Chapter 204 Special Class
After temporarily building sheds to house the refugees, Ji Changqing left the Third Battalion of the Capital and some medical officers outside the city and led the rest into the city.
Magistrate Hu led them to a three-story house and said, "This is the residence of Mr. Zhen, a wealthy man in this county. He heard that the court had sent an imperial envoy to Hezhou to provide disaster relief, so he specially vacated the house for you gentlemen to rest."
A fifty-year-old man standing behind him said respectfully, "Zhen has long been blessed by the emperor's grace. Now I am able to serve you like a dog or a horse. It is truly a great honor."
Ji Changqing nodded slightly.
"Mr. Zhen is thoughtful."
The accompanying officials were immediately arranged to stay there.
After the officials had moved their luggage into the house and settled them in, Magistrate Hu said, "You gentlemen, thank you for your long journey. I, along with the local gentry, have prepared a light vegetarian feast at Chunfeng Tower to welcome you."
Ji Changqing said to the officials, "You may follow Magistrate Hu. I have something to discuss with Doctor Feng, so I will not dine with you."
Officials: “…”
What do you mean by "I have something to discuss with you"? It's obvious that he wants to do things for himself.
Damn it, I didn’t even bring them with me.
After suppressing their resentment, they weakly responded, "Yes, sir."
County Magistrate Hu noticed early in the morning that there was a woman among the accompanying officials and thought she was Ji Changqing's concubine.
Now, after listening to what Ji Changqing said, I realized that she was a female doctor.
Why did you bring a female doctor?
She was probably a concubine who was given the title of medical officer.
His mind raced, and with a smile on his face he asked, "Should I have someone bring wine and food to Zhen's house for you, sir?"
Ji Changqing waved his hand: "No need, I will handle it myself."
County Magistrate Hu's face froze.
She doesn't go to the restaurant for meals, nor does she eat the meals he sends her. Is this to prevent him from doing something?
Really tricky.
He concealed the dark color in his eyes and said respectfully, "Since that's the case, I will go to Chunfeng Tower with you gentlemen to have dinner first. If you have any instructions later, please feel free to send them."
Ji Changqing said hello.
After everyone left, he said to Feng Qingsui, "I was afraid you wouldn't like the company, so I kept you here. Can you blame me for taking the initiative?"
Feng Qingsui smiled and said, "With Lord Ji cooking for me personally, I won't even go to the Queen Mother's Peach Banquet."
Ji Changqing smiled slightly.
As it was late, the restaurant was deserted, so he asked people to buy chicken, duck and fish from farmers in the suburbs and made a few simple dishes: blood duck, stir-fried chicken, chopped pepper fish head and stir-fried loofah.
Feng Qingsui had a big appetite and ate without even raising his head.
She looked up inadvertently and found that Ji Changqing was just watching her eat without picking up his chopsticks. She asked in confusion, "Second Master, why aren't you eating?"
Ji Changqing would not admit that he was mesmerized by watching her eat. He coughed lightly and said, "I accidentally got a spicy bite just now. I need to take a break."
Feng Qingsui suddenly realized: "So that's how it is."
She immediately took out some honey and made him a cup of honey water, saying with a smile, "It won't be spicy if you eat something sweet."
"Thank you very much."
Ji Changqing took a sip of honey water, and the sweetness flowed from the tip of his tongue to his heart.
At Chunfeng Tower, County Magistrate Hu found out through indirect means that Doctor Feng was actually Ji Changqing's sister-in-law, and he was secretly surprised.
No wonder Ji Changqing is still unmarried at his age. It turns out that he already has a "sister-in-law".
He never forgot to bring Feng along when providing disaster relief and suppressing rebellions, which shows the importance of Feng in his heart.
This is really a case of "after many twists and turns, you think there is no way out, but suddenly you see another village with willows and flowers."
After getting all the officials drunk and sending them back to Zhen's house, he returned to the yamen, closed the door and whispered something to his wife.
