If I fail to overcome the tribulation, I can only return to the Ming Dynasty and become a prince.

Chapter 137 Listening to Taoshui Pavilion
On the Qinhuai River, Zhu Zhanquan was sitting on the bow of the boat after a long absence, with a fishing rod leaning at his feet. Although he looked like he was fishing, he was actually listening to music with his eyes closed.

Because today is the day when the emperor accepts envoys from various countries to pay tribute, Zhu Gaochi, as the prince, of course has to attend, so he is not here.

As the vassal king, Zhu Zhanquan originally wanted to attend, but when he and Zheng He went to see Zhu Di that day, he asked for a special permission, so that he did not have to look at the rags offered by the natives.

This is really not that Zhu Zhanquan was belittling those countries, but that he had already learned from Zheng He that what these small countries could use as tribute were only some local specialties.

Apart from spices and wood, those Southeast Asian countries had nothing that Daming could appreciate.

As for the nanmu, melons and fruits that were abundant in Southeast Asia in later generations, nanmu has a huge diameter at breast height and was difficult to transport in this era. Golden nanmu furniture was popular in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and more of the wood used came from Sichuan and other places rather than imported from Southeast Asia.

As for fruits?There is no cold chain for fresh food in this era. Want to transport fruits from Southeast Asia to Daming for sale?Unless Zhu Zhanjun took action himself, freezing with magic would be possible.

Otherwise, when Yang Yuhuan wanted to eat a lychee, someone wrote a poem saying, "When the concubine rides on the red dust, she laughs, no one knows that the lychee is coming." It has been chanted for more than 1000 years.

It is true that in the Ming Dynasty, many melons and fruits were transported to Beijing in various ways every year for the royal family to enjoy. However, most of these melons and fruits were of the kind that are not perishable and can be transported. Otherwise, they would have to rely on horses to travel thousands of miles. Or it might be transported by sailboat, but it would be basically rotten by the time it arrives.

Therefore, the royal family preferred to plant fruits and melons nearby the capital for the royal family to enjoy and consume. Otherwise, the emperor would have a hard time eating grapes and would not be able to eat fresh ones.

Don't think that the ancient emperors vomited after eating delicacies from the mountains and seas. The emperors of the Ming Dynasty, especially the emperors in the early Ming Dynasty, inherited Zhu Yuanzhang's frugal style, so they really didn't have much enjoyment in eating. Even the fat father Zhu Gaochi As a prince, the food he eats is only from the small kitchen of the East Palace, and that is the cost of the East Palace's own money.

And you can’t eat anything particularly luxurious. Abalone, ginseng, wing belly, etc. are only available during the holidays. On weekdays, roast chicken, stewed goose ribs in sauce, etc. are considered hard dishes.

Of course, the variety of raw materials is not that rich, so the cooks naturally try their best to make them, so the preparation of many dishes is extremely complicated, and the changes that the ingredients can achieve are extremely limited.

But for Zhu Zhanchen, those exquisite dishes may not interest him as much as a roasted whole lamb.

After all, this era did not have the extremely complicated condiments of later generations. Cooks only used oil, salt, soy sauce and vinegar to cook, and everything else relied on the original taste of the food.

Otherwise, Shandong cuisine chefs would not have made fresh sea sausage powder a secret that is kept at the bottom of the box.

"Sir, the Tingtaoshui Pavilion is ahead. Do you want to stop the boat for dinner?" Hu Shanxiang, who had been sitting next to Zhu Zhanyu, raised his head and glanced at the loft built along the bank of the Qinhuai River in front of him, and asked Zhu Zhanyu.

This place where terraces and lofts were built along the bank of the Qinhuai River, as well as a water pavilion and singing platform on the water, were built by businessmen in Nanjing based on Zhu Zhankun's suggestions.

In order to build this floating loft, those businessmen were really ruthless. They demolished no less than ten restaurants along the river, dug up the entire river bank, laid new foundations, and diverted water, in order to build this place that can be used on both the terrace and the loft. To enjoy the view of the Qinhuai River, you can also place the boat next to the terrace and listen to music by the water.

It is precisely because these businessmen spent enough money that they built the Tingtao Water Pavilion on the Qinhuai River that seems to be built on the water.

This name was given by Zhu Zhanqi. It doesn't have much culture or elegance, but it is a great grace for him, the majestic King Zheng, to inscribe and name a restaurant. Who among these businessmen would dare to comment?And after this attic was built, it became the most popular place in Nanjing. The literati and poets wanted to sleep here all day long.

In today's Nanjing city, if you say that you are not at Tingtaoshui Pavilion to entertain guests, people will think that you are not classy enough.

In particular, Zhu Zhanquan took out many recipes from later generations for his own comfort. Many things that were considered secrets in this era were just taken out. The dishes of Tingtaoshui Pavilion suddenly reached a leading position. The time has come.

After all, it was at a level that even Zhu Zhanjuan himself felt was quite good. In today's Ming Dynasty, it could really dominate the world.

In addition, some of the businessmen who bought Tingtaoshui Pavilion were originally engaged in business on the Qinhuai River. After Zhu Zhanquan gave some insights from later generations, those singers and dancers were enough to make the entire Qinhuai River happy just by performing songs and dances. Men are intoxicated, let alone anything else.

That is to say, it is now the Ming Dynasty, and poetry is not as popular as it was during the Tang and Song Dynasties. Otherwise, Zhu Zhanquan would have to make a guest appearance as a copycat.

Even so, Tingtaoshui Pavilion was already the number one gold-burning cave and paradise nest in the Ming Dynasty. Many officials would come here to entertain guests in private, and even a visit would probably cost them several years of salary.

However, for Zhu Zhanchun, as the owner behind this loft, the single loft with the best view in Tingtaoshui Pavilion is specially reserved for him. The three-story building is really not open to the public, even None of the noble and high-ranking officials in the capital or the vassal prince who now lives in the capital has ever entered.

It's not that no one wanted to force their way in based on their status, but after Zhu Zhanqi brought his fat daddy there on the opening day, no one really dared to do so.

After all, Zhu Gaochi really likes to eat. After getting used to the dishes at Tingtaoshui Pavilion, the prince has to come here for a meal every now and then, otherwise he will really scratch his mouth.

Originally, with Zhu Gaochi's character, he would not be so extravagant, but the owner behind Tingtaoshui Pavilion is Zhu Zhanyun, and the prince is really greedy. When Zhu Zhanyun said that he needed the prince's help to calm down the situation, On the premise of promoting the delicious food here, Zhu Gaochi accepted the gold card of Tingtaoshui Pavilion, which gave him a discount every time he came.

Yes, the prince also has to pay when he comes to eat, and he still pays in cash.

Although the gold card in Zhu Gaochi's hand allowed him to pay only one-tenth of the money, which was more or less the same meaning, the symbolic meaning behind it was completely different.

Invisibly, another layer of gold has been attached to Tingtaoshui Pavilion, raising the level of this place to a higher level again.

So when Zhu Zhanqun's boat arrived at Tingtaoshuige, although it was only noon, the shore was already crowded with boats and boats of all sizes, and there was almost no place to park the boat.

After boarding the Tingtaoshui Pavilion, Zhu Zhanquan heard a storyteller speaking "The Biography of Yue Fei" on the stage in the middle of the pavilion.

　It’s time to recycle the foreshadowing of Yue Fei’s biography

　　
　
(End of this chapter)