cook and luthier

The chef is practicing carving techniques in a corner of the palace. This is her first night in the palace.Suddenly, the sound of the piano from the mountains and flowing water came from not far away, and the strings of the piano were clanging and fascinating.Accompanied by the sound of the zither, the scene of a peaceful water town slowly emerged on the radish in the chef's hand.In the mid-summer evening, when the wind blows up, the candlelight is instantly extinguished, leaving only the bright moon in the sky to reflect the flowing water map of the ancient town that is about to be formed in the hands of the chef.The sound of the zither seemed to disappear, but it floated indistinctly in my ears.The chef raised his head, and on this moonless night, he could still see the Big Dipper twinkling quietly, it was about midnight.The chef looked at the half-carved map of the ancient town by the moonlight, shook his head and smiled.The night was silent, and the clear sound of the guqin still echoed in the mind of the chef who returned to the room.Later, the chef lived peacefully in the palace, occasionally thinking about the reason why he came to the palace.The concubine liked the dim sum she made very much, so the prince specially sent someone to poach her from a famous restaurant in Shangjing to the palace.The cook is not good at communicating with people, so he has been in the palace for a long time and has never met anyone he knows, but he gets along very well with the few hounds kept in the garden of the palace.In this life with almost no fluctuations, the sound of the guqin that I didn't know when I remembered that night became the only existence that could shake the chef's heartstrings.Accompanied by the sound of the zither, the chef carved a lot of radishes and sweet potatoes, including cute animals, small bridges and flowing water, and majestic scenic spots, but the chef never left these. I know where to throw it.Although the cook is just a dim sum maker, he is not an illiterate person. He has memorized the Shennong Baicao Jing, and he has read a lot of historical books such as the Warring States Chronicles. He is a person who knows something, but the cook has not Choosing the road of imperial examinations is just concentrating on making my own snacks.One night, the cook was reading the Book of Songs by candlelight, but he heard wild geese crowing in the flat sand, and wondered who the piano player was missing.The cook suddenly wanted to comfort the person who always played late at night. The sound of this person's piano was never really happy, and there was always a slight sadness in the sound of the piano.With the bamboo branch at hand, the cook made up the posture of a wild goose flying in the air, hoping that the open-mindedness of the flying bird could be conveyed to the performer's heart, but the cook didn't know where to send the bamboo goose. Sighing and remembering, the cook left the geese in the courtyard and went back to the room. After all, there is work waiting for the cook tomorrow morning.The next day, Zhuyan didn't know where to go, and the cook stared at the empty stone table thoughtfully.After a long time, the sound of the piano did not sound again, and the cook seldom engraved what was there in the lonely night. More often, the cook buried himself in his room reading the recipes he did not know where he got, and then recorded himself. recipes.Later, one day, the cook was feeding the hounds in the garden, but the butler found him, saying that the distinguished guests who came to the palace today liked her dim sum, and said that they wanted to meet the chef who made the dim sum no matter what.The cook followed Pipe Foot to the front yard.Along the way, the butler kept telling the cook if there was anything, but the cook kept staring, wondering what he was thinking.The butler led the cook into the front hall, and the cook saluted after the butler stood still.The cook didn't raise his head from the moment he entered the door, with a respectful and humble look.Even though he kept his head down, the cook felt several eyes focused on him, with probing and inexplicable emotions.A nice female voice caressed the cook's ear, "Did you make this plum cake?" The cook still didn't look up, "Yes". "Tell us about the recipe of this plum cake."The housekeeper gently reminded the cook to raise her head to answer.The cook raised his head and talked about how to make plum cakes, but in his mind was the figure of the gentleman who taught her how to make pastries. "Glutinous rice and japonica rice are ground into powder and mixed in proportion, layered with brown sugar plum sauce, spread in a plum-shaped mold and steamed in a pot." The cook looked at the woman standing at the top. The clothes were not gorgeous, and her face had changed No longer young, but people can not look away.The cook felt that this woman was very similar to the person his husband had mentioned to her. "What about this yam magnolia?" The woman had a gentle smile on her face, and a soothing tone in her voice. "This is the appearance of soaking raw yams in water and carving them into magnolia petals. Cooked yams are steamed in a pot with skins, peeled, filtered to remove fiber impurities, and mashed into magnolias for magnolia decoration. The sauce on the side is seasonal melons and fruits. Boil it and add a little honey to neutralize the sour taste." The cook's voice remained unchanged, and he only focused on answering the woman's question. "Your pastry prince and I both like it very much, thank you." The cook didn't know how to respond for a while, but the housekeeper reminded her to thank the princess for the reward.After the cook thanked the concubine for the reward, the concubine did not let her step down. As a last resort, the cook had to stay in the front hall, listening to the elegant and interesting discussions of the dignitaries of the dynasty.Gradually, the chef's thoughts drifted away.A melodious sound of Guqin pulled the cook back to the front hall of the palace. The cook suddenly raised his head to look for the source of the sound. In the middle of the hall, a woman in blue was stroking the Guqin decorated with orchid patterns. Like clear springs and flowing water passing through people's hearts, leaving only a piece of clarity.The familiar yet unfamiliar sound of the piano made the cook's eyes moist unconsciously, and finally she found the sound of the piano that accompanied her that night.At the end of the song, the cook was still staring blankly at the woman in the hall, while the woman looked straight ahead and bowed to the princess. "Girl, I haven't heard you playing the piano for a long time, and the sound of the piano is still the same, and it has been around the beam for three days." "Princess praises you," the woman in blue replied with a smile, but the absurdity did not reach her eyes. "Have your mother's affairs been settled?" "Thank you for your concern, the princess, and everything behind you has been settled." The woman in blue retreated to the princess and sat down, and then the cook's eyes fell on the woman intentionally or unintentionally.Suddenly their eyes met, the cook was stunned, but the luthier just looked away indifferently.