The First Great Ancestor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 205 Professional Chicken Killer
Shenghe Dishe in Anding County also has a dining hall, which mainly serves the staff of the Dishe and the merchants who come and go.

Takeaway meals range from [-] to [-] renminbi per meal. There are both meat and vegetable dishes. If you want to add more meat and meat to your meal, you can just pay for it. Overall, it is more affordable.

When traveling to and from merchants to store their goods and rest, most of them like to eat in the Dishe dining hall, which is convenient and trouble-free and tastes good.

If you want to enjoy a luxurious meal, turn right out of the main gate of the residence and you will find Taihe Building.

Before, Li Congjia looked down upon the noisy environment in the dining hall. Businessmen traveling from north to south spoke in various accents and talked nonsense from all over the country, making it seem noisy.

Li Congjia likes the quiet environment of Taihe Building and its elegant decoration style. It shows wealth in a low-key manner and reveals charm in elegance. He thinks it suits his temperament better.

It's a pity that temperament cannot be exchanged for real money, so Li Congjia was forced to work as a kitchen assistant to pay off debts.

After working for several days, Li Congjia broke countless cups, plates, and bowls, which was roughly estimated to be far more than his wages for the past few days.

Not to mention that I didn’t make any money, I owed another sum.

Li Congjia was exhausted both physically and mentally. He returned to his room every evening and fell asleep. Xu Xuan helped him take off his clothes and shoes.

Xu Xuan felt very sad when he saw this, and racked his brains more and more to write an article.

However, writing articles has never been an easy task. In order to innovate, change, focus on hot topics and attract attention, Xu Xuan spent a lot of energy and was exhausted.

With this first successful experience, Xu Xuan had an understanding of the taste and appreciation level of Jingzhou Newspaper’s submissions.

The overall standard of lifestyle tabloids needs to be improved, but it is not easy for an article to appear on the front page.

The position in the middle of the front page is the guarantee of the overall quality of the tabloid as a government publication.

Xu Xuan has calculated that since the publication of the tabloid, apart from official notices, there have been only a few authors of articles that are eligible to be published on the front page.

Wen Tai, the former magistrate of Anding County and head of the Wen family, published an article about white hemp production under the pen name of Taiyuan Wen.

In the article, Wen Tai strongly advocated how fine and flexible the white linen produced by the new twisting method was, and how excellent its textile properties were.

At the end of the article, I did not forget to promote several hemp workshops in the county.

Later, Xu Xuan learned that the hemp yarn business was now the pillar industry of the Wen family, and the Wen family was the leading hemp yarn producer in Jingzhou.

Wen Tai openly complained about making money from his own business, and Xu Xuan scoffed at this.

The Wen family of Jingzhou has always claimed to be a branch of the Wen family of Taiyuan. Their ancestor was a famous official in the Tang Dynasty and Wen Daya, the Duke of Li State.

Xu Xuan naturally didn't believe this groundless statement. It was just a trick used by local wealthy families to forcibly raise their profile.

Pei Jin, the official of Jiedu and also the official of Duzhi, published an article on promoting the Three Cardinal Guidelines and Five Constant Rules under the pen name of Hedong Qingsou.

In the article, the focus of the text is on the relationship between husband and wife.

However, Xu Xuan also heard that Pei Jin was a henpecked person, and his reputation as henpecked was well known among the soldiers in Changyi.

Come to think of it, this is Pei Jin using his own personal experience to remind men to take a lesson.

The spirit is commendable, but the article is written in a rigid and boring way. The whole article is full of quotations, and there are very few opinions and expositions of one's own, as if copying the words of the sages.

Moreover, the pen name Hedong Qingsou is also suspected of forcibly approaching the Wenxi Pei family.

Seo Hyun unceremoniously gave the negative review.

Judge Song Shen signed an article about last year's bumper harvest in Jingzhou. He wrote it eloquently and well-founded. All the data and conclusions followed objective facts, and his literary talent was also good.

