King of Song

Chapter 21

In April of the lunar calendar, it is already summer time, and the weather is getting hotter and hotter.Lin Zhao was very fortunate to travel by water, the humid cool wind was very uncomfortable, and the boat on the water was much more stable, so he highly appreciated the canals and water transport of the Song Dynasty.

From Jiangning, take a boat down the river to Guazhou Ferry near Yangzhou, then turn into Hangou and go north along the canal, cross the Huai River and then enter the Bianhe River to reach Bianjing directly, saving the trouble of traveling and horses.

The boat was originally owned by the Meng family, and the head of the boat, Miss Meng, was also on board, so the service was naturally extremely thoughtful.The boatman and helmsman operate carefully, and the boat sails smoothly.There are also servants and maids who serve tea and water, and they really open their mouths while stretching out their hands for food.Green mountains and green waters, a boat trip, so comfortable!
The only thing is, the food is not very good!
After thinking about it, Lin Zhao felt that he still had to do it himself in order to be able to compete with the gods in delicious food, so he just took this opportunity to continue teaching Gu Yuelun how to cook.Before departure, the dishes and seasonings are prepared, and they can be replenished at any time when stopping along the way.Especially when the boat is on the river, you can occasionally catch a few fat fish and a few fresh shrimps!
After seeing Lin Zhao's cooking skills, Meng Ruoying was amazed!According to the lost records in ancient books, the Buddha Jumping Over the Wall is simply Lin Zhao's masterpiece, and Gu Yuelun is just helping him to cover up!

Like Gu Yuelun, Meng Ruoying was also deeply suspicious, and couldn't figure it out, how could a scholar have such heaven-defying cooking skills?Could it be that they were all taught by Gu Qi?Didn't it say that a gentleman stays away from the kitchen?Meng Ruoying shook her head lightly, Lin Zhao!How much weirdness is there in you hypocrite?

At least for one thing, Meng Ruoying is very lucky now, and it was right to keep Lin Zhao to cooperate with her.With such craftsmanship and Lin Zhao's messy ideas, it's no wonder that the restaurant's business is not booming.In the future, it will definitely become a leader in Bianjing's catering industry, and it may even directly surpass Fanlou and Rendian!But there are only three years, so hurry up, maybe he has a way in other industries, so that people can make the best use of their talents...

Lin Zhao didn't know that Ms. Meng was thinking about how to extract value from him, so she asked with a smile, "How is it? How does this squirrel mandarin fish taste?"

"Extremely delicious!" Meng Ruoying replied with a smile, that gluttonous eating appearance did not have the image of a lady like everyone.

"Well, that's good!" Lin Zhao said with a smile: "If it tastes good, eat more. After passing this village, there is no such shop. Chef Lin will show his hand this time."

Meng Ruoying laughed angrily and said, "Hmph, cheapskate, I also said that I will let you make it next time I want to eat it!"

"Do it yourself to have enough food and clothing, if you want to eat, learn to eat!" Lin Zhao said with a smile: "My eldest lady, can you cook?"

Meng Ruoying shook her head lightly. It's normal for a rich lady like her to be served by others since she was a child.

"This is impossible. As the saying goes, you can go to the hall, go to the kitchen, and enter the boudoir...cough, if you don't know how to cook, how can you make a spoon with your bare hands and teach your husband?" Lin Zhao joked: "The old saying goes again, Only by grabbing a man's stomach can he grab a man's heart, alas...Miss Meng, I'm really worried about your future..."

"Where are there so many slang words, I think you made them up..." Meng Ruoying immediately lowered her head and said, "It's a pity that I have never learned it, and I don't have the time to learn it..."

Lin Zhao smiled and said, "Isn't this the right time? I have nothing to do, why don't I teach Ms. Meng how to cook, and teach you how to cook..."

"lecher……"

Almost every day I chat and joke like this to pass the loneliness and boredom during the boat trip!
After passing Hongze Lake this day, Lin Zhao obviously noticed that there were more boats on the river, and said curiously, "Boats come and go, with thousands of sails racing, there are really a lot of boats transported by water!"

"That's natural!" Meng Ruoying said: "There are millions of people in Bianjing, and they need a lot of money and food. Most of them are transported from the south of the Yangtze River, so the water transport is naturally prosperous."

Lin Zhao secretly said that this middle school history has been learned. In ancient times, since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the economic center of gravity was hard to shift. In the Southern Song Dynasty, there was a saying that "Suhu is familiar, the world is full".Both Sui, Tang and Northern Song inevitably needed, and even relied on the support of Jianghuai money and food.It can be seen from this that the existence of the canal is of great significance. This is probably the greatest legacy left by Emperor Sui Yang to history!
"I remember that the Meng family also seems to have a shipping business, making a lot of money, right?" Lin Zhao asked with a smile.

"Money fanatic!" Meng Ruoying smiled and said, "So there are things you don't understand? I thought you knew everything!"

"Please enlighten me, Ms. Meng!" Lin Zhao smiled faintly, and decided to satisfy Ms. Meng's vanity.

