Reborn in the last years of Kangxi

Chapter 661 Nine Rice Dumplings ([-]) (seeking a monthly ticket)

Those two jars of rotten pickles did not make it to the table in the end.

In other words, it’s okay to say that if something goes wrong, isn’t the gain outweigh the loss?

Seeing the faces of the cooks turned green, Cao Yong still asked them to throw away the two jars of pickled vegetables and replace them with pickled mustard greens from the kitchen.

Cao Yong didn't forget to tell them, don't cut them into shreds and mix them with sesame oil as usual; just wash them with clean water and cut them into finger-thick strips.

Although it was said that some stoves in the kitchen were already in use when it was time to eat, it was rare for Cao Yong to come to the kitchen in person, and everyone flattered and fawned on them.

Because Wu En didn't buy the two jars of pickles, he felt uneasy, lowered his head, and stood in front of Cao Yong, not knowing how to apologize.

Seeing Cao Yong, he smiled and said to her: "The errand was done well. I can't blame you for the pickle... This pickle is easy to grow. I remember that one year, the mansion seemed to be damaged several times because of the rain. Crock pickles."

Wu En was still a little ashamed, lowered his head and said: "I should look it up, I have enjoyed a few years of blessings in the mansion, and my slaves will become useless people who don't know how to use food."

She was a slave girl of the Prince's Mansion in Balin County. When Kangxi came to Cao's house in 48, she was still a little girl in her teens. Now she is seventeen or eighteen in the blink of an eye.

Time is like water, time is like a shuttle.

Cao Yongdao: "I heard from Zijing that you have a good abacus, and you are also good at keeping accounts. This is already much better than others."

Thinking of his mother entering the palace, Cao Yong asked: "By the way, how is your wife learning Mongolian?"

"It's just what you said. My wife was still embarrassed when I went this time. It's against the rules to bring slaves there." Wu En said.

*
Rehe Palace, Xiyu, Songhe Qingyue.

The Empress Dowager looked at Li Shi who was sitting on the stool, and took her hand, with a smile on her face, she looked happier than when she was in the palace.

The old man took a while to say a sentence in Mongolian, and asked the maid in the palace to translate it into Chinese for Mrs. Li to listen to.Despite this, Li Shi can still feel her loving heart.

Although he didn't know why the Empress Dowager treated him differently, Li Shi treated her heart with respect, and was sincerely close to the Empress Dowager, respecting her as a parent.

In addition to making embroidered screens for the Queen Mother to celebrate her birthday, Mrs. Li also sewed a tunic for the Queen Mother.Although it is not as exquisite as the ones in the palace, the soft and fine cotton material is also selected, which is very comfortable to the touch.

This time when I entered the palace to pay my respects, Mrs. Li brought a set to show respect.

The queen mother was very happy to see it, took it and stroked it, her face was very kind.

After the greeting ceremony was over, the Empress Dowager pulled Mrs. Li and began to talk about everyday life.

For example, is it the first time she has been outside the Great Wall, does she feel cool or not, whether her son and daughter-in-law are filial or not, and so on.

Mrs. Li listened and answered carefully, occasionally adding a simple Mongolian sentence, which made the Queen Mother even more cheerful.

In the Queen Mother's words, Horqin began to be mentioned, as if recalling old events.

Concubine Yi was sitting on the chair next to her, with a smile on her face, she was already on pins and needles.I'm afraid that when the queen mother is happy, she will say something unscrupulous, which will fall into her ears and cause trouble for herself.

Taking advantage of the time when the Empress Dowager shut up, Concubine Yi smiled and said in Mongolian: "Empress Dowager, it's rare for Mrs. Cao to come to the palace. Why don't we keep guests and let the concubine prepare the dinner table for the evening? How about being generous?" Shameless, please give your concubine a bite, Queen Mother."

Although Li Shi didn't know what Concubine Yi was talking about, seeing her talking and looking at him made her feel quite uneasy.

Among the accompanying concubines, Concubine Yi is the most respected.In the mouth of the women's family in the capital, this lady is very powerful, which made Mrs. Li a little afraid.

The Empress Dowager wanted to chat with Li Shi more about Horqin, but after hearing Yifei's suggestion, it was just what she wanted, and she let her go with a smile.

