self-improvement as a cook

Chapter 66

As soon as Yue Jintang entered the Jade Garden, he saw the gatekeeper lying on two long benches in the yard, his trousers pulled down, his mouth gagged, half a foot wide, and a board wrapped in cowhide, beating his buttocks, not loudly. But it got heavier and heavier, and still couldn't make a sound.

There were other servants and servants standing around, all of them were terrified, Mei Da sat on the grand teacher's chair in front of the corridor, her face sank like water, she waved her hand when she saw that she was almost done.

The board stopped, Mei Da took a look around, and told the housekeeper: "Give them five taels of silver to go home to recover from their injuries, and come back when they recover. This is for Madam's sake, please forgive me once, if this happens again next time If you are afraid of getting into trouble and don't dare to offend others, you should pay your wages and get out of Meifu, if you stay, you have to figure it out for the master, who is the master, go down."

Only then did everyone retreat tremblingly.

When Mei Day saw Yue Jintang, he raised his eyebrows and said angrily, "Didn't His Royal Highness go to the Governor's Mansion? Why did you come back again? Could it be that you kindly sent your cousin back, but you didn't even care about the meal."

"Brother An, why is this so? Although Yao'er was at fault for this matter today, An Ran didn't suffer at all. Instead, it was Yao'er..." Before Yue Jintang finished speaking, Mei Da's expression changed, and he called Cut off his words: "This temple is too small to fit the big Buddha of His Highness the King of the County. You should invite it."

Yue Jintang smiled wryly: "My concubine mother felt sorry for Yao'er who lost her mother since she was young, and asked me to take care of her at the end of her life. I can't leave her alone. Even the emperor, didn't he treat Shangguan righteously only because of his aunt who died early? Are you quite blue-eyed?"

Mei Da snorted: "If the emperor really has eyes for Shangguan Yi, how could he let you go to Qizhou to invite our husband and wife to Jiangnan this time? In front of the imperial power, there is no affection. What King Ning has done these years, the emperor must It was very clear that the reason for holding back was not because of the queen mother, nor was it because of any brotherhood, but because he wanted to wipe out King Ning's power.

From Liangguang to Jiangnan, Shangguanyi seems to have risen step by step. In fact, he was greedy for money in Guangdong and Guangxi, but he was greedy for money for river control in Lianghuai. Let the Ministry of Households allocate funds for disaster relief, but your uncle embezzled more than half of it. Lianghuai is such a rich place. In that year, hungry people were everywhere, and the emperor had to reduce or exempt the tax burden. He sent you to Jiangnan to sit in town. better.

You and the emperor have been together since childhood, don't you know the emperor's temperament, if he didn't have bigger plans, how could he endure until now, as long as you are, it is a matter of the royal family, and has nothing to do with us ordinary people. Our husband and wife abide by the law, but It doesn't mean you're easy to bully, even if it's the Governor's Mansion, if you dare to come to bully my wife, I won't let her go. This time, I'll let her go for your sake. If there is another time, I will definitely let her know about me. means. "

Yue Jintang knew that An Jiamu hated him very much. This guy was not a good-natured guy. In this world, his wife was the only one who could control him. Except for his wife, the Heavenly King and I would not buy it.

Shangguan Yao slapped An Ran in the other courtyard, which already made him bitter, and now she came to provoke her again. Even if she didn't take advantage, it was tantamount to bullying An Jiamu. If she could bear it, she wouldn't be An Jiamu. Well, the two gatekeepers here today probably died a long time ago.

"Uncle has already confined Yao'er in the governor's mansion, and she is not allowed to come out. Moreover, although she did not make an order, the Queen Mother also said that Yao'er will be promised to King Ning as a side concubine, and when she is married to Prince Ning's mansion..." He said Sighing: "Uncle is getting more and more confused now. He is a high-ranking official in the frontier, and he is eye-catching. This King Ning is a hot potato. Others can't hide, so he just leans up."

Mei snorted loudly: "He is not confused, but he knows that his shortcomings are being pinched by the emperor. If he takes a desperate risk, there may be a chance of survival. If he really waits like this, what good results will he get?"

Yue Jintang shook his head: "Even if he was greedy for money, he has no heart of disobedience. With the emperor's affection for mother and child, it is not difficult to spare the lives of their father and daughter."

