fortune?"
How did you make so much steamed meat?
Xiao Qian smiled and said, "This isn't for our family. The food at home is steaming in the pot. I didn't steam much, only ten bowls. We can just divide it among the three families."
"Then these..."
"We're going to take this to the restaurant," she said with a smile. "You guys sent steamed meat to various households earlier, and then people kept asking about it. Liu Lang also said it was delicious, so the restaurant served this dish."
"Originally, Liu Lang and his family made it themselves, and I occasionally went over to help out, but the customers said the taste was different, so I simply took over this task and prepared the ingredients specifically for them. They can then just bring it to the restaurant and steam it."
Manbao looked at the bowls lined up on the wooden board and asked in surprise, "How can you sell so many in one day?"
Fang came in with a bowl of ground pepper powder. Upon hearing this, she smiled and said, "That's more than that. This is the fixed number the restaurant sells. We only sell fifty bowls a day. If there are more, there will be no more."
She said, "Not only do our customers eat here, but the people you used to give gifts to during the Lunar New Year often buy the pre-cooked meat and steam it themselves. They return the bowl the next day and buy another portion... Business is booming."
Little Qian smiled and said, "The recipe that Manbao found before is also good. I modified it a little bit. Dad said that the recipe can't be told to anyone anymore. It has to be passed down in the family."
Fang fell silent, thinking to herself: I'm afraid it won't work if this recipe is passed down from generation to generation. They all learned it, but only the steamed meat made by the sixth brother tastes similar. What they make...
It’s obviously the same material, what can they do?
Bai Shan asked curiously, "Are there people buying raw materials?"
"There are quite a few people going, from Lord Tang's family, Young Master Yin's family, Manager Zheng's family, as well as Dean Xiao and Imperial Physician Liu's families." Fang smiled and said, "Originally, the business was done at the restaurant, and the meat should have been seasoned there, but with so much meat to cook, there aren't enough tables. My fifth and sixth uncles are planning to build two more long tables in the kitchen, and also a tent, so for now, we're cooking it at home and sending it over."
Manbao nodded, her eyes moving back and forth among the bowls. She said, "Steamed meat is delicious, but you can't eat it all the time. It's too greasy and not good for your health."
Everyone looked at Manbao together.
Manbao said, "So sell less, especially since Imperial Physician Liu and his friends are older and need to eat less meat. I'll steam the rest and bring a few bowls to the palace so we can share them with my classmates."
Fang: ...
Xiao Qian couldn't help but tap her forehead and scolded her with a smile: "You are the one who should eat less, look at your face..."
At this point, Xiao Qian couldn't help but pause. After looking her up and down, she asked hesitantly, "Have you lost weight? Didn't you gain a lot of weight before entering the palace last month?"
After all, I had several days off for the Chinese New Year, and the food at home was better. I didn’t even have homework, and most of my work was suspended.
So Manbao is still a little rounder, but now it seems that the weight she gained during the Chinese New Year has almost been lost.
Little Qian looked at Manbao distressedly, reached out and touched her little face, and asked, "Did you not eat well in the palace?"
Manbao was about to shake her head when Bai Shan poked her in the lower back, and Manbao nodded.
Xiao Qianshi said, "It's okay. I'll give you some nourishment these two days. When you go to the palace later, see if you can bring some food in."
She remembered something and asked, "Don't you have to go to the Imperial Medical Bureau for classes every day? How about I ask Datou to bring you some food every day?"
Manbao's eyes are sure, can he do this?
Manbao immediately nodded repeatedly despite Bai Shan's attempts to stop him.
Bai Shan could only say, "You only have morning classes three days out of ten days, and one of those days you finished early and didn't eat lunch outside the palace."
Manbao said, "It's good to be able to eat two more meals in ten days."
Little Qian nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, eat a few more good meals, and the weight will slowly grow back."
Bai Shan could only advise, "Be careful. When you leave the palace, you can't get too close to outsiders."
Manbao nodded, "I know what I'm doing."
Xiao Qianshi said, "I asked Datou to put the food box at the door and not get close to you."
Manbao smiled happily, holding Xiao Qian's hand and asked, "Sister-in-law, are you tired of doing all this?"
"Not tired, how can cooking be tiring?" Xiao Qian said with a smile, "It's much easier than working in the fields."
Fang smiled and said, "I am quite tired from making medicine. Please ask me too, aunt."
Manbao immediately asked, "Sister-in-law, where are you tired? Let me give you acupuncture."
When Fang thought of the long needle, she immediately refused, "Forget it, I'll just sit there for a while."
Good night
More updates tomorrow
(End of this chapter)
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