Colorful

Chapter 29: Gathering in the Garden (2)
Mrs. Lu curled her lips when she heard the news in the kitchen, after all, Ji Cheng was Cook Liu's apprentice.When Chef Liu came to Shen's residence, Mrs. Lu was afraid that Chef Liu's eyes in front of the old lady would hinder her future. Reminds me of Chef Liu.

Ji Cheng also knows the truth here, but in fact, she and Mrs. Lu don't necessarily have to be against each other.She is a girl's family, and she cooks meals for the old lady, just to earn a reputation of being kind and virtuous, and she will not steal Aunt Lu's job.And Chef Liu didn't intend to live in Shen's residence for a long time.

But Mrs. Lu may not be able to understand the truth. Even if she did, she probably would not believe that Mrs. Liu would not want to please the old lady.

Cooking for the old lady is naturally in the small kitchen.Mrs. Lu watched coldly from the side all the way, as if she was afraid that Ji Cheng would poison the old lady.

Ji Cheng smiled at Mrs. Lu: "Ma'am, I want to cook two dishes for the old lady, one is shrimp skin tofu soup, and the other is soybean walnut chicken. Please ask the lady below to prepare the ingredients for me."

Mrs. Lu originally thought that Ji Cheng was going to hide it, but she didn't expect her to say it so openly. She turned out to be a little girl with nothing to gain.

It is also impossible for Madam Lu to embarrass Ji Cheng in this matter, otherwise the little girl would run up to the old lady and cry, and she would have nothing to eat.But Mrs. Lu thinks that she has eaten more salt than Ji Cheng has eaten rice, and it is impossible for the little girl's family to be very capable.

The ingredients were brought up quickly, definitely not slow, but the quality was not to be admired.Soybeans vary in age and tenderness, and walnuts have not shed their skins, so the dish has an astringent taste.

Ji Cheng studied under Chef Liu, and also imitated her pickiness, and he would rather have fewer ingredients than overuse them.She spent the whole afternoon picking soybeans and peeling walnuts.

Mrs. Lu watched from the side and shook her head, it was a huge waste, and according to Ji Cheng's cooking, I'm afraid she wouldn't be able to cook enough food for a table in three days.

When dinner comes at night, Ji Cheng's Soybean and Walnut Chicken and Shrimp Skin Tofu Soup come out of the pot, and the total is no more than a small sea bowl.The shrimp skin tofu soup is okay, and there are still a few bowls available. If everyone on the table stretches their chopsticks, the soybean walnut chicken may not be enough.

However, the less the food, the more fragrant it is, and the soybeans were carefully selected by Ji Cheng, with uniform size, plump soybean milk and suitable tenderness.Walnuts are even more labor-intensive, and those that are damaged a little bit during peeling are discarded. Now they look white and fat, full and complete.Not to mention eating this dish, just looking at it makes people feel comfortable.

The old lady has long since developed the habit of not being tired of fine food and delicate food. Although Mrs. Lu's medicinal food is miraculous, she always finds it a bit rough.

The two things Ji Cheng did were different.The dishes are very common, Mrs. Lu has already cooked them.The old lady has eaten the dishes for decades, so she naturally knows the effects of these two dishes.

The old lady often suffers from backache and leg pain recently. As soon as she gets old, her bones become empty, and she always feels like the wind can penetrate into the cracks in the bones. In the hot summer, everyone feels extremely hot, and the old lady has to wear knee pads even when she is sitting. s things.This soy walnut chicken and shrimp skin tofu soup are both bone-filling, and Mrs. Shen often uses them.

Why did Ji Cheng only choose these two dishes to cook?It can be seen that she is very careful on weekdays, and the old lady likes her thoughts very much, she stretched out her chopsticks to pick up the soybean walnut chicken, it melted in the mouth, it was fresh and tender, moderately salty and slightly sweet, and it was no bigger than Lu The lady did a poor job.The old lady is from the south, so she is addicted to sweets, but Mrs. Lu follows the principle of medicinal diet and does not add sugar, so Ji Cheng's taste is obviously more popular with the old lady.

Everyone saw that the old lady was eating well, and it was inconvenient to do it, so the bowl of soybean walnut chicken almost went into the old lady's stomach, which was the most meal she had eaten these days.

