The servant of Ying, the god of the Red Chamber, only loves farming

Wang Xifeng bent the willow leaf eyebrows and smiled: "The old ancestor is very thoughtful. Last time, Yinger said that the yard where my aunt lived before she got married needed to be repaired; today I was going to go back to the old ancestor to ask for instructions; The ancestor opened his mouth." Wang Xifeng took the hot tea from the mandarin duck and handed it to Mother Jia, and continued: "The yard is clean, and it is not far from the ancestor's place, so it is convenient to walk around. Why don't you repair the yard well and wait for Auntie to come and just go with Cousin Lin Live in."

Jia's mother thought this proposal was good, it fit her heart and said with a smile: "It's strange that you are so quick-witted, and you have to change your ways to be lazy. Do as you said." Wang Xifeng amused Jia's mother by pretending to complain.

When Wang heard this, a trace of dissatisfaction flashed across her face, but she didn't say much, just looked at Wang Xifeng twice more.

After the first month, Baoyu also started to study in the school.According to Jia Zheng's original idea, he wanted the other children of Baoyu's clan to learn Confucianism from Jia Dai.Although this Jia Dairu was a bit stubborn and old-fashioned in his thoughts, he also had some talents in his stomach.But later, because of Lin Ruhai's relationship, Baoyu successfully paid homage to Lin Ruhai's teacher - Zhou Fu.

After Zhou Fu chatted with Lin Ruhai, he moved into Jia's mansion and became Baoyu's tutor in charge of Baoyu's education; so Baoyu now studies with Zhou Fu in the study every day.

Weekly teaching is not as rigid as other teachers.

Most teachers start their students by familiarizing themselves with the articles, but the meaning of the articles is not explained in detail; Zhou Fu likes to tell stories.By telling stories to guide Baoyu to learn, so as to thoroughly understand the content of this article.Baoyu is clever and often can understand the article thoroughly after three or four times. Zhou Fu also likes this student when he sees that Baoyu is studious;

The flower hall allocated by Jiamu to Baoyu last year has also undergone tremendous changes after the new year.On the other side of the flower hall, there was a thatched cottage, and a vegetable shed and a pergola were set up in the open space in front of the cottage.

In front of the thatched hut stood a house signboard written in three big characters: "Dongliju."

Since Mr. Zhou entered Jia's mansion, Jia Zheng respected this scholar very much and left the best guest courtyard in the mansion for Zhou Fu to live in; but Zhou Fu couldn't walk after seeing Baoyu's flower hall.

Zhou Fu is a person who advocates the pastoral scenery of "picking chrysanthemums under the eastern fence and seeing Nanshan leisurely". Before he entered Jia's mansion, he had heard Lin Ruhai mention Baoyu's talent in planting.

But when Zhou Fu saw it with his own eyes, Zhou Fu realized that Lin Ruhai was quite modest when he said this.

Now that the first month has passed, the weather is still very cold; but this flower hall actually opened a small flower field.If it wasn't for the biting cold wind reminding him all the time, Zhou Fu thought he was in spring for a moment.When Zhou Fu returned to the yard arranged by Jia Zheng, he felt itchy for a while, and he also planted some precious jade in the yard, and cultivated his sentiments, but he always felt... not very energetic.

Every day after class, Baoyu excitedly ran to the flower hall, and there was always a person not far behind him, Zhou Fu.From the initial wait-and-see state to actually hoeing a few times with Baoyu, Zhou Fu had an idea in his mind.Zhou Fu euphemistically told Jia Zheng what he meant. Although Jia Zheng didn't understand, he still satisfied Zhou Fu's wishes.

The appearance of the flower hall now is not at all similar to that of the flower hall.The original fences have been knocked down, and without the fences, the stretches of flower fields receive more sunlight, and there are more grass huts in the middle of the fields on both sides.

On the day the cottage was built, Zhou Fu moved in.Zhou Fu is at ease, but Pearl, who was assigned by Jia's mother to manage the flower hall, is in trouble.Now that Zhou Fu lives here, Pearl can no longer follow her own temper as in the past.

