Finally, I was going to meet the most powerful official of the Northern Song Dynasty.
Li Qi had a lot of thoughts in his mind at this time. Let's talk about hatred. Although the image of Cai Jing as a traitor has been deeply ingrained in his mind, but having said that, these were all poured into his mind by the history teacher. At least so far, Cai Jing has not done any harm.
He wanted to hate him, but he didn't know where to start. Not only that, he also felt an inexplicable affinity for Cai Jing. After all, Cai Jing was another historical acquaintance he knew after Li Qingzhao and Bai Shizhong.
Of course, it was necessary to be nervous. Li Qi kept reminding himself to try not to say the wrong thing later.
A large group of people followed the maids to an open space in the front yard.
This open space is as big as a football field. At the back of the open space, there is a row of small rooms separated by wooden boards. There are about twenty rooms. Each small room has a large stove and a square table inside.
This should be the place where they will compete later.
Under the eaves of the big room at the front, there are more than twenty low tables arranged in a staircase shape. On each table are placed some fruits, tea, snacks, silver cups and jade cups, which is extremely luxurious.
But now the positions are all empty.
Li Qi and the other cooks stood in a row in the open space, with their assistants standing behind them.
I'm sorry that old guy hasn't come yet.
Li Qi waited for a while, feeling a little impatient in his heart. He glanced at the other chefs secretly and saw that except for Zhang Chun'er and Cai Minde, who had calm expressions, everyone else had a look of excitement and anxiety on their faces. He was the only one who looked depressed.
.
After a while, there was a sudden sound of footsteps on the left side of the yard. Everyone turned around and saw a large group of people suddenly coming in from the door on the left, about twenty or thirty people. In addition to seven or eight female maids,
Everyone was dressed in fine clothes. They were chatting and laughing, and it was so lively.
Because they were all wearing casual clothes, it was impossible to tell where they were from.
An old man with white beard and hair is in the middle. He wears a blue square hat and dark red robe. His slender figure is now a bit rickety. His eyes are sunken, his face is full of wrinkles, and his white beard is thick and long.
He was surrounded by seven or eight maidservants.
Even if you think about it with your buttocks, you know that this old man is Cai Jing.
Standing on the left side of Cai Jing is a middle-aged man, about forty years old, who looks somewhat similar to Cai Jing. This is Cai Jing's second son, Cai Sui.
Among this group of people, except for Cai Jing, Li Qi knew Zuo Boqing, who was walking at the end, and he didn't know the rest. Of course, his eyes were always fixed on Cai Jing.
The group of people came to the front of the open space, and after Cai Jing sat on the low table in the middle, the others also took their seats one after another. Zuo Boqing sat in the back seat on the right side. It seemed that he and
Compared with the other guests, their status is still relatively low.
"The common people pay homage to the Grand Master."
Everyone bowed down and saluted together, and Li Qi, who was belatedly aware of this, also followed suit.
After the group of guests sat down, they all glanced at the cooks in the open space and began to whisper to each other.
Cai Jing glanced at the cooks, and then nodded slightly towards the fat middle-aged man standing in front of him on the left.
Li Qi knew this man. He was the one who came to Zuixianju last time to deliver the invitation. It was said that he was the chief steward of the Cai Mansion, named Cai Yong.
Cai Yong bowed to Cai Jing, then stepped forward, raised his hands to the chefs, and said loudly: "Thanks to all the chefs for taking the time from your busy schedule to be invited to attend the crab roe banquet hosted by our house. Everyone in our house is very grateful."
I feel honored, and my master is also very pleased, so no matter whether it succeeds or fails, my master will give him a generous gift."
"Thank you, Grand Master, for the generous reward."
Everyone said in unison again.
After Cai Yong finished speaking, he stepped aside. Cai Jing glanced at him and suddenly said: "Where is Master Li from Zuixianju?"
Although he is already seventy years old, he is full of vigor and has a voice as loud as a bell.
Master Li from Zuixianju? You just call me.
Li Qi never expected that Cai Jing would call him by name, and was stunned for a moment.
"Brother Li, the Grand Master has called you."
Wu Xiaoliu behind him saw that Li Qi was unmoved and hurriedly reminded him in a low voice.
Li Qi was startled for a moment, then he took a step forward and waved, "Oh, I'm here." As soon as he said the words, he felt that this was too rude. He quickly nodded and said, "Li Qi has met the Grand Master in Zuixianju."
.”
Cai Jing looked at Li Qi and said, "Come here, drag this kid out to play ten big games."
watt?
Li Qideng was stunned and his mind went blank. He never expected that the first thing Cai Jing said to him was to spank him.
Not to mention Li Qi, even everyone present was stunned, as if they didn't understand why Cai Jing would be so angry with a cook.
When Zuo Boqing heard this, he quickly stood up, bowed towards Cai Jing and said, "Grand Master ---."
"Um---."
Cai Jing raised his hand to interrupt Zuo Boqing's words and said: "Boqing, please don't plead for this kid. This kid is so bold. I must teach him a lesson today."
Li Qi now realized what he was doing. He had never experienced this before in his life, nor did he want to experience it. He hurriedly said: "The grand master wants to teach me a lesson, so of course I don't dare to disobey, but I hope the grand master can give me an understanding.
It would also help me know where I went wrong." But I thought to myself, could it be because of what happened when I walked in the door in the morning?
