When Qin Fang heard Du Ke personally admit that he was his teacher, he couldn't hide the joy on his face. He pursed his lips and said, "Yes. Knowing that the teacher was coming, Zhuo Jing cleaned up the yard in advance, for fear that the yard would not suit the teacher's taste. She was worried."
Du Ke smiled and said, "The guest should follow the host's wishes. As long as I have a bed, I can sleep at the foot of this Beast Mountain."
Shen Lixian and Du Ke were old acquaintances. This was the first time he saw Du Ke being so friendly to others. Therefore, he looked at Qin Fang curiously: "Master Du, is this the General Qin that the Emperor praised so much?"
Du Ke said proudly: "Yes, this is Qin Fang. Come on, Lixian, let me introduce you. Qin Fang, this is Shen Lixian, the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Revenue. Lixian, this is Qin Fang, the military general that the Emperor values very much."
Although the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Revenue is a seventh-rank official, Qin Fang knows Shen Lixian's identity. Du Ke's letter had already introduced him. This person is the Emperor's elder brother-in-law, the legitimate brother of the late Empress Shen, and the son of the Marquis of Cheng'en. Therefore, Qin Fang dared not treat him as an ordinary seventh-rank official. Qin Fang calmed down his excitement and said to Shen Lixian, "Lord Shen."
Shen Lixian's first impression of Qin Fang was that this young man was really tall. Tall means military commander, and many people would associate it this way. He likes to look people in the eye, of course, because of his status, in the capital, he can look anyone in the eye. The emperor's brother-in-law, how can this status not be high? Of course, whether the status is high or not depends on whether the emperor gives face, but the emperor gives face to the Shen family.
Qin Fang's impression on Shen Lixian was that he was tall. Maybe on the way here, Du Ke did not tell Qin Fang that he was tall, so for a moment, Shen Lixian was also quite surprised. He smiled and said, "I have met General Qin. I heard that General Qin found the ore and invented the method of making ice with saltpeter. It is of great benefit to the country and the people
. I admire him." Qin Fang hurriedly said, "Master Shen, you are too kind. As a citizen of Qi, it is my honor to do something for the court and the people of Qi." Qin Fang was a long-winded person when writing letters and memorials. But when chatting face to face, he was definitely not a boastful person. In fact, he rarely brought up topics on his own initiative.
Shen Lixian: "General Qin is very modest."
Du Ke: "Okay, you don't have to be polite. I've been waiting for two hours and I'm so hungry. Let's solve the livelihood issues first."
Qin Fang said: "Why don't we go back to the general's mansion first? Today, Zhuo Jing asked the kitchen to make mung bean soup. The mung bean soup that has been chilled tastes especially good. It's just in time for the teacher and Lord Shen to come."
Du Ke said: "Then what are you waiting for? Let's go."
Yang Haiyan didn't know that Du Ke had arrived. Fortunately, when Qin Fang took Du Ke back to the general's mansion, he had already asked the soldiers to hurry back to the general's mansion to inform Yang Haiyan. He took Du Ke in a carriage, so it would be slower.
At this time, according to modern time, it was already three o'clock in the afternoon. Yang Haiyan had woken up from her nap and was making liangpi with Aunt Lian. She used sweet potato flour, mixed it with peanuts, kimchi, shredded potatoes and shredded radish, and then put it in ice cubes for a better taste. The only drawback
was that there was no coriander.
The cool skin was just freezing when the guards came: "My Lady, there is a group of common people outside the general's mansion. They are new citizens of Qi State."
Yang Haiyan was stunned: "Why are they here? What's the matter?"
The guards said: "They are carrying some things to bring food to the general and the lady. There are game, vegetables, etc."
Yang Haiyan listened and said hurriedly: "Then welcome them in. Aunt Yu, go prepare some tea, Aunt Lian, let's go to the hall."
"Yes."
Yang Haiyan waited in the hall for the new citizens to come in. There were quite a few people, all women and men, and they all looked in good spirits. When they arrived at the entrance of the hall, they did not carry the things in, but put down their backpacks and baskets one by one and came in.
"Your humble servants are here to see you, Madam." They didn't know that Yang Haiyan was already a village lady, so they saluted according to the title they used when they were acquainted.
Yang Haiyan said, "Hurry up, everyone. Although you look a little tired, you are still energetic. You know, you are living well after settling down, right?"
The leading man said, "It's much better than when we were at the border. Thank you for your concern
, Madam." Yang Haiyan smiled and said, "The general and I are relieved that you are living well. We were just worried that you would not be able to adapt to the environment of Qi State. However, if you are wronged in the village, don't endure it. As long as you are right, the general and I will stand by you."
The man said, "With the general here, we are all We have not been wronged. The villagers and the village chief have taken good care of us and allocated land to us. We are all grateful to the general... We discussed it with several families and knew that the general and his wife did not lack anything, but this is our gift, so please accept it first."
