Seeing this, Xu Jiang served him another bowl. This time, the food she prepared was just snacks, so she didn't have to worry about ruining his appetite.
After eating the apricot curd, Xu Jiang served wine and snacks such as magnolia slices, candied lotus root, and bamboo shoots.
Lou Jing picked up a piece of honeyed lotus root, tasted it, and nodded, saying, "This lotus root is good." Nothing from his family was bad.
Ji Shan was also eating honeyed lotus root and agreed, "Most honeyed lotus roots are old, soft and sticky, not very refreshing. This tender lotus root is perfect, sweet and crispy, and it helps to relieve the greasiness."
Xu Jiang smiled and said, "If you like lotus roots, we have a dish of mixed lotus stems. It will be brought up right away."
In addition to lotus stems, there are also mulberry leaf tofu, mixed reed sprouts, two kinds of toon, and Xujiang.
The lotus stems really pleased Ji Shan.
Du Hui checked the menu and realized that the green tofu was made from mulberry leaves.
Zeng Zhui was pouring more wine for him and said proudly, "I made this." Du Hui was about to praise him when he heard the evil disciple say, "Mulberry leaves can reduce internal heat. You have a strong liver fire, so eat more."
Du Hui knocked his chopsticks on his hand.
Zeng Zhui was already tough. Since he had been beaten anyway, he simply pushed the mulberry leaf tofu towards Du Hui.
"This wine is the color of rouge, and it looks quite different from the more common peach wine." Yuan Zuzhi raised his cup and tasted it. "It has no strange flavors and a rich aroma." Then he asked Xu Jiang, "Where did Manager Xu get this wonderful stuff?"
Xu Jiang was just taking the cold-washed locust leaves out of the jar when she heard this and said with a smile, "This wine comes from the shadows of the East Mountain. The master has already mentioned its name."
"Oh?" Yuan Zuzhi thought for a moment, "Rouge?"
"That's right. This wine is made from peaches grown in the mountains. These peaches are called rouge peaches in my hometown."
"It's quite elegant." Yuan Zuzhi then asked, "I wonder if Manager Xu has any more of this wine? Can you give me a few jars?" His wife Yanyan would definitely like it.
"If you like, sir, you can take a few jars to the car later."
"What should I do?"
"Just think of it as a gift from your son to Yanyan, so you can take it back with you." After saying that, Xu Jiang went to divide the bowls and fill them with cold noodles without waiting for him to reply.
When a few old friends saw this, they couldn't help but squeeze him.
Du replied, "Eating and drinking doesn't count, but you still want more. That's really rude of you."
"That's right." Lou Jing accused: "Look, I can't even open my mouth." In fact, Xu Jiang had asked Lou Yunchun to bring back a few jars of wine for him and his wife, and they had already drunk most of them.
Yuan Zuzhi saw his expression and knew that this man was trying to be nice after getting an advantage. He couldn't help but glare at him, then said to Du Hui, "You were right to scold him."
"What?"
"shameless."
Everyone couldn't help laughing after hearing this.
In the shop outside, Liang Mo couldn't help but peek in after hearing this. Why is this gathering of literati so moody? Didn't they have a big quarrel just now?
The locust leaf cold noodles were served, and the wine and food were all ready. Xu Jiang also gave Liang Mo a portion of wine and food, and then they sat down at the table safely.
After sitting down, she poured herself a glass of wine and raised it in a toast, saying, "Thank you all for coming to our banquet today. As it's the solar term, I've prepared some simple meals and wild game to suit the occasion. I hope you enjoy them."
Ji Shan laughed and said, "Three kinds of tea and three kinds of wine, twelve kinds of spring flavors. If you are still picky about your taste, you should be thrown to this donkey to chew grass."
Deng Yuechuan also said, "I never thought that Shopkeeper Xu was not only good at engraving and publishing books, but also had such good cooking skills. I am really lucky to have such a good meal today."
Li Tongxue said to the teacher, "Shopkeeper Xu is a master of both cooking and dining. She knows a lot of unusual and bizarre ways of preparing dishes. Ordinary ingredients can be transformed into something truly special in her hands. If I were to ask her to give up this bookshop and open a restaurant instead, she would surely be packed with customers."
"This Shopkeeper Xu is a wonderful person." Zhong Lu picked up a piece of reed sprouts and said, "Look at this one. I picked it with me yesterday at Xiaozhu Creek. Who would think of picking wild vegetables for a banquet?" He tossed the sprout into his mouth. "But it tastes really good."
Seeing this, everyone tried it and found it was really good.
Xu Jiang felt rather embarrassed by what she said, so she interrupted with a toast, "Xu Jiang thanks you all for your compliments. I offer this small amount of wine as a token of my gratitude. I hope that we can enjoy the Grain Rain and the Spring Breeze together year after year."
Everyone raised their glasses to celebrate.
Then he poured another glass of wine to toast Zeng Zhui, "Thanks for your help."
Zeng Zhui drank it happily, patted his chest and said, "Next time if there is a banquet, just look for me."
Xu Jiang was not polite either, "Of course."
The aroma of wine is strong in Huailiu Lane, and each cup is full. The old guests are laughing and chatting happily, while the young people are staggering drunkenly.
Zeng Zhui took the copy of "Lianshang" from Ji Shan, read a few sentences, drank a cup of wine, and at the end he hugged the book and sighed.
"How much effort must this take? When will I be able to write a book like this?"
"As long as you follow your teacher carefully, you will learn it sooner or later."
"Yes! Sooner or later, it will happen. It will definitely happen."
Seeing his flushed cheeks, Zhong Lu took the book out of his arms, fearing that he would crush it. He also confiscated the wine in front of him, fearing that he would have to carry it back if he drank any more.
On this side, Ji Shan pushed Li Tongxue away and interpreted it word by word with his old friend. Li Tongxue had no choice but to squeeze in and join Yuan Zuzhi and Lou Jing.
Du Hui couldn't concentrate on reading at the moment, so he called Xu Jiang aside and asked her a few questions in private.
"Have you thought it through? Do you really want to hand this set of books over to the Imperial College for official engraving?"
"If it passes the inspection, the official engraving is the most appropriate."
"It's only a matter of time before you pass the inspection." Du Hui wasn't worried about the inspection. He believed that if he could pass the inspection, he would have already passed most of the inspection. "I just feel sorry for you and I'm worried about you.
"I know." Xu Jiang bowed to him and said, "Thank you for your care all along, sir. Without you, there would be no bookshop today."
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