Not long after Yuan entered the kitchen, he prepared several dishes and brought them to the hall, including a lotus leaf plate of finely chopped fish and meat, a gourd stewed meat, a mutton tripe soup and a box of seasonal fresh vegetables.
The staple food is steamed rice balls.
In addition to Li Tai, the main guest, his dozen or so followers were also dining outside the hall, with cold utensils, cage cakes, and a full basin of haggis soup.
Li Tai looked at the delicious and delicious dishes on the table, and felt more and more that Lu Rou's family must have lived in poverty in Chang'an. The use of lotus leaves and gourds as dining utensils seemed novel and interesting, but in other words the host might not even have decent food.
There are no lacquerware and tableware.
Moreover, these ingredients are commonly available and the price is not high. For example, the stewed meat, minced mutton and dried eggplant are carefully simmered together, then served with green gourds, steamed in water, and no expensive seasonings are used, only the heat is used.
Make the food full of flavor.
Li Tai paid attention to these details, not because he looked down on his cousin, but on the contrary, he had a better impression of this cousin who came from a clan in the Northern Wei Dynasty.
It is said that a good woman cannot make a meal without rice. She probably rarely entertains so many guests at home. Her family is not wealthy and she does not have much food reserves, but she still works hard to prepare meals and treat guests thoughtfully.
Although this meal was not a sumptuous meal, Li Tai was also full of human touch. Lu Rou and his wife really treated him as a close relative who had reunited after a long absence, neither showing off nor complaining, but plain and simple.
There is a warmth in it.
What made him a little embarrassed was that the gift was provided by He Basheng for his visit this time. He wanted to give his well-behaved and clever cousin a precious and interesting gift, but he didn't have any suitable gifts.
After the meal, Li Tai sat in the hall with Lu Rou and his wife again, drinking tea and chatting about the past. Mainly they talked, Li Tai listened, and occasionally asked them about their daily life in Chang'an.
Originally, he was worried that it would be a bit awkward to meet these relatives whom he had never met before and had no deep feelings for him, but as they chatted, he gradually came to like the warm atmosphere of home.
An hour later in the afternoon, someone from the Cui family arrived, telling them that the master was returning from the official residence and was returning from the official residence. He also invited the Lu Rou family and Li Tai to come with them.
The Cui family is located in the north of Chang'an City. It is a large mansion covering an area of several hectares. It is more like a manor than a house. This manor directly spans the inside and outside of the city and is itself part of the city defense. However, compared with the manor on its east side, it is still
It pales in comparison.
"That's where Duke Zhang Wu lives in the capital, and a few miles further east is where the imperial city is."
Lu Rou pointed to the larger mansion and said to Li Tai. After hearing this, Li Tai couldn't help but look more at the mansion, which was no less than a military city.
Zhang Wugong was named Yuwen Dao, the second-in-command of the Yuwen family, and Yuwen Tai's most trusted nephew. If he had not died too early, Yuwen Hu would not have been able to assist in the Northern Zhou Dynasty at all.
Li Tai, Lu Rou and their entourage dismounted in front of Cui's house, while Yuan's mother and daughter rode a carriage directly into the inner house through the side door.
Although the two brothers Cui Qian and Cui Quan each held positions of power in the Western Wei Dynasty, they still followed the rules of the big families in Hebei. The brothers did not live separately in other places, and the two families lived together in this mansion. However, Cui Qian was serving in Weibei and did not
in Beijing.
Judging from the appearance alone, the big house of Cui's house is much more grand than Lu Rou's house.
This is normal. Although they returned together from the Southern Dynasties and Liang Dynasty, their career experiences in the Western Wei Dynasty were still different. Lu Rou was more of a scribe. After coming to the Western Wei Dynasty, she also served as a civil servant in Daxantai for several years, and then she also served as a civil servant in the Western Wei Dynasty.
Civil servants like Zhongshu Sheren.
The Cui brothers were already quite armed. After entering the customs, they held official positions involving both civil and military affairs. They also directly participated in several battles between the two Wei Dynasties to accumulate military exploits.
