Shandong is rich in products, and autumn is the harvest season, especially when there are many kinds of fruits and vegetables. Xiao Fu, along with Li Shu and Liwan, made their own preserved fruits, brewed fruit wine, pickled sauerkraut and side dishes, and made their own sauces.
The Liu family is very busy from the hostess to the servants. Mrs. Zhu is really interested, but she is getting old and can't handle much. She wants little Fu to take Yang Chuying with her, but it's really hard to ask.
Firstly, Zhu Shangshu and Liu Chengxu had different political views, and they were still fighting in the arena. Secondly, Mrs. Fu was not an enthusiastic person. Although she seemed to act appropriately, she did not like to take matters into her own hands, so Mrs. Zhu could not speak.
"There are thorns on the outside of this prickly pear. Don't touch it with your hands. Be careful. If you are really afraid of getting it, leave it to the servants. Let's cut the peaches and make them bigger." Xiao Fu Shi said to them.
Lishu and Liwan both need to learn how to cook, which is also what women must learn.
Sure enough, there are servants in the family, but if the mistresses can do these things, it will also appear that you are good at running the household.
They made a total of four kinds of preserved fruits, namely prickly pear, blood peach, apple and autumn plum, and eight kinds of fruit wine, which were made from hawthorn, kumquat, plum, lychee, green plum, strawberry, bayberry and apricot.
There are also various pickles, such as pickled leeks, kohlrabi, water shield, sunflower, cress, meat sauce, deer meat sauce, snail meat sauce, clam meat sauce, piglet shoulder meat sauce, and elk meat with bones. Sauce.
In addition, the Liu family are all from Huguang, and they like to eat bacon and fish. Huguang is in the south, and the weather usually gets cold when winter comes in the twelfth lunar month, but it gets cold earlier in northern Shandong, so Mr. Fu had someone make bacon. As for the salted duck eggs and salted goose eggs, they are also marinated in a jar.
Before winter, the Liu family's warehouse and kitchen were all fully stocked, and Li Shu felt happy when she saw them.
The heavy snow came quietly, and Li Shu slept soundly. When little Fu came in and saw her daughter sleeping red, she did not wake her up. Instead, she said: "Let the girl sleep a little longer, she has been tired these days." .”
"Yes." Shui Zhi and Shui Yun retreated again.
Little Fu prepared two more jars of fruit wine, a few small jars of meat sauce and pickles, and two jars of dried fruits sent to the next door. There was also a plate of two-color butter abalone, one red, one pink, with gold powder sprinkled on it. It is exquisite and delicious, and I said it was given to Mrs. Zhu to try.
No one will be short of these, but this is still a heartfelt gift.
In addition, buttered abalone was Lishu's favorite food. Little Fu went to find someone to find it and bought the recipe. After much thought, she made it by herself. It was not an ordinary buttered abalone. It was only passed down to her daughter, but not the other way around. Will teach others like Liwan and others.
Because she is good at painting, she is very skillful with flowers and unicorns, and she can also use them to write poems.
But this is very labor-intensive, so I only do it when entertaining guests.
When Lishu got up, the kitchen made lotus root clips, which is a famous snack in Huguang. Originally, lotus roots were cut with a razor blade, and minced meat was placed inside, then wrapped in batter and fried until golden brown. But the people in the kitchen are full of tricks, including surimi, liver, etc., which can be said to be everything.
"Mother, you have been working hard for a long time. You need to take a break these days. You see you have lost weight." Lishu felt very distressed as she saw little Mrs. Fu busying around.
Little Fu said, "Not everyone in the world comes here like this."
Li Shu said: "My daughter wants you to live to be a hundred years old. In the future, we, mother and daughter, will always be together, so you should rest properly and take good care of your body."
Hearing this, Liu Chengxu also glanced at Mr. Fu and said apologetically: "When I get busy, I forget about things at home. With you taking care of it, I really feel a lot less worried. When spring comes next year, our family will Let’s go out and play, okay?”
He was older than Mr. Fu, and he said he wanted her to enjoy life, but he always made her do the hard work.
Little Fu's face turned slightly red: "It's okay, I'm not busy with anything, everyone is like this, I'm already very free." She drank stewed tonics, and her family members also took care of the daily preparations, which made her find it interesting.
