The next day, Qi Chongli came together and sent a letter. When I opened it, I saw that it was written by Li Qingzhao, welcoming Qi Chongli to Luoyang.
Qi Chongli was from Gaomi, Mizhou, and was the cousin of Zhao Mingcheng. Last year, Li Qingzhao was imprisoned for Zhang Ruzhou's case. Thanks to Qi Zongli's rescue, he was released from prison after nine days. This time Li Qingzhao wrote a letter, firstly to welcome Qi Chongli, and secondly to ask about his younger brother Li Hao.
When Zhang Ruzhou approached Li Qingzhao, his younger brother Li Hao had a good impression of him and tried his best to encourage the marriage between Li Qingzhao and Zhang Ruzhou. In the end, Li Qingzhao's relationship with his brother was very awkward, so he left Hangzhou resolutely.
It can be seen from the letter that Li Qingzhao's life in Luoyang should be good, and his tone is much more relaxed. Qi Chongli breathed a sigh of relief after putting down the letter.
Li Qingzhao was a female, and it was not convenient for Qi Chongli to visit him. After receiving the letter, he went to the study room, wrote a reply, and asked the sender to take it back.
Just as he sent the messenger away, he saw Xiang Ziyi coming. He said to Qi Chongli: "Commander, the weather is fine today, why don't you take a walk around Luoyang City? You and I haven't seen Qufei for many years, so we wanted to meet him by the way. There were so many people and noisy people last night that we didn't have a chance to talk in detail."
Qi Chongli was about to refuse, but after thinking about it that he had not seen Chen Yuyi for many years, he agreed.
Chen Yuyi came from a noble family and was famous for his poetry. He knew many literati in this world. Especially in recent years, as Luoyang's power has grown, Chen Yuyi's status has become higher and higher. Many literati came to Luoyang to reminisce with Chen Yuyi.
After leaving the Dudu Mansion, Qi Chongli and Xiang Ziyi walked along the road. Walking all the way to the door of Chen Yuyi's house, after asking, I found out that Chen Yuyi had gone to the Yamen and would not come home for lunch. We could only send someone to call Chen Yuyi back.
It wasn't until nearly noon that Chen Yuyi returned home from the Yamen. Seeing Qi Chongli and Xiang Ziyi, they greeted each other.
Looking at the sky, Chen Yuyi said, "It's almost noon, how about we go out and have a few drinks?"
Qi Chongli and Xiang Zichen saw that the area of Chen Yuyi's home was not large, there were few servants in the house, and his wife had to take care of the children, so they readily agreed.
Not far away, there is a Cyclamen dumpling restaurant on the roadside. Chen Yuyi said: "You are outsiders. After coming to Luoyang, you want to eat an extra meal of dumplings. Let's have dumplings for lunch today. This one is owned by Xuanfu Division, and it tastes great."
The two nodded and walked into the dumpling restaurant together.
Chen Yuyi's home is nearby and he is a regular customer here. As soon as the boy saw it, he hurriedly came up to meet him.
Chen Yuyi said: "Today, two old friends will choose a quiet pavilion for me. Also, I want to serve good tea!"
The boy agreed and led the three people to the back. They chose a quiet pavilion by the lotus pond and let the three of them sit.
Chen Yuyi sat down and took the menu. After looking at it for a while, he said to the boy: "One dumpling per person, just the one filled with beans."
After finishing speaking, he asked Qi Chongli and Xiang Zichen: "Do either of you eat celery? The celery dumplings here taste really good."
Xiang Ziyi said: "I usually eat celery, but I wonder if I can get used to eating dumplings?"
Chen Yuyi said to the boy: "One portion stuffed with celery and two portions stuffed with beans. Come up quickly."
The boy agreed.
Chen Yuyi added: "Let's have another steamed Yihe boat fish, one Sixi meatballs, one scrambled egg, and one stir-fried bitter gourd. To go with the wine, we'll have cold lotus root slices, soy sauce beef, braised chicken feet, and stir-fried pig ears." , and two more plates of boiled edamame. By the way, bring me a bottle of the best wine, and have it chilled."
The boy agreed, remembered everything clearly, and went quickly.
Chen Yuyi said to the two of them: "Here in Luoyang, most of the food is market food. Please forgive me. Everyone follows Xuanfu's habit of eating home-cooked food and there is no singing or dancing during the meal. Of course, if you two want to listen to music, there is also music at the door. showgirl."
Qi Chongli said: "The three of us were chatting. Why do we want a singer to come? They came, but they made a lot of noise."
Xiang Ziyi said: "That's right. It's the best, it's the best!"
Xiang Ziqi's ancestor was Xiang Minzhong, and his aunt was Empress Xiang of Shenzong. She and Emperor Daojun were cousins, and they had a prominent family background. I have a deep understanding of Gong Wenci, especially in Ci Yiyi, and I have collaborated with Chen Yuyi on poetry before. Although we know each other, we can't say how familiar we are.
Qi Chongli was different. He came from a family of officials. He was able to make epitaphs for people at the age of ten and was always called a child prodigy. When he was studying in Taixue, his articles were praised by Emperor Daojun. Especially when he was a Hanlin bachelor, his imperial edicts were highly praised by Zhao Gou. When I was studying in Taixue, I had a very good relationship with Chen Yuyi. This time I met old friends again.
After a while, cold dishes and wine arrived. Chen Yuyi poured a glass of wine for each person and said: "It's not easy for us to meet again after many years. We were all talking too much last night, so we didn't have a deep conversation, which is a pity. Come, let's have a glass of wine and let's chat some gossip."
The three of them raised their glasses and drank it all in one gulp.
