172, Chapter 172 (1/2)

When Yang Haiyan heard this, she was first surprised that Master Du had arrived. To be honest, she was really surprised. Then there was the nervousness. Whether she was facing the male protagonist, the female protagonist, or Wei Ting, she was never nervous. The hero and heroine were still teenagers at that time, and she didn't even feel the slightest bit nervous about it. It could be said that she didn't take it seriously. Of course, this kind of disdain does not mean to be dismissive, it means that she, a 2-8-year-old aunt, will not be afraid of young people under the age of 2-8, and she still knows the plot.

When facing Wei Ting and Manager Chi, she truly understood the existence of power. However, this is different from facing Duko. This is an old fox who has been in power for half her life in the novel. Her petty thoughts are not enough in front of him.

Therefore, how could Yang Haiyan not be nervous.

Speaking of which, in addition to being nervous, there is also a sense of expectation. Du Ke can be said to have celebrity effect for Yang Haiyan. As if she had traveled through a derivative novel of the Song Dynasty, she would be looking forward to seeing Bao Zheng. If she were transported into a Tang Dynasty spin-off novel, she would look forward to seeing Di Renjie

Although Du Ke, Bao Zheng and Di Renjie have different personalities, they do have similar meanings to Qi Guo. In other words, Du Ke and Di Renjie are closer. Du Ke is a very outstanding politician and military strategist.

In this way, can Yang Haiyan not be afraid and expectant?

"I know, I will arrange it. You go back to the general and ask him to rest assured." Yang Haiyan knew what Qin Fang meant, so she specifically told her that Master Du hadn't eaten yet, which meant she was told to hurry up and prepare the meal. .

Qin Fang valued Du Ke from the military camp. When they were in the military camp, they talked privately about the commander-in-chief. Du Ke proposed Wei Wu, and Qin Fang proposed Han Zhen. Qin Fang was also nervous at that time, fearing that Du Ke would disagree. But Duko didn't and listened to his analysis. At that time, Duko felt that this gentleman was different from those senior officials.

Later, when he arrived in Huanshui County, Du Ke was the imperial envoy. Qin Fang accompanied Du Ke and watched him solve the people's problems. At that time, he believed that Du Ke was a good official.

Later, Du Ke's reply was indispensable for his teachings and careful guidance. Qin Fang naturally felt Du Ke's intentions. As smart as Qin Fang, his feelings for Du Ke have changed from a high-ranking official, a good official, to the expectation of a good teacher and friend.

What made Qin Fang most happy was that Du Ke's letter this time talked about accepting disciples. In ancient times, teachers were like fathers and reborn parents. Qin Fang was born in a poor family, and his grandparents and parents could give him very little education and guidance, almost none. In his 22-year-old life, and even in most of his life, the person who can guide him must be his future teacher, that is, Du Ke. Therefore, Qin Fang respects him very much, just like his father.

Yang Haiyan understands the relationship between Qin Fang and Du Ke, so she will entertain Du Ke well. However, she was also curious and looking forward to Duko.

Aunt Lian said: "Master Du is here, we must entertain him well. Mr. Xiang, how shall we entertain him?"

Minister of the Ministry of War, third grade. He is not a minister, only a second grade scholar.

Even though Yang Haiyan is also a genuine country gentleman, this genuine third grade is completely different from Du Ke's genuine third grade. One is a title, which sounds nicer, and the other is real power.

Not to mention comparing Yang Haiyan, even if they are both high-ranking officials in the capital, there is still a difference. Even if they are both the third-grade ministers of the Sixth Department, there are differences.

Now that the emperor has ascended the throne for the first time, all kinds of powers are being consolidated. Among the six departments, the Ministry of War is the most important.

Yang Haiyan said: "Mommy, don't be nervous. Mr. Du is from the capital and comes from a noble family. What good things have you never seen? Why haven't you participated in a grand banquet? I'm afraid he's not even in the palace." We know the place. So, we can just be normal.”

Aunt Lian was also very anxious. After hearing that Yang Haiyan knew what was going on, she felt relieved. "Does Xiang Jun have a plan?"

