Mr. Minguo's kitchen

Tong Shihua, pear blossoms fall, and it rains in a flash.

In Xiangcheng, the wharf became bustling just after dawn. Day laborers unloading goods came and went, hawkers peddled breakfast stalls, pedestrians passed by in a hurry, the sky was drizzling, and the sky was gloomy. Patch old clothes one color.

After a while, the whistle of the boat at the mouth of the river sounded sharply, and a boat was approaching the shore.

"There is a boat so early today, and it's still a passenger boat with a lot of people."

"Isn't there a revolution in the past few years? When the trouble is over, many educated people go to Japan to study. Maybe there are some gentlemen who have returned from studying abroad in this ship!"

"They are all rich and noble. Look at what they wear and what they wear. They don't look like us. Hey, they are just working hard."

"Whether they revolutionize or not, I know that the situation in our land is getting worse and worse..."

Dropped anchor, tied the cables, and waited for the people at the pier to finish their work, and people disembarked with their luggage one after another.

It's cold in spring this April, and the wind in the port early in the morning makes people shiver.Ah Fu hid his hands in his sleeves, retracted his neck, and stretched his neck to look into the crowd, afraid of missing his young master.I suddenly saw a young and fashionable man in foreign clothes, looking this way, I still didn't dare to recognize him.

This...is this the staid and cowardly young master of his family?Looking at the face, it was correct, but Ah Fu felt that he had never seen the aura in his body, even in his own master.Ah Fu has never read a book, but he just feels that after five years of absence, the Eldest Young Master has grown in stature and face shape, looks better, and his back is straighter, and his whole spirit has also changed.

Ah Fu was still watching, but the young man in the black windbreaker was already confirmed, and came forward with his luggage.

"You are Ah Fu..." Before he finished speaking, Ah Fu, who came back to his senses, answered excitedly: "Yes, yes! Young Master, I am Ah Fu! You are finally back, and everything on the road Are you all right? The master sent me to pick you up."

After taking the luggage in the man's hand, Ah Fu took his young and old to stop a rickshaw on the side of the road and go back to Lin's mansion.

On the way, the man called the eldest son asked Ah Fu: "Is mother okay?"

"Well... the lady... she's pretty good." Ah Fu stammered.

Seeing this, the young man glanced at Ah Fu, and said in a low voice, "Tell me, what's the matter?"

Although he still had the same light and handsome eyes, the look in his young master's eyes made Ah Fu tremble, and he said all at once: "Back to the young master, Madam left two years ago, and said that she will... remarry."

The people in the car didn't speak for a while, and asked after a while: "Which family is it?"

"I heard from the master that he is the first big man surnamed Chang in the capital."

"Oh."

After that, the master and servant returned to the Lin Mansion without saying a word.

The Lin family can be regarded as the leading wealthy family in Xiangcheng. Young Master Lin's grandfather was a Jinshi during the Tongzhi period.He is also very strange, in addition to poetry and books, he only loves delicacies in his life. After he became a scholar, he even paid a lot of money to hire famous chefs in the capital.Relying on the shadow of his ancestors, the eldest son who inherited the family business—the father who is called the young master in front of him, has some means, and has expanded the family business to a certain extent, involving other fields, and becoming a wealthy family in Xiangcheng.

It's a pity that such a large family business has no blessings. Lin's father, who was in his prime, suffered from tuberculosis and died three years ago. In order not to disturb the eldest son's study abroad, when he was dying, he asked his family not to pass him home for the funeral, and only let his nephew go home. for.Lin Chengzhi, the second uncle of Young Master Lin, is now in charge of the family.

Poor thing, I haven't been home for five years, and once I do, my parents are gone, and the second master is not easy to get along with now, I'm afraid this trip home is going to a Hongmen banquet.Ah Fu glanced at the young master and sighed in his heart.

As the sky was getting brighter, more people walked on the road, most of them were people with long braids and long gowns. They stared at the young people on the rickshaw, as if they were looking at foreigners.That's right, Xiangcheng is just an unremarkable small county in Henan Province, and the wind of revolution can't blow to this small inland place.Isn't it rare to see someone with braids cut off and dressed in foreign clothes?

