On New Year’s Eve, Pingyang City was bustling with activity, and firecrackers sounded from time to time.
Tonight, the city gates are open and the neighbors are not closed. There are people drinking with friends in hotels and restaurants, and there are also families sitting around to celebrate New Year's Eve. There are also some young boys in the suburbs lighting bonfires and throwing firecrackers one by one in the middle.
Everyone seems to be happy.
Only inside the academy, deep in the small courtyard, was a lone lamp and two figures.
During the day, the Cai Mansion was preparing to celebrate New Year's Eve. The maids and old ladies were busy cooking New Year's Eve dinner. People came and went, but they didn't think much of it. But when it came to the actual New Year's Eve dinner at night, an indescribable feeling
The loneliness still surged up...
The maids and mothers-in-law were not qualified to sit at the same table as Cai Yan. The only ones who could serve him personally were those who could barely sit for a while with a book. But even so, the family banquet between the two of them was extremely deserted.
Deciduous trees in foreign lands, people alone at night under cold lamps.
Feng Shu brought a bowl of white fungus soup to Cai Yan and said, "My dear, I spent a whole afternoon cooking this... If you don't eat it, it will get cold..."
Normally, Feng Shu would not go out of his way to disturb Cai Yan, but it was different tonight. In order to ease Cai Yan's mood, Feng Shu almost tried every means, even at the risk of being scolded by Cai Yan.
Cai Yan smiled slightly, but the smile disappeared briefly. He took the small bowl in Feng Shu's hand, fiddled with it twice with the spoon, and watched a few pieces of white fungus rippling in the clear soup, but did not eat it.
Instead, he started to stay again.
Feng Shu looked in her eyes and couldn't help but feel a little worried and a little pity in her heart. She had been with Cai Yan since she was a child. After getting along for a long time, she naturally knew Cai Yan's temperament. Cai Yan's smile like now is also for
You put it out to appease others, but you probably don’t know how painful it is in your heart.
Cai Yan would only keep many things in his heart and rarely talk about them, let alone argue about them. It was like hearing some students in the academy argue about issues that were obviously wrong, but Cai Yan basically
I am not like some people who would like to pour out all the ink in my stomach for others to see. Most of the time I just smile lightly and don't make any comments.
The same is true for knowledge, and the same is true for emotions. Feng Shu stayed by Cai Yan's side every day, and only after he stayed there for a long time could he detect some clues in Cai Yan's behavior. Otherwise, looking at Cai Yan talking and laughing freely on weekdays, he would not have thought of Cai Yan at all.
Yan misses his father so much right now.
Cai Yan just looked at it, held it, but didn't eat it. He wanted to persuade him, but he opened his mouth but didn't know what to say better. He had no choice but to sit aside and stretched out his hand to wrap the fur coat around Cai Yan's body.
. Seeing that the dishes are getting colder and colder, it seems that my heart is getting colder along with it, and I can no longer stir up any heat.
"Mom, how about I take it off and heat it up..." Feng Shu touched the edge of the plate and said.
It took a long time for the dishes to be placed, but neither of them had much appetite. Although the dishes on the table included fish and meat, they were more of a formality than a real interest in eating them.
"Ah? Oh, no need..." Cai Yan picked up the bowl, put some into his mouth casually, and then said, "Eat some more and then take it away..." Even though he felt a lot of discomfort in his heart, Cai Yan
Yan still knows that it is useless to complain. Although some food is tasteless, you still have to eat some.
You must eat it; your body won’t be able to bear it if you don’t eat it.
"My dear..." Feng Shu looked at Cai Yan with some 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, he is extremely strong in his heart. He still smiles lightly, and then picks up a spoon and gives it to the small bowl of the book as if taking care of his sister.
There were some dishes inside, "This is venison, cut into shreds and stir-fried... Stir-fried, warm and tonic, eat more..." When the word "stir-fried" was mentioned, Cai Yan paused slightly, as if he was distracted.
It felt like the bristles on his clothes were pricked, and he paused for a moment before continuing.
At this moment, some noisy sounds 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 is here and is setting up a tent outside the courtyard..."
"Outside the hospital?" Cai Yan was stunned. His heart dropped again, and he didn't know what it felt like.
There is a piece of flat land outside the hospital, but why don't you want to come in?
Could it be...
