[Seven-five] Sunflowers are warm

It was the first time for Zhan Zhao to see Xu Xiangyang so excited. After he promised her to go back to pay homage to her parents, she kept smiling for two consecutive days.Facing him, she was also a little less cautious.The night before his departure, Zhan Zhao came back early on purpose.Xu Xiangyang greeted him with a smile, chattering about the family affairs.

Now Zhan Zhao's food and daily life are all taken care of by her, and what she rambles on is nothing more than these trivial matters.The weather is getting warmer now, and Zhan Zhao is not afraid of the cold, so she helped him tidy up his clothes today.Thick winter shirts are put in the box, find out the clothes to wear in spring and summer.Due to the large temperature difference between morning and evening, she still left two thin jackets outside.These are neatly arranged in order for him to access.

Zhan Zhao looked at him, smiled without saying a word, did she think he was a three-year-old child?I don't know hot or cold.However, it is undeniable that it is really convenient to be so neat and clear at a glance.If he is himself, at most he will just fold them neatly, so he won't have to rummage through them.

Xu Xiangyang said: "I'll go back for about four or five days. You go out early and come back late, and you have heavy business. Now you have a difficult case. I'm afraid it will be difficult to eat on time. I made some snacks. If you come back at night and you are hungry, you can have some snacks." .” After finishing speaking, he pointed to a plate of snacks on the table.Zhan Zhao looked at it, and couldn't help being a little puzzled, Dim Sum?Why is it still in a beautiful purse?I approached and took one. The purse was light and elegant in color. It was the fabric I bought on the road last time.When I opened it, I found that there were snacks carefully wrapped in oiled paper.

Seeing that he was puzzled, she smiled and said: "It's rainy in April, and the humidity is heavy. If you leave it directly, it will easily get damp and lose its taste, so I specially wrapped it in oiled paper. I made clothes for Bao'er and left the cloth head, so I just took it." It is used as a pouch for snacks, and it is convenient to put it in the pouch and take it out.”

"Young lady is ingenious." Zhan Zhao said with a smile, although he didn't need to bother so much for his own household, how could a piece of dim sum not be eaten?Where ordinary people are so particular, she always surprises people in the subtleties.However, such attention to detail really makes people look comfortable.He weighed the dim sum in his hand, "I'll take a few pieces tomorrow."

Xu Xiangyang blushed a little from his praise, and pointed to the small rattan box beside him, "There are still some inside." He opened it, and the snacks inside were neatly arranged, "The ones on the left are sweet, and the ones on the right are salty. All the dishes on the outside are salty." I was away for a few days, and I had to trouble Mrs. Wang to take care of the chickens, so she made some more and sent them to her.Zhan Zhao didn't like sweet things, so he left more salty things for him.

Zhan Zhao is an informal person, these things are trivial to him, but her kindness still warms his heart.Even if it is him, he is very touched by someone who cares and takes care of him like this.In a trance, she unknowingly infiltrated his life, timid eyes, thin and busy figure, occasional stubbornness and quiet and shy smile, all of which penetrated into his heart and became her symbol.

After talking about these trivial matters, she smiled, "Let's eat hot pot today, I specially asked Brother Guan to make a mandarin duck hot pot." In fact, they also had hot pot once in winter, but it's the same now and then. It's different.Now in mid-April, all kinds of green vegetables have come out, and the dishes are richer than in winter.

Zhan Zhao was a little surprised when he saw the mandarin duck pot. It was a mandarin duck pot, half white soup and half red soup, which made people's eyes brighten and their appetite greatly increased.Even the table for eating hot pot is specially made, with a hole dug in the middle and a stove under it, which is much more convenient.Xu Xiangyang explained: "The table was worn out from the kitchen. I saw some damage in the middle, so I asked for it. I also asked Brother Guan for help. It is convenient to eat the pot after changing it. He is polite and doesn't charge for it. , I asked him to come and eat the pot together, it should be here soon."

