Whoosh.
The north wind is howling and the chill is pressing.
High in the sky, fine ice crystals fell.
A row of eunuchs wrapped in winter clothes and holding charcoal fires were walking outside the palace wall.
"Hiss—the day has changed so fast! The north wind blows and makes me shiver with cold!"
"Quickly, send this charcoal fire to Your Majesty and the Queen first, and then to the princes, princesses and concubines."
"Don't leave anything behind in the south study room, and don't forget any of the elders in the pavilion."
"Yes Yes……"
The eunuchs escorted the charcoal fire and distributed it everywhere.
In the Tang Dynasty, when there was no air conditioning or heating, even the emperor and queen could only burn charcoal for heating.
In the Queen's Palace, in the Nuan Pavilion.
"Child slave, child slave..."
Changsun Wugu held Li Zhi, who was just one year old, in his arms, teasing him gently, and said with a smile,
"Are you awake?"
"Hmm... uh huh..." The little kid's eyes widened and he started twisting with his teeth and claws open.
Suddenly, a face appeared in front of him.
"Hey!"
Xu Fenglei made a grimace and shouted.
Xiao Li Zhi opened his eyes wide, then chuckled, and stretched out his hand to catch him.
"Come on, you can hug me, Master can hug me."
The eldest grandson Wugou handed the child into Xu Fenglei's arms, rubbed his hands and gritted his teeth, saying,
"This child is a lot heavier. I can hardly hold it..."
"Ouch!" Xu Fenglei took the heavy Li Zhi, patted his back gently, and said with a smile, "This means that he is developing very well and is very healthy! Isn't it, little child slave?"
He stared into Li Zhi's eyes and said with a smile:
"What did you call me?"
"Xi, Xi..." Xiao Lizhi said hard.
"Yes, this kid learned from the girl, and his mouth is leaking!" Xu Fenglei said helplessly, "It's the teacher, the master! Not Xifu! You have to correct yourself in the future -"
With that said, he hugged the baby and walked to the table beside him.
Four students, Li Chengqian, Li Tai, Li Ke, and Li Lizhi, are working on a test paper.
Above the test paper, there are four big words written "Final Exam"!
And there is only one question——
"Talk about your gains and losses this year. There is no limit to the number of words and the style of writing."
Xu Fenglei has always been more casual when giving test questions.
He would occasionally check his homework and order it to be recited, but he was very open-minded about the final exam.
You can answer whatever you want.
In his opinion, compared to rigid and single ordinary test questions, such questions can better reflect the level of the test taker.
look.
Some people have literary thoughts like diabetes, writing furiously, and talking at length, such as Li Tai,
There are also people biting the end of their pens and twiddling their feet with dull eyes, like Li Lizhi.
Four children, four looks.
"Ah, ah..."
Xiao Li Zhi screamed, clutching Xu Fenglei's collar, but his eyes fell on his sister's test paper.
There are big doubts in my little head.
Why are the brothers' papers all black, but my sister's papers are all white?
"The youngest!"
Li Lizhi was worried when she saw the little kid coming up to her. Her eyes suddenly lit up and she naturally reached out to take him and hugged him on her lap.
She laughed and said:
"Call sister!"
"Hmm... Ji, Ji..." Li Zhi seemed very obedient. Although his pronunciation was not standard, he responded to every request.
"Hahaha……"
Li Lizhi chuckled and said,
"Be good, sister will get you some sweets when the time comes!"
Xu Fenglei glanced at her.
"Beauty, are you dazzled by your teacher?"
He put his hands behind his hands and asked,
"Why didn't you write a word on your test paper?"
Li Lizhi: "..."
She stuck out her tongue and said flatly:
"My kid is still thinking... It's just that this year has gone by so fast, and nothing major has happened. I can't think of it for a while..."
When Xu Fenglei heard this, he couldn't help but frown.
"One year, you are one year older! Have you wasted all three hundred and sixty-five days and nights?"
He scolded,
"Then what have you been doing this year? Are you wandering around in the world? Are you possessed by ghosts?"
Li Lizhi was scolded and said aggrievedly:
"Then you really haven't learned anything...children can't make up random things, right?"
"You can't make it up...it's not like Brother Qingque, who can just make it up into hundreds or thousands of words..."
Li Tai paused and turned his head.
"Li Zhi, don't talk nonsense!"
He replied,
"Brother, I always have a target in mind, not just making things up randomly!"
"Just mess around by yourself, don't take me with you! I still want to be the outstanding student this year!"
Li Lizhi pursed her lips.
"It seems that you are going to fail this year."