Mr. Fu even wants to cook for Liu Chengxu in the future: "The food in the Yamen is getting more and more unappetizing. Master, you don't have time to go to the restaurant. Besides, you will get tired of the food in the restaurant after eating it for a few days. Why don't you let me have food boxes delivered to you every day?" How about going?"
She still felt sorry for her husband, always thinking that Liu Chengxu was cold or hungry.
Liu Chengxu was afraid that she would have to work too hard, so he declined several times. Seeing that Mr. Fu still insisted, he had no choice but to agree.
Everyone ate cleanly on the table. The main reason was that the food may not be expensive, but it was very delicious. In fact, you have to pay extra for any food you want to eat in the Liu family. After going out, I no longer have this bad habit. I usually just let the kitchen cook whatever I want to eat every day.
Liwan was very satisfied with this point. The monthly allowance in Beijing was usually not enough. Before, Aunt Su and her uncle had subsidized her. After her uncle became paralyzed, she also had the private house that Aunt Su had accumulated over the years, but those The money was not as much as expected.
Even then, she might not be as good as Li Shu. At least she saw that little Fu was favored. As long as she was favored and she was the housekeeper of the house, nothing belonged to Li Shu.
Her maids Yu Ming and Baozhu came back after receiving their monthly payment in the afternoon. They said: "In the past, when the eldest wife was in charge of the house, she was always late in getting her monthly payment. Now, since the second wife has been in charge of the house, there is no one who fails to receive her monthly payment in time. Some of the servants are sick." , the second wife also helped to hire a doctor, this is much better than before."
Liwan also admitted this: "I always feel that the fourth girl will lose a lot if she doesn't follow."
Yu Ming smiled and said: "The four girls all said that they want to marry the Geng family aunt, and they must get engaged in Beijing. After all, it is different from us. Girl, does it mean that the four girls are going to marry into the Duke's Mansion?"
"That's not true. The old Duke's wife has passed away. Although my uncle is a direct descendant, he is also the youngest son, so he will naturally be separated. That day I heard Li Shu mention that the so-called noble and civil servants are two promotion paths. Uncle He was originally a nobleman, but he also passed the civil service examination. When the time comes when the two are against each other, he will not be able to help either side. Therefore, it is difficult for him to be promoted in the Hanlin Academy. The third cousin is also the youngest son of his uncle, and he is studying and reading. It's not a good idea to come here. I'll see if I can send him to the Imperial College to study in the future. Don't be fooled by the name of Duke Lu's mansion. If the fourth girl marries into her aunt's family, she won't have problems with mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, and her life may not be easy in the future." Li Wan And have their own opinions.
Baozhu looked at Liwan and said, "Hello, my dear. The Zeng family is from an official family, and my future uncle is rich. Every time the Zeng family sends so many good things, everyone's eyes are wide open."
"Short-sighted, if the Zeng family is really promising, they won't want me. Being a rich man is enough, and I won't ask for anything. This is better than that Yang Chuying. I heard that she is quite shameless, eager to give away Come to the door." Liwan looked down on her.
In any case, the girls from the Liu family were more reserved and kept their duties. Yang Chuying acted like she had never seen a man before and wanted to hook up with him and become a prince.
Yu Ming thought for a moment: "Then she is the granddaughter of Zhu Shangshu and the daughter of Hexi Jiedushi. Even marrying the prince's son is not considered a high achievement."
"Confused, such a daughter from a poor family looks good at the moment, but how old is Zhu Shangshu? Several sons in the Zhu family are ineffective and have no successors. Once Zhu Shangshu retires, how long can her father last? Unlike our Liu family, my grandfather was in the first rank of officialdom, my uncle was in command of the Imperial Guard this year, and my father was in the fourth rank. Look at how beautiful and talented Li Shu is, but she can’t even get into the eyes of Prince Cheng, so just rely on her? What does she look like? Not as good as Li Rou." Li Wan is not optimistic about Yang Chuying.
Both Yu Ming and Bao Zhu said: "The girls from our Liu family have very strict tutoring. How can outsiders compare to it?"
He also said that Mrs. Zhu and Yang Chuying were having lunch, and Yang Chuying had eaten all the buttered abalone on the plate, so that she couldn't eat any more during the meal.
Mrs. Zhu complained: "It's not like you haven't eaten this before. Why did you finish it all? Well, now you are picky."