Nowadays, Cui Fan lives in Jingzhaoyin and serves as the commander-in-chief, taking charge of the military and political affairs of the capital. Although his brother Cui Qian serves as the governor of Yingzhou, although he is just an overseas resident, his scope of power is much wider than that of Lu Rou's Zhongshu Sheren.
If Kansai Xinke wants to improve his economic status, the first way is to obtain it through military service, and the second way is to base his business on local business.
Li Tai was deeply aware of the difficulty of rural management. Lu Rou did not have the ability or means to obtain military merit, and the title of the Western Wei Dynasty was not granted at all. He only relied on the intermittent salary from the Western Wei court and the harvest of rural tenancy.
It is natural that the environment is not as good as that of the Cui brothers.
From this, Li Tai felt that he was right not to be eager to seek an official position. If Zhen was entangled in officialdom before his country was firmly established, he might have to live in poverty like his eldest cousin Lu Rou in the future, waiting for the day of Daxingtai.
I am happy to take off my clothes and wear them for myself.
Without first seeking self-reliance in the countryside, and not to mention that there were few good opportunities to gain military merit in the following years, even if there were, the hundred or ten strong men in his family would not be able to sustain the consumption of a few tough battles.
Several disciples of the Cui family came in and led the two of them to sit down in the middle hall. After chatting for a while, a middle-aged man wearing official robes strode out of the hall.
This middle-aged man is 1.9 meters tall, with thick and long arms. He walks with a graceful posture, and has a thick beard under his chin. He looks like a brave general. If Lu Rou and all the disciples in the hall had not stood up to greet Li, Li
Tai almost didn't guess that he was the master Cui Quan.
"Bo Shan has seen it, envoy."
Before, he was still hesitating whether to call the other person cousin or brother-in-law. Seeing that Cui Quan looked very official at home, he simply called him this.
Cui Quan first nodded to Lu Rou, then looked at Li Tai up and down, and said with a smile: "The former Daxingtai sent an heroic article to various mansions, and I was lucky enough to read it. I originally thought it was for my uncle."
Wisdom, I found out later that it was actually written by a junior.
I just told my Thirteenth Prince that you are working hard in the village and you are young and handsome, so I wanted to invite you to see you after the season. I was very happy when my family came to tell me, but before I left, something happened again.
I have kept you waiting for a long time, Thirteenth Lang. What I can see in front of me is that my party member Yu Xi has indeed gained strength, which is really exciting!"
Lu Rou had a stutter when speaking, but Cui Qian was on the other extreme. Her words kept coming out like a machine gun, making it impossible for anyone to get a word in.
When Cui Quan finished speaking, Li Taicai bowed again and said, "I am ashamed of you for your compliments. I am fortunate to have my father-in-law support my hometown. I don't know about my relatives. It is really rude to come to see you now."
Cui Quan walked into the hall and sat down at the main seat. He raised his hand to signal a few people to sit down. He turned his eyes and frowned: "Where is Amo? My elder is in the hall, but he didn't come to see me?"
When the disciples in the hall heard this, they hurriedly left and left, and soon they introduced a child with a tiger-like head and a tiger-like brain.
The child stood outside the hall and struggled not to come in. When he noticed Cui Qian's gaze in the hall, he suddenly became extremely calm. He bowed his head obediently and walked in and whispered: "Aye..."
"You have swallowed mud in your mouth and tongue, and your voice is so weak? Kneel down!"
Cui Fan was still chatting and laughing, but when he saw this little boy walking in, his expression suddenly dropped, he slapped the table and scolded: "My parents are not here, and relatives and friends are visiting. Since you are the householder, why didn't you see me? Quickly confess to your cousin!"
"Cousin?"
The little boy didn't dare to look at his father, glanced at Lu Rou, and didn't dare to ask his father if he was wrong.
Cui Fan became very irritable when he looked at his son. He stood up and went down to the hall to mention the child. He fell beside Li Tai at the banquet table and apologized to Li Tai: "This bitch is so stupid that he made the Thirteenth Man laugh. This guy here at the table
He's your cousin from the Li family, why don't you kowtow and apologize!"