Xu Fenglei snorted coldly,
"Are you feeling that your master is about to go on an expedition and you won't be able to come back for a while, so you relax?"
"Then my teacher tells you, you think too much, even if you leave, I will punish you before leaving!"
"Write it to me!"
Li Lizhi: "!!!"
She was frightened by this, and quickly returned the "toy" Xiao Li Zhi to Xu Fenglei, and started writing furiously.
Make it up, just make it up!
It’s better to compile than hand in a blank paper…
"Humph, I need to clean up!"
Xu Fenglei hugged Li Zhi and threatened,
"I tell you, although my master is about to go to the northern border and won't be back for a while, your homework must not fall behind at all!"
"My master has already told Ma Zhou to keep an eye on your progress. If you dare to slack off, write it all down in your notebook."
"Wait until you come back, hum..."
A few little brats: "!!!"
They know that Master has a lot of flower jobs!
Swish, swish, swish.
Swish, swish, swish.
The sound of writing sounded again, and it seemed to be writing faster than before.
clang clang.
While inspecting the examination room, several eunuchs and maids came in with a bunch of equipment.
"See the Queen."
"See the Grand Master."
All the slaves and maids bowed before entering.
"Get up."
Changsun Wugou slowly stepped forward, looked at the things the eunuchs had brought, and said curiously,
"Listen Ming, is this the hot pot you are talking about?"
"Why does it look like a big bowl of cooking chimney?"
Just as he was asking, the eunuchs had already placed the copper hot pot on the table.
"Yes, yes, this thing is hot pot."
Xu Fenglei responded,
"Here, pour the water on top first, then put the charcoal fire in the small stove below to heat the water."
"Have you brought all the vegetables and meat? And the sauce?"
The eunuch in charge said respectfully:
"Go back to Grand Master, all the dishes you listed have been prepared in the imperial dining room."
"Should we go now or later?"
Xu Fenglei rubbed his hands.
"Bring some here first and I'll taste it."
He couldn't hold back the greed in his stomach and said,
"The rest will come after His Majesty comes."
"Yes." The eunuch responded.
After a while, charcoal fire was added to the stove, and the clear water in the copper pot inlet began to bubble.
A stack of sunflower vegetables and a stack of thinly sliced mutton were delivered to Xu Fenglei.
Just as he was about to use his chopsticks, he heard a shout from outside:
"Your Majesty is here!"
In an instant, everyone in the room stood up to greet him.
Several children who were doing test papers also stood up to greet him.
"See Your Majesty (Father)."
"No need, no need." Li Shimin stepped into the house and rubbed his hands, "It's really changing these days, it's cold! Guanyin Maid, you should also put on more clothes, don't catch a cold."
"I'm wearing it." Changsun Wujiu squeezed the snow-white coat on his body and responded.
"Ouch."
Li Shimin walked to the table and said curiously,
"What is this steaming hot thing cooking?"
"Listen, is this the hot pot you're talking about? Boiled in plain water? Are you going to treat me to this before leaving?"
Xu Fenglei picked up a piece of mutton, put it in the pot, rinsed it seven or eight times, and brought it to Li Shimin.
"Sometimes, boiling it in plain water also has some flavor."
He smiled and said,
"I wanted to take the first bite, but now that your Majesty is here. Does your Majesty invite you first?"
When Li Shimin saw this, he was not polite. He bit off the thin piece of mutton from his chopsticks and sipped it in his mouth.
"Um!"
His eyes lit up, and he praised while chewing lightly,
"This meat melts in your mouth!"
"It really tastes good. Compared with the barbecue, this one cooked in plain water is really good!"
"Come on, come on, let's all sit around, get warm, and serve the food!"
Li Shimin sat down on the main seat with a golden sword and shouted.
All the children looked at Xu Fenglei.
We're only halfway through the exam.
"Let's eat first."
Xu Fenglei waved his hand and said,
"Look, your hands are frozen and your words are all crooked. Eat something to warm yourself first."
"Okay!" At the command, the children were like wild beasts coming out of their cages, running to the table and sitting around. They all looked at the copper pot curiously. Li Tai even stretched out his little fat hand, wanting to touch it.
Snapped!
"Be careful!"
Xu Fenglei slapped his palm off and scolded,
"You don't want your paws anymore?"
"If you heat this thing, it will peel off your skin! Just get close to it."
"Yes, Master." Li Tai obeyed the instructions obediently, and together with Li Chengqian and others, they used the copper pot as an oven, floating their palms in mid-air, feeling the warmth.
Puff puff puff...
