Delicious Delicacy of the Demon Spirit

June [-]th, the beginning of autumn, is also the birthday of the lotus.

There is a lake in Qingshui Town, named Yanlong Lake, because the lake is shrouded in smoke and clouds every year except when the lotus is in full bloom, so it got this name.I don’t know when Yanlong Lake was dug out. One day it’s dredged and expanded, and the next it’s said to be filled with soil. It wasn’t until ten years ago when willows were planted by the lake that it finally took shape.The outline of the medicine gourd covers an area of ​​[-] hectares, and a corner of red water chestnut and a corner of lotus are planted. The weather is extremely hot, and Yanlong Lake shows the whole picture, the red water chestnut is ripe, and the lotus is in full bloom.

Every year, the town holds the Lotus Viewing Festival on this day. Since the early morning, the banks of Yanlong Lake have been full of pedestrians and bustling.Vendors from far and near will come here to do business in the market. Hairpins, sweets, powder, pottery bowls... The restaurants along the lake also offer their signature lotus dishes, lotus root powder soup, lotus seed porridge, fried lotus root boxes, and purses. Meals... the lake is also busy, building boats, painting boats, awnings, and even wooden barrel boats made by the people themselves.

Prince Qiao and his three concubines naturally would not miss it either. It is said that early in the morning they took a group of attendants to charter the largest boat on the lake to listen to music and appreciate lotuses, and they would not return home until late at night.

He Weiran finally had a day of leisure. After breakfast, Ye Ma and Zhang Da were left to work in the back kitchen to prepare meals for the day, and the rest asked them to have a holiday.Originally planned to spend a day in the mansion lazily, at least it was comfortable and comfortable, but unexpectedly the girls in the back kitchen didn't let her off after they got leave, and insisted on dragging her to appreciate the lotus.

Li Ku'er finished sweeping the yard and was going home to plant celery. The celery seeds she bought last time had sprouted, and it was time to sow them.I took a detour to the back kitchen to take away the broken vegetable basket in the morning, and I saw this scene.Xiaoqu, Ah Chu and A Liaodu acted coquettishly and pleaded in front of He Weiran.

"Go, sister He, go!"

"It's very busy today. You just came, so you must go and see her."

"That's right, and Ah Liao's family is right by Yanlong Lake, and her family has a wooden boat, so they can go pick lotus seeds."

He Weiran smiled in embarrassment, but it seemed that he would be persuaded by them sooner or later.

Li Ku'er was standing outside the threshold looking around, Xiao Qu's sharp eyes saw her, and immediately pulled her in, while pulling her arm, he said, "You go too, Ku'er, let's join in the fun."

"Ah? I'm rushing back to plant the land, and I have to go back to the house to sweep the yard in the afternoon." Li Kuer is not like them, she still has to play when she is on vacation, and she can't finish her homework.

"It's been a long time since you came to my house. Don't worry about the land, those vegetables won't die." It was Ah Liao who spoke. She lived by the lake and made a living by selling fish and lotus seeds. Naturally, she didn't know much about the crops, so she went It's also easy to say.

"It used to be okay to leave it alone, but during the dog days, the vegetables in the fields will wither if they are not watered for a day."

"Eh? We don't care, oops, let's go." Ah Chu began to play tricks.

"Aren't there still A Zhu and A Chuan?"

"The two of them went out to play with brother Qing, so they would not want to be with us." Xiaoqu said with disgust, and then slyly said: "Here, sister He is going too, why don't you go?"

Li Kuer looked at He Weiran, did she agree?The other three also looked at her, their small eyes conveyed the message of expectation.

He Weiran was taken aback by these four girls, and then smiled and said: "Then... if Ku'er goes, I will go. Besides, I can help Ku'er to ask the housekeeper for leave."

Doesn't this push things back?The three of them turned their heads to stare at Li Kuer again, making her feel very guilty and burdened.

"my type……"

"We'll pour it for you!"

Why do you have such a tacit understanding...

Anyway, the matter was settled in such an authoritarian way, He Weiran asked the housekeeper to ask for leave, but the housekeeper readily agreed, and told them to have fun.Leaving the palace, I went to the vegetable field of Li Kuer's house. It took five people no effort to deal with such a small piece of land. Besides watering, weeding was also done, which made her feel very sorry, especially He Weiran also helped busy.

Everything was fine, but it was more than half of the time, fortunately Yanlong Lake was not far from the palace, the five of them strolled all the way to Ah Liao's house, and it took only two sticks of incense.

Ah Liao's surname is Jiang, and her house is much larger than Li Kuer's. She built a two-story wooden building, which is considered to be in the best condition among the neighbors.In the front is a yard, full of lotus seeds and dried fish in the sun, and in the back is the lake pier, where water and laundry are collected, and a small fishing boat is hung on a pile beside the pier.

