"The sheep are coming, where to put them?" Zhou Jianliang carried a whole peeled mutton rack, and pushed the door in the heat of the freshly bathed body.

"Here, by the door, it's colder at the door." Zhang Qian quickly stood up, greeted him, pointed to a specially vacated table near the door, and said, "Second junior brother, give him a hand." Third junior brother, come and help me! ”

"Hey!" Guo Nu and Ren Cong, who came in behind Zhou Jianliang, were already accustomed to Zhang Qian's casualness. promised to step forward, one helped Zhou Jianliang put the mutton that was not soft or the table, and the other rushed to Zhang Qian's side and picked up copper bowls one after another.

Zhang Qian's hands and feet were very nimble, and he separated the pre-prepared chives, minced garlic, and sesame oil in four bowls, and motioned for Ren Cong to bring them to the square table in the center of the room and set them up. Then he quickly lifted the copper kettle from the stove where the old hen was boiling, and filled the four small red copper hot pots with chicken broth. The milky chicken broth and golden red copper pot set off each other, and it is immediately appetizing.

"Broken, broken!" Although he is also a fifth-grade official, Zhou Jianliang's Guoyi Lieutenant from the fifth rank is a full two blocks worse than Zhang Qian's fifth-grade military weapons supervisor and young supervisor. And the army has always been the place where the most attention is paid to rank and inferiority. Therefore, seeing that Zhang Qian actually poured soup for himself, he hurriedly put his two free hands together and bowed. "It's really a break! How can Zhou dare to bother the young eunuch......"

"If you're a friend, don't talk nonsense, if you're not a friend, get out by yourself. There's no place for you! Zhang Qian rolled his eyes at him and interrupted with a smile. Immediately, turn around and fill the kettle with cold water and put it back in the stove.

"This ......" Zhou Jianliang didn't dare to be polite anymore, put away his long bow, and stood at the door like a pole, his hands and feet suddenly didn't know where to put it.

Zhang Qian saw it, smiled again, and took a short knife specially made for himself by a craftsman from the third table, and threw it into this person's arms with the scabbard, "If you have nothing to do, you can help cut the meat, and ask for thin slices, preferably as thin as paper." Third junior brother, you come over and help me light the pot fire, second junior brother, you continue to give Zhou Duwei a hand! ”

"Hey, got it!" Guo Nu and Ren Cong promised to start busy.

Seeing that everyone was very casual, Zhou Jianliang didn't dare to be too polite. Pulling out the short knife from the scabbard, he first cut a rectangular loin on the back of the sheep, and then quickly swung the knife on the board handed over by Guo Nu.

After all, he is a veteran who has been dancing knives and guns on the battlefield for many years, and his ability to cut meat is superb. In the blink of an eye, the lamb loin was cut into a whole large plate of thin slices.

Zhang Qian, on the other hand, pushed Guo Nu away, handed over the second plate with his own hand, and at the same time motioned to him with his eyes to come with another plate of lamb legs. Immediately, he pointed to the tail of the sheep and motioned for him to cut a plate of pure white sheep fat for everyone to accompany the wine. (Note: Early Chinese sheep, usually with fat tails, function like humps.) The current sheep are crossbred with small-tailed Han sheep and do not have large tails. ）

……

The two of them commanded one and used the knife, and they cooperated very tacitly. In a short time, six different pieces of lamb were cut. The chicken soup in the red copper small hot pot is also heated by the alcohol stove and starts to tumble again, "goo-do-tu, goo-doo", and the rich aroma will be wafting all over the house.

"The entire ordnance supervisor is going to be moved to Weiyang Palace by order, so the current conditions are a little simpler, please don't mind Captain Zhou!" Zhang Qian smiled and put down the last plate and quickly returned to the seat facing west. The position of the south side by the stove was specially given to Zhou Jianliang.

"Young eunuch, don't be polite, you can eat a mouthful of hot food on a cold day, Zhou is grateful!" After half an hour of busyness, Zhou Jianliang had gradually adapted to the atmosphere in the room. He responded with a smile and sat down quickly.

