Crossing the green wheat ears

There was a light snowfall in mid-September, and the temperature during the day was still above zero. The light snow was like a frost on an autumn morning, and the sun disappeared without a trace.

The work in the field has been done, and the family is free.Grandpa and father have already prepared enough firewood, Chinese cabbage and radish, except for enough food for the family, the rest have been stored in the cellar with oilcloth like last year. Separated, set up a stove for roast duck, the stove is Xiyuan based on the pictures of the old Beijing fruit wood roast duck brick hanging stove collected before, drew it for grandpa and father, and told the two people how to make roast duck, father and son It is made of two structures that have been studied for more than half a year.The furnace is made of adobe, which is made of yellow clay in the Western Ming Dynasty. This kind of adobe is more insulated than modern bricks.

The height of the whole furnace is three meters, and the height of the inner furnace is two meters three. The burnt ashes fall directly into the stove below, and the structure of this part is more like the earthen heater used in my hometown.The upper arched structure of the inner stove is a little higher, and there is a thick iron rod horizontally, with a ring on the iron rod, which is used to hang roast ducks.When roasting the duck, hook the duck from the neck of the duck with an iron hook and hang it on the ring.

These iron things, including the half-wooden and half-iron poles used to adjust the duck's position, were all custom-made by Grandpa after Xiyuan's explanation.Iron is still relatively precious here, so the asking price is not low. Because grandpa knew the blacksmith and trusted each other, he paid half of the price with the silver taels he earned from selling grain at home, and agreed to pay the other half back before the Chinese New Year.Now, with the medical expenses owed to Dr. Li, the family already has foreign debts of several taels of silver.

The stove is built, and the corn stalks are burned and dried slowly.Xiyuan started to practice after he had nothing to do in the past two days. He planned to give two finished products to the shopkeeper Qi for a taste. If he succeeded, he would sign the contract and then he could act.

Yesterday, Xiyuan spent a lot of effort to roast a duck, but it turned out to be mushy in some places, and it became dry after eating, which was not tasty.But Xiyuan was not discouraged. He had baked in the oven at home in modern times, but now he replaced it with an earthen oven.Human potential is endless, and the greater the pressure, the greater the motivation. Yesterday, Xi Mingwen slaughtered two ducks according to Xiyuan's request. After the ducks were scalded with caramelized boiling water, they were placed in a cool and ventilated place to cool.

After dinner early in the morning, grandpa and Xiyuan came to the barn again, because he had to use firewood to light the fire, grandpa was worried about Xiyuan, afraid that the stove would burn him, so he did it himself.

Grandpa set up firewood to light the fire, and Xiyuan plugged the anus of the cooled duck with a plug, and then poured boiling water from the neck of the duck. This is called enema, which can prevent the duck from drying out and keep the duck dry. The skin of the duck is not softened by roasting, and the skin of the roasted duck is very thin and crisp, which is the most delicious part of the roast duck.

Then use maltose to paint the color again. Seeing that the temperature of the oven is high enough, hook the duck from the neck with a hook, hang it into the oven with a pole, and bake it for about two quarters of an hour. Change the position of the duck so that the duck is heated evenly and the whole body can be tested.When the skin of the duck is maroon, it is almost ready.

Take the duck out and check the color inside the cavity. It is just light white soup, which proves that the roasting was successful today.Yesterday, I overcooked because I didn't master the time and heat of the test.

Xiyuan took two pieces of duck meat with a knife, threw one piece into his mouth, and handed the other piece to his grandfather.The old man's forehead was covered with sweat from the fire, Xiyuan dragged his grandfather away from the stove, and the two of them savored the fruits of today's labor carefully.Well, yes, the skin is crispy, burnt on the outside and tender on the inside, but there is no fragrance of fruit wood. Half of the wood made by my grandfather and father is jujube tree, wild pear tree, wild apricot tree and other fruit trees. Now I am trying to make roast duck. I am willing to use it, I use the wood of the willow tree, but it is delicious to eat, Xiyuan thought happily.

At this time, Xiyuan heard someone shouting something outside, so he leaned out to listen. There were two villagers standing outside the gate of his house, talking about something. Grandpa followed him and asked the two people What's the matter.

"A mad dog came into the village. Everyone was chasing it. I saw it entering your yard just now, but it ran out again. Zhao Laoqi and the others are chasing it westward with a hoe." A villager said loudly.

"What did you say? A mad dog has entered my yard?" Grandpa and Xiyuan asked at the same time.