Yang Haiyan smiled and shook her head: "Where do I have any rules? I thought, instead of spending too much time on this and that, let's do something real. I don't dare to guess what Mr. Du is thinking, but I think , Mr. Du must want to see the real us."

Aunt Lian didn't have any rules, so she could only say: "Listen to the Lord of the Country."

Yang Haiyan said: "Mommy, let's go to the small kitchen. Mr. Du immediately said, no matter how sumptuous the meal is, there is no time to prepare it. Let's stew an egg custard first to warm Mr. Du's stomach, and then serve some cold skin. By the way, ask Niu Da if he can pick out some good watermelons. It doesn't matter if they are half-cooked. "You can squeeze out half-cooked watermelons, or cut them into pieces and add some sugar." The taste is also good.

Aunt Lian said: "Old slave, go now."

Yang Haiyan thought for a while and then said: "You can go and tell your grandparents, and also talk to the children at home, so that the children will not collide with Mr. Du and Mr. Shen who came with him."

Aunt Lian: "Yes, I understand."

Yang Haiyan asked again: "Is there enough ice in the icehouse?"

Aunt Lian: "There are plenty of them, and they are replenished every day."

Yang Haiyan thought of ice and the iced mung bean soup inside, and then she thought of milk shaved ice. The taste is amazing. It's a pity that milk shaved ice is difficult to make. No matter whether it is stone ground or manually crushed, it can't make the silky feeling of modern milk shaved ice.

Grandma Lian went to the fruit garden to find Niu Da, and Yang Haiyan started making custard. Steaming egg custard is quick, only a quarter of an hour. ‌The custard is cooked and nestled in the pot, but Aunt Lian has not come back yet. When Yang Haiyan was about to go take a look, there was movement outside. Aunt Yu said at the door: "Xiangjun, the general has brought Mr. Du to the outer courtyard and sent someone to inform you."

Upon hearing this, Yang Haiyan hurriedly said: "I know, I'll change my clothes, and you go to the fruit garden and call Aunt Lian."

Aunt Yu: "Yes..."

Aunt Lian said at the same time: "Xiangjun, the old slave is back. Niu Xuan selected some watermelons and brought them with him."

When Yang Haiyan heard this, she didn't even bother to change her clothes. She looked at the watermelons picked by Niu Da and put them in the small basket. There were eight in total. Yang Haiyan said: "Choose four, wash them, and then freeze them. By the way, Aunt Lian, you follow me to the outer courtyard."

Aunt Lian: "Yes."

Yang Haiyan changed her clothes, washed her face, and then went to the outer courtyard with Aunt Lian.

outer courtyard

Qin Fang, Du Ke, and Shen Lixian were resting in the hall. They came all the way and were not only hungry, but also tired. Fortunately, there is ice in the hall to cool down, so I can take a breather. If it were normal times and there was no one in this hall, where would the ice be prepared? That is to say, saltpeter is now available for making ice, and saltpeter can be used repeatedly, so Yang Haiyan does not feel distressed when using ice.

Du Ke said: "This former Liang Prince's Mansion, now two years later, really no longer has the luxury and splendor of the Prince's Mansion." Apart from the size that can be seen with the naked eye, who can tell that this place It was once a royal palace.

Shen Lixian followed: "It's because General Qin is saving money, so it doesn't cost much money to repair the General's Mansion." Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the General's Mansion has hardly been repaired, and probably everything that does not fit the General's Mansion has been removed. Okay, let's patch up the leaky place.

Qin Fang said: "Thank you, Mr. Shen. This general's mansion is big and spacious. Qin has never lived in such a nice place in his life. This mansion is big and it will be very troublesome to repair, but there are many idle yards." They have all been demolished and converted into fruit gardens and vegetable gardens by Zhuo Jing. In the past, the vegetables eaten in the mansion were all picked from the vegetable garden, which was very convenient. Fortunately, the mansion was big. Otherwise it wouldn’t be enough for her to change.”

Du Ke laughed loudly after hearing this: "Xiang Jun is a wonderful man."

Shen Lixian was also curious about that person. From an ordinary girl to a general's wife, and then to a country king, Yang Haiyan's life was full of miracles.