Xu Xuan specially copied and preserved the article.

It's a pity to hear that Judge Song is busy with official duties and rarely has time to concentrate on making a fuss.

Xu Xuan felt sorry for this.

Finally, there is the author who is identified by Xu Xuan as a householder related to Jiedu Mansion and whose pen name is Mr. Siyou.

This person's vernacular articles are not brilliant, but they are meaningful.

Because it is easy to understand, it caused a sensation in the county's public opinion circles and won the attention of many people.

Once the last article calling on farmers to switch from mulberry and hemp to straw and cotton was published, it was explained and publicized in various teahouses and restaurants, which aroused great response.

Subsequently, the Jiedu government issued a notice to the people and set up a special consultation point to answer questions about the policy to support people to grow straw cotton.

Xu Xuan took the time to go there. It was right next to the county government office, and it was very lively with people.

In this way, Xu Xuan was even more certain that Mr. Siyou must be an official in Jiedu Mansion who had access to secrets.

In two days, the new issue of Jingzhou Life Tabloid will be released. Xu Xuan is full of anticipation, eager to know what kind of impact his article refuting the large-scale replanting of grass cotton will have after it is published.

On this day, the kitchen behind the residence was busy.

There is a caravan of more than [-] people who want to cross the border and go to Yunzhong, passing through Anding County to rest for two days.

The workload of the kitchen in the back of the residence has nearly doubled, and the women who help cook and the chefs who serve the dishes are as busy as spinning tops.

Even the clumsy Li Congjia was very tired. He had been dizzy since he ate two white flour cakes early in the morning.

Originally, the aunts in the back kitchen were more enthusiastic about him. He is a newcomer, young, and he is very fat and rare.

But within two days, I realized that this kid can't do anything, his movements are slow and can't keep up with the rhythm, he can't even tell the difference between womb and amaranth, and he often breaks the dishes, and gradually he feels disgusted with him.

Although they disliked him, the aunts were still willing to teach him. They all knew that he came to work to pay off his debts. They mistakenly thought that it was because his family was poor and he could not pay the debt he owed to the shopkeeper.

If the aunties knew that this fat boy went bankrupt eating Taihelou and couldn't even pay for the house, so he had to work to pay off his debts, I'm afraid they wouldn't pay attention to this wasteful thing.

Today there is a new member of staff in the kitchen, brought here by the head chef himself. He said he was overwhelmed with work and came over to help at short notice.

Li Congjia looked at him curiously and found that he was a young man who was a few years older than himself. He was fair, gentle and good-looking.

The master said his name was Chu Xun.

Not only Li Congjia was curious, but the aunts were also whispering, and the fire of gossip seemed to be burning out of their eyes.

However, the aunts seemed to have been notified in advance, and no one dared to get close to the new handsome guy.

Chu Xun was assigned to wash and pick up vegetables with Li Congjia, and was also responsible for handling six or seven chickens.

Killing the chicken is definitely an unprecedented challenge for Li Congjia. He is sitting by the sink in depression, worrying about how to kill the chicken later.

Chu Xun put on a coarse linen apron and a round hat, moved a horse and sat aside, picked up a bundle of green onions, washed and peeled them.

"My lord, Chu Xun, what's your name for my virtuous brother?"

Li Congjia looked at him in surprise. This man had a gentle face and seemed to be a reserved and modest person. Unexpectedly, he turned out to be a familiar person.

"Uh~ My little brother Li Jia has met Brother Chu!" Li Congjia bowed subconsciously and found that he was holding a few woid leaves in his hand. He put down his hands with a smile and bowed again.

Chu Xun came closer and said with a low smile: "Brother, I have heard of Li Xiandi's name for a long time!"

Li Congjia felt guilty and said, "Brother Chu, why did you say this?"

Chu Xun chuckled and said, "Mr. Xu who lives on the third floor is your uncle, right? The two of you ate in Taihe Building until you had no money to pay the room fee. It's a strange thing."

