Chapter 414 The old glutton doesn’t care about eating
Qin Ying found that Aweng had a great appetite today and ate a lot. The delicacies on the table were astonishing.
That Ouyang Lianghan did not give in too much. He accompanied Ah Weng while talking about current affairs and eating a lot, coaxing Ah Weng into bursts of hearty laughter from time to time.
Seeing this, Qin Ying was new to Longcheng, and his acclimatized appetite improved a little, so he took two more bites of Dongpo Pork.
On the open-air water pavilion on a high platform, everyone was full of wine and food, enjoying the wind and admiring the moon together.
Xie Lingjiang, Xie Xue'e, Qin Ying and other women walked aside to chat and enjoy the scenery.
Ouyang Rong and Qin Jingqin stayed in their seats, chatting without a word.
Ouyang Rong asked:
"Why did Mr. Qin get off the boat at Shuangfeng Peak the day before yesterday? Everyone thought you were delayed in coming. What happened?"
Qin Jingqin didn't answer and said leisurely:
"I came here because of its fame."
"Come here because of its reputation?"
"That's right, when I was living in Yangzhou, I heard that Your Majesty was going to build the Great Zhou De Song Center and the Buddha statues in all directions. Yangzhou is one of the four states with statues, and there is another state, which is your Jiangzhou.
"There was a lot of turmoil at that time, and scholars from all over the country were against it. Lianghan, your question and answer on the boat in the Temple of the Holy Master, was well-known among scholars, and I heard about it, including the promise made to the scholars.
The state’s commitment to build the Donglin Buddha will not waste people or money.
"I was curious at that time. Firstly, your Jiangzhou is not as rich as Yangzhou, and secondly, it is not as rich in Buddhist culture as Taiyuan. There are many Buddhist temples. Building a giant Buddha saves time and effort.
"Jiangzhou is at best better than Guizhou, which is at the tail end of the crane. How can it take the lead and be promoted to the world as a model for statues by Your Majesty and the imperial court?
"So I came here this time to admire its reputation. I got off the boat and took a look."
At this point, Qin Jingqin stopped talking and took a sip of wine with a smile.
Ouyang Rong thought for a while and said truthfully:
"Actually, it wasn't spread that much. I'm ashamed to say that although it was highly praised by the princes of the imperial court, there wasn't much experience in the construction of the Xunyang Grottoes and the Donglin Buddha that other states and counties could learn from.
"Xunyang City has a special terrain, and there are very few places where Buddha statues can be built. The only thing we can do is the tip of the twin peaks.
"Coincidentally, the excavation of the water channel at the twin peaks will not only free up the terrain space for the construction of the Donglin Giant Buddha, but also take into account water control and some subsequent expansion prospects of Xunyang City that are being planned...
"It has both, proper planning, and profitable. It just so happened that I had some experience and connections when I was supervising the construction of Zheyi Canal in Longcheng... So it must be a piece of bad luck."
After listening, Qin Jingqin shook his head and nodded again:
"Luck is also a part of strength. Regardless of whether it can be promoted through experience or not, it is the ability to satisfy His Majesty and the princes of the court, the troublemaking scholars, and the people of Xunyang.
"It doesn't matter whether there is a combination of interests, compromise or selfishness... Being able to coordinate all parties, take into account the emotions of most people, and promote the completion of one thing. This is not called ability. What is ability? Many people say that taking care of the whole situation is
The overall situation, but how many people can really put the overall situation first?"
The tall old man stroked his beard, looked appreciatively, and said slowly:
"I was just a weakling, but I have such accomplishments that I am among the best among my peers in this world."
After hearing Qin Jingqin's compliments, he noticed that Xie Lingjiang, Qin Ying and others were chatting not far away and seemed to have stopped talking and looked at each other. Ouyang Rong's face turned red.
He opened his mouth to speak, but was directly interrupted by Qin Jingqin:
"Liang Han, do you know the name of this dish?"
