Zhurou

Chapter 274 Extra Ordinary

Pei Yong said: "Wait for your third brother to come back and show you the boxing techniques he is good at, and then choose the ones you like to learn."

Zhao Hong nodded continuously, talking about his brother-in-law's height and his brother-in-law's height, and kept asking in detail what boxing styles were available and what the differences were among them. He also said, "I want to learn a set of boxing styles from my sister!"

Zhao Mingzhi laughed when he heard this.

At one point, the servants brought up some food. Zhao Hongcai ate, and although he wasn't hungry, he sat by the side, busying himself by serving Zhao Mingzhi porridge and soup, and asking her earnestly if the porridge tasted good. When she said yes, he proudly said, "Sister, I cooked this porridge! I was watching the fire here until you and your brother-in-law came!"

After they had finished eating, they met a hunter from the farm outside who was looking for people to carry a pig.

Zhao Hong had already taken one leg out, but when he saw the wild boar being lifted up, he didn't know what he was thinking. The happy smile on his face suddenly faded away, his face turned pale, and he took two steps back, went back into the house and stepped aside.

Zhao Mingzhi did not say anything to him, but just sighed slightly in his heart, and thought again, who is not afraid of these things when they are young? What's more, his younger brother has been fleeing all the way from south to north, and he has seen too many horrifying things on the way. How can he withstand it? I think he will be better when he grows up.

Pei Yong saw Zhao Hong's expression, but he did not try to comfort him. Instead, he called the hunters over and gave them some instructions. Then he turned back and said to Zhao Hong, "It's scary at first, but it's nothing strange. You'll get used to it. I'll take you to kill a pig later, and let your sister taste the meat we cut."

Zhao Hong was stunned for a moment and replied yes.

When the head of the village came in hurriedly and replied that everything was ready, he looked at Zhao Mingzhi blankly, then followed Pei Yong out with his elder sister.

Led by the village head, the group entered a house where a large table was set up in the middle. On the table lay a naked pig with its fur still on its body and its head covered with a hood. Below it was a basin of pig's blood that was almost drained out. There was also a large pool underneath with hot water.

The village head introduced: "We don't have other things on our village, but we have plenty of hot water. People in and outside the village always slaughter pigs here. Firstly, it is close to the hot springs, so it is convenient to draw water. Secondly, there is a natural pool, so we don't have to dig it ourselves."

Then he asked, "Sir, do you need a few hands?"

Pei Yong shook his head and said, "No need, I can do it myself."

As he spoke, he went forward to look at the pig first, then turned to Zhao Hong and said, "Stay away, don't get splashed with blood."

Zhao Hongqiang tried to hold back, but finally took a few steps back.

The place where the pig was lying was said to be a table, but in fact it was just a rough platform made of bricks and stones. There was a row of knives of different sizes and lengths stuck upside down on the wooden frame next to it, and there was also an axe.

Pei Yong took a quick look, took out a small dagger-like sharp knife nearby and tested the blade first. Without saying much, he pointed the tip of the knife at the pig's stomach on the table and said to Zhao Hong, "We have hunted boars these past two days. The meat is smelly and hard. Although it is heavy, it is not as delicious as this pig. The domestic pig has been castrated since childhood. This one has been hungry for two days, its intestines are clean, and it has been bled in advance, so the meat is much cheaper."

While he was explaining how and why preparations should be made in this way, his hands kept moving, and he pulled from the pig's butt to the pig's neck. It was so easy, as if he didn't need any strength at all, and he just split the pig's belly in half.

The pig had been bled long ago, and although its internal organs were all pouring out of its stomach, it was not as frightening as the previous slaughter of the wild boar.

Zhao Hong was so scared that he dodged his head. When he secretly opened his eyes to look again, Pei Yong had already removed all the internal organs. The pig's abdominal cavity was empty, with only two rows of ribs and white fat.

He subconsciously took two steps closer.

Pei Yong didn't say anything more. He put down the sharp knife and took a kitchen knife to chop the pig's spine.

He didn't look like he was using much strength at all, and he easily cut through the pig's spine where the knife met the bone, making a sound of bone scraping, and it was quick and neat.

Zhao Hong watched at a glance and it was clearly the same method as when the hunters divided the wild boar in the mountains yesterday, but for some reason, Pei Yong's movements were exceptionally simple. He was also chopping, without any delay. The bones seemed to be non-existent, and there was no splattering of blood or bone fragments, nor was there any difficulty in getting stuck. There was actually a sense of smooth beauty.

It seemed like it took only a breath, and the pig was cut in half right down the spine.

Pei Yong put the kitchen knife back aside, suddenly raised his head, smiled at Zhao Hong and said, "Do you want to touch my kidneys?"

Although Zhao Hong was hesitant, he still walked up to the pig unconsciously.

