Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1383 Flowering

On New Year's Eve, the city of Pingyang is very lively, with the sound of firecrackers from time to time.

Tonight, the gates of the city can’t be restrained, the neighborhoods are not closed, there are people in hotels and restaurants drinking with each other, and there are also family members sitting around to watch the festival together, and some young boys in the suburbs light bonfires, throwing firecrackers one after another in the middle, everyone It seems that everyone has their own joy.

Only in the academy, deep in the small courtyard, there is a single lamp and two figures.

During the day, the Cai Mansion is preparing for the New Year’s Eve, so the maids and the old woman are busy cooking the New Year’s Eve dinner, and there are people coming and going, so I don’t think it’s a big deal, but when it’s time for the real New Year’s Eve dinner at night, an indescribable feeling The loneliness still came up...

The maid and the mother-in-law are not qualified to sit at the same table with Cai Yan, and the only one who can serve her personally is Feng Shu who can barely sit for a while, but even so, the family banquet for the two of them was extremely deserted.

Fallen leaves of trees from other lands, people alone in the cold lamp.

Feng Shu brought a bowl of white fungus soup to Cai Yan, and said, "Ms., I boiled this all afternoon... If you don't eat it, it will be cold..."

Normally, Feng Shu would not bother Cai Yan on purpose, but after all, tonight is different. In order to ease Cai Yan's emotions, Feng Shu almost tried his best, even at the risk of being scolded by Cai Yan.

Cai Yan smiled slightly, but the smile was fleeting. He took the small bowl in Fengshu's hand, fiddled with it twice with a spoon, and watched a few pieces of white fungus rippling in the clear soup, but did not eat it. Instead, he initiated a daze again.

Seeing Feng Shu in his eyes, he couldn't help but feel a little worried and pity.She has been with Cai Yan since she was a child, and after getting along for a long time, she naturally knows Cai Yan's temperament. Like Cai Yan's smile now, it is also put on to appease others, and she must not know how bitter she is.

Cai Yan will only keep many things in his heart, rarely talk about them, let alone argue, just like hearing some students in the academy argue about issues, which are obviously wrong, but Cai Yan also basically It's not like some people, eager to pour out all the ink in their stomachs for others to see, most of the time they just smile lightly and don't comment.

As with knowledge, so with emotion.Feng Shu is by Cai Yan's side every day, and only when he stays for a long time can he detect some clues from Cai Yan's behavior. Otherwise, looking at Cai Yan's easy-talking and laughing appearance on weekdays, he would never have thought how much Cai Yan misses him now. father.

Cai Yan just looked at it, held it, but didn't eat it. He wanted to persuade him with the letter, but he opened his mouth but didn't know what to say, so he sat aside helplessly, and stretched out his hand to wrap the fur coat around Cai Yan's body again. .Seeing that the dishes are getting colder and colder, it seems that my heart is also getting colder, and I can't get any more heat.

"Xiao Niang, why don't I take it down and heat it..." Feng Shu touched the edge of the bowl and said.

It took a long time for the dishes to be served, but neither of them had much appetite.The dishes on the table, although there are fish and meat, are more like a formality than there is really much interest in eating.

"Ah? Oh, no need..." Cai Yan picked up the bowl, put some casually into his mouth, and then said, "Eat any more, let's take it away..." Even though he felt a thousand kinds of discomfort in his heart, Cai Yan Yan still knows that mourning is useless, although some food is tasteless, but you always have to eat some.

You must eat it, and your body can't stand it if you don't eat it.

"Xiao Niang..." Feng Shu looked at Cai Yan, and there were tears in his eyes.

"It's okay, eat it, if you don't eat it, it will be really cold." Although Cai Yan looks weak on the outside, she is extremely strong in her heart, still smiling lightly, and then like taking care of her younger sister, she picked up a spoon and gave it to the small bowl of Fengshu Some dishes were selected inside, "This is venison, shredded and fried... It is fried, warmed, eat more..." When the word "fried" was mentioned, Cai Yan paused slightly, as if he was caught by Qiu. The bristles on his clothes seemed to be pricked, and he paused for a moment before continuing.

At this moment, some noisy voices suddenly came from outside the courtyard, which was particularly obvious in the quiet night of the small courtyard.

Not long after, a maid trotted in excitedly and reported: "...Yes... General Zhengxi has arrived and is setting up a tent outside the courtyard..."

