Three Kingdoms.

  Chapter 1383 Flowering

  On New Year's Eve, the city of Pingyang was very lively, and firecrackers sounded from time to time.

Tonight, the gates of the city can’t be restrained, the neighborhoods are not closed, there are people in hotels and restaurants drinking with each other, and there are also family members sitting around to watch the festival together, and some young boys in the suburbs light bonfires, throwing firecrackers one after another in the middle, everyone It seems that everyone has their own joy.

  Only within the academy, in the depths of the small courtyard, there is a single lamp and two figures.

During the day, the Cai Mansion is preparing for the New Year’s Eve, so the maids and the old woman are busy cooking the New Year’s Eve dinner, and there are people coming and going, so I don’t think it’s a big deal, but when it’s time for the real New Year’s Eve dinner at night, an indescribable feeling The loneliness still came up...

   Maids and mothers-in-law are not qualified to sit at the same table with Cai Yan, and the only one who can serve close to him is Feng Shu who can barely sit for a while, but even so, the family banquet between the two is extremely deserted.

  Decided trees from other lands, people living alone in the cold lamp.

  Bong Shu brought a bowl of white fungus soup to Cai Yan, and said, "Ms., I boiled this all afternoon... If you don't eat it, it will be cold..."

  In normal times, Fengshu would not bother Cai Yan on purpose, but after all, tonight is different. In order to ease Cai Yan's emotions, Fengshu almost tried his best, even at the risk of being scolded by Cai Yan.

Cai Yan smiled slightly, but the smile was fleeting. He took the small bowl in Fengshu's hand, fiddled with it twice with a spoon, and watched a few pieces of white fungus rippling in the clear soup, but did not eat it. Instead, he initiated a daze again.

   Seeing Feng Shu, I couldn't help feeling a little worried and pity. She has been with Cai Yan since she was a child, and after getting along for a long time, she naturally knows Cai Yan's temperament. Like Cai Yan's smile now, it is also put on to appease others, and she must not know how bitter she is.

Cai Yan will only keep many things in his heart, rarely talk about them, let alone argue, just like hearing some students in the academy argue about issues, which are obviously wrong, but Cai Yan also basically It's not like some people, eager to pour out all the ink in their stomachs for others to see, most of the time they just smile lightly and don't comment.

  Study is like this, so is emotion. Feng Shu is by Cai Yan's side every day, and only when he stays for a long time can he detect some clues from Cai Yan's behavior. Otherwise, looking at Cai Yan's easy-talking and laughing appearance on weekdays, he would never have thought how much Cai Yan misses him now. father.

Cai Yan just looked at it, held it, but didn't eat it. He wanted to persuade him with the letter, but he opened his mouth but didn't know what to say, so he sat aside helplessly, and stretched out his hand to wrap the fur coat around Cai Yan's body again. . Seeing that the dishes are getting colder and colder, it seems that my heart is also getting colder, and I can't get any more heat.

   "Xiao Niang, why don't I take it down and heat it..." Feng Shu touched the edge of the bowl and said.

   It took a long time for the dishes to be served, but neither of them had much appetite. The dishes on the table, although there are fish and meat, are more like a formality than there is really much interest in eating.

"Ah? Oh, no need..." Cai Yan picked up the bowl, put some casually into his mouth, and then said, "Eat any more, let's take it away..." Even though he felt a thousand kinds of discomfort in his heart, Cai Yan still I know that it is useless to complain, although some food is tasteless, but you always have to eat some.

   You must eat it, and your body can't stand it if you don't eat it.

   "Xiao Niang..." Feng Shu looked at Cai Yan, with water in his eyes.

"It's okay, eat it, if you don't eat it, it will be really cold." Although Cai Yan looks weak on the outside, she is extremely strong in her heart, still smiling lightly, and then like taking care of her younger sister, she picked up a spoon and gave it to the small bowl of Fengshu Some dishes were selected inside, "This is venison, shredded and fried... It is fried, warmed, eat more..." When the word "fried" was mentioned, Cai Yan paused slightly, as if caught in a fur coat. His bristles seemed to be pricked, and he paused for a moment before continuing.

   At this moment, some noisy voices suddenly came from outside the courtyard, which was particularly obvious in the quiet night of the small courtyard.

   Not long after, a maid trotted in excitedly and reported: "...Yes... General Zhengxi has arrived and is setting up a tent outside the courtyard..."

