The Garden Life of a Little Gardener

Chef Bao's ancestor lived in Suizhou, and his entire division is also there.

Chef Ju Bao himself said that although he called his master Shizu, in fact he seldom followed his master when he was in Suizhou, and the person who taught him his skills was actually his master himself.

That's why everyone among the senior brothers always likes to call him the little martial uncle when they are joking, saying that he should be the closed disciple of the master.

Zhou Quan could tell that the unmasked master held a very important place in Chef Bao's heart, so he was particularly concerned about this trip.

When packing their luggage, Chef Bao didn't bring them any thick clothes. Zhou Quan looked at the box full of single clothes and trousers. He had only been to the imperial capital as far as he could and asked, "It's winter now, even if there is a place in Suizhou Warmth can’t go against the season, right?”

Chef Bao, who was stuffing a pair of jeans into the suitcase, smiled and said, "Even in winter in Suizhou, there are very few times when the temperature is below zero. Long trousers and some coats will suffice."

"You don't need to wear so much when you go, just wear a long down jacket with long sleeves on the inside."

"How do you wear the trousers and shoes? Do you still wear the cashmere trousers? Do you want to change the cotton shoes?"

Chef Bao was stunned and blinked when he heard the words. He has a good physique and often works beside the stove. He has not completely changed into winter clothes until now. The daily attire is as he said before, that is, a down jacket over long clothes and trousers. .

At most, he would add a pair of long johns when the temperature was cooling down. If he wanted to change into winter clothes, Zhou Quan estimated that he would have to wait until the counting of nines began.

Seeing Chef Bao blinking his eyes in a daze, Zhou Quan tapped the edge of the suitcase lightly with his hand and asked, "Don't be dazed, brother Baoyan, I don't have your physique, and I can go down to the ice-filled water in winter." If you go swimming inside, even the winter swimming team may not be able to swim you."

This is true. Chef Bao likes to swim, regardless of seasons. After practicing for so many years, he rarely catches a cold.

Chef Bao, who was as strong as a bull, scratched his head and body, thought for a while and said: "You should wear it, it's cold in the north, and there is still a long time to wait for a replacement in the imperial capital, in case you catch a cold, you will be fine."

There is no direct flight to Suizhou from Phoenix City, Zhou Quan and the others need to take a flight to the imperial capital first, and then change planes there before flying to Suizhou.

There is a time difference between the two flights, about two hours. During this time, Zhou Quan and Chef Bao need to wait in the waiting room.

Chef Bao doesn't care, he travels all over the country and abroad, and sometimes he spends more time at the airport than at home, because he is afraid that Zhou Quan will not be used to it.

The two discussed and packed their luggage, and then Zhou Quan asked about the birthday gift again.

Since it is the old man's birthday, the younger generation will inevitably have to prepare a birthday gift.

Chef Bao has an unusual relationship with his master, and Zhou Quan feels that if he gives a birthday gift, he has to show his heart.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he asked, Chef Bao said: "No need, there is a tradition for masters to celebrate their birthdays. My master, master, and us juniors in the master's school will prepare a rich birthday banquet for him in rounds. Let the ancestors and the old people enjoy the craftsmanship of the disciples and grandchildren."

For a craftsman with inheritance, the happiest thing for him is that he can have successors.

Therefore, every year at the birthday banquet, Chef Bao’s mentors are all younger generations, showing off their unique skills to please the elderly.

Zhou Quan, who was already scratching his head for the birthday gift, said even harder when he heard the words: "If you show off your craftsmanship, why should I show off? You can't bring a pot of flowers to give to the old man, right?"

Chef Bao shook his head with a smile and said, "No, my master doesn't care about birthday gifts or not. If you really want to, bring some souvenirs, pack them and mail them in advance, and I'll ask the junior brother over there to sign for them. During the birthday banquet, I will make the local specialties you sent into dishes, so it can be regarded as your contribution to the birthday banquet."

Zhou Quan thought about the idea, and then began to rack his brains to think about what souvenirs he should bring there.

Phoenix is ​​not a city rich in specialties. It is hot in summer and cold in winter, and windy in spring and autumn. If it is not for its long history and convenient transportation, this city will be the same as other small cities in Northeast China, with nothing outstanding.

After much deliberation, I decided to ask the old man at home. After all, he is young and knows little. Maybe he doesn't know the good things that the old people still have.

At noon, Zhou Quan hurried to his uncle's house. The cousin who was cooking saw him and said enthusiastically, "Ah Quan is here. Are you looking for Wen Li? He's not here. Today is the morning shift."

"No, aunt, I'm looking for my aunt."

"Look for your aunt, she is in the east room, embroidering pillowcases, you go."

When Zhou Quan opened the door and entered, the Chen family's aunt was indeed wearing reading glasses, sitting on the kang bed, stitch by stitch, carefully embroidering the square cloth on her hand.