"Thank you for your compliment. I don't dare to take it seriously. I'm just used to being lazy in the past. Thank you for your compliment." Yang Haiyan said as she walked in.

It's summer, and the woman in a goose-yellow skirt looks very young. Of course, she was only eight years old, so she was still young. For example, among those wives or women with titles in the capital, their appearance is relatively clean and refreshing, and they seem to have a lively temperament.

Yang Haiyan came in and gave a junior salute to the middle-aged man at the head: "Qin Yang's Haiyan has met you sir." They are both genuine, and Du Ke is Qin Fang's teacher, although the apprenticeship ceremony has not yet been held. , but Yang Haiyan’s courtesy as a junior couldn’t be more appropriate.

When Du Ke met Yang Haiyan for the first time, she was different from the shrewd woman he imagined. Although the Bingyun Township Lord was smart and smart, his eyes were clear and calm, and he looked at himself with curiosity and nervousness. He was not at all like the person who advocated the land policy of the military camp and the method of making ice with saltpeter. Duko originally thought that a woman who could advocate the land policy of the military camp and discover saltpeter to make ice was a shrewd woman, just like the grand women he had seen in the past.

But not the young woman in front of me. She is just like...an ordinary girl. No wonder a man like Qin Fang often talks about it. Speaking of it, there is an aura of agility in this girl.

Du Ke said: "We are all one family, no need to be polite."

Yang Haiyan stood up with a smile: "Thank you, sir." Then Yang Haiyan gave Shen Lixian a polite womanly salute, "Hello, Mr. Shen."

Shen Lixian raised his eyebrows: "Do you recognize me?" This question was a probing question. Logically speaking, this was the first time he came here, and the Bingyun Township Lord had never seen him before. So these words seem to be saying, did Mr. Du tell you something?

Yang Haiyan smiled and said: "I used to be the maid next to the Pearl of the Yang family. When I was with Miss Yang, I met Lord Shen." It doesn't matter if this is true, because there is really nothing wrong with Yang Haiyan's words.

Shen Lixian said: "That's it."

Qin Fang said: "Yanyan, the teacher and Mr. Shen have been waiting for me at the foot of Beast Mountain for two hours. I haven't eaten yet. Do you have food at home?"

Yang Haiyan said: "I have started to prepare when I sent someone to come, and I am ready now. However, today is an auspicious day. Teacher Ganqing and Master Shen specially chose today to come." She said while looking outside , "Someone, bring the food in."

Aunt Lian came in with someone carrying a lunch box.

Du Ke was quite curious and asked: "Why is it such an auspicious day when Li Xian and I come here?" Who doesn't like to hear good things? Especially when being praised by a clever little girl, just like being praised by a daughter, Du Ke felt a bit like a father.

Not to mention Du Ke, even Shen Lixian was curious.

Yang Haiyan said: "Because in half an hour, I discovered a kind of crop, which is a vegetable and can also be eaten as fruit. This kind of crop only takes two months from sowing to picking, and it is easy to grow."

When Du Ke heard this, he immediately became happy: "What a coincidence? This is indeed a happy event."

Yang Haiyan said: "I have already prepared this food, and I would like to ask Teacher and Master Shen to try it."

Mrs. Lian and the servants took out the steamed eggs and cold noodles from the lunch box.

Yang Haiyan said, "We were in a hurry, so we only made two kinds of food. Please forgive me, teacher and Lord Shen. The steamed eggs have cooled down, so you can let them cool down. The one on the plate is cold noodles made with sweet potato flour. The green shredded vegetables added to the cold noodles are the crops that can be used as vegetables and fruits, called cucumbers."

The steamed eggs are fragrant, and there are shrimps on top, which makes people's appetites open. And because the steamed eggs have cooled down a lot, not as hot as when they were just out of the pot, eating them with cold noodles will not cause stomach upset due to the cold or hot. Although it is a home-cooked food and a very common steamed egg, it is indeed more appetizing than big fish and meat. Who said that this summer is hot, and people's appetites are also much worse.