"Yeah, the one who ran in just now ran away again. I guess I was chased hard, so I just sneaked in if there was a place." Another villager replied.

Before he finished speaking, Xiyuan and grandpa turned back and ran into the house. The door of the main room was not closed. In the morning, grandma went to Grandma Wang's house to do something. The two young ones, because Xiyuan didn't go to herd geese and ducks, they The two didn't go, so they played in the yard. Xiyuan heard two people giggling in the yard just now, but now there is no movement suddenly, maybe they were bitten by a mad dog, and there should be some movement after a bite by a mad dog, no Will be... The more Xiyuan and Grandpa thought about it, the more frightened they became, their faces turned pale.

After all, Xiyuan was young, with flexible legs and feet, and quickly entered the house. There were no two little guys in the main room. Xiyuan pushed open the door of the east room, and there were two little hairy heads lying on the kang head next to each other. I fell asleep without a pillow or a quilt, but now who has the mood to blame them!Xiyuan tremblingly told his grandpa that the two of them were in this room, and at the same time touched the two little guys up and down with his hands to see if there were any injuries. At this time, grandpa also ran into the house, and Xiyuan Yuan had the same reaction, and the two villagers outside the courtyard saw the appearance of the two of them, and followed them in.

"Brother, grandpa," Wei Cheng woke up first, and called Xiyuan and grandpa in a soft voice.

"Brother, Grandpa," Wei Cheng said, and Xi Wei woke up.

"When did you two go to bed?" Xi Yuan was still trembling when he spoke.

"I fell asleep after eating the sweet sticks." Wei Cheng and Xi Wei were very curious, why did the elder brother, grandpa and the other two uncles look at them like that?

"It's okay, it's okay." After all, grandpa is old and has experienced a lot, and now he has reacted. Judging from the time, the two children have slept for a while, so they should not have encountered a mad dog.

"This is really lucky, your family should have a happy meal today, what a blessing!" one of the villagers said.

"Yeah, these two kids are so good at driving them away. It's a blessing that even the mad dog didn't touch them." They all saw that the mad dog entered the main room with the door open.Go inside and wander around to see if there is no place to hide and go out again?Xiyuan didn't bother to delve into it any further, he could only feel rejoicing in his heart.

"Okay, let's eat Xi'er today, you two don't leave, let's have a bite together at home." Grandpa brought a bag of dry cigarettes to entertain the two of them to smoke.

"No, no, we both have to chase that mad dog after a while. If we don't beat him to death, we will suffer if he bites someone bad." Both of them said that, taking out the pipe pot and filling it with dry cigarettes to light it, while going out Walk.

"Grandpa, are my father and mother alright?" Xiyuan's father, Xi Mingwen, and his wife are now herding ducks and geese in the wild.

"It's okay, our Maodoujiao and Huzi went with us." Grandpa was actually a little worried, but he didn't show it to comfort his grandson.

"Oh, it should be fine." Xiyuan thought about the fighting power of Maodoujiao, and his suspended heart was relieved.

"There's a mad dog in the village, are you okay at home?" As soon as the two villagers were sent away and entered the house, grandma rushed in from outside.She originally went to Grandma Wang's house today to find shoes that looked like Xi Wei. Xi Wei's head grew, and so did her feet. Now the shoes at home don't fit. Third grandma's house to borrow.The two old ladies were sitting in the house talking, when they heard someone yelling outside, they came out and asked, saying that there was a mad dog, and they all rushed to the west of the village. Grandma was so frightened that she couldn't move. Yuan and grandpa are in the barn, Xi Wei and Wei Cheng are in the yard, each is more dangerous than the other!Grandma Wang San was comforting at the side, but grandma couldn't be relieved, and ran home as soon as she recovered.

"What's more, you said that these two boys are so lucky, just in time for them to go to sleep in the house, how suspenseful!" Grandpa still feels like a dream.

"Oh, my eldest grandson is really painful. Usually, taking a nap at noon is like killing them both. Today is such a coincidence." The grandma kept wiping the corners of her eyes in fear and joy.

"Grandma, you're happy!" Xiyuan hurriedly changed the subject.

"That's not true! My tears are shallow, and I want to cry whenever something happens." Grandma said and laughed again. This is really a very lucky thing.

