Mrs. Zheng brought the freshly cooked gruel to the table. There are three plates of pickled vegetables on the table, one is pickled milk melon, one is lettuce rolls, and another is pickled cabbage, all made from vegetables grown in his backyard. Mrs. Zheng is ingenious, these years of cooking skills are even more excellence, although the three-color pickles are very ordinary, but the done is extremely exquisite, the cucumber is lined up one by one into a chrysanthemum shape, the lettuce rolls are each of the average size, is made of lettuce cut into very thin slices and rolled, sour cabbage is also cut into half an inch long square, each piece does not even have a little gap, put it in the dish like a pile of small jade tiles. Zheng Sichu sat down at the table, and before he picked up the bowl, when he saw these three plates of pickles, he smiled and said: "Ah Rong, you are really attentive, a few plates of side dishes are still on the plate, it will cost you a lot of time." ”

Mrs. Zheng also smiled faintly and said, "It's nothing. The food is originally in the four words of color, flavor and shape. ”

Zheng Sichu picked up a lettuce roll and put it in his mouth. This is actually a northern taste, but Mrs. Zheng is from the south, and she makes it according to the pickling method of Wuyangcheng, which is not as salty and spicy as before, but it is more crisp and tender and delicious in the mouth. He chewed a few times, drank another mouthful of porridge, looked at his busy wife, and suddenly felt a trace of sourness in his heart, and said softly: "Ah Rong......"

Mrs. Zheng heard his voice, raised her head and said, "Si Chu, what's wrong?" ”

Zheng Sichu saw that his wife's appearance was as beautiful as before, but there were a few more fine lines at the corners of her eyes after all. He sighed: "Ah Rong, I really can't stand you. ”

Mrs. Zheng is smart-hearted, and she is also a husband and wife, knowing what her husband is going to say, she smiled and said: "My son is so old, and he still says these things that are not in sight." ”

She knew that her husband was really a talented person in this world, and he was also a teenager when he was ambitious, and he had a moment of dominance, but he could make people do nothing, and he was said to be a traitor to the country and seek glory. Although Zheng Sichu has been calm and willing to be indifferent over the years, she knows that her husband still has that injustice in his heart after all. She was about to say another word, but she heard someone outside the door say loudly: "Is the little junior sister at home?" ”

This is the voice of the Marshal of Wuyang City Xuan Thunder. Xuan Minglei is Zheng Sichu's long-time acquaintance, and he is Mrs. Zheng's senior brother in music. Over the years, thanks to Xuan Minglei's care, Zheng Sichu has been able to live a peaceful and stable life. Otherwise, with the reputation of this "traitor" he bears, I am afraid that the people who seek provocation will continue day by day, which will be difficult for people to resist.

Xuan Minglei is Chu Hanbai's boxing and knife master, and Zheng Sichu himself teaches his son guns and horses. Xuan Minglei has a skill, but his own son does not have this talent, he can only pin his hopes on Chu Hanbai, so he is extremely attentive to teaching boxing and sword skills. Although he is a marshal and has a busy schedule in the army, when Chu Hanbai first learned boxing and knife techniques, Xuan Minglei simply took Chu Hanbai to his home to live for half a year, and later Mrs. Zheng really missed her son, so she took Chu Hanbai back, but Xuan Minglei said that this was a critical moment for practicing martial arts, and he couldn't relax, and he actually came to Zheng's family every day to teach Chu Hanbai, which made Zheng Si Chu very unhappy, and Mrs. Zheng was also very embarrassed, so she had to let Chu Hanbai live in Xuan Minglei's marshal mansion for another three months, so that when Chu Hanbai went home, It's a bit raw for both parents. Now that Chu Hanbai is getting older, and his boxing and sword skills have already been practiced, Xuan Minglei naturally does not come over every day, but he still comes to the Zheng family every ten days and a half to check Chu Hanbai's practice results, and by the way, he has a drink with Zheng Sichu.

