After the salted fish is married

12. Spring in Xitou shepherd's purse flowers

After the weeds and vines in the forest were cleared, several trails paved with bluestone were exposed. Walking a few hundred meters to the east along the trails, you can see a ruins.

According to the scale and location of the ruins, Yan Xining felt that it should be a large-scale palace.The palace was burned by fire, the wooden pillars were semi-carbonized, and the blue-black masonry cracked, and they fell to the ground silently telling the glory of the past.

When seeing the ruins for the first time, Yan Xining knew that what Yan Ke said before should be true.

His Majesty's favorite concubine once lived here, and His Majesty gave her the supreme honor.It's a pity that the beloved concubine's concubine Mingbo was buried in the sea of ​​flames, and even Pinmei Garden became a forbidden area.

Yan Xining looked at the ruins and sighed for a long time. Although he had never seen the imperial concubine who was buried in the flames, because they were neighbors, Yan Xining lit incense candles and placed the bowls and chopsticks for worship in front of the ruins.

However, from the moment he put the bowl and chopsticks on, Bai Tao refused to go near the square any more.

Yan Xining didn't force Bai Tao either, he believed that after a period of time after Plum Garden was tidied up, Bai Tao would sneak over without his calling.After all, there are many fruit trees in Plum Garden, and when the fruits are ripe, he does not believe that Bai Tao can sit still.

Walk across the square towards the southeast corner, and within a short while he came to the place where he found the shepherd's purse.

There are still a few plum trees alive in the southeast corner of Pinmei Garden. These plum trees have been around for some years, and their branches are thick.In the early spring, it is the time when the plum blossoms spit their pistils.The plump branches are dotted with bulging flower buds, and layers of flowers are blooming, which looks like a pink-white cloud from a distance.

There are thick fallen leaves piled up under the pink-white flowering branches, and there are large pieces of shepherd's purse hidden in the fallen leaves. This is Yan Xining's goal.

Shepherd's purse is a hardy plant, as long as there is soil and water, they can grow tenaciously no matter where they are.

Generally, the shepherd's purse that has been frosted is rust-colored, and they will stretch out their feathery leaves close to the ground.But the shepherd's purse under the plum tree is different. They grow under the withered grass, which is like a thick quilt to block the severe cold for them.

While the shepherd's purses in other places are still being tested by the cold wind, they are still growing carefree.Therefore, these shepherd's purses are emerald green in color, slender and extremely tender.

Yan Xining put down the bamboo basket and squatted under the plum tree, holding a sickle in his hand to harvest these emerald green elves.Shepherd's purse is very clean, with almost no yellow leaves, as long as the leaves and grass branches on the leaves are shaken off, no additional care is required.

After a while he dug a large basket of shepherd's purse, and when he stood up with the basket in hand, he saw the octagonal pavilion on the lake again.The pavilion is very close to Meilin, it is simple and solemn, like a weather-beaten old man.

When Yan Xining saw this pavilion on the water for the first time, she felt that its location was a bit strange.Ordinary pavilions are on the top of the mountain and by the water, but this pavilion appeared in the middle of the lake.

But after thinking about it carefully, he understood that the Huxin Pavilion is generally used to enjoy the scenery.This pavilion is so close to Pinmei Garden. If you want to come to Pinmei Garden in its prosperous period, you can enjoy the beautiful scenery of Meiyuan from the pavilion.

If it was a simple pavilion, Yan Xining would not stare at it for so long.The main reason is that there is a faint color in the water under the pavilion, as if a large flower cloth has sunk to the bottom of the water.

He squinted his eyes for a long time, but still couldn't see why.Forget it, don't embarrass yourself, let's go back and make wontons.

After stretching his body, he returned to Wenzhang Garden with a bamboo basket. Of course, he washed the shepherd's purse at the pier halfway.When he returned to the kitchen with the basket, a large pot of chicken soup simmering in the pot had already begun to smell.

Bai Tao walked out quickly from behind the stove: "Brother Ning, I have done everything you told me to do! Look at what I did right?!"

Bai Tao is a good boy, although he is a little timid and loves to cry, but as long as it is Yan Xining's account, he will do his best.Just like just now, when Yan Xining asked him to cook chicken soup and mince meat, he didn't leave the kitchen even a single step.

Yan Xining smiled and lifted the lid of the pot, and white water vapor rose towards the top of the stove.After the water vapor dissipated, he saw the situation of the soup clearly.I saw a layer of oil flakes floating on the surface of the boiling soup, scallion knots and ginger slices floated with the soup, and the white chicken nuggets at the bottom of the soup were looming.

This is a pot of chicken soup that has not been stewed in place, and there is no seasoning added to the soup except green onion and ginger slices.But after he makes the wontons, this pot of chicken soup will be stewed just right!

On the table next to the stove was a ball of powdery white meat paste, which was the pork belly sent by the butler in the morning.Under Bai Tao's kitchen knife, they have changed their appearance.

Bai Tao looked at Yan Xining eagerly, at that moment Yan Xining seemed to see a big dog begging for praise from its master.Yan Xining proudly raised her thumbs up: "Well done! It's even better than I expected! Bai Tao is amazing!"

Bai Tao was greatly satisfied, he chuckled: "This is what I should do. By the way, Brother Ning, what are you going to do next?"

Yan Xining thought for a while: "Boil the water." The shepherd's purse needs to be boiled and chopped before it can be mixed with the minced meat.

Bai Tao Deling: "Okay!" As he spoke, he uncovered the small pot, and skillfully filled half a pot of water into the pot.

With Bai Tao helping him chop the meat, Yan Xining saved a lot of trouble.While the water was boiling in the pot, he took out the wooden basin dedicated to kneading noodles, and then scooped three bowls of flour into the basin.