Yang Chuying smiled flatteringly: "It was cooked by Mrs. Liu's family. It was so delicious. Originally, the chef from Jiangnan was invited to cook it, but it smelled of egg, or she was tired of eating it, but Mrs. Liu's cooking was not good at all. It has a greasy taste, but tastes sweet and beautiful.”
Seeing her granddaughter like this, Mrs. Zhu added: "Even the wife of the Governor of the River Valley likes the side dishes made by Mrs. Liu. She is very capable. I heard that she also manages a huge mansion in Beijing. Look at the two girls of the Liu family. Very good, especially the third girl of the Liu family. She is proficient in all kinds of music, chess, calligraphy and painting, and is good at needlework and red. She is very talented. She is even proficient in cooking and Shuanglu mopai. You are a few years older than her. Months, she is twelve years old, and you are still confused, what should you do?"
The more she saw the outstanding people, the more worried Mrs. Zhu became.
They are old and not as young and strong as Mr. Fu, who has more energy to teach her daughter.
Yang Chuying gave a silly smile: "Grandma, what's the matter, I can also read and write!"
Mrs. Zhu advised: "Chu Ying, you are still young. I know that you have been thinking about him since you were saved by Prince Cheng. I also hope that you can marry into the prince's palace, where your cousin is still there, but where is the crown prince's concubine?" It’s so easy to get married. And the prince said he couldn’t marry her, so why are you so stupid?”
"I will be thirteen in two months. Grandma, when he rescued me, he told me that he wanted me to pledge my life for saving my life..." Yang Chuying was very shy.
Madam Zhu scolded her: "When your grandfather went to ask, he acted cunning and said he had seen the wrong person. He was sincere and didn't want to marry you."
Yang Chuying cried, remembering that when he saved her, he told her that her appearance was rare in the world, and he would definitely take responsibility.
Why is he like this now...
Lishu prepared meals with her mother again. She didn't need to do these things originally, but little Fu has been suppressed by Fu for many years. Now she always wants to show that she can do better, as if she is worthy of this status.
But persuading my mother not to do this doesn't happen overnight, it can only be done slowly.
"Mother, you are so thin, don't work too hard." Lishu couldn't bear to see her mother like this.
Mrs. Fu blushed when she heard the word "work". Yesterday, her husband washed her feet, but it was difficult to talk about such boudoir matters with her daughter, although she had a good relationship with her daughter.
She couldn't help but said: "Don't make a fuss. On weekdays, I am served by six girls. I just bring food to your father, which is nothing. Your father is good to me, and I must also be considerate to him, husband and wife. It’s all like this.”
Lishu was stunned. She had never had this concept of husband and wife. In her previous life, she had a bad marriage, suffered betrayal, and was sold. Later, she was treated like an animal in Wusun. No one had ever cared about her. All she wants is to preserve herself, not to be tempted, and then climb up.
After her rebirth, she felt family affection and love from her mother, but she was quite insensitive to the relationship between husband and wife.
She never had a husband and no one cared for her.
Shaking her head, she realized that the buttered abalone this time was made by Li Shu. After she finished making it, she said, "I am always not as good as my mother."
"That's because you are lazy, silly girl. We are not really cooks. We must have something to do to entertain guests. My mother took the trouble to learn it and taught it to you specially. In the future, you will be Zheng There are many wives in the Zheng family, so my mother is very afraid that you will be disliked by others. Because my mother asked for this marriage, she is afraid that you will be looked down upon by others." Little Fu grinned.
Li Shu vowed: "Okay, I will study hard."
Seeing how nervous her daughter was, little Mrs. Fu added, "Oh, we can't be said to be so humble. In fact, my daughter is not worthy of any man in the world."
"Mother~" Li Shu said coquettishly.
The mother and daughter knew that Liu Chengxu was relatively incorruptible among the bureaucracy on weekdays. They all made home-cooked dishes, but the only dessert was abalone made with butter.
After the food was ready and packed into boxes, Mrs. Fu glanced at Lishu and said, "I remember you had a sapphire blue cloak with gold ruffles. Why haven't I seen you wearing it? That one was made of deer velvet, which is warmer than this one." .”
"What else can I do? It was taken away by Sister Yang next door. She actually gave me a feather satin and the pink shirt I wore during the Dragon Boat Festival last time. She happened to be here that time. Tea was spilled on me, so I had to give her my piece. Sister Yang is always so frizzy, and I can't help it. Now I don't have much contact with her, which is good." Li Shu spread her hands.
