His Majesty Li Er looked at the charcoal stove and copper basin curiously, and said: "It is said that there were 'dyeing furnaces' and 'dyeing cups' in the Han Dynasty, which are much simpler than 'dyeing furnaces'. ”

The so-called "dyeing furnace" and "dyeing cup" are all small bronze vessels, and the structure is divided into three parts: the main body is a charcoal furnace; There is a cup for food on the top, and a plate for charcoal fire underneath, which may be a small hot pot used by a single person in ancient times.

Xu Qilin didn't know this, blinked his eyes, simply ignored the stubble, and continued to introduce: "After the soup in the pot boils, you can put the mutton slices into the scalding, and when you see that the meat slices are gray-white, you can take them out and dip them in various spices to eat." The meat slices should be eaten with shabu to be delicious. ”

After a pause, he added, "Actually, if you eat it in the cold of the year, it is the most delicious." ”

"Are you ready to eat?" Xincheng Gong raised his eyes and stared at it, showing no interest in the explanation, and his mouth was open, as if he was about to drool.

Xu Qilin glanced at the pot, the chicken soup inside was already bubbling and boiling, hurriedly picked up chopsticks and a colander, picked up the mutton slices and put them into the pot, shook it gently, and when he saw that the meat turned gray, he took it out and put it on the plate on the dining table of His Majesty Li Er.

"Your Majesty, there are three seasonings here, namely sesame sauce, garlic, and spicy sauce, you can taste them separately and choose your favorite flavor." After Xu Qilin finished explaining, he handed it over to the palace people to serve, and ran to Sister Ah and the princess by himself.

The paper-thin and evenly sliced mutton is blanched, put into the plate one by one, dipped in the seasoning, and chewed in the mouth, which is mellow and fragrant, tender and delicious.

"The fragrance of sesame sauce!" The son smiled at the uncle and thanked him, and did not forget to tell the small new city next to him, "Don't dip too much in the seasoning, it will be salty." ”

Xincheng responded indiscriminately, grinned, and said to Xu Qilin: "Meat, meat." ”

"Great!" Xu Qilin agreed happily, and his actions were swift, not only lamb slices, but also some spinach, put them on the plate of Xincheng, and said: "In addition to meat, let's have some spinach to replenish iron and blood." ”

"I want it too." The son pushed his plate forward.

"Come on!" Xu Qilin soaked a little more this time, and then distributed it to his son-in-law and sister-in-law.

Xu Hui smiled faintly, eating with a gentle and elegant posture, and after chewing, he bowed his head slightly: "It tastes very good, and this way of eating is also fresh." ”

Hehe, Xu Qilin is busy with his hands, meat and vegetables, and the cut fish is also blanched and served.

His Majesty Li Er waved his hand at the palace people who were serving, signaling to push the table forward, and he himself took meat and vegetables to eat. Probably because of the preciousness of the status, it is not good to ask for meat and vegetables like a child, or it is more convenient to do it yourself.

When everyone had almost eaten, Xu Qilin ordered noodles again, cooked them and mixed three bowls of meat, vegetables, and soup, and brought them to Sister Ah and the princess.

"Put some spices on it, it tastes delicious!" Xu Qilin said with a smile: "This is called noodles, and looking at its thin appearance, it means 'longevity'." ”

His Majesty Li Er smiled and said, "Although it is a long strip, this is obviously a soup cake!" However, the implication is excellent. ”

In China, originally all pasta dishes were collectively referred to as cakes, of which those cooked in soup were called "soup cakes".

"Qi Min Yaoshu" also records that "water cake" is a kind of boiled food that is as thin as "leek leaves"; In the Tang Dynasty, there was also a cold noodle called cold water Tao.

But to be precise, the soup cake should be a kind of noodle soup, or torn or knife-cut. And the shape of the noodles was finally fixed into a long strip, which was until the Song Dynasty.

Xu Qilin blinked his eyes and said, "Actually, Weichen wants to take this opportunity to offer His Majesty a military ration that is easy to carry and can be stored. ”

His Majesty Li Er had just picked up a pair of chopsticks and noodles, and when he heard this, he put it down and asked, "Let's hear it." ”

Xu Qilin said: "The noodles are prepared in this shape, dried and stored for several months without rotting. Isn't it convenient to cook it in water when eating? If our Tang Army is equipped with this kind of military rations, wouldn't the logistics and transportation be greatly reduced? ”

Speaking of logistics and transportation, it is necessary to talk about the standard equipment of the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty army.

According to the establishment of the time, three hundred people formed a regiment, a squad for every fifty people, and a fire for every ten people.

Fire was a very small military unit, but it was still to be equipped with six pack horses. The army carried two pieces of curtains, iron horses, shovels, chisels, baskets, axes, pliers, and armor beds, one pot, one fire drill, one salt bag, and three horse reins.

