Chapter 83 The formula is static, but the substance is dynamic...
Yuwen Kai is currently in Jin Province.
After leaving Qinghe Ancient Town, he first went to Xi'an. He was already extremely excited when he saw the Qinling Mountains below from the plane; everything else had passed away, only these majestic mountains remained standing.
Later, he saw the Taihang Mountains. On one side were towering peaks, and on the other, an endless plain, so clearly visible from the air. He knew that further northwest lay yellow ravines and desolate wilderness.
Thousands of years ago, millions of troops repeatedly charged out from the other side of the mountains, waging war after war, all for this vast fertile land.
The sounds of battle still seemed to echo in his ears, yet now he sat calmly on the plane, crossing the land in the blink of an eye.
After just one flight, Yuwen Kai felt that he should be able to find what he was looking for on this trip.
Later, he saw the Wei River, the remaining ancient city walls of Chang'an, the ruins of the ancient Daxing City and Taiji Palace, and the ruins of Baqiao. Unfortunately, the former glory was gone. These once magnificent palaces had not even left behind ruins, only a stele for commemoration.
However, this inscription signifies that later generations have not forgotten.
Yuwen Kai felt a mixture of regret and relief.
Until he saw Hanguang Gate and the Dharma King Pagoda of Xianyou Temple.
Hanguang Gate was built in the second year of the Kaihuang era by order of Emperor Yang Jian, together with Helou Zigan, and was also part of the imperial city of Daxing City. Daxing City is gone, but Hanguang Gate has miraculously been preserved.
The Fawang Pagoda of Xianyou Temple was part of Xianyou Palace, which was also the temporary palace of Emperor Wen of Sui. Xianyou Palace is gone, but the Fawang Pagoda is well preserved.
Yuwen Kai stood on the city wall of Hanguang Gate, looking at this thousand-year-old city gate standing at the end of the road. Under his feet and on both sides were Sui Dynasty city bricks, but as far as the eye could see, there was a straight road, a busy flow of traffic, and rows of tall buildings.
There were no imperial guards in armor wielding halberds, only tourists strolling and visiting the city walls, with modern cars driving through the gates. Later in the evening, many stalls were set up at the foot of the walls, where people sat lazily, waiting to eat hot pot and barbecue.
They and the Hanguang Sect were bathed in the same sunset.
At that moment, Yuwen Kai was deeply moved.
In the video, he said to Lu Xiaoqi, "I think my wish will probably be fulfilled soon."
This is an intuition.
All it takes is a certain opportunity.
Lu Xiaoqi was naturally delighted: "So where are you now? Have you arrived at the Ying residence?"
Yuwen Kai chuckled: "I just arrived yesterday. Brother Ye sent someone to pick me up and then arranged a hotel for me. I will be staying at the Ying residence for about half a month. Young friend Lu, there's no need to worry."
After going to Xi'an, he went to Wuchuan, where the Yuwen family originated. The six towns of Wuchuan nurtured three dynasties: the Northern Zhou, the Sui, and the Tang, and it was also the birthplace of Yuwen Kai. In this sense, he returned to his homeland.
After completing this journey, he contacted Ye Shi'an. He had originally planned to go after the New Year, but Ye Shi'an repeatedly invited him to spend the New Year at his home. Unable to refuse such hospitality, Yuwen Kai agreed.
Hearing him say that, Lu Xiaoqi finally felt relieved.
Not long after Yuwen Kai hung up the video call, Zhao Feiyan, who was backstage at the Spring Festival Gala, called him back.
"Wow, this makeup and styling! So beautiful!" Lu Xiaoqi praised her makeup and styling to the extreme. It was very gorgeous, but only something like this could match the magnificent stage.
Zhao Feiyan instructed, "Then you must watch my program tomorrow."
"Treading on the Golden Lotus" has received good reviews online, but for the Spring Festival Gala, her two-week tour has been completely suspended, replaced by an understudy, and she has been rehearsing in Beijing all day. Director Qin said that the Spring Festival Gala program could not be removed until the last minute, but now it's all settled.
