Zhang Xi was summoned by his chief officer Mi Zhu.
Since taking office, Zhang Xi has rarely seen Mi Zhu, his nominal chief officer.
Mi Zhu was in charge of the military rations and logistics under Liu Bei's account, but his main responsibility was not to focus on how to distribute these military rations and logistics materials, but to find ways to prepare these materials for Liu Bei in various places.
Therefore, Mi Zhu did not stay in Xinye for a long time. He had many places to go.
For example, Xiangyang, Nanjun, and even Runan, Xuzhou and Mi Zhu in the north will rely on the connections left by their families over the years to find ways to raise various supplies for their lord Liu Bei.
Mi Zhu's family is not easy to run. After all, Liu Bei's current situation is not good. He has to look at other people's eyes to prepare supplies.
But recently, the aristocratic families from Xiangyang came to visit.
It’s all about the tofu.
Tofu is still considered a noble food in this era. In fact, not all aristocratic families know how to make tofu, let alone how to make tofu puffs or dried tofu.
As for the aristocratic family, although things are difficult in troubled times, they will never give up their pursuit of life.
What's more, the aristocratic families in Xiangyang really didn't suffer much from the war, and they still felt that they had the capital to enjoy it.
Mi Zhu was very happy. He planned to use this tofu to establish good relations with the aristocratic families in Xiangyang and even Nanjun, so as to help Liu Bei improve his reputation. At the worst, he would have to exchange for some useful supplies.
But this time when he went to ask his lord Liu Bei for instructions, Liu Bei told him that he had to discuss this matter with the grain and grass master under his account.
Liu Bei thought things through quite carefully, especially after learning from Liu Mi that the secret recipe for tofu was taught to the Liu Mi family by Zhang Xi.
In these days, there was no intellectual property protection law, and after Liu Bei made a "deal" with Liu Mi, the secret recipe could theoretically be disposed of by Liu Bei.
But Liu Bei considered Zhang Xi, especially after Guan Yu told Liu Bei his judgment in private, Liu Bei became very interested in Zhang Xi.
Although he doesn't like aristocratic families very much, Liu Bei knows that to survive in this troubled world and to help the Han Dynasty, he cannot do without the support of aristocratic families, especially the alliance of aristocratic families with great energy.
Although he could not be sure whether there was such a family alliance behind Zhang Xi, Liu Bei still had an extra layer of scruples and asked Mi Zhu to ask Zhang Xi's opinion first about the tofu matter.
Mi Zhu didn't know how complicated the considerations were, and Liu Bei didn't tell his uncle about it yet, but it didn't stop Mi Zhu from talking to Zhang Xi about it.
There is a saying, if Mi Fang's incident had not happened, Mi Zhu would definitely be no worse than Jian Yong in the future Ji Han... In terms of ability, he is much better than Jian Yong.
First, he invited Zhang Xi to his house as a guest, showed concern for the work of Zhang Xi, his subordinate, and acted like a good superior to build a relationship with Zhang Xi.
Then he slowly started talking about tofu.
"I heard that this tofu thing was originally made by Yuan Zhang?!" Mi Zhu smiled and said to Zhang Xi, "It's thanks to Yuan Zhang that we and others can enjoy such delicious food all the time."
While talking, he asked his servants to bring tofu drizzled with honey, specially for Zhang Xi to taste.
Zhang Xi really wanted to say that he was from the Xian faction...but he didn't have the courage.
One thing to say, honey drizzled with water tofu tastes pretty good.
Especially when it has been several months since Zhang Xi traveled back in time and Zhang Xi can't taste any sweetness at all.
While Zhang Xi was eating, he was polite to the official and said modestly, "Young Master, you are so complimentary, but this thing is not Xi's work. It existed in the pre-Han Dynasty, but the world doesn't know the secret!"
Mi Zhu nodded with a smile, chatted with Zhang Xi for a few more words, and then said in a pretentious manner, "It's just that now, my lord, the general, and his family are all eating three meals a day. Although it only costs some bean sprouts,... .....Hey, it’s always an expense, Yuan Chang, it’s not easy for me to be a middleman!”
