"Why bother? I haven't even mastered the technique of exchanging a life for a life. They can't do it even if they want to. The people of Lu Zhou are too simple-minded. They know too little about science. I don't feel good listening to their grumbling."
Zhang Xiaobao purposely said nonsensical words, but then he couldn't help but sigh.
Wang Juan raised her hand and knocked on the door. The sound of the knocking was accompanied by the dripping of rain, giving off a dull feeling.
"Who is it?" After a short while, the side door of the main gate was opened from the inside. A head poked out and looked out. When he saw Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan's faces, he opened his mouth in surprise and did not know what to say.
"It's almost noon. Xiao Bao and I want to find a place to eat. Is it convenient for you?" Wang Juan said to the head with a smile.
The head nodded vigorously. "It's convenient. It's convenient to eat whenever you want."
After saying that, the head was so excited that he closed the door with a bang. Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan heard someone shouting and running inside.
"Master, Madam, this is bad. Someone is here to eat. Quickly get someone to prepare. This is bad."
"If our inner court was like him, I would have kicked him out long ago. If I can't kick him out, I'll leave on my own. He's not calm when he's in trouble. Let us in for tea first."
When he heard the commotion inside, Zhang Xiaobao sighed again and said.
"The problem is that our courtyard is not a two-sectioned courtyard. The money spent is different. Don't be idle these days. When your brother and sister are born, you have to help them name their names. It will be very noisy if there are too many children."
Wang Juan touched the door with her hand. The paint on the vermilion door did not fall off because of the rain. Based on her touch, there was a layer of shiny oil outside the paint. The production of this material was very low. It needed to be blended with petroleum products. There was gasoline inside, not soybean oil. There was only one place in Great Tang that produced it, and that was the Ministry of Works.
"Xiao Bao, look, we found a well-to-do family. They can actually use shiny oil in a two-sectioned courtyard. Many officials in the three-sectioned courtyard have never heard of it."
Wang Juan wagged her finger and said to Zhang Xiaobao.
Zhang Xiaobao agreed. "It's not a normal well-to-do family. If we had known, we would have changed to another one. It makes people think that we came here on purpose.."
"It's not on purpose.... It's fate....." As soon as Zhang Xiaobao's, a woman's............
Then, there was the sound of messy footsteps in the water. When the door opened, an old lady with white hair in a bun walked out with her back straight.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan hurriedly supported her. Wang Juan said, "Old Madam, you can't do this. Xiao Bao and I walked to your house. We happened to be hungry and wanted to ask for a bowl of rice." "It's good to be hungry.
Hunger means fate. Why aren't you hungry when you walk to other places? So many people want to kiss you and Xiao Bao, but they can't even have a meal. Since you're in front of my house, I can't let you two run away. The servants are not sensible and ran back. If they were smart, they would have tied you two up with ropes. If you ran away, they would regret it for the rest of their lives. "
The white-haired old madam looked at Zhang Xiaobao and then at Wang Juan. She did not show fear like many people. Instead, she looked at them as if they were her juniors.
If it were an ordinary person, they would have to be respectful just because of the old madam's behavior. Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were also respectful, but it had nothing to do with the old madam's behavior. As long as the old madam was not disrespectful, they would be respectful.
Thus, the two of them helped the old madam into the house. The people in the courtyard began to get busy. The cooks were even more alert.
The old madam led Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan into the living room. She had them sit down and ordered tea and snacks. Then, she said to Zhang Xiaobao kindly, "Qiao 'er and the others will be born soon, right? Counting the days, it should be in the next few days. "
Zhang Xiaobao was stunned. He thought to himself, Why are you so enthusiastic about my mother giving birth? However, he said, "Soon, soon. It's just that it's been raining non-stop recently. It's stuffy, hot, and humid. I'm afraid it's not good for the body."
"Then you have to be careful. If your family's life is good, my family's life will be better. When your father ran away with your mother, they hid in my inn. When the yamen runners chased after them, I stuffed your father and mother into the cellar and said I didn't see them. Later, your family became successful, and I benefited from it. See, I moved to Lu Zhou two years ago. It's good here. It's not cold in winter."
The old madam held Wang Juan's hand and looked at Zhang Xiaobao as she talked about the past.
"Ah? Granny Huang, we're actually at your house. Cuckoo and I were planning to find a random family to have a meal with. It's fate. " At this moment, Zhang Xiaobao realized he did not bring any gifts. He also understood why the old madam could use the shiny oil.
The only thing Zhang Xiaobao could do was bow. Wang Juan stood up obediently and bowed with Zhang Xiaobao.
"Good, good. You're just like your father and mother when they were young. A talented man and a beautiful woman, a match made in heaven. At that time, the yamen runners even told me that your father and mother broke the law. Do you think I'm that easy to fool? I said I didn't know. What can they do to me? I'm a widow with two children. How dare they bully me?
I've done many wrong things in my life, but I've done one right thing. At least, my two children are married now. They're all successful.
Don't worry about your mother. I've discussed it with the heavens. If something really happens, it'll come to me. A life for a life. I've lived for so long, and my only regret is that I haven't seen your grandfather with my own eyes. If it's him who comes today, I'll stand at the door and scold him.
When the old lady reached a certain age, she didn't need to put on any pretense. She spoke her mind directly and didn't hide it at all.
