"Second master, this..."

"Why, am I not good at talking?" Zhao Ta saw that Zheng Fu was a little embarrassed, and asked unhappily.

"Second master, no, no, I can always have eight or nine catties of money, and I'm afraid they won't be able to take it for twenty times!" Zheng Fu hurriedly explained.

Zhao Tameng woke up, at that time, the money was not RMB, it was all copper coins, the money has always been 1,000 Wen, a copper coin weighs 6 grams, and 20 guan is now 120 kilograms, which is a lot of things, and the money that was sold for 3,000 guan is more than a ton, and I don't know how Lao Zheng got it back? "So what do you say?" He looked at the boys and asked for their opinions.

"Second master, the chief steward is right, we really can't take such money, we can trust the second master, it's better to deposit the money in the account room, and we can use it as we go!" Zhao Yi stood up at this time and said.

"Okay, okay, we can all trust that the second master will not repay the debt, just according to Zhao Yi!" Others chimed in.

"Okay, I promise you can get your money at any time, and you won't be in debt!" Zhao Ta stretched out his little finger and hooked them and said.

"Second master, the sheep is roasted, it's ready to eat!" At this time, Zhao Xin handed a piece of meat from the sheep's neck with a blade to Zhao Ta and said.

"Well, it's so fragrant, let's eat it together, the meat won't taste good when it's old!" Zhao Ta tasted it and nodded and said, he looked at Zhao Xin again, how could this little guy understand the barbarian customs and give the lamb neck meat to the person with the highest status first.

"Oh..." The little guys cheered and sat in a circle, waiting for Zhao Xin to cut off the meat and distribute it to them, Zhao Xin seemed to be very proficient, the thickness of the meat slices was moderate, and each slice of meat had a golden crispy skin.

"Lao Zheng, why don't you go yet?" Zhao Ta took a Hu cake roasted on the fire, cut it open, sandwiched the barbecue, and suddenly found that Zheng Fu was still standing aside.

"Second master, the little one hasn't eaten yet, I want to eat some together!" Zheng Fu licked his lips, swallowed his saliva and said with a glint in his eyes.

"Ha Luha, it seems that you are greedy, everyone is crowded, and make room for the chief steward to sit down!" Zhao Ta Da said with a smile, Zheng Fu seemed to be really greedy, and he couldn't take care of it, he sat down next to Zhao Ta's head, rubbed his hand on his body, and went to cut the meat to eat, and the two handymen who came with him also found a place to sit down and ate with him.

"Zhao Ren, where did you buy this sheep from?" Zhao Ta asked while eating.

"Second master, I bought it from the grass market, is there anything wrong?" Zhao Ren wiped the oil that flowed from the corner of his mouth and said.

"This sheep must be our local goat, the meat has some firewood, if it is a sheep on the grassland, then roasted out with dripping oil, it is tender and delicious, it is even more delicious than this!" Zhao said.

"Second master, if you want to eat the sheep on the grassland, it's not easy, the sheep we buy from the field every year, the big people in the palace and the capital are not enough, and they can't get to us!" Zheng Fu shook his head and said.

In the imperial palace, "the imperial kitchen does not use mutton", in principle, "do not eat (pig) meat", that is to say, the emperor only eats mutton, not pork, pork is something that inferior people eat, not elegant, which leads to upward and downward effects, and the people are proud of eating mutton, and pork is ashamed'. The supply of mutton is tight, because of the problem of origin, the sheep raised in the plain area are naturally not as delicious as those on the grassland, or the current hairy crabs will not be sold at sky-high prices, and good mutton needs to be imported, but there is a quota, and the priority is given to the wealthy families who have a door, and ordinary people can only make do with it and eat some locally raised local sheep.

"What's so difficult about that, when we grow up, we will recover the sixteen states of Yanyun, fight on the grassland, and turn it into our place, where cattle and sheep are everywhere, and mutton is not eaten casually!" Zhao Ta took a leg of mutton handed over by Zhao Xin, took a big bite and said.

"Okay, when the second master becomes the commander of the expedition, let's follow the second master to the grassland to grab sheep!" Zhao Yong said loudly waving a sheep bone.

"Yes, let's all go, you can eat mutton every day after laying the grassland!" A group of people were 'moved' by the beautiful life depicted by Zhao Ta.

······

Just after the winter solstice, in a blink of an eye it is Laba again, legend has it that this day is the day when the Buddha Shakyamuni drank a bowl of 'grocery porridge' and became enlightened, in order to commemorate this important day, the Buddhist temple has to give porridge, make a good fate, the content of the porridge is also enriched over time, to the Song Dynasty are mostly seven things, glutinous rice, walnuts, pine nuts, milk, mushrooms, persimmons, chestnuts and the like make porridge, called the seven treasures and five flavors of porridge, the name is Laba porridge, the big temple also holds a bathing Buddha ceremony, the porridge is offered to the monks and gifts to the donors and nobles. Under the influence of Buddhism, lay people also began to imitate the temple and make Laba porridge. ,

Early this morning, breakfast became Laba porridge, and as soon as I ate the meal, Imperial Physician Wang came, "Second Master, this is my new Hutou Dan and Eight Gods Tu Su, for everyone!" The old man said and took out a few silk sacs from the medicine sac, and sent one respectfully to Zhao Ta, and the rest were distributed to Jianxi, Osmanthus and others in the house.

