The stars in the sky flicker and dim, and the lamps of wealthy people light up.
Two hundred and sixty scholars in the library were eating New Year's Eve dinner under the glazed lamps. There were ten people at each table, including fish, chicken, fresh vegetables, braised pork, braised radish and shrimp stir-fried cabbage.
The rich students had the same meal, and there were ten people at a table. Today's food was good, and they did not refuse.
They used to dislike it, and it felt embarrassing to eat food sent by others.
Ever since Zhu Yuanzhang finished the inscription and the engraved plaque was hung on the wall opposite the main entrance, they would occasionally ask what kind of food there was and decided to have it.
The library treats all scholars equally, including paper, ink, and pens, all at low prices.
The rich looked down on it and didn't want it, while the poor found it as a treasure and even asked for inkstones. Their own inkstones didn't produce ink well, which was a waste of ink.
In this Xiaqiu Village, there were inkstones in She County, but they were too good to be worth buying. So Xiaqiu Village bought a bunch of stones from She County. They didn’t pursue shapes and patterns. They saw that the quality of the stones was better, so they cut them into inkstones.
In fact, the inkstone is just like sand. The smaller the mesh size of the sand, the larger the particles. When grinding the ink, the ink on the ink ingot is ground into large particles that will not dissolve.
Insoluble ink is slow to produce ink, and large particles are wasted. A piece of ink is gone after just one use.
A good inkstone has many meshes. When grinding ink, the ink ingot can be quickly ground into fine powder. The ink will come out in just a few strokes, and it is enough for use.
"The new inkstone really saves ink. It turned out that I had to find other stones to grind the lost inkstone on the inkstone slowly."
A student was eating while looking at the new ink ingots placed next to him. The ink ingots given to him for the Chinese New Year were not good ones. The ash and oil he chose were not precious enough, and the production time was short.
Even so, he was very satisfied. It cost a lot of money to buy it himself.
"I have to find a way to carve my inkstone. The inkstones given by Xiaqiu Village are all square, and the middle is worn down a bit, which makes them unsightly."
Another student said that the inkstones are ugly. The key is that everyone's inkstones look similar and can be easily confused.
…
"They were very happy when I gave them ink today. It's a pity that we don't know how to make ink, otherwise we would give them well-made ink, and we wouldn't be able to choose the expensive ones. Alas!"
During dinner, the village manager mentioned this matter. He felt a sense of accomplishment, but he was also worried about the quality and price of the ink.
It's not that he can't afford good ink, but he can't buy it for a poor scholar, otherwise it may harm him.
"Ink is easy to make. Just find a house, light a bunch of tung oil lamps, collect the lamp ash, and add some other things to make it.
The quality of the ink is the same as the quality of the inkstone. The finer the particles, the better, and the tighter the pressure, the better. It is a matter of density.
We can make good ink, but no one is doing it. It wastes time and is not cost-effective.
At the same time, the money we get from making ink, for example, can buy hundreds of times the ink made in this time.
If you want to do it, wait for those who return to the village. There is a water tanker in our village. I will add some tools and let the water tanker beat and rub it, so people don’t need to worry about it.
Just like clay, the more you beat it, the tighter it becomes. With the addition of temperature and humidity, we can control it artificially. "
Seeing the regretful look on Li Chang's face, Zhu Wentian told the other party that if he had to strengthen his belief, we could do anything.
"Forget it, buy it, listen to what you have to say, trouble, if it weren't for practicing and helping some people, we wouldn't sell lunch boxes."
The chief refused to make ink. He was satisfied as long as he knew Hanhan could do it. We understand, he just didn't touch it.
"Yi Chang, if you encounter something in the future, ask Hanhan first. Don't just think it's not okay. Hanhan is the guardian of our village."
A village elder who was having dinner with us said that he was the leader of the village. Why did he sigh?
"We are a village with a village guard. Yichang, don't always think of doing everything by yourself." Another village elder followed.
"Yes, yes, drink. Hanhan made some medicinal wine for you."
The director quickly changed the topic, otherwise he wouldn't be able to have a good dinner today.
…
The children got up early the next day and stayed with their families. They had a good rest last night and got up for morning reading today.
Now I am learning the Analects of Confucius, but I still have to memorize the previous three hundred thousand, and at the same time I don’t know how to communicate with other people about the content.
Others were making breakfast, and as soon as it was done, Zhu Biao came with someone: "No need to greet me."
He felt that the people in Xiaqiu Village were invited by his father and mother to celebrate the New Year. There were old people, children, and pregnant women.
If you come to ask for it yourself and make others kneel down every time, isn't this the same as asking for it and torturing them?
"Hello, Your Majesty the Crown Prince!" "Hello, hey, hey, hey!" The children came over and shouted, it would be great if they didn't have to kneel down.
"Hello everyone, hello Hanhan! Hey hey hey!" Zhu Biao greeted: "What are you eating this morning?"
The little girl shouted: "I know, vegetable and lean meat porridge, fried eggs with tea seeds, steamed buns with sauerkraut and lard residue, and some side dishes are meals for pregnant women. Some of them cannot be eaten by pregnant women. We have marked them out and added a big one for pregnant women." salted goose eggs.”
"Is it for pregnant women?" Zhu Biao asked.
"Yes! We have it in our village!" the little girl replied.
"Great, come on, you guys eat." Zhu Biao asked the people who followed him to eat and test the poison!
He came here just to take the food back to eat. The princess was pregnant. He felt that the food in Xiaqiu Village was delicious and it was so close and convenient.
I didn’t expect that what I was eating was a meal for pregnant women, which was so considerate.
The people he brought were not polite. They went to find food by themselves and sat down to eat. The people in Xiaqiu Village ignored them and ate their own food.
When the people Zhu Biao brought were halfway through eating, the head of the village had already prepared breakfast for two people for Zhu Biao.
A bamboo basket was divided into three layers: a quilt, a quilt on the outside, and a cart. Zhu Biao pushed it and left. The diners finished the porridge in two mouthfuls, stuffed the unfinished buns into their mouths, and chased after him. Need a cart.
"I recommend that you eat quickly next time and come at meal time. The princess is hungry!" Zhu Biao didn't let anyone else take advantage of her.
From here to Donghua Gate and Chunhe Hall, there are cement roads, and the car will not bump at all.
When Zhu Biao entered the palace, the Crown Princess was waiting!
"I brought it back. There is a pregnant woman in Xiaqiu Village. I made a meal for pregnant women. I brought you a double-yolk goose egg."
Zhu Biao took it out as he spoke: "This egg is fried with tea seeds, and this is vegetable lean meat porridge. You have no appetite. How about eating steamed buns with pickled cabbage and lard residue? There are also garlic eggplants, and their own fermented bean curd... …”
The princess looked happy, and the prince actually went to get food for herself. It was great to have pregnant women in Xiaqiu Village.
"Your Highness, how do you know that this goose egg has two yellows?" The princess picked up the goose egg and looked at it, confused.
"It says double yellow on it. You can't see it after it's cooked, but you can see it when it's raw when held up to the light. Goslings can't be hatched like this."
Zhu Biao arranged everything and took the princess to wash her hands.
Come back and pour the dipping sauce into the plate: "There is less salt in the buns, but minced garlic, soy sauce, vinegar, chive flower sauce, and fermented bean curd juice."
"Yeah!" The princess felt that she had a strong appetite and wanted to eat.
There is another chapter, which is also about July 6th.
(End of chapter)