"Grandma Huang is right. At first, I felt uncomfortable. Then I thought about it. At the beginning, my father's status was too low. Even if he's not studying now, there's still a big gap between him and my grandfather. But I can't put my mother in the middle. What's more, my grandfather's family has shown their sincerity. Grandma Huang, are you used to living here?"
Zhang Xiaobao also said very calmly. Now, no one in his maternal grandfather's family dared to look down on his father. Everyone said that people lived to fight for their dignity, but when they fought for their dignity, what they got was not the venting of their anger, but a sigh. Time was merciless, what was the point of looking back?
"Good, good. Let's not talk about the past. Let's eat. It's a pity that only the two of you came today. It would be lively if the group of little fellows also came." Old Madam Huang said regretfully.
As for how the food should be cooked, no one mentioned anything. The chefs just had to do their best. If they really wanted to compete, they might as well go back and cook for themselves. What kind of delicacies could they not get?
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were not picky. They could eat what others could eat. In order to survive, they could eat what others couldn't.
*****
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan found a place that provided meal tickets and ate to their heart's content. Li Longji, on the other hand, couldn't find a meal ticket. He had people look around, but after finding nothing, he could only let the imperial chefs who followed him make lunch.
"Those two definitely ran out to eat secretly and left me here to starve. No brother and sister like that. Xiao Bei, don't you think so?"
Li Longji felt that the lunch made by the imperial chefs was much worse. He muttered a few words in dissatisfaction and tried to rope Xiao Bei in as an ally.
Xiao Bei was eating soup and rice. There were also a few side dishes on the table. Only the soup was clean, and the side dishes were prepared by her family. The other things were all carved into beautiful patterns. She didn't dare to eat them. There were tofu and bamboo shoots. They were carved into the shape of heavenly maidens scattering flowers. Wasn't it still tofu and bamboo shoots? She could make them look good, but she couldn't eat them. She was afraid that she would get a stomachache.
When she heard the Emperor's question, Xiao Bei put down her chopsticks and replied seriously, "Yes, yes. I was planning to eat wonton at noon today, but it seems that I will have to wait until evening. I can only make do with this meal now.
Uncle Emperor, please tell the masters in the imperial kitchen not to use tofu to carve things in the future. They only need to be able to cut the ingredients. They don't need to have profound carving skills. If they really want to compete in carving, how can they compare to specialized carving skills? The strong don't hold banquets because of their appearance. The hungry and cold beg for food because of warmth.
In my Huaxia, the great etiquette is known as summer, and the beauty of clothing is known as hua. But what is beauty? I believe that the beauty of clothing lies in the body, the beauty of food lies in the taste, the beauty of accommodation lies in the comfort, and the beauty of travel lies in the charm. So … Xiao Yuan. "
Xiao Yuan was being attacked even when he was lying down. It had nothing to do with him, even though he was only drinking soup and eating side dishes. Of course, the other children were the same. The dishes were too scary and not suitable to be eaten at home. Originally, the food was arranged into various shapes. When people ate it, they would think that it had been touched by others. How disgusting was that?
Hearing Xiao Bei change the topic, Xiao Yuan helplessly put down his chopsticks and said, "So, oh, so. The etiquette lies in the heart and intention, not the form. The beauty comes from the appearance, not the flower. The budding spring is the beauty. The trickling summer is the beauty. The autumn late autumn leaves are also the beauty. The winter cold, the cold plum blossoms are even more beautiful in the snow. The beauty is ordinary, not complicated. Chang 'an is sparse and doesn't need the beauty.
The sea doesn't need the beauty. We're just eating a meal. Carving like this and carving like that. It's not like I haven't seen carvings before. My family's carving skills are all jade carvings. In the future, I'll ask the imperial chef to change it. It's fine to practice carving skills, but don't use 90% of every dish to show off your carving skills.
Isn't that too idle? Uncle Emperor, take a look at this. Who hollowed out the lamb liver into a plum blossom? "
"There's also green onions." Xiao Bei reminded him, "The ones below are white onions. They're taken as snow and shaped like plum blossoms proud in the snow. Both are considered supplements. Tear off a strip of the lamb liver and place it with the green onions. Dip it in the garlic and chili sauce on the side and eat it. The garlic and chili sauce is red. It's called a little plum blossom, a little red. It's good for the body."
Li Longji's face turned red. Zhang Xiaobao wasn't here today, so he asked the imperial chefs to make a dish. In the end, he was criticized by the two little fellows as if there was nothing good about it. Even his own son and daughter followed suit and only drank soup.
"In the future, when the imperial kitchen cooks, your carving skills are not allowed to exceed 40%. Don't use your energy on your knife skills." Li Longji said.
In the end, after the meal, Li Longji was even more depressed. He didn't eat well.
In the afternoon, the rain stopped. He led the group outside for a stroll and found that there were fewer commoners outside. Usually, when they went out, they could see many carriages. Today, there were only a few passing by.
"Where's everyone?" Li Longji asked in puzzlement.
"Replying to Your Majesty, they've all gone home to burn incense. The madams of the Zhang Family and the Wang Family are showing signs of giving birth. The people in the medical hall are on alert. There are also many people surrounding the area to prevent others from getting close. There's a charcoal fire nearby. It's said that it's to drive away the cold."
Gao Lishi received the report from his subordinates and said to Li Longji.
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