Chapter 158 Vegetarian dishes that are more delicious than meat dishes
In July of the ninth year of Hongwu, the preliminary examination for the second-level official teeth was held simultaneously in thirteen first-level official teeth bureaus.
On this day, there were more people waiting outside the examination room than taking the exam.
It was a sea of people and very lively.
Some of them were relatives of the candidates, and some were just watching the fun.
The exam only lasted half an hour and it was all over.
The candidates came out with strange expressions on their faces.
how to say?
It seemed that I saw something I had never eaten before and wanted to try the taste. But I found that my teeth were weak and I couldn't bite it.
It's like seeing the treasure right above your head, out of reach.
People outside are curious to ask, what exactly did you take the exam?
Is it eight-legged prose, test poems, economics, or rhymes?
Or is it policy questioning or judgment?
Those who took the exam came out and shook their heads: "None of them."
Someone said: "I don't understand the question. The King of Xiang probably read the Heavenly Book, and all that came out were Qimen Dunjia and demon-subduing talismans."
Some scholars who had participated in the imperial examination in Hongwu for three years even said: "This is more difficult than the imperial examination, and I can't figure it out at all."
There are only ten questions in total, and they are all about graphics, arithmetic, etc.
Arithmetic is not ordinary arithmetic, it is strange and completely confusing.
People from the first-level official and dental bureaus picked out the test papers with more than six answers and sent them to the general administrative bureau.
Thirteen official bureaus only sent over 5,000 answer sheets.
Zhu Bai then distributed the answers to Fugui and others and asked them to change accordingly.
Fugui and the others couldn't even understand the answer, so they asked Zhu Bai with a smile: "Your Highness is the Wenquxing sent from heaven. How do you know so many things?"
Zhu Bai found it funny and replied: "It's normal that you don't know about French things."
Among these ten questions, five are international IQ test questions, three are economic questions, and two are English questions.
If you can get half of it right, you are considered a wizard of this era.
Zhu Bai and the others finished the corrections in one day, and then quickly made a copy of the admission list and sent it to each first-level official bureau.
The people on the list were notified and given travel expenses, so that they must arrive in Yingtian within three months to participate in the November re-examination.
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This month, there is another major event in Yingtian Mansion, which is the wedding of Li Shan's eldest son Li Qi and Princess Lin'an.
Since it was a princess getting married, it was natural that the wedding would be held at her husband's house.
Lao Zhu is now rich and arrogant. He has given the princess a big house and countless gold and silver as a dowry.
Let the princess and the consort live alone without having to serve the parents-in-law.
Li Shanchang entertained guests at his house and set up a hundred tables.
After the guests were seated, the eunuch's sharp voice suddenly sounded outside: "The Emperor has arrived."
Ah, Lao Zhu is here in person.
This is the first time since the founding of the People's Republic of China.
What a great honor.
Lao Zhu still loves me.
With tears in his eyes, Li Shanchang led his family and servants to the door and knelt down to greet him.
Lao Zhu held Zhu Bai's hand, followed by Zhu Biao, with a kind expression: "We are getting married for the first time, so we will come and sit here. You don't have to prepare anything specially for us. Our third son can just sit at the same table with you and your consort."
Li Shanchang hurriedly asked someone to set up a new table inside, and then welcomed Lao Zhu in.
Lao Zhu sat down, glanced at the table, and said to Li Shanchang: "Tell me about the dishes. We don't recognize these things either."
In fact, he didn't recognize it, he just said it deliberately after looking at a table full of delicacies.
Li Shanchang naturally knew what Lao Zhu meant. He was so nervous that his palms were sweating and he introduced them one by one.
"This is stir-fried venison, this is braised mandarin fish, this is braised bear paw, this is shark fin soup. This is bird's nest..."
The more he spoke, the more panicked he became and the softer his voice became.
When Lao Zhu made a surprise attack, he didn't have time to remove all the dishes outside. It would be disrespectful to make Lao Zhu's table look different from the outside.
Fortunately, Lao Zhu came just now. If he had just heard the gifts from the ministers, I don't know what he would have thought.
"It's so rich." Lao Zhu only said one sentence, and then he and Li Shanchang started making homely meals.
Li Shanchang breathed a sigh of relief: Sure enough, Lao Zhu didn't want to be too shabby when he married a daughter.
Zhu Biao took out a sandalwood box from his arms and handed it to Li Shanchang: "We will be a family from now on. Just a little thought."
Li Shanchang hurriedly answered: "Thank you, Your Highness."
Zhu Bai said with a smile: "I also have a small gift for Mr. Li."
Suddenly, the voice of the ceremony official was heard outside, announcing and singing congratulatory gifts: "King Xiang, with this gift, I'll give you one hundred copies of the 'Emperor Jade White Jade Soup'."
As soon as the voice fell, a long line of handsome young men in neat clothes came in carrying plates. On the plates were tall soup bowls, as if they were performing acrobatics, which made people's hearts skip a beat.
However, they were steady and well-trained. They walked to each table, put down the soup, and then exited quietly.
Zhu Bai's restaurant was renovated a while ago. He invited Lao Zhu's royal chef to the hotel to teach his chef how to cook a few dishes.
This "Queen Jade White Jade Soup" is one of them, and it is also Lao Zhu's favorite.
It's actually vegetable and tofu soup.
On this big day, wouldn't giving food to this poor guy just ruin the show?
Li Shanchang secretly scolded Zhu Bai, but he still pretended to be flattered and said: "Thank you, King Xiang."
But Lao Zhu was very interested and raised his eyebrows: "Hey, boy, it's not bad. He dares to bring it in front of us. It seems that he is very confident in his cook."
Zhu Bai said with a smile: "Father, try it and see how it tastes."
He filled one bowl for Lao Zhu and another bowl for Zhu Biao. Then he filled a little in another bowl and took a sip to help Lao Zhu test the poison.
All the guests secretly rolled their eyes: little flattery.
Lao Zhu took a sip and raised his eyebrows slightly: "Hi, eh, it tastes good. It's quite fresh and sweet. Tell me, did you use some chicken, duck, fish, beef and sheep to make it?"
Zhu Bai: "I only used pig bones, and no expensive ingredients were used."
Lao Zhu said: "It's impossible. How can it be so fresh using only pig bones?"
Zhu Bai said: "Yes, there is another secret that I cannot tell you. Otherwise, if others learn it, I will not be able to make any money."
Lao Zhu smiled and said: "Okay. You did a good job. Remember to give us a bowl of filial piety from now on."
Zhu Bai grinned: "If your father likes it, I will bring it back to you every day."
When the courtiers outside heard Lao Zhu's praise, they all couldn't wait to drink a bowl of this soup when the banquet was served.
Not to mention, this soup tastes really fresh.
Then the guests drank another bowl.
The pot of "Emerald White Jade Soup" quickly bottomed out.
However, there are a lot of delicacies left.
Only then did Li Shanchang realize that Zhu Bai was advertising his restaurant.
Sure enough, "Zhu's Restaurant" opened bustlingly on the second day.
The signature dishes are "Palace Jade Liquid Wine" and "Imperial Jade White Jade Soup".
