Red Mansion: Bastards rule the roost

Chapter 520: Couplet of Songs about Snow
Not long after, Lao Tu arrived wearing a white apron and carrying a large wooden box. He also brought a 20-year-old daughter-in-law. It was his wife who was rewarded by Jia Cong and she is now helping in the kitchen.

"My dear, I would like to say hello to Mr. Marquis and all the wives, grandmothers and ladies." Lao Tu didn't even dare to raise his head and took his wife to kowtow in greeting.

All the women were a little embarrassed. They lived in a deep house. When had they ever seen the cook, he was a man.

Jia Cong smiled and said: "Get up and take care of this piece of venison. I and you girls will have barbecue today."

"Yes, I understand." Lao Tu respectfully took the deer meat from his mother-in-law and lowered his head, not even daring to look at the girls from the corner of his eyes.

"You have a few plum blossoms in your hands. Are they for the girls?" Baochai said with a smile.

Lao Tu said: "To answer my wife's question, this is where the food will be served later. I thought that my wife, grandma, and girls are all elegant people, so eating this barbecue like ordinary people would be a bit smoky."

If plum blossoms are mixed into the meat, it will add a bit of cold fragrance, which is suitable for people, seasons and occasions. This is some simple opinion of a villain. "

The girls were very pleased and nodded with smiles.

Xiangyun smiled and said, "Brother Cong, you are a very elegant cook."

Jia Cong said with a smile: "I'll show you what it means to be a knife maker, and Lao Tu will show them his skills later."

"Yes."

I saw Lao Tu twisting his fat and short body, running to the corner and sitting down, quickly opening the box and taking out the chopping board, knives, seasonings, etc. one by one.

He took another large bowl and mixed in various seasonings such as oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, rice wine, etc. to prepare the sauce.

His stubby fingers were extremely nimble. He pressed the deer leg with one hand and held a sharp knife in the other. He made a few quick cuts. The bright red venison was immediately separated, leaving only a big bone stick.

Then he took a piece of venison, his wrists trembling again and again, but in a few breaths he cut it into thin slices of the same size, dipped it in the sauce, placed it neatly on the plate, and sprinkled it with snowy yellow plum petals. , all the girls were stunned.

Seeing their surprised looks, Jia Cong smiled and said, "What's it worth? It's just basic operations."

Ke Qing asked: "Where did Third Uncle get such a great talent?"

Jia Cong saw her wearing an emerald gourd with beads on her head and walking swaying. She was wearing a five-color engraved silk Danshan Caiphoenix and Yang Fei color narrow-legged coat. She had a white moon sash tied around her slender waist, and a mutton-fat jade ring hanging underneath.

Two sentences can't help but come to mind: bright and charming, like Baochai; romantic and graceful, like Daiyu.

Suddenly seeing Sister Feng's half-smiling expression next to her, she quickly collected her thoughts and said with a smile: "When I went to Liaodong to guard the border, General Yang sent me hundreds of prisoners, and Lao Tu was one of them.

I saw that his skills were superb, so I stayed with him. If it hadn't been for him, I wouldn't have known how I would have spent those years. I couldn't have gotten used to the food in the army. "

All the girls laughed.

Jia Cong casually talked about the war again.

Just as he was talking, Chu Chan, Wanyan sisters and others also came. Seeing Lao Tu doing the surgery himself, they all praised him. They were in for a treat today.

Xiangyun asked doubtfully: "Is Lao Tu's craftsmanship really that good?"

Wanyanshan smiled and told the girls about a simple meal that Lao Tu cooked in the old forest of Liaodong that day, which almost made her swallow her tongue.

The girls praised him repeatedly and had a lot of expectations.

Xiangyun said with fascination: "Shan'er, I really want to go to Liaodong with you to hunt tigers."

All the girls laughed and teased: "Girl Yun, you are such a delicate person, and you are not enough for a tiger to fit between your teeth."

Xiangyun waved his little fists nonchalantly and said, "When Shan'er, Chuo'er and I learn how to ride and shoot well, I'll shoot a tiger for you to see."