So she made a video call at the right time, reminding her friends to watch it.
"Look!" Lu Xiaoqi said decisively, "Not only will we see it, but I've also set up a big screen and invited everyone to come and watch!"
She was prepared.
Zhao Feiyan smiled and told her that she would go back to Qinghe Ancient Town to rest for a while after the Spring Festival Gala, and then go on tour.
"So, does that mean you can come back in three months?" Lu Xiaoqi asked.
Zhao Feiyan nodded, her eyes also showing joy: "Yes, the tour will end in April. By the way, Director Qin also asked me to ask you, didn't you talk about performing 'Treading on the Golden Lotus' in Qinghe Ancient Town a couple of times? She asked when would be a good time?"
Ever since Qin Shaohua saw the Huan Yin Ge stage, she has taken this matter to heart.
Lu Xiaoqi nodded, indicating that she understood and would have the performing arts department discuss it with her. Perhaps "Treading on the Golden Lotus" could be a starting point for importing a play.
......
Lunar New Year's Eve arrived as scheduled.
Within Qinghe City.
Fei Ke was helping her mother prepare the New Year's Eve dinner when her mother chased her out of the kitchen: "Go and rest. You have to go to work tomorrow. We can take care of these things."
Fei Ke obediently walked out of the kitchen, sighing inwardly at the vast difference in treatment between having a job and not having one. Earlier this year, when she was still unemployed and staying at home, her mother was becoming increasingly impatient, finding fault with everything she did. She'd nag whenever she saw Fei Ke idly playing on her phone. Now, even offering to help was met with being kicked out.
She picked up her phone and saw a long string of messages in her university class group chat. After reading for a while, she saw that everyone was discussing and complaining about their jobs.
My boss is a complete idiot; he wants me to do everything myself. Get this straight, I'm just a dancer, not a PR person or an administrator. Today he actually asked me to fix the lights in the rehearsal room??? Am I an electrician?!
[Our team leader was the same. Last time he asked me if I could "casually" write some articles for the WeChat official account, saying, "Don't you young people all know how to do that?" Me: ??? Did you pay me for two positions?]
Xiaxia is smart; she went back and opened her own children's training center, saving herself so much trouble.
Xiaxia chimed in: [You guys think going back to run a class is fabulous? It's all about making a profit and losing money, and every morning when you open your eyes, all you think about is how many students you need to recruit to cover the rent. Plus, parents these days are so difficult to deal with!]
Hey, what's the point of spending so much money learning dance?
The complaint was immediately answered with an additional 999.
Fei Ke graduated from the dance department of an art college in the provincial capital. In previous years, this major had decent job prospects and was somewhat related to the glamorous entertainment industry, so students flocked to it. However, in recent years, the overall job market has been poor, the entertainment industry is declining, major song and dance troupes have downsized, and the education and training industry is becoming increasingly competitive, leading to many graduates facing unemployment.
After all that fuss, some people took the postgraduate entrance exam, some took the teacher qualification exam, some started their own businesses, and some switched to self-media – it was a mixed bag.
Fei Ke got her job through Qin Shaohua's introduction.
Director Qin mentioned that a newly opened scenic area was recruiting a group of dancers, and she could recommend those who were interested. However, at that time, people hadn't yet been affected by the job market downturn, and they felt that it was a bit beneath a dance graduate from a prestigious art academy to dance in a scenic area.
In the end, only three or four people went, but I heard that quite a lot of people went to another art school.
Fei Ke didn't go at first. She stayed at home for two or three months and couldn't find a suitable job. She also couldn't stand her mother's nagging anymore. So, on a whim, she contacted Qin Shaohua and asked if the scenic spot was still hiring.
Anyway, her home is in Qinghe City. It would be good for her to work there for a few months first.
And so, she caught the last train and became one of the first dancers publicly recruited by Qinghe Ancient Town.
Seeing everyone's complaints, Fei Ke couldn't help but post a message in the group: "[If you're still looking for work, you can come to our scenic area after the New Year. There will be a second round of recruitment then. The pay is good, the work is easy, and the performances here are of a very high standard.]"
