Social occasions between bureaucrats in the Tang Dynasty, in addition to wine banquets, also included sencha.

While making a sencha, while drinking tea, chatting about government affairs. It can be said that it can also advance and retreat, which invisibly closes the relationship.

Sencha is very elegant and popular, and there are monks in Chang'an who love tea like life, and they have to drink dozens of bowls a day to stop.

At this moment, in the study of Li Linfu's house in Pingkangfang. Li Linfu is personally giving Zheng Shuqing sencha, and the etiquette can be described as thoughtful.

He was taking out the tea cake with a bamboo tong and roasting it on a charcoal fire, the charcoal was mixed with some spices and made into the shape of a peony, and at first glance he knew that it was not ordinary.

The tea cakes are evenly heated on the shelves, and they are baked inside and out.

Fresh tea freshly roasted, then sencha meeting friends, wonderful enjoyment.

The main procedures of the sencha method are: roasting, grinding, raksha, sencha, and drinking tea. As for other pre-preparations, such as preparing utensils, selecting water, making fire, and waiting for soup, there are naturally servants to prepare for Li Linfu.

This Tang Dynasty left minister started from the step of moxibustion tea.

"Benxiang has already talked to Wei Jian, he is willing to take over the position of Jing Zhaoyin, and Benxiang will also operate from it and recommend him as Jing Zhaoyin. As for the position of Tobe Squire, I wonder what you think? ”

Li Linfu took down the baked cake and tea, and used the "tea mill" made of bamboo to grind it into fine granules, which looked unusually uniform and not thick or fine.

In order to show their "nobility", the feudal nobles of the Tang Dynasty often had an unusual dedication and love for certain "elegant etiquette". Thus showing yourself as different.

The most typical representative is Li Longji, who loves music and dance, and is proficient in it.

Obviously, Li Linfu's sencha skills are very good. After all, he was also young, he also had a low official position, and he also served and flattered others.

Li Linfu stopped his hand and looked at Zheng Shuqing, who was sitting on the barstool without saying a word, and did not speak.

"It's all up to Li Xiang."

Uncle Zheng bowed down and bowed deeply.

Li Linfu hurriedly helped him up and said with a smile: "The things promised by the prime minister must be counted." It's just that the household servant is not trivial, and his true appearance can't recommend you to the position for personal gain.

So what about ......"

"Li Xiang might as well speak bluntly, and his subordinates will listen to him."

Zheng Shuqing pinched his cuffs very nervously, looked at the other party with a blank eye, and said, his heart had already risen to his throat.

"There are several waiters in the household department, and each person is in charge of a stall and does not overlap with each other. You've never been trained in the household department, so even if you are a household servant, you can't do those ordinary things, do you understand the truth? ”

Li Linfu poured the mountain spring water into a purple sand pot (tea kettle), and then put it on the stove to boil.

This step seems simple on the surface, but in fact there is a lot of information in it.

The water is three boiling, when the boiling water appears "fish eye" bubbles, "slight sound", that is, the first boiling; Add the appropriate amount of salt to taste. When the water bubble at the edge of the kettle rushes upwards like a spring, it is the second boil.

Take out a scoop with a spoon and put it aside, stir it in the center of the tea kettle with a "bamboo clip" on the one hand, and use a "zer" (a measuring device, made of bamboo, copper and other materials to make a spoon or basket) to measure the tea powder and pour it into the purple sand pot.

Wait for a while, the tea soup is like a rushing wave splashing, then it is the third boil, at this time, pour the second boil taken out earlier into the boiling water to stop boiling, so that the water stops boiling.

Li Linfu made these actions in one go, looked at Zheng Shuqing with a little smugness, and waited for the other party's answer.

While he was waiting, he was cultivating the soup flower.

The thin soup is called "foam", and the thick one is called "glutton". The light ones are called "flowers", and they are the most wonderful kinds.

