Chapter 113: Who is the official, who is the common people, who relies on whom...
Song Jin followed Ji Shubai to the old house of Ji family and landed the sedan chair in the courtyard. Ji Shubai refused to go in and made a request to Song Jin with a sullen face.
"I want fresh porridge, cook it for me."
"cook."
"I want something delicious."
“It’s delicious.”
Song Jin impatiently left Ji Shubai and went into the kitchen.
It's a pity that there are no clay pots suitable for open flames these days, otherwise she could try to make a Chaoshan clay pot porridge, put some shrimp, crab, scallops, and add two spoons of peanut butter, it would be so delicious.
Peanut butter?
Song Jin has to make peanut butter.
Since the ingredients were not available, Song Jin had to make a simple version of casserole porridge.
Wash the rice and soak it in boiling water first. Then prepare some fresh shrimps, separate the head and body, remove the shrimp thread, and then open the back of the shrimp.
This step can remove the shrimp shell, but Song Jin is used to keeping it.
Heat a little oil in an iron pan, stir-fry shredded ginger and shrimp heads, fry over low heat until the shrimp oil comes out, then add boiling water and boil for about a cup of tea, then remove the shredded ginger and shrimp heads.
The water for cooking porridge is ready.
Pour the rice into the casserole, and pour the just-boiled water into the casserole as well. Use this instead of pure water to cook the porridge, and the taste will be more delicious.
Song Jin sighed a little, it was a pity that she didn't make it to Guangzhou, otherwise she would have had the pleasure of eating scallops.
Eating scallops in Suzhou is too expensive, she dare not even think about it.
The porridge is cooked slowly, and as usual, the shrimps can be added only after the rice is cooked. When it is served, coriander leaves are added to enhance the flavor and some salt is sprinkled for seasoning. It is even more delicious than the century egg and lean meat porridge that I cook myself.
Song Jin couldn't help swallowing his saliva as he smelled the soup cooked with shrimp oil. How good it was in modern times, you could eat whenever you wanted, but here you have to wait on others.
Just wait for me, you little bastard.
After Song Jin fanned the fire, she stood up and happened to see Ji Shubai leaning against a pillar in the corridor, staring at her.
When Ji Shubai saw the man stand up, he leaned even more and looked sick.
Song Jin sighed and walked over.
"Aren't you sick? If you are sick, why don't you go lie down in bed?"
"I've been lying down for several days, and there's no one to talk to. I'm almost dumb."
"You are dumb."
Ji Shubai complained in a low voice: "I'm sick, can't you be more patient?"
"Don't be so arrogant."
"Who of us is taking advantage of you?" Ji Shubai muttered in a lower voice, "Can't you be gentler?"
"I advise you to stop while you are ahead. The disease will eventually heal."
Ji Shubai chuckled: "If I don't accept it, what can you do to me?"
"I'll feed you peppers, and then you'll cry."
Ji Shubai couldn't laugh anymore.
"You are unreasonable."
"You just found out about this?"
"You should be nicer to me. I am your backer."
"Hahaha - I get it, Ji Kaoshan, can you threaten me in a different way next time?"
Ji Shubai was a little discouraged, he couldn't think of any other solution.
"I will use this until the end of time."
"Then you have to make sure I'm alive first."
Ji Shubai curled his lips and muttered, "I'll protect you."
"What did you say? I didn't hear you clearly."
Ji Shubai suddenly bent down with a sly smile on his face: "You are so scared, but you are still so stubborn. Where did you learn this?"
"Are you laughing at me?"
Song Jin was stubborn and didn't like to suffer any loss. He raised his hand to hit the patient in front of him, but at that moment, Mother Chen came over.
"Oh, I told you to invite Miss Lu over a long time ago. It would make her feel better if she came over. You have to be so stubborn. You have endured so many days. You know how hard it is, right?"
Song Jin was very proud after hearing this: "It seems someone misses me very much."
"No."
"You are so sick but still so stubborn. Who did you learn this from?"
"Is it okay to learn from you?"
Song Jin burst into laughter.
The porridge in the casserole is made of rice cooked in boiling water. It can be eaten after being cooked for a while. The aroma wafts around, and Song Jin is busy adding the shrimp meat.
As she stirred the food, she said, "Next time I cook fish porridge for you, I'll have to find fish with fewer bones, otherwise it will be too troublesome to eat."
"It's too expensive to eat seafood in Suzhou. If you add dried scallops, you can smell the fragrance from far away. It's so fresh."
"There is also peanut butter. I will make it when I go back this time. It is a Guangzhou specialty. After adding it, the color looks better, it is thicker and more fragrant."
"Just make do with what I cooked today. I'll cook something better for you next time."
"Oh, by the way, this is a sick meal, you have to pay for it."
Ji Shubai flicked his sleeves and left.
After adding salt and coriander, Song Jin filled out two large bowls, put them on a tray and ran over.
