Chapter 517 A Dream of Youth 49
The palm trees in the courtyard are covered with fallen leaves, and I realize with a sigh that autumn has arrived.
Because Xie Wangzhi offered the prescription without seeking fame or fortune, his reputation in the prefectural city experienced a qualitative leap. While other candidates needed to compose poems in restaurants or submit them to the examiners to gain fame, Xie Wangzhi did not need to do so at all.
His deeds were not only praised among the common people, but also had a good impression on officials such as Prince Duan.
Therefore, Xie Wangzhi was very popular during the autumn examination. Before that, he had received many invitations to literary gatherings from students in the prefectural city and made many friends.
Xie Qi ran over carrying a bag, his face flushed red from the sun. Chen Shi took a handkerchief to wipe Xie Qi's sweat, while Xie Ning looked curiously at the oil paper bag in his hand, "Brother, what is this?"
"Scholar's Cakes! I just went to buy some with Moqi, and we finally managed to get a bagful. I'm taking it in for my father to bring good luck!" There were so many people queuing up to buy the cakes!
When Xie Wangzhi returned from exchanging pleasantries with his friends, he heard this and said helplessly, "Your mother has already made a lot of pastries, and the basket is full. You still went to buy more, don't you feel uncomfortable?"
Although he complained, Xie Wangzhi was still very pleased that his eldest son was thinking of him.
In the end, Xie Wangzhi still put a few "Zhuangyuan" cakes into the examination basket, and gave the rest to Xie Ning. The round cakes were printed with the words "Zhuangyuan" (top scholar).
This pastry has a soft and crumbly texture, with a delicate jujube paste filling and some fruit pieces, making it more fragrant and refreshing than ordinary pastries.
It was just that the sun was blazing, and eating it made me a little thirsty.
Chen also felt the sun was a bit too strong, so she had been holding an umbrella the whole time. Seeing that Xie Wangzhi had already gone inside with the exam basket, she took the children for a walk.
Because of the autumn examinations today, the surrounding teahouses and stalls were full of people, all of whom were family members or servants waiting for the candidates.
They had originally reserved a spot in the teahouse, but today it was unusually lively outside, and all sorts of food stalls had moved over. Both Mrs. Chen and the children wanted to browse around.
The streets and alleys were filled with vendors' cries. Some simple stalls had only a few wooden buckets filled with cold glutinous rice balls, including mung bean glutinous rice balls, red bean glutinous rice balls, and sour plum soup, with ice placed underneath.
When someone comes to buy plum juice, the sweet and sour aroma wafts out as soon as the lid is opened, making one's mouth water.
Xie Qi couldn't resist and darted over like a monkey. Chen smiled helplessly and called to the old woman selling drinks to bring four bowls of plum juice.
She ordered red bean dumplings, which were small, round, and white, rolling in the cool red bean syrup. They were very cute, the red beans were soft and cooked until they were mushy, and the small dumplings had a soft, chewy texture with a faint aroma of wine.
It turned out to have sweet fermented rice wine added; the combination of several flavors was absolutely perfect.
The old woman placed the prepared plum juice in Xie Ning's hand and said with a smile, "Your teeth are still tender, so I won't chill it for you."
Xie Ning hadn't quite grasped the meaning of those words when she realized she was really thirsty. She gulped it down; it was icy cold, perfectly sweet and sour, with a subtle fragrance of osmanthus.
She was still enjoying herself with her eyes half-closed when she heard crunching sounds coming from beside her. When she looked down at Xie Qi's bowl, she was surprised to find several pieces of ice shards inside.
Xie Qi covered his teeth, feeling the sweet and sour coolness seep into his teeth, so cold that he dared not breathe. It felt so good!
Xie Ning glanced at Qing Li and Mo Qi's again, and sure enough, hers was the only one without...
Before Xie Ning could even sigh, a waiter placed a plate of fried shrimp, fried squid, fried tofu, and fried vegetables in front of her. Her sense of smell was immediately overwhelmed by the delicious aroma, so she decided to just bury her head in her food!
Barbecue with plum juice, the taste is absolutely amazing!
Mrs. Chen also ordered cold noodles and cold rice noodles, as it was so hot today and she needed something refreshing.
Xie Qi grilled shrimp in one hand and squid in the other, his mouth greasy from eating, completely unconcerned about his image. While eating, his eyes were still fixed on the stall owner's table.
There were many dishes on the table, including various vegetables, squid tentacles rolls, large river shrimp, small crispy fish coated in flour, pork tenderloin coated in batter, fish slices, shrimp balls, chicken balls, rice cakes, and so on.
In the middle of the table is a wok. When a customer orders, the vendor puts the ingredients into the wok. With a sizzling sound, the hot oil boils and releases a fragrant aroma.
Xie Ning took a skewer of golden-brown, crispy squid tentacles, sprinkled with a little Sichuan peppercorn powder. The outside was crispy, while the inside was chewy, and there was a slight numbing sensation on the tip of her tongue after eating it.
Fried skewers and barbecue paired with cold drinks are a perfect match!
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