The bowls in his house were big, and the three bowls of flour fell into the basin solidly and piled up a small half of the basin.After placing the pot on the table, he cracked four eggs on the flour and sprinkled a spoonful of salt.

Then he took a pair of chopsticks and carefully stirred the flour in the basin evenly.Huge pieces of flour quickly appeared in the basin, and the egg yolk was smashed, dyeing the flour yellow.

Yan Xining scooped a spoonful of warm water from the pot and slowly added water to the pot. The flour quickly formed a lump when it met the warm water.He quickly stirred the flour with his eyes and hands, and after a while, a layer of fine flour flakes appeared in the basin.

At this moment, he finally put down his chopsticks. After washing his hands, he stretched his hands into the basin and started kneading the dough.The loose flour flakes slowly gathered in his hands, which was a very stress-relieving process. Watching the scattered flour flakes turn into a solid dough, a sense of accomplishment arises spontaneously.

Of course, there will also be some undisciplined flour flakes in the basin, no matter how hard Yan Xining tries, they are always free from the big dough.

Faced with this situation, Yan Xining was not annoyed.He summoned Bai Tao: "Bai Tao, help me add a little water to the basin."

Bai Tao jumped out from behind the stove: "Here we come!"

As the water in the bowl was carefully poured into the basin, the last bit of flour was gathered in Yan Xining's hands.At this time, the inside of the tub and Yan Xining's hands were clean, not even a little flour.

A round dough appeared in the basin. The dough was slightly yellowish and rough, and it was hard to the touch.Yan Xining put the dough in the basin, and he casually covered the wooden basin with a layer of moist gauze.

Bai Tao asked curiously: "Brother Ning, is this all right?"

Yan Xining smiled and said: "It's early, I have to wait for a while to wake up."

Bai Tao seemed to understand but half understood: "Oh~ How long will it take to wake up?"

Yan Xining explained: "Wake up for half an hour first, then knead for 10 minutes, and then continue to wake up for half an hour."

Raising dough is a troublesome thing. When I was in my hometown, if I was afraid of trouble, I could go directly to the market to buy leather for a few dollars.However, Chu Liao had no market, so he could only make leather by himself based on past experience.

After the words fell, Bai Tao looked confused: "Brother Ning, how long is half an hour? How long is 10 minutes?"

Yan Xining was dumbfounded by the question: "Hmm...good question."

Chu Liao used the twelve-hour timekeeping method, and one hour was equal to two hours in his hometown.

In addition to the time, Chu and Liao people also like to use a cup of tea and a stick of incense to time the time.But everyone drinks tea at different times and burns different incense sticks, so one cup of tea and one stick of incense cannot accurately calculate the time.

Yan Xining deliberated for a long time, trying to choose an appropriate word, but after struggling for a long time, he gave up.He patted Bai Tao's shoulder: "You will know when the time comes."

Fortunately, Bai Tao was so easy to fool, he happily responded: "Okay!"

When the dough proofed, the water in the small pot finally boiled.Yan Xining poured a basket of shepherd's purses into the pot. Although shepherd's purses looked too much, they wilted immediately when they touched the hot water.

The kitchen is filled with a smell of grass, which is mixed with the unique fragrance of shepherd's purse.He felt very at ease when he smelled this smell.This is a gift from spring to people. The natural shepherd's purse does not need to be sown and fertilized. As long as you dig it at the right time, you can taste the freshness of spring.

As the long chopsticks stirred in the pot, the boiling water in the pot was dyed turquoise.After stirring it a couple of times, all the shepherd's purse wilted.The boiling water in the pot was also dyed a light blue.

At this time, Yan Xining took a wooden basin half filled with cold water. He held the chopsticks in one hand and the shovel in the other. Under the joint action of the chopsticks and the shovel, the shepherd's purses in the pot were moved to the wooden basin with their juice dripping.

At this time, the tender green shepherd's purse has turned dark green, and the color is very eye-catching when soaked in cold water.

The shepherd's purse shrunk by half after being blanched, and when Yan Xining squeezed the water out of the pot and put it in a bowl, the large basket of shepherd's purse only contained one bowl.

Bai Tao was a little disappointed: "Brother Ning, is there a little bit of shepherd's purse?"

Yan Xining said cheerfully: "We don't care about the portion when we eat shepherd's purse, what we take is its fragrance. If there is shepherd's purse in the meat, even if there is only a small ball, the taste will be very different."

Bai Tao nodded in agreement: "Yes, when I was young, I ate wild vegetables every day. They were tasteless and choked on people. It's better to follow Brother Ning, and eat bran-swallowed vegetables with you!"

Bai Tao was the son of a servant of the Yan family, but his life was not very good, his parents died of illness one after another before he became an adult.

Losing the protection of his parents, Bai Tao was often bullied.At that time, the original owner was just an illegitimate son who had just returned to Yan's mansion from a village in the suburbs, and the prominent maids and servants in the mansion were unwilling to take care of him.

So the 'honor' of taking care of Yan Xining fell to Bai Tao.At that time, Bai Tao was just a child with a snotty nose, how could he do the job of serving others?

On the first day Bai Tao went to the original owner's yard, he messed up several things.He was so frightened that he shivered and hid in the corridor and cried, but he didn't expect that the original owner not only didn't beat him, but also gave Bai Tao his food.

Bai Tao said gratefully: "If there is no Brother Ning, I would be gone long ago. Besides my parents, Brother Ning treats me the best in this world!"

Hearing this, Yan Xining felt sour. If one day Bai Tao found out that he was not the young master before, how uncomfortable would he be?

But as long as he is around, he will treat Bai Tao well.Thinking of this, Yan Xining smiled and said, "Don't talk about it, we're going faster, otherwise we won't have time to make wontons."