The Yang's kitchen is located in the courtyard to the west of the main hall.

Specifically, it is a row of blue brick houses built together, with chimneys on the roof, firewood piled up in the corners of the courtyard, and bags of grain and various vegetables and meat stacked in the warehouse, which looks extremely regular.

At present, it is still early, and the kitchen has not yet begun to prepare the evening soup, and Liu Zhangshi, who is in charge of kitchen affairs, is sitting in the courtyard with a group of cooks chatting about the mountains, and he is laughing constantly when he talks about the hearty place.

"Huh? Isn't this my cousin? How did you come? Seeing Cui Wenqing suddenly enter, Liu Zhangshi immediately stood up, obviously with a look of surprise on his face.

Indeed, as the saying goes, a gentleman is far away from cooking, this cousin is an upright scholar, he learns the way of Confucianism, and he is talking about it, so why do you come to the kitchen if you have nothing to do?

In Liu Zhangshi's puzzled eyes, Cui Wenqing smiled and said: "That's the case, I want to borrow a big pot from your kitchen, I don't know if it's convenient?" ”

"Borrow...... Borrow a pot? Liu Zhangshi only felt that his tongue was a little knotted, he was stunned for a while, and asked cautiously: "Dare to ask my cousin, what are you doing with the pot?" ”

Cui Wenqing smiled and waved his hand: "It's nothing, I'm going to borrow your pot to boil some lard." ”

"Boiled lard?" Liu Zhangshi was completely stupid, and looked at Cui Wenqing in a daze, and after making sure that he was not joking, he said with a smile: "My cousin, what are you boiling lard for?" Our Yang Mansion has a family rule, no one is allowed to cook alone, but must eat together, don't you forget? ”

Cui Wenqing smiled: "How can I forget the rules of the Yang family?" However, I didn't boil lard for eating, but for other purposes, Liu Zhangshi, you can rest assured. ”

Liu Zhangshi hesitated for a while, and always felt that he couldn't offend Cui Wenqing because of this little thing, so he had to nod his head and say: "Okay, the small one will lend the iron pot to his cousin, but you have to promise that you are not allowed to eat alone, otherwise the small one will be in trouble." ”

"Don't worry, I will." After Cui Wenqing agreed, he called a chef with a big waist and moved the iron pot into the bamboo cultivation courtyard.

In addition, he also asked for a few bundles of firewood and a bag of grass and wood ash in the kitchen, and then hurriedly returned to the bamboo courtyard.

At present, there are only two people living in the bamboo cultivation courtyard, he and Lotus Ye, and Cui Wenqing did not ask others for help, took off the moon-white robe he was wearing, and got busy with a serious face.

He first found some pebbles and stones, and simply built a simple earthen stove by the pool, and then placed the iron pot on top of the earthen stove, picked up the fire fold and lit the fire, and it took some effort to light the firewood in the earthen stove.

At this time, Cui Wenqing, who had been busy for a while, was covered with fine sweat on his forehead, and even his chest in his half-arm undershirt was soaked with sweat, obviously very tired.

Seeing that he was so tired, Lotus Ye couldn't bear it, so he hurriedly took the initiative to ask: "Uncle, why don't you take a rest first and let me do it for you?" ”

Cui Wenqing shook his head with a smile and said: "This matter is very important, it is better for me to go out in person, in this way, you can sift those grass and wood ashes for me, I will be of great use." ”

Lotus Ye nodded, and hurriedly went to the kitchen to find a sieve, and carefully sifted up the half bag of plant ash.

Cui Wenqing did not rest, and began to be busy again.

He first added a little water to the iron pot, then picked up a kitchen knife, cut the pork fat he bought into long strips, and when he was done, the water in the pot was just boiling, and he poured all the lard into it.

The opening of this iron pot was very large, and it was originally used in a large pot to make rice, and it was more than enough to cook the lard, and after a while, the greasy smell spread through the courtyard.

At this moment, it is the evening soup time, according to the family rules of the Yang Mansion, as long as you are in the house, you must go to the side hall to have the evening soup.

Cui Wenqing instructed the lotus leaf to wait here, and went to the side hall alone.

When I came to the hall, everyone who was in the house tonight had already arrived.

Yang Huairen and Yang Huaiyu may have something to do, they are not in the house tonight, and the only people who have a late soup are Yang Zhengwu, the son of Yang Huairen, and his family, as well as Yang Shikui and Zhexiu.

Cui Wenqing and Yang Zhengwu were a little wrong, so naturally they didn't say a word, and the Yang family's family rules pay attention to food and sleep, so under normal circumstances, no one spoke in the evening soup.

When a few people were drinking the soup slowly, a strong smell of lard wafted in, and before Cui Wenqing secretly said that it was not good, Yang Shikui had already sniffed his nose and asked suspiciously: "What smell?" What's weird? ”

"It seems to be lard." Zhi Xiu replied lightly and said with a smile, "I think the kitchen is boiling oil, so why should my husband make a fuss." ”

Yang Zhengwu snorted coldly and said, "Our dignified Yang family, do we also have to feed on the oil made like this?" This Liu Zhangshi is really getting more and more unruly, and he actually gives us lard! ”

Cui Wenqing knew that he had not yet mastered the castration technology of pigs, so the ancient pork tasted fishy and was regarded as the next meat, and lard was only popular among the common people.

Because of this, Yang Zhengwu was a little unkind.

Liu Zhangshi helped him a lot just now, Cui Wenqing naturally couldn't sit idly by, let Yang Zhengwu misunderstand Liu Zhangshi, drank a sip of hot soup, and said in a salty and non-light manner: "The smell of lard you smell is cooked by me, and the pot of lard is boiling in the bamboo courtyard at this time, but I am not using it to eat, but for other purposes." ”

As soon as he heard this, several people in the hall were stunned at the same time, and Yang Zhengwu scolded him: "Cui Wenqing, do you dare to violate the family rules and cook alone?" Aren't you afraid of family rules and punishments? ”

"Don't bluff me." Cui Wenqing naturally wasn't afraid, and said with a smile, "The Yang family's family rules say that no one can cook alone, but must eat together. ”

Yang Zhengwu was speechless, so he had to snort heavily and said coldly: "Cui Wenqing, I advise you to be honest and don't offend the family law, otherwise you will cry when the time comes." ”

Cui Wenqing smiled and said, "Thank you for reminding me, wait until you catch the evidence of my cooking, and then say these words." ”

Yang Zhengwu snorted coldly, got up and brushed his sleeves away.

As soon as Yang Zhengwu left, Zhi Xiudai's eyebrows frowned slightly, and she couldn't help but speak: "Wen Qing, why are you so unruly, what are you doing with boiling lard?" ”

Cui Wenqing smiled: "Sister Xiu, I'm really useful, I definitely don't use it to eat." ”

"This ...... What is the use of lard besides eating? Yang Shikui was obviously puzzled.

Cui Wenqing said with a smile: "Dissatisfied with Shikui's brother-in-law, Sister Xiu, yesterday I didn't stain the long skirt of a female classmate, but her skirt is precious, I can only wash the pulp and return the long skirt to her, and the lard is used for pulp washing." ”

Hearing this, Yang Shikui and Zhi Xiu looked at each other, obviously puzzled by his intentions.

(End of chapter)