The old woman on duty in the front yard also ran over with a smile on her wrinkled face, "Miss Cai, General Zhengxi has invited you..."
Cai Yan was silent for a moment, then lowered his head and said: "As a gift, please take my imperial robe and be crowned as a worthy scholar..." Cai Yan's official identity is now that he is a doctor of the Academy, and naturally he also has the imperial robe, seal and ribbon.
"Ah? My dear..." Feng Shu hesitated.
"Go ahead, don't let General Zhengxi stay for a long time." Cai Yan said, his eyes flashing under the light of the candles in the hall.
…………………………
Fei Qian didn't wear a crown, tied his hair with a scarf, sat in the curtain, leaned down slightly, added some charcoal to the copper hotpot in front of him, then picked up the small fan on the side, trying to fan out the fire.
Heat the edges of the newly added charcoal until red.
Winter is cold and humid, and charcoal itself is the easiest to absorb water. Therefore, although Fei Qian uses carefully selected silver charcoal, if you are not careful, you may still absorb water vapor, resulting in some thick smoke when burning.
Although it is said that the servants are responsible for lighting the fire, when it was brought here, it was freezing cold and the charcoal fire was consumed very quickly. In addition, Fei Qian did not let anyone else wait on him. Besides, to eat hot pot, you have to do it yourself, and no one else can do anything.
If you do it, what's the point?
Fei Qian almost lay down on the mat, fanning himself with a small fan, not too fast, otherwise it would take away more heat and prevent him from burning.
So when Cai Yan walked into the curtain wearing a formal suit and carrying the Erliang Jinxian crown representing the doctor, what he saw was this scene...
When they met each other, both of them were in a daze.
Fei Qian didn't expect Cai Yan to dress so formally, and Cai Yan didn't expect Fei Qian to dress so casually.
Fei Qian reacted immediately, pointed to the peach forest beside him and said: "This is Master's favorite place before... I just think that the fireworks are bigger, and secondly, it is like being with Master here."
Being together...there really is no other meaning..."
Cai Yong has passed away a long time ago. Although it is still a bit sad to talk about it now, the so-called filial piety is true filial piety during his lifetime. After death, no matter how beautiful the funeral is, it is just for others to see.
Not tabooing, not avoiding, and living well is the greatest respect for the deceased.
After hearing Fei Qian's explanation, Cai Yan's face turned slightly red, feeling ashamed and ashamed, and he wanted to turn around and leave.
"Ah, senior sister..." Fei Qian shouted when he saw Cai Yan was about to leave, but when he saw Cai Yan's footsteps, he shouted in desperation, "Cai Zhaoji!"
Cai Yan paused and stood still.
"Uh... That's it, no need to change... It's good this way... I haven't seen you dressed so formally before, you look pretty good..." Fei Qian motioned for Cai Yan to sit down and said, "
It's okay, it's okay... Come and take a look at this pot and these ingredients, do you like or dislike anything..."
Hot pot has been around since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, but at that time it was not called hot pot, but called antique soup. It got its name because the pot was always boiling and making a gurgling sound.
Moreover, the shapes of early antique soup and hot pot vessels were completely different from those of later generations. There were even carvings of a small bronze beast lying on the ground, heating its belly, opening the cover on its back, and cooking in its belly. Later, it was simplified into three layers.
The structure is a small round tripod at the top, with a tray in the middle to hold charcoal, and a foothold underneath the tray to place it on the ground.
But the one brought by Fei Qian was indeed made according to the impressions of Fei Qian's later generations, and the material was made of red copper, not the commonly used bronze. The reason is naturally very simple.
People in the Han Dynasty liked brass and bronze, and few people would use pure red copper. However, for cooking utensils, red copper is indeed the most suitable.
The water in the hot pot has boiled, and the hot steam puffs out against the lid.
Fei Qian completely ignored Cai Yan, who was staring at him angrily. He handed a pair of long wooden chopsticks on the table to Cai Yan, took a plate of sliced mutton, and then opened the lid.
Putting it into the hot pot, he didn't forget to say: "Don't be stunned, put whatever you want to eat... Oh, let me tell you, I drank mostly this night, and really didn't eat anything. If I hadn't let someone put it in the water
I mixed some wine with it, I'm afraid I can't even walk now..."
Cai Yan subconsciously took the chopsticks, then reacted and couldn't help but chuckle, "Water mixed with wine?"