"Outside the courtyard?" Cai Yan was taken aback.Feeling together, falling again, I don't know what it feels like.

There is a flat land outside the courtyard, but why don't you want to come in?
Is it...

The old lady who was on duty in the front yard also ran over, her face full of wrinkles and a smile, "Miss Cai, General Zhengxi has an invitation..."

Cai Yan was silent for a moment, then lowered his head and said: "Bongshu, take my doctor's clothing and Jinxian crown..." Now Cai Yan's official status is a doctor of Xuegong, so naturally he also has the crown uniform and seal ribbon.

"Ah? Miss..." Feng Shu hesitated.

"Go, don't let General Zhengxi wait for a long time." Cai Yan said, his eyes flickering under the light of the candles in the hall.

....................................

Fei Qian didn't wear a crown, but tied his hair with a scarf, sat in the curtain, lay down slightly, put some charcoal into the copper hot pot in front of him, then picked up the small fan beside him, trying to fan the fire, Burn the edges of the newly added charcoal red.

Winter is cold and humid, and charcoal itself is the easiest to absorb water. Therefore, although Feiqian uses carefully selected silver charcoal, if you don't pay attention, it may still absorb water vapor, resulting in some thick smoke when burning.

Although it is said that the servants are responsible for lighting the fire, when it was delivered here, the weather was freezing, and the charcoal fire was consumed quickly, and Fei Qian did not let others wait on him, besides, eating a hot pot is to do it yourself, and no one else What's the point of doing it?
Fei Qian almost lay down on the mat, fanning the air with a small fan, not too fast, otherwise it would take away more heat and make it impossible to burn.

So when Cai Yan walked into the curtain wearing a formal suit and carrying the Erliang Jinxian crown representing a doctor, what he saw was the scene in front of him...

When they met each other, both of them were in a daze.

Fei Qian did not expect Cai Yan to dress so formally, and Cai Yan did not expect Fei Qian to dress so casually.

Fei Qian came to his senses immediately, pointed to the peach grove beside him and said: "This is the place that Master used to love most... I just think it's more important to burn the fireworks here, and secondly, it's like being here with Master. Together... there is really no other meaning..."

Cai Yong has been gone for a long time, although it is still a bit sad to say it now, but the so-called filial piety is true filial piety during life, after death, no matter how beautiful the funeral is, it is just for others to see.

Don't taboo, don't avoid, and live well, is the greatest respect for the dead.

After hearing Fei Qian's explanation, Cai Yan blushed slightly, feeling ashamed and ashamed, and wanted to turn around and leave.

"Ah, Senior Sister..." Seeing that Cai Yan was about to leave, Fei Qian hurriedly called out, but seeing Cai Yan's non-stop footsteps, he called out in a hurry, "Cai Zhaoji!"

Cai Yan paused and stopped.

"Uh... that's it, you don't need to change it... that's pretty good... I've never seen you dressed so formally, and it looks pretty good..." Fei Qian motioned Cai Yan to sit down, and said, " It's all right... Let's take a look at this pot, and these ingredients, do you like or dislike..."

Hot pot existed as early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, but at that time it was not called hot pot, but antique soup, because the pot was always boiling and there was a sound of gurgling, so it got its name.

Moreover, the shape of the early antique soup and hot pot is completely different from that of the later generations. There is even a sculpture of a small bronze beast lying on the ground, with its belly heated, the lid on the back lifted, and the belly cooked.Later, it was simplified into a three-layer structure, with a small round tripod on the top, a tray in the middle to hold charcoal, and a foothold under the tray, which can be placed on the ground.

But the one brought by Fei Qian was indeed made according to the impression of Fei Qian's later generations, and the material was made of red copper, not the commonly used bronze. The reason is naturally very simple.

People in the Han Dynasty liked both brass and bronze. Few people would use pure red copper, but for cooking utensils, only red copper is the most suitable.

The water in the hot pot has boiled, and the heat is pushing against the lid, puffing out.

Fei Qianquan pretended not to see Cai Yan staring at him angrily, handed Cai Yan a pair of long wooden chopsticks on the table, took a plate of sliced ​​mutton, and opened the lid Put it in the hot pot, and said: "Don't be dazed, put what you want to eat... Oh, let me tell you, most of the night was drinking, I really didn't eat anything, if it wasn't for people to eat in the water I'm afraid I won't be able to walk now..."

