Xiao Qibao was busy for a while, and finally settled the moving matter before the year.
I have to say that Xiao Qibao is really capable.
It's no wonder that when the family was separated, Xiao Qibao was Zhang Xi's only confidant, and he was also the talent to be trained as the housekeeper of the family in the future. There is no doubt about his own ability and understanding.
The reason why Zhang Xi decided to move before the Chinese New Year was also because of the New Year's needs.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, every household worships their ancestors without going out.
But in the second grade of junior high school, I have to go out to visit relatives and friends.
If you don't even have a home and live in an inn, then who will come to visit you?
That's why Zhang Xi moved in a hurry.
The last few days before the Chinese New Year are holidays and they don't go to work. The master and the servant are at home thinking together about who to visit during the Chinese New Year so as not to be rude.
This matter is something that not only Zhang Xi needs to consider, but Xiao Qibao also needs to consider.
As a noble steward, the most important thing is to help the master check for leaks and fill in the gaps. This is Xiao Qibao's responsibility.
"The village elder, the landlord, Mr. Mi, and County Magistrate Liu, these four people must go to visit!" Zhang Xi counted the number of people he needed to visit on his fingers.
Once you have settled down in Dengjia Village, the village elder will definitely visit you.
In these days, the imperial power does not go to the countryside. Many things are not decided by the government, but by the village elders. It is definitely necessary to have a good relationship with the village elders.
The landlord also needs to pay a visit.
When we signed the contract, a housekeeper from the landlord came to handle the matter, saying that it was inconvenient for the owner... During the New Year, I would definitely have to visit and express my gratitude.
As for Mi Zhu... he must go. This is his direct superior, the general manager of the logistics system.
As for Xinye County Magistrate Liu Mi, this is purely for the smooth progress of future work and to establish a good relationship in advance.
Zhang Xi is the director of food and grass, and is in charge of the preparation of logistics food and various camping materials.
This kind of thing definitely requires the cooperation of the county magistrate.
Without the cooperation of the county magistrate, where could Zhang Xi collect grain and grass, and how could he mobilize corvees to let the people collect materials... Can he rely on his own hands? !
Therefore, these four people must come to visit.
As for the people who need to send greetings, there are even more people. Lord Liu Bei, Second General Guan Yu, Third General Zhang Fei, Jian Yong, Yi Ji, Zhao Yun, Mi Fang, Liu Yan... Even if you don't have enough friendship or status with these people, , people may not necessarily see you, but you must send greeting cards when they are due, otherwise you will be rude.
Speaking of which...Zhao Yun, Zhang Xi hasn't seen him yet.
Zhao Yun is not in Xinye at the moment. He said that he was arranged by his lord Liu Bei to go out for some business. He wonders if he can come back during the Chinese New Year... Zhang Xi is still looking forward to meeting this General Zhao with a white horse and a silver spear. .
After all, he is Zhao Zilong who is "white horse, silver gun, full of courage", who doesn't like him? !
The master and servant checked again and again to confirm that there was no one they could not take care of. Then they felt a little relieved. Xiao Qibao went to purchase the worship services, while Zhang Xi recalled the visiting etiquette at home.
In this day and age, you need to pay attention to etiquette when visiting your home. You don't just put down the gifts and talk about the big things. There are a lot of rules for just eating. These are clearly stipulated in the "Book of Rites".
This shows the role of Zhang Xi's revolving door that month.
Without those revolving doors, a modern soul would probably make a fool of himself the first time he visits someone, and he might even offend someone without even knowing it.
To give a simple example, if the host invites you to eat a piece of fruit, you must take the core of the fruit away in your pocket after eating. You cannot throw it away directly in front of your face, otherwise it will be rude.
As for the rules for greeting each other and eating, there are countless of them.
Although Zhang Xi had the help of the revolving door, he was afraid that he would forget it for a while, so he hurriedly reviewed it at home.
After practicing like this for a few days, Xiao Qibao also prepared all the gifts.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Zhang Xi and Xiao Qibao set up an altar table for ancestor worship at home. Of course, Xiao Qibao was not qualified to offer sacrifices. Zhang Xi was the only one who worshiped at the altar table and tablets and expressed his feelings.
Then I secretly made delicious food with Xiao Qibao at home.
This whole day is a day to worship ancestors. No one will go out to visit, so there is no need to worry about anyone coming to visit.
But being unable to go out for a whole day, being locked up at home was a bit boring, so Zhang Xi, who had been settled for a long time, secretly decided to lock them up and do something.
It’s not a big deal, just trying to make tofu and noodles at home.
The corn and rice that I eat every day are a bit greasy and not quite in line with the taste of modern people.
Tofu is actually nothing new.
It is said that Liu An, the king of Huainan in the former Han Dynasty, was a devout Taoist believer. When he was making alchemy, he accidentally added gypsum to soy milk and thus obtained tofu... It is such a legend, no one knows whether it is true or not.
Tofu did already exist at this time, but it was not common. Today's tofu is still a noble food, and the main way to eat it is to sprinkle sugar or honey.
Zhang Xi had seen honey tofu at Liu Bei's "Corporate Annual Meeting" last year. It was served by Liu Bei to entertain his generals, and it was still a kind of early adopter food.
