"But...Uncle Zheng, um...A-Zhu is not nit-picking. A-Zhu thinks that we can add more flavor. It would be great if we could add more flavor. Both sweet and salty are acceptable. For pasta and snacks, salty and sweet are better."
It enhances the flavor and aroma. Also, if there is sugar center or minced meat inside, it will be even more delicious." Azhu said.
Li Hui looked at Ah Zhu with a wry smile and thought to himself: We are here to support you, what do you think? This little girl is real. She also tasted it herself. The cake really has no taste and is missing something, but there is no need to be picky.
When Old Zhang Zheng heard this, not only was he not unhappy, but he pointedly praised: "Oh, expert. Miss Azhu is on point. My sesame cakes are originally made with sugar water, and I haven't bought sugar for a long time."
Is it powdered? So that’s all I can do. I haven’t tried adding salty flavor, maybe I can give it a try. Candy heart and meat heart, you can also try it. Next time, next time the girl comes again, I will keep it for you, old man.
Satisfied.”
Azhu hurriedly said: "Uncle, I'm not dissatisfied, it's delicious now. But if uncle wants to sell cakes in Jiankang City, he has to make them more delicious. People in big cities have very picky tastes."
"Very true, very true." Mr. Zheng nodded and smiled.
Li Hui looked at Azhu with a smile and said, "I didn't expect you to know how to appreciate food. You said it all."
Ah Zhu blushed and said: "No, when I was a child, my mother would make us cakes like this. My father would collect wild honey from the mountains, and my mother would spread it on the dough and bake it. It tasted delicious. Ah Zhu.
I just said it based on my own taste. I am also talking nonsense. Everyone has their own taste, and what I say may not necessarily reflect the taste of others."
Old Zhang Zheng smiled and said: "It's not nonsense, it does need to be flavored. When everything gets better, the old man will ask my Aaron to go to Liyang County or Lujiang County on the south bank to buy some powdered sugar and mix it back."
Li Hui chuckled and said, "My father-in-law, don't pay attention to what kids say. The original flavor is also very good. The flour itself has a sweet taste, and the sesame seeds are sprinkled on it, which makes it even more fragrant. Kids just love sweet food.
"
Azhu whispered: "I am not a child."
Guo Dazhuang suddenly shouted from the side: "Old man, why don't you ask my opinion?"
Zhao Dachun also said: "That's right, why don't you ask us."
Mr. Zheng asked hurriedly: "How do you two strong men feel?"
Guo Dazhuang said: "It's delicious, but the cake is too small, not enough to fit between teeth. And there aren't many. I haven't tasted it yet. My father-in-law is very stingy."
Zhao Dachun also said: "No. You make such small cakes and you have the nerve to sell them. The noodle cakes we sell in Wu County are as big as my face. Old man Zheng, you are a profiteer. You are a profiteer."
When the people around heard this, they all burst into laughter. They had already seen Dachun and Dazhuang eating. They took one bite, chewed it twice and then ate it. Although the cake was small, it was enough to eat it one bite at a time.
No less. Now these two people called Mr. Zheng a profiteer, which really made everyone happy.
Mr. Zheng hurriedly apologized and said with a smile: "The strong man has misunderstood. There is really not much flour, so we can only make small cakes. Today, we are giving one to the folks for free to try. It is too big and there is not enough flour. Look,
How can I afford to entertain so many folks coming to eat?"
Zhao Dachun and Guo Dazhuang smacked their lips and said nothing.
Old man Zheng smiled and said: "I have a saying, the cakes made by my Zheng family in the past were all the size of a bowl. Two cakes can feed a strong man. My fellow villagers can testify, but don't speak out of conscience. This
You can’t joke about this kind of thing.”
Everyone nodded and said, "That's true. Old Man Zheng's cakes are very real."
Zhao Dachun rolled his eyes and said: "Old man Zheng is bragging again. Can two bowl-sized cakes be full? Even if I, Zhao Dachun, eat twenty cakes in one meal, I may not be full. If you don't believe me, why don't you try twenty cakes?"
Guo Dazhuang nodded beside him and said: "Yes, yes, yes, get twenty of them and give it a try."
Mr. Zheng smiled bitterly, not knowing how to deal with it for a moment. He looked at Li Hui as if he was asking for help, and thought to himself: Mr. Emotional County Lord brought people to cause trouble, right?
Li Hui laughed and said: "Mr. Zheng, don't listen to their nonsense. It's spring time, so don't make any nonsense. You can eat it, but others can't afford it. Just eat a few pieces to taste it, and I'll give it to you, folks."
What to eat? In the future, when everything gets better, you can come here and eat whatever you want. But you have to pay, and you can't eat for free."
Mr. Zheng chuckled and said: "No money, no money. When our lives get better next year, the two heroes will come and eat as much as they want. The current situation is indeed difficult. It's not me, old man, who is stingy."
Zhao Dachun said: "It's just a joke. Look, this old man was so frightened that his face turned pale."
Li Hui was speechless and turned to Mr. Zheng and said: "My father, I've eaten this cake, and it's time for us to leave. I wish my father a prosperous business and abundant wealth. Ah Zhu, settle the bill."
Mr. Zheng hurriedly waved his hands and said: "You can't ask for money. The county magistrate comes to eat a few pieces of cake, but you want to give money? Old man, if I ask for your money, won't I be unable to sleep every day? You are our benefactor, how can we have a benefactor to eat?"
How many pieces of cake do you have to pay for? Absolutely not."
All the people said one after another: "That's right, you don't need to pay. If you give the money, Old Man Zheng will close the door."
