Duanmu Yu was born with respect, although he intended to be kind to others, however, his sense of nobility from the inside still made the old Han family feel awe.

"Uncle, I really don't want to disturb at night. Seeing that the lord's family was a little restrained, he took the initiative to open the conversation and said with a kind face.

However, I couldn't help but think in my heart: "The Dahua court is strict with people, and over time the servility of the people has penetrated deep into the bone marrow, which is not like our country, and the people are fierce and self-reliant, loyal and self-respecting." Even Mr. Yu, Mr. Xie, and Mr. Zhu, if I am a person with no virtue and no talent, I am afraid that they may not succumb to the shackles of the royal guest and obey me. ”

The old man saw that Duanmu Yu arched his hand, and hurriedly waved his hand and said, "Hey, don't bother! Don't bother! It's the little old man's family who is greedy for money!"

When he said this, there was an unnatural awkward smile on his face. Obviously, he was a little apprehensive when he received Duanmu Jing's silver ingots and five taels.

"A few distinguished guests wait, wait for the little old man to kill the chickens, ducks, and dogs in the yard, and cook for a while!" said the old man.

His family's family background in the village is quite good, not only has four acres of fertile land, but also planted more than 20 mulberry trees in the yard. Although there is a big buffalo in the house, it is used to plough the fields, and it must not be killed to cook vegetables.

Duanmuyu stood up and persuaded, "Uncle, there's no need for such trouble. Where can't we eat meat dishes like chickens and ducks? Instead, the fish from the lake are nowhere else to be found except in the three nearby counties. Why don't you make us a whole fish feast in a moment?"

The old man saw Duanmu Yu's smiling appearance, and thought: "Look at the outfits of these eight people, they will never be born from ordinary families, these meat dishes such as chickens, ducks and dogs are rare hard dishes in our opinion, and in their opinion, they are afraid that they are also commonplace." On the contrary, there are several kinds of lake fish that are special products of this Lan Lake, which can not be seen elsewhere. ”

"Hehe, if you don't dislike it, too... It's good! The old man smiled back.

After saying that, he dragged his two sons down to get busy.

The old man's mother-in-law brought two more kerosene lamps, stirred up the wick and lit them, and for a while, the wooden house was shiny and shiny.

"Auntie, are you free, why don't you sit down and have a few chats with us?" Duanmu Jing asked with a smile as he took the kerosene lamp from her hand.

The old woman looked a little embarrassed, quickly pulled her hair, shook off the fish scales on her clothes, and said softly: "I just killed fish and boiled oil in the room, and the fish scales splashed all over my body are fishy and dirty, where can I sit close to a few distinguished guests." ”

"Auntie is polite, I don't pay so much attention to it, just sit down. Duanmu Jing brought a wooden stool beside her, and asked with a smile, "Can you boil fish oil?"

The east, west and south of the Turkic country face the sea, and they rely on the sea to eat the sea, and most of the fish are caught from the sea.

At that time, the Turkic kingdom had been able to build 50 zhang long sea boats, which could sail 500 miles from the shore, and often caught some whales for spices and oil refining.

Duanmu Jing thought, big water raises big fish, small water raises small fish, I only heard that big fish have fat to boil and refine oil, but I didn't expect that the lake fish in this Lan Lake can also take ointment and refine oil.

"Yes. More than one pound of seasonal mandarin fish and lake carp will accumulate fat in winter. At this time of year, people from neighboring counties come to the lake to fish for a whole month. The old woman smiled and replied, "Lard and vegetable oil are too expensive, and ordinary people are reluctant to buy them for cooking." Fortunately, we are close to such a big lake, and our family can catch hundreds of 'oily fish' every year, make dried meat into preserved vegetables, and fatten fried oil. ”

"Oh, I see. Duanmu nodded in praise.

Duanmu Yu on the side was also interested, leaned over and asked, "Auntie, has the 'winter grain' in Lingdu County been collected?"

Dahua's taxes are collected in two parts, one is the 'summer levy' and the other is the 'winter levy', and usually the 'summer levy' is more than the 'winter levy'.

"It was already collected at the end of last month. The old woman replied with a smile, "The county government sent someone to say that Emperor Ruilin has just ascended the throne this year, taxes have been halved across the country, and our family has more than 100 catties of grain left, so we can finally have a good year." ”

The old woman's four acres of land are fertile land approved by the county government, and the official yield per mu is 310 catties, and according to the 92 tax system, the amount of "winter grain" paid is 275 catties. Now that half of the tax is reduced, nearly 140 catties of grain can be paid less, which is the family's full-term ration.

"Hehe, yes. Duanmu Yu replied with a smile.

He thought for a moment and asked, "We are from Qingxi Sanshui County, and the price of salt in our place has risen by more than half recently, has the price of salt here increased?"

"Alas, no, our salt here has risen even more fiercely! Now the sand salt has risen to 1,000 wen a catty, tsk... It's getting more and more expensive!" The old woman's smile was still happy, and she instantly became sad, and complained softly, "The price of salt has finally come down, and as soon as Lord Mei, who is in charge of the salt administration, dies, the price of salt is even more expensive than before!

Duanmu Jing asked curiously: "Doesn't the imperial court have a unified purchase law? The price of sand and salt cannot be higher than 500 wen in the county government. ”

He was an important minister of Duanmu Yu, and he had a deep understanding of Dahua's political affairs, and even knew a lot about the laws of the imperial court.

The old woman listened to his words, shook her head, and sighed: "A few people are rich and noble families at first glance, and they don't often care about these firewood, rice, oil, and salt. From the second month after Mei's death, the salt supply to the county government was reduced by half compared to before, and then it decreased, and by last month, it was almost no longer sold. Now the salt supply in the whole county is private salt, and I heard that the people of which gang are in charge, alas, the heart is very dark!"

... ...

Sure enough, it was a whole fish feast.

Braised Mandarin Mandarin Fish, Braised Lake Fish, Steamed Mandarin Mandarin Fish, Steamed Mandarin Fish, Stir-fried Fish Bubbles with Garlic Slices, Stir-fried Fish Scales, Diced Radish Rotes, Blanched Fish Roe, Sauerkraut Fish Head Soup.

Eight dishes and one soup are all served in large pots and bowls, exuding this steaming heat and rich meat fragrance.

"It's so fragrant, Childe, eat it quickly!" Mu Yu grabbed the bamboo chopsticks and said with a smile.

Duanmuyu got up from the wooden stool, saluted the old man and his wife, and said with a smile: "Two of you, let's sit down and eat together!"

"You're welcome, we've already had dinner. The meal is simple, don't blame it!" the old man looked at Duanmu Yu with a smile and replied with his hand.

A silver ingot of five taels was buried in the pocket on his chest, and it was heavy, pressing down on the placket of his clothes, which made him feel a sense of steadiness that he had never felt before.

"There is grain in the barn, fish in the pond, oil in the tank, the marriage of the two sons has been settled, and today I have a lot of money, tsk... Isn't it a wedding money from God!" The old man thought about the current day, and only felt down-to-earth and complete.

Duanmu Yu could see that the family had indeed had dinner, so he didn't force it, and when he saw Mu Lu's eyes shining, he smiled and said, "I'm really hungry, let's eat!"