   "Outside the courtyard?" Cai Yan was taken aback. Feeling together, falling again, I don't know what it feels like.

  There is a flat land outside the courtyard, but why do you not want to come in?

   Could it be...

  The old woman who was on duty in the front yard also ran over, with a wrinkled face full of smiles, "Miss Cai, General Zhengxi has an invitation..."

  Cai Yan was silent for a moment, then lowered his head and said: "Bongshu, take my doctor's clothing and Jinxian crown..." Now Cai Yan's official status is a doctor of Xuegong, so naturally he also has a crown and a seal.

   "Huh? Miss..." Feng Shu hesitated.

   "Go, don't let General Zhengxi wait for a long time." Cai Yan said, his eyes flickered under the light of the candles in the hall.

  ………………

Fei Qian didn't wear a crown, but tied his hair with a scarf, sat in the curtain, lay down slightly, put some charcoal into the copper hot pot in front of him, then picked up the small fan beside him, trying to fan the fire, Burn the edges of the newly added charcoal red.

  Winter is cold and humid, and charcoal itself is the easiest to absorb water. Therefore, although Feiqian uses carefully selected silver charcoal, if you don’t pay attention, it may still cause some thick smoke when burning due to the absorption of water vapor.

Although it is said that the servants are responsible for lighting the fire, when it was delivered here, the weather was freezing, and the charcoal fire was consumed quickly, and Fei Qian did not let others wait on him, besides, eating a hot pot is to do it yourself, and no one else What's the point of doing it?

  Fei Qian almost lay down on the mat, fanning the air with a small fan, not too fast, otherwise it would take away more heat and make it impossible to burn.

  So when Cai Yan walked into the curtain wearing formal attire and carrying the Erliang Jinxian crown representing a doctor, what he saw was the scene in front of him...

  When they met each other, both of them were in a daze.

  Fei Qian did not expect Cai Yan to dress so formally, and Cai Yan did not expect Fei Qian to dress so casually.

Fei Qian came to his senses immediately, pointed to the peach grove beside him and said, "This is the place that Master used to love most... I just think it's more important to burn the fireworks here, and secondly, it's like being with Master here. We're together... There's really no other meaning..."

  Cai Yong has passed away for a long time, although it is still a bit sad to talk about it now, but the so-called filial piety is true filial piety during life, and after death, no matter how beautiful the funeral is, it is just for others to see.

  No taboo, no avoidance, and living well is the greatest respect for the dead.

  After hearing Fei Qian's explanation, Cai Yan blushed a little, feeling ashamed and ashamed, and wanted to turn around and leave.

   "Ah, senior sister..." Seeing that Cai Yan was about to leave, Fei Qian hurriedly called out, but seeing Cai Yan not stopping, he called out in a hurry, "Cai Zhaoji!"

  Cai Yan paused and stopped.

"Uh... that's it, there's no need to change it... this is pretty good... I've never seen you dressed so formally, and you look pretty..." Fei Qian motioned Cai Yan to sit down, and said, "It's all right... Come on Take a look at this pot and these ingredients, is there anything you like or dislike..."

  Hot pot existed as early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, but at that time it was not called hot pot, but antique soup, because the pot was always boiling and there was a sound of gurgling, so it got its name.

  In addition, the shape of the early antique soup and hot pot is completely different from that of later generations. Some even carved it into a small bronze beast lying on the ground, with its belly heated, and the lid on its back was lifted to cook in its belly. Later, it was simplified into a three-layer structure, with a small round tripod on the top, a tray in the middle to hold charcoal, and a foothold under the tray, which can be placed on the ground.

  But the one brought by Fei Qian was indeed built according to the impression of Fei Qian's descendants, and the material is made of red copper, not the commonly used bronze. The reason is naturally very simple.

  People in the Han Dynasty liked both brass and bronze. Few people would use pure red copper, but for cooking utensils, only red copper is the most suitable.

  The water in the hot pot has boiled, and the hot air is pushing against the lid, puffing out.

Fei Qianquan pretended not to see Cai Yan staring at him angrily, handed Cai Yan a pair of long wooden chopsticks on the table, took a plate of sliced ​​mutton, and opened the lid Put it in the hot pot, and said: "Don't be dazed, put what you want to eat... Oh, let me tell you, most of the night was drinking, I really didn't eat anything, if it wasn't for people to put it in the water With some wine, I'm afraid I won't be able to walk now..."

