This year, the county order that came to the next minister is called Zhou Zeng, a remnant of the Zhou Dynasty, when the Qin army destroyed Zhou when King Qin Zhao, Zhou Zeng, who was an official of the Zhou Dynasty at that time, ordered the ancestors of Zhou Zeng to follow the king of Zhou to descend to Qin, and received the position to become a small official of the Qin State, and the elders made a little contribution in the war of Qin's annihilation of the Six Kingdoms.

The background is not bad, Zhou Zeng himself is also a little talented, although there is no particularly outstanding political achievements in the position of county officials and county officials, but it is also about passable, and there has never been any major mistakes, so the career is also very smooth, less than forty years old, he accumulated merit and became a county magistrate with a household registration of more than 10,000 people, and he also showed his official rank as a doctor, and became a person who was registered in front of the emperor, and the future was quite bright.

In addition to the county Cheng, right and left lieutenants and other county middle and senior officials and a very small number of large households in the county, ordinary officials, country officials and ordinary township sages are generally difficult to see Zhou County, even if there is something to see, they also have to queue up outside the county temple where Zhou County Order's office is located, whether you can see Zhou County, it depends on the importance of the matter and the mood of Zhou County.

There is only the first day of the first day of October, because the calendar used by the Qin Dynasty is called the Zhuan calendar, which is based on the month of Jianhai Mengdong, that is, the first day of the tenth month of the lunar calendar, which is the first day of the new year stipulated by the law of the Great Qin. Although the Qin Dynasty respected frugality and simplicity, and the New Year was not as lively and grand as in later generations, the first day of the Lunar New Year was the first day of the Lunar New Year after all, and according to the law, the Zhou County Order, which was able to take a holiday and rest on this day, still relaxed some restrictions, allowing ordinary officials and ordinary large families to visit their homes to congratulate them, say that they are well, and celebrate the New Year together.

Zhou County's home is also full of guests, overcrowded, large and small officials with more or less gifts continue to come to visit, Zhou County's order is poor to cope, but has to meet one by one, politely asked, from the morning to the afternoon, there is always no time to rest, or in the afternoon Shen, seeing that it is about to eat dinner, knowing that they are not qualified to accompany Zhou County's guests to dinner before they know the initiative to disperse, so that Zhou County's order breathed a sigh of relief, a little rest.

There are still exceptions, when the meal is about to arrive, the county Cheng who is qualified to accompany Zhou County Commander to share dinner, and the three county lieutenants of the right and left lieutenants carry gifts together, and jointly come to the door of Zhou County Commander to ask for a meeting, ready to further contact Zhou County Order. And Zhou County's order can't be too snub to the second, third and fourth people in these three counties, so he can only go out in person to greet them and politely invite them into his own hall to sit.

The county magistrate and the two county lieutenants also obviously just got rid of the tide of guests, the three of them were tired on their faces, and they were not very energetic after sitting down, and the equally exhausted Zhou County Commander also understood their distress, and invited them to have dinner with him without a few polite words, but without waiting for the county Cheng and the two county lieutenants to fake politeness, there was a sudden subordinate outside the door to report, and said: "Yu County Zun, Feng Zhong, the head of the Shiling Pavilion, asked to see him, saying that he came to congratulate the county on the New Year, and asked the county to summon him." ”

"Shiling Pavilion Chief Feng Zhong?" Zhou County's brows furrowed, not only very dissatisfied with the time when Feng Zhong came to pay New Year's greetings, but also immediately remembered some of the situation about Shiling Pavilion reported to him by the county officials - in the report, Feng Zhong's two mistakes and dereliction of duty were extremely unsatisfactory to Zhou County.

"This pavilion chief named Feng Zhong, why did he come to congratulate the New Year now?" The county man also frowned and said, "How far is Shiling Pavilion from the county seat?" Why did you come at this hour? ”

"If the county is tired, tell him to go back." The right lieutenant of Xiaxiang County was very discerning, and saw that Zhou County Ling was already very tired and did not want to meet with irrelevant little people.