Xi Mingwen and his wife were fine in the field, and the mad dog didn't run towards them. The key point was that as soon as he saw the shadow of the mad dog, Mao Doujiao, who usually doesn't like to make a sound, let out a sound of "hmm, oh, oh" to warn. Hu Zi also responded with a "bark bark", mad dog also has an IQ, and will not force himself to hit the muzzle of the gun.Later, the villagers chased him for four or five miles before catching up. Several men teamed up and beat the mad dog to death, and then dug a deep pit on the spot and buried it.Although they don't know what rabies is, people here still have a taboo against mad dogs.

Because of this incident, Xiyuan, who originally wanted to eat just duck at night, added two more dishes, one vinegared cabbage and one duck blood vermicelli soup. He originally wanted to make it for the two little guys yesterday, but the roast duck It didn't work, Xiyuan didn't bother to move, so he didn't do it.

Niang Xiyuan baked thin spring pancakes, sliced ​​the meat of a roast duck into thin slices, served with the sweet noodle sauce and shredded green onions, and rolled them with spring pancakes, it was indeed delicious!Only then did Xiyuan realize that the roast duck should be brushed with sesame oil after it comes out of the oven, so as to make the roast duck look more attractive, but forget it.

For the remaining one, Xiyuan and his grandfather put it away and prepared to go to Yansui City the next day to bring it to shopkeeper Qi.

The next day, it was still Yansui City where Xiyuan and his grandfather went, and the ducks and geese at home had to be freed, so Xi Mingwen couldn't do without.Grandpa and Xiyuan are better partners, the two of them, one old and one young, are at the same speed as each other.

Because they got up early, they arrived in Yansui City before noon, and the two found shopkeeper Qi in Jude Building.Shopkeeper Qi is more proud now, because of Xiyuan’s good idea, Judelou Restaurant’s business has been good this year, although other restaurants also have imitation spicy cabbage, but there is no recipe, and they are not as good as his home, regular customers still think his home Authentic stuff.For this reason, the boss also paid special attention to him and raised his wages.The owner is considering opening a Judelou branch, and is currently selecting a location for the store. According to the owner, it is possible to open the restaurant in Wuma City, which is a hundred miles away from Yansui City.Will he be appointed as the director of the two restaurants at that time?Shopkeeper Qi is looking forward to it!

Seeing that it was Xiyuan who opened the door and came in, shopkeeper Qi was even happier. He said why the magpie on the tree was chirping when he went out this morning. It turned out to be a good thing.Now shopkeeper Qi has automatically promoted Xiyuan to the God of Wealth faction.But it was true, Xiyuan brought him something new again this time.

After tasting the duck brought by Xiyuan, shopkeeper Qi narrowed his eyes.But when I heard the price that Xiyuan said, I immediately felt bitter. Brother, a catty of duck is only ten to fifteen cents, and your roast duck costs one hundred cents per catty. You can eat one together. The ducks have to pay half the money.

No matter how shopkeeper Qi discusses, Xiyuan refuses to lower the price any more. Roast duck technology is not available here. He believes that the ducks roasted with his skills can be sold in Binjiang City for a tael of silver. Not to mention half hanging money, but Yansui City is still small after all, Xiyuan didn't charge such a high price, half hanging money is already the lowest.

Shopkeeper Qi can’t be the master of this matter, so I’m going to ask my boss for instructions. Xiyuan and grandpa are not in a hurry, and we’ve made an agreement with the family when we come. We may stay in Yansui City today and won’t go back, so the two of you are calm All the while drinking tea and eating melon seeds and peanuts at Shopkeeper Qi's place.After an hour, shopkeeper Qi came back, followed by a young man, looking about 20 years old, tall, with piercing eyes, looking at you, as if he could see into your heart, he could think anything Guess.

"This is our boss, surnamed Sun." Shopkeeper Qi introduced.

"It turned out to be Dong Sun's family." Xi Yuan got up and saluted.

"You're welcome, Sun Ye. Sit, sit." Shopkeeper Sun returned the gift, and sat down with Xiyuan, and shopkeeper Qi sat beside him.

"I just tasted the roast duck you made, and it's really delicious, but, brother, can you be more flexible on the price?" Sun Dong's family didn't beat around the bush, and got straight to the point.He has met a lot of people, so Xiyuan is not easy to fool when he sees it. Moreover, he also knows the experience of dealing with shopkeeper Qi and Xiyuan before, and he understands that Xiyuan is more knowledgeable and has the right ideas, even though he is a child.

"It can't be lowered anymore, Mr. Sun's family, since you have tasted it, you should know that my roast duck is indeed worth the money. The duck is not expensive, but our craftsmanship is passed down from our ancestors, and this is what we sell." Xiyuan also directly stated Attitude, and smart people needless to say those useless.

