Brother Rong of Red Mansion

Chapter 19
  The table is covered with a dazzling array of delicacies. There are pepper and vinegar shrimps, roast goose, roasted sheep's head and hooves, goose meat buns, salted black bean and mustard sheep tripe plate, garlic vinegar and white blood soup, five-flavor steamed chicken, yuan juice lamb bones, spicy vinegar kidneys, steamed fresh fish, five-flavor steamed Gluten, mutton crystal dumplings, silk goose noodle soup, three delicacies soup, mung bean chess noodles, minced pepper mutton, fragrant rice, bean soup, bubble tea.

Jia Rong practiced archery all morning and was already hungry. As soon as Mu Yun called for the banquet, he lowered his head and ate fiercely.

Of course, Jia Rong still paid a little attention to her eating appearance in front of Shixun's children. There was no gobbling, but the chopsticks were flying and the speed was a little faster.

"Brother Lianhua, let me toast you."

At the dinner table, none of Shixun's disciples were hungry. They only moved their chopsticks a few times before picking up their wine glasses and toasting Jia Rong.

"Drink wins."

Jia Rong responded with a smile and refused to accept anyone who came.

Most of the founding heroes of the Great Zhou Dynasty were southerners. After moving to Shenjing City, they relied on the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and still maintained the southern eating habits.

The same is true for the Jia Mansion, and the same is true for the Dongping County Prince's Mansion.

It is fresh in June and the eel is the most plump. The "garlic roasted eel" served at Dongping County Prince's Mansion can also be called "stir-fried shredded eel". The eel meat is fat but not greasy, fragrant and chewy, and paired with the aroma of roasted garlic vinegar and Sichuan peppercorns and onions, it is really an endless aftertaste. Jia Rong's chopsticks were flying and she ate most of the plate.

Seeing Jia Rong eating so happily, Liu Hong, the great-grandson of Liu Biao, the Duke of Li, who was sitting next to him, couldn't help but smile and started to explain the recipe of this dish.

"Although there were eel dishes in the Tang and Song Dynasties, most of them were soups. Although there were fried eels in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, their names are unknown. Thanks to the father and son (Song Gongwang) of Jiu Fugong (a gourmet in the mid-Ming Dynasty, Song Xu, courtesy name Jiufu) ), compiled "Zhuyu Shanfang Zabu" and just recorded the recipe of this dish. This is also the earliest record of fried eel.

"In particular, this dish was recorded in the "Ministry of Health" by Mr. Jiufu. It has the effects of nourishing blood and qi, reducing inflammation and removing rheumatism. What's even better is that it can also nourish the essence, protect the kidneys, and treat impotence and premature ejaculation. It can be said to be a good choice for men. The most precious treasure. Brother Lianhua, you are very good at eating."

Jia Rong stopped her chopsticks and listened to Liu Hong's explanation while eating.

To be honest, he really doesn't know this.

However, after listening to Liu Hong's eloquent words, he still showed envy in his eyes, and sighed: "I am like Zhu Bajie who eats ginseng fruit without knowing its taste. How can I be like brother Hongsheng, who is well-read and knowledgeable. Brother Li is so talented and knowledgeable. In the entrance exam, you will definitely be on the gold list and get the top spot. I would like to congratulate Brother Hongsheng for high school."

"The imperial examination process depends on both talent and luck. It's not that easy. But I'd like to thank Brother Lianhua first. If you are really lucky enough to go to high school, you must be grateful."

Liu Hong shook his head, but accepted the kindness.

After hearing this, everyone at the table praised Liu Hong's erudition. Duke Li Liu Fang was the founding prime minister of the country. Although he held the title of Duke, he was a civil servant and had always been very aristocratic. Liu Hong passed the imperial examination at a young age and, not surprisingly, became a Jinshi again. At this time, the Great Zhou Dynasty was at peace for a hundred years, and many Wu Xun had turned to civil servants. Everyone was willing to get close to Liu Hong, and even fawned over him.

We ate, drank, and talked about romance at the table. Suddenly, he heard Mu Yun stand up and recommended himself to be a commander. He would give drinking orders in the hall to promote the wine, and everyone applauded him.

"coming!"

Jia Rong's eyes lit up.

In ancient times, when drinking and eating, was it possible to have a meal without drinking orders?

Mu Yun left the table, walked to the center of the hall, and pondered: "I am a 'shangxialiqi', this order restricts the first and last words of a sentence to be separated into a new word. For example: 'people have words', Taking the first word '人' and the last word 'yan', it can be spelled into the word '信'. If the order is passed, it will be passed. If it is not passed, you will be punished with a drink. Whoever I call will carry out the order. What do you think?"

