On the side of Huanling Avenue, Mr. Liu set up a noodle stall under a thatched hut and made a living for another day.
There are a lot of business travelers coming and going, and tourists come in from time to time and want a bowl or two of chopped buckwheat noodles to fill their stomachs. Business is neither good nor bad.
"Mom, will the official come again?"
Da Ya still remembers that last time, the young senior official not only ordered fourteen bowls of chopped noodles, but also ordered fourteen large portions of mutton dumplings. They earned forty or fifty cash at one time, and the senior official even asked for money when he left.
I was rewarded with a silver coin.
Later, they took it back and exchanged it with the mayor's family in Baozi. When the mayor heard about the origin of the coin and that it was a reward from the new governor of Yanzhou, he directly offered 300 copper coins in exchange for it and was very polite to her family.
Well, even the handymen were not sent to his house this time.
I also asked a lot about the governor.
Although Mrs. Liu was not sure that it was the new governor of Yanzhou, she still didn't say anything when she saw that the mayor suddenly became so polite.
After that day, Mrs. Liu also looked forward to meeting this envoy to eat noodles again, but unfortunately she never met him again.
Lowering his head to put away the dishes, Erya suddenly said excitedly with sharp eyes, "Mom, the official is here again."
Mrs. Liu quickly stood up and looked up, and sure enough, a group of people were riding over, and in the middle was the young man who rewarded her with money last time.
She quickly put down her dishes and chopsticks, wiped her hands on her apron several times, and then walked onto the road.
"It's time to eat, let's stop and have a rest, eat a bowl of noodles and then go."
When Huaiyu saw the familiar stall and the woman, he smiled and reined in his horse.
"The chopped buckwheat noodles you had last time were very good. It's still the same. Each person gets two bowls of chopped buckwheat noodles first, and then each gets a large portion of mutton dumplings."
"Okay." Ms. Liu agreed happily and quickly asked the girls to help knead, chop and boil the water.
After a while, the first noodles were chopped and put into the pot. After boiling, they were poured into cold water, added with sesame seeds, and served to the table.
Huaiyu picked up a large piece of noodles with chopsticks and put it into his mouth. It tasted just like that. The noodles were cooked very well and had just the right texture. The sauerkraut was also very fresh, smooth and tender.
As they continued chopping, Mrs. Liu brought another sheep head and a large basin of mutton soup.
"This is a gift." Mrs. Liu took the initiative before Liu Xu and others could speak.
Huaiyu looked at the big sheep head. The cooked sheep head was brown in color and didn't look very good, especially the grinning one.
It's not that bright red and attractive color, but it's a very original and authentic way, without any messy additions.
"This sheep head is very delicious. It has been cooked thoroughly. Just tear off the meat from the sheep head and then dip it in our Shuofang green salt. It is delicious."
The sheep head is not sliced, but eaten directly by hand. You can sprinkle some salt and mix it directly, or you can eat it directly by dipping it in salt.
It's so unpretentious and authentic.
The best ingredients are often cooked in the simplest way, but can bring out the original deliciousness to the maximum extent.
Shuofang's sheep are very famous. Even in later generations, Ningxia Tan sheep are no worse than other sheep.
Wu Huaiyu had eaten this kind of hand-torn sheep head before. It was popular in the Western Region Province. It was even delicious and cheap. It only cost fifteen yuan a piece.
This woman is very good at business. Regardless of whether she guessed Huaiyu's identity or not, at least Huaiyu rewarded her last time, and this time she took the initiative to give her two dishes.
Huaiyu was not polite. He took out his Damascus knife and made a few cuts on the sheep's head. Then he peeled off the mutton and tore it into strips by hand. He then sprinkled a little of the green salt on the small plate given by the landlady.
I picked up a piece of mutton head meat and put it into my mouth. Not to mention, it was not smelly or fishy at all, and the warm mutton exuded a wonderful meaty aroma.
"It's delicious. Your cooking is good. I've been here in Lingzhou for so long and I found that the craftsmanship at your stall is still the best. It's unpretentious and tastes pure."
The woman was very happy when she was praised, and even made some more mutton paste.
Liu Xu even praised it repeatedly, saying it was the best chopped buckwheat noodles he had ever eaten.
The woman was a little embarrassed, "In our Shuofang, buckwheat is the most grown. The women here have learned how to chop noodles from their mothers since they were young. They all have the same skill."
The buckwheat from Shuofang seems to be more delicious than that from Guanzhong, just like the sheep from Tongzhou are more delicious than the sheep from Yongzhou.
Even Wei Siren, who comes from a well-known family, has always disliked the simplicity of this stall, but he felt very happy eating at this roadside stall again.
Huaiyu chatted with the woman as usual and asked about her family's spring plowing.
The woman said that she didn't have much land at home, so she had almost done it. Her family mainly grew buckwheat. Buckwheat is a crop that can be grown all year round. As long as it matures and is harvested before frost, it can be planted in spring, summer or autumn. It will grow.
The cycle is shorter.
The early-maturing ones only take about fifty days, and generally no more than three months. Although it can be grown twice a year, it requires more water and fertilizer, so in northern Shaanxi, it is generally planted for one season.
The Liu family's buckwheat is sown around the beginning of March every year, when there is enough rain and the weather is good. After the spring begins, the land will be prepared first. After finishing the land at home, it will be done by the landlord's house.
