Border Cook

Chapter 585 Guanyin Soil

"Lord Fan, you are too kind." Xia Mingyue said hurriedly, "Lord Fan has done everything he can to find out the truth for me. I should thank you. If you say you are ashamed, I will be even more at a loss."

"Don't worry, Master Fan. If an enemy comes, we will fight him. If a flood comes, we will block it with earth. I have done my best to prepare the food. I think the emperor can see my intentions. Even if he is not very happy, it will probably be fine."

"At worst, there's still Qi Yan..."

Lu Qiyan had made great achievements in the army. Logically speaking, it was only natural for him to ask for an imperial decree for his wife. Even if she failed to please the emperor, he would not really blame her.

Xia Mingyue didn't say much about this, but Fan Pingyang saw through it and nodded, "Madam Xia, I understand what you mean. Then Madam Xia, please think carefully about what food to make. When it is ready, tell someone to tell me so that I can send someone to deliver it to the capital as fast as possible."

"Okay." Xia Mingyue agreed.

All that needed to be said had been said, and seeing that it was getting late, Fan Pingyang stood up and said goodbye.

Xia Mingyue packed a portion for Fan Pingyang based on the types and quantities of snacks she had just given to Pei Chenghe and Feng Maocai.

"Thank you, Madam Xia."

Fan Pingyang was extremely happy after receiving various refreshments, because his fear about the emperor's oral order had dissipated a lot. After expressing his gratitude profusely, he walked out slowly with the refreshments in his hands, heading for the county school.

After Xia Mingyue sent the people away, she asked Yinqiao and Qingju to clean up. She sat in the yard for a while, thinking about what Fan Pingyang had just said, that the emperor wanted to ask her for food.

Logically speaking, it was the Empress Dowager who rewarded her. Even if she wanted food now, it should be the Empress Dowager who asked. However, it was the Emperor who personally sent someone to pass on the message.

This is enough to show that even if the emperor did not target her, he had noticed her.

Lu Qiyan had made great achievements in the army and held a high position. The emperor must have known him, and now he specifically mentioned her name...

This matter probably has something to do with Lu Qi Yan.

Therefore, the matter of preparing food for the emperor became very delicate.

Fan Pingyang probably also noticed this, so he was extremely worried and tried to find out more.

Serving the emperor is like serving a tiger. Even if you have made great achievements in battle, the first thing you get may not be rewards, but reminders and warnings.

But if you look at it from another angle, the fact that the warning came before the military exploits is enough to show that the emperor looks at Lu Qiyan differently and is therefore extremely cautious?
Otherwise, just reward them lavishly according to the usual routine and let them enjoy unlimited glory. In this way, they will become arrogant and lose their original intention, and then you can find a few mistakes and faults and deal with them.

In this case, she really needs to think carefully about how to prepare the food...

Just as Xia Mingyue was thinking about it, Song came back from outside.

There was a thick layer of dust on her trouser legs from the knees down. It was dry now, so she didn't dare to pat it away for fear that the dust would fly everywhere. She just took a towel, soaked it in water, wrung it out until no water dripped from it, and then wiped the dust off her trouser legs bit by bit.

"What was Madam Song doing to get covered in so much dust?" Xia Mingyue asked with a smile. "I just went to the central kitchen to deliver some tea and cakes." Song explained, "When I entered the yard, I didn't look carefully at my feet and accidentally stepped on a half brick. I staggered several steps and stepped into the pile of dirt, which is why I am in this state."

"Then be careful next time." Xia Mingyue reminded with a smile.

"Yeah." Song laughed at herself, "It's a good thing I stood firm. If I didn't, I would have fallen into the dirt and eaten the dust."

"It's okay to eat dirt. We all ate dirt when the war was severe in the early years. Just think of it as a reminder of the past." Zhou on the side added.

These words caused everyone to burst into laughter, and even Xia Mingyue couldn't help laughing.

After a moment, a light flashed in my mind.

Eat dirt, remember the bitterness and think of the sweetness...

She knew what kind of food to prepare for the emperor!

With the idea in mind, Xia Mingyue started to put it into practice immediately and asked Yinqiao and Qingju to find some newly harvested wheat this year.

Wash the wheat clean, soak it in clean water overnight to allow it to expand and swell completely. The next morning, take out the soaked wheat, put it into a basket covered with a cloth, spray it with enough water to ensure that the wheat grains remain moist, and then cover the soaked wheat with a layer of cloth to completely protect it from light.

After finishing these, Xia Mingyue put the basket in a cool and ventilated place, and started to go out to look for another thing - Guanyin soil.

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

There are different legends about Guanyin soil in many places, but most of them are very similar. It is said that there was a place with a strange disease, and no matter how good the doctor was, he could not diagnose it, let alone cure it. People had no choice but to go to the Guanyin Temple to worship Guanyin every day, praying that Guanyin could heal everyone.

Guanyin was moved by people's sincerity, so she made cakes with the soil she was sitting on and flour, and fed them to the patients, who would then recover.

Therefore, this white soil that can cure diseases and save lives and can also be taken orally is called Guanyin soil.

Putting aside these legends, Guanyin soil is kaolin, which contains certain minerals. If eaten, it will indeed enhance people's sense of fullness and will not make people feel hungry. Therefore, in years of disasters and famines, it will become the last choice for people who have no food to fill their stomachs.

But at the same time, because kaolin lacks various nutrients necessary for the human body, if used for a long time, it will cause malnutrition and other conditions, causing certain damage to the human body.

Therefore, in years of good harvest and people living and working in peace and contentment, Guanyin Soil will not be chosen by the people. Only some terminally ill patients, after no other medicine can cure them, will regard it as their last hope and try one or two times.

It is precisely because of this that Guanyin soil is not in high demand now. After Xia Mingyue made some inquiries, she found usable Guanyin soil on a small slope on the north side of Jinqiu County.

After finding a place and determining the quality of the Guanyin soil, Xia Mingyue found the right tools and started digging halfway up the hillside.

Guanyin soil has a certain viscosity because it contains many minerals. Therefore, even though the weather is dry at this time and the surrounding soil is very soft, the Guanyin soil chiseled out by Xia Mingyue is still in large chunks.

Xia Mingyue put all the lumps of Guanyin soil into a bamboo basket and moved it onto the carriage.

The one who came out with Xia Mingyue to look for Guanyin soil was Zhuang Cui.