After cultivating the "soup flower", you can drink tea, that is, scoop the tea into a bowl with a scoop.

The first time the water was boiled, some people described it as "discarding the foam with a water film like biotite". The first water scooped out of this kind is also called "eternal";

The first, second, and third bowls scooped out later taste worse;

In addition to the fourth and fifth bowls, "it is not thirsty or even drinks", and the magnates are already very disdainful of this, and they do not drink it when they die of thirst.

When drinking tea, the foam should be evenly mixed to keep the taste of each bowl of tea the same. Boil one liter of water, and there is a saying that "divide five bowls and drink them with heat".

One "then" do not want the end of tea, only boil three bowls, in order to make the tea soup delicious and fragrant; The second is to cook five bowls, not more than five bowls.

"Please!"

Li Linfu pushed the white porcelain teacup placed on top of the silver plate in front of Zheng Shuqing as a whole, this was the first bowl of tea.

It seems like it's more than just a bowl of tea, and it's like it's just a bowl of tea. Specifically, it all depends on Zheng Shuqing's political IQ.

"Subordinate...... Let Li Xiang arrange it. ”

Zheng Shuqing gritted his teeth and said, picked up the teacup, endured the slightly high temperature of the tea, and drank it all!

It should be good tea, but it's too hot when you drink it, and you can't taste it!

"This household servant does nothing else, specializing in the management of the central finances and the supply of the war in Hexi. Do you have the confidence to take over? ”

Li Linfu put away the smile on his face and asked softly.

"My subordinates are willing!"

Zheng Shuqing suppressed the excitement in his heart and said almost in a low voice.

Taking this step is basically the fast lane. If the household servant does a good job, he is the head of the house, and the head of the head of the house will go straight to the prime minister!

As long as he can get to this position, he is only two steps away from Li Linfu!

And the household department is a place where it is easy to make achievements and make a mess, it all depends on how good the individual is.

It's not like Mr. Nan Guo can be a bastard here!

"In the past few days, you have drafted a financial management plan, and if it is well written, the prime minister will forward it to the sage, and then recommend you as the household servant, in this case, it should not be a big problem.

Otherwise, the saint would definitely still mind your previous refusal to serve as Jing Zhaoyin. ”

Li Linfu took a sip of the teacup, and sure enough, it was fragrant.

"This method is ...... safe"

Uncle Zheng said with a worried face.

The financial management of the imperial court actually includes two aspects.

The first aspect is to make good use of the taxes collected, so that these taxes can be used scientifically and will not be lost during transportation.

This is what Zheng Shuqing wants to do, and he feels that he can also do it.

Another aspect, summed up in two words, is: making money.

In short, on the premise of not causing mutiny and civil uprising, it is right to let go of your hands and feet to make money.

Of course, the money you make must be compliant and legal. By making simple rules, you can achieve your goals without much effort.

It sounds simple, but it's like people from different eras doing the same quiz together, and it's a quiz with multiple answers.

Easy questions to do, people have done it before!

And those who are not easy to do and easy to offend people are either not willing to do it, or because the officials who formulated and implemented it were dismissed by conservative forces, resulting in the death of people.

This kind of accumulation of money, he won't!

"Do you have any problems? The position of the head of the household, if you have difficulties, the prime minister can recommend other candidates, and then rearrange a lower official position with you, anyway, these are up to you, and the prime minister doesn't matter.

For example, Wang Ji and them are very interested in this position, and their appearance will not make you embarrassed. ”

Li Linfu said slowly, and poured another cup of tea for Zheng Shuqing, this is the second cup.

Zheng Shuqing had a hunch that after Li Linfu drank these three cups of tea, he was probably going to send them off.

"My subordinates will go back and prepare."

He stood up and bowed deeply to Li Linfu, then turned around and left.