The clear water was boiling and bubbling, evaporating streams of white mist, which scattered on everyone's faces. Compared with the cold outside, the room was warm and humid.
"Listen, I really do have it for you. This thing is really good. Even if you don't use it to eat, it's still good for keeping warm."
Li Shimin praised,
"Come on, serve the food quickly! Let's have a hot meal!"
The eunuch beside him heard this and waved his hand towards the outside of the house.
A line of maids entered, each holding a stack of dishes in their hands.
There are all kinds of radish and fresh vegetables, all cut into slices.
Beef and mutton are divided into slices according to their parts and placed on the plate.
There are also a variety of dipping sauces such as salt, vinegar, sesame oil, fish sauce, spices, etc. Although there are not many types, they can be combined to create a lot of delicious flavors.
At the same time, a pot of soup was poured into the copper pot at the right time.
"Your Majesty, this is mushroom and chicken soup, it's delicious."
The eunuch beside him introduced with a smile,
"It was made by the imperial chef of the imperial dining room after a long period of research and development and many attempts."
"Paired with the hot pot invented by Taishi, it will have a unique taste."
Li Shimin raised his eyebrows.
"This way of eating is really fresh."
He picked up a piece of radish and threw it into the pot and said with a smile,
"Come on, use your chopsticks! Today is a family banquet and a practice banquet for your master. There is no need to be restrained."
"Open it and eat and drink!"
As he said that, he couldn't help but eat a few pieces of tender mutton.
Although it was his first time to eat hot pot, Li Er had already realized that meat was the essence of hot pot!
"Er Feng, Qingquan hasn't arrived yet."
Changsun Wugou pushed Li Shimin and said softly.
The movement of Li Shimin's hand stagnated slightly.
"Oh yes...I forgot about her."
He slowed down and said,
"Is she still busy?"
Changsun Wugou nodded.
"This girl...it's really hard for her."
Li Shimin sighed softly and said,
"However, I really didn't realize before that this tepid girl could be so capable."
"Don't move your chopsticks, wait for your eldest sister."
After saying that, he smeared the piece of mutton with fish sauce and put it into his mouth.
The next second, he showed an expression of satisfaction and enjoyment.
Gudong, Gudong.
The kids' mouths are watering! Not only does the meat look delicious, even the soup in the copper pot smells delicious!
Fortunately, their eldest sister did not make them look forward to the stars and the moon.
At that time, I heard two footsteps coming.
With a creak, the door opened.
Li Qingquan's already snow-white face was already a little red from the cold. She was wearing a mink fur cloak, which made her tall figure even more obvious.
If you use four words to describe it, it must be slim.
After a few years, that gentle girl has really become a grown-up girl.
Not only the figure, but also the temperament has become different.
In the past two years of running Fenglei Bank, the smell of the boss lady has become subtle in my body.
"See your father, see your mother."
"I met the master."
Li Qingquan took off his cloak and said slightly apologetically,
"I'm not late, am I?"
"Because of military supplies and pay, I was delayed at the bank for a while..."
Li Shimin shook his head repeatedly.
"You're not late, you're not late, you came just in time!"
He greeted with a smile,
"Come, come and sit next to Father."
"Qingquan, try the hot pot invented by your master. The meat is so tender!"
"Come."
With that said, Li Er enthusiastically cooked a piece of mutton for his daughter and put it in her bowl.
"Thank you, Father."
Li Qingquan was a little flattered, lowered his head slightly, picked up the pieces of meat and put it into his mouth.
After chewing only twice, she nodded and praised:
"It's really delicious."
"delicious."
"Is it delicious?" Li Shimin laughed loudly, "Okay, okay, let's have a feast! Everyone is open to eat!"
Ding-ding-ding-ding!
Several children were already hungry and thirsty. At this order, they were like wild horses running wild, throwing vegetables into the pot crazily.
"Slow down, slow down!"
Xu Fenglei said,
"Put in as much as you can eat, don't just throw it in all at once."
"Otherwise the soup will be turbid and the taste will not be right."
"There is a difference between rinsing and cooking, you know!"
The children stuck out their tongues and then slowed down.
And a moment later.
"Ah tang tang tang!"
"It's delicious! I love this sauce so much!"
"Try this, I mixed it myself, it tastes better!"
"Put in more radish slices, I love this!"
"..."
The children started making noises with each other, sharing their secret dipping sauces with each other, and showing off the hot and fragrant dishes in their mouths.
Waves of hot steam are steaming upward, and the aroma is overflowing.
This practice banquet is more flavorful than the previous New Year’s Eve dinners!
(End of chapter)