Only Lieutenant Zuo, who had met Feng Zhong a few times, didn't speak, but he also quietly scolded Feng Zhong in his heart for not having long eyes, and he wouldn't look at the time when he came to pay New Year's greetings. And Zhou Xianling rubbed his temples, which were already sour, and immediately made up his mind, and instructed the next person: "Go and tell that Feng Zhong, just say that the official is tired, tell him to come back another day." ”

The subordinate took the order and left, and Zhou County Ling and the county commander continued the topic just now, and very politely invited the county Cheng and the two county lieutenants to accompany him to dinner, and the county Cheng and the two county lieutenants pretended to excuse themselves, and then couldn't resist the repeated invitations of the Zhou County Order, so it was better to be respectful than to obey. But there is something strange, just when the servants of Zhou Countyling's family began to serve wine and food, the previous subordinate returned to Zhou Countyling, nodded and said: "County Zun, that Feng Zhong refused to leave, and he also said that he deliberately chose this time to visit you." ”

"He deliberately chose this time to meet his own official?" Zhou Xian ordered for a while, and then inevitably became a little curious, and asked: "Why did he deliberately choose this time to visit this official?" ”

"Because he wants to present a Chu Palace delicacy to the county, please ask the county to taste it." The subordinate who received Feng Zhong's benefits said respectfully: "The villain also saw that the pavilion chief named Feng Zhong also brought his wife, with the dishes that have been prepared, ready to cook them for you in front of the county honor, please county honor, please taste it." ”

As mentioned earlier, Zhou County Ling has a hobby that is to taste food, and this hobby has even been heard of by Feng Zhong who is far away in the township, not to mention the county Cheng and the two county lieutenants who get along with Zhou County Ling day and night. So after listening to the report of the subordinates, the county magistrate and the two county lieutenants did not rush to complain about Feng Zhong's lack of eyes, and they both turned their eyes to Zhou County Order, and Zhou County Order did have a lot of hobbies in this regard, and after a little calculation, he ordered: "Okay, bring him in, this official wants to see what kind of Chu Palace food he brought to this official." ”

The subordinates who received the benefits happily agreed, and hurriedly went out to lead Feng Zhong and his wife to meet, while Zhou County Ling turned to the county Cheng and the two county lieutenants, and said with a smile: "I didn't expect that a small Shiling Pavilion would also hide the dragon and crouching tiger, and dare to claim to be able to cook Chu Palace food." The official was curious, and wanted to see what kind of Chu Palace food it was. ”

"It's not a big talk, I want to make the county rejoice in your emptiness." The right lieutenant of the county was seriously suspicious, and said: "But don't worry, if that Feng Zhong dares to play with something unreal, the subordinates will clean him up for you." ”

Zhou Xianling smiled and said nothing, and said in his heart that I don't need you to clean it up, I have long wanted to replace him.

In a moment, Feng Zhong and his wife, who had been so frightened by Xiang Kang and the Xiang brothers that they couldn't even sleep well, were led to the hall, and as soon as they met, they bowed to Zhou County's order, and said tremblingly: "Feng Zhong, the head of the Shiling Pavilion, bring his wife to meet the county honor, and the county lord is fine." ”

"You're welcome." Zhou Xianling waved his hand and ordered: "Haven't seen the county and the two county lieutenants yet?" ”

"Ahh Feng Zhong's reaction made Zhou County Ling and County Cheng and the others a little dumbfounded, and they actually screamed in surprise, and blurted out: "Why are County Cheng and the two county lieutenants here?" This sucks! ”

"What's wrong?" Zhou Xianling asked in surprise, and the county Cheng and the two county lieutenants had even more unkind faces, and they were extremely dissatisfied with Feng Zhong's open-mouthedness.