It was not easy to meet someone who knew more than Lin Zhao and could make him bow his head to ask for advice. Meng Ruoying was quite proud and said with a smile: "It's not as simple as imagined! The demand for water transportation is huge. If the water boat runs smoothly, it will indeed make a lot of money. But …When sailing a boat on a river, it is inevitable that there will be times when the wind is rough and the waves will be high, and sometimes the boat will sink and people will die.

You can see that the canal is calm and the waves are calm, but there is a different scene at the crossing of the big river.You saw it at the Guazhou Ferry the day before yesterday. Fortunately, the river there is relatively stable...but the Huai River is different. After crossing Hongze Lake from Chuzhou to Sizhou, you have to walk in the Huai River to get there. Enter the Bianhe River.

That section of the river is wide, especially in the area of ​​Shanyang Bay where Surabaya flows in. The current is turbulent, the wind is strong and the waves are high, and the boat is bumpy, so it is easy to be in danger.Bai Letian of the previous generation had a poem that said: Huai River is wide in the southeast, and it is difficult without wind. It refers to that place! "

"So water transportation is not so safe?" Lin Zhao also learned a lesson, because his understanding of ancient water transportation was too shallow.

Meng Ruoying said: "There are countless ships sunk in Shanyang Bay. My Meng family also sank several grain ships there in the early years and drowned many boatmen. It is precisely because of this that my ancestors gradually gave up shipping and focused on silk cloth. Stable industries such as restaurants and restaurants!"

There is a history of blood and tears behind every successful businessman!Lin Zhao sighed: "Could it be that there are no other rivers available? Doesn't it mean that the Jianghuai area is densely covered with water networks?"

"How can a small river pass a large ship? The imperial court also paid great attention to this, and sent people to dig another canal on the right side of Huai River in order to avoid Shanyang Bay. Unfortunately, the river will only be open for a few tens of miles within a hundred years. There are many difficulties!"

In ancient times, there were no construction machinery, and it was all relying on manpower. It is naturally not easy to dig a canal, and Lin Zhao fully understands it.

Meng Ruoying said: "I'm afraid we will enter the Huai River at noon today, and then you will see the storms and waves in the Huai River. I hope everything goes well."

Sure enough, not long after the boat entered the Huai River, Lin Zhao obviously felt the boat was pitching and shaking.Gu Yuelun was very uncomfortable, and even developed symptoms of seasickness.Fortunately, the Meng family's boatman and helmsman were experienced, and the eldest lady happened to be on board, so she was naturally more cautious.Therefore, although several people were nervous, they were not worried.

However, the development of things is often unexpected. In Shanyang Bay, where the current is the most turbulent, an exclamation was suddenly heard.Standing at the window, the three of them could clearly see a big boat going down the river at an extremely fast speed, ignoring the passing boats, and even ignoring his own safety.

Seeing that the boat was about to collide with it, thanks to the experienced boatman, he quickly turned the rudder to avoid disaster.It was precisely because of this that he had to deviate from the navigation, and the hull was beaten by the turbulence and shook violently.

The two women couldn't stand still at all, and they both fell down. Thanks to Lin Zhao's sharp eyesight and quick hands, he hugged the two women in time.I haven't enjoyed the good feeling for a while, and I can't stand on my feet, and I fell down directly. In order to prevent the two girls from falling, I honorably acted as a meat pad...

The violent shaking lasted for half an hour, and finally gradually stabilized, much more stable.The two women finally stood up, Gu Yuelun was still in shock, Meng Ruoying was relatively calm, looking at a prodigal son angrily, frowning and staring angrily...

Lin Zhao said cheekily: "Hey, what's the matter with you, Miss? You've already passed the dangerous shoal, don't worry, I'm here, don't be afraid!"

"Hmph!" Meng Ruoying snorted coldly, her face was full of anger, she wanted to get angry, but she didn't know how to speak.It happened that the boatman came to report, but he had no choice but to swallow his anger first.

Lin Zhao over there was quite proud, and asked with a smile, "What happened just now?"

"There was a boat on the opposite side rubbing against us. Fortunately, we avoided it in time. It's all right!" The boatman stretched out his sleeves and wiped the sweat from his forehead. It seemed that they were working very hard, or maybe they were afraid of being nervous!

"See who is there? The boat is so fraught!" Meng Ruoying comforted Gu Yuelun, expressing her dissatisfaction angrily.If he knew, he would have avoided the shipwreck and killed just now.

"Back to Miss, the little one just saw the flag on the ship, it seems to be the ship of the Prince's Mansion of Yuhang County..."

Meng Ruoying sighed softly and remained silent!

"Hmph, the king of the county? There's something behind it! Are all the dog slaves in the house so domineering?" Lin Zhao didn't like this kind of power.

"Forget it! We can't afford to mess with it, as long as it's okay!"

Lin Zhao sighed softly, these phoenix sons and grandsons are really too arrogant.He never expected that some casual experiences along the way would be inextricably linked with him in the days to come...

After crossing the Huai River and entering the Bian River, the water flow returned to calm!There is no obstacle for the boat, the wind is blowing and the sail is hanging, and it is heading straight forward. The destination Bianjing is already in sight!
(End of this chapter)