Guan Xu was enthusiastic and dexterous, and helped to remove the old paint from the tabletop and polish it.The hole in the middle also helped to find another piece of wood to match, and a hidden bolt was added at the bottom, and it was patched when the pot was not eaten, and it was a complete table.Xu Xiangyang liked it very much, but Guan Xu refused to accept the money anyway, saying that if it was counted in this way, would Bao'er's clothes also be counted as money?No way, the money for the table is forgotten, and the money for the pot must be given.

In addition to Guan Xu, they also called Wang Chao's family.Ma Han, Zhang Long, and Zhao Hu couldn't come because of official business.When the time was almost up, Xu Xiangyang put the small stove under the table, and after a while, the soup began to bubble and release its aroma.As soon as the bottom of the pot was opened, the guests came to the door one after another. The first one to arrive was Guan Xu. He had a loud voice and said at the door: "Brother Zhan, Miss Xu."

Zhan Zhao and Xu Xiangyang rushed out to greet her. Guan Xu walked in with Bao'er in one hand and a jug of wine in the other.Seeing the two, he said, "Bao'er, quickly say hello to Uncle Zhan and Aunt Xu." Xu Xiangyang reached out to take Bao'er, and said with a smile, "I haven't seen you for a few days, and Bao'er has grown up again."

Now that Bao'er has been brought up white and fat, she is very pleasing, even Zhan Zhao can't help reaching out to tease her.I sighed a little in my heart, if Guan Xu hadn't appeared suddenly, this little girl would probably be his adopted daughter.The three of them were about to go in at the door, and the Chao family followed suit.Sister-in-law Wang also praised Bao'er repeatedly when she saw Bao'er. No one doesn't like the pink and tender baby.A pair of sons and daughters of Mrs. Wang also gathered around to see Bao'er.Especially for a little girl like Yan Zhen who loves Bao'er so much, Bao'er's smile softened her heart, and she couldn't help but said, "Aunt Xu, can you give me a hug?"

Complacent, Guan Xu said with a smile, "My Bao'er is blessed to be loved by so many people." Sister-in-law Wang carefully let her daughter hold Bao'er, and said to Guan Xu with a smile on her face: "Brother Guan, these are my sons and daughters. Tell the truth, tell the truth." Guan Xu repeatedly praised the two children for being cute and smart, no parents would not like their children being praised, and the atmosphere was harmonious for a while.

Because it is eating hot pot, the prepared dishes have also been washed and prepared. Everyone sits together, and the small round table is immediately surrounded by a reunion, which is very lively.The bottom of the soup in the pot had already been bubbling with aroma, and it was full of aroma as soon as they entered the room. After everyone sat down, Guan Xu couldn't help but said: "That day, the girl asked me to make a mandarin duck pot, and I was still thinking about how to use it, so it turned out to be like this. , one red and one white is strange to look at. The smell of this soup base is also very different, fragrant! Really fragrant!"

Sister-in-law Wang was also about to say something, so she answered the question, "Miss Xu's cooking skills are nothing to say, she cooks exquisitely. Tell me, how did you make this soup? It's so delicious."

Hearing this, Zhan Zhao also had a smile on his face, Xu Xiangyang was now recognized by everyone, and he was also happy for her.Xu Xiangyang brought over the dishes from another table, and said: "The soup base is all bone broth, I have boiled it all day. Added onion, ginger, garlic, cinnamon, grass fruit, fennel seeds, aniseed , dried shiitake mushrooms. Chili sauce and dried chilies are added to the red soup.”

Sister-in-law Wang scooped the soup with a spoon, and sure enough there were a lot of ingredients underneath. She was startled and said, "There are so many, no wonder it smells delicious. Among other things, it takes a lot of effort to boil the bone soup for a day."

"I'll write the recipe to you later, everyone is hungry now, let's eat first, then the side dishes." Xu Xiangyang brought over the dishes one by one, calling everyone to be polite.Everyone is familiar with it, and they are not polite, and they start to move one after another.

Guan Xu opened the wine jar and drank with Zhan Zhao and Wang Chao.Sister-in-law Wang came forward with her wine glass, "I'm happy today, pour me some too." Guan Xu poured half a glass for her with a smile, then turned to Xu Xiangyang, "Miss Xu can have some."