"Damn it!" Feng Zhong hurriedly slapped himself in the face, and then said with a sad face: "The county respects the forgiveness, the county Cheng and the two county lieutenants forgive the sins, the villain doesn't know that you are all here, and only prepared two Chu Palace delicacies, I'm afraid it won't be enough for you to share at this moment." ”

"What?" Zhou County's order was another one, and said in surprise: "What do you mean, you are worried that there are only two Chu Palace delicacies you brought, which is not enough for us to eat?" ”

Knowing that there was something wrong with what he said, but the words had already been spoken, Feng Zhong had no choice but to nod honestly and admit that he was indeed so worried. As a result, not only did Zhou County, who was already a little delicious, become more interested, but the county magistrate and the two county lieutenants were also curious, and they all said: "Feng Zhong, the Chu Palace food you brought is so delicious?" Worried that we don't have enough to eat? ”

"This ......." Feng Zhong was a little embarrassed, and said hesitantly: "Don't dare to deceive the officials, the little officials really think that the Chu food I brought is extremely delicious, at least the villain has never eaten such a delicious thing before." And when the villain tried to make it at home these days, he didn't feel that one was enough to eat, and he couldn't eat enough. ”

"Is it so delicious?" Zhou Xianling was even more interested, and ordered: "Then take it out quickly, and let the official see what kind of food it is." ”

Feng Zhong agreed, and quickly untied the package on his wife's back, and took out the chicken called Hua that had been preliminarily processed, but unfortunately, after seeing that Feng Zhong took out only two whole chickens that had been dehaired, Zhou County Ling was immediately disappointed, and the county Cheng and the two county lieutenants directly scolded and said, "Isn't this a chicken?" What's so strange? I thought it was a dragon liver and phoenix marrow. ”

"Returning to my lords, this chicken is indeed a very ordinary chicken, but its cooking method is not simple." Feng Zhong hurriedly said: "This delicacy is related to our Qin State's Empress Dowager Xuan, our Qin State's Empress Dowager Xuan made it in the court of Chu State before marrying into Qin State, to repay the nurturing grace of the mother country, the King of Chu tasted it and felt that it was delicious, so he personally named this dish Miyue Chicken, so that the imperial kitchen of Chu State imitated it, and it was exclusively used by the palace ministers of Chu State. ”

The method of forcibly pulling a dish together with celebrities is not uncommon in modern society, but in the Qin Dynasty, it was Xiang Kang's unique initiative, so after listening to Feng Zhong's words, Zhou County Ling and County Cheng and others inevitably became interested again, and they all asked: "Is there such a thing?" How do you know? ”

"It was an old citizen of Chu under the rule of the villain who told the villain." Feng Zhong did not hide it, and said: "After he was a famous family in the Chu State, he once tasted this delicacy when he was a child, and he knew how to cook it, and passed it on to the villain couple. ”

After saying that, Feng Zhong, who was still a little anxious, hurriedly handed over to the county magistrate and the two county lieutenants, and said: "Of course, the villain is also going to take it to the county lord and the two county lieutenants tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, but I didn't expect to meet you here today." ”

After listening to Feng Zhong's words, he felt comfortable, so Xian Cheng nodded and said, "Okay, just ask your wife to make it for us in person, and see if it's as you described, it's delicious, and two chickens are not enough for the four of us to eat." ”

Feng Zhong agreed, and then asked Zhou County to agree, and asked people to bring cutting boards, kitchen knives, wooden basins and other things, so that his wife, who was already scared and her hands were trembling, processed it in public and called it Huaji. The result is not to mention, because the process is not complicated, Feng Zhong's wife did nothing wrong no matter how flustered she was, and even the water used to adjust the yellow mud did not forget to use the rice wine that Xiang Kang used at the beginning. And Zhou County Linghe and County Cheng, who had never seen this kind of cooking technique, were also very interested, not only saw the end from the beginning, but also asked someone to bring a large brazier, and asked Feng Zhong's wife to roast the flower chicken in front of the hall, so curious that they didn't even put chopsticks on the wine and meat that had been placed in front of them.

Strictly speaking, the cooking techniques of the roasted chicken are not necessarily so advanced and clever, but this era is at the tail of the Bronze Age, and the cooking technology is still based on the most primitive white boiling and charcoal grilling, and even the cooking techniques such as frying, steaming and iron pot frying have not yet been invented. Therefore, when the original and fragrant chicken was put in front of him, even if he hadn't had time to taste it, the extraordinary and attractive fragrance alone had already made Zhou County Linghe County Cheng and others, who had long been tired of eating boiled meat and barbecue, overflow, and exclaimed, "It's so fragrant!" ”