Li Tai looked at the child who was so frightened by his father that he was helpless. He felt a little embarrassed for a moment: "The young man is immature and will inevitably not recognize strangers. With such a serious tutor, he will surely succeed in the long run."
"Thirteenth Prince, you don't have to excuse him. Who is less clumsy than a teenager? Do you have to wait for him behind closed doors for ten years before I can open my house to gather with relatives and friends?"
Cui Fan kicked his son again and then returned to the table.
When Li Tai saw this wild and serious tutor, he couldn't help but feel a little pitiful for his little cousin. Being beaten like this since childhood would leave a huge psychological shadow in the future!
After Cui Quan returned to the table, he asked about Li Tai's recent situation since he entered the customs, and especially talked about the incident where the Shi family from Jingzhao came to ask for help: "That Hunu family is really disgusting. They deceived me without knowing it and falsely accused my relatives and disciples. How could they be so filthy?"
Can I be recommended? Only Daxingtai has a clear reward, and his family has merit in losing things. I can't take it away lightly. I will pay it to the garrison in Longxi and don't disturb anyone in front of me."
When Li Tai heard this, he couldn't help but mourn for the historian. It's not good to offend anyone, but he came to offend me. Even though he lost money, he couldn't avoid the disaster. Although this eldest cousin's personality is a bit impatient, he also has clear resentment and resentment, so he can still cover it up.
living.
When he presented the gift prepared by He Basheng, Cui Quan stroked the bow and fell silent. After a while, he sighed: "The situation is exciting, but the old love is cold. Although it is not my fault, I still feel sad every time I think about it.
.
Since we are not getting along with each other, I don’t want to keep anything in my heart. Seeing that you are broad-shouldered and strong-armed, Thirteenth Lang, I think you are not like Zigang and others who only use pen and ink. I will give this to you later when my family will string the bow. I hope you will
Can you not disgrace the Imperial Master's old weapon?"
When Li Tai heard this, he also felt that Cui Fan was feeling sad about drifting away from He Basheng. They followed He Basheng and fled from Jingzhou to the Southern Dynasties and back again. Their friendship was naturally deep, no matter what kind of knots they had.
, it was not something he could unravel, so he nodded in agreement.
Although Cui Fan has a straightforward personality, he also has great authority. When Li Tai talked with him, he felt that he was not as harmonious as his eldest cousin Lu Rou. There was some gap between them, and they could not get closer emotionally quickly, so the topics were a bit boring.
.
Li Tai simply took out the official document booklet he had previously shown to Shuo Hui in Beihua Prefecture, and gave a brief introduction to the business that he, He Basheng, and Shuo Hui were going to start.
When Cui Quan saw the real thing and listened to Li Tai's introduction, he was immediately moved. At the same time, he frowned and said, "There is no work yet? From now on to October, can we supply 10,000 manuscripts? If so, on the 13th
Lang, you have helped me a lot!"
"Currently, the skills are still lacking in papermaking..."
"This is not a problem. There is no shortage of papermakers in the household. We will bring Thirteenth Master back tomorrow morning and work as soon as possible! I am not greedy for the wisdom and merit of the younger generation and will take away your property. The county government will buy it in quantity and provide you with real supplies."
Cui Quan assumed a business-like attitude and said sternly: "There is only one request. Before this year, we can only supply Beihuazhou and Jingzhao. Until next year, you can work freely."
Naturally, Li Tai would not refuse this request. Not to mention that the current production capacity cannot be estimated. Even if the production capacity is sufficient, he must take care of his own family first.
After telling this story, Cui Quan held the book and read it carefully. After a while, he suddenly pulled out a bamboo stick from the side of the case, pointed at his son and scolded: "Look at your cousin, there is no elder to protect the professor."
, and you don’t have to worry about raising a family and being self-reliant. The beautiful style of this calligraphy makes academic people sigh! You go in front to receive the punishment, then go home and copy, and you are not allowed to stay in the hall to eat.”