Li Hui laughed loudly and said: "Well, if that's the case, then I won't give you any money. But you can't just eat for free. How about this? What's the name of this sesame cake?"
Mr. Zheng was confused and said: "The name? It's called sesame cake. Isn't that the name?"
Li Hui smiled and said: "You need a resounding name to live up to such a delicious sesame cake. I'll pay for the meal by giving it a name."
Mr. Zheng was overjoyed and said, "That's perfect. I have Lao County honoring me with my name."
Li Hui smiled and said: "This cake is golden on both sides and as round as the full moon. I think it is called golden moon cake."
Everyone cheered loudly: "Golden Mooncake, this name is noble. It's very good."
Li Hui said with a smile: "It's not a good idea, but it's appropriate. In the future, on a full moon night, boiling tea, eating golden moon cakes, and admiring the full moon in the sky may become a trend. I don't know."
Everyone nodded and said yes, but thought in their hearts: This County Magistrate Li is a bit funny, what kind of trend will this become? After all, he is young, and although he has the ability, his ideas are very strange.
But if the county magistrate said it is called moon cake, then let’s call it moon cake. There is actually nothing good about such a tacky name. But it is just for fun and fun, so there is nothing to argue about.
Li Hui was just doing it for fun, and the mooncakes were not mooncakes as a joke. He just felt that this place couldn't even pass the Mid-Autumn Festival, and naturally there was no such thing as mooncakes. So he got stubborn and chose this name casually. Li Hui didn't know
, his casual naming really became a trend later on.
Many years later, the Mid-Autumn Festival became a holiday, and eating moon cakes became a fashion. Zheng Ji's business was very big, and the golden moon cakes became famous because they were named by Li Hui himself, and even became tributes. This is what everyone here now
Everyone was unexpected, including Li Hui himself.
At the moment, Li Hui was chatting and laughing with the people in the tea shop, and he felt very relaxed. Li Hui was very willing to talk with these people, and there were no taboos. He could just chat and talk nonsense. The atmosphere of this tea shop was comparable to that of Li Hui accompanying Gu Qian
The banquet parties I had attended were completely different. Those banquets were full of absurd, weird and arty atmosphere, but here, it was the real world.
When Li Hui and others stood up to leave, suddenly there was a noise at the door of the tea shop. Zhou Che appeared at the door of the tea shop with a few of his men. Several of his men shouted loudly, asking the people to give way. The people at the door were shouting.
Frightened and evaded, the warm atmosphere suddenly changed.
Li Hui lowered his face, frowned and was about to stop him. But he saw Zhou Che walking in quickly, holding his hands solemnly and saying: "Your Excellency, County Magistrate, I have something to report. Please move forward and speak."
Li Hui realized that something urgent seemed to have happened, so he said goodbye to Mr. Zheng and the people, and quickly walked out of the tea shop and onto the street.
"A group of soldiers and horses came outside the east city gate, numbering about two to three hundred people. It is less than five miles away from the east gate and has already gone down the official road on the hillside of Gushan Mountain." Before Li Hui could ask, Zhou Che reported in a low voice.
Gushan is a hill several miles outside the east gate of Juchao County. When these soldiers and horses descended the west slope of Gushan, they were very close to Juchao County.
Li Hui was a little surprised and frowned: "Can you see clearly what kind of soldiers and horses they are?"
Zhou Che said solemnly: "You can't see clearly from several miles away. But those are two to three hundred soldiers and horses. We don't know whether we are the enemy or not, so we can't take it lightly. That's why I came here to ask Magistrate Li for instructions."
Li Hui thought for a moment and said, "Let's go to the east gate first."
"County Magistrate Li, do you want me to gather people in Dongcheng to prepare for battle?" Zhou Che said in a low voice.
Li Hui laughed and said: "Fight? Are you sure it's the enemy?"
Zhou Che said: "We and the enemy are unknown."
Li Huidao: "Since we don't know, why make such a fuss? Let's talk about it after we figure it out."
Zhou Che was a little speechless. Magistrate Li didn't seem to understand the situation. You know, it was a troop of two to three hundred people. Just now he had observed from a distance. They were all equipped with weapons and wearing armor. They were definitely a group of soldiers.
A group of heavily armed soldiers and horses. This is a great threat to Juchao County. County Magistrate Li is actually indifferent, probably because he does not know the benefits.
"Your Excellency, County Magistrate, I think it's better to gather people and make preparations." Zhou Che said solemnly.
Li Hui smiled and said: "Brother Zhou, I'm afraid you are too nervous. Think about it, how can the people coming down from the official road in the east be enemies? If they are armed refugees or barbarians, they should come down from the north. They come from the east
They are coming from the direction of Liyang County, do you think they are enemies?"
Zhou Che was stunned, scratched his head and said, "That's true. County magistrate Li thinks they are soldiers and horses from Liyang County?"
Li Huidao: "I'm not sure. It's probably the soldiers from Liyang County. But what are they doing here?"
Zhou Che said in a deep voice: "I'm afraid they are here to pick peaches. We just wiped out the lake bandits and calmed down the chaos, and then they came. They came at the perfect time."
Li Huiwei thought for a while and said with a smile: "Brother Zhou, please don't make random guesses. Go and have a look before talking. Even if the enemy wants to attack the city with two or three hundred people, they won't be able to get in. It's not too late to call in manpower when you need it.
Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year. The people in the city are celebrating the New Year in a lively manner. Everyone is in a good mood. Don't make the people panic and worry. Let's go and have a look before talking."
Zhou Che let out a breath. Li Hui could indeed see the tension in his heart. He was responsible for the security and defense of the county and did not want to make any mistakes, so he was indeed a little too nervous.