Chapter 87 This is a conspiracy!
Drinking tea and listening to music, this little life is pretty pleasant.
Since traveling through time, he has never had proper tea. Although the method of making tea is quite elegant and the taste is similar to today's matcha cake, it is still difficult for Zhao Huan, who is used to roasting tea leaves, to drink it.
After two pots of tea, Zhou Chunfu trotted into the main hall: "Sir, I have prepared some food. Please give me some suggestions."
After leaving the main hall and passing through a corridor of about 50 meters, they came to a huge room with an area of about 50 square meters.
The room was as warm as spring, even a little hot, all because there was a three-legged cauldron in the middle of the room, more than one meter tall. There was a blazing fire underneath, and bubbling sounds came from the pot, and the aroma filled the air.
On both sides of the big tripod, in the east, which is the center, there is a square eight-immortal table. The chopsticks are ivory, the plates are blue and white, the bowls are made of a whole piece of jade, and the rosewood chairs are padded with black bear skin. Each one is an extraordinary item.
Zhao Huan sat on the comfortable bearskin and, for the first time, spoke to Zhou Chunfu without hesitation: "You're living a very comfortable life. You're no worse off than the officials in Bianliang City."
Zhou Chunfu quickly claimed he dared not, but bravely explained, "My little money is nothing. It's just a few thousand acres of land, more than ten gardens, and seven or eight shops. I can clearly count them. Those officials in the city actually have more money than me, but they are in the capital, under the feet of the emperor, so they dare not enjoy it openly. In their hometowns, there is no one who owns less than ten thousand acres of land. They are the rich."
"But being small has its advantages. I have no sons, only three daughters. They all received generous dowries when they married, and they're living quite well now. My life now consists of drinking tea and taking a bath, enjoying every second of comfort. I've even made a will. If I ever pass away, all this land will be divided among the tenants on the estate. They've been with me for most of my life, and I can't afford to mistreat them."
Zhao Huan glanced at Zhou Chunfu, surprised. "Such a strong desire to survive? Is it just his nature or was it just a sudden inspiration?"
"Be good to the tenants. Eat the meat yourself, but don't forget to give them some broth. The most important thing is stability and unity."
"Yes, yes, yes!" Zhou Chunfu nodded repeatedly.
"You sit down too and introduce us to the delicious food you have here."
"Okay. In the middle of winter, we have to eat mutton hotpot. The part next to the sheep's neck is not only tender but also meaty. It is an excellent ingredient for hotpot." While introducing, Zhou Chunfu asked the chef to pick up the mutton rolls cut into evenly thin slices with long chopsticks and put them into the big cauldron, three times to the left, three times to the right, and then put them on the plate in front of Zhao Huan.
There were various condiments on the plate. Zhao Huan couldn't wait to pick up the ivory chopsticks, picked up the hot mutton, blew on it, and put it into his mouth. It felt like flying in the air.
"Not bad, not bad. Very smooth and tender."
Zhao Huan couldn't help but hum a very popular song.
Don’t look at me as just a sheep. You can’t imagine how happy a sheep is.
The chef worked continuously, giving three slices to each of Zhao Huan, Shao Chengzhang, and Zhou Chunfu, and then retreated to the kitchen area on the west side.
Zhao Huan put down his chopsticks reluctantly.
"There's only so much meat from a sheep that's good for hot pot. If you really want to enjoy it, you'd have to slaughter a dozen sheep. We've prepared quite a few dishes today, so I'll just try a few."
Zhou Chunfu clapped his hands, and the chef brought a plate of stir-fried bean sprouts and placed it in the middle of the table.
Zhao Huan looked at Zhou Chunfu suspiciously, his eyes clearly saying, "Are you trying to fool me? This is just an ordinary stir-fried bean sprout."
Zhou Chunfu understood the meaning in his eyes and was proud in his heart: "What's the big official position? What's the royal family? When it comes to food, all of them have to stand aside. Delicious food is not only about taste, but also about artistic conception, season and pairing."
"This stir-fried bean sprout is first battered with egg and then deep-fried. It's then topped with shredded chicken and ham. It's not expensive, but the cooking is sophisticated. It looks simple, but the flavor is extraordinary. You can't buy this refreshing aroma with ten taels of silver. It's light on the outside, but full of flavor on the inside. This dish must be eaten while it's hot."
There are quite a few things to pay attention to. Zhao Huan picked up a pair of chopsticks after hearing this.
Haha, it’s really good, it actually has the taste of spring. Zhao Huan can feel the bean sprouts’ tenacious vitality.
"This side dish is called Minister Jiang's Tofu. Peel the tofu on both sides, cut each piece into eight small pieces, and dry them. Sear them in lard and sprinkle lightly with salt. Turn them over, add a large cup of medicinal wine, eighteen large shrimps, and a small cup of autumn oil. Boil them once, add a pinch of sugar, and boil them again. Then cut the scallions into one hundred and twenty sections. This is what you call delicious."
"Fifteen young hens of the year, only the tongue tips, taken alive, lightly pickled and fried with elm seeds."
"Ten mandarin fish weighing half a jin (approximately 100 grams) each, and take a piece of skin about the size of a fingernail from under the eighth scale on the tail fin. Steam it."
Boiled pearls in clear water, braised red shrimps on golden plate...
Each and every dish really dropped Zhao Huan's jaw. Some were made with exquisite ingredients, and some were cooked with particular care. Even the imperial chefs in the Bian Jing Palace did not have so many dishes.
After eating and drinking to his heart's content, Zhao Huan burped contentedly, then lazily lay down on the bear-skin chair, closing his eyes and dozing off.
"Zhou Chunfu, your cooperation is putting me in a difficult position. It's hindering national policy. Tell me, should I arrest you, behead you, or exile you?"
I? Beheaded? Exiled?
These three words scared Zhou Chunfu so much that he slid off his chair and fell under the table like he was drunk.
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