Mei laughed loudly: "You really haven't changed at all for so many years. You think Shangguanyi is you, and you just want to eat, drink, and have fun. If that's the case, do you need to go through so much trouble? He is very ambitious, what's more, even if the Emperor reads to spare him in the face of respecting the Queen Mother, he will definitely confiscate his family and dismiss him from office. With your uncle's temperament, it would be more satisfying to kill him than to let him go back to live a hard life. Therefore, He will look for King Ning. King Ning is the last straw in your uncle's hands, but unfortunately, this straw has long been a thorn in the Emperor's eyes."

As he said that, he glanced at Yue Jintang: "Looking at our past friendship, I have to advise you to avoid contact with your uncle. Those who know say that you value love and righteousness, but those who don't know that you think you are as good as Shangguan Yi." What is involved? Since you are in the middle of the court, you have to understand a truth. This line has to stand clearly. Don't put one foot here while the other leg is stretched to the opposite side. This is the most taboo thing. The emperor doesn't say anything to his face, but do you know what's on his mind? Since ancient times, the imperial power has no father and son, let alone brothers, think about it for yourself." After speaking, he left Yue Jintang and turned away.

Yue Jintang stood there in a daze for a long time before he came back to his senses, subconsciously wiped his forehead, his brow was covered in cold sweat, yes, how could he forget the emperor's temperament, the emperor was not the prince who fought with him back then Yes, he is the Ninth Five-Year Lord, the emperor of Dayan.

As the saying goes, no one is allowed to snore on the side of the couch, what's more, King Ning's ambitions have been clearly revealed. In recent years, the Wang clan has grown secretly and has vaguely threatened the emperor.

The emperor was extremely tolerant towards Ning Wang before. If the matter of Songyue Tower was left in the past two years, the emperor would not care about it. Just like Zheng Chunyang and Han Zizhang's royal chef competition five years ago, the emperor may not know the details, but he just pretended Being deaf and dumb is just to give the Queen Mother a chance.

Now he is arguing with King Ning over such a trivial matter because of a Tanhualang, which means that the emperor is going to make a move. What does the emperor think, the palace has hidden guards all over the world, what can be hidden from the emperor, even if it is far away in the south of the Yangtze River, the emperor probably knows everything that happened in the past few days.

It's a good thing that I'm still in the court, so I can't understand these things, but I am more grateful to An Jiamu, knowing that he has a sincere relationship with me, otherwise, I would never have said these things.

Moreover, I have repeatedly reminded Shangguan Yi that he has done his utmost to be benevolent and righteous, and even if he is convicted, it is his own fault, and his mother and concubine Quanxia know it, and they will not blame themselves.

Thinking of this, my mood suddenly became brighter. As soon as I was in a good mood, I felt hungry and unbearable. I glanced at the housekeeper: "What did your master and wife have for dinner?"

The corner of the manager's mouth twitched, and he said to himself, it's already midnight, and this co-author still wants to eat here, but he is a prince, so I can't offend him, so he said: "Madam made beef noodles today."

Speaking of beef noodles, the butler couldn't help but swallowed his saliva. After the competition in Songyue Tower yesterday, no one knows the wife's cooking skills. Now who doesn't envy working in Cuiyuan, guarding such a top chef every day? , although it is impossible to eat the dishes cooked by my wife every day, there are many benefits.

Don't mention small fry, let's just talk about stewed meat. When my wife stews meat, she will never just stew a little bit. Usually, she will stew it in a big pot. Except for what the master and wife eat, the rest will be cheaper for them.

Today's beef noodles are just that. My wife stewed a pot of beef and boiled a large bucket of beef soup. The maid on the stove didn't learn how to make noodles, so I can only roll noodles. The beef soup made by his wife is also extremely delicious. He ate two big bowls of noodles tonight, and he still can't get enough of it.

As soon as Yue Jintang saw the virtue of swallowing his saliva, he knew that the beef noodles must be delicious, but, having said that, which one of the food that came out of this girl's hand was not delicious, and he felt even hungrier: "Go and get it for me. A bowl."

The butler was taken aback: "Well, Your Highness, it's already midnight, what's more, madam makes stretched noodles, and others don't have this skill."

But who is Yue Jintang, because of his stuttering, his own father can deny him, and the servant girl can't stretch the noodles, so what's the fear? Isn't there a dog? Gouzi is An Ran's apprentice, and such a job as stretching noodles can be difficult for him no.