At this time, a woman said, "Madam, do you still remember me? My child was only six years old. He was sick and infected and refused to take medicine. You coaxed him to take medicine with candy. Now he is in good health. Madam, these things are to thank you for saving my life. Please don't refuse them."
"Yes, madam, this is our gift."
"Madam..."
- All the new citizens spoke up, for fear that Yang Haiyan would refuse.
Yang Haiyan did not intend to accept it at first. She just knew their intentions, and they had just settled down here, so it was not easy to have something. However, when she saw the melon in the basket on the ground, she was stunned. This...isn't this a cucumber?
Yang Haiyan calmed down, she thought for a while and said: "Since it is your intention, then I will accept it, so that you can rest assured. But in a few days, the crops in my manor will be harvested, and I will send some to you then, and you can't refuse it." Doing so is also to prevent someone from making things difficult for Qin Fang in the future and accusing him of bullying the people.
Everyone smiled one by one when they saw Yang Haiyan said this, and they were very happy.
Yang Haiyan walked to the door, pointed at the cucumber in the basket and asked: "What is this long green thing? Is it a fruit?"
"Madam, it's a cucumber." The woman who spoke first said.
"Hugua?" Yang Haiyan remembered reading a novel in ancient Chinese language. The novel mentioned that cucumbers were brought to the Central Plains from the Western Regions by Zhang Qian during the Western Han Dynasty. At that time, they were called cucumbers
. And here, they are also called cucumbers.
Yang Haiyan asked in confusion: "I have never seen this cucumber before, but where did it come from?"
The woman hurriedly explained: "Don't worry, ma'am, this cucumber is edible, it is a specialty of our Hu people."
Yang Haiyan was even more confused: "Hu people?"
The woman said: "Ma'am, you may not know that we are not from the same tribe. We have migrated for generations and then lived in the border, generation after generation. Our generation was born in the border. But in fact, our ancestors are from multiple tribes.
The tribe of our people is called the Hu tribe. Cucumbers are unique to our Hu tribe. When the Hu people migrated to other places in the past, they could not bring too many things with them, but they carried cucumber seeds with them. Because cucumbers only take about 60 days from sowing to harvesting, the time is short and they are easy to grow, so we Hu people carry them with us. However, the biggest feature of this cucumber is that it is full of water but has no taste. "The woman said, picked up a cucumber and took a bite. The sound was crisp, and Yang Haiyan wanted to eat it.
The woman said again: "Don't worry, ma'am, we Hu people have eaten cucumbers for generations, and it is edible. "
Hearing this, Yang Haiyan couldn't help but wonder if the Hu people here were the people from the Western Regions in the real world. However, she didn't verify it, as there was no need. "In that case, thank you, elder sister. I happen to have never eaten this kind of food, and the weather has been hot recently, so it's just right to eat something with moisture."
The woman was relieved to see that Yang Haiyan was no longer suspicious.
These people didn't stay for long. Yang Haiyan accepted the things, they drank a cup of tea, and left in a hurry. As
soon as they left, Yang Haiyan said, "Madame Lian, take the other things to the big kitchen, and take the cucumber to the small kitchen in my yard. "
Madame Lian was a person who could read people's expressions. Seeing Yang Haiyan like this, she knew that Yang Haiyan might like this cucumber very much. She arranged for someone to send these vegetables to the big kitchen, and she herself carried the basket of cucumbers to the small kitchen.
When they arrived at the small kitchen, Yang Haiyan washed two cucumbers, and then cut half of them for Madam Lian: "Madam, try it. How does it taste?" As she said that, she also took a bite of the remaining half.
Madam Lian followed suit and ate: "It's very crisp, and has no taste." To be honest, she was not used to eating such tasteless things.
Yang Haiyan finished half of the cucumber in a few bites, and she said: "I have an idea. "
Then, she cut another washed cucumber into shreds and mixed it into the jelly skin.
Nanny Lian watched and asked, "Can we eat it like this?"
Yang Haiyan smiled and said, "Wait." After mixing, she brought two small bowls and gave one to herself and Nanny Lian respectively, "Come, try it."
It must be said that the originally bland and tasteless cucumber tasted different after being mixed with jelly skin. Nanny Lian exclaimed, "This cucumber can be eaten like this, it tastes delicious."
Yang Haiyan said, "That's right, I thought cucumbers had no taste and radishes had no taste either, so it might be good to cut them into shreds as a condiment, but I didn't expect it to be so good. "She was so pretentious that she was embarrassed herself.
"My Lord... My Lord..."
The master and servant had just eaten a few bites of cold noodles when the voices of the guards came from outside the yard. Nanny Lian hurried out: "What's the matter? Why are you shouting so loudly? Are you following the rules?"
The guard apologized: "Please don't be angry, Nanny. A soldier from the barracks came outside and said that the general sent him to tell the Lord. He and Lord Du Kedu arrived soon after. Lord Du has been waiting for the general at the foot of the Beast Mountain for more than two hours and has not eaten anything yet."
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