Well, well... Zhang Xi could only smile in embarrassment.
Mi Zhu slightly raised his eyes to look at Zhang Xi, and continued, "Now that my lord is living in Jingxiang, he is already strapped for money, but he still has to worry about the defense of Liu Jingzhou. He must occupy Cao Cao in the north and Huang Zu in the south... How difficult is it? Na!"
Zhang Xi is even more embarrassed... Who knows what you are saying!
Mi Zhu was also slightly dissatisfied... I've made it so obvious, you still don't understand? !
At this time, shouldn't you just jump out and share the Lord's worries and take the initiative to contribute the secret recipe of tofu? !
Although I already knew the secret recipe from the lord in advance, the lord asked me to talk to you, isn't it just to let you take the initiative and save yourself from worry in the future? !
Even if you ask me for conditions now, it's fine... What's the point of pretending to be stupid? !
Mi Zhu was dissatisfied, and his sense of Zhang Xi had dropped a lot. His face changed slightly, and he said bluntly, "Did Yuan Chang hear recently that a Xiangyang family came to Xinye, one of them sold some bean sprouts, and the other wanted to ask the Lord Can I get the secret recipe for this tofu?!"
Of course Zhang Xi has heard of this.
"Xi has heard about this." Zhang Xi nodded and said with a smile, "I just think it's a bit funny!"
"Oh?!" Mi Zhu glanced at Zhang Xi strangely and asked, "What's so funny?!"
Zhang Xi curled his lips and said, "When Zheng Xuan, the great scholar of the time, made an annotation on "Huainanzi", he clearly mentioned that this tofu was made by the Huainan King of the former Han Dynasty, who used soy milk to induce gypsum... These people from the Xiangyang family Don’t you even study?!”
Mi Zhu was even more surprised now and blurted out directly and asked, "Yuan Chang has also read Zheng Sinong's masterpiece?!"
I really don’t blame Mi Zhu for making such a fuss.
Zheng Xuan is recognized as a great Confucian in the world. He annotated almost all the Confucian classics in the world and founded his own school, which is called "Zheng Xue" by the world.
Everyone admires and worships Zheng Xuan, but not many people have actually read Zheng Xuan's works, and only the great Confucians of the time are qualified to read them.
After all, the efficiency of dissemination of knowledge these days is too low, and there is no movable type printing. What everyone can see are basically the original bamboo slips carved by Zheng Xuan's hand. And the Zheng family will not allow outsiders to copy such precious documents.
After Zheng Xuan passed away five years ago, only people within the Zheng family could access Zheng Xuan's annotated articles, and outsiders had no chance to read them.
That's why Mi Zhu was surprised. After all, Zhang Xi was only sixteen years old five years ago. How could he read "Huainanzi" annotated by Zheng Xuan? !
Zhang Xi felt a little guilty. He had never read Zheng Xuan's works. It was entirely because later generations knew Zheng Xuan's name. He occasionally saw a sentence or two on the Internet and only half understood it.
He quickly lowered his head and said with a guilty conscience, "Xi has only heard a few words from others, and has not been blessed to read Zheng Sinong's masterpiece!"
This is common sense, I guess I heard it from the family elders... Mi Zhu nodded slightly.
"Since it is mentioned in Zheng Sinong's masterpiece, there is no problem in giving it to the Jingzhou family in this way?!" Mi Zhu thought for a while, looked at Zhang Xi, and asked "kindly" again.
Zhang Xi doesn't quite understand... Why do you ask me about this? You should ask King Huainan. He is the author and enjoys intellectual property rights and patent rights.
one more......
"The method of making tofu is not complicated. It's just grinding, boiling, adding gypsum, and pressing to remove the water... Even if you don't tell the Jingxiang family, you only need to see it once and you will know it naturally!" Zhang Xi said helplessly said.
There is really no technical content in making tofu. The biggest technical point is to add gypsum or salt brine. This thing has been directly open sourced... there are no technical difficulties.
Zhang Xi couldn't understand that those wealthy and wealthy families in Jingzhou would come to ask Ambassador Liu for such a thing? !
But Mi Zhu didn't see it that way.
Whether tofu is precious or not depends on when.