Thinking about it, he stood up and smashed the Gouzi door. Gouzi barked at him in a daze, only to realize that His Royal Highness wanted to eat noodles. After a long time, the master even praised him, saying that he was a fast learner, and he was worried that he would not have the opportunity to practice. Yue Jintang wanted to eat noodles, which was exactly what he wanted.

After washing his face neatly, he went to the kitchen, and Yue Jintang also followed curiously, watching Gouzi kneading the noodles, stretching the noodles, seeing Gouzi's small hands shaking a few times, the noodles stretched long, suddenly Thinking of the Huai'an tea shop that An Ran made in Qizhou, he couldn't help but say: "It turns out that we can also make noodles like this."

Gouzi took out the noodles, mixed them with beef soup, and scooped a few pieces of beef on top. Yue Jintang was about to sandwich the beef, but Gouzi stopped him: "My master said, you have to drink the soup before eating beef noodles. Then eat the noodles, and then taste the beef, this is authentic."

Pfft... Yue Jintang was happy, but your master had a lot of things to do, but he ate it as Gouzi said, his eyes lit up, and it was indeed different. The meat, when you bite into it, the juice is flowing and the aroma is overflowing.

Xilihulu ate up the whole bowl of noodles, and pushed the empty bowl over: "Give me another bowl."

After eating two large sea bowls, he touched his stomach, hiccupped, let out a sigh of relief, and looked at Gouzi: "You kid, you're about to master your skills."

Gouzi shook his head: "It's early, I have to learn all the skills of the master."

Yue Jintang shook his head and laughed: "If you really want to do this, you will never want to become a teacher in your life."

But Gouzi was not discouraged: "My master said, as long as you work hard, you can become a great chef like the master."

Yue Jintang was stunned for a moment, attentive?This girl is really a hard-working cook, but hard work doesn't hinder making money. The Songyuelou business is over. I have to think about how to open this restaurant. Although business is An Jiamu's strong point, I still have to ask. Ask An Ran, this girl is quite knowledgeable.

It's a pity that when he came the next day, the housekeeper said that Mrs. Master had gone to Xishan, Yue Jintang was stunned, and said dissatisfiedly that he was not at home and went to Xishan to do something, but he also brought someone to look for him.

An Ran didn't expect that Mei Hui would bring her to climb the mountain, but when she was sleeping yesterday, she occasionally said that she wanted to climb the mountain, and she came to Xishan early this morning.

Mei Da was about to go up the mountain road, but was caught by An Ran, who pointed out, "Let's go up there."

Mei Dashun looked over: "There is no road over there, I'm not afraid, you can go up, if you can't climb up for a while, it's troublesome, it's better to go up the mountain road, when you are tired, I can still carry you up." looking at you."

An Ran was not happy anymore, and her competitive spirit was aroused: "Then let's compete to see who will reach the top of the mountain first, how about?"

Mei Da loved her little daughter-in-law so much, her eyes were bright and she was very energetic, suddenly she felt that she was right to come out this time, she almost forgot about this girl's temperament when she stayed at home, and laughed: "Okay, if You won, and when I go down the mountain in a while, I will carry you down."

An Ran stretched out her hand, and Mei laughed and patted her hand, and the two of them high-fived each other as oaths.

An Ran stood at the bottom and looked up. The mountains in Suzhou are facing the lake. The scenery is beautiful and the mountains are relatively gentle.

An Ran looked down at herself, no wonder she asked herself to wear men's clothes today, lifted the hem of the robe and tied it around her waist, took a look at Mei Da, saw him smiling at her, and couldn't help saying: "You want Let me lose in a while, so don't play tricks." Then he ignored him and climbed up with all four limbs.

The reason why they came to climb the mountain was to avoid Yue Jintang, and the couple went out to relax. Although she wanted to climb the mountain, Mei Da really didn't expect his wife to be so agile.

Mei Da was quite shocked to see An Ran's dexterous figure, walking on the mountain wall, like an ape, but in an instant, he climbed the old height, and Mei Da hurriedly jumped up.

At the beginning, she still wanted to let her go, but she gradually realized that the little daughter-in-law was climbing so fast that if she let go, she couldn't catch up at all, so she used all her strength unconsciously, and the two climbed up almost hand in hand. Finally, We reached the top of the mountain almost at the same time.