"Speaking of craftsmanship, we bought your recipe for spicy cabbage last year. I don't know the recipe for roast duck. Do you want to sell it?" Sun Dongjia asked. As soon as he ate the roast duck, he knew that it was more profitable than spicy cabbage. Well, if his restaurant can have this prescription, he can sit back and relax.So he put down what he was doing, and hurried to Jude Building with Shopkeeper Qi, just to buy the roast duck recipe, and it doesn't matter if he pays a little more.

"Prescriptions can't be sold, and spicy cabbage can't compare with this one. But I can promise that in the future, as long as Judelou wants to sell roast duck, we can give you priority in supplying it." Xiyuan is not stupid, this is a way to make a fortune Well, he still wants to open his own roast duck restaurant in the future, how could he sell Fangzi.

"How about I offer 500 taels?" Seeing that Xiyuan was not interested, Sun Dong's family immediately raised the money to 500 taels. Originally, he only wanted to give 200 taels, but now he wants to use money to tempt Xiyuan.Shopkeeper Qi and Grandpa next to him gasped when they heard the number of 500 taels—so much, that’s 500 taels!

"I won't sell it for 1000 taels, but we can consider another way of cooperation." Xiyuan originally didn't plan to sell Fangzi, but thinking about it, he doesn't have the capital to open a store now. When he opens a store by himself, Judelou Roast Duck The sign has already been played out.With an idea, Xiyuan thought of another way of cooperation, that is, the cooperation of shares.

In the end, the two parties agreed that Xiyuan would use the technology of roast duck as a stake, and the money from selling the roast duck would be shared with Jude Building.Grandpa heard that Xiyuan didn't take the 500 taels of silver, but wanted to invest in some kind of stock instead, and hurriedly pulled his beard beside him, what was going on in this kid's mind, was he fascinated by something?

Xiyuan didn't have time to explain to his grandfather, so he signed a contract with Sun Dong's family, and asked a middleman to testify, and Sun Ye took Xiyuan and his father to the Shicheng Office in charge of the market to stamp the official seal of the government on the contract. Even if the cooperation matters are agreed upon.However, Xiyuan proposed that Jude Lou had to buy nearly one hundred geese and one hundred ducks in his family, but he would use the chickens at home to make them. If you want to take it to Judelou for consignment, Judelou can give him a small counter, and he hires a guy to sell it here. Sun Dong’s family agreed without hesitation at all. He was wondering where to go to Taodeng duck and goose .

This can be regarded as a happy event for the host and guest, Sun Dong's family readily stayed with the two of them. Tomorrow, he personally took his staff to learn the roast duck technique from Xiyuan, and brought back the first batch of roast ducks.Because I was in a hurry to sell it, I had to make it at Xiyuan's house and sell it in Jude Building a few times ago, and Xiyuan agreed without hesitation.

In the evening, Sun Dong’s family invited Shi Cheng and other people who were helping with the errands today to have dinner, and called Xi Yuan and his father, but the grandfather said that Shi Cheng was the official master, and it was not in the rules for him to sit and eat with the official master, so he refused to say anything Go, Xiyuan had no choice but to go alone.During the dinner, Xiyuan saw Sun Ye's familiar appearance with Shi Cheng, and his heart was moved.

Because he couldn't bear Sun Dong's family's instigation, Xiyuan drank two sips of wine, and his little face flushed after drinking.When he was sleeping, he watched his grandpa keep laughing, and grandpa sighed. He wanted to ask Xiyuan if they were at a disadvantage in this matter, but seeing how the eldest grandson is like, it's better not to ask.

"Grandpa, please keep it." Xiyuan took out the contract and handed it to his grandfather. Even if he was drunk, he knew that this thing was very precious, and it would be safe to put it with his grandfather.

"Oh, I don't want 500 taels of silver, I want this piece of paper." Although Grandpa disapproved, he carefully folded the contract and put it in the inner pocket of his underwear.

"Grandpa, don't worry, it's worth more than 500 taels of silver, and we don't cook roast ducks, we can do other things. Don't we have a hundred chickens at home? No, a few died, and one was slaughtered. Then there are still left..." No matter how much Xiyuan counted, he couldn't figure out how many chickens were left in the house.

The grandfather reluctantly moved Xiyuan to the mattress on the top of the kang, and covered the eldest grandson with a quilt.I hope Xiaoyuan wasn't deceived by that ghostly Mr. Sun's family!He didn't believe that a few words written on a piece of paper could be worth 500 taels!