Yipin Farmer

Seeing Chen Guang rushing back, Ting Shuang thought something had happened to Bao Qi, but after asking, she found out that it was not Bao Qi who had the problem, but the Queen Mother was seriously ill. They celebrate the birthday of the Queen Mother.

"Didn't it mean that next June, our family will go to Beijing to celebrate the Queen Mother's birthday?"

Chen Guang also had worry on his face, and said: "I'm afraid the Queen Mother won't be able to survive that time, so the Emperor is anxious for you to go to Beijing to celebrate her birthday in advance. If you can make the old queen happy, maybe your health will improve. Master These days I'm so worried, I don't have any good food, you have to persuade him when you go."

When Ting Shuang heard that Baoqi was so worried that she didn't think about eating or drinking, she also became anxious. She hurriedly packed her luggage and took her family to Beijing.

As soon as Ting Hui heard that he was going to the capital to play, he was so happy that he didn't know where to go, so he and Dayingzi packed their bags that day, and there were also Xiaolan, Xiaoyu, who were appointed by the emperor, Goudan Xiaoshuan and Er Fatzi She also wanted to go to the capital to see the world, so Ting Shuang had no choice but to take them there too.It’s just that Jiajia, the goddaughter of the emperor, can’t go. It’s getting colder and colder, and it’s not good to travel long distances with a nursing baby, so Tingke and his wife took their daughter to stay and watch the house. Tingke’s boss is not happy. Also had to stay.

Those who went were Xiaolan's mother and Ping An who took care of the children. In addition to humans, there were animals, Huanhuan, Kongkong, Huahua, a big parrot, and Xiaolan's latest pet squirrel. Set off to the capital with a dozen or so cars.

Ting Shuang was afraid that the people of Tianli Sect would make trouble, so he entrusted Lu Zhengming to take care of the house, and Lu Zhengming solemnly agreed.

A group of people walked and played, and arrived in the Gyeonggi area not long after. As soon as they arrived in Liangxiang, Baoqi and her servants greeted him. Ting Shuang stared at him a few times, and saw that he was a little thinner, but he was in good spirits. Don't worry.

There are many waterways around the capital. In winter, ice beds are a common means of transportation. There are wooden frames under the beds, and iron bars under the frames, which can slide on the ice. Taking off, pulling the ice bed and running, is a special means of transportation for traveling in Beijing in winter.

It was the first time for Ting Shuang to sit on this ice bed, and she looked left and right excitedly, and the children were even more excited to shout and scream.

After entering the city, Baoqi placed a group of people in the mansion, and didn't care about getting close to Ting Shuang, so she made up for him with court etiquette first, and Ting Shuang's boss was not happy: "You know that I hate this the most."

"I know, but you have to learn. If you break the rules, you will be accused at most in the village. You may be dismissed in the officialdom, and you may lose your head in the palace. It stands to reason that the Ministry of Rites is responsible for teaching etiquette. I'm afraid They have wronged you, so I will teach you personally, you should pay attention to it, learn it hard, good boy."

Baoqi coaxed him to learn etiquette, what kind of clothing represents what kind of grade, what kind of ceremony, which door to enter from, which way to go, he must not make mistakes. The one who is going to be beheaded, the etiquette of entering the inner palace, and how to deal with it, have been taught in detail.

Ting Shuang took the strength to cope with the exam in her previous life and memorized it. Baoqi saw that there was nothing wrong with it, so she dared to report to the palace. The emperor quickly summoned the Meng family.

Ting Shuang took her family and animals, from Xihua Gate to Ci Ning Gate, and then into the Compassion Ning Palace, according to Bao Qi's instruction, she dared not take an extra step or say a word.

Entering the back hall of the Compassionate Palace, I saw a noble old lady half lying on the couch, next to the emperor, and to the right was a group of noble ladies surrounded by pearls and emerald greens, who must be concubines, and next to them were a group of court ladies and eunuchs serving them. Quiet, no sound at all.

Ting Shuang felt the pressure suddenly, still remembering what Bao Qi taught, he walked a few steps first, greeted him, then saluted, and reported his title and name at the same time.He didn't dare to lift his head, let alone look left and right, even though the temple was full of priceless treasures.

The old woman on the couch gently raised her hand.