Xu Xiangyang shook his head, "I'm not very good at drinking." Guan Xu nodded without forcing, and turned to chat with Zhan Zhaowang.Xu Xiangyang had already prepared rice cereal for Bao'er, so he carried Bao'er over and fed him slowly.Chatting on the table, I somehow got to the case.Xu Xiangyang couldn't help looking up, Zhan Zhao frowned again.

Wang Chao took a sip of his wine, "The murderer must have been stalking the deceased for a long time, maybe he was an acquaintance. Otherwise, how could he enter the deceased's room accurately? We checked the doors and windows and found no damage. It doesn't look like he was drugged. According to the little servant Shuanzi, after the murderer alerted their master and servant, he stabbed his master several times, frightening him so much that he dared not speak, and then the murderer also stabbed him several times."

Zhan Zhao went on to say: "It should be done by an acquaintance. There is no flipping in the house, and other gold and silver artifacts are also missing, except that a box of precious stones is missing. If it is an ordinary theft, why don't you take gold and silver?"

Guan Xu frowned and thought for a while, "I think this box of precious stones is priceless, isn't this box small? Can you take it away with your own strength?"

"Yeah, a box of gems sounds scary. Is it a small box or a big box? Is it gems or jewelry? If you don't know, how can you check? If it's gem jewelry, no one has ever seen it. Change it to another place and treat it as you like." Who will know." Wang's sister-in-law also interjected, Wang Chao sighed every day when he went home, saying that the case was tricky, and when asked him, he said that women don't understand, it's really urgent.

Zhan Zhao's face darkened, "According to Shuanzi, it's a big box with a square of two feet. As for the contents inside, he has never seen it before. He only heard from the master that it is a precious stone. As for the murderer, he didn't know that his face was covered. who is it."

"Such a big box is full of stones. It is not light. There should be accomplices." Guan Xu felt that the case was really tricky, and there were accomplices who responded, and he might have escaped already.

The atmosphere was dull for a while, Xu Xiangyang quickly changed the topic, "Look for clues slowly, and solve the case also pay attention to the right time, place and people. With so many gems revealed, there will always be news."

Zhan Zhao's expression softened, "What I said is, don't talk about these things during meal time." He said and took Bao'er over, "I'll hug her, you hurry up and eat something."

Sister-in-law Wang quickly agreed and said yes, bloody cases will not be discussed at the dinner table.Everyone changed the subject, and when they heard that Xu Xiangyang was going back to pay homage to his parents, they talked about her natal home in Shangjie Village.Kaifeng City in Shangjie Village is only an hour and a half away, and it takes less than half a day to hire a carriage.Surrounded by mountains on three sides, Shangjie Village is considered affluent.As for the situation of Xu Xiangyang's family, no one really knows.At the beginning, Zhan Zhao only donated a few taels of silver, but what happened afterwards was a mess, and he didn't bother to understand it.Now the situation is improving, but it coincides with a murder case, and he can't accompany her.

Xu Xiangyang had changed people a long time ago, and he didn't know where Shangjie Village was. He only had some idea after hearing what Zhan Zhao said.Seeing her like this, Zhan Zhao was really worried about letting her go back, but she said that she grew up there and would not travel on business, so Zhan Zhao reluctantly agreed, but he did not forget to tell her to be careful in everything.

After the guests dispersed, Zhan Zhao went back to the main room to see her busy clearing the table, and gave her a hand.Xu Xiangyang hurriedly said, "I'll do it." Zhan Zhao smiled and said, "Why can't I help you? It's okay."

The two cleaned up the table together, Xu Xiangyang wiped it several times to make it spotless, and spread the tablecloth folded aside.A long strip of calico was pressed on the plain light blue linen, which instantly brightened the eyes.He helped her move the table to the window. This place has good lighting, so it would be suitable for her to do needlework here.

The next day, Zhan Zhao personally sent her to the carriage, not forgetting to tell her to be careful, and Xu Xiangyang kept telling him to be careful when investigating the case.Although there were all kinds of unhappiness ahead, after nearly half a year of running-in, those pasts seemed to fade away.When the carriage disappeared from sight, Zhan Zhao turned and left.