"Imperial Physician Wang has a heart, sit down and drink a bowl of porridge together!" Zhao Ta thanked him, but he was still confused, what kind of medicine did the old man who was not sick or sick give him, he asked Imperial Doctor Wang to sit down and let Osmanthus serve him a bowl of porridge.

The old man was not polite, he sat down and drank two bowls of porridge at the next time, and during the conversation, Zhao Ta knew why the old man sent medicine to himself.

"Old lady, it's about to be the New Year, you should also go back to Beijing for the New Year, do you want me to arrange someone to send you, is it enough?" Zhao Ta finished drinking the porridge, rinsed his mouth, sat down and asked.

"Lord Wang, I was just about to tell you about this, I don't want to go back for the New Year, I want to stay in the house for the New Year!"

"Old lady, you have been away from home for a year, you should go back to reunite and enjoy the joy of family, don't always hang in the house, you can go to the office to withdraw if you don't have enough money!"

"Lord, by the grace of the concubine, the eldest of my family has been in the shadow of the medical department this year, and has entered the medical bureau, and he is considered to have an official body, the old man has nothing to repay, and he has already asked for Zhishi in the hospital, and wants to stay in the house to serve the prince wholeheartedly!" The old man stood up and bowed and said.

"Oh!" Zhao Ta was moved in his heart, his mother really spared no effort for herself, and the old man also knew that he would repay his kindness, "Who else is in the old lady's family?" He asked again.

"There are old wives and two concubines in the family, as well as two young sons who are not married, who live with us, and several of the older ones have already been separated!"

"Okay, the old lady doctor will stay in the mansion, and the monthly salary will be doubled!" Zhao Ta thought for a while and said, the old man happily gave a salute and said goodbye, he also understood that only by serving the prince well, the concubine in Beijing would cover her family, and his eldest son's career would be smooth sailing.

"See, you discuss with the chief steward, see if there are any people in the house who can't go home for the New Year, those who are willing to come here, arrange for someone to bring their whole family to celebrate the New Year together, and if you don't want to come, buy some New Year's clothes and send them to your home!" Doctor Wang went out, and Zhao Ta beckoned to see Xi and commanded.

"Second master, that's a lot of people, and it costs a lot?" Seeing that Xi probably calculated and said, he knew that the prince was a 'wealth fan'.

"You, you can't be stingy when the money should be spent, everyone has worked hard for a year, and you can't even go home, and the year is not good, don't feel sorry for that money, this round-trip fare, eating and drinking are recorded in the account of the house, and the houses in the outer courtyard are all cleaned up, no, don't we just receive a Zhuangzi, and it's okay to arrange it over there!" Zhao Ta knocked on the joy and said.

"Yes, the little one will do it immediately, everyone knows how happy they are when they hear about it!" Seeing that he smiled and said.

"Second master, is it okay to bring my parents here?" The osmanthus on the side listened for a long time and asked carefully.

"What do you say? If you're not from the house, forget it! Zhao Ta looked at her nervous appearance and teased her.

"I'm from the house, who dares to say it's not?" Osmanthus was anxious when she heard this, and looked at the smiling prince, her face flushed, "The second master will bully people, I will write to my father and mother immediately!" The little girl said coquettishly, and went happily.

As soon as this side was cleaned up, Zhao Ta suddenly heard the sound of knocking wooden fish outside, and he could vaguely hear the sound of reciting Buddhist scriptures, "Second master, it must be the monks who have come to fast!" Seeing that Zhao Ta was puzzled, he hurriedly explained on the side.

"Let's go, let's go see the excitement too!" Zhao Ta frowned and said, in the era he came from, he didn't know much else, but he made up for the lesson of traditional Chinese festivals.

There are too many various festivals in ancient times, some festivals have never been heard of in the previous life, it is said that the winter solstice just passed, although it has passed, but where there is so much exquisiteness, that is, eating some dumplings is over, but this time it is regarded as a big festival to come, everyone wears new clothes, every family prepares wine and food, sacrifices to ancestors, as a New Year's Day, known as 'Ya Sui', it is said that the emperor in the capital wants to sacrifice to the sky, dispatch 10,000 people, the scale is larger.

Zhao Ta and see that he came to the door of the house, only to see several monks standing outside the door, all wearing brand-new monk robes, wearing a big red robe, a young and strong person holding a copper sara at the head, on which sat a sandalwood carved Buddha statue, brushed with shining gold lacquer, smiling with flowers, looking at it is worth a lot. Behind him were two monks holding wooden fish cloud boards and chanting sutras, and the rest were carrying blankets, apparently receiving alms and serving as coolies.

"Second master, you're here!" Seeing Zhao Ta coming, the two disciples said.

"It's been knocking for a long time, why haven't they left, haven't they given anything?" Miki asked.

"The three stewards have already given up a few liters of white rice for them, but they are too little, they don't leave, and they still want some money, and the three stewards go back to get it!" Menzi replied.

"If they have the energy, let them knock, a bunch of parasites, not a single one is allowed to them!" Zhao Ta waved his hand and said disdainfully, these monks just chant and chant Buddha every day and do not produce, the temple generally has a wide range of land, and they don't have to pay taxes when they hire tenants to farm land and collect rent, they are not the masters who are short of money at all, and now they are just changing the law to collect money, and Zhao Ta is too lazy to take care of them.