Dream of the Red Chamber: Start by gaining Zhao Yun's martial prowess, and be ennobled in a sin

After Jia Jing finished speaking, he got up and left the ancestral hall. He did not attend the banquet that followed.

…………

Over the next eight or nine days, Jia Jing read the intelligence sent by Zhuque and gradually gained some understanding of the Ba Shang camp and the Jingnan military merits, while also settling matters concerning the clan.

In the past few days, he not only visited most of the clansmen in Rongning Street, but also delivered a lot of money and food to poor and widowed families.

They also sent people to invite craftsmen and renowned teachers to begin the reconstruction and reorganization of the clan school.

Under Jia Jing's supervision, the clan school should be able to complete its reconstruction in about five or six days.

Training courses were also initially set up, and several experienced old shopkeepers and managers were invited from Aunt Xue's business to serve as consultants and teach the first batch of clansmen. The plan was to complete the course and take an assessment in three months.

In a short time, the Jia clan members mobilized, and the entire Ningrong Street presented a thriving scene.

Jia Jing's reputation within the clan was at its zenith, unparalleled for a time.

On this morning,

Because he stayed up late reading history books yesterday, Jia Jing slept in today, which was quite rare for him.

I must say, sleeping in the Jia family mansion was much more comfortable and reassuring than staying at the border!

suddenly,

Jia Jing felt an itch in his nose, which startled him from his sweet dream.

Jia Jing knew without guessing that it must be that little rascal Xiao Jiao'er who was up to no good. She was the only one in the courtyard who dared to come in and disturb Jia Jing while he was sleeping.

"Hehe! Third Master, Third Master, get up quickly, it's snowing outside. Get up and play with me, I want to go out and have a snowball fight."

With his eyes closed, Jia Jing simply reached out and pulled the little ball-shaped garment from under the bed into his arms.

Pretending to be annoyed, he said:

"You were a little afraid of me for the first two days after you got back, but now you don't follow any rules in the yard at all, coming to disturb my sleep first thing in the morning!"

"Hehe, Third Master treats me well, so I'm not afraid! Get up!"

"Sister Xiangling and Sister Xiaohong are both up. The heating in the house is on. How about we have barbecue and hot pot today since it's snowing?" Xiaojiao'er's face was full of smiles.

Jia Jing was so disturbed by her antics that he lost his sleepiness. He threw off the covers, got up, and opened the attic window to see that it was indeed snowing heavily outside.

It's only the end of the ninth lunar month, and the first snow has come so early. The climate in the Han Dynasty has indeed been somewhat abnormal in recent years.

The young girl walked to Jia Jing's side. She was still young and short, and even from the windowsill, she couldn't see what was happening outside.

Instead, a gust of biting cold wind blew against her delicate face, making her shiver.

"Silly girl, you must be cold. Go warm yourself up by the charcoal fire."

Jia Jing smiled and, as he spoke, buttoned up the front of the little girl's jacket and tucked her collar up.

The temperature inside was actually quite high, with a heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed) and several hand warmers and foot warmers placed there in the morning.

"Third Master, aren't you cold? You're only wearing so little."

The little boy touched Jia Jing's big hand with his small hand and was surprised to find that it was still warm.

With Jia Jing's current physique, he certainly wouldn't be afraid of the cold. He possesses the combined physiques of Zhao Yun, Lü Bu, and Xiang Yu. Saying he's invulnerable to swords and spears would be an exaggeration, but it's absolutely true that he's impervious to heat and cold.

"I'm an adult, and adults aren't afraid of the cold!" Jia Jing said.

"No! Sister Xiangling is an adult too, but her feet aren't as warm as mine when she sleeps!" the little boy retorted.

"That's because she's not grown up yet! Little one, you must eat well, if you're healthy you won't be afraid of the cold!" Jia Jing instructed.

After saying that, Jia Jing picked up a fork and propped up the window to let some air into the room.

"Third Master, get up! I'll help you change your clothes!" At this moment, Xiangling walked in with a book of Tang poems in her hand.

Now that she's a little more familiar with Jia Jing, she's not as afraid and reserved as before.

However, she now has a new hobby: reading poetry.

A few nights ago, Jia Jing was reading late into the night and, seeing that she was bored while serving him, he casually gave her a book of Tang poems to read and relieve her boredom.