The Ji family’s old house is so small, Song Jin knew where Ji Shubai could have run to at a glance.
In the study, Ji Shubai did not sit behind the desk this time. Instead, he took off his cloak and sat on the couch, resting his hands on a low table. All the decorations on the table were removed, waiting for Song Jin to put the food on.
"Lord Ji has such great authority that I am scared to death." Song Jin teased him anytime and anywhere.
"Really? How come I didn't see that?"
"Because you are nearsighted."
"What?"
Song Jin didn't bother to answer him. He just laughed to himself, and was very happy about the pun he made unintentionally.
Ji Shubai is both nearsighted and a Jinshi.
Song Jin placed two bowls of porridge on the table, and while explaining his pun to him, he blew on the porridge and drank it.
It tastes much better than what she has at home, but winter shrimps are expensive and she can’t bear to part with them.
"Where did you come up with these words?"
"I figured it out on a whim. Am I smart?"
"It's a ghost, no wonder it makes people sick."
Song Jin was secretly delighted. Hearing him say this, at least he admitted that he was quite important.
"My Lord, you have been ill for so long. What medicine have you taken?"
“No medicine.”
Song Jin was unhappy when he heard this: "Are you sick or not?"
"It's not a serious illness."
So that's how it is. He wouldn't yell for a rest just because of a headache. It must be the young master's disease. She thought he was dying of illness because of her.
"I think your disease is in your mouth."
The illness was all just talk, and there was no sign of any discomfort on her body. It seemed that he was just trying to scare her, and she was fooled.
"The disease is indeed in my mouth. I want to eat something. I want to eat Li Meng Cake."
"No, let's eat something else, Li Meng is out of season."
Ji Shubai pouted: "Then I want to eat caramel pudding, you make it for me."
"You haven't even finished your porridge yet, why are you thinking about snacks? Don't you know that you should eat first and then have snacks after the meal?"
Song Jin scolded him like a child, and he became more and more ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth.
Ji Shubai was also stunned by the scolding. Who is the official, who is the civilian, and who is the backer of whom?
"I...I am also an official of the imperial court after all."
"Then show me your authority and scare me, and I'll go."
Ji Shubai cooperated. He cleared his throat and said in a low voice, "I'm speaking seriously to you. Stop making fun of me."
When Song Jin heard this, he felt that the words were somewhat familiar. Where had he heard them before?
She didn't react for a moment, but Ji Shubai explained it to her.
"This is what Ximen Qing said when he asked Wang Po about Jinlian."
"Master Ji, you have become a bad person. You are even imitating Ximen Qing. You are really not a good person!"
Song Jin jumped off the couch and was about to hit someone, but Ji Shubai stretched out his arms to block her and said:
"You can praise Pan Jinlian, but you won't allow me to learn from Ximen Qing?"
"No. I'm not a good person, but you are a good person, don't learn bad things!"
"Then you should also learn to be a good person!"
"Don't teach me a lesson!"
"Ouch, ouch—ouch—" The two were playing around and didn't notice someone coming outside.
"I thought our Lord Ji was ill at home, how miserable he was. I thought it was such a sad scene. As an old friend, I should at least come to visit and warm his heart. Who would have thought that someone has already come to warm his heart for me. I am sorry for interrupting your flirting today. I will take my leave now."
Lu Junnian was no less good at teasing than Song Jin. After teasing the two of them, he bowed and was about to leave, but Ji Shubai hurried to stop him.
"Brother Lu, now that you are here, why are you leaving?"
"I'm just afraid of disturbing the time you two have together." As Lu Junnian spoke, he imitated Song Jin and punched the air twice, making Ji Shubai and Song Jin's faces turn red.
Seeing this, Lu Junnian guessed that there was something fishy going on and couldn't help but look Song Jin up and down.
What a good little girl, she has some tricks. Ji Shubai can even play with her. What kind of ecstasy did she feed him? He also wants to feed it.
Song Jin felt uncomfortable with what Lu Junnian was looking at, so Ji Shubai moved his body and blocked Song Jin behind him.
“Brother Lu, don’t talk nonsense. Miss Lu is just here to help me cook.”
"Oh, really? Well, I'm hungry too. I'll have lunch before I leave. You won't chase me away, right?"
"How could that be? Brother Lu is joking."
Ji Shubai pulled Lu Junnian over to sit down.
There was a low table on the couch for dining, which could only seat two people. Now that Lu Junnian had arrived, Song Jin had to give up his seat.
She did it reluctantly, so much so that Lu Junnian felt a gust of cold wind when he passed by her.
"Hey, this bowl of porridge is..."
Asking even though you know the answer.
"Sir Lu, this bowl is the one I just used. I'll change it for you right away." When Ji Shubai's colleague was around, Song Jin was still very dutiful, so his voice was softer.
"You've made progress. Brother Shu Bai is really good at teaching people. After not seeing you for a few months, you've become much more obedient."
