Great Imperial Merchant

It is said that although Yang Zhongyuan has only rented this shop for half a year, the house has been kept clean and tidy by him and Zhou Quanxu and his son. Cheng Weizhe had entered the empty main house when he was helping Kangmi before, but now that he came in, he suddenly felt a change too big.

Yang Zhongyuan put the dilapidated desk in the yard into the room that had nothing at first. Now, except for the bag of rice flour by the window, many other vegetables and ingredients are placed on the desk.

Yang Zhongyuan picked up a basket from the ground and handed it to Cheng Weizhe, then picked three carrots, a handful of celery, and a cauliflower and put them into the basket, then he stood there and thought for a while, then took out another bowl from the cloth bag in the corner Peanuts come.

Cheng Weizhe kept silently watching his movements, and waited until he had finished taking them all before he said, "That's all? Is there a little less?"

"Let's try to make these first. Judging from today's business, tomorrow will not be able to pass sixty or seventy bowls. One small dish for one person. If there are too many, you will not be able to ask for it the next day."

It's true that Yang Zhongyuan is very particular about cooking, so if he asked him to leave the cold dishes overnight, it would definitely not work.

Yang Zhongyuan thought for a while, then took two tomatoes, a handful of green vegetables and a small piece of lotus root and put them into the basket. Finally, he grabbed a piece of fat and thin pork belly, and followed Cheng Weizhe out of the house.

Cheng Weizhe tried his best to think about all the ingredients, but in the end he couldn't figure out why: "Xiao Yuan, shall we have fried pork with cabbage tonight?"

Yang Zhongyuan glanced at him, then shook his head inscrutablely.

Cheng Weizhe turned his head and curled his lips secretly, muttering in a low voice, "Anyway, if you don't tell me, you have to give me something to eat at night."

Yang Zhongyuan, who was walking behind, heard it, and couldn't help raising the corners of his mouth, and even his mood improved.

When the two returned to the courtyard, Yang Zhongyuan brought the big basin that he usually used for washing vegetables, and put all the vegetables in it for Cheng Weizhe to clean well. It's not like Cheng Weizhe hasn't done this job in recent years, but he obediently pulled a small bench over. , began to clean quickly: "Don't worry, the little ones will eat this bowl of rice, and they will be washed clean."

Seeing that he was playing tricks again, Yang Zhongyuan couldn't hold back the serious expression on his face, and laughed out loud.He squatted aside and watched Cheng Weizhe wash the vegetables for a while, and saw that he was doing it seriously, so he went back to the shop in front and put the fat and thin pork belly on the chopping board.

For dinner, he planned to make boiled meatballs.

He did not learn this ball of boiled meatballs from the palace, but the exclusive craftsmanship of Zhao Zhong, the master of the Yang family. Yang Zhongyuan loved eating it very much when he was a child. Home-cooked dishes with the same taste are at your fingertips.

For meatballs, you should choose good pork belly, which is seven parts thin and three parts fat. The minced meat will be fragrant but not greasy, and the soup is delicious. It is a very refreshing soup in summer.

He took out a special meat chopping knife from the drawer of the desk, and began to chop the minced meat with a "thud, thump, thump".

For the work in the kitchen, he first did the washing, washing vegetables and dishes and cleaning the kitchen. This work was the simplest, but the most tiring.Later, he was promoted to Omiyaren, and his performance has been good, so he was able to cut a hole.As the name suggests, Qiedun is a side dish for cutting vegetables, and minced meat is the most common job in Qiedun.

He has been cutting piers for the longest time, so his knife skills are also the best of all crafts.The minced meat he chops himself is always delicate and soft, whether it is making meatballs or stuffing, it can achieve the best taste.

At that time, the reason why he studied this most attentively was because his father Zhou Quanxu loved to eat buns and dumplings the most.

Sitting in the yard washing vegetables, Cheng Weizhe looked up and saw that he was chopping meat with concentration. From his angle, he could see the sweat from Yang Zhongyuan's temple hair flowing down his cheeks to his neck, and finally disappeared into light blue in the collar.

He subconsciously grabbed a handful of carrots in his hand, feeling that the weather was getting hotter for no reason.

Yang Zhongyuan chopped the stuffing very fast. After a while, the whole piece of pork belly turned into pink and white meat stuffing. He put down the knife, picked up the clean handkerchief beside him and wiped the sweat from his face. Turning his head, he saw Cheng Vijay was staring at him blankly.

Somehow, Yang Zhongyuan's face suddenly burst into hot flashes, he glared at Cheng Weizhe, and scolded: "What are you looking at, wash the vegetables quickly."

"Okay, it's all right, just run through the water again." Cheng Weizhe looked away, got up and changed another basin of water.

Yang Zhongyuan did not continue talking to him, but reached out to take soy sauce and sesame oil from the shelf, added a little to the minced meat respectively, and then sprinkled a spoonful of salt into it, after putting all these away, Yang Zhongyuan hastily stirred the minced meat with chopsticks , lightly licked the tip of the chopsticks.

The taste in the mouth was neither salty nor bland, so Yang Zhongyuan nodded with satisfaction, took the onion and ginger that had been kept aside and finely chopped them, and finally put them into the minced meat and stirred them evenly.

It only takes a moment for the minced meat to be marinated. Yang Zhongyuan put the big bowl with the minced meat aside, washed his hands with the water on the side, and then walked into the yard.

Cheng Weizhe's speed was also very fast. When Yang Zhongyuan passed by, he only had the last two tomatoes in his hand: "Okay! Master, I have successfully completed the task."

Yang Zhongyuan picked up the lotus root from the clean basin, then reached out and patted Cheng Weizhe's head: "Well done, reward!"