Don't be surprised, in the early Tang Dynasty, the government army system was implemented, and according to the regulations, not only weapons and equipment, but even military rations were carried by the government soldiers themselves. Therefore, there are many rice that have not been shelled, so they should bring the "mill" rice tool.

Even if it is unhulled rice, the amount of military rations carried by a soldier is nine buckets of wheat rice and two buckets of rice. Despite the presence of pack horses or pack donkeys, the burden of long expeditions is still very heavy.

For example, during the expedition to Goryeo during the period of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, because of the long distance and difficult food transportation, each field soldier had to carry food for many days, which seriously affected the speed and combat effectiveness of the army.

Therefore, at that time, many soldiers risked killing their heads and starving their stomachs, throwing away their food, or burying it in the ground.

And Xu Qilin believes that the dried noodles that have been dried to remove the moisture are always lighter and more convenient than carrying raw rice and raw wheat, right?

His Majesty Li Er picked up the noodles and looked at them for a moment, and asked, "How much weight can I lose after drying them into dry noodles?" If you want to prepare a large amount of such military rations, the investment is not small, right? ”

Xu Qilin shrugged his shoulders and said: "Weichen is just an idea, if you want to realize it, or come up with specific data, you must always conduct experiments!" ”

"Then you should experiment as soon as possible and get the data up as soon as possible." His Majesty Li Er snorted and said, "If you dare to postpone perfunctorily, I will be punished heavily." ”

Well? Kindness is regarded as a donkey's liver and lungs, are you deliberately finding fault?

Xu Qilin peeked at it and found that His Majesty Li Er had begun to eat noodles with taste, as if he was nodding slightly, it seemed that it tasted good, but he ignored him anymore.

Xu Hui smiled at the little brother and shook his head, saying that there was no need to argue or care. This Li Er is mostly casually talking, scaring people, don't take it too seriously.

The little son was full of food and drink, put the bowl down, leaned back in the chair comfortably, and said, "Uncle, you can eat too!" ”

Probably because he was satisfied with his food and happy in his heart, this uncle screamed clearly. You know, the son is usually called that only when no one is around.

His Majesty Li Er and Xu Hui both heard it and cast their surprised eyes over.

It's still this nephew's daughter who knows that she feels distressed, although she only remembered it after she was full. Xu Qilin smiled, ignored the gazes of others, and said, "I'll go back to eat, and there are a lot of preparations in the kitchen!" ”

Xincheng Xiaogongju sucked the last noodle into his mouth, licked his lips, and grinned at Xu Qilin, "Uncle, where are my birds, you can help me train!" ”

"No problem." Xu Qilin smiled and nodded, that's it, it's good to call it smooth, and it's comfortable to listen to, "Look at which one, I'll take it away first, and I'll send it back before dinner." ”

His Majesty Li Er snorted, what's wrong with the two baby daughters, one is closer than the other.

Xu Hui stroked his forehead and smiled bitterly, not knowing what to say. It's a good thing to be close to Her Royal Highness the Princess, but this is an elder, which seems to make His Majesty not very happy.

Is it still wrong to call my uncle, and still suffer? This is a voluntary gesture of the little princess, I didn't force or entic, I can't blame me!

Xu Qilin not only disagreed, but also a little unhappy, and said in his heart: Li Er, you are an old shameless person, who asked you to get my sister into the palace, you deserve it.

"Withdraw!" His Majesty Li Er pulled his face and waved his hand.

Xu Qilin secretly rolled his eyes, Xiaoyi, you are still not happy. Seeing that the palace people were withdrawing, he also stepped forward to bow and salute, and retreated.

asked the imperial kitchen to send the charcoal stove, copper basin, and meat and vegetables to his temporary residence, Xu Qilin carried a bird cage and walked back.

Wu Xiang hadn't eaten yet, and was stupidly waiting for his own Ah Lang.

Xu Qilin hurriedly asked the palace people to put the simple version of the hot pot on the table, beckoned Wu Xiang to sit down, and ate while teaching. Wu Xiang likes spicy sauce the most, and he sweats all over his head when he eats it, and he exhales happily.

"After eating, resting, and resting, I rushed back to Chang'an." Xu Qilin put down his chopsticks and explained: "I'll write a letter in a while, and you will deliver it." ”

Wu Xiang wiped his sweat and said, "Ah Lang lends me the horse and rides it in turn, I can go to Chang'an tomorrow morning." ”

"Horses can lend you, but you don't have to be in such a hurry." Xu Qilin waved his hand and said, "Take my waist card, sleep at the post station at night, and leave at dawn." After delivering the letter, you rest at home for a day or two before returning. ”

Wu Xiang nodded, stuffed a large amount of chopsticks into his mouth, and vaguely didn't know what to say.