Ouyang Rong looked in the direction where Qin Jingqin suddenly pointed, and saw a plate of bad crabs on the table.
If I remember correctly, it was a valuable specialty sent by my uncle from Yangzhou. Xie Xue'e, who was good at dancing, made it into delicacies for the granddaughters of the Qin family.
"I heard from my aunt that it seems to be called hollow dragon and phoenix crab."
Qin Jingqin nodded: "Is it delicious?"
Ouyang Rong nodded: "It can be called the most delicious dish in Yangzhou."
Qin Jingqin then asked: "How does it compare with Dongpo meat?"
Ouyang Rong didn't squint: "Each has its own merits, and all are delicious."
Qin Jingqin asked reluctantly: "Compared with the pork that the rich and powerful people discard like rotten chickens, is this dish respectable? Is it high-quality?"
Ouyang Rong nodded: "The color, aroma, taste and appearance are complete, the style is extremely high, and it is naturally noble."
Qin Jingqin suddenly picked up the blue and white porcelain plate and poured the remaining golden crab shells and crab claws into the empty dish that contained Dongpo meat:
"But the background color is just a pile of bad crabs cooked. Over there in Yangzhou, every autumn, in the mudflats by the river, these crabs run all over the place, covered with mud, and look gray.
"I didn't know until I went to Yangzhou that there were so many bad crabs in the restaurants and stalls there. I caught a lot of them at a time. They were just a common commodity.
"It doesn't look any more noble than the pork bought in Lianghan Market."
Ouyang Rong was speechless.
Qin Jingqin asked with a smile: "Liang Han, do you know how such a dish of bad crabs and hollow dragon and phoenix crabs got the name?"
"I don't know."
Qin Jingqin said in a long tone:
"Speaking of which, this dish dates back hundreds of years.
“Back then, there was a four-story luxurious dragon boat that could be called a palace on the water, which traveled along the Grand Canal from north to south, all the way down to the south of the Yangtze River, and docked in Yangzhou.
"This dragon boat has its own main hall, inner hall and court hall, with one hundred and twenty rooms, all decorated with splendor and splendor. It is followed by more than five thousand large and small ships, carrying kings, concubines, officials and a large number of followers of more than one hundred thousand people.
…”
"It is rumored that this is the huge formation that accompanied the Mad Emperor when he cruised the Grand Canal.
"Let's not talk about the merits and demerits of this Lord. It is inevitable for an emperor to travel extravagantly and wastefully. However, unofficial history records that he was extremely picky about food. It is said that during his stay in Yangzhou, local officials, in order to curry favor, offered local delicacies like crabs. As a result,
When the Mad Emperor saw them bringing out a plate of blue-grey crabs, he immediately became angry and wanted to behead both the donor and the cook.
"Later, a cook took the initiative and wiped the crab shells clean one by one, pasted these gold foils with engraved patterns of dragons, phoenixes, flowers and clouds on them, decorated them brilliantly, and brought them back to the saint. The book recorded that the emperor was very pleased.
, tasted it with chopsticks, and asked its name again. The cook said: "Gold dragon and phoenix crab." He was rewarded with a thousand gold coins and entered the dining room of the palace.
Qin Jingqin narrowed his eyes and said:
"But does this crazy emperor really like this half-cooked, salty southern local product?
"I don't think so. After all, this kind of bad food is only popular in the south. People in Jiangnan particularly prefer the smell of bad food. The coastal waters are hot and humid, the seafood is rich, and the food is perishable. And Guanzhong, the representative of northern food, obviously has no interest in bad food...
…But why is it that the same dish, given a new name and appearance, is treated so differently before and after? The dish is still the same dish.”
The tall old man nodded as he asked himself:
"Oh, because the gorgeous 'gold-engraved dragon, phoenix and crab' can undoubtedly better demonstrate the emperor's nobility. Lianghan, no matter whether he was in the previous dynasty or in this life, if you want to do something and coordinate the whole situation, this is the case."