The two looked at each other and smiled, feeling extremely happy in their hearts. Mei Da saw that her forehead was sweating, and was afraid that she would catch cold, so she took out a handkerchief and wiped it carefully for her, An Ran grabbed his hand, pulled him to find a big bluestone and sat down. , Overlooking the past, you can see a beautiful lake and mountains, which is too beautiful to absorb.

An Ran breathed out: "The scenery here is really nice." Mei Da looked at her sideways, and tried to ask for a while: "Did you often climb mountains before?"

Although she couldn't explain her origin too clearly, An Ran didn't want to hide it from him. Besides, she couldn't hide it either. It was already known to everyone that she was born in Anfu.

She and Mei Da are a husband and wife who get along day and night, and they are people who will live a lifetime. It is impossible for her to hide her original personality. Therefore, it is absolutely difficult for Mei Da to hide certain things from others.

An Ran is also very clear about his intentional or unintentional temptations recently. If it were him, he would have asked the question a long time ago. There is a world of difference between him and the girl in Anfu from education background to growth experience. It is God's will to become a person Just kidding, but she is not that confused girl at all.

Moreover, the two are husband and wife, so they should understand each other. Thinking of this, An Ran nodded: "I often climb, besides cooking, I also like to exercise, such as mountain climbing, swimming is like swimming, and I will walk around in my free time. There is no purpose, sometimes it is a small town near the water, sometimes it is a village in the mountains, experience different folk customs, the eating habits of each place are different, look for unique tastes from them, and combine these tastes with traditional dishes, It’s a completely different and innovative dish.”

Then he paused: "In the past, I was obsessed with completing the Anjia food list, and then passed it on for a long time. Later, I realized that this kind of thinking is too narrow, and I have to settle down for anything. What's the difference, I always say that Tianxia Kitchen is a family and there should be no factions, but thinking about supplementing An Kee's menu, isn't it contradictory."

Mei Da: "Aren't you going to record Anji's food list in the future?"

An Ran shook her head: "I will still record the dishes I know, the traditional ones, the innovative ones, and my own experience in cooking. I'll organize them into a book, so that anyone who cooks can see them."

As he said that, he turned his head to look at him: "I remember I told you in Fuchunju, I can't tell who I am, sometimes, I feel confused, and I feel that maybe this is my dream. I don't know what you want to know, let alone how to explain it to you, all I know is that I am An Ran and a cook."

As he spoke, he couldn't help laughing: "I seem to be getting more and more confused the more I talk, don't I?"

Mei Da stretched out her hand to hold her face, and looked at her carefully for a long time: "I can tell you clearly, this is not a dream, I can feel you clearly, how could it be a dream? I just want to ask you, will you suddenly disappear?"

An Ran was stunned for a moment, to be honest, she didn't know, until now, she didn't know how she got through, and when she was about to speak, she was blocked by Mei Da's lips, her lips and tongue were intertwined, and they were fond of each other, at this moment An Ran felt There are only them left in the whole world, and there is no one else.

He kissed her for a long time, until An Ran felt that there was almost no air left in his chest, he let her go, and said in a low voice: "If you dare to disappear suddenly, go to the poor and fall to hell, I will catch you back."

This sentence is very domineering, but it made An Ran laugh briskly, and leaned into his arms: "I am your wife, and will be the mother of our children in the future. I still want to live a life where my children are around my knees. How can I be willing to disappear?" .”

However, for him to be so nervous about himself, I feel very happy.

Yue Jintang came along the mountain road, and as soon as he reached the top of the mountain, he saw Mei Da hugging his daughter-in-law, sitting on the big bluestone not far away, Yue Jintang couldn't help but feel jealous because of her loving appearance.

Are these two too affectionate, coughed loudly, An Ran hurriedly came out of Mei Da's arms, turned her head to see Yue Jintang, she couldn't help blushing, I don't know how long he has been up here, did she see her kissing Mei Da?

Mei glared at him, and said angrily, "Why are you here?"

Yue Jintang walked over innocently, sat down on the rock opposite the two of them, and looked around: "You two know how to find a place, the scenery here is really good."

Mei Da frowned: "Get to the point."

Yue Jintang rubbed his nose: "I just want to discuss with you, I've thought about it, this is the first time I invite a few famous officials from Jiangnan, headed by Mr. Mingyue, but I don't know what name to invite, so I can't just talk about dinner. "

An Ran's eyes flickered, and he said: "I heard that there are many old wines hidden in His Highness's other courtyard, as long as His Highness is willing to take them out, it would be logical to invite a few famous officials to come and taste them."