In the first few days when Zhou Fu moved here, Pearl was cautious; but after a long time, seeing that Zhou Fu was easy-going and friendly, Pearl let go and called Zhou Fu respectfully.Zhou Fu sees Pearl's cuteness, and sometimes teaches Pearl to read some words.

Baoyu planted potatoes years ago, and now that the snow has gradually melted away after the first lunar month, the potatoes have also begun to sprout slowly.

As the weather gradually warmed up, the potatoes grew faster, and Baoyu had already harvested the first wave before the beginning of summer.

Pearls follow Baoyu.Turn the potatoes out of the ground with a hoe, and there are many round bumps growing on the green dwarf roots.The outermost layer of those round bumps seems to be covered with a thin layer of skin. These bumps are of different sizes, some are as big as steamed buns, and some are like sparrow eggs.

Zhou Fu also stood behind the two with his hands behind his back, looked at the lumps dug out by the pearls and asked, "Baoyu, are these things famous?" , his eyes were full of brilliance: "This is called a potato, it is delicious! Teacher, you can also call it a potato, it is a very delicious food."

Potato?Beans in the soil, the name is apt.With some doubts, Zhenzhu pulled a potato from the root and sniffed it under his nose. It smelled like earth!Pearl weighed the potato in his hand again, but the potato was said to be round, but it was also full of uneven holes, which looked ugly.

After raising flowers for more than half a year, Pearl has developed a habit.

Good-looking things are useful and delicious!

Baoyu took Pearl and Zhou Fu to dig out all the potatoes in the field and sort them out.The division of labor between the three is very clear. Zhou Fu and Zhenzhu dig potatoes, while Baoyu pats off the clods of the good-looking potatoes and puts them in bamboo baskets in a relatively cool place; while the smaller ones are picked up by Baoyu. a basket.Zhou Fu was old, and he was a little tired after being busy for such a long time, so he went back to the thatched cottage to rest.

Baoyu carried it to the small kitchen.Since Qiuwen's cooking skills were recognized by Jia's mother, Jia's mother let someone set up a small kitchen alone; Qiuwen also learned herbal cuisine from Baoyu.The old lady was happy to accept Baoyu's filial piety.

Baoyu came to the small kitchen and shouted excitedly into the kitchen: "Qiuwen! I brought good things."

Autumn pattern stewed mutton today.Qiuwen specially chose the lamb leg with tender skin and meat. The meat of the lamb leg is soft and not fishy. It just happened to be over oiled and ready to be poured into a casserole for half a day.Seeing the small lump of soil in the bamboo basket, Qiu Wen asked, "Second Master, this is... your newly planted potatoes?" Pearl curled her lips, Second Master was biased!She planted these things with Baoyu every day, but the second master told Qiuwen first.

Qiu Wen's little hoof actually knew the name of this thing first!

Baoyu nodded, and poured the potatoes from the bamboo basket into a big basin; "Qiuwen, scoop up some water, let's wash them and eat them." Qiuwen looked left and right, what do you think of this thing? Nothing like eating.But since the second master said that it can be eaten, this thing must be edible!

Qiuwen has now become Baoyu's supporter, who is what Baoyu says.

Zhuzhu joined hands with Qiuwen to wash the soil on the potatoes to reveal the original appearance of the potatoes. Baoyu directed the two to take the skins of the potatoes, put the very small potatoes in a bowl, and picked out a few large ones; The autumn patterns are all cut into filaments and soaked in water.There was a pot on the stove, and vegetable oil was poured into it, and the pot of small potatoes was poured into it.

The sound of creaking came out from the iron pan, and Qiuwen pressed the potatoes very skillfully, and slightly flattened the small balls; after frying both sides until golden, sprinkle some wild fennel powder and Salt.After Qiu Wen scooped out a small plate of potatoes, the rest was sprinkled with the dried and ground devil pepper.

The spicy taste was so strong that Baoyu couldn't help but sneezed; Zhuzhu swallowed her saliva and looked forward to the fried potatoes in the pot.And the shredded potatoes. Pearl diligently fished out the shredded potatoes and wanted to pour out the muddy water, but was stopped by Baoyu; up.

