Northern Dynasties

Chapter 54
Soon after Yuanshi joined the kitchen, he prepared several dishes and sent them to the hall, a dish of finely sliced ​​fish with lotus leaves, stewed meat with gourds, lamb tripe soup and a box of fresh vegetables. The staple food is steamed glutinous rice balls.

Apart from Li Tai, the main guest, his dozen or so attendants also ate outside the hall, with cold utensils, cage cakes and a pot full of haggis soup.

Looking at the delicious and delicate dishes on the table, Li Tai felt more and more that Lu Rou's family should live in poverty in Chang'an.The lotus leaves and gourds are used as tableware, although it seems novel and interesting, but in other words, the owner may not even have decent lacquer tableware.

And these ingredients are so common, the price is not high.Like the simmered meat, minced mutton and dried eggplant are finely simmered together, then served with green gourds, and steamed in water, without any expensive seasoning, only the cooking technique makes the ingredients full of flavor.

Li Tai paid attention to these details, not because he looked down on his cousin, but on the contrary, he became more fond of this cousin who was born in the Northern Wei clan.

The so-called clever woman can't cook without rice, probably the family rarely entertains so many guests, their family is not rich, and they don't have much food reserves, but they still try their best to organize meals and treat guests well.

Although this meal was not rich, Li Tai also ate it full of human touch.Lu Rou and his wife really treated him as a long-lost relative who was close to him, neither ostentatious nor complaining, and there was a sense of warmth in the plain.

To his embarrassment, He Basheng provided the gift for his visit this time.He wanted to give that well-behaved niece a precious and interesting meeting gift, but he didn't have a suitable gift on him.

After the meal, Li Tai sat in the hall with Lu Rou and his wife again, drinking tea and chatting about the past, mainly the couple was talking, Li Tai was listening, and occasionally asked them about their daily life in Chang'an.

Originally, he was worried that meeting these relatives who had never met and had no deep relationship would be a bit awkward, but he gradually liked the warm atmosphere of home while chatting.

An hour later in the afternoon, someone from Cui's family came and told that the Lord Lang knew that his deceased relative was visiting and was returning from the official office, and brought a carriage, and invited Lu Rou's family and Li Tai to go there as guests.

The Cui family is located in the north of Chang'an City. It is a large house covering an area of ​​several hectares. It is not so much a house as a manor.This manor straddles the inside and outside of the city, and it is part of the city defense itself, but it still pales in comparison to a manor on the east side.

"That's where Zhang Wugong lives in the capital, and if you go eastward, maybe the imperial city is located."

Lu Rou pointed to the larger mansion and said to Li Tai, Li Tai couldn't help seeing more of this mansion which was no less than a military city.

Zhang Wugong named Yu Wendao, the second person in the Yuwen family, and also Yu Wentai's most important nephew, if he hadn't passed away too early, Yu Wenhu would not have been able to take charge of the Northern Zhou Dynasty.

Li Tai, Lu Rou and their followers dismounted in front of Cui's house, while Yuan's mother and daughter entered the inner house through the side door in a carriage.

Although the two brothers Cui Qian and Cui Cong held positions of power in the Western Wei Dynasty, they still followed the rules of the big families in Hebei. The brothers did not live in different places, and the two families lived together in this mansion.It's just that Cui Qian is working in Weibei, not in Beijing.

The Cui family's mansion is much more magnificent than Lu Rou's house just from the appearance.

This is normal. Although they returned together from Liang Dynasty in the Southern Dynasty, their official careers in the Western Wei Dynasty were still different.Lu Rou was more of a literati. After coming to the Western Wei Dynasty, she also served as a civil servant in Daxingtai for several years, and then she also served as a civil servant like Zhongshusheren when she entered the court.

The Cui brothers were already quite powerful, and after entering the customs, they also held official positions involving both civil and military affairs, and directly participated in several battles between the two Weis to accumulate military exploits.

