Gourmet Red Chamber: A Chronicle of Baochai's Rebirth

Chapter 12 The Harvester's Joy
After Lin Ruhai finished writing the excerpt, he wrote more than a dozen poems to express his feelings. Then he felt tired and went to sleep.

He thought that if he drank so much, he would be troubled at night and would have a headache the next day if he didn't show it at the time.

Unexpectedly, I had a good night's sleep, and woke up the next morning feeling refreshed. I couldn't help being surprised, and asked, "Where did the wine come from yesterday, and I can buy a few more cans."

The old servant replied, "Ms. Xue gave it to me yesterday. Because Ms. Xue told me to soak it with medicine, drinking it would not hurt the spleen and stomach, so yesterday I boiled it for the master to drink."

Lin Ruhai didn't expect that it was the medicinal wine that Xue Baobao said to give him, and he didn't feel the smell of medicine at all, but it was very refreshing.

But this was difficult to handle. He couldn't be so shameless as to ask her for it.

Just as he was thinking about it, he heard the old servant speak again, "Early this morning, Miss Xue sent someone to bring a can of soup. She said that she had stayed up all night last night and added some medicine. Drinking a bowl in the morning is the best way to nourish her body. people.

The servant looked at it and saw that Miss Xue had brought it with a set of mother-and-son lamps. There was a charcoal fire underneath. It was still hot. Would you like to try it, sir? "

Mother and child lights?A soup lamp?

Lin Ruhai was immediately interested and ordered it to be delivered.

The mother-child lamp is made of fine porcelain, in the shape of a lotus flower, with layers of petals covering the inside completely, and there is a small drawer at the base of the lotus flower, which is filled with glowing red charcoal, presumably it is used to maintain the soup not cold.

The pull button of the drawer has a delicate mechanism. When you twist a circle, the layered lotus petals will bloom one after another. Inside is a small cup shaped like a lotus pod.

The lid of the small cup is made into a lampstand shape, and candles or candle oil can be placed for lighting.

Take out the small cup, you can see that there is a layer of fine wire mesh underneath, and the carbon fire can be clearly seen under the fine mesh.

Although the production principle is simple, it is very exquisite and pleasing to the eye.

Lin Ruhai smiled and said, "The Xue family is indeed a wealthy family, and it's thanks to them that they can find such things."

As he spoke, he lifted the lid of the small cup, and a strong fragrance came to his face, with a faint fragrance of herbs, which made people unconsciously move his index finger.

Lin Ruhai touched it and found that the temperature was just right. He quickly took a spoonful and put it into his mouth.

Lin Ruhai has also drank this soup before, but it is Masiji soup. It is boiled with mutton, grass fruit, Guangui, and Huihui beans, filtered, and then boiled Huihui beans, fragrant stalk rice, Masi Mix pork belly, a little salt, and add meat cubes and coriander leaves.

Masiji Decoction is nourishing, stable and smooth, and is most suitable for people with weak constitutions and weak spleen and stomach like him. He has drunk a lot of it, but it never tastes so good.

It is thick and delicious, and when it slides into the stomach, it makes people warm from the stomach to the body, making people want to eat it.

Although Lin Ruhai prided himself on having seen a lot of delicacies, he had never seen anyone who could cook a simple bowl of masi ji ji soup so skillfully.

He had always had a bad appetite, and would only eat a small bowl of porridge with pickles every morning. But today, he had a huge appetite unconsciously, and he felt that the soup had already reached the bottom before he even ate much.

Seeing that he was eating deliciously, the old servant kept chanting Buddha's name, "Master hasn't had such a good appetite for a long time. This person needs to be able to eat and bear it in order to be in good health. The master always says that he can't eat, how can he do it?"

Lin Ruhai was also a little emotional, and ordered to clean it up and send it back to Baby Xue.

The old servant asked tentatively, "Master, why don't we ask Miss Xue for that chef, as long as the master can eat more, it will be a great blessing."

Lin Ruhai shook his head, "Don't be presumptuous, such a chef is definitely hard to find, even the Xue family can't find it easily.

We drank someone else's soup, but we still want to ask for someone else's chef, which is really too greedy."

Then he ordered, "Go and pack up the best set of the four treasures of the study that I plan to send to the capital for Daiyu, and give them to Miss Xue together with the mother-in-law lamp, and say thank you to her for her kindness."

The old servant promised to pack up and went to Xue's house.

When Xue Baobao heard that he came to see him in person, he accepted the Four Treasures of the Study given by Lin Ruhai and asked with a smile, "How do you like it, uncle?"

The old servant has been serving Lin Ruhai since he was a child, and he is most worried about his health, even though Lin Ruhai has told him not to be presumptuous, he still couldn't help saying, "Master ate and said it was very good.

Miss Xue, you don’t know that my husband is in poor health and has difficulty thinking about food. He forces himself to eat something every day. If he eats too much, he will feel bloated and vomiting.

Today I ate all the soup the girl gave me, and I didn’t feel uncomfortable yet. In fact, the Xue family has a profound background, and I don’t know where they found such a good cook! "

Xue Baobao didn't say that he made it himself, and added the stream water in the space. The effect of nourishing the body needs to be seen slowly, but the taste can definitely be improved by several levels. He just said, "That soup is the most nourishing for the stomach. Spleen, since my uncle likes it, I will send a cup every morning from now on.

There is no need for the elderly to send back the child-mother lamps every time, I have several sets here, and when I deliver the soup the next day, I just take the last set of lamps back by the way.”

The old servant was overjoyed and hurriedly bowed and said, "It's too much trouble for your house to deliver it every day, so we should send someone to pick it up every day.

In fact, we can’t repay the girl for her great kindness, so we can’t let her be in such trouble.”

