"Hey, this isn't..."
Xiao Han hadn't noticed the worried look of the fat cook yet, and was about to answer, but was abruptly interrupted by the fat cook.
"Ahem... A wealthy family in Seoul took this from the ice cellar and gave it to Xiao Hou, but it's not much, that's all."
Old Feng glanced at the fat cook with a strange expression, then nodded, said "oh" and said nothing, just looked down at the bamboo tube.
To be honest, Lao Feng is not a country bumpkin. He knows that in Chang'an, it is nothing new for wealthy families to store ice in winter.
But the problem here is Hanzhong! There are many more years without ice in the winter than there are years with ice! And even if it freezes, it is only a thin layer of ice. After living here for decades, he has never heard of anyone building an ice cellar here.
The fat man in front of him was obviously trying to trick him, but after all, Old Feng had been a county magistrate for many years, so he was clear about the rule of not asking questions.
Old Feng remained silent, while Xiao Han rolled his eyes, probably thinking that the fat cook was making a fuss. But once the words were spoken, he couldn't take them back. I could only unplug the bamboo tube and drink ice water to cover up my embarrassment.
The bamboo tube is not filled with pure ice water, but with cold boiled water mixed with wild honey and soaked in ice cubes. It tastes like Coca-Cola.
Xiao Han still remembers that when he was young, Coke was still a luxury product. One can can be held and drank for a whole day. At the bottom of the can, there is only such a sweet taste left. There is no breath at all, but it is still hard to bear to swallow.
The two of them were enjoying the coolness under the tree. Yuan Dake and Zhang Bao led Shi Shiran through on the path outside. Seeing Xiao Han here, several people bowed their hands and saluted one by one.
"I met Xiao Hou..."
Xiao Han also saw Yuan Dake and the others at this time. He was too lazy to get up and just sat on the recliner with a smile.
Xiao Han has a noble status and naturally has no taboos. But Lao Feng was different. When he saw his immediate boss and a bunch of colleagues saluting him, he quickly took a step back and bowed as well.
Several county magistrates who followed Yuan Dake all recognized Old Feng. They just saw Old Feng and the Marquis sitting together and drinking water comfortably, and they couldn't help feeling jealous.
However, those who are near the water and the terraces get the moon first, and the food and seed matters have been settled long ago. But he had to follow the governor to investigate bit by bit, and calculate how much new grain each county could get.
Yuan Dake led all the envious and jealous county magistrates away. Old Feng next to Xiao Han raised his head proudly. If Xiao Han hadn't been here, he would have wanted to sing a little song to praise the joy in his heart! Who would have thought that a little persistence at the beginning could bring him so much reward?
"Old Feng? Old Feng?"
"Ah?" Lao Feng was shaken by Xiao Han's call and quickly turned to look at Xiao Han.
Xiao Han said to Lao Feng with a look of disgust on his face: "What were you thinking just now, smiling so disgustingly?"
Hearing what Xiao Han said, Old Feng's face almost turned green. He coughed twice and then said: "Master Hou, you're kidding me. I was just thinking that since our county has prepared the land, why don't you take the time to go and take a look at it?" land?"
"No!" When Xiao Han heard that he was about to go out, he immediately and neatly rejected Lao Feng's proposal. In this hot summer, why are you running around without fear of being tanned like an Indian Asan?
Lao Feng was dumbfounded when he saw Xiao Han lying on the chair pretending to be dead, but he quickly continued without giving up: "Master Hou, as the person who knows these rice seeds best, you have to go to the fields to see it! No matter what If you don't do it, just nod your head, and that will make the people in the county feel at ease."
Xiao Han remained unmoved on the recliner, rolled his eyes and said: "Who knows rice seeds best? I'm just a decoration here. If you pick out any person, he can farm better than me! I won't go, it will be too hot to death." of."
"Then let's go in the middle of the afternoon. In the evening, we can entertain you well?" Old Feng has become resistant to Xiao Han's laziness, and now he can only coax him nicely.
"Entertainment?" Xiao Han snorted and said, "I'm not talking about you, what delicious food do you have? Is it comparable to my chef?"
"This..." Old Feng suddenly felt ashamed. He had been here several times. Although it is just a big pot dish, the taste is much stronger than the best meal I have ever eaten! To seduce a gourmet celebrity with your own dishonorable food is to make you lose your mind.
"There are still some cold melons in my backyard, but I haven't been willing to eat them! I saw them today, and they are bigger than a human head. Don't you want to go, Mr. Marquis..." Looking at Xiao Han, who was pretending to be a dead dog, Old Feng Yi Grit your teeth and stamp your feet! He directly took out his trump card, and he didn't believe that Xiao Han, who didn't even let go of wild jujubes on the ground, would not be tempted by such a rare thing as cold melon!
Sure enough, Xiao Han's eyes widened when he heard the word "cold melon". He jumped up, stared at Old Feng and asked: "Han melon? Where did you get it! This thing is not only found in the palace, others are not allowed to grow it." What?"
Seeing the fish taking the bait, Old Feng proudly stroked his beard and said to Xiao Han: "Master Hou is indeed well-informed. In the previous dynasty, others were not allowed to plant cold melons. Firstly, it hurt the land, and secondly, Emperor Yang destroyed them. It is listed as a tribute fruit to the palace and is not allowed to be eaten by outsiders.
But since the death of Emperor Yang, the concubines and eunuchs in the palace have dispersed. Some of them hide treasures privately, and some hide all kinds of rare things. I happened to know a guard who gave me some seeds when he passed through Hanzhong. After planting them, I found that one of them was a cold melon. "
"Why didn't you tell me earlier if there was such a good thing?" Xiao Han stared at Old Feng fiercely, no longer like he couldn't help shouting just now.
Cold melon is watermelon, Xiao Han still knows this! In previous summers, it would have been unthinkable to not have one or two watermelons to relieve the heat! But since I came to Datang, the air conditioner is gone...the ice cream is gone, and even the watermelon is gone! Since there is nothing, what does this Lord Bird mean?
Lao Feng shrank his head under Xiao Han's gaze and said softly: "Isn't this also a surprise for you? How about going with me to eat cold melon this afternoon?"
"Go...what are you going to do!"
To Lao Feng's dismay, Xiao Han blurted out the word "Qu", but with a roll of his eyes, he rounded off his words.
"It's too troublesome to go all the way to eat a cold melon! Anyway, you run here every day, why don't you just bring the melon here next time?"
"But……"
"It's nothing special. It's a convenient thing. You don't want to take it, right?"
Seeing that Xiao Han's laziness had reached the limit, Lao Feng could only sigh heavily and said: "Okay, I don't know if this thing is raw or cooked anyway! Tomorrow, no matter how big or small it is, I will twist it off and give it away." Give it to Mr. Hou and you can get it."
"Hey, you!" Xiao Han was dumbfounded now. He also wanted to find a ripe melon seed to collect and grow it himself next year. Wasn't Lao Feng a waste of natural resources by tearing it off regardless of whether it was raw or ripe?