Ass didn't wait to sit firmly in the chair, his eyes were already attracted by the flames dancing under the copper pot. Turning his body sideways, tilting his head, he stared at the medicine chamber and the wick repeatedly, until he was scalded by the soup that jumped up in the pot, and finally realized where he was at the moment.

"Come, eat a little first, and cushion your stomach. Zhang Zhengjian hasn't had the time to come here recently, so our brothers can be casual! Deliberately not looking at Zhou Jianliang's face full of surprise, Zhang Qian took a piece of lamb back meat with chopsticks, quickly put it in the small hot pot in front of him, and after a few snaps of his fingers, he fished it out, dipped it in the soup and chewed it.

Chinese sheep fed with pure grass and grain are not at all comparable to those hybrid sheep in the 21st century. The old chicken soup simmered in the stove is also full of flavor. It's a pity that there is no sesame paste and soy tofu, so I can only use sesame oil to deal with it. Rao is like this, and he can't wait to swallow his tongue together!

Look at Guo Nu and Ren Cong again, although they are used to seeing the delicacies of the mountains and seas. But this is the first time I've seen a copper pot like this lit on fire. couldn't wait to pick up the mutton, learn Zhang Qian's movements, and complete the whole process. Then he glared at four eyes like brass bells and slapped the case with his hands. "Absolutely, senior brother, this is the correct way to eat mutton. The kind we used to have, it's just a waste! ”

"Pair it with wine, drink it in small sips, it tastes better!" Smiling at the two, Zhang Qian raised the wine cup in front of him, and set the rules with a smile, "When you are on duty, don't discourage alcohol, so as not to make a mistake." Do what you can! ”

After that, I took a small sip first. Then he put down the wine cup and continued his attack on the mutton.

It's been almost three months since I came to Datang, and I finally got a bite of shabu-shabu, if I want to say that Zhang Qian doesn't feel excited, it must be a lie. Therefore, after starting again, he didn't want to stop his chopsticks at all, and he forgot about the "business" he had originally planned.

And Zhou Jianliang, who was sitting with his back to the stove, was more excited than Zhang Qian. Learn from the appearance of the three brothers, shabu a chopsticks mutton, and take a sip of the chrysanthemum white that has recently become popular in Chang'an high society. Then tilt his head to look at the hot pot a few times, and then repeat the previous process.

Until the chrysanthemum white that is full of copper, full of two or two, and about 60 degrees is scooped out. He finally took his eyes off the flames, put down his chopsticks and wine cup, and gently arched his hand at Zhang Qian: "Young eunuch, what is the name of this furnace?" Is it gunpowder? Charge geometry? How long can such a pot of medicine last with such a burning method? ”

"This thing, I call it an alcohol stove. Fill a pound and a half of alcohol, how long it lasts, I haven't had time to record, I guess it can be used for at least an hour. In the box behind me, there are also four alcohol stoves that have not had time to be assembled, which are specially prepared for Mr. Zhang and you. When you take it back, you can try it yourself! ”

"Thank you, young eunuch!" Zhou Jianliang stood up suddenly, bent over and said, "Yes, if you can have this thing, at least, the chief manager can at least eat a few hot meals." Zhou, Zhou Mou gave a gift to the young eunuch together for the brothers around the chief manager! ”

It's no wonder that he is so excited, Zhang Renyuan is already sixty-seven this year, but he is extremely strict with himself. When marching and fighting, they never bring people who have nothing to do with the military with them. So most of the time, he was on the same rations as the brothers. Occasionally open a small stove, but it can only be simplified because of ugliness, far from reaching the level of appetizing fingers.

And with this kind of alcohol stove specially built by Zhang Qian, cooking will be much simpler. As long as they can find shelter from the wind, the soldiers can light the fire at any time. Even without the skill of a chef, the old general can drink a bowl of hot porridge in time.