"Yes, there are some flavors that you can't handle even if you just drink cold water..." Fei Qian rinsed the mutton a few times. When he saw that the color had changed, he thought it was done, so he took it out and put it on a small plate.
Then he handed it to Cai Yan, "Here, here, dip some of those condiments to eat... Otherwise, there are so many people drinking it, how can I bear it... It's just that if you drink too much water, it's like you have a water bag in your stomach."
Likewise, there is the sound of water sloshing around when I walk, which makes me hold my stomach every time I talk to others..."
Cai Yan ate the mutton in small bites. He wanted to laugh again, but there was food in his mouth and he couldn't laugh. He had to turn his head away, feeling a little uncomfortable holding it in.
Fei Qian laughed a few times, and cooked some mutton for himself. He ate it with a sigh of relief, and then he breathed a sigh of relief. He continued to pour the mutton into the pot and said, "Don't look at the dishes I made.
The name is nice, the appearance is nice, etc., but only this hot pot is the best delicacy in winter. It is cooked and eaten right away, which warms the belly and is delicious... Come on, I will give you some more, this one is also delicious
of……"
Perhaps China has created countless ways of eating or eating over the thousands of years, but hot pot must have a place among them. From south to north, from east to west, it has endless creativity and vitality.
Fei Qian snored while eating, and the sound even drowned out the sound of gurgling water, but Cai Yan didn't find it unpleasant. He was even inspired by Fei Qian to have some appetite, and he also ate some. Maybe it was the ingredients of the hot pot.
The temperature was relatively suitable, and the originally cold hands and feet gradually warmed up, and Cai Yan's face gradually turned red, reflecting the charcoal fire of the hot pot and the angry wind lantern beside it, which was bright and moving.
"...Last time..." Cai Yan put down the small plate, hesitated, and said, "Why don't you use my method?"
"I was too impatient before and didn't think carefully..." Fei Qian picked up a plate of frozen tofu and put the pieces into the hot pot. "I have thought about it again in the past two days and I did go too hastily."
, 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 the spoon and pushed it in the pot to prevent it from sticking, and said, "The Confucian classics in the Han Dynasty were passed down orally from the beginning.
If it is passed down, the book will not be passed on; if it is passed down, it will not be passed down, and its meaning will not be clear... Therefore, the importance of reading a sentence is determined at the beginning... When we make changes in the reading of a sentence, even if it is a small change,
It is also a big shake of this foundation, and naturally it is not accepted by these old Confucian scholars..."
"Then what do you mean..." Cai Yan frowned slightly.
"Governing a big country is like cooking small dishes..." Fei Qian looked at the hot pot and the ingredients rolling in the soup and said, "We can't turn the heat too high at the beginning, just like this pot, slowly
Boil it, heat it slowly, and when it boils, you don’t have to expend a lot of effort. You can make any soup, add any meat or vegetables, it will be delicious... Ah, the tofu should be ready, but it will rot if you cook it again... Things
The same is true, just get it just right. Since it takes a lot of effort, there is no need to push it forcefully. There are thousands of roads, all leading to...well, to Luoyang..."
Cai Yan looked at Fei Qian: "Do you have an idea?"
Fei Qian nodded slightly, then took some ingredients and put them on Cai Yan's plate, saying, "You eat first..."
Cai Yan lowered his eyelids slightly and fluttered his long eyelashes a few times, "Say first..."
"Then you eat while I'm talking..." Fei Qian didn't take it seriously, "This tofu is pretty good... In fact, it should be deep-fried and soaked in soybean oil. I didn't have time to do it. Maybe next time..."
Cai Yan was holding the small plate and was not satisfied with Fei Qian's interruption, so he put it down again.
"No, just put it down and I won't say anything...hiss..."
Fei Qian said as he took a bite of the frozen tofu. The frozen tofu was completely filled with soup. The aroma of the tofu and the meat were mixed together, all bursting out. It had a different taste, but it was a little hot...
Cai Yan rolled his eyes at Fei Qian, then showed his teeth as thin as white jade, and bit into a piece of tofu. He thought it tasted really good, nodded and said, "Well, your tofu is quite delicious..."
"Pfft..." Fei Qian waved his hand quickly, "It's okay, it's okay, I choked... Ahem, let's get down to business. Senior sister, did you ever know of a plan called Flowers on the Tree?"
