In social occasions among officials in the Tang Dynasty, in addition to banquets, there was also sencha.
While cooking and sipping tea, we chatted about government affairs. It can be said that we can advance or retreat, which invisibly brings us closer to each other.
Sencha is very elegant and popular. There is an eminent monk in Chang'an who loves tea so much that he would drink dozens of bowls a day before he could stop drinking it.
At this moment, in the study room of Li Linfu's residence in Pingkangfang, Li Linfu was personally serving Zheng Shuqing sencha, and his courtesy could be described as thorough.
He was taking out the tea cakes with bamboo clips and placing them on the charcoal fire to bake. The charcoal was mixed with certain spices and shaped into the shape of a peony. You could tell at a glance that it was not ordinary.
The tea cakes are heated evenly on the rack and are thoroughly baked inside and out.
Fresh tea, freshly roasted, and then fried tea for friends, a wonderful enjoyment.
The main procedures of the sencha method are: roasting tea, tencha, Luocha, sencha and drinking tea. As for other preparatory steps, such as preparing utensils, selecting water, making fire, and waiting for soup, Li Linfu naturally had his servants prepare them
.
The left prime minister of the Tang Dynasty started with moxibustion tea.
"The prime minister has already talked with Wei Jian. He is willing to take over the position of Jing Zhaoyin. The prime minister will also work from this and recommend him to be Jing Zhaoyin. As for the position of Minister of Household Affairs, what do you think?"
Li Linfu took off the baked tea cake and ground it into fine particles with a bamboo "tea grinder", which looked neither thick nor fine and unusually uniform.
In order to show their "nobility", the feudal nobles of the Tang Dynasty often had unusual persistence and love for certain "elegant etiquette", thereby showing that they were different.
The most typical representative is Li Longji who loves music and dance and is proficient in it.
Obviously, Li Linfu's skill in making tea was very good. After all, he was young, held a low official position, and served others to please others.
Li Linfu stopped and looked at Zheng Shuqing, who was sitting silently on a high stool and said nothing.
"It's all up to Li Xiang to decide."
Zheng Shuqing bowed his body and bowed deeply.
Li Linfu quickly helped him up and said with a smile: "What I promise must be fulfilled. However, being the Minister of the Ministry of Finance is not a trivial matter, and I cannot recommend you to the position for personal gain.
so what……"
"Prime Minister Li, you might as well speak out, my subordinates are all ears."
Zheng Shuqing pinched his sleeves nervously and looked at the other party eagerly, his heart already in his throat.
"There is one minister in the Ministry of Household Affairs and several ministers, and each of them is in charge of different tasks that do not overlap with each other. You have never had any experience in the Ministry of Revenue, so even if you serve as the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, you will not be able to do those ordinary things. Do you understand this?"
Li Linfu poured mountain spring water into a purple sand pot (tea cauldron), and then put it on the stove to boil.
This step may seem simple on the surface, but there is actually a lot going on inside.
The water has three boils. When "fish-eye" bubbles appear in the boiling water and there is a "slight sound", it is the first boil; then add an appropriate amount of salt flowers for seasoning. When the water on the side of the cauldron rushes up like a spring, it is the first boil.
Second boil.
Use a spoon to take out a ladle and put it aside. Use a "bamboo clamp" to circulate and stir in the center of the teapot, and use a "ze" (a measuring device made of bamboo, copper, etc. to make a spoon or dustpan shape) to measure the tea powder and pour it in.
Zisha Zhong.
Wait for a moment, and when the tea soup splashes like rushing water, it is the third boil. At this time, pour the previously taken out second boiler into the boiling water to stop boiling, so that the water stops boiling.
Li Linfu completed these actions in one go, looking at Zheng Shuqing with a little pride, waiting for the other party's answer.
While waiting, he was cultivating soup flowers.
The thin soup is called "mo", the thick one is called "祽". The thin and light soup is called "flower", which is the most wonderful kind.
