One Piece of Song Dynasty

Li Xin turned to Qingzhou Restaurant owner Ding Chong and said, "Ding Chong, the main purpose of your Qingzhou Restaurant is to have a good relationship with Zhao Mingcheng and Li Qingzhao's family. If necessary, I can reveal my identity. His family has many valuable cultural relics, ancient books, calligraphy and paintings." , these are the rare treasures of our Han family. If Qingzhou encounters a major change, you must safely escort these treasures out of the city to Dengzhou, and I will send a ship to Dengzhou to take care of them."

Ding Chong nodded and said, "Yes, Young Master, I'll see if I can get off."

"I've said all that needs to be said. When you two set off, go to the housekeeper to receive two thousand taels of gold each. Okay, you two can leave."

The two of them cupped their hands and said, "Yes, sir."

After the two left, Li Xin planned to return to the county government office. He hadn't returned to the county government office for more than three months. As a county magistrate, it would be shameful for him not to go back. He also hadn't seen Lao Wang for more than three months. During this time, he had been a maid. Xiao He is in the care of Lao Wang. As soon as Li Xin entered the county government office, Lao Wang ran out. Lao Wang was much heavier than when Li Xin left, about a hundred pounds. Now Lao Wang has been trained by Li Xin not to attack people and lick casually. When he was gone, Lao Wang ran to Li Xin and climbed down obediently, as if begging for a touch. Li Xin touched Lao Wang's big furry head and took Lao Wang back to the house.

While Li Xin was living a leisurely life in the county government, Liang Xing and his party were on their way to Daliao. During this period, Liang Xing relied on the simple maps of Song and Liao and the intelligence network he obtained from Li Xin. Established rules and made a lot of plans. Although the Liao and Jin Dynasties were at war, Daliao did not overly reduce its guard against the Song Dynasty. Liang Xing and his party of forty or fifty people also had two thousand taels of gold, which was not allowed for Liang Xing's foundation in Daliao. Lost, so Liang Xing decided to enter the Liao territory from the sparsely populated Taihang Mountains. After entering the Liao territory, he found a village to change into Liao people's clothes, buried most of the gold, and then headed to Liao Nanjing.

Liang Xing and his party only brought one woman with them, the cook Qinglian. In order to hide from others, Liang Xing and Qinglian pretended to be a couple in the Song Dynasty. Liang Xing and Qinglian rode in a carriage, and others were on horseback to protect them. beside. Although Qinglian, who is less than twenty years old, is a slave girl of the Li Xin family, she is still a slim, gentle and lovely little beauty. She usually doesn't show much in the kitchen of Li Xin's house, but when she comes out to dress up, she shows off. Liang Xing was even a little tempted by her own beauty. Of course, despite Qinglian's frail appearance, her arms were actually very strong. She practiced knife skills in the kitchen every day, cutting vegetables, controlling the heat and holding an iron pot up and down. Turning over, I have already developed some strength. Liang Xing was very bored in the carriage, so he chatted with Qinglian from time to time to relieve his boredom.

Liang Xing asked, "How can a woman like you be a domestic slave in the master's house?"

Qinglian replied, "Sir, the slave's home was ransacked by thieves. Both the slave's parents died, and only one of the slave's family wandered away. If the master's family hadn't taken him in later, the slave's family would have starved to death on the street."

Liang Xing said in embarrassment, "Young man, you have reminded Miss Qinglian of the sad past. I hope Miss Qinglian will atone for her sins."

Qinglian replied, "Young master, you don't have to blame yourself. The slave family is a miserable person. If it hadn't been for meeting the master's family, the slave family would have been a lonely ghost."

"Is Miss Qinglian doing well in your residence? I heard that all the girls taken in by your residence have gone to the kitchen."

"Yes, except for the three maids, all the girls taken in by the master are assigned to the kitchen. The master does not treat us women harshly, but treats us kindly. We are never short of food and clothing on weekdays, and he also teaches us unique skills. cooking skills.”

"Miss Qinglian, I want to know why the food in your residence is so delicious and how you developed your cooking skills."

"Returning to the young master, this slave family is not very clear. The slave family's cooking skills were all taught by the senior chefs. The slave family once heard from the senior chefs that the cooking skills in the house were passed down by the master of the house. The slave family also once It is said that the master once met an expert in his dream who taught him his unrivaled cooking skills, but the slave family does not know whether this is true or not."

"How do you cook, Miss Qinglian?"

"The recipes of the master's family are not spread to the outside world. The slave family hopes that the master will forgive me. However, the slave family can tell the master that the master once said that cooking is also a profound knowledge. It requires diligent practice and thinking to continuously improve one's cooking skills. The master's family The family's unique cooking skill is stir-fry. The reason why Tianxianglou is so popular is because of stir-fry. In terms of stir-fry, the mainstay of the family's cooking is unique in the Song Dynasty. Even Shuixianju in the future will also focus on stir-fry. Of course, in addition to stir-fry, the main focus is stir-fry. Home cooking skills include frying, deep-frying, steaming, stewing, and boiling, but they are not as dazzling as stir-frying. Cooking skills are all about knife skills, heat, and seasoning. It doesn’t matter how thin or thick the knife is, as this will affect the oil. The taste of salt, sauce and vinegar; the heat is related to the ingredients and cooking methods. For example, some ingredients require high heat, some require low heat, stir-frying requires high heat, stewing requires low heat, etc.; seasoning may be sour or salty, It doesn’t matter if it’s too mild or too light. The slave family also heard from the master that there is a spiciness, which is not the flavor of dogwood, but a kind of chili pepper from the far west. However, it was not introduced to our country in the Song Dynasty. The master said If chili peppers came to China in the Song Dynasty, many diners would definitely flock to them; in addition to these cooking skills, they are also related to the quality of the ingredients. For example, live fish and dead fish taste different, so it is not easy to learn the cooking skills well. It’s easy. I once cooked a dish many times before it was ready. Even if I become the chef of Shuixianju in the future, I still need to practice my cooking skills frequently."

Liang Xing sighed with emotion, "You're being rude. It turns out there is so much knowledge involved in cooking. I thought it would be easy to learn how to cook."

Qinglian replied with a smile, "If it is really that easy, how can Tianxiang Tower still be so popular after a year since it appeared? There are constant diners every day, and you even have to queue up to eat. Even if the slave family gives the recipe to the young master, the dishes cooked by the young master will be the same as the slave family." The food will be different too.”

Qinglian's smile was so beautiful that Liang Xing was stunned and stared at Qinglian for a long time.

Qinglian noticed Liang Xing's expression and blushed and said, "Why does the young master keep staring at the slave family? Is there something on the slave family's face that attracts the master?"

Only then did Liang Xing realize that he had been rude. He was embarrassed for a while and said, "It's the boy Meng Lang. The girl's smile just now was so beautiful that it made the boy lose his mind. I hope the girl can atone for her sins."

When Qinglian heard Liang Xing's words, she blushed and lowered her head, rubbing her hands without saying anything. Then there was a silence in the carriage, and neither party knew what to do next.

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