When the car arrived at Lin's house, Lin Weirui got out of the car, stood in front of Zhumen, looked at the house in "that man"'s vague memory, slightly closed his eyes, and Ah Fu followed behind, looking at the strange young and old, and did not dare to disturb After a while, he said softly: "Young Master, we are home."

Home?Where is the home...

Nowhere is home.

The two masters and servants went in.

"Oh, is the young master coming back? Come in quickly! Everything is good abroad? I heard that the food of the foreigner is only cooked meat, there is no other tricks, I must not be used to it there! Auntie Today I specially ordered Master Zhang in the kitchen to prepare a table of delicious food for you, and you should eat more later! Look, you’ve lost weight!” The voice of the visitor came from far away in the inner courtyard, waiting When Lin Weirui got closer, she saw a woman in a purple jacket embroidered with golden roses and a black emerald horse-face skirt with flowers, smiling, and seemed to greet her affectionately.

Ah Fu, who was following behind, saw the second lady from a distance, so he only dared to lower his head and made no sound at all.Don't look at the second lady's smiling face now, but the people in the inner courtyard of the Lin Mansion, from concubines to servants, are all quails in front of her, the difference is only a matter of size.Although the second lady looks ordinary, she is really powerful. Even the second master Lin respects her even though there are many concubines in the backyard.

Lin Weirui's face was normal, and she only responded, "Second Aunt", she was not annoyed, she seemed a little surprised by the change in his temperament, but she just paused, and continued to sing the whole play by herself, "Come in quickly , your second uncle was waiting for you before dawn. Poor child, it was for your own good that uncle didn’t call you back. Parents all over the world love you. When you settle down, you can go to the tomb to pay homage.”

"Second uncle, my nephew is back."

In the house, sitting in front of the Eight Immortals Table is a middle-aged man wearing a long robe and mandarin jacket, with big braids and a mustache. He has a majestic face, but there is a gloomy outline between his brows.Seeing the nephew who came in, he said lightly, "I'm back." Finally, seeing Lin Weirui's attire, she frowned, and the originally gloomy upside-down eyebrows twitched further, "What are you wearing? You've been out for a few years, and that's all you've learned? You even cut your hair! Your body is skinny, and you owe it to your parents! Thanks to your elder brother's absence."

Wearing a black windbreaker, with a white jade face and light-colored lips, Lin Weirui, who is tall and straight, looks like a fairy in the eyes of his servant, and almost dare not recognize him.

"Second Uncle, the Qing Dynasty is dead."

Second Master Lin was choked by these words. He never thought that this cowardly nephew, who was worthless since he was a child, would dare to talk back to him one day, even if he looked closely at his face, it was far less than before. Timid, on the contrary, too calm.After going abroad for five years, it seems that I have grown my skills.

Don't let anything go wrong.

Before Lin Weirui could speak again, the second lady next to her rushed to say, "Oh, this young man is very fashionable, so don't talk about it, let him freshen up, and hurry up and have dinner, we have business to do later!" Second Uncle Lin thought about what he had to do later, so he seemed to force himself to stop, nodded, and Second Aunt Lin asked the servants to serve dinner.

Lin Weirui watched the couple sing together, frowned slightly, and felt that what he had to do later had something to do with him.I don't know what's the matter.

There were only three people at the dinner table, Mrs. Lin said with a smile: "Your younger brother is studying hard recently, and he is going to be admitted to a military school. He studied too late last night and the meeting is not up yet. There will be chances to see you in the future. My younger sister is going abroad. I'm a guest at the ancestor's house, and I won't be back until tomorrow." The waiter next to him looked at his nose, nose, mouth, and heart, and silently answered in his heart: The second young master went to the Grand Theater last night to play until midnight before returning home. Why did you study hard?

The younger siblings here are not Lin Weirui's biological siblings, but Lin Ershu's son and daughter: Lin Maorong and Lin Ruohe.Lin Weirui was noncommittal, just nodded, since they are irrelevant people anyway.

