Chapter 125 The Kitchen
The last rays of the setting sun have dissipated, and dove-gray twilight has enveloped Lone Bamboo Manor.

The main courtyard where Gongsun Yan lived was unusually lively.

The silk letter of appointment as magistrate of Lulong County stipulated that he must be appointed before May. No matter how busy Gongsun Yanzhuangzhong was, he could not delay any longer.

Gongsun Yan suddenly got craving for hot pot in the morning. After thinking about it, he decided to hold a family banquet and invite everyone to have dinner together.

So early in the morning, he ordered people to spread the message everywhere, even Tian Kai at Xishan camp did not miss it.

The horsemeat stew she made in the deserted village was really subpar, and she had to get it back this time no matter what.

It was said that he was looking for a venue, but in fact it was also suspected of cheating. All the hot pot base ingredients, sesame oil and minced garlic, were purchased from the exchange. Considering that this would be the first time that chili peppers appeared in the late Han Dynasty, Gongsun Yan made a compromise and prepared Mandarin duck pot.

The weather was good today, although it was still a little cold, but it didn't matter after eating hot pot, so I simply asked the craftsman to build a temporary earthen stove in the courtyard.

She deliberately set aside time in the afternoon and has been busy in the east kitchen since noon.

The only cooking methods in the Han Dynasty were broiling, blasting, deep-frying, steaming, boiling, stewing, and pan-frying. The most common cooking methods in later generations had to wait until the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and their popularization only happened after the Song Dynasty.

Kitchen utensils in today's kitchens are also very simple, mostly bulky pottery and bronze products.

But this did not prevent Gongsun Yan from quietly buying a kitchen full of kitchen utensils and knives.

No matter whether the cooking is delicious or not, the tools must be complete.

From frying, woking, stewing, to kitchen knives and meat mallets, it seems that missing any of them will affect her cooking skills.

If she hadn't been worried about Ah Qing, who was often in the kitchen, using it improperly and causing a serious accident, she would have originally planned to get a gas stove.

The people present this time were Tian Kai, Zhao Yun and others, leaving out only Zhang Zhu and Xin Shi, who was taking care of Zhang Zhu.

Gongsun Yan sent Alan to see the courtyard where the wounded soldiers lived. Zhang Zhang was recovering well, but his leg was still bandaged, so there was no need to force him to join in the fun.

Xin Shi may have heard that he was having a meal with Gongsun Yan, Zhao Yun and others, and felt constrained, so he decided to stay and take care of Zhang Zhu, so he refused to come.

Gongsun Yan had no choice but to ask Alan to go find the steward in charge of food at the main house and send a few hens, and asked Ah Qing to stew chicken soup for the two of them.

Considering that all of the guests to be entertained were warriors with large appetites, including Zhao Yun, the east kitchen of the main courtyard had a lot of ingredients flowing in today.

There is a hot spring in the village, a small temperature-controlled house was built, and some vegetables are grown.

Of course, leeks and sunflowers are indispensable, as well as the newly discovered mushroom mountain fungus in the April Mountains.

A few days ago, in order to promote the planting of sweet potatoes, Gongsun Yan gave farmers very favorable conditions. Soon after several elders who were representatives returned, they asked the younger members of the family to send some vines grown in their own backyards.

There is also a deer and a sheep.

The rest of the quails, geese, finches and other wild animals hunted by tribesmen were of little use in hot pot, so they were sent to the military camp to add meat to the soldiers' meals.

Dog meat was also sent to the military camp. Dog meat was a common meat eaten in the Han Dynasty, but when Gongsun Yan saw the hairy and grinning dog head, she felt a little hairy. She would never take a bite, so she sent it to the military camp together with the game.

Pork and the like were not delivered. At this time, the pigs were still kept in the swimming pool and were not that popular on the table.