"I am willing to obey the order!"

Most of the children of Shixun in the hall have read books. Even though he is poor at studying, he is quite proficient in drinking habits, so he does not suffer from stage fright. He looked excited, cheered loudly, and urged Mu Yun to order troops quickly.

"Brother Hongsheng, among the brothers here, you have the highest reputation and the greatest knowledge. I come first!"

Amid everyone's expectations, Mu Yun walked up to Jia Rong's table with clear eyes and a smile. He took a folding fan sprinkled with gold and nodded at Liu Hong's soldiers, asking him to give orders.

Liu Hong stood up and just chanted casually: "There is a virtuous person. Taking the first character 'you' and the last character '人', it can be spelled into the word '俑'." Mu Yun nodded, unfolded the gold-sprinkled folding fan, and said with a smile: "Brother Hongsheng is indeed knowledgeable and knowledgeable. This order is accepted. Please sit down. Brother Hulian, it's your turn..."

Sitting next to Liu Hong was Jia Lian. He stood up and muttered: "Everyone eats and drinks. The first word '人' and the last word 'ye' can be spelled into the word 'ta'."

"Lingtong."

Mu Yun nodded and looked at Jia Rong with a smile: "No. 1 Scholar, it's your turn."

"The moon moves the flower shadow on the stem. The first character 'yue' and the last character 'gan' can be spelled into the character 'liver'." Jia Rong stood up and smiled lightly, not timidly.

"Pass."

Mu Yun looked at Jia Qiang again, and Jia Qiang thought, "The color of the mountain is also strange in the sky and the rain. The first word 'shan' and the last word 'qi' can be spelled into the word 'qi'."

"Pass."

The next person is Chen Yuxiang, the great-grandson of Chen Guogong Chen Yi, who also replied: "The desire for profit drives people to thousands of buffaloes. The first word 'profit' and the last word 'ox' can be spelled into the word 'plough'."

"Pass."

Mu Yun's ordering of troops was not random. It was with a utilitarian purpose that he studied Jia Rong's knowledge. As soon as the order was given, he ordered two tables of people. Seeing that they were often fined and drank, he abdicated and gave the position of commanding officer to others.

And these people also want to take the exam for Jia Rong.

Ever since, the table where Jia Rong was sitting became the focus of everyone's attention, and was constantly being criticized. And the drinking order is becoming more and more difficult.

"It rains in every house during the yellow plum season {Song Dynasty, Zhao Shixiu, "A Guest"}, and the weather is sunny when the plums are yellow {Song Dynasty, Zeng Ji, "Sanqu Daozhong"}, but the weather for ripe plums is half sunny and cloudy {Song Dynasty, Dai Min ·"Visiting Zhang Garden in Early Summer"}."

In the hall on the second floor of Biyunxuan, Jia Rong stood tall and proud, showing off his heroic spirit.

"wonderful."

After Jia Rong finished his drinking order, the whole audience applauded.

Countless people looked at him with complex expressions, both shocked and envious. Especially the brothers who knew Jia Rong well were all dumbfounded. I don’t know why Jia Rong suddenly changed. Not only did his shooting skills improve greatly, but his knowledge also became profound. All of them looked shocked and full of disbelief.

At this time, even Liu Hong couldn't help but look at Jia Rong, his eyes flashing solemnly.

This drinking order is not simple, it is called "Poetry Litigation". This order first cites two poems with opposite meanings, contradicting each other, and then cites a poem to make a judgment to reconcile the contradiction between the first two sentences, which is reasonable and interesting. The most important test is Xingren's quick thinking and poetry cognition. Non-erudites cannot pass orders.

Liu Hong originally thought that no one at this table could answer the question except him, but he didn't expect that Jia Lianhua could actually answer it, and she answered it more cleverly than him.

"This sentence means 'rain', one sentence 'sunny', and the sentence 'half cloudy and sunny'. But it is much better than my sentence 'midnight'." Liu Hong's face was gloomy, and he stared at Jia Rong deeply, as if for the first time. I met him once.

He has known Jia Rong since he was a child. In the past, he was a useless person. Why is he so popular today?

"I'll be the commander!"

Suddenly, someone at the next table stood up and offered himself. Liu Hong turned around and saw that it was Niu Shida from Zhenguo Duke's Mansion. He couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, the solemn look in his eyes disappeared, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"The bully barbarian disturbed the situation and saved me a lot of trouble. Now it's interesting."

(End of this chapter)