Little Fu said: "Well, she is actually much easier to get along with than the so-called daughters of high-ranking officials, but she really has no one to teach her and her ideas are different from ordinary people. You don't have to argue with her. She is also honest."
Li Shu thought that it was precisely because of this that she and Yang Chuying really couldn't argue.
It's hard to describe this girl in two words.
She is kind-hearted and always cares for cats and dogs, and even little beggars she sees on the street. Sometimes I feel that she is not vain at all, but she unconsciously shows her love and pursuit of many exquisite objects. Yang Chuying often came to her place and wanted to use rose water and the pair of black jade bracelets given by the Zheng family. Yang Chuying also asked several times.
But these have a price but no market, and cannot be bought with money.
Hedao Yamen
It's snowing heavily, and it's hard for the officials in these rivers to eat a simple meal. There are also many relatively poor adults who eat in the public kitchen, or go to restaurants in twos and threes. People like Liu Chengxu, who is the public cook, really can't eat. He I'm from the south, so the pasta will be a bit boring.
Just as food arrived from home, the official smiled and said, "Your wife sent a message and said that today's snacks were made by the third lady."
Zhu Shangshu was also dining at the Yamen. Liu Chengxu opened the food box, which contained his favorite dishes and even a plate of peanuts.
It's a pity that there is no wine, and Qiu Jun is really bad. He has bad anchovies, pork ribs with sauce, fried rice with bacon and rice, and boiled tender bamboo shoots and old duck soup, but he doesn't give him wine.
When he was about to eat, he saw the imperial prince's crown prince coming in. Liu Chengxu quickly stood up and prepared to salute. This crown prince was very courteous and virtuous.
"Master Zhu, Master Liu, please get up quickly. I originally wanted to invite you two to a banquet at the mansion to ask about the situation of the river, but I thought it would be inappropriate to discuss official matters in private, so I happened to be having dinner here and asked you both. You two." Xiao Yun smiled.
Liu Chengxu knew that the prince who had become a prince looked at the courtesy and corporal, but in fact he had a lot of troubles in his heart. Anyone who can bend and stretch is a ruthless person, just like Gou Jian and Han Xin. Let's see how he can solve a big case. He will do it for his own reputation. Got it.
Unexpectedly, the young prince was not picky. What was on the table was the chef's braised noodles, which he ate with gusto.
"Your Majesty, the food in this yamen is poor because there is a famine in Shandong this year and the people have no harvest. Please bear with me." Liu Chengxu, who has the lowest official position, said quickly.
Xiao Yun smiled and said: "Hey, the common people are having such a difficult time. Although I come from the royal family, I still have to be considerate."
Liu Chengxu nodded, picked up another buttered abalone and ate one. Well, my daughter’s cooking skills are pretty good. Although she’s not as good as Qiu Jun, it’s still delicious.
Zhu Shangshu ate a buttered abalone under Yang Chuying's mouth yesterday. The old man missed it very much and sent people out to buy it but he couldn't get it. Fortunately, I saw him here today. Zhu Shangshu misses him very much.
"Master Liu, your snack is quite good."
Liu Chengxu laughed. He used to be happy to promote his daughter's cooking skills. After all, he was also proud of it, but now Xiao Yun is here. According to Mr. Fu, Xiao Yun is very frivolous towards his daughter. How old was my daughter at that time?
He handed it to Zhu Shangshu. Zhu Shangshu twisted one and put it in his mouth, with endless aftertaste. "It's really good. I have never eaten such delicious food. Mr. Liu, your third lady is really talented."
Xiao Yun didn't expect that it was Miss Liu San who did it. The last life-saving grace gave him a chance to make a comeback. Those who offended him were all fed by him, otherwise they would confiscate their homes and exterminate their clans. He would not Let those people go.
As the saying goes, if you cut the grass without removing the root, it will grow again when the wind blows.
There are people he wants to keep in the river, and there are many people the emperor must account for. He also has to supervise the excavation of the new river and the dredging of the old river. He has been busy with these tasks recently, and he heard that Miss Liu San has been betrothed to someone else. He has always been very proud. Ao, naturally he will not miss others anymore.
But when Zhu Shangshu said it was Miss Liu San's craftsmanship, he unconsciously asked for one to try.