The emperor spoke for her: "Stay flat."

"Thank you, Queen Mother." Ting Shuang stood aside and glanced secretly at the Empress Dowager sitting on the seat. She saw that the old lady had a delicate appearance and a majestic demeanor. Live sick.

The old lady asked a little about the customs and customs of the village, and Ting Shuang picked up that interesting thing to say, with a deliberate flattery, which made the old lady very happy. I heard that he also brought a baby bear to Beijing, and the old lady became interested. Let's take a look.

The queen at the side dissuaded: "If such a beast gets wild when it goes to the palace, I'm afraid it won't be good if it frightens the queen."

"It's okay, Huanhuan is very human, and he listens to Xiaolan the most." The emperor said, calling all the members of the Meng family who were waiting outside the palace to come up.

The whole family came up and bowed tremblingly, but Xiaolan was not afraid of anything, turned the little black beans and looked at the old lady curiously. The queen mother saw that she did not recognize her identity and behaved generously, so she liked her very much, so she invited her to come up and ask questions. , Xiaolan answered, very well-behaved.Then he directed Huanhuan and Kong Kong to perform the show, which was the story of Sun Dasheng fighting the bear monster in "Journey to the West". everyone.

Xiaolan often teases the animals when she is free, so these animals listen to her very much. Under her command, the deer and squirrels all behave well.The queen mother couldn't close her mouth happily, and even touched Huanhuan's head.

Seeing that the queen mother was happy, the emperor became happy too, and ordered people to reward the children with sweets and snacks.

Xiaoyu and Goudan also got to know each other a little better, and the children didn't have so many thoughts in their minds. Seeing that the old lady was very kind, she grabbed candy for them to eat, and gradually became less nervous, and started talking and laughing.

The queen looked at the group of children dressed in old-fashioned and vulgar manners, smiled contemptuously, and said, "Children, how about we play a game?"

"Okay, okay." The children were all happy when they heard about the game, only Baoqi and Ting Shuang frowned slightly.

The queen ordered someone to take a glass bottle, which contained five agate balls, and a string was tied to one end of the balls. The mouth of the bottle was so narrow that only one ball could go in and out.

"This game is, each of you holds a string tied with a small ball. I will hit this small gong once, and you pull the small ball out quickly. Whoever pulls out the small ball first when the gong sounds, There is a reward."

The queen said and ordered someone to bring a plate of golden scorpions.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on the children, the glass bottle only allowed a small ball to come out, and whoever had quick eyesight and quick hands could pull out the small ball just as the sound of the gong fell, and was rewarded.

"Whoever pulls it out first will be rewarded." The queen tempted, "I'm going to start."

All the adults stared at the glass bottle, but the children glanced at each other. Xiaolan raised her eyebrows and gestured to the others.

The queen struck a small gong.

An unexpected scene happened. The children did not rush to pull the rope, but were very calm. Xiaolan was the first to pull out the ball, and then Xiaoyu, Goudan, Xiaoshuan, and Er Fatzi pulled out the ball in turn. Little ball, the lingering sound of the gong sound has not disappeared, everyone pulled the little ball out of the glass bottle.

All the adults were surprised, only Baoqi and Ting Shuang looked at each other and smiled, and looked at the children with admiration.

The queen was so shocked that she couldn't speak for a while, and asked, "Why do you think of pulling out the balls one by one?"

Xiaolan replied calmly: "Because if we rush to pull the rope, then no one's ball can get out. It's like the fire in the theater a few years ago. Everyone rushed to flee for their lives, but no one was crowded at the door." We couldn’t get out either. So we came out one by one, anyway, there would be a reward for pulling out the ball before the sound of the gong disappeared, and the first person to pull out the ball would get the reward and share it with others.”

Everyone in the hall gasped in amazement, and the queen asked again: "You are just children, how do you think of these things?"

Xiaolan smiled and glanced at Goudan. This time Goudan replied: "Brother always taught us that if we want to achieve our goals, we must cooperate with others. Only by cooperating with others can we achieve the greatest success. If we only care about ourselves and take the lead , then it must be that no one can pull out the ball, and there will be no reward."