After all the work was done, Cheng Weizhe naturally had nothing to do. He entered the shop with a basin, and then sat aside to watch Yang Zhongyuan chop up the lotus root.

There was only this little lotus root left in the house. Yang Zhongyuan cut it and asked, "Do you remember eating meatballs at night?"

Cheng Weizhe thought for a long time before he remembered that he had eaten this dish at Yang Zhongyuan's house when he was a child. Although his memory was a bit fuzzy, the crispy and delicious taste of the meatballs still seemed to remain between his lips and teeth: "Remember, Xiao Yuan, you will also eat this dish. Do?"

Speaking of this, Yang Zhongyuan was a little proud again, he raised his chin slightly, and then said: "That's right, don't look at who I am, as long as the ingredients are not too complicated, I can make it after I taste it, just look at it .”

Since the reunion, Yang Zhongyuan has always been very decent, sensible and polite. Only at this time can Cheng Weizhe see the shadow of the proud and mischievous Xiao Yuan in him.

This is also very good, Cheng Weizhe believes that with him and Uncle Quan's company, Yang Zhongyuan will gradually become cheerful, and those seemingly lingering haze will disappear, leaving only him who is always happy.

Cheng Weizhe remembered his plan and said, "Xiao Yuan, I'm going to the outer city tomorrow, so I won't come back for dinner."

"Oh, what are you going to do?" Yang Zhongyuan kept moving his hands, and after a while the round lotus root turned into finely chopped lotus root.

"The new season's tea is coming out again. I'll go buy some and bring back some new tea for the teahouse." Cheng Weizhe got up and poured a cup of warm water, and gulped it down.

Yang Zhongyuan looked back at him and asked: "It's really hot now, I put more lotus root in the meat stuffing, so it doesn't taste so greasy, okay?"

Hearing Yang Zhongyuan ask his opinion, Cheng Weizhe felt something warm in his heart, he said: "You cook, you make up your mind, no matter what you do, I think it tastes good."

Yang Zhongyuan nodded, wiped the white lotus root on the generous kitchen knife, and added all the lotus root into the meat, and then stirred again.

After doing this, the ingredients for the evening are almost ready. Yang Zhongyuan cleaned the counter and the kitchen knife again, diced carrots and celery, and processed the cauliflower into small pieces.Originally, the ingredients didn't seem too much, but when all the ingredients were added to the pot, it would look like a lot.Cheng Weizhe made a rough calculation, and the side dishes for the whole day tomorrow are just enough.

"You are amazing, this can be counted clearly." Cheng Weizhe couldn't help sighing.

Cheng Weizhe praised him several times this afternoon, and Yang Zhongyuan couldn't help but feel a little flustered, so he continued: "Of course, it doesn't matter how long I've been cutting the pier."

What he said was really unintentional. As soon as he said it, he immediately reflected it and shut his mouth immediately.

For a moment, the shop fell into silence.

Yang Zhongyuan felt uneasy, he didn't know if Cheng Weizhe heard it clearly, and he didn't know if he knew what Qiedun meant, but in his heart, he didn't want Cheng Weizhe to know about this past, so he struggled thinking about how to explain it, how to explain it. Get away with it.

He secretly glanced at Cheng Weizhe from the corner of his eye, seeing him lower his head and playing with the teacup in his hand, as if he didn't hear what he said just now.

In this deep silence, Yang Zhongyuan felt as if his heart was going to burst out of his throat. He only felt that the kitchen knife in his hand seemed to be as heavy as gold, and even he, who had been a cook for several years, couldn't hold the knife. handle.

Cheng Weizhe lowered his eyes, his dark pupils quietly staring at his own reflection in the teacup, all he thought about was what Yang Zhongyuan said just now.

He heard it clearly, and he also knew what Qiedun meant.Originally, Yang Zhongyuan's top culinary skills made him very puzzled, but now that he said it himself, Cheng Weizhe felt that the truth seemed not so important.

Perhaps, he just left home to learn cooking skills. Daliang did not discriminate against craftsmen and artists like the previous dynasty. As long as he could make a name in the industry, no matter what he did, he would be respected by others.

There is nothing wrong with being a cook.Now that Yang Zhongyuan is so serious about eating, even he feels that he is sincerely working hard for such a career, which deserves his admiration.

why not?A down-to-earth person who works diligently for his dreams is the one who is truly upright.

But Cheng Weizhe also knew that Yang Zhongyuan must have his own reasons for not wanting to talk about the events of the first few years, so why did he rush to ask?He believes that one day, Yang Zhongyuan will tell him everything by himself, and all he can do now is to wait patiently.

Cheng Weizhe lowered his head and smiled, then raised his head and said, "Xiao Yuan, when we leave here, can we grow tea ourselves?"

His topic changed so abruptly, Yang Zhongyuan breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time was vaguely lost in it.Regardless of whether Cheng Weizhe heard clearly or understood what he said, if he chose not to ask, he had already expressed his attitude.

Forget it, let's talk about these things later.

"You mean, let's buy a tea garden by ourselves?" Yang Zhongyuan tried to cheer himself up. He poured clean well water into the small pot and put it on a small iron stove to boil.

"Yes, we can only make our own tea cakes if we have our own tea garden." Cheng Weizhe said with a smile.

While waiting for the water to boil, Yang Zhongyuan turned his head and glanced at Cheng Weizhe.

The summer afternoon sunlight poured into the shop, making the floor glow. Cheng Weizhe sat lazily in the small shop, but he looked extraordinarily chic.His long hair is black and soft, and his eyes are dark and bright. When he looks at people, it seems that you are the only one left in the world, so focused and serious.