Jia Cong shook his head and said with a smile: "Brother Ruolan may not allow you to go."

Everyone laughed and said yes, and Xiangyun blushed with embarrassment and lay in Baochai's arms, but refused.

Baochai glared at Jia Cong and said, "Don't bully Yun'er."

Jia Cong spread his hands and looked innocent: "What did I say? Ruolan's name is not allowed to be mentioned? After all, he is my brother Paoze."

"You still said that." Baochai said angrily.

"Okay, no more talking."

Tan Chun smiled and said, "Third brother, is Wei Ruolan's character worthy of Yun'er?"

"Is this... haha." Seeing Xiangyun's ears pricked up, Jia Cong deliberately let it slip.

Baoyu smiled and said, "Ruolan and I are familiar with each other. In terms of character, appearance, and family background, she is naturally the best choice."

Jia Cong said: "That's all you know, it's superficial."

Baoyu said calmly: "Then what else do you think?"

Jia Cong glanced at Xiang Yun and said with a smile, "Yun'er is shy, so it's okay not to say anything."

"Sister Bao, look, brother Cong is bullying me." Xiangyun's face was red and she was twisting Baochai.

Baochai glared at Jia Cong with a smile and said, "You know how to play tricks on others. You talk nonsense when you shouldn't say it, and you don't say it when you should. It's really hateful."

Daiyu smiled and said: "Brother Cong is not a roundworm in Yun Yatou's belly, how do you know when to say it and when not to say it, huh?"

Jia Cong smiled and said: "Finally, you can say something fair for me."

Baochai said: "You are still letting him go. I wonder if the girl is angry with you."

Daiyu covered her mouth and smiled.

Seeing Xiangyun's pitiful look, Jia Cong had had enough of teasing and said with a smile: "What Baoyu said just now is just superficial. What do you want me to say? I can rest assured just by saying the first Yun'er."

"What?" the girls asked hurriedly.

"Brother Ruolan is young, strong and healthy." Jia Cong said with a bad smile.

Sister Feng, Li Wan, Qin Keqing and other women sneered and covered their mouths.

Xiangyun, Tanchun, Xing Xiuyan, the Li sisters and other girls blushed with embarrassment. They were all grown up girls, and no one knew there was something in Jia Cong's words.

At that time, everyone had eaten the roasted plum venison made by Lao Tu, and they all praised it and asked Jia Cong to let Lao Tu cook more dishes in the future.

Jia Cong said with a smile: "Lao Tu only has one head and two hands, and he can barely supply me. He has no spare time to cook for you. If you want to satisfy your craving, just go to my place to eat."

Xiangyun, Tanchun and others did not follow.

Li Wan smiled and tried to persuade him: "We'll talk about the future later. Let's do the serious things today first."

Everyone had no choice but to let Jia Cong go, wash up, and go to the kang room next to him. They saw that the cups and plates of fruits and vegetables were all arranged, and the poem's title, rhyme, and format had been posted on the wall.

When Baoyu and Xiangyun were busy reading, they saw that the title was "Scene couplets, a five-character rhythmic poem, limited to 'Er Xiao' rhyme."

It was exactly the question Li Wan came up with.

Jia Cong secretly rejoiced that he could be a copywriter, but he would never dare to participate in such activities. He had never heard of the "Er Xiao" rhyme.

Li Wan said: "I'm not good at composing poetry. I can only write three sentences, and then whoever gets it first will couple it first." Baochai said: "Let me write it out in order."

After saying this, he ordered everyone to cast lots. First of all, it was Li's, and then each one was given out one by one.

Sister Feng joked: "Since you say that, I will also say something above."

Jia Cong was dumbfounded. I, the most talented person in the world, didn't dare to participate. How dare Sister Feng, an illiterate person as big as a watermelon who can't read a bunch of words, dare to show his embarrassment?
Yin smiled and said, "When did Sister Feng learn to compose poetry? I would like to ask you for advice."

Everyone covered their mouths and chuckled.

Sister Feng rolled her eyes at him proudly, snorted arrogantly and ignored him.

