Chapter 51: My friend, I’ll send you stir-fried chili peppers!
Song Jin had never remembered where she had seen the question that Ji Shubai asked that day. Today, when she heard Bao Bao mention "Taiping Yulan", it reminded her.
Ji Shubai gave a modified version of the palace examination questions from the 23rd year of Jiajing, while Bao Bao gave a modified version of the palace examination questions from the 2nd year of Wanli.
Song Jin asked Bao Bao to recite the Book of Songs, and Ji Shubai gave her a test question for the top scorer, which showed that he really thought highly of her.
You are a Jinshi, you can set questions, you have met the emperor, you are amazing!
This person looks extremely righteous, but in fact he is very bad.
Song Jin was very angry. She thought that Bao Bao must have been taught by Ji Shubai to behave like this today. He was just teasing her on purpose.
The two teamed up to play with her! They bullied the weak with the big, the common people with the officials, and the scholars with the scholars...
No matter what, it’s just bullying.
Song Jin was gritting her teeth, while Bao Bao was sitting on top of her with his legs dangling in the air, looking at her with his head tilted.
"What? If you can't answer, send me some Li Meng Cake."
I'll send you stir-fried chili peppers!
"Master Baobao," Song Jin asked with a big smile on his face, "You can ask questions, but I want to ask, do you have an answer to this question?"
When Bao Bao heard this, a hint of panic flashed across his eyes, which was caught by Song Jin.
The questions must have taken a lot of time to memorize, and she didn't believe that the child could recite the eight-part essay of the top scholar.
"Hey...hey...I'm asking you a question, and you're asking me for an answer? If you can't answer, you'll be punished!"
Song Jin thought quickly, but he didn't care. He asked with a smile, "My dear little master, how about this? I'll tell you a story. If you like it, you can pay for my Li Meng cake. If you don't like it, I'll give you Li Meng cake as a gift. Is that okay?"
"Okay!" Bao Bao grinned. No matter what story she told, she would just say she didn't like it. Song Jin would definitely not win.
After making up his mind, Bao Bao sat down quietly, waiting for Song Jin to tell a story with a smile.
Song Jin's purpose was naturally not to tell a story. From the fact that Bao Bao refused to let the wet nurse carry her to the seat, it was known that she had a strong temper. A woman with a strong temper is most afraid of meeting a woman who is stronger than her. She will either attract her or hate her, and she can use either method.
For this purpose, Song Jin carefully selected a story.
"It is said that a hundred years ago there was a place called Mianshang."
Song Jin put his hands behind his back, walked and talked, the only thing missing was a folding fan in his hands, otherwise he would have looked like a storyteller.
"There was a man in Mianshan named Qiu Shen. Although he had some wealth, he was nearly fifty years old and still childless. He was also widowed, so he married a daughter of the Song family as his second wife. They had a daughter named Qiongying."
When Song Jin said this, he glanced at Bao Bao and saw that she was listening attentively.
"This Qiongying is as pretty as a flower, as delicate as a jade, and is simply loved by everyone..."
Song Jin deliberately exaggerated what he said, and when he looked at Bao Bao again, he saw that she was frowning slightly.
It's okay to be dissatisfied.
Song Jin continued, "When Qiongying was ten years old, Song's father passed away, so Song followed her husband to the funeral. Because they were far away, Qiongying was left behind and asked the couple in charge of the family to take care of her."
"But disaster struck. On their way, the Qiu family couple encountered a group of strong men who killed Qiu Shen with a single blow."
Bao Bao's heart skipped a beat when he heard this. He opened his eyes wide and asked, "What about his wife?"
Song Jin sighed and said, "This Song family has disappeared without a trace since then, leaving behind a ten-year-old Qiongying. It's really sad."
"And what happened next?"
Song Jin just shook his head and sighed without saying anything. Bao Bao got anxious and jumped off the armchair, grabbed Song Jin's clothes and asked anxiously: "What happened next? How is Qiongying?"
"Would you please tell me my story first?"
As soon as the baby heard it, he knew he had been tricked by the person in front of him. He threw his clothes and said angrily: "You are bullying me!"
"How could I bully you? I'm just telling you a story. If you like it, I'll tell you more."
"Then tell me, tell me."
Song Jin smiled evilly and said, "If you want to know what happens next, please wait for the next chapter."
"Bad thing!"
Baobao was very anxious, and Song Jin was very happy. Just when he was feeling proud, he heard Baobao say something shocking: "I'll go find Uncle Ji. Uncle Ji knows everything, and he must know Qiongying too."
After she finished speaking, she ran away. Song Jin was so anxious that he quickly grabbed her and said, "This is my story. Why should you ask your uncle Ji? You should ask me."
"You're a bad guy! You deliberately didn't tell me."
"If you say you like me, I'll tell you."
Bao Bao's face turned red with anger, but he couldn't beat Song Jin after all, so he lowered his head and said, "Okay, I like it, but you're still a bad guy."
Song Jin smiled brightly: "That's right."
Bao Bao stared at Song Jin with his eyes wide open: "Now can you tell me what happened next?"
Song Jin half squatted down and said with a smile: "You can tell me, but it will have to be next time. Next time I come, I will not only tell you about Qiongying's later story, but I will also bring you some delicious food. I guarantee you will like it."
It's a pity that Baobao is not as greedy as her father. Her mind is completely focused on stories. Now she can't finish listening to the stories and she is so anxious that she keeps stamping her feet.
"I'm so mad! I'm so mad!"
You know what, she is not greedy like her father, but she has a quick temper like her mother.
"Did he bully you again?"
Like a ghost, Ji Shubai's voice suddenly appeared behind Song Jin, scaring Song Jin so much that he almost lost his balance.