Concubine Wang and Lady Xi were originally standing beside Concubine Yi, when they saw her go out, they also bowed to the Queen Mother and followed her out.

After leaving the Empress Dowager's Palace, Concubine Yi turned around and said with a smile to Concubine Wang and Mrs. Xi: "Mrs. Cao looks very docile. Aren't the two younger sisters relatives of Mrs. Cao? They are also close if they want to come and see each other?"

Not knowing what her intention was, Wang Pin and Mrs. Xi, Mrs. Chen didn't know how to respond for a moment.

Concubine Yi knew that the two of them were cautious, she frowned and shook her head, turned around and left first.

Mrs. Xi hesitated for a moment, and asked in a low voice: "Madam, is it possible that Madam Yi has some quarrel with her cousin? Madam Yi, it seems that she is not as calm as usual."

"Who knows. If you don't have anything to do with us, it's better not to ask a few questions." Wang Pin said.

"Yes, my younger sister understands. Seeing the [-]th elder brother follow her, my younger sister feels hopeful. As long as Yinxi can grow up in peace, my younger sister will not suffer in the palace for nothing." Xi Guiren led With a bit of a sigh, he said.

Speaking of which, she was favored the year she entered the palace, and she would not see the emperor for the next three to five months.

It's just that how many women in the harem can do as they please?
Wang Pin said in a low voice: "Sister will rot these words in her heart in the future. Think about everything, after all, having an elder brother beside me is much stronger than others."

Mrs. Xi agreed and left with Wang Bin.

Concubine Yi had praised Haikou in front of the Queen Mother, so naturally she worked extra hard and ordered a menu for the dining room.

Except for half of them that the Queen Mother likes, there are also a few dishes with Mongolian style, and a few dishes with Huaiyang style.A few dairy products, some Nandian, as well as white wine and fruit wine were added to the pastry banquet. Not only did they look decent, but they also felt that they were arranged with care.

Seeing that there was still a while before leaving the meal, Concubine Yi rewashed, sat in front of the dressing table, and reapplied her makeup.

She has been in the palace for forty years, and she is already over fifty, but due to proper maintenance, she still looks like forty.

Originally, she was a little complacent, but thinking about Li's birth in her 40s, Concubine Yi also felt a little envious.

She sat facing the mirror for a while, and then sent a servant to the Empress Dowager's Palace to check to see if the emperor had passed.

After a while, the servant came back to report that the emperor had come to pay his respects to the Empress Dowager's palace, but he had not yet come out.

"As expected." Concubine Yi thought to herself, she didn't get up immediately to go to the Empress Dowager's Palace.Although she claimed to be smart, she never dared to show off in front of Kangxi.She was afraid that if she lost her composure, she would attract Kangxi's suspicion, so she asked someone to inquire again.

After a quarter of an hour, there was news that Kangxi had driven from the Empress Dowager's Palace and returned to Sizhi Bookstore.

Concubine Yi breathed a sigh of relief, but also faintly disappointed.She hasn't seen Kangxi for a few days...

Concubine Yi's guess was correct, Kangxi had indeed heard that Li Shi was entering the palace, so she pretended to be the queen mother to pay her respects, and came to have a "chance encounter" with her.

When he really saw Mrs. Li, Kangxi had nothing to say.Thinking of Cao Yong fainting outside Sizhi Bookstore a few days ago, he finally felt somewhat ashamed.

Li shi lowered her head, how could she have thought that the emperor would think so much.

As a married woman, in front of the empress dowager and concubine, she dared to answer a few words; when seeing the emperor, apart from kneeling down to pay his respects, she could only lower her eyebrows and keep her eyes low.

When the queen mother saw that Kangxi was coming, she also mentioned Horqin to him.In addition to missing my hometown, I also feel a little sour in my heart.On Li's side, she didn't know her own background at all, and she didn't know that Horqin's blood also flowed through her body.

The Empress Dowager has not been in good health for the past few years, and she has talked to Kangxi several times to see how to compensate Li Shi.

Without losing the face of the imperial court, and without wronging Mrs. Li, the Queen Mother was able to explain to the Empress Dowager and the others even when she went underground.

For a while, how could it be so wishful.