"Captain Zhou is polite, he has always admired the old general very much. This time you are in a hurry, otherwise, you can still ask the craftsmen to make a few more alcohol stoves. When Zhang Qian pondered the alcohol furnace, the target of the "customer" was the big families in Chang'an City and the senior generals in the army, so he had already prepared for Zhou Jianliang's reaction. He grabbed the other party's arm and added with a smile, "This thing is not just for cooking and boiling water. The utensils, bandages, and other items in the military are boiled in a pot before each use, which can effectively prevent the brothers from getting infected!"

The last two sentences are actually purely excuses for "following the customs".

The high cost of alcohol furnaces and the current high production cost of alcohol are destined to not benefit ordinary people. It is also far more convenient for the army to cook bandages and utensils, and to use firewood and iron pots, than to carry a large amount of alcohol with them. (This quote was said by an attentive reader and quoted directly.) ）

However, Zhou Jianliang had just stepped into the ranks of middle-level officers, and he still had the simplicity of a man on the battlefield. I don't know at all, no matter what the officialdom in Chang'an City does, they like to find a high-sounding excuse. Hearing Zhang Qian's words that the alcohol stove could also be used to cook bandages and sterilize Lang Zhong's instruments, Dengshi's heart became more and more moved, and he bowed down again and shook Zhang Qian's head to the ground. "Enough, enough! How can he be, dare to let Zhang Shaojian work so hard? ! ”

"There is no way to talk about two words!" Zhang Qian reached out again in time, grabbed Zhou Jianliang's arm, and used a little strength to pull the person back to the table. Zhang admires the men in the army, and it is Zhang's honor to be able to do something for them. Come, Zhou Duwei has a good amount of wine, let's have a drink with our brothers! ”

After that, he turned around and took two small cups, and beckoned Guo Nu to help fill them. One by one with Zhou Jianliang, he lifted it, touched it lightly, and drank it all in one go.

"Captain Zhou, Ren is also here to pay tribute to you!" Ren Cong just smelled it, and the wine worm was on his throat. Quickly took a small lamp and rushed over to have fun.

Zhou Jianliang didn't like to put on an official show, and he also knew that he was Zhang Qian's junior brother, so he smiled and drank with him. Seeing this, Guo Nu was naturally not to be left behind, so he simply got up and made up a whole round.

Because it is simply purified from rice wine, it is made with some plant essential oils. Therefore, the taste of chrysanthemum white is similar to the "small burning" of the 21st century, and it is far inferior to the mid-range liquor of the 21st century. Rao is like this, a large cup in a row, three small cups of liquor fell into the stomach, and Zhou Jianliang also drank so that his limbs and bones were extremely comfortable.

was about to eat some mutton with wine under Zhang Qian's persuasion. But he felt a sudden wave of heat surging behind him, and in an instant, beads of sweat came out of his forehead.

"Young eunuch, may I ask what this thing is?" No matter how careless he was, Zhou Jianliang quickly discovered that the ugly-looking iron guy behind him was the origin of the heat wave. He pointed to the stove with chopsticks and asked. “

"This thing, Zhang called it a stove. It's a thing that is made to ward off the cold! Obviously wanted to sell the stove to the Datang military, but Zhang Qian deliberately said lightly, "This thing saves money, and it can be used for heating with peat." Ten catties of peat every day can make such a big room where we are always warm like spring! ”

"Peat, isn't that thing poisonous?" Zhou Jianliang shook his feet again, jumped up, and began to circle around the stove. The more I look at it, the more I feel that this ugly thing is far more pleasing to the eye than the red copper hot pot. "I see, it's a chimney. Zhang Shaojian was so thoughtful that he actually used a chimney to exhaust the poisonous gas. Ahh

Seeing that he was so happy that he couldn't help but touch the chimney with his fingers, and immediately screamed in pain. Hurriedly withdrew his fingers and looked again, only to see that the top of the two fingers had each been burned out of a yellow spot, faintly, and it had already exuded a meaty fragrance!