Chapter 71 Birds of a feather flock together...
"Everything is ready, the pot has just boiled, Manager Song, you've arrived just in time," Qi Chengming greeted him warmly.
Two copper pots were set up in the open air in the main courtyard, with charcoal burning underneath, already bubbling away. Xiao Dezi and Xiao Chengzi were busy placing small, palm-sized plates next to them—on a yellow-flowered wooden table they had found somewhere, the wide tabletop now piled high with dishes.
Song Gu couldn't help but take a deep breath, and in that instant, his mouth watered and he couldn't help but swallow. He quickly led Mr. Huang in and hurriedly closed the door.
Several palace servants stood watching longingly from a distance, not daring to approach. One of the younger servants was so envious she was almost crying: "...What delicious food is the prince eating again? *slurp*"
"I want to eat it," her companion murmured, taking another breath, which only made her cough. "Cough cough cough! Forget it, forget it, don't think about it."
The prince is usually very generous, always letting them try any new dishes he makes, essentially just letting them eat their fill. They even get to enjoy the most fashionable stir-fries, and are always treated with great respect outside the palace. Only these last few times has it been like this; the prince must have bought some extremely rare and precious dishes to be so eager to share them with the officials…
Huang Dong isn't made of iron; today was his day off. When Song Gu found him, he was drinking, eating snails, and chatting with a few men nearby—the atmosphere was just right. Song Gu hesitated for a moment, then cautiously asked him the most important question: "Have you eaten?"
If Mr. Huang had already eaten, Song Gu wouldn't be foolish enough to invite him over to watch their performance again; His Highness would definitely blame him.
Fortunately, Huang Dong did not miss this lucky meal.
Now he looked around, somewhat confused: "...Are we eating antique soup?"
It's normal to have a warm and comforting bowl of antique soup in winter, but Huang Dong was puzzled because he had never seen such an antique soup before.
One copper pot held a pale white broth, with scallions, ginger slices, dried dates, and various mushrooms floating on top, smelling delicately fresh. It seemed to be a soup base made with broth and mushrooms. The other copper pot, however, was filled with a terrifyingly bright red color, densely packed with chili peppers and oil, creating a domineering, spicy aroma.
Even though Huang Dong isn't particularly good at eating spicy food, his gaze couldn't help but be drawn to that copper pot.
What is it made of? Compared to it, even dogwood has no flavor at all.
Huang Dong racked his brains but still couldn't figure out what material it was made of.
But that's not the problem now...
"Come and sit down, please." Qi Chengming eagerly invited them to sit down. Xiao Dezi and Xiao Chengzi had already been forced to sit opposite him by him, convincing themselves that they were "sitting in the lower seats."
It's all thanks to them for coming all this way. His Highness wasn't used to eating alone on the way and insisted on going out to eat with everyone. Now that he's gotten used to it, he can barely sit up.
Song Gu was actually somewhat timid.
The offense was unavoidable on the road, but now that they're in the Prince's mansion, he's just a steward... no matter what, he's a eunuch, not the head eunuch His Highness has served since childhood. Can he really be so offensive?
This hesitation lasted only a few seconds before Song Gu resolutely went over and sat down.
'The new emperor's orders are the most important.' This was his natural thought; another thought was...
He once again recalled the lonely, desolate figure of the young man under the moonlight.
We cannot let that happen again!
The seating arrangement then became: Qi Chengming sat in the seat of honor facing the courtyard entrance. The more respected seat on the left was politely declined for a while before being given to Huang Dong, while the unassuming Song Gu sat on the right. Opposite them, in the lower seats, were Xiao Dezi and Xiao Chengzi.
At this point, Qi Chengming called out to everyone: "The water is boiling, hurry up and put the food in! The hot pot is very spicy, be careful if you can't handle it."
Even he—because he's not dressed in traditional clothing, it's questionable whether his fragile body, after being ravaged by dogwood and millet peppers, can withstand the spiciness of modern hot pot; he has to eat with caution.
So for today's spicy hot pot, Qi Chengming simply broke off a quarter of the hot pot base. This might be considered bland by modern people, but for people in ancient times, the aroma and spiciness were still excessive.
"Your Highness—" Huang Dong looked nervously at the two pots in front of him, and finally asked with some fear, "How are we going to eat this? Just like this?"
Everyone is used to eating separately, each person having their own small pot. Now there are five people and two pots? Does His Highness mean... that everyone will share the food from one pot? And with the lord he serves?
This was far too exciting for Huang Dong.
Song Gu, on the contrary, accepted it well. He calmly followed the prince's actions, clumsily pouring a plate of potatoes into the mushroom soup pot, and boldly putting a slice of lotus root into the spicy pot, while advising, "Just eat it like this, pick what you like to put in."
In truth, Song Gu was quite frightened, but he maintained a nonchalant expression on his face.
He exchanged a deep look with Xiao Dezi and Xiao Chengzi, searching for a familiar expression in the eyes of the two eunuchs, making sure they were thinking the same thing as him.
Song Gu pursed his lips slightly, revealing a hint of satisfaction at the corner of his mouth.
—This is the atmosphere His Highness wanted.
All they could do was accept it nonchalantly, putting on a show of enthusiasm. Anyone who remained silent and overly respectful at such a time would be disrespecting His Highness.
"What a pity, it's still missing something." Qi Chengming looked at the thin slices of goat meat and goose rolls, turning a beautiful red in the spicy hot pot. He ate with gusto, sweating profusely in the dead of winter, but... there was no sesame sauce or dipping sauce. He was just eating hot pot dry, maybe adding some chewy hand-pulled noodles, but he still felt like something was missing.