Fei Ke was initially reluctant to go to the scenic area, partly because of face-saving concerns, but also because she genuinely loved dancing. Going to the scenic area would essentially mean the end of her pursuit of dance.
But when she arrived, she was surprised to find that the place was full of experts. Even if you picked one randomly, they wouldn't call them the absolute best, but they were definitely strong in classical dance. Moreover, the choreography of each performance was excellent, and the level was no worse than those performed in theaters outside, and even higher.
Now, Fei Ke is a dancer in "A Thousand Years of Splendor," and she also takes turns performing as a Hu woman dancing in the winery, as well as some other small performances.
Overall, the workload is quite heavy, but it's not 996 (9am-9pm, 6 days a week). It's mostly shift work, and there's still some free time to learn from the experts in the dance troupe.
Fei is quite satisfied with this kind of life. He's even more satisfied now that he receives his monthly salary and yesterday he got his year-end bonus.
After seeing Fei Ke's message, there was a moment of silence in the group, followed by a heated discussion:
I watched clips of your scenic area's performance online, and the quality was really high; it didn't seem like something a scenic area could produce.
[+1, this is completely different from what I imagined a show at a scenic spot would be like. I've already booked tickets for the Spring Festival, I'll come visit you then! @Feike]
[And that theater was so beautiful, so much better than our current theaters.]
Is it really a case of high pay and low workload? Looking for referrals.
Fei Ke quickly replied, "It's not that there's little work, but there's basically no overtime. Plus, the team atmosphere is great, and the boss is generous with bonuses, so I think it's pretty good. But you should also think carefully: scenic areas are different from other companies; there aren't necessarily holidays, and you have to work shifts."
[Sigh, in our line of work, why worry about that? We're even busier on holidays.]
Of course, some people poured cold water on the idea: "Scenic spots are unreliable; they're just young people. What will they do when they get old? They might as well take the civil service exam."
Fei Ke looked up and saw it was a female classmate he'd never gotten along with. But this time, she'd incurred everyone's wrath. How many people could actually pass the civil service exam these days? According to her, all dancers were just making a living off their youth.
They didn't even need to get involved themselves; many people immediately stepped in to defend them.
Fei thought for a moment and replied: "Why think so much? Let's earn money for a few years first. At least they're generous with the pay here, and they provide food and accommodation. I can save at least six figures a year. I heard they're building an employee housing complex next year, where we can buy apartments at internal prices."
She appears gentle, but is actually in Versailles.
After experiencing the harsh realities of society, everyone loses the aloofness they had on campus and becomes ordinary people. Isn't all that hard work just for good food and lodging?
As a result, the group chat became lively again.
Besides those who spoke in the group chat, Fei Ke also received several private messages, all inquiring about the second round of recruitment in the ancient town after the New Year. She felt that she had never been so popular during her four years of university, and the conversation didn't end until her parents had served the New Year's Eve dinner.
After finishing their meal, the family of three got dressed and prepared to drive to the ancient town.
Fei Ke had already made plans to spend New Year's Eve in the ancient town this year.
Mr. Fei joked, "Okay, thanks to my daughter, we'll have a different kind of Spring Festival this year."
Mrs. Fei always felt something was off: "If we don't watch the Spring Festival Gala on New Year's Eve, it just feels like something's missing."
Fei Ke pouted and said, "Oh, Mom, we've been watching this for decades. Let's try something different this year."
What's so interesting about the Spring Festival Gala?
She drove to Qinghe Ancient Town, but encountered a short traffic jam on the way in. Fei Ke guessed that many people would bring their families to the bonfire dinner, and sure enough, after getting out of the car, she saw many familiar faces in the large square of Zone 1.
Then, she also saw a huge television screen standing on the other side of the square, broadcasting the Spring Festival Gala.
Mrs. Fei laughed out loud: "Oh, this is good!"
Fei Ke: ......
"Okay, you can stay here if you want. I'm going to find some friends to play with." She said goodbye to her parents and happily went to find her friends.