"This position is not trivial, barely getting to the top, and it is very risky. Delayed the saint's big event, how many heads you have is not enough to cut off, after you figure it out, come back to me tomorrow. ”

Behind Zheng Shuqing, Li Linfu's cold and faint voice of instructions came.

……

"Anyway, this thing, that's it, then like this, and then again, and finally back."

In the Tang Dynasty of the Fang family's house in Yongjiafang, Fang Chongyong was patient and told Zhang Xun and others all about what happened before and after the past three days.

He made comparisons while talking, and even Li Longji instructed the people in the Ministry of Rites to inform Zhang Xun and Xu Yuan of their future in the imperial examination.

"It's okay if you don't win this year, Zhang Xianggong's door is out of nowhere, Yan Tingzhidu is dismissed, and the situation in the court is turbulent, so it may not be a good thing to be in the middle at this time."

Li Kui couldn't help but sigh.

Of course, he was unwilling, he originally thought that this imperial examination would be nine out of ten, but he didn't expect that there would be so many twists and turns. The nobleman who promised to recommend him was about to fall, and he was beaten down by the Son of Heaven himself, and the difficulty of the imperial examination was something I didn't expect before.

However, Li Kuo is not worried at all, because after this "political investment", he must have been "registered" with Li Longji, and he may have the opportunity to be "promoted by leapfrogging" in the future.

What the future holds, who knows.

"It's okay for us, but I didn't expect Fang Jieshuai's face to be so big."

Xu Yuan couldn't help but sigh and sigh, he thought that Fang Chongyong would definitely die after being imprisoned. I didn't expect it to be released after three days of confinement. But think about it, a half-old child still did something that conformed to the will of the people.

If Li Longji "vigorously punishes", wouldn't it be appropriate to prove to the world that he really has no heart, and he is incapable of angering his children?

Li Longji has been an emperor for decades and has grown up with court struggles since he was a child, so he will definitely not make such a low-level mistake.

"Xiao Langjun returned safely today, congratulations. Then the slave brought the food and wine. ”

Fang Dafu grabbed Fang Laique, who was stunned, and greeted Fang Chongyong with a smile.

After a while, the first dish was served, except for Fang Chongyong, Li Kuo and the others were all slightly stunned.

"This giant victory slave, I don't often eat it at home, mainly because the cook doesn't do it well and destroys the heavens."

Li Kuai pointed to a plate of "dishes" on the table served by Fang Dafu with emotion and said, this thing is a bit similar to the common "fried dumplings" in the north in Fang Chongyong's previous life, of course, but the shape is similar.

"Jushengnu, the general process of its production is to mix flour with water, cow and sheep milk and honey, or use boiled jujube soup instead of honey, then put it in an oil pan to fry and set, and finally sprinkle Jusheng."

Li Kuan explained, while breaking off a section and putting it on the plate in front of Fang Chongyong, the small particles stuck on it, Fang Chongyong felt very familiar.

Isn't this horse black sesame! It's also called "Jusheng" with such an awesome name!

Fang Chongyong put a giant victory slave in his mouth and chewed it, and the sweetness of frankincense and juice instantly filled his mouth! It's much better than what Li said!

Everyone didn't speak, and the dessert was wiped out in three clicks and two clicks. The beauty of Jushengnu is that there is a "good thing on the inside", and the fried skin on the outside is just to lock in the taste.

Fang Chongyong thought to himself that Zheng Shuqing also invited a celebrity chef to cook at the beginning, and the ingredients were also rich and expensive. But if you talk about cooking skills alone, I am afraid that Fang Dafu's skills are far better than the original "celebrity chef".

If you suffer a loss, you will suffer because you don't have so much money to buy expensive ingredients.

Soon, Fang Dafu brought another plate of "dishes", which was still a non-mainstream shape, except for a very small amount of soup, there were only "sausages" on the plate, and the appearance was very unpretentious.

"This is a soft cow intestine with flowers! This and this ......"