The B&B has an ancient style, all the pillows are rectangular, and the embroidery on both sides of the pillow is a special symbol.

These embroidered pillowcases are embroidered stitch by stitch by the elders in the village, and each pair is not cheap.

But these things are not disposable items after all, a pair of embroidered pieces and a pillow can be used for several years, so after the B&B opens, they will no longer accept these things.

But others don't accept it, but they will definitely accept it from my aunt's grandmother, which is a way for them to honor the elderly in disguise.

My aunt also knows what the children think, and is happy to enjoy their filial piety. She has built a bigger chicken coop at home, and is waiting for the next spring to catch more chickens and raise them to nourish them.

Seeing Zhouquan come in, the old lady smiled very happily, beckoned Zhouquan to get on the kang, and gave him the oranges she had covered.

Zhou Quan peeled off the orange peel, returned the sliced ​​orange to her aunt, and fed the orange to the old lady with her own hands, so happy that she couldn't see her teeth with a smile.

After coaxing the old lady to be happy, he explained the purpose of his visit in detail: "Auntie, I will go to Suizhou with Brother Baozhen in a few days to pay respects to his master's birthday. Brother Baozhen said that we can bring some specialties from our place. Auntie, what do you think of our specialties? I can’t just bring a few bunches of mushrooms from thousands of miles away.”

"Are you asking about our special products? Yes, millet, especially the millet produced by the Quanshi Reservoir. It is tribute rice, which was not available to ordinary people in the past. There are also duck eggs. The duck eggs on our side were received in the past. Those who have passed the imperial edict of Emperor Qianlong, but the output is too small, so they are not common in the market. There are also walnuts and jujubes, which are special products of our Fenghuang City. The sesame oil from Xiaomo and the old vinegar from Lizuo are all good. Things, don’t hit people in the face when you give them away.”

"There are so many good things in Phoenix City? I didn't even notice it before."

"Hey, these are old things. It's not surprising that you young people don't know about them. Now the adults at home don't tell you this kind of thing, and let you study hard to get into a good university and ignore other things. After you pass the exam, you Few young people come back. Even if they come back, how many people can cook in the kitchen? Soy sauce and vinegar, salt and sugar can’t tell which is which, let you know which is good and which is not. It’s possible after getting married.”

Zhouquan was very embarrassed by his aunt, but he was also more curious, curious to know more about this city.

That day Zhou Quan stayed at his aunt's house for an afternoon, and after returning home, he began to search in the kitchen, and sure enough, he saw Li Zuo's old vinegar and small ground sesame oil in the condiment area.

"My aunt really made it right. I really have these things at home. Since Brother Baoyan chose to use them, it should be good. It's not wrong to give them away."

The next day, Zhou Quan drove away early in the morning. He first found a store specializing in millet and miscellaneous grains in Liquan City, where he bought two boxes of vacuum-packed tribute rice, and then went to a specialty store to buy walnuts and jujubes.

When driving back, I passed a large supermarket and brought another case of Lizuo's aged vinegar and sesame oil along the way.

After returning home, he took down a few bunches of dried mushrooms hanging on the window sill to dry in the shade. This is what he picked from the mountain when he accompanied the guests up the mountain to pick mushrooms this summer and autumn, and he picked them up and cleaned them up. , stringing them up to dry to eat at home, Zhouquan plans to send them out together this time.

Looking at the piles of things on the ground, Zhou Quan felt that it was almost enough, even if there were dozens of tables for the birthday banquet of Chef Bao and his master.

After preparing the birthday gift, Zhouquan finally breathed a sigh of relief. Tomorrow, he asked for the address and went to the courier company, and took the special express delivery service for agricultural and sideline products to package and mail all these things.

When Chef Bao came back in the evening, he saw things all over the floor, he smiled and said nothing, and after telling Zhou Quan the address, he left it to himself, and he went to book a flight ticket.

The next morning, Zhouquan loaded all the things into the car and found the courier company that he had contacted in advance. There, Zhouquan was required to open the box for inspection and make sure that they were all special products and agricultural and sideline products before they could be transported.

This is a comprehensive understanding of the regulations, and he happily helped unpack and said: "Your side is too humane, and the postal service does not allow liquids exceeding [-] ml to be transported."

"Oh, there is no way. Lizuo's mature vinegar and sesame oil are our specialties, and many online stores are mainly engaged in this. We can't just ignore the business, and the provinces and cities also support entrepreneurship to increase income, so coordination is the key With such a special transport of agricultural and sideline products. Although it is a special transport, the speed is not slow at all, and the things will be transported to you within three days."

After inspecting the items, Zhou Quan signed the form and paid the shipping fee, and those large boxes of birthday gifts were shipped out, and I finally felt at ease.