On the first day of the new year, the snow stops.

Chang'an City was lively again, and children were rampaging through the streets and alleys in twos and threes, followed by their parents who kept shouting. Miss Childe gathers in groups, or talking and laughing, or wandering, or reciting poems against each other. The merchants on the street shouted and shouted, and the ordinary people who didn't spend much money on weekdays couldn't help but buy something to celebrate.

When the people took advantage of the Spring Festival to play, the fifty cooks and their respective deputies who were selected on the twenty-ninth day of the lunar month had already formed a team to the Daming Palace.

This is where the second round will be held.

In the pear orchard of the Lin De Hall in the northwest of Daming Palace, hundreds of cooks found their respective positions under the guard of dozens of officers and soldiers.

There are prepared stoves, surrounded by snow-covered pear trees, and despite the large number of people, it is still not crowded in the empty pear orchard.

Xia Shang was among them, and when he saw the palace for the first time, although it was only the tip of the iceberg, the scale of the palace was grand, and the exquisite decoration still gave enough shock. A small pear orchard with four delicate bluestone lampholders inside and out, inside and outside can be lit with candles, which are mainly used for lighting at night. The reason why I noticed the bluestone lampholder was because Xia Shang had encountered it on Chang'an Street, and I wanted to install one in the courtyard at that time, which looked magnificent and more convenient at night. Unexpectedly, a pear orchard in the Lin De Hall of the Daming Palace in the imperial palace, there are two lamp holders at the door that are more gorgeous than the market, and there are two more behind the door.

A small lamp holder is not to mention all the inconspicuous decorations in the garden.

Seeing the palace, Xia Shang had a new definition of life, it turned out that the real successful people lived in such houses?

In ancient times, there were not many entertainment activities, and it was indeed a rare enjoyment to live in a mansion, and then buy some maids and ladies to drink all day long, and the taste was good to think about. It's no wonder that so many wealthy people in ancient times were keen on it.

"I don't know when I'll be able to live in a house like this!" Xia Shang yearned for it and accidentally said it.

Unfortunately, there were no guards around, and they were only heard by Xu Yuan.

Xu Yuan was frightened into a cold sweat, and thought that Xia Shang wanted to live in the palace, so he lowered his voice and reminded: "Little Master, don't talk nonsense in the palace. ”

"What's this? I didn't say that I wanted such a big place as Daming Palace, you say, if I want to live in a house as big as Lin De Palace, how much money will I make? ”

Xu Yuan didn't want to deal with it, but the person in the imperial dining room who presided over this competition hadn't arrived yet, so it was awkward to stand, so he said, "Lin Dedian is like this?" How much does it cost? Save it, don't think about it, we'll think about it for the rest of our lives. ”

Xia Shang was unconvinced: "Hey, there is always a number, how much?" ”

Xu Yuan spread out one hand.

"Fifty thousand?"

Xu Yuan shook his head: "500,000 taels." ”

"......" Xia Sang was speechless, it seems that the housing prices in ancient times are not much different from modern ones!

The cooks waited for a long time in the pear orchard, and gradually moved around.

Xu Yuan and Xia Shang were talking, and a person slowly walked beside him, wearing a white apron, a white chef's hat, and sleeves, looking ordinary, but it was a little interesting to walk step by step.

Seeing this person, Xu Yuan's brows furrowed.

The other party had a smile on his face, which was not disgusting, but Xu Yuan was like a great enemy, Xia Shang was a little curious, and asked, "Who?" ”

"The head chef of the merry family - Guzi."

"Guzi? It's a bit of a nonsense. ”

At this time, Gu Zi had already arrived in front of Xu Yuan, and said with a smile: "Xu Niangzi, I haven't seen you for a long time, how can you feel a little thinner?" ”

"I don't care."

"The day before yesterday was densely crowded, I'm really sorry to have time to exchange cooking skills with in the future, I was still a little worried about not seeing' names for a long time that night, but I didn't expect to fight their way out of the encirclement at the last moment, which really made someone Gu admire."

Xu Yuan behaved unnaturally, and still replied coldly: "But the last one, why is there any joy?" ”

"Huh! It can't be said that are located near Mingde Gate, where there is no gathering of people, and they have been at a great disadvantage from the beginning, and they can still squeeze into the top 50 in such adversity, which shows the cooking skills of. ”

The two talked, no matter how indifferent Xu Yuan was, Gu Zi always kept smiling. Xia Shang can understand that this Gu Zi is interesting to Xu Yuan, and it is estimated that he has been around Xu Yuan a lot before.

Xu Yuan didn't say anything more, Gu Zi was a little embarrassed, touched his nose and looked at Xia Shang: "Oh? This little brother is a new disciple of? Is it inappropriate to bring a new disciple for such an important competition as the Great Dynasty Banquet? ”

Xu Yuan's face changed: "What nonsense are you talking about?" It's ......"

Xia Shang interrupted with a smile: "It's just a friend." ”

"Friends?" Gu Zi frowned, looked at Xia Shang again, looked at his white face and fairly handsome appearance, and suddenly a trace of hostility rose, especially seeing Xia Shang's age.

"Do like young men? If that's the case, wouldn't I ......" Gu Zi looked worried, and touched his slightly long beard inexplicably.

Xia Shang opened his mouth, and Xu Yuan knew that Xia Shang did not seem to reveal his identity, so he replied as he wished: "If there was no friend to help me in the game the day before yesterday, I would not be able to stand here." Brother Gu can't talk nonsense. ”

Gu Zi didn't want to continue to dwell on this topic, so he turned to him: "I don't know what kind of dishes prepared today?" Of course, someone Gu didn't mean anything else, but I heard that this time your selection quota has been reduced, and the requirements for the selected dishes are also higher, and the word 'strange' should be highlighted, it is estimated that there will be many foreign guests in the court next year, and His Majesty wants to take advantage of this to establish his authority, and the dishes are also a major standard to highlight the heritage. ”

The other party's reminder was somewhat useful, and Xu Yuan thanked him casually.

Speaking of this Guzi, the last session entered the third round, and his cooking skills are similar to Xu Yuan's, and the key to victory is that he is well-informed, and he can know a lot of inside information every time he competes. There must be nobles behind him.

Xu Yuan has made progress in cooking compared to three years ago, and she has become more sleek, thinking that it is rare for someone to send news to the door, how can it not be reasonable?

"Brother Gu, I don't know how many people have entered the third round?"

"Eight."

"Eight?!" Xu Yuan was shocked, "Didn't there be twenty last time?" So much reduction this time? ”

Gu Zi nodded solemnly: "The chefs in the imperial dining room are not as free as self-employed chefs like us, and there are many complaints in the palace, Chef Jia Yu strongly recommends that the number of selections be reduced to give the chefs in the imperial dining room more opportunities to perform." ”

Xu Yuan chuckled in her heart, and said in her heart that she didn't choose herself three years ago, and she didn't choose eight people this time, can she pass?

Gu Zi knew Xu Yuan's thoughts, and secretly pointed to everyone present: "Of the eight people selected, the old man Qi who won the first place last year will definitely win one of them, and Cao Fu, who won the first place in the first round of selection, and Murong Jin, who won the second, will also occupy the second. Don't doubt the results of the first round, it's impossible to gain an absolute advantage without absolute ability. In the next Bucai, I thought I was going to occupy a position, and the eight people went halfway, and the had to weigh it well, and they said it all, and I hope that the Taiji Hall will meet again. ”

Gu Zi left, Xu Yuan's face was heavy, and Xia Shang stepped forward to make matters worse: "The wind chef who sells sweet potatoes also has to occupy one, and we only have three seats." ”