Pei Yong said, "Pig kidneys are neutral in nature and can nourish qi and heal deficiency, raise yang and nourish the kidneys. I went out this morning and saw two wolfberry trees in the backyard. Maybe there are hot springs nearby, so they have turned green early. I picked the buds, which are just enough for two handfuls. When you find the kidneys, ask the kitchen to cut them into pieces, and boil them with other ingredients to make a soup for you two to nourish your sister and brother."

Then he pointed to a corner of the pig's abdomen and said, "Are you afraid? If not, just start from here and squeeze the kidney out."

The place he pointed to was covered in white, all covered with lard. It looked like cotton and was not scary at all.

Zhao Hong stretched out his hand and felt it was soft and warm. He was about to ask where the kidney was and how to squeeze it, but he had already found the position with his hand. Without anyone teaching him, it only took a little effort for him to squeeze out the oval ball of kidney meat.

He just felt it was magical and hurriedly called him "brother-in-law".

Pei Yong used the dagger to gently cut the kidney pedicle, then pulled a corner of the lard, motioning Zhao Hong to come over and take over, saying, "Tear it as hard as you can. This is pig lard, used to make lard. Lard can replenish the body, moisturize dryness, and also detoxify. Fry the lard residue tonight, sprinkle some salt on it, and give it to your third brother to eat with wine."

After Zhao Hong finished tearing the lard, he casually cut out the ribs with a few strokes of the knife, took out the six ribs in the middle, removed the heads and tails, and said with a smile: "I'll chop these ribs into big pieces tonight and give them to you to stew radishes with."

He took them apart one by one, and the knife moved on the pig's body as lightly as a fish swimming in the water. In the blink of an eye, he separated the crescent bone, and then the cylindrical bone and femur. He then went on to explain the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys, as well as different types of meat, such as six liang gold, plum head meat, front leg, pork belly, hind leg, and even various kinds of bones. He told him what each was used for and how they should be eaten. In less than a stick of incense, the naked pig had been classified and placed on the table one by one.

Zhao Hong was standing close to the scene and felt overwhelmed. He couldn't even blink. For the first time, he felt that watching people slaughtering pigs was a kind of enjoyment. He truly understood what "with ease" meant. He even had a feeling that he had seen it all and could do it too.

When he got the last pig's trotter, he couldn't help but shout, "Brother-in-law, brother-in-law, I want to try it too!"

Pei Yong paused, pulled out the dagger, made way for Zhao Hong and said, "Be careful with the blade."

Zhao Hong took a few steps forward, recalling Pei Yong's actions just now. Because his hands were covered in oil, he even reached out to Zhao Mingzhi and called out, "Sister!"

Zhao Mingzhi wiped his wound with a handkerchief and took two steps back.

Zhao Hong tried the dagger and found it quite handy. He thought he was going to cut the elbow in the same way as Pei Yong had done. However, when the knife came into his hand, he didn't know why, and it suddenly became completely out of control. It took him nearly a quarter of an hour to cut the meat into a mess. The joint bone and the crescent bone were all covered with meat before he finally separated the bones.

He spread the meat and bones on the table, feeling extremely embarrassed, and said, "I think it's easy for my brother-in-law to make it, but why is it so difficult for me?"

Pei Yong said, "When I was a kid, I was kidnapped and taken to the mountains. In order to survive, I said I was good at cooking and raising pigs and sheep. I survived by saying these nonsense. At that time, pigs and sheep were slaughtered every three or two days in the mountains. Some people wanted to see me laugh and used this to embarrass me. I also wanted to show my power. This skill was forced out of me by life and death. I killed hundreds or thousands of pigs and sheep to be able to do it so quickly. This is your first time to divide the meat, and it's rare that you can do it like this. What else can you compare it to?"

He smiled again, pointing at the messy pork elbow that Zhao Hong had cut, and said, "They have their own pickled cabbage on the farm. Chop the meat into sauce and ask someone to stir-fry it with the pickled cabbage. It will taste just as good."

Zhao Hong was really curious after hearing what he said, but he didn't dare to ask in detail. He could only remember this matter in his heart and planned to ask his elder sister about the inside story in the future. He also said flatteringly, "I will listen to my brother-in-law!"

After the pig was disposed of, the man from the farm came to take the meat away, and couldn't help but exclaimed how it could be killed so quickly. Zhao Hong was very proud of what he heard, as if he was being praised. After the man left, he went to ask Zhao Mingzhi how Pei and Wei fought against the bad guys when they went north, what skills they used, which one was the most powerful, etc.

"Your elder sister wasn't just watching the show that day. She could have done her best. Besides, in such an emergency, she didn't have the time to remember these things." Pei Yong said, "If you want to see it, just urge your third brother."