  Cai Yan took the chopsticks subconsciously, and then reacted, couldn't help but chuckle, "Is there wine in the water?"

"That's right, there are certain flavors that you can't drink with cold water alone..." Fei Qian rinsed the mutton a few times, saw that the color had changed, guessed it was cooked, so he took it out, put it on a small dish, and then Pass it to Cai Yan, "Here, here, dip some of those condiments and eat... Otherwise, so many people will drink it, how can they bear it... It's just that if you drink too much water, it's like a water bag in your stomach, you can walk There is the sound of water swaying, making me hold my stomach every time I talk to others..."

  Cai Yan ate the mutton in small bites, and wanted to laugh again, but there was food in his mouth, and he couldn't laugh, so he had to turn his head away, feeling a little uncomfortable holding back.

Fei Qian laughed a few times, cooked some mutton for himself, and ate it with a sigh of relief, and continued to boil the mutton in the pot while saying: "Don't look at the dishes I made, The name sounds good, the appearance is good, but only this hot pot is the best delicacy in winter. Eat it now, warm your stomach, and let people... Come here, I will give you some more, this is also delicious ..."

   Perhaps China has created countless ways of eating or eating for thousands of years, but hot pot must have a place among them. From south to north, from east to west, it has infinite creativity and vitality.

   Feiqian was eating with a grunt, the sound even drowning out the gurgle of the water, but Cai Yan didn't find it unpleasant, and even got some appetite from Feiqian, so he ate some. Perhaps the temperature of the ingredients in the hot pot is more suitable, and the originally cold hands and feet gradually warmed up, and Cai Yan's face gradually turned a little blush, reflecting the charcoal fire of the hot pot and the wind lamp beside him, bright and moving.

   "...Last time..." Cai Yan put down the small dish, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Why not use my method?"

"I was too impatient before, I didn't think carefully..." Fei Qian picked up a plate of frozen tofu, and put pieces into the hot pot, "I thought about it again in the past two days. The preparatory work has not been done yet…”

   "What job?" Cai Yan couldn't understand.

"The matter of sentence reading may seem small, but it has a great impact..." Fei Qian picked up a spoon and pushed it in the pot to prevent it from sticking, and said, "The Confucian classics of the Han Dynasty were passed down by word of mouth from the beginning. , then the book is not passed on; it is passed on without Fusheng, and its meaning is not clear... Therefore, the importance of sentence reading is determined at the beginning... We change the sentence reading, even if it is a small change, it is also for this The great shake of the foundation is naturally not accepted by these Confucian classics..."

   "Then what do you mean..." Cai Yan frowned slightly.

"Governing a big country is like cooking a small fish..." Fei Qian looked at the hot pot and the ingredients tumbling in the soup and said, "We can't overheat the fire at the beginning, just like this pot, cook slowly , heat up slowly, and when it boils, you don’t need to expend a lot of effort. You can make any kind of soup, any meat dish you want, it’s all delicious... Ah, the tofu should be ready, and it will be rotten if you cook it again... The same thing, It’s just right, since it’s laborious, there’s no need to force it, there are thousands of roads, all of which lead to...well, to Luoyang..."

   Cai Yan looked at Fei Qian: "Do you have an idea?"

   Fei Qian nodded slightly, then picked up some ingredients and put them on Cai Yan's plate, and said, "You eat first..."

   Cai Yan lowered his eyelids slightly, his long eyelashes fluttered a few times, "You go first..."

   "Then I'll tell you, you eat it..." Fei Qian didn't take it seriously, "This tofu is not bad... Actually, I should fry some soybean oil bubbles. I haven't had time to make it. Next time..."

   Cai Yan was holding a small plate, dissatisfied with Fei Qian's interruption, and wanted to put it down again.

   "Don't, I won't say anything after you put it down... Hiss..."

   Feiqian said as he took a bite of the frozen tofu. The inside of the frozen tofu was full of soup, and the aroma of beans and meat was mixed together, all bursting out. It had a special taste, but it was a little hot

  Cai Yan rolled his eyes at Fei Qian, then showed his teeth as fine as white jade, and bit a piece of tofu, and felt that the taste was really good, nodded and said: "Well, your tofu is delicious..."

   "Pfft..." Fei Qian quickly waved his hand, "It's okay, it's okay, I choked... Ahem, let's get down to business, senior sister, did you ever know that there is a trick called blossoming on a tree?"

  (end of this chapter)