As a courtier who was born in Baoyi, Cao Yin was very honorable to be promoted to uncle without making military achievements; Cao Yong was young, and he was showing his position, so it was not easy to give grace at will.

The empress dowager lived her whole life, except for the first emperor who swallowed his anger when he was on the throne, after becoming the empress dowager, she always followed her heart.

Seeing that there was no movement from Kangxi's side, she used her own way to treat Mrs. Li kindly, that is, to reward Li Shi when she got the opportunity, all kinds of gems and jewelry, antique vases, expensive clothing materials, all kinds of good things.

The same is true today, the Empress Dowager has asked people to prepare several sets of head jewelry.

When Kangxi got up to drive out, the Empress Dowager asked someone to bring a one-foot-high jewelry box, pushed it down beside Li Shi, and said with a smile: "These mourners are still on hold, you can take it to your daughter-in-law and granddaughter-in-law. "

After she finished speaking in Mongolian, the old lady translated it into Chinese and told it to Mrs. Li.

For the rewards from the palace, Mrs. Li has been a little lenient in these few years.Every time she repeatedly shied away, the queen mother still insisted on giving it.

Even so, Mrs. Li did not dare to feel greedy, so she hurriedly stood up and said goodbye.

The Queen Mother forbade her not to accept it, and continued to babble.

After hearing this, the nurse standing beside her smiled and said to Li: "Mrs. Cao, the queen mother told you to keep it. If you don't take it, people will send it to your mansion. It's the queen mother's kindness. The old man likes your needlework. As I said, if you think these jewelry are valuable, you can visit the palace a few more times in the future and do two more sets of needlework, and the old lady will be happy with the Queen Mother."

At this point, Mrs. Li had no choice but to thank En and accept it.

At this time, footsteps came from outside, and a servant came in to report that it was Concubine Yi who had arrived.

The Empress Dowager nodded and called for a pass, only then did Concubine Yi walk in with a smile, and said in Mongolian: "The Empress Dowager, the meal has been prepared, when will you pass the meal?"

The Empress Dowager glanced at Li Shi with a smile, and ordered Concubine Yi to deliver the meals...

*
Cao's other courtyard, east courtyard, Shangfang.

Cao Yong and his wife have already got the news that Mrs. Li was left in the palace by the queen mother and would not come back until after dinner; Cao Yin also sent someone to report back, because he was busy praying for rain and would not come back for dinner. Ask someone to send a food box over.

Chu Yu looked at the rice, black pastry, and half a plate of mustard sticks on the kang table, and asked with a smile, "My son-in-law went to the kitchen for a while, just to pick up these?"

Cao Yong smiled and nodded, with a bit of pride on his face, he said: "Today's dinner, everyone in the family will have a delicious and sweet meal."

Just now when they came out of the kitchen, several cooks specifically asked if the steamed stuffed bun and rice would be given away.

Cao Yong has already seen it in the kitchen, and the last one is white rice and white noodles.It's rare to make this once, so I naturally ordered everyone to deliver it, just as a snack before dinner.

Seeing her husband talking about dinner with a little complacency, Chu Yu was a little puzzled.

Cao Yong had already washed his hands, crossed his legs on the kang, took a cornbread made of wheat bran flour, looked at it a few times, and brought it to his mouth for a bite.

hard to swallow.

I can't tell what it feels like, like wood dregs, but not as soft as wood dregs.It smells like wheat, but when you eat it, it is different.

Cao Yong's face was stiff, but he still chewed and swallowed the mouthful.

Seeing her husband's strange expression, Chu Yu felt a little curious when she looked at the "strange" food. She took a piece of pastry, broke off a bite, and put it in her mouth as well.

Cao Yong hurriedly stretched out his arm to stop him, saying: "You are still drinking the medicine, try it in a few days."

Chu Yu stretched out her finger, and discussed, "My son-in-law, just take a bite, or else my son-in-law and my sons will eat it all, and I don't know what it tastes like yet."

When Cao Yong saw it, he nodded and said: "Then eat a bite of corn bread, and don't even think about the rice. This is made for the children to see and smell. It's okay to eat a bite or two. If you really eat a bowl and a half A bowl, it’s not something an ordinary stomach can bear.”

After hearing her husband finish speaking, Chu Yu smiled and brought the broken cornbread to her mouth, took a small bite, and chewed carefully, with a strange expression on her face.