Well, another thing is, if you ask me to deliver it here, what if I forget it one day?
He was too embarrassed to ask someone to remind him, but it would be better if he sent someone to ask for it, even if the master had an extra spoonful of soup, it would be good.

Xue Baobao laughed, "It's just a bowl of soup, how can it be such a great favor?

The set of four treasures for the study that my uncle gave me today can probably buy a thousand bowls of soup.

If you put it this way, wouldn't it mean that I have to give soup to my uncle for three years in order to pay off the debt? "

What she said was interesting, and the old servant couldn't help but laugh.

Xue Baobao asked again, "Has uncle drank the medicinal wine I gave you?"

The old servant then told the story about Lin Ruhai drinking all the wine last night, and praised, "Miss Zhenzhen, there are good things here. The master said that the wine makes you feel warm when you drink it, and it doesn't even get to your head. I drank so much yesterday." , I don’t have a headache at all today.”

Xue Baobao laughed and said, "It's medicinal wine, I put more medicine and less wine.

But I put some things in it to make it taste like alcohol without any medicinal taste, just to make people laugh.

My uncle thinks it’s good. I still have a few jars here and give them to my uncle to drink. No one around us drinks that stuff.”

The old servant quickly declined, Xue Baobao said angrily, "This time my uncle has helped our family so much, and even sent me such good things, but if the old man refuses with just a few jars of wine, I will get angry."

Her body is like a snow doll, with such a smile and annoyance, the old servant's heart is so soft, how can she say no?
Xue Baobao brewed a total of twelve jars of medicinal wine and gave one jar to each of Lin Ruhai, Xue Chen and Master Wu, leaving nine jars left.

She ordered eight of the jars to be packed, and took the last jar and handed it to the old servant herself, "Old man, I will give you a jar to try, this wine will warm your body and soothe your mind.

Drink it to dispel the cold in winter and sleep soundly, you drink it well, I will brew it later, and I will send you some."

The old servant quickly declined. Seeing that he couldn't refuse, he had to accept it and went back to Lin Mansion with the wine without mentioning it.

……

……

When Lin Ruhai returned home in the evening, when the old servant served Lin Ruhai to eat and take a bath, he couldn't help but babbled about how he went to see Baobao Xue today, chanting Buddha repeatedly, "Mrs.

Miss Xue is not only smart and cute, but also treats people first-class, and she is compassionate to the elderly and the poor, with a heart of Bodhisattva! "

Lin Ruhai nodded, "Miss Xue is indeed outstanding."

As he said this, he couldn't help but think of his own daughter again, wondering how his mother-in-law taught Daiyu to look like?
Is it possible that she is a bit like Miss Xue? Is it possible that some servants praise her for her bodhisattva heart and that she is a first-class rich lady...

……

……

After that, Xue Baobao made soup every day and waited for the Lin family to pick it up.

Two days later, Xue Chen put the most perishable fresh produce, livestock, etc. in the last place and purchased them, refrigerated them, and reported to Xue Baobao.

Xue Baobao said that he wanted to see it in person. When encountering such a thing, Xue Chen would naturally not object with the excuse that ladies can't go out easily, and asked if he wanted to invite Xue Pan to go with him.

Xue Baobao shook his head, "There is no need to tell my brother."

Xue Chen thought it right. If Xue Pan said such a thing without warning, there would be endless troubles, so he personally drove Xue Baobao away.

After arriving at the warehouse, Xue Chen ordered the nursing staff and maids to wait outside, leaving him alone to accompany Xue Baobao to check.

Xue Baobao took the list and checked it one by one, then opened the lid and looked at it.

Xue Chen once again showed his outstanding ability as a professional manager. Not only did he buy all the things in a short period of time, the appearance was basically as good as she asked for.

Occasionally there are bad ones, it means there are definitely no good products on the market.

For medicinal materials, I bought many good things with a limited number of years that are rarely seen in modern times.

Xue Baobao was very satisfied. He praised and admired Xue Chen without hesitation, and said, "Yangzhou silk is indeed different from our Jinling. The materials of this box of brocade, this box of flowers, and this box of border silk are all different." Buy some more and my wife and I will make clothes to wear."

Yangzhou has been prosperous since ancient times. It is famous for its famous Huaiyang cuisine and a world-renowned salt merchant.

The opening of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal has made Yangzhou the intersection of the Maritime Silk Road and the Overland Silk Road, a famous trading port in the East, and a transfer station for Sino-foreign material exchanges. The variety and quality of goods here are naturally different from other places. .

Xue Chen bowed in response, and Xue Baobao said, "You go out first, and I will read it again."

She has already watched it once, what else is there to see?

Xue Chen understood that he was definitely going to stuff things in it that he didn't even know about, such as letters, account books, bank notes, antique jade and so on.

Xue Baobao didn't know that Xue Chen had made up his mind to a place she didn't know, and took advantage of the convenience of the ancient "master" to send Xue Chen away very roughly, bolted the door, and then began to enjoy the joy of the harvester wantonly.

As long as she thinks about it and touches it with her hands, everything can be put into the space.

After practicing for a period of time, she has been able to control it very well, and put the boxes and cabinets into the space one by one, and put them away neatly.

Then he left the warehouse and locked it with three large locks and three Kongming locks that he had prepared in advance.

To avoid taboos, Xue Chen waited at a distance with his maids and servants. When he saw Xue Baobao closing the door, he came over.

Xue Baobao said, "There is no need to send people to guard. Everyone should withdraw and come to me early tomorrow morning to get the keys."

When the time comes to open the door, they find that the warehouse is empty, so they will naturally think that those who want it also have the key, and move out overnight, it's perfect!

(End of this chapter)