"Master, is it possible that this water is still useful?" Qiuwen asked curiously.Baoyu proudly left a suspense and said: "There is a big baby in this water! Wait for it to dry for half a day, and then we will come again." The potato silk autumn pattern that was fished out was also ready to eat according to Baoyu's words.After several people were busy working all afternoon, Jiamu passed the meal.

Qiuwen was almost too busy on this side, so he asked the boy who picked up the dishes to bring all the dishes up.Jia Mu smelled a fragrance from a distance, and thought to herself, Qiu Wen, this girl learned some new dishes from somewhere; today is a lucky day.Baoyu was also full of expectations. Yuanyang put the green japonica rice in front of Jiamu and waited on it one by one. He lifted the cover and smiled at Jiamu: "Old ancestor, I heard from the girl Qiuwen that these dishes were all thought of by the second master Bao. It came out. Today, one of these dishes is newly planted by Master Bao, and I want you to taste it." Jia Mu glanced at Baoyu, and said happily, "It was your idea. , that must be unmistakable."

Wang Xifeng happened to come to Jiamu's courtyard to look for Jiamu. Just in time for Jiamu to have dinner here, she stayed to eat with Jiamu and Baoyu.

Jiamu looked at these dishes carefully, and each dish was different. Jiamu pointed to the dishes and said to Baoyu, "Baoyu, come and tell us what these dishes are?" Baoyu looked at the dishes made of potatoes. , Most of them he has never eaten, just looked at the picture given by Xiao Hua.Now it has been realized, and the glutton in Baoyu's belly has also been hooked.

Baoyu went back to Jiamu and said: "Grandma, these dishes are hot and sour potato shreds, potato roast pork, potato pancakes, fried potato cakes, and fried small potatoes..." Baoyu said all these foods without panting.

"Pfft—" Wang Xifeng laughed, "Don't embarrass brother Bao, my ancestor, brother Bao's saliva is almost dripping." Baoyu touched his chin subconsciously, huh?Nothing.

This appearance amused Jiamu, who loved Baoyu even more and said, "Eat quickly, my grandson." Baoyu took a piece of fried potato cakes and put them in Jiamu's bowl, urging; "Grandmother, eat while it's hot." " Jia Mu bit down on Baoyu's expectant eyes.

good!The batter is thin and crispy, and it tastes crunchy without being oily.There is such a sweet taste in the crispy shell, and this soft mashed potato suits the appetite of the elderly.

The stuffing is not only mashed potatoes but also minced meat, the taste of the two mixed together is wonderful!Mother Jia ate very happily. When Mother Jia finished eating the potato cakes, Baoyu took another piece of roast mutton and potato pieces and said happily, "Grandma will try this again." Jia Mu eats whatever she wants.

Wang Xifeng ate a piece of roasted mutton, the autumn grains were handled very well, the mutton was stewed to the right heat, it tasted fragrant but not greasy, and it was very soft; and the potatoes were soft and full of gravy.Wang Xifeng didn't eat much on weekdays, but today she ate a big bowl of rice filled with these vegetables; her belly was bulging.

Seeing that the few people had almost eaten enough, Yuanyang brought up several bowls of sour plum soup with hawthorn and sour plum for digestion; It's boring to eat other things." Wang Xifeng took the teacup from Yuanyang's hand and put it in front of Jiamu, saying: "Don't dislike me, old ancestor, allow me to come every day." Jiamu scolded with a smile: " You bastard settled down! Don’t talk about these empty words, just come here. Just pretend that I don’t know that you are here for the food.”

Wang Xifeng praised: "Brother Bao opened my eyes. The hot and sour potato shreds are crispy and sour, very appetizing; the thick and soft potatoes wrapped in soup and paired with freshly steamed hot rice are absolutely delicious. !"

Jia Mu was happy to hear others praise her Baoyu. After Baoyu had dinner with Jia Mu, she followed Wang Xifeng to find sisters to play with; it happened that Li Wan was there with Jia Lan.Baoyu loved this little nephew very much, and the fragrant and soft little dumpling didn't seem to avoid him at first; as soon as he saw Baoyu, he wanted Baoyu to hug him.

Baoyu is followed by Jialan, Tanchun and Xichun.Jia Lan was younger than Erchun, and couldn't do enough to push her to the outside. She could only blink her foggy eyes and look at Baoyu who was surrounded.