Now the queen is convinced too, look at these rural children, their knowledge is no worse than those quarreling ministers in court, and immediately ordered someone to give rewards, in addition to a plate of gold pickles, there are also satin purses for girls, earrings and bracelets, and gifts for girls. Boys' knives, bows and gold and silver ingots.

The queen mother was also very happy, and said that the children were sensible, so she gave a reward.Especially Xiao Lan, who likes the natural beauty, took her hand and said: "She is really neat and tidy. After two years, I won't be able to fascinate everyone in the city. Why don't the emperor just accept her as his daughter?"

"How can this work? It's been a mess." The emperor smiled and said that Ting Ke's daughter, who had been recognized in Sanhua Village a few months ago, was a daughter. It's a mess.

After joking around for a while, the queen mother was very excited and ordered Baoqi to take Tingshuang and the others to the side hall for dinner.Then he said to the queen: "Bao Qi is very promising now, I was going to show him a good girl, but he is not up to date, so I have to ask you to be more careful."

The queen got up and agreed.He asked again, "I don't know if the queen mother has someone in mind?"

"It's all about family background. The most important thing is to have a good appearance and a good temperament. If you meet these two requirements, you can help me to see." The queen mother set the conditions for Baoqi to choose a mate.

"Empress mother, don't worry, for a talent like the young prince, the famous ladies all over the country can choose whoever they want."

The Queen Mother narrowed her eyes happily.

Baoqi didn't know that she had become the object of attention of the palace's marriage offer, so she just kept being happy and served the food herself.

It was the first time for Ting Shuang to eat a meal from the palace, and she was excited to prepare a meal, but she was a little disappointed when one end came out. The food was good, and there was a lot of chicken, duck and fish. Gone.Think about it too, from the imperial tea dining room in the east to the Cining Palace in the west, no matter whether you go through the left-wing gate or the Jingyun gate, you have to stay for a while, and you can't do it if you want to burn your mouth.

In such a cold day, the food is not hot, and even the best things are greatly discounted. It is better to eat mutton stewed noodles in a large bowl at a street stall. No wonder the emperor is so interested in rural flavors.

After receiving the meal, Ting Shuang took her family to thank her again. Fortunately, the Queen Mother was tired, so she didn't have to thank her face to face, which also saved a lot of trouble.

After watching the performances of these children and animals, the queen mother was happy, her appetite improved, and her health improved somewhat. Baoqi finally had a smile on her gloomy face.

Ting Shuang took the opportunity to ask him to take her to play around, and Baoqi took them to watch puppet shows and shadow plays, go to teahouses to listen to books, go shopping in factories, watch tricks, play ice skates, and have a good time.I also ate all kinds of snacks.

On this day, Baoqi took Tingshuang to Zhengyang Tower for dinner, and invited some friends whom she had not seen for a long time. After taking a few glances at the two of them, he felt that their relationship was very unusual.

Baoqi introduced Ting Shuang's glorious deeds to her friends, and she was very proud of him. Everyone's eyes were focused on Ting Shuang, and they admired him very much.

The shop waiter came up and quickly poured tea, put tea fruit on it, and announced the name of the dish: "Sliced ​​meat slices, fried eel, sweet and sour fish dregs, duck feet..."

A list of dishes was reported in a very smooth and unobtrusive manner, and then he repeated the dishes ordered by the guests to the counter in a voice: "Wengdichun, a catty of orange wine, a bottle of assorted shrimp balls, rosin, leg of lamb, steamed duck Steamed fish with garlic and white meat and three shreds of shark fin served with lotus leaf rice..."

Walking down the stairs with a melodious ending, Ting Shuang praised: "A good voice, not inferior to those who perform ugly acts on the stage."

The seatmate Ye Chengfeng said with a smile: "It's not easy to be a waiter in the capital. You have to be discerning. You can carry a few dishes upstairs with one hand without spilling a drop. It's good to calculate the food bill with your heart. Reporting the name of the dishes is a basic skill. From the guy who peels garlic and burns the fire in the back hall to the waiter who can take care of himself, he is at least 30 years old."

"It seems that as long as you get into any line of work, you can do well." Ting Shuang remembered that her running hall was much worse than that in the capital. As for the food passers in those restaurants in her previous life, she had to use a calculator for simple accounts. According to half a day.