Li Congjia blushed with embarrassment, and said in embarrassment: "Brother Chu laughed."

"I didn't mean to ridicule, brother Li Xian, don't blame me." Chu Xun held two handfuls of green onions and held them in his hands.

"Don't worry, good brother. With Mr. Xu's talent, he will definitely stand out from the newspaper office. It won't take long to pay off the debt and let good brother regain his freedom." Chu Xun consoled him.

Li Congjia was surprised: "How do you know these things?" He looked at the person in front of him again: "Is it possible that you are also a tenant, and you owe the rent and are unable to pay it back, so you can only work to pay off the debt?"

Chu Xun pinched off a few yellow onion leaves and said casually: "No, I heard from the shopkeeper of Dishe that he is my second uncle."

"Uh." Li Congjia just showed some sympathy for the same situation. Before he could say his concerned words, he was choked back.

"Then why did Brother Chu come to work in this kitchen?" Li Congjia couldn't help but feel a little curious.

Chu Xun Ma Liu finished washing a bunch of green onions, then picked up a bristle brush to clean the soil stained by turnips (radish), and said casually: "There are many guests eating in the canteen today, and we are overwhelmed. I came over temporarily to help."

Chu Xun washed a radish and took a bite. It was crispy, sweet and delicious.

"Want a bite?" Chu Xun handed it to Li Congjia.

Li Congjia swallowed and glanced at the head chef not far away. The chef was chopping meat. He turned his head when he heard the noise and said nothing.

"Brother Chu, please use it slowly." Li Congjia suppressed his stomach growling.

The two were chatting and washing vegetables. The young people became familiar with each other very quickly, and it seemed that they had endless things to say.

After washing a bowl of vegetables, a few chickens in the chicken coop began to coo.

Li Congjia wiped his wet hands on his apron and stood aside at a loss.

"Dang, dang, dang~" The sound of chopping vegetables could be heard on the chopping board. Li Congjiaxun heard it and his eyes widened in an instant.

I saw Chu Xun holding a kitchen knife in his hand, and shredding the cabbage skillfully and swiftly.

"Rabbit Ya boy, kill the chicken quickly, pluck the feathers, and tidy up the inside and outside. If it delays my cooking and ruins my business, I will deduct ten days' wages from you."

The head chef calmly appeared behind him and scolded him suddenly, making Li Congjia tremble in fear.

The master glanced at Chu Xun with admiration, then glanced at Li Congjia with distaste, and muttered: "The difference between the younger generations is too big now."

Li Congjia blushed and lowered his head in shame.

The master left with his hands behind his back. Li Congjia picked up a sharp long knife from the knife rest and looked at it hesitantly, not knowing where to start.

"You got it wrong, that's a butcher's knife." After Chu Xun cut the radish shreds, he cut several other side dishes and put them on the plate for later use. Seeing that Li Congjia hadn't started yet, he walked over and reminded him.

Li Congjia quickly put the butcher's knife back into the knife holder, hesitating as to what weapon he should use to kill the chicken.

"Have you never killed a chicken?" Chu Xun asked vaguely, chewing on the butt of the carrot.

Li Congjia shook his head, his fleshy face full of grievance.

Let alone killing a chicken, he has never even touched its feathers.

Chu Xun sighed, finished chewing the butt of the carrot in two or two mouths, picked up a narrow-edged knife, looked at it, and ordered: "Get some basins and pour some boiling water."

Li Congjia asked blankly: "Brother Chu has killed chickens?"

Before he finished speaking, Chu Xun grabbed a big rooster from the chicken coop, grabbed the comb and pulled out the feathers on the chicken's neck, revealing the lumpy skin. The knife blade wiped the chicken's blood everywhere, and the big rooster's legs struggled desperately. , the miserable scream gradually became thinner.

Chu Xun expressionlessly lifted the big rooster upside down, and the chicken blood dripped into the bowl of water with salt.

"It's full, change the bowl." Chu Xun said calmly.