"Uncle Baoyu~" Xiaotuanzi waved at Baoyu on tiptoe, Xiaotuanzi couldn't squeeze Erchun and shouted: "Aunt Xichun, Aunt Tanchun, how can you bully Lan'er!" Erchun listened to Aunt Jialan, cooing Goo's call was rare, she turned around with folded hands and said with a stern face, "Who is aunt! I'm only one year older than you!" Jia Lan glanced at Li Wan, tilted her head and pointed her fingers, and said, "Mother said You are Daddy's younger sister, so aren't you Lan'er's aunt?" Wang Xifeng saw the three small groups forming a group and became playful after hearing what the three of them were discussing, and said seriously; "Is Lan'er right? Do it and keep the etiquette, but you two girls, Laner called so many aunts in the first month, why didn't you see you give him the New Year's money?"

The two little girls couldn't answer the question and remembered to turn around. Jia Lan took advantage of the gap and threw herself into Baoyu's arms; Lan shrinks her neck, but as soon as she lowers her head, she sees a piece of flower candy in Baoyu's open palm: "Lan'er, try this, it's very sweet." Baoyu peels off the candy wrapper carefully, and Jia Lan holds Baoyu's hand When the rose candy was eaten, it was like a cozy cat being plucked by Baoyu.

Erchun is jealous!This brat Jia Lan is too arrogant, I have to find an opportunity in the future to teach him what it means to respect elders.

Jia Lan was a little scared at first, but the bright smile of Uncle Baoyu behind him encouraged Jia Lan.

Aunt or something, let it go first.

Baoyu coaxed Jia Lan in his arms and said, "Little Tuanzi, grow up quickly."

When I grow up, I will go to the fields with my uncle.

Baoyu squeezed Jia Lan's soft face, and said like a little adult: "Lan'er, when you grow up, uncle will teach you to grow a lot of good things." Xiaotuanzi counted on his fingers; "But Uncle Baoyu Bilan My son is only three years older."

Baoyu patted Jia Lan's head seriously and asked, "Does Lan'er know how to hoe the ground? Do you know when it's suitable for sowing, how to get rid of insects, and how to graft?" Every time Baoyu uttered a new word, Jia Lan The worship of Baoyu has increased.

Jia Lan found that she seemed to know only the Thousand Character Classic and the Three Character Classic; while Uncle Baoyu knew a lot of knowledge.

Jia Lan raised her head and assured Baoyu: "Lan'er must study hard. Lan'er must follow the books that Uncle Baoyu has read."

Wang Xifeng's stomach ached from laughing listening to the words of these small groups.

On the second day, Baoyu slipped into the small kitchen early in the day when she had a rest day.The potato water that settled overnight last night, the water in the upper layer became clearer.

Pearl and Qiuwen worked together to carry the potato water to the flower hall, and the water on the top layer is also good for watering flowers and vegetables.

After the water in the basin was emptied, Pearl let out a low sigh.

The bottom of the basin seemed to be covered with a layer of something, and the color of the thing was like ointment, which was similar to the pearl mud that was finely ground to make ointment.Baoyu knew that he had succeeded when he saw the white paste ball.

Baoyu scooped the dough into a pre-prepared earthen pot and set it on charcoal to dry on a low fire. The dough slowly agglomerated and turned into a fine powder with a twist of hands.Seeing this strange powder for the first time, Qiu Wen asked, "Second Lord, is this potato also a kind of wheat?"

Qiuwen stretched out her hands and twisted it, but found that the powder was actually a little different.

"This is potato starch. In fact, it can be used to make dumplings like flour." Baoyu took ordinary potato starch and put it in a bowl. The flour was mixed into a thin dough.Pearl was warming a pot of hot water according to Baoyu's instructions, and Mingyan also came over, holding a wooden ladle in her hand.

"Second Master, Mingyan carved out what you wanted." Mingyan waved the wooden ladle in his hand, Pearl and Qiu Wen took a closer look, only to find that the bottom of the wooden ladle was drilled with a finger-thick round hole.

