Chapter 63 Scientist
Chapter 63
Lü Mingzhi swallowed his food and took the time to reply to his father, "My eldest brother is a bit stubborn. Even if he comes back, he won't be able to help much." For example, he rushed over, but in the end, he was still a step too late. Moreover, his eldest brother was used to his parents' omnipotence and always thought that as long as they were there for his second sister, there would be no problem.
"That being said, this is not the way it should be."
Mrs. Jiang on the side was fed up. "Why do you always scold the eldest brother? You know he's stubborn. Originally, family matters depend on contributions from those who have money and those who have strength. The difficulties of the Tian family are right in front of the eldest brother. What can he do? Just as my daughter said, he can't help even if he comes back. Besides, the eldest brother not only sent Tian An back to ask, but also bought a fifty-year-old ginseng for my daughter with his own money. My daughter still remembers his kindness. But you always complain about the eldest brother. I know you have always disliked the eldest brother in the past two years. You think he is too soft-hearted and has no future, but please don't interfere with the relationship between your children!"
Lu Mingzhi said nothing, completely agreeing with his mother's words. People are biased. His eldest brother had given birth to his own blood relative, so his focus would definitely shift to his younger family. But that's normal, right? Isn't his father also favoring his second sister? After all, they are family. Don't be too demanding. Just treat them like relatives. How you treat me, I'll treat you the same way. It's fair.
Lu Desheng shrank his neck when he was scolded. He really felt very disappointed with his eldest son. Because the eldest son was a simpleton, not very smart, and easily believed in pillow talk. But God is conscientious, he said all this, he really cared about the eldest son. Because he was very sure that his little girl would have a great future, and the eldest son didn't know how to take advantage of the fact that his little girl hadn't made it yet and build a good relationship with her to seize the opportunity. Then, the youngest son was highly valued by his teacher in the academy, and his teacher had some reputation in the court and the opposition, so he thought his future would not be bad. The eldest daughter was married, and her future was taken care of by her husband and children, and her parents' family could only help a little. Wouldn't this reveal the eldest son? As a father, he was also very worried.
Forget it, forget it, children and grandchildren will have their own blessings. Lu Desheng now hopes that the eldest brother and his wife will not regret it in the future.
But he knew his daughter was smart and had her own standards. She would never treat her eldest son's family unfairly. That was enough. It was not good for parents to interfere too much in their children's affairs.
"You're doing pretty good." Lu Desheng patted his youngest son's shoulder. He didn't say that the eldest son did a bad job, but praised the youngest son for doing a good job. Shouldn't it be okay? As he said this, he secretly glanced at his wife.
Jiang was too lazy to pay attention to him.
Lu Mingzhi raised his head and looked at his father with some confusion.
Lu Desheng didn't say anything else, only said, "Your second sister is doing well now. She doesn't cause trouble, and when trouble does come, she's not afraid of it. She does things in an orderly manner."
Lu Mingzhi thought to himself, that's not the case. Zhao Bin is two years older than him. In their circle in Chang'an City, he is considered a perverse and sinister person. People in the same circle are afraid to offend him. Besides, you can't offend his sister, otherwise he will be like a mad dog, biting whoever he catches.
His second sister actually beat him up, no, she beat him up without mercy. She also forced the Zhao family into a state of panic, forcing them to fight under the table. Isn't that impressive?
"What are you talking about?"
After learning that Lu Mingzhi had arrived home, Lu Songli came to the main courtyard. At this moment, she walked in leisurely from outside wearing a cloak of moderate thickness.
"Second sister? You're here, come and sit down."
His father was right; his second sister had truly transformed. She had previously given people the impression of quiet elegance, but now she was bright and lively. Combined with her previously cold appearance, she was like a plum blossom blooming softly under the warm sun on a winter's day, creating a harmonious blend of warmth and cold.
Lu Songli looked at the little savage in front of her with a smile in her eyes, and sat down on the chair he had pulled out.
Lü Mingzhi was the youngest child in the Lü family, two years younger than her. In two months, after the Lunar New Year, he would be fourteen. When he was born, his father, Lü Desheng, had already achieved some success. The Lü family was doing well and less busy, so his father often took him with him, and the two of them were very close.
"Second sister, you haven't eaten yet? How about a bowl of dumplings? Dad, is this called dumplings?" After getting the affirmative, Lv Mingzhi strongly recommended it to Lv Songli, "This is delicious."
Lu Songli laughed. Indeed, dumplings were the best. There was nothing better than eating a bowl of hot dumplings in the cold winter. "Okay, then, mother, please give me a bowl of dumplings."
In fact, dumplings have existed in ancient times. They were invented by Zhang Zhongjing in the Eastern Han Dynasty. They were originally called Jiao'er. At that time, the dumpling fillings contained some cold-relieving medicinal herbs, which could be used to treat people with frostbitten ears in winter.
The customs and habits of Dali are similar to those of the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Dumplings are available, but they are not popular.
The last time she visited her sister at Xu's house, her mother-in-law gave her a large amount of pork, the best cuts of pork. They couldn't finish it all at once, so her mother wanted to dry it and make it into dried meat for easier storage.
In later generations, dumplings were on her daily menu, so how could she not eat them here? With her oral instructions and the efforts of the cook, the cook made dumplings with the pork she brought back.