While talking, the waiter held a large tray in one hand and two wine jugs in the other. He went upstairs and poured the wine quickly and arranged the dishes. Sure enough, not a single drop was spilled. Everyone was about to move their chopsticks when they heard A familiar strange voice said: "Why can't I just want a window seat?"

Upon hearing this strange pronunciation, Ting Shuang knew it was Mrs. Thomson, and hurriedly got up to call him over.

Thomson didn't expect to see him here. He was very happy and shouted: "Hi, I didn't expect to see Mr. Meng here. Time flies like a cannonball. Long time no see."

Ting Shuang couldn't laugh or cry: "I haven't seen you for two years, and your Chinese is still so good. Don't use idioms indiscriminately, okay? Time flies like an arrow."

Thomson was dissatisfied: "Cannonballs fly faster than arrows, so time is more appropriate like cannonballs."

"No, no matter how fast the cannonball is, you still have to say that time flies like an arrow." Ting Shuang pulled him over to sit with him, introduced the people in the same seat to each other, and gave him shark fins to eat.

Thomson complained: "Chinese is too difficult to learn, even more difficult than Latin. For example, you Chinese say, 'You grow wiser if you eat it', but how do you eat the food, steamed or grilled? ''Acquaintances', barbecue meat is divided into raw and cooked, and people are also divided into raw and cooked, do you eat people?"

Everyone laughed, but couldn't explain it.Thomson didn't give up: "You Chinese can eat anything. The strange thing is that you call your beloved a friend. You are obviously a lover. Why do you call it a 'sweetheart'? Unlike us who call your lover a 'sweetheart', it is very sweet and easy understand."

Ting Shuang couldn't explain it clearly either, so she just said, "I can't explain it to a foreigner like you. How can the profound Chinese language be understood by foreigners like you?"

Thomson was very competitive, pointing to the opposite wall and said: "It seems that you know a lot, what do you think is written in that picture?"

Ting Shuang turned his head and saw that Nicaragua Falls was sweating on his forehead. There was someone's wild grass hanging on the wall, and he didn't know if it was Huai Su's calligraphy. In short, he couldn't read a word, but even if he was beaten to death, he couldn't do it to a foreigner. Before admitting that as a Chinese, I don’t know Chinese characters, I quickly changed the topic and said: “Which country’s characters in the world can be appreciated as an art? Only China has the art of calligraphy, and only Chinese paintings, calligraphy, paintings, and poetry It is unique in the world. For example, Chinese cuisine has three sections, four flavors and eight cuisines, each of which alone is enough to stand out in the world's catering industry."

Sure enough, Thomson was attracted, and switched from Chinese characters to Chinese cuisine, saying: "You said that Chinese cuisine is so broad, but I can't see it. The biggest shortcoming of Chinese cuisine is that there are too many seasonings, and the seasonings are too flavorful. It overwhelms the original taste of the food. For example, I have been in China for several years, and I can’t even eat a good grilled steak.”

Ting Shuang can explain this question: "In China, cattle are used to cultivate land, so they cannot be easily killed and eaten. The cattle that people eat are those that have been culled for more than six or seven years, and the meat quality is naturally not as good as that of a year or two. Beef, plus the meat itself is relatively thick, so not many people like to eat it, and it is only limited to the lower classes."

"But in our country, even beef that is more than ten years old can be cooked fresh and tender, so I think Chinese food is not as good as watercress after all."

Ting Shuang's patriotism soared, and she was thinking about how to save face. While listening to them silently, Ye Chengfeng's servant couldn't help but say, "I'm afraid this Mr. Tang said that he has never eaten real Chinese food. I'll cook some beef for you to try."

"Okay, then I'll cook beef, let's compete." Thomson also entered the kitchen not to be outdone.

Ting Shuang also went to fight with him, and Bao Qi dragged him back: "What are you going to do? You have a sex problem, don't you? Keep staring at them, and then I will strangle you to death."

"Don't be jealous. I think he just thinks that he has an unusual relationship with Mr. Ye. Mr. Ye always looks at him out of the corner of his eye."

"I can also see that Mr. Ye likes him very much, but he didn't show it. Maybe he has concerns."

"What about you? Do you dare to make your feelings for me public?" Ting Shuang looked at him with expectation in his eyes.