"But in this world, there are many cooks who can make delicious ingredients, but not many cooks like this one who find new ways and can go around in circles. Even the latter kind of cook may never be able to learn from the former, because of this flexible talent
, many times it can only come from birth...
"After hearing the anecdote about this dish, I often thought hard. If all the cooks in the world were like this flexible cook, why would the world have trouble finding delicious food? Princes, generals, heroes, farmers, traders... most people can do it.
Don't worry about eating anymore.
"A cook like this can take care of anyone's taste. He has ideas for dealing with the emperor and good strategies for dealing with the common people."
"Look at it this way, he's not a cook, he's just a paper framer?" Ouyang Rong said with a smile.
"That's right, it's the paper poster." Qin Jingqin nodded.
"There are always times when a clever woman cannot make a meal without straw." Ouyang Rong nodded.
"Isn't Kemi right here?"
Qin Jingqin reached out and patted the edge of the porcelain plate containing Dongpo meat:
"If we still follow the previous method of cooking pork, it will never be possible to get such good ingredients on the table. Fortunately, it met a good chef like Liang Han. A dish of Dongpo pork is enough to leave a name. It is impossible to say that a hundred years later, it will also be sought after by everyone in Jiangnan.
Famous dishes, like this plate of hollowed-out dragon and phoenix crabs."
Ouyang Rong was silent and drank without saying a word.
After a while, the family dinner ended.
Ouyang Rong and Xie Lingjiang bid farewell to Qin Jingqin personally at the door. Qin Ying, grandson and granddaughter, and the armored guards in the garden also left with them.
Ouyang Rong thanked Xie Xue'e.
At the gate of the garden, the lady shook her head:
"It's up to you."
The expression on her face illuminated by the lantern hesitated for a moment, and she asked:
"Where is Dongpo?"
Ouyang Rong suppressed the corner of his mouth and only said: "Over there in my hometown."
Turn around and leave.
Want to deduct my merit? No way.
The fox-white-furred young man answered cleverly and avoided lying, and his merit was reduced by one. He nodded and left with satisfaction.
After walking out of the gate, Ouyang Rong and Xie Lingjiang got into the carriage.
Ouyang Rong sat down, leaned back in relief, closed his eyes and said.
"Go to the palace."
"good."
As he was thinking about something, he felt a catkin coming towards him and gently rubbing his brow, feeling a little warm in his heart.
But as soon as the carriage left the Xie family's private residence, Ouyang Rong, who was closing his eyes and concentrating, heard Xie Lingjiang's voice next to him:
"There seems to be an informant in the alley outside. He ran away in a hurry. It seemed like he was reporting a message. He might be Wang Lengran's person. He has been keeping an eye on us since we entered for the family banquet."
Ouyang Rong said with a smile: "It seems that the most tense thing in Xunyang City at tonight's family banquet is not between us and the palace, but the king's governor. I don't know what Qin Jingqin talked about when he made an exception for attending the banquet. Our king's governor
I guess I won’t be able to sleep tonight.”
Xie Ling Jiang Yanran smiled:
"Relax a little bit."
An hour later, everyone gathered in a study room in Prince Xunyang's Mansion.
"What about tonight's dinner? Have you met Qin Jingqin?"
After seeing Ouyang Rong and Xie Lingjiang returning, Li Xian, Li Guo'er and others couldn't wait to ask.
Ouyang Rong lowered his eyes and drank tea, while Xie Lingjiang peeled pears and slowly recounted the general conversation at tonight's family banquet.
After listening for a while, Li Guoer put down the white cat and asked the first question:
"Aside from asking about Li Zhengyan, we just chatted about food, Shuangfengjian and Xunyang Grottoes?"
"Um."
Li Guoer was a little confused:
"It's understandable that I'm asking for advice. But we're going to talk a lot later, just to use metaphors to praise you? That's too wrong."