The main reason is that the yield of soybeans is not as good as that of corn and rice, and it is not widely planted.
Although soybeans have been included in the five cereals list for a long time, their yield is really incomparable to that of corn and rice.
The staple foods these days are millet and rice. Generally, millet is eaten in the north and rice is eaten in the south. Moreover, planting is simple and the yield is not low, so these two grains are most widely cultivated.
As for beans and wheat, because their yields are not as high as those of corn and rice, relatively few are grown.
Another problem is that ordinary people in this era have no idea how to eat these two things.
These days, soybeans and wheat are boiled directly in water and eaten.
Eating too much soybeans will cause bloating and gas, while rice cooked with wheat will become difficult to eat.
Therefore, tofu made from soybeans was only popular among the aristocratic class, and it was eaten as a novelty, not as a main food. As for wheat rice, only poor people can eat it. People with a little bit of means mainly eat corn porridge at home. They will eat wheat rice when they really have nothing to eat.
What Zhang Xi wants to do today is to turn soybeans into tofu curd and wheat into noodles.
These two methods are actually not difficult, and they are not a shocking innovation... It is easier for people to accept than burning glass with sand, so although Xiao Qibao is surprised, he doesn't feel there is anything wrong with it. Wonderful place.
After all, it is just an additional processing procedure, using a stone mill to grind soybeans into soy milk and using a stone mill to grind wheat into flour.
The gypsum used to order the tofu was bought at a medicinal shop. These days, gypsum is a type of medicinal material and is easily available.
The work of fermenting the dough is more troublesome. Because there is no yeast powder, Zhang Xi can only let the dough ferment naturally in a warmer place... He doesn't know how far the fermentation is just right, so the texture of the noodles he makes is a little bit different. strangeness.
But little Qibao was already astonished.
After all, I have eaten too much corn rice, and it is my first time to try this kind of food. The enjoyment brought by the freshness is very stimulating to the senses.
Not to mention tofu, it is a food that can only be tasted by nobles. Little Qibao already regards tofu as something only found in the sky, and being able to eat it is a great blessing.
Anyway, it is difficult for modern people to empathize with the thoughts of ordinary people these days.
After being locked up, they ate noodles with tofu, which was a shabby meal no matter how you thought about it, but it made little Qibao feel delicious.
After eating the noodles, he actually licked the bowl clean... Zhang Xi said he couldn't understand.
As for how to make noodles and tofu, Zhang Xi simply told Xiao Qibao so that he could make them for himself in the future... As a result, Xiao Qibao knelt down on the spot and kowtowed to Zhang Xi, bursting into tears. Say nothing and don't get up.
Again, Zhang Xi really didn't understand Xiao Qibao, but seeing that Xiao Qibao's loyalty seemed to be bursting at the seams, he ignored him for the time being and went to bed.
The next day, Zhang Xi and Xiao Qibao went out to pay New Year greetings.
First, we went to the village elder’s house and presented him with dried mutton. The village elder Le could hardly see the slits in his eyes.
According to the provisions of the "Book of Rites", village elders are not qualified to eat mutton in ordinary times. They can only accept gifts of mutton during the Chinese New Year.
Of course, we can't control whether we eat it in private, but this time we can harvest the mutton openly, so the village elder couldn't be happier.
Another thing is that Liu Shijun is now the actual ruler of Xinye, and after Liu Shijun came, the lives of the people in Xinye did get better and better, which led to Liu Bei's high reputation in Xinye.
And Zhang Xi is an official under Liu Shijun. He specially came to visit the village elder during the Chinese New Year, which made the village elder look very proud.
Visit according to the rules, salute, talk, eat... After the visit, it is already noon.
After bidding farewell to the village elder, Zhang Xi took Xiao Qibao with him to visit his landlord in the village again.
During the Han Dynasty, there was still a two-meal system, one at nine in the morning and one at four in the afternoon. There was no food at noon, so there was no need to disturb other people's meals if they visited at noon.
And my landlord's home is not far from my hometown in the village.
Most of the residents in Dengjia Village are named Deng, and the landlord is no exception.
According to the introduction of the village elder, the landlord was originally the talker who stayed before the Deng family split up and moved south. It has been passed down from generation to generation. In the current generation, because the talker died young, only orphans and widows were left. Therefore, the current village elder is in charge of the overall situation in the village.
This also explains why the house rented to Zhang Xi is the ancestral property of Dengjia Village, but the landlord is not the village elder.
As for whether there is a suspicion that the village elders took the opportunity to bully orphans and widowed mothers... Zhang Xi didn't know.
Even if you know, you can't get justice, because in this era, this is a private matter of the family, and outsiders have no right to interfere.
However, Zhang Xi still had to fulfill his due etiquette, so he visited the landlord's house.
The restrictions on women in the late Han Dynasty were not as strict as those in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, but it was indeed inconvenient for a widowed mother to have an orphan in many cases, and she would not come forward if possible.
The lease agreement was signed before and was witnessed by the village elders, who would go to the Yamen to file the agreement. It would not be a big problem if the owner did not come forward.
But this time Zhang Xi came to visit, Mrs. Deng, as the hostess, had to come forward.