Yue Jintang's eyes lit up: "That's right, why didn't this king remember it, so what kind of food do you cook?"

An Ran smiled: "You don't have to worry about this, just make sure they are satisfied."

But Yue Jintang said: "These old men are more talkative than the other, but they are the most difficult to serve."

Mei said impatiently: "If you are worried, or you can do it."

Yue Jintang choked on his words, shut his mouth embarrassingly, and said in his heart, if my king had the culinary skills of your wife, he would have made a fortune by now, and there is no need to rack his brains to find ways to make money.

An Ran thinks that as long as he understands their hearts, these literati and celebrities are not difficult to deal with. Literati pay attention to food, and the taste is second. As long as there is an elegant source, even the simplest dishes are delicious.

Just like modern, ordinary restaurants, they pay attention to large quantities and good taste, and the common people are looking for benefits, but those high-end private kitchens, from the environment to the service, no matter what kind of tablecloths are spread on the tables, and what kind of tablecloths are spread on the tables, as well as sitting on the seats. Every scene must be carefully arranged.

But try to avoid man-made traces as much as possible. Although it is carefully designed, it makes people feel that the word "natural" is the highest state. When dining in this kind of place, even a simple plate of fried potato shreds will rise instantly. After several grades, it becomes different.

Therefore, according to the diners' preferences, it is a must-have quality for a top chef to prepare dishes and wine. Moreover, these dishes are meaningless. It is interesting to let these literati taste the dishes themselves and let them discover the origin of the dishes. .

I didn't understand these things after I told Yue Jintang, so I just let Gouzi prepare.

Yue Jintang was very efficient in his work, and when he returned home, he posted a post in the name of Prince Xiaoyao, saying that he got some old vintage wine, and invited a few gentlemen to come to Cuiyuan for tasting. A total of seven literati and famous officials came, including Yue Jintang, exactly eight people.

These people don't look like they have official positions, but they are all very arrogant. Even Yue Jintang posted a post, and he was not sure that he would be able to invite them, but he didn't want to come. Yue Jintang also said how he had such a big face. After listening to the voices of these people, I finally understood that these people are not here for their own face, let alone some old wine, they are here for Cuiyuan, to put it bluntly, they are here for Enron.

Not to mention that An Ran's reputation in Qizhou has spread far and wide, that is, the two competitions with Wang Pinrong in Songyue Tower a few days ago are now widely spread in the south of the Yangtze River. Before that, An Ran competed in Qizhou. After all, he didn't see it with his own eyes. Looking at it, the dishes that An Ran cooked in Songyue Tower are even more popular.

What's more, there are quite a few people here who witnessed it with their own eyes. An Ran was very yearning for An Ran's culinary skills when he cooked golden squid and jade carp that day. , I also want to come and have a look.

The banquet was set up in the small hall near the water in the East Garden. They came quite early. Yue Jintang and Mrs. Mei walked around the West Garden for a while before entering the small hall of the East Garden.

As soon as she came in and sat down, a servant woman served tea and said: "This is a wild chrysanthemum picked by our wife in Xishan. Gentlemen, let's try something new." Said, put the tea cups on the plate one by one on the small table .

Mr. Mingyue picked up the teacup, looked at it carefully and nodded, "There is a saying that Xing porcelain is like snow, and Yue porcelain is like ice. This Xing kiln porcelain is the most suitable for tea cups."

Opening the lid, I couldn't help being stunned, I saw two white chrysanthemums with green cores on the clear water, which are the most common wild chrysanthemums, but floating in the clear water, there is an indescribable beauty, take a sip, the faint chrysanthemum fragrance is not strong , but there is a touch of sweetness in the aftertaste, so I can't help nodding.

Yue Jintang was dumbfounded when he saw it, and thought to himself, isn't this girl fooling around? Who are these people? They are all extremely talkative. In his opinion, he must be the best Biluochun to get into the mouths of these people. , But what is this, soaking wild chrysanthemums in clear water, this is really difficult.

Stealing a glance at the old men, they couldn't help being stunned. The gentlemen stroked their beards and nodded, their expressions were quite happy, as if they were very satisfied with the bowl of wild chrysanthemums soaked in water, so they went to Mr. Mingyue To the front: "If you are not used to drinking, my king will ask someone to change it for you."