Xie Lingjiang, however, was not so stubborn and said bluntly:
"Perhaps Uncle Qin didn't think so much and just admired Senior Brother?
"I was observing from the side and found that Uncle Qin's granddaughter Qin Ying looked at him frequently, her eyes seemed surprised."
Li Guo'er was noncommittal, frowned and thought for a moment, then slowly spoke:
"How can you bring up the Shuangfengjian and Xunyang Grottoes so easily? Could it be that Qin Jingqin has taken a fancy to it and wants to get involved and get a share of the pie?"
"It is true that such people rarely make unintended goals." Wei Mei nodded: "It makes sense."
Everyone looked at Ouyang Rong, who was looking down and thinking.
Without raising his eyes, he asked, "Is the Qin family short of money?"
Xie Lingjiang shook his head: "From what my aunt said, there should be no shortage."
"If there is no shortage, there will be no shortage. But who would despise having more money?"
Li Guoer analyzed softly:
"What's more, if you come across a construction like the Xunyang Grottoes, you can earn money from meritorious deeds while lying down. Not only can you make money, but you can also win a good reputation. If the Qin family happens to also worship Buddhism, it can be considered as killing three birds with one stone."
After a pause, she cast a look at the handsome young man with fox-white fur and fur, asking for his opinion.
Ouyang Rong was a bit meek: "Add him... It's okay, but I feel that if you really hint at joining the gang, it would be too naked."
Li Baoer tilted his head:
"If you still want to talk in circles, this hint is enough. Ouyang Lianghan, sometimes smart people can't think too much. Be more simple and rely on first impressions."
Ouyang Rong nodded:
"The first thing I felt was that he was praising me."
"..."
Li Guoer glared:
"You want to be flattering... Praise is not pure praise. People like this always have a purpose in what they say. Even when they meet you at this family dinner, they may have known in advance that you would come. There are no surprises..."
The little girl with plum blossom makeup raised a red cardamom index finger, tapped her chin, squinted her eyes and thought for a moment:
"According to the previous analysis, Qin Jingqin should attach great importance to military merit when he comes out this time. The purpose of being knighted like the old Hu Guogong is. Now it seems that he may want more, and he may have the intention to join us. The grotto at the Shuangfengjian is
An opportunity to join us, seeing how he likes it so much, and his compliments both inside and outside of his words... If it's a hint, it's just the right thing to bind."
She paused in her words and nodded slowly.
Ouyang Rong glanced at her and thought for a while.
This little princess is too sober and rational in her dealings with others. Sometimes she only analyzes the pros and cons. Although she is a bit arbitrary and ruthless, her logic is not unreasonable.
Li Guo'er suddenly slapped his two beautiful hands:
"You can test it out tomorrow and find out your attitude. If you are really interested in the interests of Xunyang Grottoes, or are optimistic about us and want to bet on us, it wouldn't hurt to recruit them into the group. One more ally will bring more strength, especially at this time.
The more, the merrier.”
"It makes sense." Li Xian nodded.
They discussed it again and found no objection. Finally, they looked at Ouyang Rong with expectation in their eyes: "How about giving it a try?"
Ouyang Rong neither nodded nor shook his head.
Said softly: "Principle...agreed."
"..." Everyone in the study room.
As expected of the governor of Jiangzhou, a man of the fifth rank in talent and a refined speech... Li Guo'er's originally indifferent eyes couldn't help but give him an angry look.
However, Ouyang Rong found that everyone's eyes were filled with joy at the prospect of winning over the highly respected General Zuo Wuwei.
The atmosphere in the study room is slightly soothing.
At this time, Li Guo'er suddenly asked: "Then Mr. Qin's eldest granddaughter hasn't left the palace yet?"
The study suddenly became quiet.
The roommate who was out for a night out was infected with the flu. He had a sore throat and a runny nose, as well as a heavy head. Well, everyone, please pay attention to your health and be careful about the flu as the season changes.