Mrs. Zheng heard Senior Brother's voice, hurriedly lifted the door curtain and said, "Senior Brother, why are you free?" She just lifted the door curtain, and saw Xuan Tielan still standing next to Xuan Minglei, and said with a smile: "Tielan, you are here too." ”

Xuan Tielan stepped forward and saluted: "Uncle Zheng, senior aunt, little nephew is polite." ”

Xuan Tielan's temperament is very different from his father, and he has always been svenile, but he was even a little nervous at this time. Mrs. Zheng was stunned, and before she could ask in detail, Xuan Tielan had already said, "Senior aunt, did Han Bai go home last night?" ”

Mrs. Zheng said, "I came back very late. Did he get into trouble at school again? ”

She knew that although this son had excellent grades in school, he was also one of the best in terms of stubbornness, not to mention that he had also learned martial arts, and he often caused something big or small. Because Zheng Sichu is not very easy to come forward, she goes to school every time to apologize to the other party. When Chu Hanbai came back last night, it was almost dawn, and until now he was still asleep in bed, most likely because he was causing trouble. But it shouldn't be a big deal to see him sleep so dead, anyway, I'm used to it, so I don't have to think about it. Xuan Tielan heard that Chu Hanbai was back, so he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It's good to come back, I'm scared to death." ”

Mrs. Zheng was even more surprised when she saw him looking relieved, and was about to ask carefully, Zheng Sichu had already walked out and said, "What are you doing at the door?" Brother Xuan, come in, let's have a drink. ”

Zheng Sichu and Xuan Minglei are both very good at the things in the cup, and Xuan Minglei is even more happy without wine. However, although he is a majestic handsome, he is also a person who is afraid of the inside, because when he was a teenager, he would get drunk every time he drank, and every time he got drunk, he would go crazy, and later Mrs. Xuan did not allow him to drink at home, and he drank half a catty outside. Therefore, another purpose of Xuan Minglei's visit to Zheng's house is to live a drunken addiction. If it was usual, Xuan Minglei would have come over honestly and unceremoniously, but at this time, he shook his head and said, "Brother Zheng, let's finish talking about this matter before drinking." Tie Lan, this little brute, alas, tell Uncle Zheng what you did yesterday. ”

Although Xuan Tielan is not afraid of heaven and earth in his bones, he is afraid of his father. He is now a young teacher with a ministry, but he is still an ignorant child in Xuan Minglei's eyes. was scolded by his father, Xuan Tielan didn't dare to say more, and said with a bitter face: "Uncle Zheng, it's like this......"

Xuan Tielan is a teacher, and he speaks concisely and concisely. At first, Zheng Sichu and Mrs. Zheng didn't care much, but the more they listened, the more worried they became. Chu Hanbai came back late at night, which was also commonplace for him, and the two of them had never taken it seriously, and they also knew that their son was born with this disobedient temper, so he just didn't want to do bad things. But I heard Xuan Tielan say that they actually did such a bold thing last night, and that ship didn't sound like it was doing righteous business. If the deeds are exposed in the eyes of that group, I am afraid that there will be endless troubles.

As soon as Xuan Tielan finished speaking, Mrs. Zheng hurriedly said, "Tielan, haven't you ever met Han Bai later?" ”

Xuan Tielan nodded: "Yes, Senior Aunt." I haven't seen him since I broke up with Han Bai last night. He paused and said, "It's good that Hanbai is home." ”

Last night, Xuan Tielan saw that the ship was so secretive, he was already timid, but Chu Hanbai had to do it to the end. Although Xuan Tielan left by himself, he was even more apprehensive in his heart, thinking that this matter was his own idea, if Chu Hanbai had three longs and two shorts, then he would never have the face to see Uncle Zheng and his aunt again. He waited until dawn and didn't see Chu Hanbai, and the more he thought about it after returning home, the more bad it became. His mother was strict and fatherly at home, and he didn't dare to tell his mother about such things, so he secretly confessed to his father. As soon as Xuan Minglei heard the news, he couldn't sit still anymore, and immediately dragged his son over. Even though Xuan Tielan was not afraid of heaven and earth, he was half scared to death at this time, but he didn't dare not come. When he heard that Chu Hanbai had already gone home, he was really amnesty, and his speech was much smoother.