Most of the people watching the Spring Festival Gala are ancient NPCs who have been summoned here. They are not very interested in bonfire parties. They are used to seeing bonfires in their own time. How can they be as good as the Spring Festival Gala?
Almost everyone arrived in front of the big screen early, waiting for the gala to begin.
Huang Daopo couldn't understand why those young people were singing and dancing around a fire. Weren't the song and dance performances on TV much better?
Lu Xiaoqi said quietly from the side, "Just think about it, if you eat the same dish for thirty years, and the taste of the dish gets worse and worse, you'll naturally get tired of it."
Xiao Meiyun said from the side, "That's because there are so many fun things now, so you don't find them interesting anymore. It's like food. When you were little, you ate meat once a week and thought it was incredibly delicious. Now there are so many delicious things, you don't even crave meat anymore."
Lu Xiaoqi thought for a moment and said, "That makes sense."
Xiao Meiyun began to reminisce about the past, sighing deeply: "The changes over the past few decades can be described as earth-shattering."
Huang Daopo, curious, asked what it was like before. Xiao Meiyun rarely encountered someone who enjoyed listening to her reminisce about the past, so the two began to whisper among themselves.
Xiao Meiyun said that there was not much food in the past, and Huang Daopo said that they were the same, and often encountered people starving to death.
Xiao Meiyun estimated her age and immediately imagined that she was talking about the famine of that year.
Lu Xiaoqi was initially terrified, afraid of being exposed, but in the end she just tugged at her lips: ...Very good, each of them said their own thing, but they could all make their own sense.
Moreover, it attracted quite a few people from the surrounding area to listen later on.
Aside from scholars like Yuwen Kai and Su Jun, the rest of the students didn't really learn much about this era through history books or other reading materials. When Zhao Simin taught them, she often only touched on the "present," but didn't talk much about the "past." They only knew what the present was like, but didn't know how it had become this way.
The topic that Xiao Meiyun and Huang Daopo started unintentionally filled in some gaps in their understanding.
It was eight o'clock, and the Spring Festival Gala started on time.
Fei Ke's mother originally only planned to watch the Spring Festival Gala here for a while and then go look at other things. Although the shops in the ancient town were not open, the lights were still on, and the night view was still beautiful. But! After she sat down here, she didn't want to leave.
Good heavens, why are the audience here so enthusiastic?
They cheered for exciting stage transitions, applauded for beautiful dances, and even laughed along with the shills in the audience when they heard crosstalk and skits that weren't actually that funny.
Fico's mother was shocked.
Fico's mother was moved.
How many years has it been since she had the experience of watching the Spring Festival Gala like this?! In recent years, everyone just turns on the TV as background noise while scrolling through their phones, and occasionally looks up only to make a few complaints. It doesn't feel like the Spring Festival Gala that she had when her whole family watched it together when she was young.
As someone who really enjoys this kind of atmosphere, Fico's mother is actually quite melancholic, but today she found that feeling here!
It's like something that's not very interesting to look at alone, but it's much more interesting when there's a group of people around you watching it, laughing, and crying together.
"We made the right choice coming here today!" Fei Ke's mother said excitedly to Fei Ke's father. "Watching the Spring Festival Gala here is such a great atmosphere!"
I'll come again next time!
Wang Wei sat with the three Li brothers and the dancers. The latter were alright; they had already watched the recordings of the gala many times during rehearsals, and were only slightly taken aback by the enormous television screen. Wang Wei, however, was extremely excited, his eyes wide and unblinking. When he saw congratulatory messages from many ambassadors to China and leaders of other countries, his face lit up with a broad smile.
"Excellent! Excellent! The palace gates open to the heavens, and the people of all nations bow before the emperor!"
To be able to see such a scene a thousand years later is truly a comfort to the elderly.
Lu Xiaoqi hesitated for a moment about whether to explain that these were not vassal states, but then thought better of it and decided it was too complicated to explain.
Just then, she felt Song Wu Sao sitting next to her slap her arm hard: "Feiyan! Her Majesty the Empress is coming out!"
A golden lotus flower rose from the stage.
Zhao Feiyan stood on the lotus platform and danced gracefully.