After cultivating the "Tanghua", you can drink tea, that is, use a ladle to scoop the tea into a bowl.
When the water is boiled for the first time, some people describe it as "there is a water film on top of the foam like biotite". This kind of first scooped water is also called "meaningful";
The first, second, and third bowls I scooped out after that tasted worse;
Fourth, outside of the five bowls, there is "nothing to drink unless you are extremely thirsty." The dignitaries despise this so much that they would not even drink it until they die of thirst.
When drinking tea, the foam and paste should be evenly distributed to keep the taste of each bowl of tea the same. Boil one liter of water, and there is also a saying of "divide the tea into five bowls and drink them while the heat is hot."
The first "rule" is not to use the powdered tea, and only boil three bowls to make the tea soup delicious and fragrant; the second is to boil five bowls, and no more than five bowls at most.
"Please use!"
Li Linfu pushed the white porcelain teacup on the silver plate in front of Zheng Shuqing. This was the first bowl of tea.
It seems to be more than just a bowl of tea, and it seems to be just a bowl of tea. The specific situation depends entirely on Zheng Shuqing's political IQ.
"Subordinate...just let Mr. Li do whatever he wants."
Zheng Shuqing gritted his teeth and said, picked up the tea cup, endured the slightly hot tea, and drank it all in one gulp!
It should be good tea, but it's too hot when you drink it and you can't taste it!
"This Minister of Household Affairs does nothing else. He specializes in managing the central government's finances and providing supplies for the war in Hexi. Do you have the confidence to take over?"
Li Linfu put away the smile on his face and asked softly.
"My subordinate is willing!"
Zheng Shuqing suppressed the excitement in his heart and said almost like a growl.
Taking this step is basically on the fast track. If the Minister of Hubu does well, he will be the Minister of Hubu, and if he goes up to the Minister of Hubu, he will directly become the prime minister!
As long as he can reach this position, he is only two steps away from Li Linfu!
Moreover, the Ministry of Accounts is a place where it is easy to achieve results or make trouble. It all depends on the individual's ability.
It’s not like Mr. Nan Guo can be a gangster here!
"In the past few days, you draft a financial management note. If it is well written, I will hand it over to the sage and then recommend you to be the Minister of Household Affairs. In this case, there should be no big problem.
Otherwise, the saint will definitely still mind your previous refusal to serve as Jing Zhaoyin."
Li Linfu picked up the tea cup and took a sip. It was indeed fragrant.
"This method is quite safe..."
Zheng Shuqing said with a worried look on his face.
The imperial court's financial management actually included two aspects.
The first aspect is to make good use of the taxes collected so that these taxes can be used scientifically and will not be damaged during transportation.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! This is what Zheng Shuqing wants to do, and he feels he is qualified for it.
On the other hand, it can be summed up in two words: making money.
In short, on the premise of not causing a mutiny or civil commotion, just let your hands and feet go and make money.
Of course, the money you make must be legal. By formulating simple rules, you can achieve your goal without spending a lot of time.
It sounds simple, but this kind of thing is like people from different generations doing the same quiz together, and it's a quiz with multiple answers.
Problems that are easy to solve have been done by predecessors!
As for those things that are not easy to do and are easy to offend, either no one is willing to do them, or the officials who formulated and implemented them were dismissed by conservative forces who counterattacked, leading to the demise of people and the government.
He doesn't know how to make money like this!
"Do you have any difficulties? If you have any difficulties with the position of Minister of Household Affairs, I can recommend other candidates and then rearrange you to a lower official position. Anyway, these are all up to you, I don't care.
People like Wang and others are very interested in this position, and the truth will not embarrass you."
Li Linfu said slowly and poured another cup of tea for Zheng Shuqing. This was the second cup.
Zheng Shuqing had a hunch that after finishing these three cups of tea, Li Linfu would probably see off his guests.