"Not bad." Xiao Yun couldn't help but nod after tasting it.
Liu Chengxu didn't say another word.
Xiao Yun stayed here for a long time in the second half of the day. He found that Liu Chengxu was indeed a capable official, with a clear mind and quick reactions. Zhu Shangshu was old, but his performance was very appropriate. He was worthy of being a senior official in the ministry and his reputation was well-deserved.
He was still young, but he had not been with the documents for a long time. He was still a little dizzy after sitting in the sedan. After getting off the sedan, he saw a woman in a pink cloak waiting at the door. When Xiao Yun was about to step forward, she stepped forward. Unexpectedly, Xiao Yun pushed him away.
The woman in the pink cloak is Yang Chuying. She didn't expect Xiao Yun to be like this. She waited here for an hour in the cold wind today.
Looking at Xiao Yun who didn't look back, Yang Chuying finally made up her mind and left.
The personal guard walking behind Xiao Yun also lowered his head, feeling a little unbearable, but he also knew that his eldest son had been like this since he was a child. He would do whatever it took to get out of hand with anyone he liked, and even the gods would not like those he didn't like.
Apart from having a hint of tenderness towards the married princess, he uses everyone and has no feelings whatsoever.
"Miss, let's go back. You see, the old lady is afraid that you will be lonely. She thought you went to play with the little sisters, but you are here? If you stay too long, the old lady will get angry." The maid advised.
That is to say, the Zhu family. Mrs. Zhu is old and not in good health recently, but she is always worried that her granddaughter will be lonely and asks her to go out and socialize more. It was also because of this that Yang Chuying was able to find a reason and ordered the housekeeper not to say it, so that she could do such a thing.
Otherwise, if there are some rules and the mistress is very strict in running the house, like Lishu and the others, the mistress will know how many people to take with them wherever they go, and even whom they meet, and she will have to return the favor.
…
Yang Chuying fell ill and did not get better until the spring of next year. Lishu and Liwan went to visit the doctor together.
"Second sister, do you know why Sister Yang has been sick for so long?" Li Shu asked.
Liwan shook her head: "How could I know? I've been just like you these days, sleeping at home all day long and never going out."
Lishu sighed: "Winter is the time when I take a lot of tonic and nourish my body, but Sister Yang is sick." Anyway, she felt that Yang Chuying was really difficult to evaluate, and she really didn't have the same aura with her, so she didn't How could I inquire about her affairs? Unexpectedly, she had been ill for several months.
When she came to the door, Yang Chuying's house was filled with a strong smell of medicine, and Li Shu almost covered her nose.
Yang Chuying looked quite weak, and when Lishu and Liwan came in, she struggled to get up again. Being held down by Li Shu, Li Shu said: "We are here to visit the patient. It would be bad if you get up to work."
Yang Chuying was very happy: "Finally, someone came to visit me. My grandmother won't let me go out. She takes medicine every day and I'm almost moldy."
"I know you must be depressed, so I brought a new book for you." Lishu handed the book to her.
"I just wanted to read this book, but I didn't expect you to have it here." After Yang Chuying fell ill, Mrs. Zhu found out that she had gone to Xiao Yun's place again, severely punished the servant, and grounded her for a few months. She was really suffocated to death.
Li Shu was sitting on the edge of the bed, and was about to comfort her with a few words, but she saw a pair of jade dragonfly pendants lying on her pillow, and her eyes widened instantly.
"Is this your jade dragonfly? It's so unique." Li Shu asked.
Yang Chuying's face turned red: "Yes, my mother left these to me. These jade dragonflies are a pair."
At this point, there is something that Li Shu still doesn't understand. In her previous life, Prince Cheng, the crown prince, was wearing a jade dragonfly pendant, which meant that the person she thought was her savior was most likely a pair with Yang Chuying.
This makes it easy to understand why Xiao Yun appeared in the Yang family in Xuzhou. Could it be that the Yang family was originally planning to give their daughter away as a concubine in exchange for benefits, but later the crown prince offered an olive branch to the Yang family. I want to marry Yang Chuying to the crown prince.
Therefore, why was she immediately caught by the Yang family as soon as she gave the token to Yulan. But in this case, why did Xiao Yun help him escape and deliver the token?
This kind of thing really becomes more and more complicated the more I think about it. :,n,