In the future, everyone will know how to make tofu, so it will no longer be precious. But at this stage, in the eyes of those Jingxiang aristocratic families who don't know how to make tofu, this secret recipe is indeed very precious.
Moreover, Mi Zhu is more satisfied with Zhang Xi's current stance.
Zhang Xi was able to directly point out how to make tofu in front of him, and even told him about the key plaster... Apparently he didn't care that the secret recipe was exchanged for something.
Even this kid just now, intentionally or unintentionally, attributed the summary of this secret recipe to Zheng Xuan's notes on "Huainanzi"... This is very clever.
Later, when he faced the Jingxiang aristocratic family, he could not only use the banner of the prince of the former Han Dynasty, but also the brand of the great Confucian of the time, in order to increase Doufu's worth.
Of course, it is impossible to sell. As Zhang Xi said, the technical content of tofu is only so much. The only important gypsum is also recorded in "Huainanzi" annotated by Zheng Xuan... It has something to do with it. The aristocratic family only needs to go to the Zheng family to ask for an audience and read the original work to know everything clearly.
Not to mention anything else, there must be someone from Jingxiang, Cai, Huang, Kuai, and Pang who can get in touch with the Zheng family.
In this case, it is better to give it directly to the Jingxiang family. Firstly, it will increase Liu Shijun's favorability. Secondly... some favors are free of money, but they can save lives at critical moments.
Thinking of this, Mi Zhu's mood immediately became very good, and she even seemed to like Zhang Xi again.
"Having said that, after all, it was Yuan Chang who brought this method to Xinye, so that the land of Jingxiang can know its delicious taste. This is also Yuan Chang's contribution." Mi Zhu said happily, finalizing the matter.
Then, Mi Zhu probably felt a little embarrassed.
Today's matter went smoothly beyond Mi Zhu's imagination. Zhang Xi actually didn't care whether the secret recipe was leaked, and even took the initiative to tell himself that the secret recipe was related to Huainanzi and Zheng Xuan... This was a direct distinction between the secret recipe and the secret recipe. It means that if there is any connection or benefit, it will be given to the Lord alone.
Although Zhang Xi really didn't think that much, Mi Zhu's mind wandered and she felt that Zhang Xi thought so.
What a good subordinate this must be.
"Yuan Chang has made great contributions, but he must be rewarded!" Mi Zhu decided that he had to give Zhang Xi some compensation.
But the problem is, Mi Zhu thought about it for a long time and found that her manager, the manager in charge of logistics, really had nothing to give Zhang Xi.
money? ! General Zuo's Mansion is in short supply of this thing, and often has to rely on Mi Zhu to do business around. How can Liu Bei Junzhong's Mansion have money?
Mi Zhu can't just pay for the rewards to the officials in Liu Bei's mansion, right? What's going on? ! At a small scale, it is said that it does not distinguish between public and private affairs, but at a large scale, it is said to win people's hearts.
official? ! Zhang Xi, the director of grain and grass management, was already quite old. If he climbed higher, he would work in General Zuo's Mansion, and this was not something Mi Zhu could decide for Liu Bei.
Mi Zhu was embarrassed at that time. He could only look at Zhang Xi and said with an awkward smile, "If Yuan Chang needs anything, Zhu can solve it. If Zhu is incompetent, he can also report it to the lord..."
Zhang Xi looked at Mi Zhu's face and understood immediately.
"Xi thanked Mi for taking the job. It's just that Xi only has two masters and servants now and has no needs... He has no intention of doing the job!" Zhang Xi quickly declined.
Mi Zhu was happy when she heard this.
"I didn't expect that there is only one loyal servant in Yuan Chang's mansion!"
After saying this, Mi Zhu immediately ordered the housekeeper to select ten maids from the mansion and send them to Zhang Xi's mansion.
Nothing else can be given, but the Mi family has no shortage of servants and maids.
Moreover, these days, it is very common for nobles to give servants and maids to each other, and it is not a taboo.
But Zhang Xi couldn't accept it.
Not to mention that Zhang Xi couldn't accept this kind of giving away, but to say... where do these ten maids live? !
I can’t even afford it! ! !