Qi Chongli and Xiang Ziqian each took a piece of beef and chewed it slowly. He nodded and said, "This beef is really delicious! However, there is a cattle ban in other places, and the cattle that have died of old age and disease are eaten. Why can you eat beef at will under Xuanfu's rule?"
Chen Yuyi said: "Xuanfu has made a calculation. As long as there are more cattle, eating beef will not lead to a shortage of cattle. Now a county in Nanyang is experimenting with raising a kind of vegetable cattle, which is specially killed for meat. From last year Judging from the situation, the situation is not bad.”
Xiang Ziyi said: "If you eat beef, you can ensure that there is no shortage of cattle for the people."
Chen Yuyi said with a smile: "Of course there is no shortage. And here in the north, because there are no paddy fields, the demand for donkeys and mules has increased greatly in the past two years, but the demand for cattle has decreased. This kind of thing is also about increasing revenue and reducing expenditure. As long as we raise more, it will not No shortage."
Qi Chongli said: "You can't see it in other places. This incident shows that Xuanfu has a long-term vision, and no one else can match it."
Chen Yuyi sighed: "A few years ago, when I was struggling to make ends meet in Xiangyang, I joined Xuanfu. At that time, I didn't feel that Xuanfu was much different. He just did things carefully and was meticulous. After a few years, I became a big difference. It’s different now. Now I just feel that Xuanfu thinks too much and has a broad vision, which is not comparable to my generation. Now when Xuanfu explains things for a year, he is often at a loss. What he thinks is far from Xuanfu’s requirements. But when I thought about it carefully, I realized that Xuan Fu had deep thoughts."
The three of them chatted while drinking some wine and eating cold dishes. After a while, the dumplings were served.
Bringing the stuffed celery dumplings to Xiang Ziyi, Chen Yuyi said: "My wife likes to eat stuffed celery dumplings, but I don't like them. They always feel like they have a strange smell. These are ordinary celery dumplings. Let Bo Gong enjoy them alone."
Xiang Ziyi took the dumplings and tasted one, and couldn't help frowning. Said: "Why are these dumplings different from cooking? It feels a little weird when you eat it in your mouth."
Chen Yuyi said hurriedly: "Why, Bo Gong can't get used to it? It's okay to ask the store to change a plate. If you really can't get used to it, the store also has pure meat fillings. It just doesn't have the flavor of vegetables, so it tastes a bit bland. .”
Xiang Ziyi ate one with bean filling and nodded: "This is good."
Chen Yuyi called the boy over and said, "Pack up this plate of celery dumplings so that my wife can eat them. Let's get another plate filled with beans, please hurry up."
The boy agreed. He took a paper bag and neatly wrapped a plate of celery dumplings.
Qi Chongli and Xiang Zichen looked at each other, both surprised.
Chen Yuyi is a staff officer of the Xuanfu Department. His monthly salary exceeds one hundred yuan, and he still packs dumplings? According to the usual practice, if someone like Chen Yuyi goes out to eat, he throws it away if he is not used to it. How can he pack it?
Seeing that the two people looked a little strange, Chen Yuyi thought about it and knew what it meant. Said: "There is a bank here in Luoyang now. If you have too much money, you can deposit it in the bank and get 2% interest a year. My wife quarrels with me every day and takes home less money. In the bank There will be a lot of interest. So I will naturally save a little bit every day and save some money."
Qi Chongli and Xiang Ziyi nodded, although they didn't know what they meant.
After chatting for a long time, Qi Chongli and Xiang Zichen understood that Chen Yuyi was no longer the Chen Yuyi they knew. In the past, Chen Yuyi was a standard scholar-bureaucrat. Now Chen Yuyi, although his income is very high, has a lot of fireworks. For example, at home, Chen Yuyi did not have many servants, and the area of his home was not large. When I go out to eat with others, I choose not a luxurious place, but a dumpling shop. Although Cyclamen is a mid-range restaurant, it mainly focuses on affordability and does not offer many other entertainment items. When eating, I even pack it.
Both Qi Chongli and Xiang Zichen knew that under Wang Xiaolie's rule, although officials' salaries were basically based on the imperial salary scale, they were paid in full and on time without deductions or deductions. Compared with other places, official salaries here are almost double.
Chen Yuyi was one of the people with the highest salary under Wang Xiaolie's rule, and his income was very high. As it is now, it can only be said that people have really changed over the past few years.
With banks, depositing money earns interest, which is a great temptation for many people. In this era, when people have money, they often save it in gold and silver, or even directly in copper coins. Although there is little room for physical currency depreciation, it will not appreciate. Although the interest rate for depositing money in the bank is very low, it still has a fixed interest rate after all. People like Chen Yuyi earn a lot in a year, and the interest earned every year on their savings is a considerable amount of income, even more so.
The three of them all felt satisfied after eating the dumplings, and chatted while drinking wine.
For people of later generations, dumplings are not a rare food. But this era is different. Staple food with meat and vegetables is hard to come by. Dumplings are even more popular because of their delicious properties. Some people even eat dumplings three times a day and never get tired of them.
At this time, the hot dishes were served. Qi Chongli took a chopstick of the boat fish and praised: "The Luo Li River boat has always been called a treasure, and it is indeed worthy of its reputation! It's just that it's not appropriate to drink wine with such a dish. I heard that Luoyang They are rich in spirits, why not grab a bottle and drink from them?”
Chen Yuyi said: "That's right. The most expensive wine in Luoyang is Mudanchun. It is said to be produced in Luoyang, but in fact it is an old wine brewed a few years ago. It is extremely precious and is not available in this restaurant. The best spirits sold in the restaurant are The wine is Du Kangzui, and it is also produced by Xuanfu Division."
