Border Cook

Chapter 174 Can’t guess

He didn't bother to chat or comment on the taste of the food. He just mechanically repeated the same actions.

The occasional pause was because the people in the kitchen had said that there were plenty of steamed buns but only one bowl of vegetables, so we were reluctant to finish eating so quickly and would quickly take two bites of the steamed buns and then eat another.

Some people, on the other hand, finished all the food in their bowls in a few gulps and then felt very regretful. However, they could only add a spoonful of boiling water from the kitchen into the bowl, soak some steamed buns in it, and eat slowly.

There’s nothing I can do, the food tonight is just too delicious!
Because there were so many people and so little meat, each person’s bowl only had a few pieces of braised pork, which made the braised pork even more precious.

This small amount of braised pork is a masterpiece, it is very tasty, with a strong meaty aroma and a rich aftertaste. The fat is soft and glutinous, and the lean meat is tender and delicious. Even the cabbage and potatoes that I usually eat too much and have become extremely bored, now become delicious because of enough gravy...

Lu Dutou's wife...

Oh no, it’s the braised pork brought by Madam Xia, it’s really delicious!

People who cook delicious dishes need to have their own name!

The young craftsman named Zhang Anyuan also thought the dinner was delicious. He kept clicking his tongue while holding the bowl. When he learned that the reason the meal was so delicious was because of the braised pork brought by Madam Xia, he lost in thought for a long time.

Here, Xia Mingyue, Lu Qiyan, Lu and Zhao Youcai were having dinner together alone.

In addition to this big pot dish of braised pork, the kitchen also left a separate portion of pure braised pork, a dish of cold dried tofu shreds mixed with cabbage hearts, radish meatballs, and a portion of radish soup.

Radish soup is made by slicing radish and cooking it with fried eggs into a white soup. There is no need to add fried noodles, let alone other seasonings. Just a little salt will make it light and delicious, with a strong aftertaste of egg, which is very delicious.

The four people from the two families hadn't been together for a long time, and now they were talking and laughing, eating happily.

After the meal, the two families went to talk separately.

Lu Qiyan took out a purse from his bosom and handed it to Xia Mingyue, "This is the military pay for this period of time."

Xia Mingyue looked at the heavy purse and her eyebrows raised.

It seemed that every time Lu Qiyan saw her, he would give her some household expenses.

I have to say, this sense of responsibility is quite strong...

"Brother Lu is away from home right now and has a lot of expenses, so it's better for Brother Lu to keep it for himself." Xia Mingyue declined politely.

Since arriving here, Xia Mingyue has realized the many difficulties Lu Qiyan is facing at this time.

Shortage of funds is also one of them.

Regardless of whether this is the case throughout the army, or someone deliberately created such a difficult situation for Lu Qiyan, Lu Qiyan needs to break out.

Before finding a breakthrough point, Lu Qiyan needs to get through the difficult stage.

Money is the most needed thing in the army besides loyalty, character and fighting ability.

Just like today, a meal of braised pork was enough for Lu Qiyan to win people's hearts.

After thinking for a while, Lu Qiyan opened the purse, took out a small piece of silver and put it into Xia Mingyue's hand, and put the rest back into his arms, "Then these are considered as loans from me for now."

I will return it later.

Xia Mingyue blinked.

If you say that Lu Qiyan treated her as an outsider, every time he saw her, he would think about the money he gave to her family, fearing that she would be short of money.

But if you say that Lu Qiyan treats her as a family member, he used the word "borrow" today.

It is really hard to guess what Lu Qiyan is thinking.

Xia Mingyue shook her head and smiled.

Seeing this, Lu Qiyan asked, "What's wrong?" "Nothing." Xia Mingyue said, "I was just thinking, I am really a businessman."

"What do you mean?" Lu Qiyan turned his face to the side.

"Since you don't have much money to build the bridge, I thought of looking for people to donate money." Xia Mingyue said, "Anyone who donates money can engrave their name on the bridge to show their merit."

Building roads and bridges are all acts of accumulating virtue, and everyone will be willing to donate generously.

Especially those gentry and wealthy families, who are more willing to accumulate virtue and blessings for the family, will be more interested in this matter.

Furthermore, this place had been incorporated into the territory of the new dynasty not long ago, and the large clans with extensive local connections were willing to gain a good reputation and establish good relations with the local government and the troops stationed on the border.

Among these people, there are many who took advantage of the war to make a fortune and take the opportunity to make some people whose money came from unrighteous sources bleed.

"Yeah." Lu Qiyan nodded.

He had the same idea.

However, those wealthy gentry were also fence-sitters who were good at changing their stance according to the situation. Seeing that Lu Qiyan's progress in building the bridge was slow, they were all unwilling to step forward.

I guess it was because someone said something behind my back.

However, there are many ways to help these people come to the fore.

But the most important thing right now is to build the bridge as soon as possible.

Otherwise, even if all the money is collected, the bridge cannot be built, and we will be caught by those with ulterior motives.

We still need to hurry up and find a craftsman...

While he was thinking, a soldier came into the yard and said that Zhang Anyuan wanted to see him for an urgent matter.

"Bring him here." Lu Qiyan raised his hand.

"Yes." The soldier turned and left, and brought Zhang Anyuan over after a while.

When Zhang Anyuan saw Lu Qiyan and Xia Mingyue beside him, he bowed respectfully, "Captain Lu, Madam Xia."

"But are there any changes in the bridge construction?" Lu Qiyan asked.

"Not really." Zhang Anyuan shook his head, and after a pause, he said, "I came to find Lu Dutou because I wanted to say that I know someone who might be able to help Lu Dutou."

"who?"

"His name is Fang Linwang, he is originally from Jiaxing, and he is very good at building stone bridges. He lives in Liujiazhuang, not far from here." Zhang Anyuan said, "If Captain Lu can find him to help build the bridge, it will definitely be twice the result with half the effort."

"really?"

"I can guarantee it!" Zhang Anyuan scratched his ear, "But this man has a perverse temper and speaks harshly. Previously, there were government offices that wanted him to work, but they all couldn't stand him and had many disputes with him. As a result, Fang Linwang has a bad reputation and no one wants to hire him anymore."

"Fang Linwang himself was tired of dealing with those government officials and often stayed indoors. I heard that someone wanted to invite him to build a bridge before, but he scolded them out because of a disagreement."

"Then if I go to invite him, how can I convince him?" Lu Qiyan frowned.

"Captain Lu, you may not know that besides his love for bridge-building skills, Fang Linwang also loves food the most. If we can bring out some delicious food when we invite him, it will surely work," said Zhang Anyuan.

So Zhang Anyuan had never mentioned Fang Linwang before, but he suddenly mentioned him today. Maybe it was because he had eaten the braised pork made by Xia Mingyue and felt that there was a chance?

And now that there is this possibility, we must give it a try.

It’s just that...