Furthermore, at this time, the pork was not cooked well and had a strong smell of mutton, so it was only eaten by common people. It was just the host's wife who was entertaining guests, so the stewards would not bring pork.

There is also no beef. At this time, cattle are important spring plowing animals, and it is illegal to slaughter them for consumption.

Even if Gongsun Yan is the owner of Lone Bamboo Manor and is in her filial piety period, it would be inappropriate for her to slaughter the cattle during the spring plowing time. If word spreads, she will lose her reputation.

Even this time the banquet was done quietly, without any loud announcement.

But how can hotpot be without yellow throat, pork belly, and fat beef?
In the afternoon, Gongsun Yan dismissed the chef who was helping the kitchen and asked Aqing Alan to prepare wine and candied fruits. He secretly bought all the fat beef rolls in the trading machine and arranged them on the plate, waiting for them to be served.

Seeing that the sky was getting dark, Gongsun Yanhu tied up his arms and rolled up his sleeves. His high bun was simply tied with a plain white linen hairband.

An enlarged and deepened mandarin duck pot was set up on the stove, with clear chicken soup and ginger slices and scallions cooked in it.Gongsun Yan opened a bag of hot pot base ingredients each for spicy and clear soup and threw them in. Although the butter hot pot base was good, the taste was too overpowering.

As the hot pot base gradually melts into the soup base, the overbearing smell immediately spreads throughout the kitchen.

Gongsun Yan gently stirred the bottom of the pot with the long chopsticks specially made by a carpenter. The familiar aroma immediately made her feel like she was in another world.

Unknowingly, she had been in this era for almost a month, but when she recalled the past, it seemed like a long time had passed.

From the panic when she first arrived, she had to hold Gongsun Cheng every night to sleep peacefully. Now she has gradually adapted to this place.

I have adapted to the environment and the people here.

It had been a long time since she missed her former little house.

What replaced it was the courtyard here and the people here.

Probably because she used to be indifferent to family ties and had no one to miss and care about.

Gongsun Yan sighed with emotion.

At this time, she suddenly heard footsteps coming from behind. She thought it was Ah Qing coming to help, so she called out, "Is anyone here?"

"It's all here."

The answering voice was not Ah Qing, but Zhao Yun.

When Gongsun Yan turned around, his eyes suddenly lit up.

I saw a handsome young man in a soap robe standing at the door of the kitchen, blocking most of the light.

She knew that she had excellent taste, and a military uniform of this style would look great on him.

"Why are you here?" Gongsun Yan couldn't help but raise the corners of his lips and asked.

"I heard from Alan that my wife was busy in the kitchen alone. I was worried that you wouldn't know how to watch the fire, so I came to help." Zhao Yun walked in, and Gongsun Yan suddenly felt that the kitchen seemed a little narrower and the air was a little thinner.

Knowing that he was talking about what happened in the deserted village at that time, Gongsun Yan couldn't help but retort: ​​"I didn't know how to do it back then, but I have learned it long ago." She was not a fool after sleeping in the open air for so many days.

"My wife is smart." Zhao Yun chuckled and praised.

"Come here, let me see how the clothes are." Gongsun Yan waved to him with a smile.

He obediently walked to and stood in front of Gongsun Yan.

He was very tall, so Gongsun Yan had to look up at him and gently raised his hand to straighten his clothes, even though his clothes were already neatly trimmed.

"Very suitable and beautiful!" Gongsun Yan raised his head and smiled at him.

Zhao Yun also lowered his head and looked at her without speaking.

The light outside the house dimmed, and the flames jumped in the stove.

Gongsun Yan was in a trance, as if he had returned to that night in the deserted village.

At that time, I had just been rescued by him, my face was bruised, and I was in a mess. He was also wearing a sloppy military coat.

"Zilong, be careful when going to Lulong."

"Yes." Zhao Yun responded. He looked at the girl in front of him, raised his right hand slightly, and then put it down again, "Yun understands."

(End of this chapter)

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