Dress to be a celebrity

"Master Huan has prepared wine and dishes, and wants to invite His Highness to come to the room to enjoy the moon and taste the taste of Hanzhong's Mid-Autumn Festival."

Mid-Autumn Festival?It's the third day of September. Mid-Autumn Festival?

"Poor night on the third day of September, the dew is like a real pearl and the moon is like a bow", what is the relationship between this thin crescent moon and the perfect mirror-like moon on August [-]th?Although August [-]th is not a good day to celebrate on the road, but if you want to enjoy the bright moon, why not wait until the full moon in mid-September?

The king of Zhou was a little confused, so Eunuch Xu hurriedly stepped forward to explain the reason—although he guessed it, it was probably not far from eight or nine. It was because Mr. Huan had just received the chrysanthemum wine brought by the prefect of Song Dynasty. , sweet-scented osmanthus, and food for the festival, invite their king to taste the taste of home.

Zhou Wang chuckled: "Our hometown doesn't..."

No—he was wrong.

What Uncle Huan wants to show off is not their taste in Beijing, but the taste of Xiaojia with Mr. Song.The reunion did not take place on August [-]th, but in September, the family sent us delicious food and wine. Whether it is a festival or not, we have to invite people to drink together, so that we can make up for the taste of reunion in the letter from home.

Well, as a sister-in-law, he occasionally enjoys the night with his uncle and brother, just to experience the warmth of Yue's family.

He asked Eunuch Xu to arrange for the kitchen to cook some delicate dishes, and then stepped into Huan Ling's room alone to accompany him to enjoy the moon, which is far away from the full moon on August [-]th or September [-]th.

Huan Ling's moon-watching banquet was quite well-arranged: there were freshly baked moon cakes that were warmed and softened, sweet-scented osmanthus cakes filled with sweet-scented osmanthus flowers, short cakes filled with steamed fresh chestnuts, and Fresh grapes, pomegranates, sand fruits, bright red persimmons bought from outside, as well as bergamot and citron placed on the display tray for people to enjoy and smell...

In addition to the difference in the moonlight in the sky, it is really the scale of the Mid-Autumn Festival.

King Zhou was a little envious of his fun, nodded and smiled and said: "This is also a family banquet, brother-in-law, please accompany Xiao Wang to the table."

Eunuch Xu waited for him to sit down, Huan Ling also sat down next to him, and cut mooncakes for him with a small silver knife.

When King Zhou saw the plate of moon cakes, his eyes lit up.

I don't know if they brought this mooncake from the south, but it is quite different from the ones made in the palace. The crust is not a layer of meringue, but a softer orange crust, which is extremely sweet.The cake was engraved with delicate patterns, and it was baked so moist and shiny.

The fillings are also very rich. In addition to the bean paste, jujube paste, green silk rose, five kernels, mincemeat and other fillings that he usually eats, there are several new mooncakes with meaty flavors:

One is the white lotus stuffing, which is white and soft, tastes like kidney beans but has a little more fragrance, and is wrapped in golden duck eggs.When the duck eggs and the filling of sand cotton are bitten together, the two tastes of sweet and salty are mixed on the tip of the tongue, which has a special flavor.There are also salty-sweet ham mooncakes mixed with five kernels of minced ham, a kind of fried meat floss mooncake, and when you cut it open, you can see golden silk-like floss falling from the separate sections.

He tasted that the fillings were also fresh, and the crust was also special. It was an excellent product that had never been seen in the palace. He unknowingly ate a few more pieces, tasted all the flavors he had never tasted, and praised: "Southern dim sum." It's really exquisite, and there's never been such a flavor in the palace. It's just that the smell is a bit strong, and you have to drink some tea to relieve the tiredness."

Huan Ling lowered his eyes and said with a smile: "Brother Song Xian asked the cook to figure it out. He is naturally a little greedy, so he can make some fresh food that is different from the previous ones."

Zhou Wang said with a smile: "Mr. Song is famous and romantic, how can he have no addictions? But although the moon cakes are exquisite, the materials used are ordinary. People can get what they can, but they are better than those who eat bamboo shoots and eat fish. Sanjiang shad and crabs must be Gucheng crabs...For the sake of satisfying the appetite, abandoning the king's relatives, traveling thousands of miles, and only wanting to taste the fresh and delicious delicacies, the crazy students understand the true meaning of food."

He had also heard that the scholarly families in the south of the Yangtze River and wealthy merchants often had more refined food than those in the palace.Those people don't hesitate to spend time and travel thousands of miles just to win the title of "Old Food" and imitate the unrestrained and free-spirited celebrities of the Wei and Jin Dynasties. What's the use in the world?