She looked exceptionally beautiful under the national television cameras. Even with the camera right up to her face on such a large screen, there were no flaws. Her eyes were full of emotion, and she could be both angry and happy.
This dance program is called "Portraits of Beauties Through the Ages," which actually selects several famous beauties from history and then chooses some of the top dancers of today to perform them.
Zhao Feiyan also played herself, with a large subtitle indicating her identity: "Han Palace, Zhao Feiyan".
Her long sleeves flowed like clouds, her arms swirling and turning, transforming into two ethereal white rainbows under the interplay of lamplight and the golden light of the lotus petals. Her toes lightly touched the lotus heart, and the tiny golden lotus seemed unable to bear her weight, its petals trembling slightly.
The audience gasped, fearing she might fall.
However, Zhao Feiyan suddenly bent backward, like a willow swaying in the wind, then spun around and rose up, her skirt fluttering, making people tremble with fear yet unable to resist being firmly attracted to her.
Fei Ke's mother couldn't help but comment, "This is exactly how Zhao Feiyan should look. The actress was chosen quite well."
Lu Xiaoqi texted Liu Chan, who had already gone home: "Remember to release the press release tomorrow."
Liu Chan was also reading it, and replied: 【Understood.】
He put down his phone and muttered to himself: I don't know why the boss is so insistent on associating Zhao Yizhu with Zhao Feiyan and the word "Empress"... It's really strange!
Oh well, let's just consider it one of the boss's weird little quirks.
Meanwhile, in front of the television screen, Gongsun Jin was watching Zhao Feiyan's performance intently, without even blinking.
Li Guinian laughed heartily from the side: "Auntie, no need to worry. You and Empress Zhao are completely different styles. She is gentle and beautiful, while you are heroic and spirited. You can complement each other perfectly, hmm, let me think..."
Gongsun Jin laughed and said, "I'm not worried. This Empress Zhao's dance is indeed unique and captivating."
Li Guinian didn't answer. Judging from his expression, he seemed to be deep in thought about his creation. Gongsun Jin and the others were used to this and ignored him, continuing to focus their attention on the television screen.
After watching Zhao Feiyan's program, Lu Xiaoqi lost interest and became somewhat restless.
After looking at it, Su Jun said in a low voice, "If you don't want to look, I'll go for a walk over there with you?"
Lu Xiaoqi immediately stood up: "Let's go for a walk."
Xiao Meiyun didn't say anything, just watched them leave with a smile. Young people, let them develop on their own.
Zhang Dalang also left, burdened with worries. No matter how good or dazzling the show was, he couldn't watch it anymore.
Zhang Ying was worried when she saw her father leave. Zhang Erlang patted her shoulder and chased after him.
"Brother, are you still thinking about the peacock blue glaze?" Zhang Erlang advised him. "The formula is correct, but we can only try it one step at a time. This takes time and can't be rushed. Why are you so worried, brother?"
Zhang Dalang nodded: "Of course I know, but second brother, Miss Lu is so generous... I feel guilty!"
They also received year-end bonuses after returning to Qinghe Ancient Town.
Very generous.
It should be said that those who were summoned received very generous red envelopes.
Zhang Dalang's usual salary was over 20,000 yuan, and he received a bonus of 50,000 yuan. He worked with the brick kiln workers day and night, so he naturally knew the value of this amount. Moreover, he and Zhang Erlang were only involved in firing the kiln later; those who had worked there from the beginning received even larger bonuses.
Zhang Dalang therefore felt unworthy of such treatment.
Not only did they fail to produce peacock blue, but their initial boasting also led to Qinghe Ancient Town being criticized and ridiculed.
After hearing what he said, Zhang Erlang couldn't help but feel guilty.
"Don't worry, I just want to take a walk," Zhang Dalang said to him.
Zhang Erlang: "Then I'll take a walk too."
The two walked along the lake for a while and then returned to the campfire, where many young people were singing and dancing around the fire, creating a very pleasant atmosphere. Their previously somewhat gloomy mood seemed to have lessened considerably as a result.
Just then, Zhang Dalang suddenly heard people talking behind him.