The next morning, Feng Qingsui washed up, made some noodles with the meat sauce that Ji Changqing had given her before leaving, and then left the city with other medical officers to see the injured patients.
At noon, the cook steamed some pancakes and fried two dishes, and she and Wuhua each got one.
She was sitting cross-legged under the shade of a tree and was about to start eating when a young woman in plain clothes came towards her with two maids carrying food boxes.
"Meet Madam Feng."
The young woman bowed.
"I am Mrs. Pu, the wife of Magistrate Hu, and I have come to bring you lunch."
After saying that, he placed the food box on the ground and opened it layer by layer, revealing the sumptuous dishes inside.
"Thank you, Madam Pu."
Feng Qingsui smiled.
"But we have a rule that we can't accept food from others. I appreciate your kindness, but please take it back."
Mrs. Pu looked surprised. "Are you worried about the food being unclean? I've been watching over the kitchen, so there's absolutely no problem."
Feng Qingsui shook his head.
"It's just that we don't want to break the rules. Otherwise, I'll take it from you too. What should we do if we get sick from eating it?"
Pu said embarrassedly, "I didn't know about this rule, but seeing Madam doing all the work herself while I sat in the back room, I felt ashamed and wanted to do my best to help."
Feng Qingsui chuckled: "If you are willing, you can join us and take care of the victims together."
Pu's expression paused.
Then she shook her head and smiled bitterly: "I do have the intention, but unfortunately I have young children to take care of in the mansion, so I can't get away."
Feng Qingsui: "In that case, you can take care of your family with peace of mind."
After saying this, he lowered his head and ate.
Seeing that she didn't even look at the food she had brought, Pu Shi could only put the food box away and sighed, "Madam, you are so hardworking and persevering. I am really ashamed of myself."
She stood aside and waited for Feng Qingsui to finish his meal before speaking again.
"When Madam is free, please give me a chance to take Madam to taste our Yunhuai local delicacies."
Feng Qingsui raised his eyebrows: "What delicious food does Yun Huai have?"
"We have two famous dishes in Yunhuai: sweet and sour carp and oven-baked chicken."
Pu smiled.
"Madam, you may have eaten this sweet and sour carp in Beijing, so it's not surprising. But this is probably the first time you've heard of oven-baked chicken."
Feng Qingsui, who not only ate it but also made it himself, said: "..."
"I'd like to hear more about it."
"To cook this chicken in a kiln, you have to dig up dirt from the fields and use it to build a kiln. After the kiln is heated to a scorching heat, you put the whole chicken wrapped in mud and lotus leaves into the kiln and let it simmer in the residual heat until cooked."
"After it was dug out and torn open, the fragrance spread all over the place and permeated the soul."
"The roasted chicken has crispy skin and tender meat. It's incredibly delicious, just dipped in the original sauce from the roasting process, without any other seasonings."
"I can't even finish a chicken leg on a normal day, and if I eat a kiln-baked chicken, I still feel it's not enough for one person."
Feng Qingsui looked longingly.
"I'm drooling just hearing this. I'm going to have to try it later."
Mrs. Pu struck while the iron was hot: "How about I take Madam to try it tomorrow? I have a dowry farm outside the city. The owner of the farm is particularly good at braised chicken. I guarantee that Madam will want more after trying it."
Feng Qingsui looked hesitant.
"It's been a busy couple of days, I'm afraid I won't be able to spare any time..."
"How about I find a doctor to take Madam's place?" Pu suggested, "so as to avoid embarrassing Madam."
Feng Qingsui was moved: "This is a good idea. I will ask the judge of the court to see if he agrees."
She asked Pu to wait for her there and went to find Fang Yuanpan.
Then he returned with a smile on his face: "The judge agreed. Tomorrow afternoon, you bring the doctor with you, and I will go with you to eat the baked chicken."
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