After listening to Xuan Tielan, Mrs. Zheng glanced at her husband, then turned to Xuan Tielan and said, "Tielan, it's good that nothing happened." But you're an older brother, don't be so reckless in the future. ”

Although this is tactful, it is already a reproach. Zheng Sichu was afraid that Xuan Tielan wouldn't be able to stand it, so he hurriedly said: "Tielan, you still have to go back to school today to prepare for class, right?" It's okay anyway, just hurry up and leave, I'll have a drink with your father. ”

In fact, today is off, Xuan Tielan doesn't have to be so busy. But how could he not know Zheng Sichu's intentions? Although his father has always been kind on weekdays, he is much more angry than Yan's mother, Uncle Zheng sent himself away with these words, so that his father could dissipate his anger, so that the matter would be eliminated. He hurriedly bowed and said, "Yes, yes." Uncle Zheng, aunt, then I'll go. ”

Xuan Minglei saw that his son was about to slip away, his eyes widened, but before he could speak, Zheng Sichu had already grabbed him and said, "Brother Xuan, come, the lychee wine I brewed is just ripe, come and taste it." Children's business, don't be so idle. ”

Xuan Minglei shook his head and said, "Alas, Brother Zheng, you are also used to this kid Tielan. ”

In fact, Xuan Tielan doesn't like to practice martial arts, and he doesn't meet Zheng Sichu much, and Zheng Sichu can't talk about the word "habitual" to him at all. It's just that Xuan Minglei is afraid of guilt at home, so he has to be more powerful to his son, so he naturally has to be ruthless. Originally, he wanted to attack his son, but his son was reluctant to scold him after all, and Zheng Sichu immediately went down the slope as soon as he interrupted like this. Once you have a step, you have to go down to the next level. I heard Zheng Sichu say that the lychee wine had been brewed, and his index finger moved. It turns out that lychee is a specialty of the southern country, and there are more of them in Wuyang City. With it, it makes wine, and it has a good fruit fragrance. Although Zheng Sichu is not as addicted to alcohol as Xuan Minglei, he is also quite good at the things in the cup, and he has nothing to do at home, so he makes wine for recreation. At the beginning, the wine-making skills were not very high, and the wine still had a sour taste, which was teased by Xuan Minglei a few times, but after a few times, the wine became more and more mellow and fragrant, even if Xuan Minglei and other drinkers were full of praise.

Zheng Sichu brought out a jar of wine, because there were three plates of pickled vegetables on the table, and Mrs. Zheng went to fry two side dishes for them to drink. Xuan Minglei poured a glass, and praised before he drank it: "Brother Zheng, your wine this year is already comparable to the Lixiangchun of Juwei Building." ”

Juweilou is a time-honored brand in Wuyangcheng, the roast goose and barbecued pork in the building are the most famous, and then the lychee wine brewed by the secret method in the building, called "Lixiang Spring". This wine was brewed when the lychee was on the market, and it was only brewed in two jars every year, with a total of 50 jars. After opening the altar, the wine color is as clear as water, the wine fragrance is clear and refreshing, and it is regarded as a treasure by the people of good wine, and Xuan Minglei has to get two jars every year to enjoy it. It's just that the owner of Juweilou has always regarded the method of brewing wine as a unique secret, and he will never let people learn it secretly, so it is even more precious.

Zheng Sichu smiled and said, "It's Li Xiangchun." How similar do you feel? ”

Xuan Minglei smacked his lips and said after a while: "To be honest, although it is not exactly the same, there is also an eight." The remaining two points are also good at winning, which can only be said to be unique. ”

Zheng Sichu smiled: "Thank you for your kind words." Last year was actually almost the same, but you said it was worthless. ”

Xuan Minglei said: "The wine you made last year also has an eight points, but those two points have a hint of sour and rancid taste, which is naturally far worse than Lixiangchun." This year, the taste of sour rot has been exhausted, and the lychee is rich and the flavor is excellent, which can compete with the lychee spring equinox. ”