"Lord Ji?" Song Jin was quite dissatisfied. How could such a good person always stand silently behind others?
“Uncle Ji!”
When Baobao saw his savior coming, he rushed over.
"Tell me the story of Qiongying. What happened to her? Did she find her mother? Was she captured by bad guys? Was the supervisor kind to her?"
The little girl had a lot of questions, which made Ji Shubai shake his head and laugh. He bent down and picked her up: "There are so many questions, which one should I answer first?"
"Where did her mother go?"
"Master Ji?"
Song Jin became a little anxious. She had finally hooked up with this girl. If Ji Shubai intercepted her, she would be furious.
Ji Shubai heard the pleading in her voice, and finally softened his heart. He turned around and smiled at Bao Bao and said, "Uncle Ji doesn't know this story either. Shopkeeper Wen has to tell it."
"Uncle Ji, how could there be something you don't know?"
I guess in this kid's eyes, her Uncle Ji is the library.
Ji Shubai just smiled and said, "I just don't know this, what should I do?"
Bao Bao sighed and said, "Well, we still have to find him."
Song Jin was relieved: "Don't worry, I will bring delicious food and good stories next time I come."
With Ji Shubai around, Song Jin spoke much more politely.
Baobao had no choice but to agree, and at the same time urged her to come earlier. Then, at Ji Shubai's instruction, he let the wet nurse take her into the inner courtyard.
There were two people left in the hall. They looked at each other. Song Jin felt a little embarrassed and had to find something to say.
"Thank you for just now, Master Ji."
"Small things."
"Master Ji just now...has been..." Song Jin felt that it was unlikely that Ji Shubai was just another coincidence.
"Bao Bao doesn't have the confidence to handle you alone, so she asked me to watch from the side so that I can come out and help her when she can't handle it."
After saying this, he chuckled. Song Jin knew from the beginning that the question could not have been thought up by Bao Bao, but he did not expect that Ji Shubai had been listening next to him.
Since he directly admitted that the two of them had teamed up to deal with her, Song Jin couldn't blame him, so she had to find another topic to talk about.
"Master Ji is very familiar with this young master?"
Ji Shubai was always friendly whenever he mentioned Baobao, and this was no exception when he spoke to Song Jin.
"She almost called me dad."
"ah?"
Song Jin's imagination ran wild. Could it be that Mrs. Chai almost married him?
"Baobao was in poor health after she was born. Her parents were worried about her and wanted to find someone to adopt her. It just so happened that I had a close relationship with Master Chai, so they found me. Isn't there a rumor in some places? It will be easier to raise a child if she finds a godfather."
Song Jin then realized that this was not the case.
"Then why do I call you Uncle Ji?"
Ji Shubai smiled and said, "Because I am not married yet, it seems inappropriate for me to be someone's father, so I was not called godfather."
"oh……"
"That's how her nickname Bao Bao came about. May she grow up healthy."
"Baobao?"
Song Jin had always thought of him as a baby, and she found it strange. Did people in ancient times also call them babies? She didn't remember.
"What's wrong? Is it weird?"
Song Jin hurriedly shook his head: "No, it's not strange, it has a very good meaning."
Ji Shubai didn't care about the matter anymore, but mentioned some snacks.
"When you bring snacks to the baby next time, please send some to me as well. The weather is getting cold, and Baobao is not suitable for eating Li Meng cake. Please change it to something warmer, and so am I."
As soon as he mentioned the snack, Song Jin became more energetic: "Okay, I'll have someone send it to the government office in two days."
In fact, Song Jin really wanted to ask Ji Shubai why he was still single at his age.
Judging from his character, appearance, and official position, he should be a popular man. How could he be single?
Could it be that there is a white moonlight?
Broke up? Died? Then became discouraged and didn't want to get married?
Song Jin couldn't guess, but it was too difficult to ask, so he had to keep it to himself.
The two parted at the Chai family. Song Jin returned to Shidinglou, but Ji Shubai went to the backyard. It seemed that he was really close to the Chai family.
Song Jin already had plans regarding snacks.
It is already late autumn, and everyone has wrapped themselves up in clothes, but it is still difficult to resist the cold. There are no new winter cotton-padded clothes, not to mention the warmth. Song Jin feels that she will probably freeze to death if she leaves the stove this winter.
She missed the air conditioning of the 21st century, and she also missed milk tea. What she wanted to prepare for Baobao was milk tea.
Milk tea has to be made with black tea. Song Jin uses a small iron pot on the stove, adds cold water and a handful of tea leaves, slowly boils the tea soup, then filters out the tea leaves and pours the tea soup directly into a portion of prepared milk.
Because it was for children to drink, she did not dare to boil the tea leaves until they were thick. But the one for Ji Shubai was different, it was boiled thick.
Aren't you ganging up on me? I'll keep you awake until dawn!
Pour a small amount of milk into the pot, add sugar and cook until bubbles appear on the edge and a slight milk skin appears.
Pour half of it into the milk tea you just made, and leave the other half in the pot. Add a little water-ground glutinous rice flour and tapioca flour, stir and cook slowly until it becomes sticky, then pour it into the milk tea. This way, a cup of milk tea is ready.
Because Song Jin was unsure about water-ground glutinous rice flour, he had to start soaking glutinous rice two days in advance. After soaking, he ground it again and again with a small stone mill before he could grind out fine, freshly ground glutinous rice flour.
After cooking it himself, Song Jin gave a small cup to Chunyun to try. It was indeed very appealing, so she happily took one portion to Chai's house and told another story by the way.
She didn't finish her story and just wanted to trick Baobao into seeing her.
This is a big move for her, and she has to use it carefully.
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