Today's official Cui Yu lives in Jing Zhaoyin and is a commander-in-chief. He is in charge of the military affairs of Gyeonggi. Although his elder brother Cui Qian's governor of Yingzhou is only an overseas Chinese, his scope of power is far wider than that of Lu Rou's Zhongshusheren.

Kansai newcomers want to improve their economic status, the first is to obtain through military exploits, and the second is to base themselves on local business.

Li Tai deeply felt the difficulty of rural management. Lu Rou did not have the ability and means to obtain military merits, and the title of the Western Wei Dynasty was not granted at all. He only relied on the intermittent salary of the Western Wei court and the harvest of rural rents. It is only natural that the environment is not as good as the Cui brothers.

As a result, Li Tai felt that he was right in not rushing to seek an official position. If the real township has not yet established itself, he will be entangled in official affairs. In the future, he may live in poverty like his big cousin Lu Rou, waiting for the day of Daxingtai I am happy to take off my clothes and wear them for myself.

Without first seeking self-reliance in the countryside, not to mention the few good opportunities to make military achievements in the following years, even if there were, the hundred and ten strong men in his family might not be able to sustain the consumption of a few tough battles.

Several disciples of the Cui family greeted them, led the two of them to the middle hall to sit down, chatted for a while, and then strode into a middle-aged man in official robes outside the hall.

This middle-aged man was [-] meters tall, with thick and grown arms, he walked vigorously, and had a thick beard under his chin. He looked like a brave general.If it weren't for Lu Rou and all the disciples in the hall to stand up to salute, Li Tai would hardly have guessed that he was the master Cui Cong.

"Boshan has met, envoy."

Before, he was still hesitating whether to call the other party's cousin or brother-in-law, but seeing that Cui Cong looked very authoritative at home, he simply called him that.

Cui Xi nodded to Lu Rou first, then looked Li Tai up and down a few times, and said with a smile with great interest: "The former Daxingtai sent a majestic essay to the various houses, and I was lucky enough to read it. I thought it was written by uncle. Wisdom, I later found out that it was written by a junior.

Zi just told me Thirteenth Lang that you are standing in the middle of the village, and you are very young, so I wanted to invite you to see me after the season.I was also very happy when the family members in the department came to sue before, but when I was leaving, I was disturbed again, and Shi San Lang made you wait for a long time.From what I can see in front of me, my pro-party Yuxi has indeed grown younger and stronger, which is really exciting! "

Lu Rou had a bit of a stutter when speaking, but Cui Xi was at the other extreme, talking like a machine gun, making it impossible for people to get in.

It wasn't until Cui Cong finished speaking that Li Tai bowed again and said, "I'm ashamed of Boshan for your misrepresentation. Fortunately, the old master helped Li's native land, and I don't know any news about his relatives. It's really impolite to come to see you now."

Cui Xi walked into the main seat in the hall and sat down, then raised her hand to signal several people to enter the table, then frowned and said, "Where's Amo? My father is in the hall, and he didn't come to see me?"

Hearing the words, the disciples in the hall hurriedly resigned and walked out, and immediately introduced a boy with a thick head and a thick head.

The little boy was standing outside the hall and was still struggling to come in. When he noticed Cui Xi's gaze on the hall, he suddenly became very calm, obediently bowed his head and walked in and whispered: "Aye..."

"Swallowing mud with your tongue, how low is your voice? Kneel down!"

Cui Cong was still chatting and laughing, but when she saw the little boy walking in, her face immediately turned down, and she scolded, "My parents are not here, and relatives and friends are here to visit. Since you are a householder, why don't you see me? Tell your cousin quickly!"

"Cousin?"

The little boy didn't dare to look at his father, he glanced at Lu Rou, and didn't dare to ask his father if he was wrong.

Cui Xi looked at the son and became very irritable. He stood up and came down to the hall and mentioned the boy fell to the side of Li Tai's seat, and apologized to Li Tai: "This bastard is stupid, let Thirteen Lang laugh at him. It's your cousin, Li family, so hurry up and kowtow to plead guilty!"