Xu Qilin turned around and went back to the room, sat down in front of the table, spread out the paper, picked up the pen and began to write a letter.

There is no need to report safety to the family, and some guards have already returned to Chang'an to report the major events of He Luohu and the Dushe leading the crowd to plot assassination, and by the way, they will also go to the Xu Mansion to inform them.

Xu Qilin wrote a letter to the officials of Dayingku, asking them to buy cane sugar and purchase related utensils, so that he could start experimenting with white sugar as soon as he returned.

When it comes to making a lot of money and making quick money, this white sugar seems to be.

Although in Xu Qilin's vision, Dayingku will continue to invest in one or two years, continue to increase projects, and spread to all places. But with abundant funds, this time can be greatly reduced.

For example, relying on the post station to build a store, the construction cost must be a large surplus. It will take at least three years to recoup the cost of renting out after it is built.

Just relying on the 20,000 or 30,000 yuan that His Majesty Li Er paid is obviously far from enough.

Wool textile is a slow industry, acquisition, transportation, weaving, sale, conservative estimates will not see benefits until two or three months later.

Coal mining is also an industry with large investment and slow results, but it can develop sustainably and has bright prospects.

Xu Qilin wrote while thinking, and when Wu Xiang came to him after eating and drinking, the letter was almost finished.

"This one is sent to Dayingku, and this one is for Steward Xu." Xu Qilin sealed the envelope, explained it clearly, and handed it to Wu Xiang.

"I'll set off here." Wu Xiang burped after speaking, and scratched his head a little embarrassedly.

"Eat and go." Xu Qilin waved his hand and said, "I'll take a nap, if I don't wake up when I leave, you can go by yourself, and I have nothing to explain." ”

Wu Xiang accepted the letter, bowed down, and said goodbye.

……………

As the sunlight intensified, the fog became very light, but it had not completely disappeared, making the Forbidden Garden seem to be covered with a very fine and light veil.

This open valley is the upper reaches of Dushui and has excellent vegetation. The hills are slightly undulating, and there are repaired stone steps to pass through the road, and there are trees, grasses or flowers next to them, which is cool and pleasant.

Ascending high and looking into the distance, Du Shui reflects the sunlight, like a silver ribbon flowing. The murmuring of several streams adds a little vitality to this forbidden garden.

Xiao Qi and Xi Xi also seemed to feel the beauty of this nature, hovering and flying in the air for a long time. From time to time, they also make calls to harmonize with the birds in the middle of the bushes.

"Uncle, how is this Zhuangzi compared to your family?" The little son asked with a smile while holding a wildflower picked by the palace people.

This is where a pool of water meets, reflecting the blue of the sky and the emerald green of the drooping leaves. A few dragonflies flutter on the surface of the water, occasionally or a little, creating a circle of ripples on the surface of the water.

Xu Qilin said with a smile: "It can't compare to the scale of the Royal Forbidden Garden, but if you want to say that the scenery is beautiful, it has its own merits." Small and chic, Her Royal Highness the Princess also knows this word, right? ”

The little son said: "The garden is indeed too big, I don't like it very much. When I have the chance, I will definitely go and see the small and chic Zhuangzi. Uncle's design must be comfortable. ”

"It seems that even Her Royal Highness the Princess knows about my greed for enjoyment." Xu Qilin laughed and laughed at himself, bent down to pick up a stone, threw it out hard, and made three ups and downs on the water before he sank into the opposite grass.

The little son laughed twice, and also wanted to learn from Xu Qilin to play water rafting, but due to lack of strength, the stone just jumped and fell into the water.

Xu Qilin pursed his lips and smiled, and suddenly found a green thing in the grass, so he stepped out of the road and bent down to catch it.

"What is it?" The little son asked curiously, "Can you catch it?" ”

Xu Qilin covered his palms and walked back, smiling and opening up, it was a little green frog, which looked very cute.

The little boy giggled and wanted to reach out to take it, but in the end, it was a little girl, who was timid and looked very cringe.

"Sticky, slippery, Your Royal Highness the princess still don't hold it in your hands." Xu Qilin said: "Xiao Zhao is also afraid of these things, and he doesn't like them to keep screaming, which disturbs his sleep at night. ”

The little son hurriedly withdrew his hand, and the expression on his face twitched. It's sticky and slippery, and it sounds goosebumps.

Xu Qilin squatted down to let go of the little frog, and washed his hands with water. Standing up, the little son had already handed him a silk handkerchief.

Well, it's going to be a problem, and my uncle didn't hurt you in vain. Xu Qilin took the silk handkerchief with a smile, just wiped his hands, the expression on his face changed suddenly, and he rushed forward violently, knocking the little princess down.

The little son was dizzy, thinking that the uncle was not standing firm and his feet were slipping, but then she heard the screams around her.