Cai Jing flicked his sleeves, first stopped the servants who were about to make a move, and then said to Li Qi: "I want to ask you, did you get into a fight with Butler Wang who was greeting guests in front of the door this morning because of your entry?"
When Cai Minde heard this, a proud smile appeared on his lips. The others were surprised at first, and then secretly rejoiced.
Ri. Sure enough, it was because of this incident that this old guy was a little too narrow-minded.
Li Qi broke out in a cold sweat and complained secretly in his heart. He didn't get any benefit from this, but got a slap in the face first. This must be too cheating.
"Grand Master, please calm down. What happened this morning may just be a misunderstanding. Master Li is still young and there are many rules that he is not very clear about. I hope Grand Master can ignore the faults of villains and spare him this time."
Zuo Boqing stood up again and begged for mercy.
Li Qi nodded hurriedly and said: "That's right. It's a misunderstanding. It's a misunderstanding. Butler Wang and I didn't get into a big fight, there was just a little friction." His head was already dripping with sweat.
"Yeah?"
Cai Jing snorted coldly and said: "Whether it's a misunderstanding or a friction, I don't mind whether you enter through the front door or the side door. I won't blame you for it. But I heard what Bo Qing said, you kid just because
I'm ready to walk away from this trivial matter. It's clear that I don't take it seriously, so I have to fight for it."
Day. It turns out that it was Brother Zuo who made the snitch.
Li Qi felt extremely depressed and glanced at Zuo Boqing. The latter was also casting apologetic glances at him. Li Qi knew that this was an unintentional mistake, and as of now, none of this matters.
The important thing is how to avoid this slap. After a moment of thought, he shouted loudly: "Grand Master, you are unjust."
"Bold."
When Cai Sui heard that Li Qi dared to shout "Unjust", he immediately stood up and said angrily: "You guys are saying that my father is idle and deliberately making things difficult for you, a cook. It is really unreasonable."
"The common people don't dare."
Li Qi bowed and said: "Actually, Cao Min did not intend to withdraw from the Crab Roe Banquet at that time. It was just because it was the first time for Cao Min and Cao Min's assistant to come to the Grand Master's Mansion, so they didn't know where the side door was and were looking everywhere."
Cai Jing said calmly: "If that's the case, then why did Boqing say that you were planning to quit the Crab Roe Banquet and go back to Zuixianju? Is it possible that Boqing was deliberately deceiving me?"
"No---it's not."
Li Qi hurriedly said: "At that time, Cao Min happened to want to find someone to ask, and Brother Zuo happened to come. Seeing Cao Min's depressed expression, he stepped forward to ask. Because Cao Min was afraid of telling the truth, Brother Zuo would laugh at Cao Min for not even asking.
No. So I just made up a reason, and maybe I said a few words to offend the Taishi, but Caomin really came to the crab roe feast with an extremely sincere heart this time. Caomin always thought that he could do something for someone like Taishi.
To cook a dish with such a respected elder is definitely a blessing that Caomin has cultivated for ten generations. How could Caomin miss this rare opportunity for such a trivial matter."
Another trick? When Cai Minde heard this, he just wanted to jump out and tell Cai Jing that he must not believe Li Qi's mouth.
"Respected elder?"
Cai Jing raised his brows and burst into laughter. After a while, he said, "You kid, don't you think that if you say a few nice words, I will spare you?"
When Li Qi heard Cai Jing's smile, he felt a little relieved and nodded: "Of course not, no matter what, it was the common people who were at fault first, but the common people begged the grand master to let the common people finish cooking for you first, and then come back
After receiving this punishment, I hope the grand master can fulfill this small wish of the common people."
Cai Jing found these words very useful. He smiled slightly, nodded and said: "Well, for the sake of your sincerity in coming to the crab roe banquet, as you said, I will remember this meal on you first. However,
If the dishes you cook later don’t satisfy me, huh, then add ten more plates and you can make it your own."
Japan. After so many flatteries, in exchange for a postponement of execution?
Li Qi secretly glanced at Cai Jing and saw that there was no trace of anger on his face, but his eyes were full of smiles. He felt relieved and knew that his butt would not have to suffer. He thought to himself, it turned out that this old guy was trying to scare me, but it was really
I was scared to death. I smiled slightly and said, "Master, please rest assured, the common people will not let you down."
Cai Jing smiled and nodded.
After hearing this, Cai Minde sighed softly, looking quite regretful.
Zhang Chun'er, on the other hand, had a strong point. She was too eager to compete with Li Qi.
...
After this farce ended, the crab roe feast officially kicked off.
Under the guidance of the maid, everyone went to the small room with the name of the restaurant where they were.
Li Qi was taken to the room on the right.
After Master and Disciple Li Qi came into the house, the first thing they did was drink a cup of tea to calm down their shock, which had frightened them both just now.
"Brother Li, you scared me to death just now." Wu Xiaoliu said fearfully after finishing a cup of tea.
Li Qi snorted disdainfully: "You are a bit promising, okay? It's such a big deal, what are you afraid of?"
Wu Xiaoliu murmured in a low voice: "Your legs were shaking more than mine just now."
"What did you say?" Li Qi raised his eyebrows and said angrily.
Wu Xiaoliu smiled flatteringly again: "I just want to ask, what should we do now?"
"Boil water."
"Boiling water? These fish and crabs haven't been cooked yet. Why boil water?"
"Did you get scared just now? Of course it's disinfection. Do you still want to do it?"
"Oh, I'll boil water right away."
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