What a lack of tact.
Song Jin remained calm and was about to go out with the bowl in his hand, but he heard Lu Junnian's reckless voice from behind him.
"You don't know the cases I've seen in the government office. There are many strange cases. I've seen scholars looking for handsome boys, and I've seen wives seducing servants, but this is the first time I've seen a woman dressed as a man in this room. What's your hobby?"
Lu Junnian, he wants to die!
"Don't talk nonsense, she is different."
Ji Shubai was about to speak to explain himself, but out of the corner of his eye he saw Song Jin standing at the door, looking sideways inside, with a pair of creepy eyes.
Lu Junnian noticed it, and followed Ji Shubai's gaze, and suddenly his legs trembled.
"Hey," he suddenly ran out and called out, "Qingshan, Qingshan, go get me a bowl of porridge. I want to have lunch at your house."
After saying that, he turned around and looked at Song Jin with a smile: "I won't bother you with the porridge, Miss Lu."
The last time Song Jin handed him food, he almost had to stay in the toilet that night. This time he finally learned his lesson.
Song Jin said with a fake smile: "Thank you, Lord Lu, for your sympathy."
After saying that, he turned and went into the house, staring at Ji Shubai all the way, making him feel uneasy.
Lu Junnian eliminated the danger and returned happily.
He sat on the couch with Ji Shubai, and Song Jin had to sit on the drum stool diagonally to the side.
"Miss Lu, are you familiar with this place?"
Song Jin glanced at Ji Shubai, and seeing that he remained silent, he smiled faintly and replied, "Yes, I am very familiar with this place."
"Why, come here often?"
Lu Junnian looks very gossipy, so how could Song Jin not satisfy him?
"Master Ji often invites me here."
Lu Junnian leaned forward, gossiping eagerly: "What are you all doing here?"
Song Jin put on a shy look and said, "Well...wouldn't it be more convenient for you to ask Lord Ji?"
No answer, but it seems like he answered everything.
Lu Junnian had an expression of "I understand" on his face, which almost made Ji Shubai crawl into the ground in shame.
"It's me. I invite Miss Lu to come home... come home..."
"What are you doing here?"
Ji Shubai didn't know what to say.
Let's cook. It's like I really treat her as a cook. If she gets angry, I have to stand under the big locust tree and it's very cold.
Let's talk about heart-to-heart talks. He invited a girl to his home for no reason. What were they talking about? It didn't seem right.
"Not doing anything."
"Why did you invite me to your home for no reason? Why is Lord Ji trying to fool me like this now?"
Lu Junnian acted like he was being bullied by his boss, and Song Jin couldn't stand it anymore.
"What do you think this man should say and do when he is with a woman?"
Song Jin threw the question back. Lu Junnian was stunned. It turned out that honest people are easy to bully in this world. No wonder Ji Shubai was asked to be in charge of taxes.
"Ahem," Lu Junnian cleared his throat and said, "When a man and a woman are together, they can talk about poetry, poetry, music, chess, calligraphy and painting. I wonder what the girl is good at?"
Shit, Song Jin doesn’t understand any of this shit.
But Song Jin was not panicked, and his face remained calm: "I heard that Lord Lu was a fellow Jinshi, right? It is only natural that he can only think of these things now."
Song Jin's words "You are not as good as others" were meant in a subtle way, so how could Lu Junnian not understand them?
"What do you mean? I am just one step away from becoming a Jinshi?" Lu Junnian stared at Ji Shubai.
The Jinshi is so great. The little girl who was playing with the Jinshi even laughed at him, her fellow Jinshi. He had to figure out who was better today.
When Lu Junnian meets Song Jin, they are like two fighting cocks. They start fighting while talking, and Ji Shubai quickly mediates.
"Please stop arguing." He jumped out and stood between the two of them. "Today, the t is at my house. Please don't argue for my sake. Miss Lu said something wrong. I apologize to you on her behalf."
Lu Junnian probably didn't expect Ji Shubai to do this, even saying he would apologize for someone else. He couldn't help but tilt his head, his eyes passing over his arm, and looking at Song Jin behind him.
Who would have thought that Song Jin was hiding behind Ji Shubai with his big eyes open, looking at him and smiling.
What a good little girl, relying on someone's support, she actually started to play tricks on him. He rolled up his sleeves and was about to rush over, but was stopped by Ji Shubai.
"Miss Lu, thank you for your help today. Please go back first."
"I haven't even finished talking yet, how can you ask her to leave?"
Song Jin ignored Lu Junnian, stood up, and saluted proudly: "Master Ji, Master Lu, I will go home first today."
After saying that, he shook his head at Lu Junnian, jumped out, and ran away, making Lu Junnian very angry.
"We have been friends for so many years, why are you helping a little girl you have only known for a short time!"
"Master Ji, you are so righteous that you forget your principles for the sake of beauty!"
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