Cai Yan subconsciously took the chopsticks, and then reacted, couldn't help but chuckle, "Is there wine in the water?"

"That's right, there are certain flavors that you can't drink with just cold water..." Fei Qian rinsed the mutton a few times, saw that the color had changed, guessed it was cooked, so he took it out and put it on a small dish, Then hand it to Cai Yan, "Here, here, dip some of those seasonings and eat... Otherwise, so many people will drink it, how can I stand it... It's just drinking too much water, it's like a water bag in the stomach , there will be a swaying sound of water when I walk, which makes me cover my stomach every time I talk to others..."

Cai Yan ate the mutton in small bites, and wanted to laugh when he heard it, but he couldn't laugh because he had food in his mouth, so he had to turn his head away, feeling a little uncomfortable holding back.

Fei Qian laughed a few times, cooked some mutton for himself, and ate it with a sigh of relief, and continued to boil the mutton in the pot while saying: "Don't look at the dishes I made, The name sounds good, the appearance is good, but only this hot pot is the best delicacy in winter. Eat it now, warm your stomach, and make it easy for others... Come here, I will give you some more, this one is also delicious of……"

Perhaps China has created countless ways of eating or eating for thousands of years, but hot pot must have a place among them. From south to north, from east to west, it has infinite creativity and vitality.

Fei Qian grunted and ate, the sound even drowned out the gurgling water, but Cai Yan didn't find it unpleasant, and even got some appetite driven by Fei Qian, so he ate some.Perhaps the temperature of the ingredients in the hot pot is more suitable, and the originally cold hands and feet gradually warmed up, and Cai Yan's face gradually turned a little blush, reflecting the charcoal fire of the hot pot and the wind lamp beside him, bright and moving.

"...Last time..." Cai Yan put down the small plate, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Why not use my method?"

"I was too impatient before and didn't think carefully..." Fei Qian picked up a plate of frozen tofu and put pieces into the hot pot. , the preliminary work has not been done yet..."

"What job?" Cai Yan couldn't understand.

"The matter of sentence reading may seem small, but it has a great impact..." Fei Qian picked up a spoon and pushed it in the pot to prevent it from sticking, and said, "The Confucian classics of the Han Dynasty were passed on by word of mouth from the beginning. If it is born, the book will not be passed on; if it is passed on without Fusheng, the meaning will not be clear... Therefore, the importance of sentence reading is determined at the beginning... We make changes in sentence reading, even if it is a small change, It is also a big shake of this foundation, so naturally it is not accepted by these Confucian classics..."

"Then what do you mean..." Cai Yan frowned slightly.

"Governing a big country is like cooking a small fish..." Fei Qian looked at the hot pot and the ingredients tumbling in the soup and said, "We shouldn't overheat the fire at the beginning, just like this pot. Cook it, heat it up slowly, and when it boils, you don’t need to spend a lot of effort. You can make any kind of soup, any meat dish you want, it’s all delicious... Ah, the tofu should be ready, and it will be rotten if you cook it again... Things It's the same, it's just right, since it's laborious, there's no need to push it forcibly, there are thousands of roads, all of which lead to...well, to Luoyang..."

Cai Yan looked at Fei Qian: "Do you have an idea?"

Fei Qian nodded slightly, then picked up some ingredients and put them on Cai Yan's plate, and said, "You eat first..."

Cai Yan slightly lowered her eyelids, her long eyelashes fluttered a few times, "You go first..."

"Then I'll tell you, you eat it..." Fei Qian didn't take it seriously, "This tofu is not bad... Actually, I should deep-fry some soybean oil bubbles. I haven't had time to make it. Next time..."

Cai Yan was holding a small plate, dissatisfied with Fei Qian's interruption, and wanted to put it down again.

"Don't, I won't say it after you put it down... Hiss..."

As Fei Qian said, he took a bite of the frozen tofu. The inside of the frozen tofu was full of soup, and the aroma of beans and meat was mixed together, and all burst out. It had a special taste, but it was a little hot...

Cai Yan rolled his eyes at Fei Qian, then showed his teeth as fine as white jade, bit a piece of tofu, felt that the taste was really good, nodded and said: "Well, your tofu is delicious..."

"Pfft..." Fei Qian quickly waved his hand, "It's okay, it's okay, I'm choking... Cough cough, let's get down to business, senior sister, do you ever know that there is a trick called blossoming on a tree?"

(End of this chapter)