So when Wei Chengyan changed his clothes and came out, he was pulled to a quiet room in the backyard, where he performed several sets of boxing techniques, palm techniques, and even a set of spear techniques with a wooden spear.

Zhao Hong was dumbfounded and wanted to learn everything. However, Pei Yong said that his physical foundation was not good enough and he must grow up a little before learning those strong and powerful skills. He needed to proceed step by step, otherwise it would hurt his body. After asking him about his preferences, he chose Changquan for him and Changning Gong for Zhao Mingzhi.

The brother and sister learned boxing for an entire afternoon, but they hadn't yet built up their strength. Just doing the moves made their hands and feet tired, and by the time it was time for dinner in the evening, they were extremely hungry.

Especially Zhao Hong, he usually took too many medicines and didn't run much, so his appetite was very poor. He was tired all day yesterday and hadn't eaten much. Today he ran for half a day, practiced boxing for half a day, and also cut pork himself, all of which were tiring. He was already very hungry. In addition, Pei Yong had just taught him to recognize the many parts of a pig, so he was in high spirits. When he saw the table full of food, he was curious about everything and wanted to eat everything.

The dishes were mainly pork, which was not as good as the commonly eaten beef, mutton and other foods, as it was mostly bland in nature. Moreover, the meat had just been slaughtered, so it was still warm, so we just cut and chopped it and put it in the pot. The method was still according to what Pei Yong had introduced, and all kinds of food were laid out in a very complete manner.

In the middle was a small pot of boiling soup, which was made from pork kidneys cut into fine pieces and boiled with wolfberry sprouts, pig hearts, pig livers, and pig intestines.

The pork kidneys are crispy, the pig heart is soft and chewy, the pig liver is tender and pink, and it is real pink liver with a sweet taste. It is tender and soft when eaten. The rice intestines are elastic and fragrant, and the wolfberry sprouts are slightly bitter, but then sweet. It tastes nourishing and refreshing.

Zhao Mingzhi served the soup and tasted everything in it. He felt that the organs were very fresh and clean, with little fishy smell, but with the unique oily taste and aroma of the internal organs. When the food was a bit greasy, he would drink a sip of the soup and chew some wolfberry sprouts, and his mouth would be cleared instantly between the sweetness and bitterness.

Seeing her brother chewing, she picked up a piece of pig liver and examined it carefully, and said, "Internal organs always have a smell, and this is clear and boiled, unlike the usual stewed ones. If you are not used to it, I see there are stewed radish and pork ribs, why not try that?"

As he spoke, Zhao Mingzhi went to get another bowl of soup.

Zhao Hong shook his head quickly, swallowed what he had in his mouth, and said hastily, "I'm just trying to recognize where this meat comes from. I'm not used to it. I'm just looking for the pork kidneys I squeezed!"

He saw Zhao Mingzhi pouring soup from the big pot, with a half-finger-long pork chop and a half-fist-sized piece of white radish. It was clear soup, but it smelled very rich. He couldn't help but feel greedy. He put down the bowl in his hand and went to take the new bowl handed to him by his sister. After taking it, he blew on it twice and couldn't help but pick it up and eat it.

The radish was added later and cooked to the perfect temperature. It was very flavorful yet too soft, yet still retained its shape. It was soaked in the thick soup and had the sweetness of the radish.

As for the ribs, the bones fall off as soon as you bite them. They are all prime ribs, without any rib bones or spine. They are full of meaty flavor and not fat or greasy. Pepper is added to enhance the flavor and warm the stomach, and ginger slices are added to get rid of the spicy taste of radish and pork. When you take a bite, the radish bursts with juice and the ribs also get juicy. The sweet, rich and fresh flavors are mixed together. The original flavors of the ingredients alone make your stomach feel comfortable.

In addition to soup, there are also stir-fried dishes, stews, and pickled dishes. All parts of the pig are used. As for the front elbow that Zhao Hong removed himself, it was cut into sauce and stir-fried with pickled sauerkraut. Sour ginger is also added to it. It has a sour, spicy and fragrant taste. Just a small spoonful is enough to finish half a bowl of rice.

This place was different from the palace. The four of them ate around a small round table like a family. The meal was lively and no one talked about anything else. They just focused on the food on the table. They either said that the meat was delicious or that the fish would be better if it was grilled. They also lamented that in spring, if certain vegetables were fried together with certain meat, the taste would be unforgettable.

Zhao Hong hadn't experienced such a day for many years. He had a smile on his face almost all the time and ate so much that his belly was full.

Zhao Mingzhi knew very well that such opportunities were rare, so he did not stop him. He let him eat happily and accompanied him into the mountains to hunt the next day.

This went on for a few days, and the days passed really quickly. It seemed like in the blink of an eye, it was time to set off back to the palace.