Ping'er smiled and said, "I don't know, but our grandma has also learned a lot of Chinese characters and memorized many poems these days." Everyone was surprised: "It's true that after three days of separation, I really looked at each other with admiration."

Jia Cong also wondered: "How come I don't know who taught this?"

Ping'er smiled and said, "I learned it from Aunt Qing and Aunt Qian. Grandma said I won't tell you yet, and I will become famous later."

Sister Feng blushed and spat: "Damn girl, what are you talking about? There are no rules."

Everyone laughed and said, "Even better!"

Baochai hurriedly added the word "Feng" to "Daoxiang Old Farmer" and ranked Sister Feng first. Not only was she respectful, but also because the first one was not restrained and was the easiest to say.

Even if she didn't speak well, the person behind her couldn't catch up because she wasn't good at it and it had nothing to do with her.

Li Wan smiled and said: "That's just right. Girl Feng said that the first one, Brother Cong, the most talented person in the world, will judge the merits. No one has anything to say."

Jia Cong laughed dryly. He didn't know what was good or bad. He might not even understand the poem. He said, "Sister-in-law, I want to avoid suspicion. It's up to you to judge."

Everyone nodded in agreement. If Brother Cong was asked to take the exam, he would definitely favor Bao Dai.

Li Wan smiled and agreed.

Sister Feng thought for a long time and said with a smile: "Don't laugh at me. I only have one bad word, and I don't know the rest."

Everyone laughed and said, "The more vulgar the words, the better. As you said, just get on with business."

Sister Feng said with a smile: "I think when it snows, there must be a north wind. I heard a north wind last night, and I came up with a saying, 'The north wind is strong all night.' Can it be caused?"

After hearing this, everyone looked at each other and smiled and said, "Although this sentence is rough, you can't see the bottom of it. This is exactly how to start a poem."

Not only is it good, but it also leaves a lot of ground for future generations. It starts with this sentence. Old farmer Daoxiang, write it down quickly and continue. "

Jia Cong felt a little uneasy. This is okay, so is I.

Seeing that he was about to speak, Baochai smiled and said, "Does Cong'er want to test his skills?"

Seeing everyone looking at him, Jia Cong instantly gave up and hurriedly waved his hands and said: "How can a man break his word and not do what he said he would do but not do it? I only brought my eyes and ears to ask for advice from the sisters."

Everyone laughed and said, "Hey, it's rare for Brother Cong to be humble."

Just listen to Li Wanlian say: "The snow is still falling when I open the door. When you enter the mud, it will be pure white..."

Xiang Ling said: "I cherish Qiong Yao. I want to flourish withered grass..."

Tanchun said: "I have no intention of decorating the wilted sweet potato. The price is high and the village brews it well..."

Everyone joined together one after another, like flowing clouds and flowing water, without any pause, and the interest was extremely high. And today, Jia Cong was here, so he tried his best to avoid being outdone by others.

After a round of fighting, Li Wan took the initiative to retreat and watch the wine. Xiangyun was full of literary thoughts today. He fought against Baochai, Baoqin and Daiyu alone, and he did not fall behind.

Suddenly I heard Daiyu laugh and say: "The fragrance of Qinmei is chewable..."

Baochai smiled and said, "That's good. It lives up to the sika deer meat you just tasted." He added, "It's so delicious when you're drunk with bamboo."

Jia Cong saw several people rushing to join poems, and he looked confused when he heard them. He almost didn't understand them. It seemed that they were all sentences describing scenes, and he didn't know what the deep meaning was.

Little did he know that this kind of rhythmic couplets composed by many people often has a competitive meaning, that is, everyone pursues the neatness, gorgeousness and novelty of the poems, strives to perfectly match the sentences of the person in front, and creates problems for the people behind.

Except for the first and last couplets, all the middle couplets use contrast, and each sentence must also follow the pattern of flat and oblique pairs.

Due to too many restrictions, it is easy to appear rigid, and there have always been few famous articles.

Moreover, it was written by many people, so it is more difficult to unify the content, artistic conception, and thoughts. It is just a piece of music, and it is not a good poem.