Du Ke took a mouthful of egg custard and the warm taste went from his mouth to his stomach. Moreover, this egg custard is not only delicious, but also bright in color, and has a soft and elastic texture. It's not like he hasn't eaten steamed eggs before, but the ones he usually eats at home are not as good as the ones in front of him, no matter how good they are in color, aroma and taste.

Du Ke ate a few mouthfuls of egg custard in a row, and then picked up his chopsticks to eat cold noodles. After a mouthful of cold noodles entered his mouth, Du Ke opened his eyes wide: "This tastes special and makes people very hungry." More importantly, it's cool, making people feel comfortable all over.

Shen Lixian agreed: "It's sour, did you add vinegar?"

Yang Haiyan said: "What Lord Shen said is right, vinegar is indeed added. In summer, everyone has no appetite, and acetic acid can stimulate the appetite."

Shen Lixian: "The county lord must be very knowledgeable about food, General Qin is really lucky."

The lucky General Qin said sourly at this time: "My wife only has guests in her eyes at this moment, and has forgotten me." He also wants to eat.

Everyone couldn't help laughing when they heard it. Even the taste is so natural, and there is only General Qin in the whole court.

When Yang Haiyan heard this, she really forgot about Qin Fang, and immediately said, "My husband, wait a moment, I will prepare it for you." Then, she bowed to Du Ke and Shen Lixian and left.

After Yang Haiyan left, Du Ke praised, "My student is indeed lucky to have married a good wife."

Shen Lixian smiled, but did not agree. He was different from Du Ke. Du Ke was an elder, and there was nothing wrong with praising the county lady. However, he was of the same generation as Qin Fang, and it was not appropriate to praise a married woman.

Qin Fang liked others to praise his wife, and he was happier than praising him. When praising him, he would be modest, but when praising his wife, he would not be modest. So Qin Fang said, "My wife is very good."

Yang Haiyan returned to the inner courtyard and asked someone to send a bowl of cold noodles to Qin Fang, but there was no steamed egg. Then she asked Aunt Lian to bring the iced watermelon.

Yang Haiyan cut a watermelon first, and only one-tenth of the whole watermelon was red. She dug out the red side, and then cut the second one. The second one was the same, one-third was also red, but the third one was better, it was all red.

Yang Haiyan crushed the flesh of this watermelon, squeezed out a full bowl of watermelon juice, and then asked someone to send it.

At this time, the people in the hall had finished eating cold noodles. In fact, for Du Ke and Shen Lixian, who had been hungry for so long, a bowl of egg custard and a bowl of cold noodles did not fill their stomachs, not to mention that men have big appetites.

So they were really shocked to see the servants carrying a bowl of red tea.

Du Ke asked curiously, "What kind of tea is this?"

Qin Fang's eyes lit up when he saw the watermelon juice: "Is the watermelon ripe?"

The servant said, "No, the country lord prepared a watermelon to make this juice."

Qin Fang nodded, asked someone to go down, and then explained to Du Ke and Shen Lixian, "This is watermelon juice. Watermelon is a kind of fruit. Last year at the border, my wife bought a lot of fruit seeds from the traveling merchants, and watermelon is one of them. This watermelon tastes really good. Teacher and Lord Shen will know after tasting it."

Du Ke and Shen Lixian looked at the slightly cool, red water in the bowl. Juice? They haven't drunk this kind of thing yet. They know about fruits, but no one in the capital city crushes fruits to make juice. They cut fruits into pieces and eat them.

However, after tasting them, they realized that this fruit called watermelon is really delicious. Suddenly, the two looked at Qin Fang with envy. Compared with Qin Fang's life, the life they had lived before was not called life. The main reason was that the village lady was so good at making food.

After drinking the watermelon juice, Qin Fang took them to rest. After several days of traveling, everyone could see the fatigue on their faces.

Shen Lixian's yard was the one where Chi Zongguan lived that day, and Du Ke's yard was on the other side. Because Wei Ting was still in Yunxiang County, no one was arranged to live in the yard that had hosted Wei Ting that day, in case Wei Ting came and stayed here.

Qin Fang sent Shen Lixian to the yard first, and then sent Du Ke. "Teacher, you rest here first, and the students will have a good gathering with you in the evening."