"I will go back and prepare now."
He stood up, bowed deeply to Li Linfu, turned around and left.
"This position is not trivial. It's very risky to hold it by force. If you delay the saint's important event, you won't be able to chop off your head. After you think about it, come back to me tomorrow."
From behind Zheng Shuqing came Li Linfu's cold and faint voice of instructions.
…
"In short, this thing is like this, then like this, then like this again, and finally it comes back."
In Datang, the Fang family residence in Yongjiafang, Fang Chongyong patiently told Zhang Xun and others everything that had happened in the past three days.
While talking and gesticulating, he even informed the people of the Ministry of Rites that Li Longji had ordered Zhang Xun and Xu Yuan to destroy their future in the imperial examination.
"It doesn't matter if you don't win this year, Xianggong Zhang's career is blocked, Yan Ting has been dismissed from office, and the government is in turmoil. It may not be a good thing to win at this time."
Li Kui couldn't help but sigh.
Of course he was unwilling to do so. He originally thought that the imperial examination was a sure thing, but he didn't expect that there would be so many twists and turns. The nobleman who promised to recommend him was about to fall, and was beaten down by the emperor himself. The road to the imperial examination was as difficult as before.
Unexpected.
However, Li Kui is not worried at all, because after this "political investment", he must have been "registered" with Li Longji, and he may have the opportunity to be "leapfrog promoted" in the future.
Who knows what will happen in the future.
"We are all fine, but we didn't expect Fang Jieshuai to be so proud."
Xu Yuan couldn't help but sigh and sigh. At first, he thought that Fang Chongyong would definitely escape death after being imprisoned. Unexpectedly, he was released after being imprisoned for three days. But think about it, a half-year-old child still did something in line with the people's wishes.
If Li Longji "punished vigorously", wouldn't it be an appropriate way to prove to the world that he really has no heart and is incapable of taking out his anger on his children?
Li Longji has been the emperor for decades and has grown up with palace struggles since childhood. He will definitely not make such a stupid mistake.
"Young Master returned safely today, I am very happy to congratulate you. I will bring the wine and food right now."
Fang Dafu grabbed Fang Laique, who was stunned, and greeted Fang Chongyong with a smile.
After a while, the first dish was served. Except for Fang Chongyong, Li Kui and others were slightly stunned.
"My family doesn't eat this jushengnu very often, mainly because the cook is not good at it and wastes natural resources."
Li Kui pointed to the plate of "dishes" that Fang Dafu brought to the table with emotion and said that this thing is somewhat similar to the "fried dumplings" that were common in the north in Fang Chongyong's previous life. Of course, they are just similar in shape.
"Jushengnu, its rough production process is to mix flour with water, cow and goat milk and honey, or use boiled red date soup instead of honey, then fry it in an oil pan to set, and finally sprinkle with Jusheng
.”
While Li Kui was explaining, he broke off a section and put it on the dinner plate in front of Fang Chongyong. Fang Chongyong felt that the small particles sticking to it were very familiar.
Isn’t this horse riding black sesame? And it’s called “Ju Sheng” by such an awesome name!
Fang Chongyong put a stick of Jushengnu into his mouth and chewed it. The sweetness of frankincense and juice instantly filled his mouth! It was much more delicious than Li Kui said!
No one said anything, and the plate of desserts was wiped out in a few strokes. The beauty of Ju Sheng Nu is that "there is something inside", and the fried skin on the outside is just to lock in the flavor.
Fang Chongyong thought to himself that Zheng Shuqing also hired a famous chef to cook the dishes, and the ingredients were rich and expensive. But if we talk about cooking skills alone, I am afraid that Fang Dafu's skills are far better than that "famous chef".
The only disadvantage is that I don’t have enough money to buy expensive ingredients.
Soon, Fang Dafu served another plate of "dishes", which was still in a non-mainstream style. Except for a very small amount of soup, there were only "sausages" on the plate. The appearance was very simple and unpretentious.