After eating, she raised her head, and said to Cao Yong: "Forehead, is this made of bran? It's a bit strange to eat... and it's a bit harsh..."

Cao Yong took the chopsticks, put a pickle in front of her, and said: "Take a bite and see if it will be better."

Chu Yu took a bite of the pickles as she said, and then put the remaining half of the steamed bun into her mouth, chewed it a few times, swallowed it, and said, "This will be much better than before, with a salty taste."

Cao Yong took the cornbread and said: "This is made of flour ground from wheat bran. It is bought from a grocery store. Maybe people from better families will not eat this; but poor people, maybe even this I can’t even eat, otherwise, how could there be people who sell their children. This year, there is a severe drought in Gyeonggi, and in autumn and winter, I don’t know how many families want their wives to be separated.”

Speaking of this, Cao Yong couldn't help shaking his head, as if it was a bit far-fetched.

Obviously intending to get some unpalatable food to make the two sons "remember the bitterness and think about the sweetness", but why is it involved in the national economy and the people's livelihood again, I seem to be too free.

Hearing her husband mention these things, Chu Yu was not moved, hesitated for a moment, and said, "How about reducing the land rent for our farms? It's not easy for the tenants. It's okay for other people's houses, but if ours If our tenants are selling their sons and daughters, our consciences will be disturbed."

"It's a good idea to reduce rent. It's just that our family has a lot of land and well fields. Unless the drought is too severe, otherwise it will be fine. I will write to Manager He tomorrow and let him look around. If there is a reduction in production It’s great, it’s good to reduce it appropriately.” Cao Yong said.

When Chu Yu heard this, she couldn't help being curious, and said, "My son-in-law, although I haven't been in charge of the family for a few years, I have also discovered that this capital city has experienced nine droughts in ten years, why don't other people's houses drill more wells, wouldn't it be better?"

Cao Yong shook his head and said: "It's not easy to say! If you drill a shallow well, it won't be very useful; if you dig a deep well, it will cost a lot of money. In some places, a village has only one well because it can't be drilled. When the Eight Banners entered the customs, most of the land was in the horse racing circle. Later, it was resold, and most of it was concentrated in the hands of officials, businessmen and wealthy households. They bought land just to earn rent and save money. How could they be willing to spend money to dig wells? , is the cost of a few acres of good land.”

After hearing this, Chu Yu remembered something and said, "By the way, Prince Consort, when Uncle Ning was alive, didn't the Ministry of Industry drill wells in Gyeonggi?"

"Ministry of Industry? But whoever comes forward from the government, how can you trust it? A lot of money was spent, most of which were greedy for ink, and the people dug shallow water wells, and it would be great if they lasted for a year." Cao Yong said here , a little depressed.

I seem to know too much, which is a bit boring.

The husband and wife were talking, Wu En and Little Walnut had already gone to the front yard to pick up Tianyou and Hang Seng back.

The foreheads of the two younger brothers were covered with sweat, and their bodies were already dirty.

Chu Yu helps to fetch water and clean up for Tianyou and Hang Seng.

Xu Shi was naughty for a while and felt a little hungry. Seeing that there was food on the kang table, the eyes of the younger brothers gleamed.As soon as they wiped their hands here, they came to the edge of the kang and asked Chuyu, "Mom, is dinner ready?"

Chu Yu glanced at her husband, saw that he hadn't said anything else, so she nodded, and asked someone to carry the two brothers onto the kang, and put bibs on them.

Cao Yong faced south and sat in the middle, Chuyu sat on the east side of the Kang table, Tianyou and Hang Sheng sat on the west side of the Kang table.

Seeing that besides the rice, there was only a plate of black pastry and a plate of pickled vegetables on the table. Neither brother took chopsticks and waited honestly for the food to be served.

Cao Yong picked up the chopsticks, pointed to the plate of steamed buns and pickled vegetables, and said, "Let's eat." He said, took two steamed buns, and put one in each bowl for Tianyou and Hangsheng.

Seeing their father handing over the pastry, Tianyou and Hang Sheng held up small bowls with both hands, and took them respectfully, not forgetting to say "Thank you, Father, for the food".

However, when they put down the bowl, the two brothers didn't know what to say, and turned their heads to look at Chu Yu.