Even though she didn't recognize many of the words in the book, she still showed great interest in it and liked to read it whenever she had free time. When Jia Jing saw this, he took some time to teach her to recite a few poems.

"Reading Tang poems again? It seems you really love poetry!" Jia Jing exclaimed, seeing her engrossed in the book.

No wonder he was the "poetry fanatic" who wrote such exquisite and interesting lines in his previous life: "It is difficult to conceal the essence, the shadow is graceful and the soul is cold."

Xiangling whispered:

"Seeing how capable you are, sir, and how you still read until late at night every day, it's clear that reading is beneficial."

"When I was with Miss Bao before, I heard her write poems and lyrics, and I thought they were first-rate."

"I'm just a maid, I don't have the same level of learning as you, sir and Miss Bao, but I still hope to learn a little poetry to entertain myself in my spare time..."

As she spoke, her bright eyes carefully observed Jia Jing's reaction.

Jia Jing smiled and tapped the rouge mark on her forehead:

"What are you looking at me for! It's a good thing you enjoy reading and want to improve yourself! Do you think I'd stop you?!"

"In the future, I will also teach the little girl some poetry to cultivate her character, so that she won't run around like a crazy girl all day long."

Xiangling smiled shyly and said:

"I can barely read myself! How can I teach a little boy!"

Jia Jing said:

"That's easy. I'll find you a teacher today and teach you first."

"You can teach the young maid later. And when other maids join the brothel, it would be best if they all learned from you. That would be a refined pursuit!"

Xiangling immediately beamed with joy and wanted to kowtow to Jia Jing.

Jia Jing stopped her. After he finished dressing, Jia Jing went outside the courtyard and saw that the world was already covered in a white expanse.

The eaves, courtyard, pavilion, and the two jujube trees in the courtyard were all covered with a thick layer of snow.

The little boy jumped and hopped wildly in the snow, sweating profusely, before returning to Jia Jing's side and pleading:

"Hehe! Third Master, how about we have barbecue and hot pot today? I ate them in Miss Lin's courtyard on a snowy day before, and they were so delicious!"

The so-called hot pot is the ancient hot pot. It was mentioned in Chapter 8 of the original novel that Daiyu and Baoyu went to Aunt Xue's house and drank wine and ate hot pot.

People from northern China have this way of eating in winter.

"Alright, alright! I'll do whatever you say!" Jia Jing still doted on the little girl, always treating her like his younger sister.

When he first transmigrated, only Xiao Jiao'er was by his side! That's fate.

immediately,

After washing up, Jia Jing asked Xiao Hong and Xiang Ling to go to the kitchen to get the ingredients.

The kitchens in the Jia family mansion were divided into a large kitchen, a small kitchen, and a communal kitchen.

The masters, such as Grandmother Jia, Lady Wang, and Jia She, naturally used the large kitchen, while Jia Baoyu, Jia Lian, Tan Chun, and others used the small kitchen. The servants, old women, and maids used the communal kitchen.

Now, Jia Jing has naturally rebuilt a large kitchen, since he has many personal guards here and usually eats with them.

A short while later, Xiangling and Xiaohong brought several pots, an iron stove, an iron fork, a wire mesh, as well as chicken, duck, pork, mutton, and some winter side dishes such as radish and winter melon from the kitchen.

The two of them, along with a small assistant, skillfully set up the kitchen utensils and ingredients, and soon they had set up the iron stove and hot pot for grilling meat in the small pavilion in the yard, and lit the silver charcoal underneath.

The little boy couldn't wait to put the chopped mutton into the pot and onto the wire mesh, his mouth watering.

"Sit down and eat together! These things are meant to be enjoyed with lots of people, don't be shy!"

Jia Jing invited everyone to sit by the stove, and Xiao Hong and Xiang Ling didn't stand on ceremony.

The two of them had gotten to know his personality a bit over the past few days. As long as he didn't cause trouble, he was quite approachable.

Jia Jing looked at the seasonings that Xiangling and the other woman had brought: salt, sesame oil, rice wine, Sichuan peppercorn powder, fennel, scallions, ginger, pepper powder, chili oil with minced garlic, hot and sour sauce, and so on.

As a noble family like the Jia family, they were quite particular about their food, and had a full range of seasonings.

After everyone had prepared their respective sauces, the water in the hot pot had boiled, and the group was ready to dig in.

Suddenly, a clear and melodious sound came from the backyard gate:

"Oh, I've come at just the right time!"