Dishes were served one by one, including Dongpo elbow, West Lake vinegar fish, stewed soft-shelled turtle with ham, scallops with hibiscus, roasted sea cucumber... there were more than ten dishes in total.The first one is Huangchuan tribute noodle soup. Looking at the word tribute noodles, one can tell that this is not unknown. Before that, it was paid tribute to the palace.Early in the morning, the big fish and meat are like a banquet. Although I don't know what medicine the couple sells in the gourd, Lin Weirui will not abuse her stomach. She refused the service of others and brought a bowl of noodle soup to fill her already empty stomach. stomach.

The soup is as clear as water, and the noodles in the bowl can be counted. Lin Weirui knows that the noodles are made of chicken broth without having to taste them. The hollow noodles make the taste not only refreshing, but also extremely delicious. It was delicious.Lin Weirui ate up all the noodles.

Lin Erye and his wife watched him secretly while eating, and saw that he was sitting upright and holding chopsticks in an elegant posture. Although he was dressed in foreign clothes, it was undeniable that his movements were graceful and his manners were completely different from before. People, the two were surprised.If it was before, the youngest of the Lin family could only be described as a nerd with a lot of money and knowledge, with a dull manner, wearing a pair of thick foreign glasses, and usually seemed invisible, so there was no temperament at all.

Mrs. Lin Er: "I didn't have time to ask you before, where did your glasses go? Didn't you lose sight at all if you didn't wear them before?"

Lin Weirui paused slightly with her chopsticks, and then said naturally: "It was cured abroad, and now you don't need to wear glasses."

The second lady didn't ask any more questions, anyway, it was just a household chore to lay the groundwork for what will happen later.

The last dish is iron pot eggs. Don’t look at the name, this is a famous dish in Henan. The freshly baked iron pot eggs are red and yellow in color, and the oil is smooth. You can scoop them up with a spoon without any effort. Sink into it and send it into the mouth. It is tender, soft and smooth, with a rich fragrance, and the tip of the tongue seems to have a bit of charred aroma unique to iron plate grilling.

It's a pity that the heat is not enough, and the taste is not fully released.Lin Weirui only took a sip and put it down.

"Why did you eat so much? Is the food cooked by the cook not to your liking? You used to like the dishes cooked by Master Zhang. This master has been talking about you since the uncle left. After all, he is a person who knows how to repay you. Your father was right to take him in back then."

Second Master Lin scolded her lightly: "Okay, don't talk about these servants all day long, there are still things to do." Upon hearing this, Second Mrs. Lin winked at the maid beside her, who walked away After a while, a child who looked like three years old was brought over.The child was wearing a small mandarin jacket, looking at the well-dressed man, but his face was yellowish, his big eyes did not dare to look at others, he timidly hid behind the maid, looked at the ground, his small body was trembling when he looked carefully.

Lin Weirui knew that the main event was coming, so she couldn't be her own son.He remembered that when "he" left five years ago, he hadn't married yet, and didn't even have a housemate, so where would he have a son.

"Which family is this child?"

"This is your mother's, born in early September four years ago."

Apparently, Mrs. Lin's words were special, because Master Lin went there at the beginning of four years ago.Excluding the possibility of premature birth, Mr. Lin who has gone may be "happy to be a father".

"Ms. Liang has insulted my Lin family's style. Now she has been removed from the family tree, and you don't have to remember her anymore. I have raised this child for you for three years. Now that you are back, take it back. Big brother is in heaven." Ling, so as not to obstruct his eyes here."

"Also, while you are back, go invite the clan elders, let's divide the family."

Mrs. Lin came here as soon as she said tears, holding her veil with a sad face: "It's not that uncle and aunt are cruel and suddenly want to separate the family. It's because your younger brother and sister are old now and have to talk about others, but because of this child "The woman pointed at the silent child with her long and bright armor, "Three people became tigers, this story has spread throughout Xiangcheng, when the people your sister had talked with heard about it , there is no more content... Don't worry, we are still a family even if the family is separated, it's just a formality." The form is a ghost, after the family is divided, the family property in your hand will never be spit out again.

The author has something to say: Lin Weirui: Oh, it turns out that I like to be brother.