Near noon, Zhao Kuo stopped and ordered the eunuch to lead everyone to the side hall for dinner.
At this moment, the side hall was already filled with all kinds of food, not one-for-one style, but buffet style.
There are rows and rows of large basins on the large tables. The large basins contain various dishes and steamed buns, millet, broomcorn millet, and rice. There is hot water under each large basin to keep the dishes warm and next to them.
There is also warm wine.
Although it was winter, the dishes were not very rich. There were also nearly twenty or thirty kinds of dishes such as salted fish, large carp from the Yellow River, chicken, duck, rice, green onions, and even... they also saw leeks, gourds, chrysanthemums, and peaches that were not available this season.
, apricots, white melon...
Different from usual meals, everyone can choose whatever staple food and dishes they want to eat. Even Zhao Kuo did not go back to the palace to eat at Xiaozao. Instead, he took a bowl and a plate, filled it with a bowl of rice, sandwiched a few pieces of chicken and tofu, and took
After buying a white melon, Xunzi and Wei Wuji found a seat and sat down.
After talking all morning, he was already hungry.
After such a long period of training, the palace chef's cooking skills have improved greatly. Even the big pot of rice for so many people is still delicious and delicious.
But most people are far from being so calm. Not to mention this unethical way of eating, they are used to it anyway. For such a long time, they have not seen anything in Zhao Kuo that is in line with etiquette.
If according to the standards of Zhou rites, Zhao Kuo is definitely the great faint king among the faint kings.
But what’s going on with these peaches, leeks, and apricots…it’s impossible to have them this season!
Some officials had not eaten in the morning and had been waiting in front of the palace. Now they were hungry and their chests were pressed against their backs. Seeing this situation, they suddenly stopped.
"These are all done by farmers. They say that peaches do not necessarily have to bloom in spring and bear fruit in summer. What determines when peaches bloom is temperature, light and other factors. Just like the peach trees at the top of Taihang Mountain bloom ten and a half days later than at the bottom of the mountain.
"It's because the temperature at the top of the mountain is lower than at the foot of the mountain." Zhao Mu introduced with a smile.
"It seems true." Everyone nodded in understanding. I didn't notice it before, but now that I think about it carefully, it seems that the peach blossoms on the top of the mountain are indeed a few days later than those at the bottom of the mountain.
But...it's too weird to have peaches in winter.
According to Zhao Mu, the farmers seem to be studying these and have already produced certain results...
Many people frowned. Not everyone likes farmers. They acknowledge the contributions farmers have made to the world, but this does not prevent them from opposing farmers' ideas.
"Sir, what is that?" a county magistrate said, pointing to an item hanging on the wall.
I saw that this object was more than half a person tall, made of bronze, and shaped like a huge flower with twelve bronze petals, each petal the size of a palm.
At this moment, six petals are open and six petals are closed, shining brightly under the reflection of the sun.
There are eight stamens in the center of the flower. Each stamen is as thick as a chopstick and as long as a finger. Seven of the stamens are curled up and one is upright.
There are two little bees lying in the center of the flower, seeming to be working hard to collect honey. It looks extremely luxurious and vivid.
"Oh, this is a flower clock made by the Mohist family. It is used to tell time. One petal represents an hour, and one stamen represents a quarter of an hour. Now the six petals are open and one stamen is upright, which represents a quarter of noon. This
This thing is very accurate and much easier to use than hourglasses and water drops.”
"But my eldest brother said that this thing cannot be given away or rewarded, otherwise it will become a gift. So you can only buy it if you want it." Zhao Mu said with a smile.
Song Zhong passed by, his beard trembling at the corners of his mouth, and walked silently to the corner, not daring to say a word.
"Uncle Song, did you think about today more than two years ago?" Mo Feng walked to Song Zhong and sat down in front of Song Zhong with the food, and said with a smile.
Except for the few retainers left by Zhao She to Zhao Kuo and Gongsun Long, the two of them were the first to follow Zhao Kuo. Unlike Le Yi, Tian Dan and others who provided friendly assistance, they decided at that time to follow Zhao Kuo all the time.
.
"I don't dare to think about it. At that time, all I thought about was saving more wounded soldiers so that the king could win the victory. How dare I think about this." Song Zhong shook his head and said with emotion.
In just over two years, who could have imagined that such a big change would happen!
"Back then, there were only a dozen members of the direct lineage of the Mo family left. We were still very precarious and had no choice but to make a living by working as a retainer for others. Even I planned to work for others. At this time, the king found me." Mo Feng said.
"You agreed?" Song Zhong asked curiously. This was the first time he heard Mo Feng mention this matter.
"To be honest, if I couldn't hold on any longer, I would never have followed the king. I am also a Mohist giant, well, in name only, so I have to follow a monarch. Who would have thought... maybe this is fate?
Let's arrange it." Mo Feng took a sip of wine and said with a smile. He was now very satisfied with his original choice.
Now he says that he represents the Mo family, and no one from Qin Mo, Qi Mo, or Chu Mo dares to object.
"Yes, except for the king, there is no other monarch in the world who will give us such high treatment. From now on, no one in the world will dare to look down on the three families of agriculture, medicine, and Mo." Song Zhong looked at Taozi and Mo next to him.
said the flower clock on the wall.
"How did the king arrange for the doctors?" Mo Feng asked in a low voice. The king always treated everyone equally. He didn't believe that he gave the farmers and the Mo family a chance to perform, but would not give the doctors a chance to perform.
"The king said that after the court meeting, the doctors are responsible for conducting a physical examination on each official." Song Zhong glanced at Zhao Kuo, who was joking with Wei Wuji and Xunzi, and whispered.
"The king can also come up with this method, I'm so... I really admire you." Mo Feng said with a heartfelt smile.
These days, he doesn't believe that among hundreds of officials, not one or two are seriously ill.
However, this matter is risky. If it is cured, it will be an excellent opportunity to improve its reputation, but if it is not cured... it will be a heavy blow to the reputation of the entire medical family.
Mo Feng told Song Zhong his worries.
"Don't worry, all the capable doctors in the entire Zhao Kingdom are here. Unless no one can cure this disease, as long as someone can cure it, then this person must be among us." Song Zhong said with a smile.
"Then I'm relieved." Mo Feng nodded, "By the way, how is the compilation of your "Medical Classic" going?"
"It's far from that. Almost every doctor has his own opinion. Some things are completely contradictory, but they are all right. There are also many ways to treat the same disease. We need to distinguish one by one which one is right and which one is wrong.
It may be wrong, it may be both right, or it may both be wrong.”
"Every prescription must be re-tested, and... this kind of thing cannot be calibrated at all. We only recently discovered that the same medicinal material grown in different regions has different medicinal effects. Can you believe it?"
"These are actually not difficulties. The difficulty is that we have no means to treat many diseases." Song Zhong shook his head.