Li Tai looked at the child who was so frightened by his father, he was a little embarrassed for a moment: "Xiao Lang is immature, it is inevitable that he doesn't know strangers. With such a serious tutor, he will succeed in a long time."

"Thirteen Lang, you don't have to excuse him, who has no youth and clumsiness? Could it be that we have waited for him behind closed doors for ten years before my house can open the door to reunite with relatives and friends?"

Cui Xi kicked his son again before returning to the banquet.

Seeing this wild and serious tutor, Li Tai couldn't help but feel that this little cousin is a bit pitiful. Being beaten up like this since childhood, what a psychological shadow it will leave in the future!

After returning to the table, Cui Cong asked about Li Tai's recent situation since he entered the customs, and especially talked about the matter that the Jingzhao Shi family came to appeal: "That Hu slave family is really disgusting. They deceived me and slandered my relatives and disciples. Such turbidity, how can I Can I be recommended? Only Daxingtai has clear rewards, his family has contributed to the loss, and I can't take it lightly, and pay it to the west of Longxi to listen to it, and don't disturb others in front of it."

Hearing this, Li Tai couldn't help but mourn in silence for the historians. It's not good to provoke anyone, but to provoke me, even if you lose money, you won't be immune to disaster.Although this big cousin looked a little irritable, he also had clear resentment and resentment, and he was quite able to cover it up.

When he presented the gift prepared by He Basheng, Cui Xi stroked the bow and fell silent. After a while, he sighed: "The situation is exciting, but the story is cold. Although it's not my fault, I always feel sad." .

Since we don't get along well, I don't want to leave anything to bother me.Seeing Thirteenth Lang, you have broad shoulders and strong arms. I think it's not Zigang who can only use pen and ink. Later, I will ask my family to set the bowstring and present this to you. I hope you will not insult the old master. "

Hearing this, Li Tai also felt that Cui Xi was quite sentimental about drifting away from He Basheng.They followed He Basheng from Jingzhou all the way to the Southern Dynasty and back again. Naturally, their friendship was profound, and even if there were any knots in their hearts, he could not untie them, so they nodded in agreement.

Although Cui Xi has a straightforward personality, he also has great official authority. When Li Tai talked with him, he felt that he was not as harmonious as his big cousin Lu Rou. There was some gap between them, and they couldn't get closer emotionally, so the topics were a bit boring. .

Li Tai simply took out the official document book that he had shown to some Hui in Beihuazhou before, and briefly introduced the business that he, He Basheng, and several Hui were going to start.

After seeing the real thing and listening to Li Tai's introduction, Cui Cong was immediately moved. At the same time, she also frowned and said, "I haven't done my homework yet? From now until October, can I supply ten thousand copies of the booklet? If yes, thirteen Lang, you have helped me a lot!"

"Currently, there is still a shortage of papermaking techniques..."

"This is not a problem. There are many paper craftsmen in the household. Thirteen Lang will bring you back tomorrow morning, and work as soon as possible! I will not be greedy for the wisdom of the younger generation, and take away your wealth. The county government will buy as much as you want, and give you what you have."

Cui Xi put on a business-like attitude, and said seriously: "There is only one requirement. Before this year, it can only be supplied to Beihuazhou and Jingzhao. Next year, you can work freely."

Naturally, Li Tai would not refuse this request.Not to mention the current production capacity is not yet estimated, even if the production capacity is sufficient, you must take care of your family first.

After talking about this matter, Cui Cong held the booklet and read it carefully again. After a while, he suddenly pulled out a bamboo stick from the side of the case, pointed at his son and scolded: "Look at your cousin, there is no parent to protect and teach you!" , and don’t worry about supporting your family. This book is beautiful, and it makes academics sigh! You will be punished before entering the house, and then you will return to the house to copy, and you are not allowed to stay in the hall for dinner.”

(End of this chapter)