Du Ke nodded: "Well, you go and get busy."

Qin Fang retreated respectfully.

Du Ke watched Qin Fang retreat, and he didn't rest immediately after turning back. He took a bath first, sat in the bathtub, and thought about what to do after arriving in Yunxiang County.

But the one who thought the most was Yang Haiyan. Thinking back carefully, from the military camp fields, saltpeter ice making, to potato flour and sweet potato flour, to today's watermelon, this girl is not as simple as she seems.

His old father said that Qin Fang is a lucky person. In Du Ke's opinion, perhaps the person who is really lucky is the village gentleman.

Watermelon, courgette.

Du Ke did know something about the Hu tribe. He had heard of a small tribe that migrated while wandering in the past, but it was not worth his attention. Today, he heard the village gentleman talk about the Hu tribe and Hugua. Duko suddenly had an idea. Many small tribes are easily ignored because they are not even considered a small force. But in fact, this small tribe also has all precious things.

For example, the Hu people’s courgettes. Isn't this kind of crop that is easy to grow and takes a short time a treasure to the common people?

Look at the watermelon that the countryman brought out today, and the seeds he bought from the traveling merchants. This kind of fruit is indeed something they don’t have in Qiguo, and even the emperor has not missed it. Du Ke suddenly had an idea. If someone could travel to various small tribes and then record all the precious things in these small tribes and bring them back to Qi State, would it play an important role in the development of Qi State?

If Yang Haiyan knew about Du Ke's thoughts, she would be even more surprised. Because this is similar to Zhang Qian’s mission to the Western Regions and Zheng He’s voyages to the West.

Duco is a strict disciplinarian and will never sleep when he has something on his mind. So he asked his entourage to prepare their belongings and write down his thoughts about watermelons and courgettes. After recording it, he began to write the notes to the emperor.

Qin Fang returned to the inner courtyard. Before he could speak, Aunt Yu said, "General, the Lord is in the kitchen."

Qin Fang nodded and went to the big kitchen again.

There are many people in the big kitchen. Today, Kun, Zhang and others are all working for Yang Haiyan. It has to be said that when Wei Ting and Manager Chi prepared the food, Yang Haiyan did not put so much thought into it. They all prepared it in the big kitchen. Today, when Du Ke came, she spent half of her time preparing it.

"See you, general." Seeing Qin Fang coming, everyone hurriedly saluted.

Yang Haiyan turned around: "Why are you here? Are you not accompanying Mr. Du?"

Qin Fang said: "I sent the teacher back to the courtyard to rest, is there any place where I can help?"

Yang Haiyan said: "No, I will prepare the dinner myself today. You are also tired. It is not dinner time yet, so go and rest for a while."

Qin Fang said: "I'm not tired." He has a strong body and runs up and down the beast mountain every day. This physical fitness is beyond the comparison of ordinary people. How can he be tired? "By the way, Yanyan, I'll invite Mr. Wei to come to my house tomorrow night."

I mean, we have to prepare a dinner party tomorrow.

Yang Haiyan said: "Okay, I understand. Let's prepare a family meal tonight, no need to make a big deal."

Qin Fang said: "Okay. But this year's watermelon matured earlier than last year. Last year, it didn't mature until August." He remembered the taste of watermelon so well, especially when he came back from the rain, he could eat half of it and scoop it out with a spoon. Eating is very interesting.

Yang Haiyan said: "Where, this year's watermelons are not ripe yet. Only one out of four is ripe. Even if it is ripe, the taste is not sweet enough. It will take more than half a month to taste the same. But Niu Da said, the watermelons here are The land is much more fertile than that over the border, and the crops mature faster than those over there.”

Qin Fang doesn't understand this matter. "It's still awesome."

Yang Haiyan smiled and didn't answer. She didn't praise other men in front of Qin Fang: "Then when we have dinner today, let's pick up my grandparents, father and mother, and let them get to know Mr. Du.  ‌When Mr. Wei comes tomorrow, my parents won’t have to serve it, I’m afraid they won’t be used to it.”

Qin Fang said: "Okay, you are still thoughtful."