Over there, Xiangyun was lying in Baochai's arms, smiling softly.

Daiyu also pushed her to follow the couplet and said: "You also have a time when your talents are exhausted. Is there anything else you can chew on?"

Baochai pushed her up and said, "If you have the ability, I will only obey you if you use up all the rhymes of 'Er Xiao'."

Xiangyun stood up and said with a smile: "I'm not writing poetry, but I'm trying to save my life."

Although he didn't understand Jia Cong's poem just now, he saw most of the Xiangyun couplets and said with a smile: "Sister Yun is quick in thinking and well-spoken. I admire her."

Xiangyun rolled her eyes at him and said, "I'm just hypocritical. I don't want you to praise me."

Jia Cong laughed and retreated, thinking to himself, is this girl still angry with me because of what happened that day, so she bumped into her, is it my fault?
Tanchun said: "It hasn't been confiscated yet."

After hearing this, Li Wan said: "I will be happy today..."

Li Qi accepted the sentence and said: "Wish Shun Yao a poem."

Li Wan said: "That's enough, that's enough! Although I haven't finished the rhyme, it wouldn't be good if the remaining words are twisted and used."

After that, everyone came to comment in detail. Du Xiangyun said with a smile: "This is all the result of that piece of venison."

Li Wan smiled and said: "After reviewing each sentence, everyone is still angry, but Baoyu failed again."

Judging from the whole poem, except for Baoyu who only has two sentences together, Xiuyan, Li Wen and Li Qi also have very few connections. It's just that they are guests from afar, so Baoyu can only bear the title of failed scholar.

Baoyu was a little frustrated after failing repeatedly, and he didn't want to fail in front of Jia Cong, so he said, "Sister-in-law, at least I still have a few words to say, but brother Cong has none, so he should be considered a failure."

Everyone laughed.

Jia Cong glared at him and said, "Is there any saying that someone who failed to take the exam will fail?"

Baoyu said triumphantly: "Then you just ran away from the battle, which is worse than dying generously in battle."

The girls laughed and booed, and Baoyu's statement made some sense.

Only Bao and Dai smiled and said nothing.

Jia Cong said, "It's a joke. I'm afraid that I'll suppress you if I write a poem. It's just about snow scenes. If I really write it, I'm afraid you won't want to sing about snow in your life."

Everyone hurriedly said: "If there is a good poem, just write it. We would rather not sing about snow in our lives."

Jia Cong didn't want to get such meaningless limelight, but seeing Bao and Dai insisting on it, he had no choice but to say: "Listen, "Qinyuan Spring·Snow", the scenery of the North, thousands of miles of ice, thousands of miles of snow... …”

Everyone was shocked and listened with bated breath. The artistic conception of the first two sentences alone was far beyond everyone else's. A vast northern land with heavy snowfall appeared in front of them.

Jia Cong looked at the admiration and admiration of everyone, and felt secretly happy in his heart. He felt good for a while while copying poems, and he felt good all the time.

"...On a clear day, it looks particularly enchanting when you look at the red dress and plain clothes." Jia Cong finished chanting in a manly voice.

"Good! What a poem!" Everyone praised in unison. This is the poem written by the general.

Bao and Dai looked at each other, feeling happy and proud at the same time. The girl's vanity was greatly satisfied.

"There are so many beauties in the country that they have attracted countless heroes to bow down. I cherish the Qin Emperor and the Han Dynasty, and slightly lose their literary talent; Tang Zong... um..."

Jia Cong suddenly stopped, like a duck being pinched by the neck, gaping and stopped abruptly.

Because he suddenly thought, how could there be Song Zu and Genghis Khan in this time and space? If he said it, how would he explain it?

"Where's the back?" Everyone was listening intoxicated and asked hurriedly.

Jia Cong smiled awkwardly: "Well, I'm not thinking well today, let's talk about it next time."

Daiyu muttered: "There is a time when a great talent will run out of talent?"

"Hehe, no matter how strong a person is, there are times when he fails. It's not surprising." Jia Cong said with a smile.

(End of this chapter)