"Oh. Oh." Li Congjia was stunned for a while, hurriedly replacing the bowl filled with chicken blood.

A little chicken blood splashed on his hands. Li Congjia closed his eyes tightly and muttered silently: "Sin, sin, sin."

After bleeding, Chu Xun submerged the chicken in a basin of boiling water, and killed a cage of chickens in a hurry.

"Follow me." Chu Xun began to pluck the chicken feathers. Li Congjia sat aside and rolled up his sleeves, carefully poking the chicken in the pot.

Chu Xun glanced at the sky and said calmly: "If you don't hurry up, your ten days' wages will be gone."

Li Congjia gritted his teeth and took a deep breath, resisting the strong smell of chicken, and imitated Chu Xun's actions.

After struggling for nearly an hour, the two finally finished handling a cage of chickens.

Li Congjia was so tired that he almost collapsed to the ground.

Chu Xun was also very tired, rubbing his shoulders and beating his waist with a look of exhaustion.

"Thanks to Brother Chu this time, otherwise I would not even be able to eat today! Brother Chu, please give me a bow!"

Li Congjia bowed his head to the ground in gratitude, while Chu Xun sat with a carefree attitude and joked: "Next time you go to Taihe Tower for dinner, you might as well take me with you."

Li Congjia grinned and said with a sad face: "Brother Chu, please stop teasing me."

Just as he was talking, a waiter entered the kitchen and waved to Chu Xun: "The shopkeeper wants you to go back early to review your books. Come on."

"Wait a moment." Chu Xun cupped his hands, turned to Li Congjia and smiled: "I'm leaving first. See you tomorrow. Say goodbye."

Li Congjia stood up and glanced at the guy. He was the one who came to the room a few days ago to collect the room fee.

This man looked tall and mighty, and Li Congjia was a little afraid of him.

"Brother Chu, are you going back to study?" Li Congjia murmured, looking envious.

Chu Xun smiled and said: "Exactly. I came from the countryside and stayed at the second uncle's house in order to participate in the unified admissions examination of Jingzhou Academy in the near future."

"Jingzhou. School?" Li Congjia was confused.

"Jiedu Mansion will soon rebuild the official school, and Jingzhou School will be Jingzhou Prefectural School."

Chu Xun explained, looking at him, "Xiandi shouldn't be in such a state of decline. It can be seen that Xiandi is also a person who has read the books of sages and sages. He should focus on managing the world and governing the people."

Li Congjia pursed his lips, as if something was touched in his heart.

"There is no way out after mountains and rivers, and there is a village with dark willows and bright flowers. My dear brother, there is no need to be discouraged. The temporary difficulties will surely be defended when the clouds clear and the moon shines."

Chu Xun gave him a meaningful smile and said goodbye.

Li Congjia watched him leave blankly, his eyes filled with tears little by little.

He murmured and repeated Chu Xun's words just now, and for a moment, his heart seemed to be shaken.

Leaving Jiangning and leaving his hometown, when one day even Xu Xuan can't protect him, the only one he can rely on is himself.

During the few days of working in the back kitchen, Li Congjia experienced an unprecedented life experience and was truly exposed to the lifestyle of ordinary people for the first time.

These seemed like a whole new world to him.

Here, Li Congjia found that he knew nothing and knew nothing, and that all his poems, articles, and classics were of no use.

Li Congjia sighed, his face full of despair.

He suddenly felt discouraged for himself, and suddenly felt a little inexplicably confused.

In the back yard, the waiter looked around and said in a low voice: "Young Master must be very hungry. Do you need some food first?"

Zhu Xiu quickened her pace and muttered: "Take a shower first, I'm so tired from the smell of chicken! Alas, I haven't worked for so long, my skills are rusty, it's exhausting!"

The waiter wanted to laugh but didn't dare. Even he was surprised. He didn't expect that the young commander was very skilled at killing chickens. He looked like a professional butcher.

(End of this chapter)