Because it was her husband who took the trouble to teach her sons, Chu Yu didn't want to talk too much, so she said with a smile: "Eat quickly, after playing all afternoon, aren't you hungry too?"

Seeing what their mother said, Tianyou and Hengsheng looked at their father again, then imitated his example, grabbed the black pastry in the bowl with their hands, and put it in their mouths.

After taking a bite, the two brothers moved in the same way, that is, frowning, stretching out their little hands to their mouths, wanting to spit it out.

However, Cao Yong looked over with a look, neither Tianyou nor Hang Seng dared to spit it out.

"Didn't the master teach it? 'Who knows that every piece of Chinese food is hard work'? This is food, used to fill the stomach, not something to play with." When Cao Yong said this, he put a strip of pickled vegetables to his mouth. inside.

Needless to say, it is a pain to eat this wheat bran steamed bread alone, but it is much better to eat it with pickles.

In addition to the rough cooked noodles in the mouth, there is the taste of pickles, which can be swallowed.

The two little brothers covered their mouths, their faces flushed, and it took a lot of determination to swallow what was in their mouths.Looking at the cornbread in his hand again, he felt a little apprehensive.

"Father, my son doesn't..." Tianyou said, just about to say that he was not hungry and that he would not eat this meal, but then he remembered what his father said, not to lie to your parents, or you will be punished, so he changed his words and bowed his head: " My son really doesn't like this."

Although he only insisted on a mouthful, but rarely dared to express his opinion, Cao Yong felt relieved.

Hang Seng heard what his brother said, and he also said: "Father, this is too bad to eat. Father, don't eat it. Your throat hurts. You should eat white pastry."

Cao Yong held up the cornbread in his hand and said to his sons: "If the family is such a black pastry in the future, will you eat it?"

Tianyou and Hang Seng were really in a dilemma when they heard this question, they didn't know how to answer it for a while.

After all, Tianyou was smarter, saw the rice bowl in front of him, held it up and said: "My lord father, can I eat without eating bread?"

Seeing that his brother had an idea, Hang Seng nodded his head vigorously and looked at Cao Yong desperately.

Seeing their strange looks, Cao Yong also felt that "my family has a son who has just grown up".

Those who are small will be careful.

Cao Yong smiled and nodded, pointed to their rice bowls, and said: "Eat, eat."

I'm not afraid of scratching their little white teeth, because the sand and stones in them have been picked out by the kitchen; I'm not afraid of them eating up their stomachs.

Cao Yong had already tasted this meal, but he didn't stick to it.

Seeing their father talking, Tianyou and Hang Sheng didn't have to eat black meat anymore, they happily picked up their chopsticks and scratched the rice in the bowl.

As soon as the stroke was in their mouths, both of them changed their expressions, which were different from when they just ate the corn bread.

Seeing that his sons were like this, Cao Yong couldn't help but laugh in his heart when he reacted similarly to himself.

He suppressed a smile and said with a straight face, "What's wrong? Picky eaters again? So what if there are only these two things in the future?"

Tianyou put down his chopsticks, and said nothing embarrassingly, he neither dared to spit out the half mouthful of food in his mouth, nor could he swallow it, his appearance was pitiful.

When Hang Seng saw him, he remembered his elder brother's appearance just now, swallowed the food in his mouth, pointed to the plate of pickles on the table, and said to Cao Yong: "Father, don't eat bread, don't eat, can you eat this?"

Cao Yong held back his smile, nodded, and said, "Eat."

Hang Seng still remembers to give Cao Yong one first, the second for his brother, and the third for himself.

After chewing two mouthfuls, before swallowing, Hang Seng burst into tears. Looking at Cao Yong, he sobbed and said, "Father... Xian..."

Chu Yu saw him crying, Tianyou's eyes were also red, and her heart ached after all, she hurriedly brought an empty bowl to Hang Seng's mouth, and said, "Just spit out the salt, don't eat it..."

Hang Seng looked at his father, then at his mother, still pouted and swallowed, and said in a low voice, "No waste..."

Seeing his younger brother like this, Tianyou also blushed, swallowed the half mouthful of food in his mouth, and tears also fell down "ba da", "ba da".