When it was time to leave, Zhao Hong was reluctant to go out at all. In the end, he even asked Wang Shu to carefully collect a few wild pheasant tail feathers with the most beautiful colors for him. He also lingered with Zhao Mingzhi for half a day and practiced two rounds of boxing with Wei Chengyan and Pei Yong before he had to get on the carriage.

He was in a bad mood all the way.

After finally passing Liang Gate and seeing Junyi Bridge Square in front of him, he suddenly realized that his elder sister had married and opened a princess residence outside the palace. She was no longer the same as before and would never return to the palace with him. He felt even more depressed.

However, Zhao Hong has always been sensible. He has been getting along with Pei Yong and Wei Chengyan these days, and it is clear that he cannot find any fault with them. Also, due to the bumpy journey, he ignored everything else and felt sorry for his sister first. After thinking about it, he sighed in his heart, and asked Wang Shu to ask someone to go back and pass on a message, saying that it was getting late, and that his sister and brother-in-law, as well as Wei Chengyan, should not worry about him when they arrived at the place, and should go back home first.

Although he was mentally prepared, Zhao Hong still couldn't muster the energy, and had no intention of looking at the shops and scenery along the road. Instead, he recalled what he had seen and learned in the mountains in the past few days. When he arrived at Xuande Gate, he was about to change to a carriage to enter the palace. When the curtain of the carriage was lifted, he stood up and stepped out. His eyes passed over the guards and he saw a man in front of him on the right getting off his horse.

The man was wearing riding clothes, standing straight, and his back looked very familiar.

Zhao Hong recognized him immediately and called out "brother-in-law". He didn't wait for the people around him to come forward, and without paying attention to the steps in front of him, he couldn't help but jumped down first, scaring Wang Shu so much that he hurried over.

The person who dismounted in front was Pei Yong.

When he heard Zhao Hong calling out, he immediately turned around to greet him, but he didn't say anything. When he got closer, he bowed and said, "Your Majesty, please be careful with your steps."

He added: "The palace gates are about to close, and I cannot make an exception to enter or leave, so I will not see you off."

Zhao Hong was smiling at first, but when he heard Pei Yong call him "Your Majesty" and then "subject", the smile on his face suddenly disappeared. He felt as if he had returned to his original position, as if the past few days were just a dream.

He wanted to speak, but had nothing to say, so he just stepped forward to support him. The words "Thank you, Mr. Pei" were on the tip of his tongue. After a long while, he was about to say it, but he saw Pei Yong stood up and said to him, "In a few months, it will be the New Year's Day, and the Lantern Festival. There will also be a seven-day holiday. If there is nothing else, let's find a place to go for an outing - you can practice boxing twice a day, don't forget it."

He added, "Your sister is also behind. She said she will be back in a while."

After saying this for a while, he took a few steps back, bowed again, then smiled and stepped aside, watching Zhao Hong enter the palace.

Zhao Hong was the only one who changed the chariot. He could not help but look back and saw several people on the side of the road. The first one stood upright, smiling and walked towards him. As the emperor's jade chariot moved forward, the two sides gradually moved away.

He looked again in the distance and saw the princess's carriage parked nearby.

The curtain of the carriage had been drawn aside, revealing only the vague outlines of a few people. Because it was far away, their faces could not be seen clearly, but how could Zhao Hong not recognize who they were?

He stared at it for a long while, and when he could no longer see anything, he let out a light breath. He felt his whole body relax, and he was no longer depressed. He turned around and called "Wang Shu", and asked, "Which teacher will be attending the imperial lecture tomorrow? I will go back and buy some writing materials first. I need to review my studies before eating."

When he returned to Funing Palace, he reviewed his books for half a day, practiced some boxing, rested for a while, and then had his meal.

After finishing his meal and washing up, Zhao Hong was not in a hurry to go to bed to rest. He just asked someone to bring a perpetual calendar, and he made circles and counted the days on it to figure out the date. He did not need to ask Wang Shu to write it down on a jade slip separately. Not only had he memorized it by heart, he also went to bed with the perpetual calendar.

That night, even when he was sleeping, his brows were relaxed and he was smiling.

As time went by, there were festivals such as New Year's Day, Lantern Festival, Cold Food Festival, Tianqing, Winter Solstice, and Saint's Day. Sometimes there were things to do, and sometimes there was nothing to do. As long as there was nothing serious, there would always be time to go out for fun. There was always Zhao Mingzhi accompanying him, or Pei Yong, or Wei Chengyan, or both, or neither of them.

As Zhao Hong grew older, he no longer needed to take the perpetual calendar to bed. After ruling the country for a long time, he became more experienced and proficient in politics. Although he often frowned and felt helpless, every time he went out with others, he felt that he was not the so-called emperor, but just an ordinary person.

I have a home, a sister, relatives, friends, a brother, a horse, and time for myself.