In those days, resources were scarce, and many vegetables were unavailable in winter. The most common fare was still leafy greens and cabbage, dried and stored mushrooms, along with potatoes, tofu, fish balls, and lotus root. Qi Chengming's notification was so rushed that it was already quite an achievement for Aunt Fang to have managed to gather these ingredients.
"Your Highness, what else would you like to eat?" Huang Dong wisely kept picking at the mushroom soup pot throughout the meal, asking as he went.
Look at Steward Song, he can't handle spicy food but he insisted on trying it. Now his face is red from the spiciness, his eyes are watering, and he's burying his head in his tea, unable to say a word. It's really scary.
Huang Dong had a huge appetite, and waiting for the hot pot was agonizing; he ate like he was eating chicken feed. Seeing that His Highness didn't mind his eating manners, Huang Dong became even more audacious. He secretly poured two plates of noodles into the pot, stirred them, and cooked them. Paired with a large plate of goat meat rolls that cooked quickly, he devoured the food with great relish.
Huang Dongyue ate with even more pleasure, seeing the prince occasionally casting approving and encouraging glances his way.
"We're still missing duck intestines and beef aorta. Next time, I'll ask Aunt Fang to prepare them in advance so we can have a good meal." Qi Chengming murmured, taking a big bite of the chewy and spicy fish balls with tears in his eyes.
Ah, farewell! He will never be able to eat his beloved tripe again!
Qi Chengming swore that if his love of eating beef were to become public knowledge... there would be tons of water buffalo that had died unexpectedly in Liuzhou. Perhaps he could secretly hunt down genuinely accidental-dead cattle to eat. But what if it got out? That was a scene Qi Chengming absolutely did not want to see.
In Liuzhou and even the Lingnan region, water buffalo are indispensable helpers, even more difficult to raise than ordinary cattle, requiring more meticulous care and exertion. In this era when agriculture was still a fundamental part of life, these important livestock were comparable to modern luxury cars; many people could only afford to rent one, as buying one was simply unaffordable.
He can only hope that the system will one day take pity on him and reward him with some ready-made beef and beef-related products.
Qi Chengming sobbed sadly, longing for his modern life. Despite his developing body, the boy had a voracious appetite, and though he said one thing, he ate three plates of noodles in one go. The five of them devoured all the dishes on the yellow-flowered wooden table, even the cabbage that had been prepared was quickly cooked and eaten while still crisp.
"Xiao Dezi...go ask Aunt Fang if she has any wine, bring a pot of wine!" Qi Chengming was in high spirits as he finished eating and was enjoying himself.
Xiao Dezi glanced at him worriedly and responded.
When he returned a short while later, Xiao Dezi was carrying a pot of yellow wine, followed by two eunuchs who brought a stove and a warming basin, on which they placed the wine to heat it. Xiao Dezi explained, "The divine physician Bian said that in winter, wine must be warmed up before drinking, otherwise it will seep into the internal organs and cause illness."
"..." Qi Chengming's expression turned disgusted in an instant.
That's the logic.
But he had never drunk hot wine before. Especially not the kind of wine with a low alcohol content from ancient times. If you heated it up, what would be the difference between it and hot soup? It wouldn't even taste like wine.
"Alright, let's stop here for today." Qi Chengming waved his hand, clearly not wanting to taste the hot wine at all. "I'm going to Baijia Restaurant, wanna come?"
Bai Xuan finally managed to go back to discuss moving to Liuzhou with his wife, but Qi Chengming didn't believe he hadn't left something good at Bai's restaurant—like fine wine. Having another hearty drink in a secluded spot sounded wonderful.
Xiao Chengzi hesitated for a moment, then made up his mind and stopped the anxious Xiao Dezi, replying, "Your Highness, I'll go."
Physical health is important, but Xiao Chengzi keenly sensed that His Highness was more relaxed than ever before tonight. It seemed that His Highness had let go of all restraints in front of this pot of spicy antique soup he had never seen before, and was releasing himself to his heart's content. Wasn't that more important?
Xiao Chengzi boldly said, "Your Highness, you need to wear another coat and bring a hand warmer before you go."
Sure enough, the young prince was very agreeable at this time and granted all requests.
After the hotpot was taken away, His Highness the Second Prince went inside to be helped to change his clothes. Only then did Xiao Chengzi pull Xiao Dezi aside to explain. He didn't say much, "Just let His Highness relax. It's not easy to feel at ease!"
Huang Dong could only bid farewell with regret. He wanted to draw good architectural plans and didn't want his hands to shake. Drinking was something that had nothing to do with him anymore.
Song Gu overheard the two eunuchs' whispering, and he had been feeling somewhat lost and hesitant since then: "..."
He doesn't enjoy drinking; his alcohol tolerance is probably extremely low.
What if he says something inappropriate in front of the new emperor...? But Song Gu absolutely does not want to miss such a relaxing moment with the new emperor.
The four of them arrived at Baijia Restaurant.
Song Gu remained conflicted until they stepped into the lobby and encountered a familiar face—
Qi Chengming remained silent for a long while before asking, his voice choked with emotion, "...Cousin?"
The people sitting there were none other than my cousin and his wife, who should have been recuperating from illness and injury!
"Cousin?" Wang Shou's expression became awkward and hesitant, looking somewhat weak from being caught red-handed.
The two groups of people looked at each other in bewilderment.
Xiao Dezi's vision went black. He closed his eyes briefly, and even seemed to have given up entirely.
Okay...
You all take such care of your health, you really are a family!
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Author's Note: Waaaaah, I want to eat too! Until I'm fully recovered from my weakness, I can't eat hot pot, spicy food, lamb, or alcohol. I'll close my eyes peacefully and watch them eat like a mournful ghost. I will keep watching them...
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