Chapter 55 Barbecue with Hawthorn Wine
The Dayin Dynasty had been established for nearly a hundred years, and the country was at its peak. People not only pursued quality of life, but also had psychological needs. They liked to have more contact with nature. Officials in particular were usually busy with official duties, and once they had a day off, especially outings like in March, they were willing to get close to nature, hoping to relieve the fatigue caused by official duties from nature and feel the magic of nature and take a break from life.
The royal nobles participated in the outing partly to have fun with officials and common people, and partly because the spring scenery was indeed beautiful and they also wanted to come out for a stroll, but they had their own area, and officials of ordinary rank could not enter this circle.
Zhao Lan was listless all day long and had no interest in anything. Seeing his youngest son acting so arrogantly, King Jin was furious. "I have already given Mr. Shen and the others to you. You must be methodical in your work in the future. Otherwise, how can you convince your subordinates if you don't act like a master?"
"Then just take it back." Zhao Lan didn't care at all.
The Prince of Jin was so angry that he wanted to hit someone, but was stopped by the Princess of Jin, "Well, you know he has always been in poor health, why are you forcing him like this?"
"If you don't force him, he will be useless."
Princess Jin disagreed with the man's words, "Even if our family's status and position are ruined, it will be enough for him to live on for several lifetimes!"
"You..." Prince Jin was so angry that he was speechless. After a long time, he finally uttered, "A loving mother often spoils her son." After that, he flicked his sleeves and left the villa.
Ordinary officials could at most set up a tent when enjoying the spring. Kings, princes, and officials of the second rank and above had their own villas when enjoying the spring. Lord Fan was the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, a third rank official, and like ordinary officials he could only set up a tent.
Fan Yanjia ran around in a hurry and somehow ended up in the villa area. The guards on duty seemed to have memorized the list of officials in the capital. When they saw him coming, they did not stop him but asked him, "Who are you looking for, Mr. Fan?" and offered to run errands for him.
He waved his hands sheepishly, "I'm not looking for anyone, just wandering around."
Unexpectedly, just as he was about to run back, he ran into King Jin coming out. When he saw Master Fan's youngest son, his solemn and dignified expression softened a bit, and he turned to the people behind him and said, "Tell Lan'er that Master Fan is looking for him."
Fan Yanjia: …
He didn't find anyone!
I don't know how he ended up on the grass in front of Prince Jin's villa. It was really weird.
King Jin thought he was giving Fan Yanjia a good face, and patted him on the shoulder, "Have fun, if you need anything, just come to me."
Fan Yanjia was both terrified and embarrassed, so he could only nod and say, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your care."
"Yes." Prince Jin nodded and strode away.
Fan Yanjia scratched his face, feeling really embarrassed.
Zhao Lan came out and saw that it was Master Fan's youngest son who called him. His father had just visited Master Fan in the morning, but he didn't expect that the Fan family would come to him before noon. He sneered and looked at him with contempt, "What's the matter?"
Fan Yanjia had used this kind of look countless times on people who came to curry favor with his father, but he didn't expect it to be used on him so soon. It was really... He suppressed his emotions and made up an excuse, "There's a good barbecue place, do you want to go together?"
His invitation was actually insincere. Logically, Prince Pingyang Zhao Lan should have disdained it, but unexpectedly he agreed.
"Hmm?" Fan Yanjia was stunned for a moment, but luckily he reacted quickly and smiled, "Then please follow me, Prince."
In order to avoid his mother's nagging, Zhao Lan accepted the invitation of Lord Fan's youngest son and followed him to the green space where ordinary officials played.
The end of the stream in the north was a place where small officials in the capital would set up camp and play. No one had expected that Minister Fan would actually come, and they all came forward to greet him, especially Chief Officer Xue, who almost treated Lord Fan like an empress dowager and rushed to the front to try to please him.
Su Ruojin looked at her father who was squeezed behind the crowd, then looked at Lord Fan who was surrounded by people, standing there silently.
Lord Fan smiled and walked straight to the Su family's grill. Dashi and Ershi had already knelt on the ground in fear. The lamb skewers and pork belly were thrown on the grill and were sizzling. The aroma was fragrant. The dripping oil was fanning the charcoal fire and the meat was about to be burnt. Su Ruojin bowed quickly to Lord Fan and hurried to the grill to save the skewers that were about to be burnt.
Holding the oil brush in one hand and flipping the skewers with the other hand, in just a few seconds the skewers will be golden and tempting.
"Sir, give—"
Su Ruojin handed the kebab to Lord Fan, her little face smiling like a flower, sweet and cute.
Who doesn't love a cute little baby? Master Fan wanted his son to give him such a cute granddaughter as soon as possible. He took the skewers that the young lady had carefully grilled and said with a smile, "Thank you, young lady."
"You are too polite, sir." Su Ruojin reminded, "Sir, it tastes better when it is hot!"
Since they were out for fun, Lord Fan was not arrogant and was amiable. He smiled as he picked up the skewers and nodded as he ate. "Well, it tastes better when eaten while hot."
For men, having some beer at this time would be a perfect match. Unfortunately, Dayin Dynasty doesn't have it, but the Su family has hawthorn wine!
When they went out for fun, Su Ruojin was afraid that everyone would get drunk, so she specially mixed some rice wine with a low alcohol content and quickly took it out. She invited Lord Fan to sit on a carpet, and they ate skewers while drinking sweet and refreshing hawthorn wine.
It's simply a pleasure in life.
The Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel was eating barbecued skewers at Su's house. Some high-ranking officials around him hurried over to greet him. Among them were Su Yanli's immediate superiors, the Chief Academician of the Imperial College (a fourth rank equivalent to the president of the highest institution of learning) and the Director of the Imperial College (a fifth rank equivalent to the vice president). The two of them sat around Vice Minister Fan and chatted and laughed. Xue Zhushi and others diligently served skewers and poured wine for Lord Fan, accompanied him to set the mood, and recited poems and composed couplets in the spring scenery, just like a group of literati and scholars.
Adults have their own fun, and the mistress of the house has her own social interactions.
When Mrs. Fan arrived, she was also surrounded by a large group of other ladies who praised her and flattered her endlessly. As Lord Fan's official position rose, Mrs. Fan had long since acquired the skills of an official's wife - she was very versatile and tactful compared to her husband, and she was also very steady and capable of dealing with people of the same or lower levels, and could handle them one by one.
The first time I saw Su Yanli's wife, she was standing at a loss beside Madam Yang. She was obviously the hostess of this place today, but she was shrinking like a little girl and hiding beside Madam Yang. I shook my head secretly. No wonder the Su family has not yet stood up. It turned out that Su Yanli lacked a virtuous wife!
However, these have nothing to do with her. She brought her grandson here because she saw the barbecue that would whet her grandfather's appetite. She walked to the food shelf with interest and pointed at the seasoning bowl sprinkled with sesame seeds, "Is this the sauce that makes the barbecue delicious?"
Su Ruojin's eyes flickered, and she nodded innocently, "Yes, ma'am!"
The matter of the crystal osmanthus cake had not yet been resolved, but unexpectedly, Mrs. Fan took a fancy to her barbecue sauce. At that moment, countless thoughts ran through her mind.
(End of this chapter)
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