Baoyu put half of the thin noodle balls into the wooden ladle, and patted the wall of the wooden ladle lightly with one hand; the noodle balls leaked down along the round hole; The vermicelli slid down from the round hole and set its shape as soon as it entered the water.After a while, there were many thin and long potato flour in the pot.A shadow appeared above the pot, Baoyu looked up and saw Zhou Fu holding a plate of washed vegetables very familiarly.

"I found these dishes, and they should taste good when stewed with this powder." Zhou Fu was not at all embarrassed, and handed the dish to Qiuwen.

Qiu Wen stewed the vegetables with potato flour according to the degree of ripeness of the vegetables, and then added a few pieces of sausage with the hot and sour soup base; the taste is very fragrant.

The potato flour is almost cooked, and the autumn pattern is served for several people.Zhou Fu held his own bowl and sipped the noodles. The noodles looked like noodles, but the taste was softer and more chewy than noodles. The hot and sour taste made people sweat immediately after eating it. Full of vigor.Zhou Fu quickly finished a bowl and before Qiu Wen asked, he filled another bowl on his own initiative.

This hot and sour potato powder tastes more delicious.

Zhou Fu finished eating the hot and sour noodles in his hand, belched contentedly, and asked, "Baoyu, do you have any potatoes left? If so, let's try this potato noodles." Zhou Fu thought for a while, and now This solar term is almost beginning of summer; Zhou Fu wondered that the potatoes were abnormal, and asked, "Baoyu, when did you plant these? Although I don't know how to plant, I also know how to sow in spring and harvest in autumn."

The little greedy cat Baoyu gulped down the potato powder in his mouth, and then replied: "Teacher, Baoyu planted these potatoes before winter last year; potatoes like cold; after a winter, sprouts will be ready before the beginning of summer." It’s a good harvest.” Baoyu put down the bowl in his hand and said, “Actually, if the potatoes are in good season, you can harvest them twice a year. Potatoes can be used not only as vegetables but also as pasta.”

Zhou Fu stroked his beard and asked, "You mean, can these potatoes be eaten as food?" Baoyu nodded, "Not only that, but these potatoes are also easy to grow, just cut them into pieces, wrap them in ashes and bury them in the soil. Just wait for it to germinate.” The more Zhou Fu heard it, the more incredible the potato was.

Zhou Fu had an idea, the northern part of the country was very cold; the output is not high on weekdays, and Baoyu's method of making potato powder, Zhou Fu heard a rough idea, if the potato powder is preserved properly, it can be stored for a while.

Zhou Fu went back to the field where potatoes had been planted. From the top, there were only ordinary green leaves, but on a plant that was pulled out, there were many potatoes hanging like copper bells.

Zhou Fu had an idea in his mind, and he wanted to write down this idea immediately and tell Lin Ruhai; Zhou Fu put down the bowl and chopsticks, went into the thatched cottage, wrote a letter and sent it to Lin Ruhai in a hurry.

Lin Ruhai was dealing with those salt merchants at this time, so busy that he was dizzy.It is not an easy job to inspect salt censors, Lin Ruhai looked at the secret letter on the desk again.

The letter mentioned that the northern region is extremely cold, and that the winter season has not yet passed, so there may be another shortage of food this year. "Master, a letter from Jia's Mansion in the capital." Lin Ruhai rubbed his swollen forehead and spread the letter.After flirting a few times, he hurriedly asked, did you send something along with the letter? "

The servant replied with a strange expression: "My lord, there are indeed, but the thing is not only strange in appearance, but also covered with dust." Lin Ruhai hurriedly said to the boy: "Quick! Get those things and let them go." Let me see!" Seeing Lin Ruhai's agitated expression, the boy felt that the thing was unusual; his pace was faster, and he carried the bamboo basket over in less than half a moment.

After Jia Min took a break, Daiyu didn't want to study with Jia Yucun, so she came to look for Lin Ruhai accompanied by Xueyan.

When Daiyu entered the room, she happened to meet the boy who was out of breath carrying a bamboo basket into the study. Daiyu followed behind and saw the servant dump the contents of the bamboo basket on the ground.A round lump rolled out of the bamboo basket and rolled to Daiyu's feet.

Daiyu picked up the lump curiously, and asked, "Father, where did this thing come from?"