The snow melted faster than Chen Kan expected. The first lunar month was not over yet, and there was basically only a thin layer of snow left around Beijing.
These days, the carriages of the Marquis Mansion are constantly shuttling through the streets and alleys of Beijing.
That was Zhu Zhanji understanding the structure of Beijing City. Now eight years old, Zhu Zhanji can understand most of the drawing structures of the Ming Dynasty.
This is of course related to his profound arithmetic skills.
But it’s one thing to understand it, and it’s another thing to practice it.
When Yingtian Prefecture Yin Zhang Guan saw that His Highness the Emperor's Grandson was starting to worry about these things, he not only sent the chief craftsman sent by the Ministry of Works to take Zhu Zhanji to get acquainted with the city, but also wrote a memorial to the Central Committee praising Zhu Zhanji as a flower. .
This flatterer, if he hadn't signed Chen Kan's name at the end of the memorial, Chen Kan would have been guilty of flattering his superiors and subordinates.
The first batch of cement fired from the cement kiln was also transported outside Beijing.
Naturally, it is impossible to use cement to build the three main halls of the palace. Every building in the royal family must be built strictly in accordance with etiquette. There are rules for what materials to use where, what patterns to carve, and how high to build.
Therefore, the real role of cement in Beijing is to build city walls and harden roads.
Of course, there are also houses that the court compensates the people for, which can also be built with cement.
It's just that the shipment volume of cement is not much now, so the construction of ordinary people's houses can only be put on hold for the time being.
Zhu Zhanji is busy, and Hua Shi is not idle either.
Compared with Zhu Zhanji's work, the time-consuming work is much simpler. He only needs to hold the drawings to supervise the construction of the cement plant.
With the financial support of the Hou Mansion, in just one month, more than a dozen large chimneys with a diameter of several meters appeared on the wasteland twenty miles west of Beijing.
The two disciples each performed their duties, which left Chen Kan with nothing to do.
So Chen Kan, who had nothing to do, would feed Zhu Zhanhe whenever he had time.
Zhu Zhanhe's foundation is not good, and his physical fitness is far inferior to what Zhu Zhanji and Hua Shi were when they were five years old.
As for Zhu Zhanhe, he looks almost the same when he is five years old and when he is four years old. He is skinny and small, and does not look like Zhu Gaoxu at all.
After a month of feeding and sea-question training by Chen Kan, Zhu Zhanhe's height has not changed much, but his weight is evolving in the direction of Zhu Zhanji.
I think it won't be long before there will be a second little fat man in the Hou Mansion.
Today, Chen Kan tutored Zhu Zhanhe for two hours as usual, and then took him to the kitchen.
Zhu Zhanhe asked with a sad face: "Teacher, do you still want to eat so much meat today?"
Chen Kan nodded and said, "Now is the time for you to grow, so your intake of carbohydrates and protein must be sufficient, and vitamins must not be left out."
After explaining casually, Chen Kan began to work on the stove.
A big rooster was quickly dismembered by Chen Kan, blanched, put into a clay pot, added with water, and cooked with ham, scallops, sea cucumber and other accessories.
Daming's land has a very good taste, so the chicken soup stewed in this way is extremely delicious. There is no need to add other seasonings. Just add salt when the stew is about seven or eight times mature.
Put the chicken soup on the fire to simmer, and Chen Kan began to process the mutton.
The mutton is made from front leg meat, because the fiber of the front leg meat is not thick, so it is easier for children to digest it.
The mutton in the north has little or no odor, but Chen Kan also has his own secret, which is to add a pine stick when cooking the meat.
The mutton cooked in this way is not only not smelly, but also has a faint pine aroma.
There is no need to cut a large piece of mutton into small pieces, just cook it as a whole piece in a large iron pot. During the cooking process, you need to change the water at least three times, and each change of water must be warm water. Lamb cooked in cold water will be burnt, while mutton cooked in boiling water will be boiled. old.
Repeat three times, and the cooked mutton just needs to be cut into small pieces and sprinkled with salt flowers to become a delicious dish.
Stir-fried shrimps with walnuts can nourish the brain, stew soaked bracken and tofu, and fry a few candied poached eggs as side dishes. A table of delicious food that is rich in nutrition, color, flavor and flavor is completed.
Zhu Zhanhe could not eat all these things by himself, so this was shared by Chen Kan, Zhu Yuelan and Zhu Zhanhe.
These days, Chen Kan cooks in person, causing the cook in the Houfu who cooks for the main family to panic, fearing that he will lose his job.
If there were not two young men eating the food he cooked, he would have bowed on his back and left.
The hot chicken soup is poured on the rice. The ham, scallops and sea cucumber soak up enough of the soup. One bite will melt your tongue.
Zhu Yuelan sipped the chicken soup in small sips, looked at Chen Kan and asked: "The ancients said that a gentleman lives far away from the kitchen. Why is my husband's tooth-changing skill so amazing?"
Chen Kan sprinkled some sugar on a sugar-centered egg, used chopsticks to break through the layer of skin and sucked out the yolk inside.
Suddenly hearing Zhu Yuelan ask a question, she couldn't help but sneer: "The ancients also said that governing a big country is like cooking small dishes. A gentleman cooks far away. What nonsense?"
With a sneer, Chen Kan continued to suck the candy in the poached egg.