Seeing his sons like this, Cao Yong sighed, turned his head and said to Xi Cai who was standing at the door: "Let's get out and ask someone to set up a meal."

Xicai watched Tianyou and Hengchang grow up, seeing how wronged they were, her heart ached.After listening to Cao Yong's instructions, he immediately responded, removed the corn-bread pickles, and put the prepared dinner on the table.

In addition to the staple food of rice, flower rolls, and buttered buns, the dishes tonight are extraordinarily rich.Usually the whole family eats five or six dishes, but today there are ten or so dishes, including chicken, duck, fish and meat, and three or four dishes of vegetables.

Chu Yu took out the handkerchief, wiped away the tears of Tianyou and Hengsheng, and persuaded: "Don't cry, your father just wants you to know that life is difficult, so that you can be sensible earlier."

When the two brothers heard what their mother said, they both gave a "hmm" and nodded.

After eating less than half of the Wotou, looking at the food in front of me, it is simply delicious in the world. Cao Yong stretched out his chopsticks and said, "Eat it."

Even though it was delicious, he still hadn't forgotten his previous task, he picked up chopsticks of stir-fried mutton with chopsticks for Tianyou, and two pieces of duck for Hang Seng.

Perhaps compared with the previous ones, these two dishes looked less appreciable. Tianyou and Hengsheng thanked their father obediently, and ate them.

Chu Yu looked at her son and then at her husband, feeling relieved.

Cao Yong picked up two more chopsticks and fried the small rapeseed, and put it in the bowls of Tianyou and Hengsheng.

Tianyou and Hengsheng took a look at their father and obediently ate.

Cao Yong nodded and asked, "Is it unpalatable?"

Tianyou hesitated for a moment, then whispered: "It smells like vegetables..."

Cao Yong said: "The taste of vegetables is right. You want to grow up, but if you don't eat vegetables, you will become dwarfs. In the future, no one wants to be a soldier, let alone a general."

The latter sentence is for Hang Seng.

After hearing this, Hang Seng took the initiative to pick up a chopstick of rapeseed, and ate it with big mouthfuls.

"Father..." Tianyou put down his chopsticks, looked at Cao Yong with a solemn expression on his face, and said, "My son will be a farmer in the future... grow delicious food, and don't let people eat black pastry and belts." Delicious rice..."

He had only heard Hang Seng say that he would become a general when he grew up, but this was the first time Tianyou said what he wanted to do.

It's a great ambition, Cao Yong smiled and nodded, and said: "Okay, then you can't be picky eaters in the future, if you are not strong, how can you grow food for people?"

When Tianyou spoke out his "ideal", he was worried that his father would object and scold him, but he did not expect that he actually agreed, and he was overjoyed.He nodded vigorously, and said: "My lord, my son understands, from now on, he won't be picky about food anymore..."

Hearing what his brother said, Hang Seng nodded and said, "Don't be picky eaters, you want to grow taller..."

Seeing how teachable the sons are, Cao Yong also added a smile on his face.

Chu Yu got up from her seat, took two steps, sat behind her sons, and said softly, "Besides not being picky about food, you two should also know where the food comes from."

Tianyou was puzzled when he heard this, turned his head and asked, "Mother, didn't the farmer grow it?"

Chu Yu nodded with a smile, and said, "It's true that the farmer planted it, but why did it come to our house?"

When the two brothers were asked, they both shook their heads, expressing that they didn't know.

"It's your grandfather and father working in the yamen all day long, earning the salary and Lumi. What you wear and what you eat are all earned by your grandfather and father, and it's your grandmother who worries about and arranges for you." People cut clothes and make meals for you." Chu Yu said softly.

"From now on, the son will beat the grandfather's back..." Tianyou said in a low voice.

"Then, then, I will blow medicine to my father..." Hang Seng said.

Cao Yong looked at his wife with a bit of surprise.

Chu Yu touched the heads of the two sons, and said, "You must keep it in your heart, and you must listen to the elders in the future, and be filial to your grandparents and father..."

*
The Xinggong, the official office of the six retinues.

Cao Yin watched the boy bring out black corn bread and pickled vegetables from the food box, with a strange expression on his face...

*
There are still the last 24 hours, click the "recommended monthly pass" below, in case there is any pinch, please. . .

(End of this chapter)