Sitting behind them were Mr. Zhang, the owner of the pastry shop in District Two, and Mr. Zheng, the owner of the steamed bun shop. According to the contract, these shops were required to remain open during the Spring Festival, and ten days of business during the Spring Festival was equivalent to a month's business at other times, so they all chose to stay in Qinghe City.
Mr. Zhang and Mr. Zheng were discussing a pastry they were currently researching. Both of them were pastry chefs and could be considered colleagues.
"...Old Zheng, look at my recipe," Boss Zhang's voice carried a mix of researcher's frustration and excitement. "I followed the recipe exactly as written in that ancient book: 7 parts glutinous rice flour, 3 parts japonica rice flour, plus sugar, lard, pine nuts, walnuts... The quantities and steps were exactly as described, but the jade belt cake I made just doesn't feel quite right!"
Boss Zheng: "How do you know it's a little off?"
“I’ve had delicious food, and this is definitely the taste. It’s a pity that the person kept their recipe a closely guarded secret.” Boss Zhang glared at him. “Based on my intuition, the recipe in the book should be correct, but I just feel like there’s something wrong with it.”
But he couldn't immediately recall where it was.
Ancient books say that it is "as white as jade, melts in the mouth, and has the aroma of pine nuts that fills the teeth." The one he made has the shape and is white enough, but the taste is not smooth enough and the aroma is a bit weak.
Boss Zheng took a sip of tea from his thermos and slowly replied, "Old Zhang, I've thought about this question before. Let me give you an example. When we steam buns, the old recipe says to use Hetao snowflake flour, which makes them chewy and fragrant with wheat. But you know, can the wheat from decades ago be the same as the flour produced in greenhouses and by machines now? The wheat aroma is completely different!"
"Later, I tried many different powders before settling on the one I'm using now. So, you see, you can look at old recipes, but you can't be completely obsessed with them."
Mr. Zhang was taken aback, then muttered, "...That seems to make sense."
The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became. He slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "You're right! Just staring at the recipe won't help! The ingredients are different now! It's like the glutinous rice of the past is not the same as the glutinous rice of today. The glutinous rice flour of today is indeed more refined, but that natural sweetness has faded. Pine nuts used to come from old pine trees deep in the mountains, but now they are mostly from plantations. The sunlight and soil are different, so the aroma is naturally weaker."
"And lard, the old recipe calls for pork fat, specifically from free-range black-haired pigs that graze on wild food. Only then will the fat be rich, fragrant, and not greasy. The lard on the market these days, sigh..."
Modern industrialization is indeed efficient and benefits the world, but it has also lost many subtle things.
Boss Zheng nodded in deep agreement: "That's why I say, a prescription is static, but the ingredients are dynamic. Having a prescription alone isn't enough; you have to understand the nature of each ingredient. The ingredients the ancients used when writing prescriptions are completely different from what we can get now."
"You need to figure out how much water to add to the glutinous rice flour to make it moist enough? Should we reduce the amount of icing sugar, or add some other candied fruit to enhance the aroma? Should we roast the pine nuts over low heat to bring out their fragrance? And even with the lard, can we mix it with some other oil, or add some other spices to compensate for that rich flavor? We have to try! We have to try slowly and figure out the quirks of these ingredients."
Boss Zhang sighed, then cheered up again: "That makes sense. Old Zheng, I should have asked you to come out and chat from the beginning. Okay, I'll try a few more times after the New Year! It'll be difficult, but I refuse to believe I can't do it this time!"
Mr. Zheng chuckled and said, "If you manage to make them, you'll have to send me some. My wife loves your pastries."
Boss Zhang laughed heartily: "No problem!"
The conversation between the two was like a thunderbolt, striking Zhang Dalang's confused mind without warning!
He froze abruptly, not even noticing the thing he was holding fall to the ground. The guilt and frustration that had been lingering in his heart were instantly replaced by a tremendous, enlightening shock!
The recipe is static, but the product is dynamic!
The formula they used before, although the ingredients are still the same, has probably changed a lot over the years!
Why didn't he think of that before?
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