At noon on dog days, the big sun hanging in the sky exudes scorching energy all the time, scorching the heavens and the earth, almost all living beings are very wise to hide in the shade, waiting for this hot weather to pass, but in contrast, human beings as the spirit of all things are still very busy, such as on the official road below, a huge team is slowly moving forward.

Cao Song opened the kettle and drank a few sips of water, in fact, he was not thirsty at all, his stomach was already full of water, but he wanted to take advantage of the cool air in the water to feel comfortable, but he didn't expect that the water in the kettle was also sunburned into warm water, and all the sweat in his stomach turned into sweat gushing out of his stomach, and his whole body was sticky for a while, coupled with the hot dust on the road, it was even more uncomfortable for a while.

"Brother Jiu'er, it's too hot this day, so let's discuss with those military masters, find a shady place to rest for a while, and wait until noon before leaving!" At this time, I saw an obese middle-aged man in his forties come to Cao Song's side, and then whispered.

This middle-aged man's name is Cao Fu, he is the son of the Cao family, their family has served the Cao family for generations, don't look at Cao Fu's obesity, but he is a master of financial management, this time he went to Xixia to open a bank, he is Cao Song's right-hand man, but at this time, Cao Fu's whole body was also soaked with sweat, and the chest in front was also opened, revealing the tanned belly inside, and the dust covered on it was washed out of the ravines by sweat, which looked like a black watermelon.

"Uncle Fu, you also know that the army we are following is going back to Hezhong Mansion for rotation. The heavy rain of the past few days had already delayed them for some time, and if they could not return at the appointed time, they would definitely be punished. That's why I'm in such a desperate hurry now. Cao Song couldn't help but smile bitterly when he heard this, a heavy rain a few days ago washed away the road, so that they had to take a long detour, and as a result, the trip was delayed, they didn't care, but the accompanying army was not good, and if it was overdue, it would be subject to military law.

Although Cao Fu is a subordinate. But I grew up in the generals, and I know a little about things in the army. Now when he heard Cao Song's words, he couldn't help but sigh, so he had to nod and continue to hurry, in fact, they could be separated from the army, after all, this was already the territory of the Great Song Dynasty. However, Cao Song escorted a lot of property collected from the Western Xia side this time, plus this is the northwest of the Great Song Dynasty, the people are already strong, and there are not a few robbers, so for safety reasons, he can only desperately keep up.

Dog days are rushing with a big sun, this kind of taste is not very pleasant, but going out is like this, even if it is a person from an aristocratic background like Cao Song. Now it's the same as ordinary porters, hot like dead dogs, but compared to them. The soldiers were even more miserable, for they had to be on guard at all times, and they were all wearing leather armor, and now they all looked as if they had been fished out of the water.

Seeing this, Cao Song immediately asked people to pour the prepared salt and sugar into the water, and then divided them into everyone in the team. Especially those soldiers were divided into double parts, and this method was taught to him by Zhao Yan. It allows a person to maintain his body even after sweating profusely.

Originally, Cao Song was looking forward to being cooler in the next few days, but he didn't expect it to be all such a hot weather, which made him have to sigh that his luck was really bad, and he chose to return to the capital in this weather, but Zhao Yan was all to blame, if he hadn't been urging, I'm afraid he would still be drinking chilled sour plum soup in Xixia, where would he have to suffer this kind of sin?

However, although the weather was hot, Cao Song and their speed was not slow, and finally arrived at Hezhong Mansion before the deadline, and the army of 1,000 people naturally returned to the barracks to report, and Cao Song and they also took this opportunity to rest in Hezhong Mansion for a few days, and then left after recovering their energy.

Hezhong Mansion is an important town in the northwest, and the city is also very prosperous, when Cao Song and Zhao Yan went to Xixia before, he had passed by here, but he did not stay, and now the weather is really not suitable for hurrying, just took this opportunity to take a turn in Hezhong Fucheng, and tasted the local food by the way, speaking of which, he has been with Zhao Yan for a long time, and his mouth has become very tricky, and the general food really can't get into his eyes.

"Brother Jiu'er, where are we going today?" Just after breakfast this day, the obese Cao Fu ran to Cao Song with a smile and asked, looking at his figure, he must be a delicious person, in fact, although Cao Fu is just a steward, but his mouth is more tricky than Cao Song, although Cao Song has suffered a lot during this time, he has also tasted a lot of food.