Mr. Mingyue glanced at him: "This is already excellent, what should I change?"

Yue Jintang said in his heart, my good intentions turned out to be disgusting, this girl is really good, she can be fooled by this.

Just as he was thinking about it, he saw the servant woman bring up the dishes. The first dish that Yue Jintang recognized was the silver shreds he had eaten, followed by a clear and green vegetable soup.

Yue Jintang suddenly became one head and two big, this silver shredded bread was barely passable, what's the matter with this vegetable soup, this clear soup lacks water, it is strange to look at it, and he knows this thing, as long as it is near the water and ditches Yes, I saw it when I first came here. No one would eat such a dish for nothing.

I didn't have the courage to look at the gentlemen anymore, but suddenly I heard a gentleman say: "There is a poem from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, saying that rice is boiled with celery from Qingnifang, fresh crucian carp and silver shreds, parsley and green stew. The delicacies mentioned in Du Gongbu's poem...

Exactly, exactly, do you see that this Zhengtang soup is as clear as the clear water in the mountain stream, and the taste is clear and fragrant, as the poem says, extremely elegant and elegant. "

Hearing that, Yue Jintang couldn't help holding the spoon and took a spoonful. Although it wasn't bad, it wasn't as delicious as what they said. This made Yue Jintang feel that what he ate was not the same as what the gentlemen ate. .

Just as he was thinking, the third dish was also served. Yue Jintang was relieved to see that it was finally normal, but it was not too normal. Stewed cut out.

Yue Jintang was very skeptical, whether this dish was made by An Ran, so he picked up a chopstick, and as the saying goes, it is not bad, but it is not a top-quality food, so he was very disappointed.

But Mr. Mingyue was very excited when he saw him, and said with a smile: "His Royal Highness, it's time for your old wine to be served. It is said that there is very green wine in the hall, and there is only golden chicken on the plate. It's really embarrassing for this girl. I even remembered this dish."

The person next to him shook his head and said: "The white wine is just ripening, and the yellow chicken is fat, so this is the happiest life."

Yue Jintang was really convinced, but he didn't taste good at all, but judging from the meaning of these people, it seems that the most delicious food in the world is nothing more than that. No wonder the emperor often said that these literati and famous officials have some eccentricities. They can't follow the usual way. Not only are they eccentric, they are simply elusive. What kind of mouth is this? They even say they are tricky, so they can be so happy when they eat normally.

With the excitement of the first three dishes, Yue Jintang didn't look forward to the fourth dish at all. When he came up to see it, he was even more dumbfounded. The color was green, but it was just a plate of leeks, so he asked the servant: "What kind of dish is this?"

The servant girl replied: "Madam said this is the night rain and spring leeks."

As soon as the servant woman finished speaking, she heard a gentleman say: "What a night rain to cut spring leeks, very elegant, very elegant."

Yue Jintang looked at the plate of cold leeks, his mind was full of glutinous rice, so he simply sat down and said nothing, watching these gentlemen ate wine and vegetables, and chanted poems from time to time.

The fifth dish was a dim sum, which looked very ordinary. Yue Jintang was used to it, so he picked it up and took a bite. It smelled like rosin, which was very special: "What kind of dim sum is this?"

The servant woman said: "Madam said it was pine yellow cake."

As soon as the servant woman finished speaking, she heard Mr. Mingyue say: "The cakes are mixed with pine and yellow. In February, the pine nuts are knocked on the plate and the frost is cold. In the past, Yang Chengzhai once said that when Ge Yuanming returned home, he served wine with pine and yellow cakes. Drink and taste this." , The poet is full of joy in the mountains and forests, and feels that the hump and bear's paw are all downhill, but this pine yellow cake is even more rare than delicacies from mountains and seas."

In the end, Yue Jintang was already numb. He felt that he had no common language with these old men, and his taste was even different. After thinking about it, he felt that it didn’t matter if he didn’t like it. Extremely satisfied.

Yue Jintang glanced at the wine jars on the ground, and then looked again. Several old gentlemen who were clearly drunk began to rub their hands one by one. Compared to writing poems, they were either with food on the plate or wine in the glass.

Then, at this time, it was discovered that several servants carried several long tables and lined up on the edge of the water outside the pavilion. On the long tables, there were all kinds of pens, inks, papers, inkstones, inks and paints. Looking at the past, those who wrote poems wrote poems, and those who painted pictures painted pictures, tossing and tossing and holding the lamp for ten minutes before leaving.