Li Kuo was a little incoherent, this dish was too awesome, and it was generally only fortunate to see it at the "Roasted Tail Banquet" held by the Zhongjin Shihou. He's only eaten once when he's grown this big!

"Tonghua soft beef intestines" is made of mutton bone marrow mixed with mutton and then poured into beef intestines, the composition of the filling, the mixture of spices, are not passed down secrets, each chef does not make a difference.

This kind of dish is not the kind of "façade work". Many rookie cooks can make something similar, and it looks similar on the outside. But diners only need to take a bite to know what the difference is between a master and a rookie.

A chef with an average level would not dare to serve this dish to diners for fear of ruining his reputation.

Fang Chongyong originally thought that his launch of "stir-fried dishes" in Chang'an would be popular in the food industry and lead the trend. Now, it seems, this is not the case.

The aristocracy of the Tang Dynasty was so good at eating, and the iron pot was not a rare thing, how could they not know that there was such a cooking method as stir-frying?

The Chinese's pursuit of food is unparalleled and tireless. Even in Lingnan, where normal cooking utensils cannot be used, the locals have invented a kind of stove called "earthen pot", but the durability is a little worse and does not affect the cooking effect.

The reason why stir-fried food cannot be developed is only because the corresponding stir-fry technology has not been developed, and the dishes made have no competitiveness in the Tang Dynasty, when the catering technology was extremely developed and a hundred flowers were blooming, so it will not be recorded in the history books.

As for the lack of cooking oil and the like, there is no obstacle among the nobles, and they still like to eat fried food! It is impossible to fry with less cooking oil than to stir-fry!

The problem with stir-frying is that it not only needs a pot, but also needs supporting ingredients, supporting processes, and supporting social needs.

The refinement of skills needs to be inherited and honed over the years.

In other words, stir-frying is not impossible, but the people at the bottom cannot afford to use expensive cooking oil; The aristocracy is accustomed to eating good things, and has been filled with all kinds of fancy cooking, so there is no motivation to develop stir-frying.

In particular, they don't like to eat greens!

It can be said unceremoniously that if Fang Chongyong wants to develop stir-fry technology in Chang'an and engage in the catering industry, he will lose all his money and be beaten all over the ground by other cooking methods in Chang'an City that are so exquisite that they explode.

Seeing that Li Kui, Xu Yuan and Zhang Xun were intoxicated, Fang Chongyong put down the distracting thoughts in his mind and sighed lightly.

Another way to make money has been blocked, but it's a pity.

Fang Chongyong couldn't help but sigh, watching Fang Dafu bring up one dish after another, not to mention that he had never eaten it, he had never seen it, and he felt that his heart was dripping blood.

It seems that a lot of profits lost because you can't stir-fry have turned into a mountain of Milky Way gold and flowed away in front of you.

At this moment, Fang Laique hurriedly ran over from the porter and whispered in Fang Chongyong's ear: "Lang Jun, that poor ghost in Kuizhou who always asks us for money is here." ”

Kuizhou? Pauper?

Fang Chongyong was stunned for a moment, he hadn't come back to his senses yet, and he didn't know who Fang Laique was talking about.

"Can you pass on the message without adding your own judgment, and say it quickly, who is it?"

Fang Chongyong scolded in a low voice with a blank face.

"It's Zheng Shuqing who came and brought a gift from an oxcart, he probably came to pay off the debt."

Fang Laique said with some smugness.

"The night owl comes into the house without anything, and it is absolutely no good for him to look for me, alas!"

Fang Chongyong wondered in his heart, there should be a lot of beautiful concubines in the old Zheng family, when he arrived in the flower world of Chang'an, he should go back to hug the beautiful concubine and admire the moon when it was not early, what did he do when he came to me at night, a half-grown child?

Now that the doors are closed, he wants to stay overnight!

Fang Chongyong reluctantly got up and said to everyone: "There are guests coming to the door, I'll go and see it first." ”