Chapter 97 A Gentleman is Near the Kitchen
A few of them walked down the mountain together and met Cui Yanche who was fishing at the foot of the mountain.
Upon seeing them, the Fourth Master Cui immediately said, "You didn't even invite me to climb the mountain with you."
After saying this, he shook the small wooden basin that contained the fish with a proud look on his face, "Look! Not a bad catch, right?"
Cui Zhaoran squinted at him and pointed at the boy next to him, "He fished it, didn't he?"
The little boy had small buns on both sides of his head. He looked to be no more than ten years old and should be a child from a farm.
The maids and servants beside them all tried to hold back their laughter.
The fourth young master looked embarrassed, then noticed Cui Shixuan behind them and said with a smile, "Third brother is here today too?"
Cui Shixuan came from the eldest branch of the Cui family and was known as the third young master.
The third young master had been well-read since childhood. At the age of thirteen, he had already left a group of local Confucian scholars speechless. Therefore, he was very prestigious among the children of the Cui family.
However, he seldom stayed in the old house on weekdays, and was not interested in the literary gatherings held from time to time by scholars and writers. Instead, he liked to hang out in the mountains and countryside, and had a deep knowledge of farming and water conservancy.
Cui Shixuan nodded and walked straight to the main house of the farm.
Xu Shuyao leaned closer to the wooden basin and saw more than ten silver fish swimming in it. She was quite surprised for a moment.
I didn’t expect that there would be such rare fish in Cui’s farm.
She thought of the mushrooms in her third cousin's basket and couldn't help but crave the silverfish soup, which was rare even in the capital.
The fourth son of the Cui family smiled and said, "It's decided. We'll eat this later."
After saying that, he looked at her again, as if waiting for her to express her opinion.
Xu Shuyao withdrew her gaze from the basin and put on a shy smile, "I'm fine."
So the maids and servants put away their fishing rods and carried the basins, and the group went to the main house in a mighty procession.
The manager of the farm was very familiar with the young masters and young ladies of the Cui family. He also heard that the young lady in front of him came from the capital with the old lady of the Duke's Mansion. He wanted to ask his wife to come out to entertain the guests, but was stopped by the third young master of the Cui family.
"Don't worry, I'll do it!"
Seeing him roll up his sleeves as he spoke, Xu Shuyao was secretly surprised.
A gentleman stays away from the kitchen.
But is this handsome and elegant-looking Third Young Master actually going to cook for them himself?
Cui Zhaoran said happily: "That's great!"
He then explained to Xu Shuyao, "Don't worry! He's a very good cook, we won't go hungry."
Xu Shuyao: “…”
Is that what she meant?
Seeing that everyone present had a calm expression except herself and the two maids who were a little surprised, Xu Shuyao probably knew that this was probably not the first time that the third young master of the Cui family had cooked.
It just so happened that she also liked to tinker with food, and her eyes lit up for a moment.
After he rolled up his sleeves, he looked at her and asked, "Cousin?"
Xu Shuyao nodded in surprise.
"Come and help!"
Cui Zhaoran and Cui Yanche in the back were smiling mockingly, and Xu Shuyao felt a little embarrassed.
Isn't she a guest?
Isn’t it enough to just eat?
How did the other party know that she had some cooking skills?
Xu Shuyao had a series of questions in her mind as she followed the so-called third cousin whom she had just met today to the kitchen in the farmhouse.
Cui Shixuan handled the ingredients in an orderly manner and just threw the basket of mushrooms to her.
Xu Shuyao then ordered her two maids to fetch water for washing.
Seeing that his third cousin was processing whitebait, he took a stool and sat down to slowly tear the mushrooms into thin strips.
The one who was lighting the fire was a maid from the farm. Xu Shuyao looked around and since her third cousin had no new tasks, she took the two maids out of the kitchen.
There happened to be an old pear tree planted outside. When the late spring wind blew, the pear blossoms fell down in large numbers.
Xu Shuyao still remembered that there was also a pear tree in the Xu Mansion in Huzhou, but it was not so tall and had such twisted branches.
The steward of the Tian residence brought bamboo chairs for them, and when they lay down on them, they began to squeak.
But after fully acclimating, there was only a slight coolness on my back, which was an extremely comfortable feeling in this late spring weather when the sun was already a bit hot.
The flowers and leaves of the pear tree above her head filtered through bits of sunlight, which floated down onto Xu Shuyao's body along with the petals.
The two maids were joking around, and she would respond from time to time.
Xu Shuyao half closed her eyes. At first, she could only smell the fragrance of the pear blossoms, and then the aroma of food from the kitchen wafted in from not far away.
Suddenly I felt a little restless and irritable.
"My cousin really knows how to enjoy herself." Cui Zhaoran's voice came from behind.
Then he said, "It's time to eat! I didn't expect my cousin to be just like me and only know how to eat."
Xu Shuyao pursed her lips and smiled, and suddenly a shadow fell over her head, bringing up a slight breeze.
She turned her head and saw Cui Yanche, whom Old Madam Cui called "Che Ge'er".
He had a pure and brilliant smile on his face, but he was holding a pear blossom in his fingers and waving it at her, "It's time for lunch."
Xu Shuyao said "Oh" and then said, "Okay."
Then he stood up and shook off the petals on his body.
The food table was placed in the pavilion outside the kitchen. When Xu Shuyao saw the plate of silverfish soup, she couldn't help but be surprised.
When she saw the whitebait and mushrooms just now, she thought of this dish, so she specially tore the mushrooms into very thin strips.
At that time, the third cousin just took a look and looked noncommittal.
I didn’t expect that he is also an expert in food!
Xu Shuyao pursed her lips, smiled, and continued eating.
Perhaps because of the relationship between the two people in the village, men and women sat at the same table, and after the meal they all praised Cui Shixuan's cooking skills.
But his expression was as serious as ever.
His voice was also indifferent, as if he had no interest in getting close to these brothers and sisters.
After having lunch at the farm, I went for a walk around.
In the fields, farmers are busy with spring plowing.
When they saw the third son of the Cui family, they surrounded him enthusiastically. They told him about their improved plow and rake, and said that they had saved some spring bamboo shoots for him and asked if he wanted to go back to the house to get them.
Xu Shuyao and the others couldn't get a word in, but they felt something strange in their hearts.
The Qinghe Cui family has continued to this day. Although they are now in a remote corner, as long as there are more descendants of the Cui family like them, I am afraid they will never be defeated!
The young man comes from a noble family, but he is rooted in this land and has devoted his most passionate love to it.
Although Xu Shuyao is a little woman with a bit of worldly airs, she respects him in her heart.
When they returned in the evening, Cui Zhaoran knew that she wanted to see the whole picture of the ancestral home, so he asked the driver to drive slowly along the outer edge of the house.
As the carriage passed by, the Cui clan members greeted the young lady from the main family with friendly and warm smiles.
In order to let Xu Shuyao see more carefully, the fifth cousin even stopped to greet the tribesmen. She seemed to know this area very well and her words were meaningful.
Xu Shuyao was filled with emotion. She looked up and saw Wuying walking towards her. "The prince has sent a letter!"
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