After seeing off the gentlemen, Yue Jintang felt tired and hungry, and knew where to find delicious food, so he ran straight to the kitchen.As soon as I entered the small courtyard of the kitchen, I could smell the smell of meat. I saw a half-height stone table in the middle with a charcoal stove on it. There was a round iron plate on the charcoal stove, and the iron plate was grilling with meat.

Mrs. Mei and Gouzi, the three of them were eating happily around the table, and Yue Jintang rushed over, took a pair of chopsticks and went to pinch the meat on the iron plate, and said while eating: "You are too It’s not interesting enough, co-author, just throw me in front and wait for those old men to eat a mess of dishes, and you eat such good things in the back.”

An Ran was not happy anymore: "What a mess? Just do it and let me see."

Yue Jintang stuffed his mouth and swallowed it with great difficulty. Hearing this, he couldn't help being happy: "I said, how do you know that they like this kind of food? If this king goes to some restaurant, you dare to give me this kind of food." The dish, this king smashed his signboard is light."

Gouzi said: "The master said that it is a university question to prepare dishes according to the preferences of the diners. Whether the dishes are good or not depends on whether the diners are satisfied. As long as the diners like it, even the most common shredded radish is the most delicious in the world. "

Yue Jintang was stunned for a moment, this sounded very reasonable, but how to define whether it is delicious or not depends on the diners, but he said regretfully: "However, you are wasting your time on this meal , these literati are all poor ghosts, it is impossible to expect them to give money."

An Ran smiled: "They have already given it."

Yue Jintang hurriedly shook his head: "Where is it, why didn't I see it?"

Mei Da looked at him and shook her head: "Do you know the market price of Mr. Mingyue's writing? How much is Mr. Tao's painting worth? Whose poems, whose words, etc..."

He said that Yue Jintang's eyes lit up, and before Mei Da finished speaking, Yue Jintang hurriedly said: "So, just some calligraphy and painting, ouch, hurry up and put it away for me, it's all money."

Gouzi said: "It's been put away long ago, and it's already been hung up. It will be hung in a conspicuous place in the living room in front of us. Anyone who comes can see it."

Yue Jintang was immediately discouraged: "I can't exchange money for a long time."

"Are you really stupid or fake? It's only a few silver coins. The reason why you invited a few gentlemen is for silver."

Yes, to spread the word.

Sure enough, after the gentlemen went back, they didn’t stop. They were probably too satisfied with the food. They all wrote poems and lyrics, and praised the dishes made by An Ran to the best of heaven and earth. Coupled with the exaggeration and praise of several Jiangnan literati and famous officials, within a few days, no one in the entire Jiangnan would know the green garden of Meifu.

Naturally, ordinary people don't care about these things. No matter what time it is, they live their own lives. Those who can eat, clothe and warm their families and live in harmony are fine. Those who pursue their appetites are rich people.

In particular, there are many salt merchants in the south of the Yangtze River, which are more beautiful and prosperous than Kyoto. I originally wanted to try the dishes made by Chef An. Garden for a meal.

At this moment, there was a news that you could enter Cuiyuan through Xiaoyao County Wang Yuejintang. Once this news was released, it was amazing. Those wealthy and wealthy businessmen would all sharpen their heads to find a way out and deliver it to Yuejintang's other courtyard. Post, I look forward to going to Jade Garden to see and see.

Then Yue Jintang began to invite people to Cuiyuan very courteously, once every three days, and those who only visited once, after they came out, they were full of praise, from the elegance of Cuiyuan to the exquisite dishes, and even Refreshments after dinner.

So much so that Yue Jintang’s other courtyard was almost overwhelmed by people who posted posts looking for a way out, and they all wanted to enter Jade Garden.

At the same time, Yue Jintang was settling accounts with Mei Da in Cuiyuan, and the beads of the abacus were crackling.

After the calculation, I was dumbfounded. I stared at the abacus beads for a long time before saying: "It's only a month, and there are 10 taels of silver. I didn't make a mistake in the calculation. This is too incredible. How is it possible, Brother Mei?" , you pinch me, why do I feel like I'm dreaming..."

Mei Da pinched him unceremoniously, and Yue Jintang let out a scream, and then laughed foolishly: "It's really not a dream, I sent it..."

(End of this chapter)