The first time she made it, she prepared the filling under her supervision: a white frost pork filling. The pork was a mix of fat and lean, minced, and then mixed with wine and wild ginger to remove the fishy smell before serving. The white frost here is actually Chinese cabbage. While later generations' Chinese cabbage, after millennia of domestication, has a sweet and flavorful texture, the white frost at this time had a slightly astringent flavor of wild vegetables, making it particularly delicious when paired with the pork belly.
Lu Mingzhi ate a big bowl of dumplings, and his stomach felt warm. He praised the dumplings highly.
Dumplings with a combination of meat and vegetables, served with fine white flour, are more suitable for her parents than meat patties and other foods.
Her parents are both forty this year, an age when they should take good care of themselves. Compared to the average lifespan of seventy or eighty in modern times, forty is still in the prime of life, but in ancient times, forty was already the end of the world. You have to know that lifespan in ancient times was very short. According to statistics, the lifespan in the Xia and Shang dynasties was eighteen years old, in the Zhou and Qin dynasties it was around twenty years old, in the Han Dynasty it was twenty-two, in the Kangxi Dynasty it was twenty-seven, in the Song Dynasty it was thirty, and in the Republic of China it was thirty-five.
Human life expectancy is related to diet, medical environment, etc. The backwardness of ancient medical technology, the impact of war and the shortage of food supply all affect the life expectancy of the population.
This is also why, in the original novel, Qin Sheng died at the age of 24, and Qin Heng was grief-stricken, yet he didn't have too many doubts. Firstly, everyone's lifespan is short, and secondly, since ancient times, beauties, like famous generals, are not allowed to see old age. As the commander-in-chief of the Qin family army, Qin Sheng had many things to worry about, and he had to lead the troops in battle, so his lifespan was even shorter.
Her parents lived for forty years and were very open-minded. They felt that with their current physical condition, they would have no problem living for a few more years. Even if they died in a few years, this lifespan was already quite good nowadays.
But Lü Songli came from a later era, where the average lifespan was 78. She certainly didn't want Lü Desheng and Jiang to die young. She could make up for the shortfall in medical care, but she also wanted to ensure they were well fed and clothed, safe from war, and able to enjoy a comfortable old age. This, she thought, should allow them to live longer.
Her thoughts were full of twists and turns, but in fact they were just a fleeting thought.
When Lu Songli's dumplings were served, Lu Mingzhi was already full, while Lu Desheng had already had breakfast, which she ate with her mother.
Lu Mingzhi sat next to them and chatted with them about some of their experiences during their study tour. He said that they started from Yuzhou, passed through Huainan County, Jiangzhou and then to Guangzhou. Guangzhou was the turning point, and they passed through Changsha County, Wuling, Jingzhou, Badong County and then returned to Chang'an.
"Trees in the south don't shed their leaves in autumn or winter."
"I heard from the Master that in Jiaozhou, where Guangzhou is located, when it's the coldest here, people there sometimes only need to wear two layers of clothing."
Lu Songli thought to himself that Guangzhou should be the Guangzhou of later generations.
Jiang listened with great interest, very curious, "There really is such a place?"
While eating, Lu Songli listened as Lu Mingzhi talked about the differences in landscape caused by the different climatic zones from north to south.
Climate zones are zonal climate regions divided according to their latitudinal distribution. Factors influencing climate include temperature, air pressure, wind and rain, and so on. China is generally divided into six climate zones: tropical, subtropical, warm temperate, normal temperate, cold temperate, and frigid. These are covered in junior high and high school geography courses.
Lu Mingzhi and the Master traveled from north to south and then from south to north, making two rounds and appreciating different scenery.
"My teacher also said that in winter, it usually gets dark in Dunhuang County around 8:00 PM, while in Lelang County it gets dark around 4:00 PM."
"The time of dark is almost two hours apart?"
Lu Songli thought, Dunhuang is in Gansu, close to Xinjiang, and Lelang is in Liaodong. One is in the west and the other is in the east. The longitudes are different, so the sunrise and sunset times are naturally different.
Lu Songli discovered that Lu Mingzhi read a wide variety of books. Compared with the classics, history, and literature, he was more interested in the changes in nature such as mountains, rivers, landforms, sun, moon, stars, wind, rain, and seasons.
She remembered that this summer, on her mother's birthday, he had given her a very special gift. She remembered him taking her family to a rockery, and then, somehow, he made it gurgling with water, and then he gave her a rainbow. The whole family was stunned, like idiots.
Lu Songli discovered that her brother was a potential scientist. This was a pleasant surprise. The more she looked at him, the more he resembled her two cousins from later generations. He was clearly a talent dedicated to technology. Her cousins studied the quintessence of Traditional Chinese Medicine, while he studied natural sciences. However, the research direction was not important; talent was what mattered.
"I'm done eating, little brother, do you want to go back and rest for a while? When you're done, we can talk as a family." Lu Songli noticed that the corners of his eyes were slightly red, and tears were flowing. He must be very sleepy. Such a treasure must be taken good care of.
"Yes, yes, go and rest first." Jiang also agreed. She was so focused on listening to her youngest son talking about those interesting things that she didn't notice his fatigue.
Lü Mingzhi was embarrassed. After the hot meal, he was indeed feeling sleepy, but he kept suppressing a yawn. It wasn't just them who missed him; he'd been away studying for months, and he missed them too. So, upon returning, he wanted to use the opportunity to chat and spend some time together. Now that his family had told him to go get some rest, he'd obeyed.
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