There are also some wealthy businessmen and celebrities in the south of the Yangtze River who think that they are rich and romantic, and laugh at the rough diet in the north. They only know meat, but they don’t know the real taste.

The palace usually only eats some common and easy things like cattle, sheep, chickens, geese, fish, bamboo shoots, etc., but they are afraid that the superiors will be rewarded, and some people from the lower levels will search for delicacies and send them to the palace in order to please them, which will waste gold and silver. It's nothing more than people's strength.

He took another piece of lotus paste mooncake with a small silver fork and ate it, and made a sincere comment: "Mr. Song is a true sage who cares about people's livelihood and economy after all. How can it be that those people who have done their best to make a name for themselves went to Zhongnan Short-cut pseudonyms."

When he was in the palace earlier, he also liked talented scholars who were honest and arrogant, who were not in harmony with the world; but when he went to Shaanxi to hone his skills, he realized that although talented scholars could talk about the world with him, they were still pragmatic celebrities. There are benefits.

Not to mention the opening of experimental fields in the countryside in the Song Dynasty to seek high yields, the construction of economic parks to accommodate refugees, the manufacture of refractory bricks and the reopening of commercial villages, etc. to benefit the people; How big is the difference between the palaces built?

After all, he was brought up in the palace with gold and jade since he was a child, no matter how frugal he is, he still prefers to be more considerate in terms of food, clothing, housing and transportation.If the father had not sent Mr. Song to be a local official, and if Mr. Song hadn't been a practical person, he would still be living in a government hotel that did not comply with regulations.

He thought about the benefits of Song Shi, and wanted to toast him a glass of wine, but he was not here, so he had to ask his uncle to drink instead.

Huan Ling drank the wine in one gulp, smiled more complacently than he had been praised, and thanked him: "The next official thanked His Highness for the praise on behalf of Song Shi. Shi Guaner... Song Xiandi is not for the praise of the world , just wholeheartedly seeking the well-being of the imperial court's hundred marriages, so the table gifts and letters brought from Hanzhong Mansion are also the most simple and unpretentious food."

Yes, just look at the moon cakes and chrysanthemum wine. Mr. Song is a caring person when it comes to food, and there may be some secret food recipes written in his family letter.

However, when my brother went out to Beijing, what he brought back was the "Parrot Song" that was spread all over the capital, as a gift of the mandarin duck ruler that he crafted with ingenuity; What teaser is hiding?

He was still young and curious, and he felt that Uncle Lang's friendship was no better than that of outsiders, so he simply asked him directly: "But I don't know what delicacies are written in Mr. Song's letter?"

It's not a delicacy, but Jiahe.

Huan Ling pushed away the cup on the table, rolled up his sleeves, dipped his fingertips in the chrysanthemum wine, and wrote the word "Jiahe" on the table upside down.Because it was not the Jiusuixiangrui Jiahe recorded in the history books, he changed "Jia" to "Jia"; he took out a cotton handkerchief in his sleeve and wiped away the criss-crossed watermarks, and wrote a big "Jia" backwards. Pick up three".

Looking at the changing handwriting on the table, King Zhou almost thought he had written white characters at first, but when he saw the word "Shisan" and thought of "Jiahe", a thought suddenly popped up in his mind that made him feel crazy.

Is he crazy, or is my uncle crazy, or is Mr. Song crazy?

Is there really a Jiahe that can bear thirteen ears in the world?

He was so excited that his body trembled slightly, and he raised his hand to tell the waiter who was holding the food table and waiting for the food to be served: "Put down the food and go out, you don't need to wait here. This king has something to say with Mr. Huan."

Thirteen Sui's excitement still remained in his chest, and he trembled a little when he spoke.

Eunuch Xu, who has always been the best at observing words and expressions, looked at his nervousness and thought that Song Shi's letter had conveyed something about the princess or the court. Find out how many high-quality old ginseng are in the medicinal materials we brought."

Although Mr. Huan had been talking and laughing all the time, suddenly his face was solemn, and their lord also showed nervousness. This fact made it hard for him to think about the good.

Eunuch Xu was thinking wildly outside, and King Zhou in the house was also wandering for thousands of miles, returning to the experimental field planted with black valleys at the foot of Tiantai Mountain in Hanzhong.The clumps of grass seedlings he saw that day seemed to be fatter than those in the nearby fields.There is a long stream of well water at the edge of the field to irrigate the canal, and what kind of fertilizer is mixed in the soil...

Although he didn't remember what the name of the fat was, he still remembered the field soil with a little black ash in the yellow that was picked up next to the waterwheel well in the Song Dynasty.