As long as Zhu Zhanhe eats, it's like fighting.
He held a pair of chopsticks and struggled with the food in the bowl, but he just wouldn't put it in his mouth.
Chen Kan glanced at him and said, "If you dare to waste food, don't blame me for forcing you down with a wall pestle."
The threat worked. Zhu Zhanhe immediately soaked the rice in chicken soup and began to eat it in his mouth.
Chen Kan had just finished his meal and was about to go out to eat when he saw Zhu Zhanji rushing into the door in a hurry.
"teacher!"
Zhu Zhanji was basically too busy these days to see anyone. When he saw Chen Kan, he just said hello casually and rushed towards the kitchen.
After dinner, he had to go into town to continue his work.
Chen Kan frowned and said, "Stop."
Zhu Zhanji paused: "What's wrong, teacher? Is something wrong?"
Chen Kan said calmly: "Come see me after dinner, I will wait for you by the Jinshui River."
"But the disciple is very busy..."
Halfway through his words, Zhu Zhanji suddenly stopped because he noticed that Chen Kan's face had darkened.
Then he changed his words: "Yes, please wait a moment, teacher."
Chen Kan nodded and walked slowly along the thawed Jinshui River.
Although Zhu Zhanji was busy these days, in Chen Kan's opinion, he was indeed busy in the wrong direction. It was nothing to be away from home all day long.
Zhu Zhanji arrived faster than Chen Kan expected, apparently just filling his stomach casually.
Chen Kan had been counting the time. From the time he left home until now, it would not take more than one stick of incense at most.
"Teacher, the disciple is here, what are your orders?"
It was obviously early spring and the weather was not too hot yet, but there were beads of sweat hanging on Zhu Zhanji's face.
Chen Kan said calmly: "Nothing, I asked you to come over and accompany me for a walk."
A trace of eagerness flashed across Zhu Zhanji's face, but Chen Kan didn't give him a chance to refute, and kept walking forward with his hands behind his back.
Seeing this, Zhu Zhanji had no choice but to follow behind Chen Kan.
After a while, Chen Kan asked: "You have been busy these days. Tell me, my teacher, what has your busyness brought you?"
Hearing this, Zhu Zhanji was stunned, and then said in a deep voice: "Disciple has been studying with the craftsmen who built the city these days. Disciple learned a lot, how to build a city, how to distinguish materials, the structure and design of the city... "
Chen Kan listened silently as Zhu Zhanji summarized the gains of these days.
Zhu Zhanji was good at summarizing, but after he finished speaking, he didn't see any trace of relief on Chen Kan's face, and his heart suddenly sank.
Chen Kan slowly said what is the core of Mencius' "Teng Wen Gong", do you still remember it?
Zhu Zhanji was startled. Was this a test of his knowledge?
But "Mencius" was what he read when he was five years old.
After pondering for a moment, Zhu Zhanji said: "Teacher, I certainly remember that the core of Mencius's article is that those who work hard govern others, and those who work hard govern others."
Chen Kan nodded: "Since you still remember this article, why do you want to compete with the craftsmen for food?"
Zhu Zhanji frowned, a look of confusion flashed across his face, and then asked: "Teacher, students just want to acquire more knowledge. Is this wrong?"
"Of course you are right. The sage has a saying. If you hear the Tao in the morning, you will die in the evening. It is a good thing that you can explore another knowledge with your heart."
Chen Kan turned his head and looked at Zhu Zhanji, who was already level with his chest: "Master Rong Baijia, you have done a good job at this point."
"If it's true, then why did the teacher..."
Halfway through his words, Zhu Zhanji suddenly noticed that Chen Kan was looking at him with half-smiling eyes.
Then Zhu Zhanji suddenly woke up: "The teacher means that the students are busy in the wrong direction?"
Chen Kan didn't say right or wrong, but said calmly: "The upper ones work hard on the heart, the middle ones work on the wisdom, and the lower ones work on the body. The social structure of the Ming Dynasty is not static. From the king to the common people, everyone has their own role to play. As for the role, it is right to learn from the strengths of all schools of thought, but it is wrong to ignore the basics and pursue the weakest."
"Think carefully about the tasks assigned to you by your teacher and what you did."
Chen Kan's tone was very bland, so bland that it contained almost no emotion, but to Zhu Zhanji's ears it sounded like a big bell.
He was an extremely smart person, but when he was suddenly mentioned like this by Chen Kan, he suddenly felt a little confused.
No wonder, no wonder he always felt that his busyness was meaningless recently.
It's obvious that he has given up on life and the life of pampering in the Hou Mansion.
After a while, Zhu Zhanji saluted Chen Kan and said with a wry smile: "Does this mean that the student has picked up the sesame seeds and lost the watermelon?"
"No, before I picked it up, who knew whether it was watermelon or sesame?"
Chen Kan shook his head and said seriously: "You are still young, and there is still a long time for you to verify whether what you picked up is watermelon or sesame."
"Disciples are taught."
Zhu Zhanji handed over his hands with sincerity, and his whole figure seemed to have abandoned a heavy burden and instantly became relaxed.
"Go ahead and do your thing well. Let others do other people's things."
Chen Kan didn't think this was a big deal. Zhu Zhanji was only eight years old and had countless opportunities for trial and error.
