Qi Nuan nodded, "Of course I'll go."
“I’ll go with you too,” Qingqing chimed in. Although she wasn’t exactly a person of great ideals, she respected people like that.
Jiang Ming was somewhat surprised to see Qi Nuan and the others appear at the county government.
Why do you look so surprised to see us?
Ah Hua teased.
Jiang Ming quickly realized what was going on and smiled slightly, "It's a bit of a surprise. Why are you all here?"
"Xiangxiang said that Lord Song is not in good health, so we came to see him."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Ming glanced at Xiang Xiang but remained silent.
"Brother Jiang Ming, where are A Yu and Lord Song?"
They didn't see Jiang Yu and the others when they arrived.
"Let's go inside first."
Jiang Ming led the group into the house before looking at Qi Nuan. His eyes held a meaning that Qi Nuan couldn't understand, but he quickly returned to normal.
"Recently, too many people have come to Shangjun from other places, and Lord Song is receiving guests with his son."
As soon as Jiang Ming said that, Qi Nuan and the others understood that the person who had come must be someone of extraordinary status.
If it were anyone else, Song Jinning would have simply handed it over to Jiang Yu to handle.
The New Year has just passed, and things are relatively calm in various places. But beneath this calm, a major storm is brewing.
Although the official families rooted in the capital could not leave, they had made arrangements for their escape route early on. The young members of the clan had all quietly left Luoyang with important family influence.
And naturally, some people from Shangjun chose to settle here.
After all, there are quite a few soldiers stationed on the frontier in Shangjun, and Song Jinning is just a sickly man who is about to die. How could this fat piece of meat not be eyed?
After waiting for a while, seeing that Jiang Yu and the others' conversation was not going to stop anytime soon, Ahua suggested that they go for a walk.
Qi Nuan also wanted to see the situation inside the greenhouse, so she readily agreed.
As the group was walking out, they ran into Song Jinning and his party, who had just finished discussing their business.
A large group of people walked in a grand procession, numerous yet orderly, and after a few steps, three young men dressed in rich clothes and adorned with gold, silver and jade ornaments were bowing to Song Jinning in farewell.
There were seven or eight people dressed in martial arts short jackets around them, who appeared to be their servants.
There was also an elderly man who looked to be the same age as Song Jinning, but he was less noticeable and easily overlooked if you weren't paying close attention.
The old man seemed to be talking to Song Jinning, glancing occasionally at Jiang Yu beside Song Jinning. His expression remained unchanged throughout, making it impossible to read his emotions.
Seeing this, Qi Nuan and the others stood in the corridor to make way. As if noticing Qi Nuan's gaze, Jiang Yu smiled slightly at Qi Nuan.
A young man in white who had been watching Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow slightly upon seeing this, and following Jiang Yu's gaze, he saw several people in the corridor.
He stood with his hands behind his back, exuding a scholarly air, and his gaze toward Qi Nuan subtly revealed a hint of arrogance.
Qi Nuan looked at him for a second before looking away. She felt that the man looked familiar, but she had never seen him before.
After leading the group away, Qi Nuan and the others came to greet them.
Seeing Qi Nuan and the others, Song Jinning was overjoyed and ordered someone to prepare dinner.
Who are they?
Qi Nuan asked Jiang Yu.
Jiang Yu had clearly seen the eye contact between Qi Nuan and that person, and upon hearing Qi Nuan's question, Jiang Yu was not particularly pleased.
He simply said, "Why bother with people who are irrelevant?"
Seeing that Jiang Yu was unwilling to say more, Qi Nuan did not press the matter further, after all, she had only asked casually.
Ahua and the others, who overheard their conversation, twitched their eyebrows slightly but did not say anything, only smiled slightly.
The group arrived at the main house in the backyard, while Xiangxiang went to a side room to treat Song Jingning.
The others chatted idly in the hall.
However, Xiangxiang and the others recovered quickly.
Soon after, Uncle Wang came and invited them to dine in the dining hall.
As soon as Qi Nuan entered, she could smell the broth made from beef bones. Qi Nuan was pleasantly surprised; it was hot pot!
The group sat down one by one, forming a circle.
Song Jingning said, "Yesterday, a commoner reported to the government that he had an old ox that was about to die, so I sent someone to buy it from him."
Looking at the group of young people at the table, Song Jingning smiled and said, "I was telling Ayu during the day that I had sent someone to invite you all over for hot pot, but I was so busy that I forgot. I didn't expect you all to come today. It's quite a coincidence."
"Then we thank you in advance, sir."
Zhang Liao raised his wine glass, "This beef is a rare treat."
Cattle are the main source of labor for plowing the land, and killing cattle without permission is a serious crime. Even if a cow dies of illness or old age, it must be reported to the government.
Although beef is delicious, it is extremely rare to find a cow that dies of natural causes.
People generally wouldn't dare eat animals that died of disease, but when resources were scarce, they didn't care much about that.
The amount of beef from a cow is neither too much nor too little.
Some were kept in the government, some were distributed to the county officials, and some were given to the people.
It's just to let people taste it.
The table was mostly covered with green vegetables, all grown in greenhouses, bright green with water droplets on them, as well as some pork and mutton.
It only needs to be cooked in the broth for a few seconds before it's ready to eat; it's undeniably delicious.
Hot pot is not a recent invention; it has existed for over a thousand years, though it was more commonly used when traveling.
Convenient and warm.
Whether it was marching troops, boatmen building river channels, or merchants traveling on the road, they would set up stoves and pots on the spot, take out the chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, and spices they carried with them, add water to boil into soup, accompany it with strong liquor, and cook fish, meat, and various vegetables. With a bold and passionate spirit, after a meal of food and drink, all their fatigue would disappear.
Of course, some pubs also offer hot pot in the winter.
"I still remember the time when I came to Shangjun with my lord to take up my post. It was the dead of winter. My lord was just a weak scholar, and he was injured. We had never traveled far before and knew nothing. We only brought a few changes of clothes and some dry food..."
Uncle Wang's eyes were distant, clearly recalling the past. "Speaking of which, it was my fault as a servant for not being diligent enough."
Song Jingning shook his head, and then heard Uncle Wang continue, "It was freezing cold at the time, and the already injured adult caught a cold. Fortunately, they met a group of traveling merchants who treated the adult and made him a hot pot. It was the best hot pot I've ever eaten."
Song Jingning also looked nostalgic. Later, Uncle Wang also made that hot pot like them and ate it with those traveling merchants, but it never tasted the same as before.
Qi Nuan could understand that sometimes what people miss is not just the taste, but more the state of mind and the people at that time.
Everyone knows Song Jingning's identity, but he rarely mentions his past.
In this era, it was rare for commoners to hold high positions, but Song Jingning became the prefect of Shangjun as soon as he entered officialdom, and he served in that position for more than 20 years, which shows that his family and abilities were not to be underestimated.
I just don't know why he never mentions his people anymore.
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