The old lady was quite knowledgeable, so she said to Ji Cheng after eating, "I'm afraid you spent no less effort on these two dishes than those on the other table, and there are a lot of leftover ingredients, right?"

Ji Cheng nodded embarrassedly: "Yes."

"Although our family is particular about it, it's not that particular about it." The old lady pointed out the reason why she preferred Mrs. Lu to Mrs. Liu in one sentence.It can be seen that the old lady didn't have soft ears, and she ignored Cook Liu after hearing Mrs. Lu's preparations for Cook Liu, but she felt that Cook Liu's cooking was too wasteful, so she didn't like it.

Ji Cheng blushed, lowered his head and said nothing.

The old lady knew at a glance that Ji Cheng understood, which showed that she was very transparent in her heart.Thinking of the little girl's face, the old lady stopped talking about it, and said instead: "But to be honest, the dishes picked out like this are indeed delicious."

The old lady laughed out loud, and then Ji Cheng breathed a sigh of relief.

The old lady looked at Ji Cheng, thinking that such a little girl is indeed lovely, after observing for a while, if she is really good, then it is not difficult to marry her, it is a good thing to have two surnames, if Ji Cheng In the past, Cheng married to make husband and wife harmonious, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law harmonious, which is actually a happy thing.

But when it comes to Leyouyuan, how can the juniors have the heart to accompany the elders to cool off in the pavilion?There are so many fun places to play in this Leyouyuan.

The old lady is the one who dotes on the younger generation the most, even if Huang and the others want to take care of her, she will not let her go, she only says that if her daughter's family is not comfortable when she is a daughter, she will be even more uncomfortable when she gets married.

That's all for Shen Xian, Shen Xun is like a runaway wild horse, meeting constantly all day long.The eldest princess did not go to the quiet garden to escape the summer heat, but went to the royal courtyard. The status of the daughter-in-law here is higher than that of the mother-in-law. People can manage it.

He also said that Ji Yuan devoted himself to his studies and wanted to be named on the gold list, but the temptation of the capital is too much, and all the princes and brothers around him are proficient in eating, drinking and having fun.

This time Shen Jing followed to Jingyuan and also warmly invited Ji Yuan.Ji Yuan was thinking about Ji Cheng in his heart, so he came here along the way, but although they also lived in Jingyuan, Ji Cheng didn't see Ji Yuan a few times, because they went out early in the morning and didn't go home after dark , Playing crazy outside.

Today Ji Cheng managed to catch Ji Yuan with great difficulty, and only then did he know what he was doing.

"Brother joined the Chuyang Club?" Ji Cheng was a little surprised.

Chuyang club is the folk polo club that Shen Xian and Shen Xun said, but this Chuyang club was only established in the past two years, and most of the members are noble children, but the game is only so-so, so this is why we vigorously explored it. Talents from all sides.

What surprised Ji Cheng was that although Ji Yuan looked tall and big, he had always been a book-reader. Children should run the house quietly.At this moment Ji Yuan suddenly changed his temper and actually joined the polo club, how could Ji Cheng not be surprised.

Ji Yuan was a little ashamed, probably because he remembered what he said about Ji Cheng before.

But Ji Cheng immediately smiled and said, "I always worry that my brother's reading books all year round will not be good for his health. Now that you can join the polo club, I don't have to worry about it anymore. Everything is better than your health." That’s good, your brain will be more lively when you read like this.”

Ji Yuan didn't expect Ji Cheng to think so, and smiled with relief, "It's all because of Zitong's persuasion. I used to have shoulder and neck pains, but now after playing polo, it hasn't happened for a long time."

Ji Cheng hesitated for a moment before realizing that the "Zitong" in Ji Yuan's mouth was Shen Jing's surname.Ji Cheng didn't know why Shen Jing wanted to pull Ji Yuan into the club, thinking that he was probably deceived by Ji Yuan's size. Although he grew up in Jin, his riding skills were really average.

"How is brother's golf skills now?" Ji Cheng asked.

Ji Yuan blushed again. He is relatively tall, but he has never touched polo before. Now he is like a baby learning to walk. Thanks to others, Haihan, he has been practicing very hard recently, and he is unwilling to drag the entire polo team. hind legs.