Zheng Sichu said: "Come on, you still dragged the text." In fact, it's worthless to say, I used to use the method of making rice wine to make wine medicine, but lychee wine is too much wine, if the yeast is a little careless, it will have a sour and rancid taste. I tried it a few times last year, and occasionally found that I was able to control the sour taste without adding fire after fermentation. ”

Sake brewing is made with a medicine to allow the ingredients to ferment before the sake can be produced. The higher the temperature, the faster the fermentation, so it is often necessary to light a fire on the side to maintain the temperature after the alcohol has been dropped. Although Xuan Minglei doesn't know how to make wine, he naturally knows this. He frowned and said, "If you don't add fire, the smell of wine will be thin, how can you solve it?" ”

Zheng Sichu said: "This must be grasped from time to time." Therefore, I set up a trap door on the wine vat to pour out a little wine at any time to check it, so as to ensure that the vat is not too raw and not too hot. When the wine is ripe, it is steamed again to make the wine thicker, and so on. ”

Xuan Minglei heard him say so complicated, and sighed: "Sure enough, people say that if you cook a small meal in a big country, your mind will really be spent." ”

He was sighing, when Mrs. Zheng came over with two plates of stir-fry and said, "Senior brother, you and Si Chu drink slowly, and I'll go collect the clothes." ”

Xuan Minglei was more respectful to this little junior sister than Zheng Sichu, stood up and said, "Thank you, little junior sister." Is Hanbai awake? ”

Mrs. Zheng said, "I just went to see it, and I'm still asleep." Senior brother, do you want to wake him up? ”

Xuanming Lei waved his hand and said, "Don't call him." He looked at Zheng Sichu, lowered his voice and said, "Brother Zheng, you must have guessed what the cargo that these two boys hit last night was, right?" ”

Zheng Sichu also put down the cup, and said in a deep voice: "Although I don't dare to assert it, I also have seven points to guess." Is it a longevity ointment? ”

Xuan Minglei sighed and said, "I guess eighty percent is this thing." ”

The so-called Fushou paste is a kind of paste extracted from the juice of the fruit of forgetfulness. The fruit of forgetting worries is an analgesic elixir, which is used a lot in the military. On the battlefield, injuries are inevitable. Once injured, taking some Forget Worry juice can immediately relieve pain, so it is regarded as a holy medicine by soldiers. It's just that although the juice of forgetting worries is like a god, it treats the symptoms but not the root cause, and only relieves pain. And the duration is not very long, once the effect of the medicine has passed, the injury worsens, and the pain is even worse, so the doctor must be cautious when using this medicine, and the use of forgetting worries is not very wide. I don't know when, some people found that after refining the juice into a paste, it can make people feel extremely happy after igniting and smoking. This was originally a method brought by overseas merchants to Wuyangcheng, and it soon became popular in Wuyangcheng. At first, it was the wealthy people who were infected with this addiction, and gradually even the peddlers and pawns also had this goodness. One bed and one lamp, clear smoke, lie like this for a long time before you can get up. When Fushou Paste was just popular, the ruling government of Wuyang City also felt that this was a financial road and could draw a lot of taxes, so it did not interfere, and for a time more than ten Fushou Paste Shops were opened in Wuyang City. But it soon became clear that the tax collected was far from enough to offset the profits of the overseas merchants, and more and more people became lazy and unmotivated, and smoked Fushou Paste all day long with a smoking gun, even if the family business was ruined. In view of this, since last year, the ruling government has promulgated a new policy for the monopoly of Fushou and paste, stipulating that all Fushou and paste must be sold through official stores, and half of the Fushou paste shops have also been closed. The original intention of this new policy was to control the sale of Fushou paste within a certain scale, but this thing has become a prairie fire, and the monopoly is only to give smuggling greater profit margins, and the monopoly law has been implemented for more than half a year, and only half of the Fushou paste shops are left, but the sale of Fushou paste is more widespread, and it is easy to buy it in the market. Although Xuan Tielan's words were unknown, Xuan Minglei and Zheng Sichu both guessed that the whereabouts of the ship were secret, and most of the unloading in the middle of the night was a Fushou Paste smuggling ship.