"Hehe, I have inquired with my guy yesterday, there is a restaurant in the south of Hezhong Mansion that makes a fish banquet that is very famous, especially a dish made of Yellow River carp is extremely delicious, there is no earthy smell, let's taste it today!" Cao Song also smiled at the moment, the city in the river is on the edge of the Yellow River, the carp in the Yellow River is thick and very delicious, but there is too much sediment in the Yellow River, so that it is difficult to get rid of a trace of earthy smell in the fish.

"Oh, that's a good feeling, although the fish is prickly, many people don't like to eat it, but the old slave likes to eat fish very much, and I didn't even eat breakfast today!" Cao Fu was also overjoyed when he heard this, although the food was delicious, most of them were also very expensive, and he had a good monthly remuneration as the steward of the Cao family, but he also had to support a large family, especially when several sons were about to get married, and it was the time to use the money, so he didn't dare to spend money in the past few years, but now it's okay to follow Cao Song, anyway, he won't let him pay the bill no matter how much he eats.

Cao Song also laughed when he heard this, and then called a few idle stewards, and the group rushed to the southern city of Hezhong Mansion, which should be the most prosperous area in the city, with various shops and restaurants on both sides of the street, and the streets were full of pedestrians, which made Cao Song have the illusion of returning to the capital for a while.

"Fish Flavor Building! It should be here! Cao Song looked up at the plaque on the tall restaurant in front of him, and said with a smile, he had already inquired clearly, the dishes in this fish flavor building are mainly fish, and they are very famous in the area of Hezhong Mansion, and outsiders have to taste the dishes here when they come to Hezhong Mansion.

At the moment, Cao Song took Cao Fu and others into the restaurant, before they came to enjoy the scenery of Hezhong Mansion while walking, so they delayed some time, and now it is about to be noon, and this is the prosperous area of Hezhong Mansion, so there are many people in the restaurant, and the hall on the first floor is almost full.

As Cao Song, he naturally disdained to sit in the hall, so he instructed the guys in the restaurant to open a private room on the second floor, and then the group called all the signature dishes of the Yuwei Building, and when the dishes were ready, Cao Song instructed everyone not to be polite, these stewards have also followed Cao Song for a long time, and they also know his temper very well, so they are not restrained, talking and laughing while eating and drinking, but it is also very lively.

Speaking of which, this fish flavor building also has a bit of means, and the dishes are all based on fish, but they have their own flavors, especially the vinegar Yellow River carp in the middle, there is really no trace of earthiness, and the taste is also delicious, which makes Cao Song also full of praise, as for Cao Fu, they are even more chopsticks non-stop, and after a while, a big fish weighing seven or eight catties was eaten by them.

After eating and drinking, Cao Song sat in the Yuwei Building for a while, and was about to leave the private room when they suddenly heard a person's voice outside: "Teacher, the carp in this Yuwei Building is very famous, you must try it later!" ”

Hearing the voice outside, Cao Song couldn't help but be stunned, because although he was not familiar with this voice, he was not very unfamiliar, especially since this person he had just met last year, and he was deeply impressed, so as soon as he heard this voice, he knew who the person outside was.

"Jin Qing, you are too polite, originally came to Hezhong Mansion this time, just to see the combat strength of the Western Army, but I didn't expect to meet such a rare student as you, which made the teacher very happy!" I saw a middle-aged man's deep voice outside.

"Teacher, you are so polite, all Confucian students in the world admire you very much, and students have the honor to worship under your door, which is also a blessing for students!" I only heard the familiar voice outside speak again, the middle-aged man just now called him Jin Qing, which also made Cao Song even more sure that the person who spoke outside was Wang Xu, whom he had met when he went to Xixia before.

"Brother Jin Qing is right, my father's erudite name has long been known to the world, and the imperial court has also been recruited several times, and all the scholars in the world do not want to worship under my father, but my father has always been very strict with the selection of students, and it is very rare for Brother Jin Qing to be able to get his father's favor this time." At this time, I only heard a young and somewhat arrogant voice outside speak.

"Yan'er is rude, Jin Qing is talented, it's a bit of a condescension to be a small staff here, this time I am going to the capital as an official, it is the time when talents are needed......" Wang Xuan obviously also brought people here to eat, and the middle-aged man who spoke seemed to be his teacher, the two walked in the corridor and talked, and their voices became more and more blurred, maybe they had already entered the private room, so Cao Song didn't hear the words later.

"Wang Shu actually worshipped a teacher, and this teacher seems to be very famous, and he even wants to go to the capital as an official, is it possible that Wang Xu, this guy, will also go to the capital with him?" Cao Song sat there silent for a moment, reliving the conversation he heard, and then whispered to himself, Wang Shu is going to return to the capital, which is not good news for Zhao Yan! (To be continued)