"This is Tonghua soft beef intestine! This, this, this..."
Li Kui was a little incoherent. This dish was so awesome that he could only have the honor to see it at the "roasted tail banquet" held after becoming a Jinshi. He had only eaten it once when he was so old!
"Tonghua Ruan Beef Intestine" is made by mixing sheep bone marrow and mutton into a stuffing and then filling it with beef intestines. The composition of the stuffing and the mixing of spices are all secrets that are not passed down. Every cook makes it.
no the same.
This kind of dish is not a "show job". Many novice cooks can make similar dishes, and the appearance looks similar. But diners only need to take one bite to know the difference between the master and the novice.
Even average cooks would not dare to serve this dish to diners for fear of ruining their reputation.
Fang Chongyong originally thought that his launch of "stir-fried vegetables" in Chang'an would become popular in the catering industry and lead the trend. Now it seems that this is not the case.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! The aristocrats of the Tang Dynasty were so good at eating, and iron pots were not a rare thing. How could they not know that there was such a cooking method as stir-frying?
The Chinese people's pursuit of food is unparalleled and tireless. Even in Lingnan, which cannot afford normal cooking utensils, the locals have invented a stove called an "earth pot", but it is not very durable and does not affect cooking.
Effect.
The reason why stir-fry food did not develop is simply because the corresponding stir-fry technology was not developed, and the dishes produced were not competitive in the Tang Dynasty when catering technology was extremely advanced and hundreds of flowers were blooming, so it was not recorded in the history books.
As for the lack of cooking oil, there is no obstacle among the nobles. They also like to eat fried food! The cooking oil required for frying cannot be less than cooking!
The problem with cooking is that it not only requires a pot, but also supporting ingredients, supporting processes, and supporting social needs.
The improvement of skills requires inheritance and years of training.
In other words, cooking is not impossible, but the people at the bottom cannot afford expensive cooking oil; the aristocratic class is used to eating good food and has already filled their stomachs with various fancy cooking, so they have no motivation to develop cooking.
Especially they don’t like eating vegetables!
It can be said bluntly that if Fang Chongyong wanted to develop cooking technology and start a catering industry in Chang'an, he would lose all his money and be beaten by the other exquisite cooking methods in Chang'an.
Seeing Li Kui, Xu Yuan and Zhang Xun looking intoxicated after eating, Fang Chongyong put aside the distracting thoughts in his mind and sighed softly.
It's a pity that another way to make money has been blocked.
Fang Chongyong couldn't help but sigh. He felt his heart bleed as he watched Fang Dafu bring up one dish after another that he had never seen before, let alone eating.
It’s as if the huge amount of profits lost due to not being able to cook have turned into the Milky Way and flowed away from me.
At this moment, Fang Laique hurriedly ran over from the concierge and whispered in Fang Chongyong's ear: "Lang Jun, that poor guy from Kuizhou who always asks us for money is here."
Kuizhou? Poor guy?
Fang Chongyong was stunned for a moment. He hadn't recovered yet, and he didn't know who Fang Laique was talking about.
"Can you please tell me without adding your own judgment and tell me who it is?"
Fang Chongyong scolded in a low voice with a calm look on his face.
"It's Zheng Shuqing who came and brought an ox cart as a gift. He probably came to pay off a debt."
Fang Laique said with some satisfaction.
"A night owl comes to the house for whatever reason. He will definitely do no harm to me. Alas!"
Fang Chongyong was very puzzled. There must be a lot of beautiful concubines in the old Zheng family. In the colorful world of Chang'an, when the weather is getting dark, he should go back and admire the moon with his arms around his beautiful concubines. Why do you come to see me, a half-year-old child, at night?
Now that the gates are closed, he wants to stay overnight!
Fang Chongyong stood up helplessly and said to everyone: "There are guests coming to the door, I will go and take a look first."