However, Ah Liao's family has a large population. Early this morning, her father went to sell lotus pods at a stall on the long street by the lake. Fresh lotus pods can be peeled and eaten while walking, and they are especially popular on this day.Her brother is selling fish in the fish market, and will come back for lunch at noon, and has to go to the stall after lunch.Ah Liao's mother was at home doing housework, washing, cleaning, cooking, and taking care of Ah Liao's grandma who suffered from serious eye diseases.

Li Ku'er remembered that the last time she came back to Ah Liao's house, her grandma's eyes were still fine, bright enough to embroider.Grandma Ah Liao was an embroiderer when she was young, and she was very good at crafting. Rich households in the town often asked her to teach their daughters how to embroider.Why can't see things at all after not seeing each other for a year... It's so pitiful.

Ah Liao brought back friends who also worked in the palace, Ah Liao Niang and Ah Liao's grandma were also very happy, and asked them to have lunch at home before going out for a walk.Among the four of them, only He Weiran was someone they had never met before, now she has a fresh head, asking around about his family background, which made Ah Liao extremely embarrassed.Anyway, they are in charge, so why are they so rude.

He Weiran was also quite helpless, although he still had a friendly smile on his face, but his reply was mostly evasive, and he only said that he opened a small tavern in Xiangcheng, which was valued by Prince Qiao, and invited him to be a cook, that's all. There is nothing worthy of humaneness.As for the question of whether the married couple has a few mouths, they all cleverly dodge it.

The other four girls of similar age were peeling edamame beside them, and their ears were distracted to listen to what was said here.Li Ku'er was also curious about He Weiran's private affairs, but it seemed as if she didn't know much about it all the way, and felt that she was even more mysterious.

Just before noon, Brother Ah Liao came back for dinner.His name is Ah Bu, he is four years older than Ah Liao, he seems to be engaged, and he will marry another girl in the spring of next year.Ah Bu smiled naively when he saw the guests at home, and he didn't talk much, looking honest and reserved.

The lunch was cooked by Ah Liao's mother. There were five dishes and one soup, and they were all very big.Steamed edamame with salted fish, fried lotus root slices with chili, fried pumpkin, boiled small crucian carp, dried bamboo shoots and loofah soup.He Weiran is the chef of the palace, and Ah Liao Niang straightly said that she is a gangster who has neglected the guests, so I hope she doesn't feel disgusted.Naturally, He Weiran would not taste these home-cooked dishes as requested by the cook, but felt that these dishes were cooked plainly and had a special taste.

During the dinner, a few people talked about Grandma Ah Liao's eye disease, wondering why the old man who could pierce a whole row of embroidery needles in one go couldn't have good eyesight.

Grandma Ah Liao also sighed in recollection: "It seems that years ago, the smoke and clouds on the lake were very thick in those few days. I just recovered from a cold, and I don't remember which day it was. Suddenly something went wrong, as if through a white gauze, there was only an outline of everything, and I couldn't see clearly. I thought it would get better after a while, but after waiting for a while, it didn't improve, so I went to Chuancaotang to find Look, doctor Mao, he said it might be the sequelae of wind-cold, and prescribed some medicines for clearing the heart and eyesight, but I took it day and night, and my eyes still didn’t heal. Hey, old people are useless , now I can only stop the embroidery and let it go..."

"So that's the case, maybe it's really caused by the wind and cold." He Weiran pondered for a moment, then looked carefully at Grandma Ah Liao's pupils, and didn't say anything more.

After eating, the four of them said they would take He Weiran to the market. Ah Liao put some food in a food box, asked Ah Liao to drop by to deliver the food to his father, and gave her some money to watch on the street. Let's buy some vegetables, and everyone will come back to have a meal together in the evening.

Ah Liao took the money, feeling that she had a heavy responsibility on her shoulders, thinking about what to buy and going home all the way.After walking for a short time, I felt that the road in front of me gradually became lively, with the sound of hawking and playing.They walked and watched, and bought some gadgets from time to time, looking at this and that, and they dispersed after a while.Li Kuer was not willing to part with it, her money was not easy to come by, and she was saving it to marry a good family in the future, no matter what was new, she didn't dare to spend it carelessly, she just walked with He Weiran.

"Those three girls clearly said they would bring me to the market, but they ran away first." He Weiran shook his head and sighed, then took Li Kuer's hand and said, "You can't lose it too. They don't even know the way."

"Ah?...um...can't lose it." Li Kuer lowered her head, feeling the softness and coolness of He Weiran's hand. Sweating, what a shame.

The author has something to say: Three small light bulbs, I knew I wouldn't write about you!

Very good, this chapter is not hungry, eh!