Just smelling the fragrance is enough, after tearing the meat and dipping it in the sauce and eating, Zhou County Ling, County Cheng and the two county lieutenants are of course even more like flying, hurriedly just stuffing chicken into their mouths and chewing quickly, gobbling up like four starving ghosts reincarnated. Then, as Feng Zhong expected, the two chickens were really not enough for four people, gnawing on the residual meat of the chicken bones, the two county lieutenants pointed at Feng Zhong and spoke first, shouting: "Feng Zhong, didn't you say that you were going to make it for us to eat?" When to go to my house to do it? Bring a few more and let my family try them too! ”

The county man was more elegant, wiped his mouth with a silk scarf and said, "Pavilion Chief Feng, if you don't mind, can you ask your wife to teach my wife how to cook this Miyue chicken?" ”

"Don't worry about the county lord, don't worry about the two county lieutenants, the villain will definitely visit your home as soon as possible." Feng Zhong's face was shining with a smile, and he nodded and said, "When the time comes, the villain will definitely bring more, and he will also ask the villain's wife to present the cooking method together." ”

Nodding and saying, Feng Zhong's eyes certainly did not forget to observe Zhou County's order, which was the most important thing to him, but what made Feng Zhong breathe a sigh of relief was that after slowly wiping his mouth with a silk scarf, Zhou County's order nodded with satisfaction, and praised: "It's really delicious, Feng Tingchang, let you bother." ”

"Thank you, county." Feng Zhong hurriedly thanked him, and said cautiously: "County Zun, the villain still has to ask you for the guilt, last year the villain was incompetent, and he smashed two official affairs, please ask the county lord to be gracious and spare the villain this time." ”

"Last year, you were really lacking in business." Eating people with a soft mouth, Zhou County Ling also temporarily changed his plan, and said casually: "But overall, you can still be regarded as diligent in your errands, and you don't need to be too aggressive." In the future, I will worry more about the pavilion chief, and don't let the official down. ”

Feng Zhong was overjoyed, and hurriedly pulled his wife to thank Zhou County Ling for his kindness, but Zhou County Ling was still unsatisfied, and asked again: "Feng Zhong, the person who taught you Miyue Chicken, what kind of Chu Palace cuisine do you know?" ”

"This ......." Feng Zhong hesitated and said: "Go back to the county honor, this has to wait for the villain to go back and ask, the villain was confused, he only learned this Miyue chicken from him, and didn't ask much about the rest." ”

Zhou Xianling was a little disappointed, but after thinking about it, Zhou Xianling asked curiously: "By the way, I forgot to ask you, who is the surname of this person who taught you Miyue Chicken?" Is it the one who is behind the famous family of the Chu State? ”

Feng Zhong sold Xiang Kang without hesitation, not only selling Xiang Kang's name origin, but also selling Xiang Kang's ancestor, but Zhou County, who knew Xiang Yan's name, was very surprised when he heard it, and said: "The descendants of Xiang Yan, the martial artist of the old Chu State? Under the rule of this official, there is still such a famous family hidden? ”

"County Zun, the lower officials have also heard of this family." The county said: "I heard that his family has been a general in the Chu State for generations, and his surname was changed to Xiang because he was given the title of Xiang County. In addition, Xia Guan still remembers that the two uncles of the Xiang family are wanted by the government for revenge and murder, and they are still on the run. ”

The ranger atmosphere of happiness and revenge prevailed, and the two murderer uncles did not affect Xiang Kang's image in Zhou County's mind, on the contrary, it also made Zhou County's order even more curious about Xiang Kang, and asked Feng Zhong again: "Feng Zhong, how is that Xiang Kang's son's talent and martial arts?" ”

"Back to the county honor, that Xiang Kang Gongzi seems to be mainly studying literature, and his martial arts don't seem to be very good." Feng Zhong tried hard to recall Xiang Kang's usual performance, and said: "But he is very knowledgeable, he is full of talent at a young age, he can speak well, and his demeanor is definitely elegant and polite." ”

"Then if you have a chance another day, you can bring him here and let the official meet him." Zhou Xianling casually ordered: "This official wants to see with his own eyes what the descendants of Xiang Yan, the famous general of the old Chu, look like, and how different they are from the ordinary people of Qianshou." ”