But the fertilizer is only about the same as farm manure, and it's not like adding some elixir, so it can really grow thirteen ears of Jiahe?

How come no one has been born before?

What uncle Cai just wrote is really Shisan Sui, isn’t it San Sui?

He raised his head with anticipation and nervousness, and asked in a slightly dry voice: "Is what my brother wrote just now true? Mr. Song really planted thirty ears of Jiahe?"

Thirty spikes?I'm afraid that Shi Guan'er didn't dare to think so high, could it be that he fell down just now, or the prince really...has great ambitions.

Huan Ling shook his head in a matter-of-fact manner: "It is written in my brother Song's letter that the one that grows the most ears is indeed the thirteen ears. It is a kind of indica rice called Xiaoxianggu grown in the experimental field by the Hanshui River."

No, the king didn't want to say thirty, it was just a slip of the tongue, one plant that can produce thirteen ears is enough!

He didn't even dare to think about Jiusui before.

His face was as red as white, and Huan Ling was afraid of his embarrassment, so he lowered his head and did not look at him, explaining seriously how Song Shi could lead Hanzhong farmers to grow such good rice:

Xiaoxianggu, Baimagu, and Cicinian are all fine varieties native to Hanzhong. The original yield is not low. In addition, the tillering fertilizer mixed with phosphate rock powder is applied early, and the tillering is early and the position is low. Most of them can grow Effective tillering of ears.After the one-month tillering period, the fields are dried in time to prevent ineffective tillers that do not grow ears in the back, so that more ears will be formed naturally, and the rice will grow vigorously.

Zhou Wang's complexion also gradually merged into a very rosy pink, his face was radiant, he got rid of the embarrassment, and there was only a sincere joy: "Humanity is blessed until today, and Xiao Wang only believes it now. This year I got this Jiagu , and soon Xiao Wang will have another child, wouldn't it be a good thing?"

Rice can be harvested in September and October, and his child should be born in September and October, so he seems to be a blessed child.

He didn't realize what he looked like now, but Huan Ling could see it clearly, and he could even see a little bit of the shadow of the current day on his face, and couldn't help being slightly startled——

They planted thirteen spikes of Jiahe at that time, and it was not a gift from heaven, but a good grain that could be obtained by manpower. When the news spread to the central and palace, it could be regarded as a major national event. he.Perhaps the Holy Majesty also loves to value his achievements, so he wants to recall him to Beijing?

That's all right.

Hanzhong is thousands of miles away, and the customs and accents are different from those in Beizhili, and the folk customs are aggressive and aggressive. It is not easy to be a magistrate here.Shi Guan'er has such a temperament that he doesn't want to spare his life for the country. He hasn't rested since he arrived in Hanzhong. How can this be the life of a young talent?

It’s better to go back to the Hanlin Academy, the official is noble, and the affairs are few, the family is accompanied by Master Taishan Taishui, brother and sister-in-law love, nephews and nieces are happy at the knees...

He subconsciously sighed: "It's better to go home."

The king of Zhou also recovered from his deep thoughts, and echoed, "Of course it's better at home. It's only a few dozen miles away, but it's a pity that we can't return without an edict."

Forget it, let someone fetch Jiahe first, and present it on the father's birthday, as a filial piety for him and the Hanzhong Mansion.No matter how much Ruihe is brought back to Yuanniang and Hai'er, it will be a sign of good luck after all.

He himself bears the emperor's order, so he should not move lightly, and pointed at Huan's brother-in-law to go to Beijing to visit the princess for him, so he had to arrange for Chu Changshi to go back to Hanzhong, and lead the troops to personally escort Jiahe to Beijing.

When they come back from Liaodong, Jiahe should also be brought back from Hanzhong. Maybe he can write a poem about this grain in time, and send it to the emperor together?

The world can learn from His Highness's filial piety, how can the husband and wife watch His Highness work hard?

Lord Huan stopped King Zhou, and said with a little pride and relief that he couldn't understand: "I have received several articles praising Shi Guaner's experimental field and experimental rice, all of which were written by Hanzhong students after they personally cultivated it. .Your Highness and Chen De left Hanzhong in June, and haven't seen how the fields work. Why don't you refer to the articles written by these students who have been in the fields?"

These students are the seeds of study recruited by the vocational school outside the Hanzhong Economic Park.In Song Dynasty, he was the sacrificial wine of Hanzhong Academy, and he also got the title of deputy priest. This group of students can actually be called his students.

It's not that he favors his own students, the articles Song Shi picked out from these children are indeed not bad... The experimental procedures are detailed and accurate, the data is rich, and they don't lose face to their teachers.