They don't have much land of their own, so they mainly rely on tenants to farm the landlord's land. In addition to sharing the land and paying the rent, they also have to do some free work for the landlord's family every year, and even raise their own chickens.
Need to hand over some.
If there is a shortage of oxen and plows, you can borrow it from the landlord, and rent will be deducted from the harvest.
Although the Liu family is a semi-owner farmer and a good citizen of the imperial family, they are still bound by the landlord.
Farming, raising sheep and setting up stalls, the family tried to find ways to diversify their land and make more money, but in fact they could barely make ends meet throughout the year.
Huaiyu asked about it and found that Liu's family was pretty good in their village. Many people were not as good as her family, with less land and more tenants. They even lacked living income such as setting up stalls, and their lives were even worse.
difficult.
Although this place is considered wealthy, after all, on the border, the Liangshidu in Shuofang and the Turks in Hetao attack from time to time, and there are even many horse thieves and grass bandits. If you are not careful, there is a risk of family destruction and death.
Land in Bianzhou is very cheap, but it is still difficult for poor people to own their own land.
But this is home and root after all, so where can they go?
We can only rebuild our homes again and again and sow the seeds of hope in that land year after year.
The biggest threat to the people of this land now comes from the Turks and Liang Shidu. As long as Liang Shidu is destroyed and the Turks surrender, the crisis will always be difficult to conceal under the surface prosperity of this land, especially
It's for ordinary people.
Perhaps the complicated border situation brought a lot of benefits to the officials and soldiers of Lingzhou and Yanzhou in the past, but for the people, there were only disadvantages and no benefits.
As long as the threat of war does not end, they will always be walking on thin ice and may fall into an ice cave at any time, or even be doomed.
The more he talked with Mrs. Liu, the heavier Huaiyu felt.
It's difficult for mountain barbarians like Helian Jinzhu, but it's not easy for border Han people like Liu.
When I returned to the city, I packed some chopped noodles for Helian Jinzhu.
When Huaiyu handed her the still-warm chopped buckwheat noodles and smelled the smell, Helian Jinzhu shed tears. Although she was from Li Shihu, her hometown in Luliang Mountain also grew buckwheat as her main staple food.
Soba noodles.
She watched her mother make this buckwheat noodles since she was a child, and she became very skilled at chopping noodles when she was ten years old.
"The noodles are chopped really well. The noodles are like silver threads and all the same size. The cooking time is just right. The mutton sauce is also fresh."
Helian Jinzhu had already met his sister-in-law and little sister and spent a few days together.
Now they were sent to Zhuangzi outside the city by Huaiyu.
This reunion and separation made her collapse. Under Wu Huaiyu's pressure, Helian Jinzhu had agreed to work for Datang and was now receiving professional training from Li Wujie to become a double agent.
While eating the noodles, tears streamed down my face.
Now that my sister-in-law and younger sister have met and settled in, Wu Huaiyu has signed a release document for them, exempting them from being the guest daughter of the tribe. Now Wu Huaiyu owns the manor, but there is no need to do anything heavy. Her sister-in-law even
Can safely raise the fetus.
But the grandmother, mother, brother and others who stayed in Shuofang didn't know what happened.
Since arriving in Lingzhou, there has been no news about them.
"Have you found any information about my grandma and the others?"
"We have sent people to Xiazhou. When you pass, there will definitely be results. Maybe you can meet them again as soon as you pass."
Huaiyu comforted her, "Even if Thief Liang sells them, I will still find them and take them back and put them in good condition."
You are now working for the imperial court, and the imperial court will not let you have any worries."
Huaiyu took out a piece of paper.
"This is a voucher for a settlement fee of 50,000 yuan. You can redeem it at Hansi Gold Shop in Lingzhou."
Helian Jinzhu took it, looked at the fifty-guan voucher, and handed it back to Huaiyu, "Please entrust me to pass it to my little sister for me."
"I have a request. If something happens to me in Xiazhou, I hope that you can fulfill your promise and find my Azu, Aniang, and my little brother for me, and bring them to Lingzhou to be resettled with my little sister."
Wu Huaiyu nodded.
"Don't worry, once you enter the Six Gates, we are brothers all over the world, and your family is also my family. Regardless of success or failure, we will settle your family for you.
If you have any arrangements for the 50,000 yuan settlement fee, you can tell me directly. You can buy land or a house."
Fifty thousand yuan is considered a good amount of property in Lingzhou, and it may still be a lot of money for ordinary people. After all, it can buy seven or eight slaves or several horses.
"Buy ten acres of land and build a small house. I hope they can have a family."
Now Jinzhu's sister-in-law is still a subordinate of Wu Huaiyu, attached to Wu Huaiyu's name, but she can also have her own property and fields.
"After this mission, they will be free."
Helian Jinzhu understood that from now on she would be a member of the Sixth Sect.
After eating the chopped buckwheat noodles full of hometown flavor and drinking the mutton soup, Helian Jinzhu calmed down and she was now very calm.
"I'm ready and can go to Xiazhou at any time."
Helian Jinzhu seemed to be looking forward to death, so she didn't have high hopes for this trip.
"There's no need for this. There will be many people accompanying you this time. There will be people to help you overtly and covertly. You will be fine. If there is an accident, we will do our best to protect you."
Wu Huaiyu is still very fond of Helian Jinzhu. She has a temperament that he appreciates and cultivates. This woman can become a powerful general of Shuofang Bureau.
After all, there are not many women who can stay in a dark room for three days without spitting out.