Ji Cheng thought for a while, and invited Liu Ye'er to whisper a few words, and Liu Ye'er turned around and went back.

Ji Cheng pulled Ji Yuan to sit under a big tree beside him: "Brother, is money tight recently?"

Ji Qing was afraid that if Ji Yuan had too much money, he would be misled by other people, so he only gave Ji Yuan an allowance of ten taels of silver every month, which was already a huge expense for an ordinary family.

When he was in Jindi, Ji Yuan couldn’t spend all the money, but when he arrived in the capital, not to mention the high prices, the non-stop elegant gatherings made people spend money like water. Most of the antiques in the pawnshop are the sons of the family. I took it as a pawn, because they all wanted to stand outside.

Hearing Ji Cheng's question, Ji Yuan replied hesitantly: "It's okay."

Ji Cheng burst out laughing: "Why are you being polite to me, brother? The capital is no better than the land of Jin, so how can you get the little money you need? Besides, the Chuyang Society is full of honorable children, and they talk about pomp everywhere, so brother don't want to lose his confidence." People like them look down on you. The more you look down and be pleasing to the eye, the more they think you are incompetent. Brother, don’t be timid, I dare say that although we are not as noble as them, we can still be richer than them.”

While talking, Liu Ye'er also came back, took out a stack of ten ten taels of small bank notes and gave it to Ji Cheng, and Ji Cheng handed it to Ji Yuan: "Brother, take it, and tell me if it's not enough."

"This won't work, Dad wants to tell you." Ji Yuan refused to accept it.

Ji Cheng said: "It's not that Daddy doesn't know where the capital is, so he won't tell you. Don't worry, I won't tell him either. My brother will naturally have to study hard, but in the future he will have to manage some contacts when he becomes an official in the court. You It is an excellent opportunity to join the Chuyang Club."

Ji Yuan smiled and said, "I think so too, otherwise I wouldn't agree to Zitong's invitation."

Ji Cheng paused and said again: "Brother is there a master in the club?"

Ji Yuan said: "Yes. It's just that I need to practice more riding skills." Riding skills are the foundation of polo.

Speaking of riding skills, Ji Cheng can't be troubled, this girl has been courageous since she was a child, even when her second brother didn't dare to ride a big horse, she dared to go up.She especially likes the feeling of being fast and unrestrained.

"If I have time, I can practice with my brother." Ji Cheng said.

Ji Yuan also heard his second brother Jize mention that Ji Cheng's riding skills are three points better than his. Ji Yuan didn't like girls riding horses and archery, but this is an extraordinary period, and he is eager to improve. Riding, and then truly integrated into the Chuyang Club.To put it bluntly, he is currently on the bench in the club, no one pays attention to him, and the club only respects his football skills.

So when Ji Cheng mentioned it like this, Ji Yuan readily agreed.

Ji Cheng said again: "I heard that the first and second cousins ​​of the Shen family are both outstanding in football skills, and my brother can also ask them for advice."

Ji Yuan was silent when he heard the words.First of all, they are not serious cousins, and Shen Yu is very cold and serious when he is serving in the court.As for Shen Che, Ji Yuan couldn't meet anyone at all, let alone ask for advice, not to mention he had also heard some rumors about Shen Che, and he looked down on such a rich dude.

How could Ji Cheng not know what Ji Yuan was thinking? After reading too much, he would inevitably become a little needlessly lofty, always wanting to wait for others to take the initiative to get close to him.Ji Cheng didn't want to hurt Ji Yuan's self-esteem, so he said, "Dear relatives, you have to walk around to get close. How else can people say that distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors? Brother, don't be hindered by the appearance of the two cousins. Chunhou, the two cousins ​​are by no means indifferent and arrogant people who cannot be approached. My elder brother is younger than them, so it is better to take the initiative to get closer. Don't turn it around and let people say that you are lofty and not group. "

Ji Yuan thought for a while, and felt that what Ji Cheng said made some sense.

"Besides, if you let the two cousins ​​who have won the championship in the ball game not ask for advice, wouldn't you choose the best and the best?" Ji Cheng said, "If my brother really feels inconvenient, you can go with my cousin."

"En." Ji Yuan responded.

Ji Cheng didn't expect her brother to figure it out right away, but she had said everything that needed to be said, and it was up to her to practice.

A few days later, Ji Yuan was free and came to look for Ji Cheng.Seeing his disappointed face, Ji Cheng guessed the reason by insinuating and guessing, probably because he suffered a lot at Chuyang Club and dragged Shen Jing down.

"The weather is fine today, shall I take you out for a walk? The original scenery of Leyou is very secluded, and it brings some of the wind of our Jin land." Ji Yuan said.

"Okay, brother, wait for a while." Ji Cheng went back to the house and changed his clothes, then went to talk to Shen Xian and the others, and followed Ji Yuan out.

Ji Yuan's servant Wutong was waiting at the corner gate of Jingyuan, followed by two horses, one black and one red.

Ji Cheng smiled, Ji Yuan had always known that his younger sister was an extraordinary spirit, and the two of them knew each other well, but they didn't pierce the layer of paper.

Ji Cheng said: "My brother knows me, but he is picky. I don't want to ride your horse."

Ji Yuan was anxious: "What's wrong with this horse? I spent a lot of money to buy it."

Ji Cheng thought to himself, you have spent a lot of money, but it's a pity you didn't spend it on ideas.Ji Yuan is a typical scholar, he doesn't listen to things outside the window, and he only reads the books of sages and sages.

In fact, it's not that Ji Yuan didn't spend his money on ideas. Naturally, there are people in the polo club who know horses and horses. It's just that good horses have a price but no market.

Ji Cheng said: "I happen to have two fine horses here. I met someone for sale a few days ago. I thought that good horses are hard to find, so I bought them. Brother, you might as well give it a try."

Ji Cheng's two horses were originally bred in the stables in Lanhua Lane.In fact, since Ji Cheng heard the news of the polo match from Shen Xian and others, he already had an idea in his mind.This horse was not specially prepared for Ji Yuan, but it is very good to use a Maxima as a favor, and if it can match what it likes, the benefits will be huge.

I didn't know that Ji Yuan just joined the Chuyang Society, so this can be used just in time.A few days ago, Ji Cheng had someone bring the horse over, because it was prepared for Ji Yuan and Shen Jing, Ji Lan naturally had nothing to say.

The two horses were quickly brought to Ji Yuan, one was disheveled and gray, looking a little listless, the other was reddish-red and full of energy, but neither was a tall horse, it was very lean.

Ji Yuan took a fancy to the energetic horse at first sight.

Ji Cheng didn't point it out, he led the mixed-haired horse over, fed the horse a mouthful of horse grass, and raised his hand to gently stroke its mane.

Ji Yuan, on the other hand, looked around at the bay red horse, looked at the teeth, and then at the horse's hooves. He now has a little understanding of horses: "This horse is really energetic."

"Get on the horse and try it, brother." Ji Cheng hung the veil that was casually hanging around his left ear to his right ear. This veil actually can't cover anything, it just blocks the wind, so as not to make his skin thicker.

The two first rode side by side through crowded places, and then gradually let go when they reached the vast grassland.

The grassland in Leyouyuan is not like the prairie in the north, where everything you see is green grass. Instead, it is mixed with grass and trees, but the trees are not tall.

The two walked around for a few laps, and Ji Yuan only felt that the horse under his seat was very handy to ride. This bay red horse seemed to be very human, flexible and alert, and Ji Yuan had the illusion that his riding skills had improved by leaps and bounds.

Seeing that Ji Yuan liked it so much that he couldn't close his mouth, Ji Cheng couldn't help smiling, and pointed at the hill in the distance with his horsewhip: "Brother, let's use that hill as a line and see who gets there first?"

Ji Yuan looked at the little Huihui that Ji Cheng was riding that hadn't cheered up: "Are you sure?"

"Very sure." Ji Cheng smiled playfully.

From the small hill where they are standing now to the distant hills, there are several small forests on the way. If they go around the forest, it will be far away, but the speed of riding through the forest will be very slow.Ji Yuan watched for a long time, and after thinking about the route in his mind, he said to Ji Cheng, "Are you ready?"

Ji Cheng nodded.

There is a sparse forest at the foot of the hillside, although riding a horse can pass through it, but Ji Yuan thinks it will be more time-saving to let go of the horse's hooves and run around this forest.

(End of this chapter)