Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 473: Crow Mouth and Song Hunzi
The brothers were friendly and respectful to each other, and they lived in harmony. Zhou Jijiu and Luo Siye used to think that such a situation could only occur in a small number of families among the common people. But today, they saw with their own eyes that when the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince met again, the Fourth Prince went up to his brother and hugged him without saying a word, and then when he let go of his hand, he was too embarrassed to bow and apologize.
The Third Prince first hurriedly helped the man, then wiped his tears and shook his head, saying that it was all his fault. They believed that after ten or eight years, it would become a very subtle memory for them. Especially Zhou Jiji, who had reluctantly accepted that the Second Prince would also enter the Imperial College's Ratexing Hall a few days ago, felt that the world's storms were gathering at the Imperial College at this moment.
As for apologizing to Zhang Shou, even though the emperor said it lightly and the Fourth Prince was originally prepared to do so, when Zhang Shou smiled and mentioned the new regulations announced in Jiuzhang Hall before, the Fourth Prince only apologized halfway and then forgot about it. He kept spinning in circles and cheering, then waved his fists to show his confidence, vowed to take the exam again the next year, and later caught up.
Facing such a pair of brothers who did not look like the high and mighty royal family, no matter whether they were the candidates who passed or failed, they could not help but feel a lot more relaxed. As for the students of Zhaoming Academy who had just arrived in the capital and could not help but speculate everything with conspiracy theories, they could not help but feel a little sour when they saw the fourth prince crying and laughing, and pulling the third prince to talk to Zhang Shou before his tears had dried.
Not to mention the prince, even if he was a child from a wealthy family, he would become sophisticated and worldly-wise at a young age because of the complicated circle of his family. How could a prince be so naive? He must be pretending!
Regardless of what others think, this short but seemingly long Imperial College Open Day was finally successfully concluded. The emperor's personal visit became a topic of discussion for countless people, while the latest batch of students at Jiuzhang Hall and the new system suddenly proposed by Zhang Shou also attracted a lot of discussion. In contrast, the group led by Yue Shanzhang, the head of Zhaoming Academy, attracted much less attention.
No matter how famous a local celebrity was, why would he cause such a sensation when he first arrived in the capital?
However, Yue Shanzhang hoped that not too many people would pay attention to or discuss his appearance in the Imperial College, so after leaving the Imperial College, he immediately followed the captain, who obviously had ulterior motives, to the accommodation that had been arranged long ago, and then sent him away. After settling down, he found out that he was the first of the four people who were summoned to the capital to arrive in the capital.
Logically, Guangdong was too far away, so he should have arrived last. However, he had already traveled around the southeast with his students in the name of traveling. Therefore, the emperor's conscription order was not sent to Guangdong, but was sent directly to Yangzhou because of the reminder of his student, the censor. Now that he had met the emperor on the first day of his arrival in the capital, he was naturally happy and worried.
As for the plan to bring Zhaoming Academy out of its isolated situation and preferably set up another branch in the capital, now Yue Shanzhang could only keep it to himself and did not even reveal a single word to his students. After all, Fang Qing's slip of the tongue today that almost got him into trouble was the best lesson.
Fang Qing, who was regarded as a black sheep by Yue Shanchang, wandered alone in the streets of the huge imperial capital after leaving the Imperial College, feeling very desolate and miserable like a heartbroken person in a foreign land. Although he was still a juren, and had missed the last exam for some reason, and was once full of confidence in next year's joint examination, now let alone hope, he even felt that the road ahead was dark.
"Authentic sugar water! Authentic sugar water from Guangdong! My great-grandfather also said that good sugar water should not be discarded, authentic double skin milk..."
After walking for an unknown amount of time, Fang Qing was stunned when he heard this strange hawking sound. Being in Guangdong, he certainly knew that from Guangzhou Prefecture to Shunde Prefecture, there were local sweet soups in various places. It was said that this could be traced back to the past when Emperor Taizu went on a southern expedition - because the Holy Son of Heaven once said to his attendants with great emotion that Guangdong was a place where delicious food gathered, especially the various sweet soups that were well made.
Therefore, in order to meet Taizu's expectations, when Guangdong finally became part of the Ming Dynasty, Guangdong's chefs racked their brains to make a lot of things that Emperor Taizu specifically requested to eat - even if they had never heard of them at first. Although the taste was said to be uneven and unsatisfactory in the end, generations of people later studied and pondered, and now sugar water is indeed extremely popular in Guangzhou.
But this is in the capital, not in Guangzhou. How could someone sell sugar water on the street like this? And he kept calling me "Grandpa"?
Fang Qing looked around curiously and found that it was just a small street with few people. The man selling sugar water was standing at the corner with a small cart. He was dressed simply... or shabby, with his head down, his back hunched, and his hands tucked into his sleeves as if they were cold. Even though he was already in a very poor state, he suddenly wanted to help his fellow countryman at this moment.
How can they make Cantonese-style sweet soup if they are not from the same hometown? Especially the double-skin milk, which is said to be made to cater to Taizu's love for dairy products. However, in order to remove the possible fishy smell in buffalo milk, many chefs have also racked their brains to choose the buffalo breed. But now that this chef from the same hometown has come to the north, he can't bring the buffalo with him, right?
As for the sugar-free sauce, in order to make the nuts in the sauce less bitter, it took a lot of effort to peel the walnuts, and finally won the emperor's praise. However, no one knows what the peanuts mentioned by the emperor are...
So, Mr. Fang, who acted on his thought, strode directly towards the cart, and when he got close to it, he said bluntly: "Give me a double skin milk and a portion of sugar!"
However, what he didn't expect was that this act of taking care of business attracted the other party to stare at him. And until this moment, he just realized that the other party had a scarf wrapped around his mouth and nose, which made him look a little sneaky. But just as he became a little alert, he suddenly felt that the other party's eyebrows and expression were somewhat familiar, so he frowned unconsciously.
"Have I seen you somewhere before?"
"How could that be possible? I'm just a sugar water seller, how could I possibly have met you, sir? You can easily get rid of the sugar, but you have to wait for the double skin milk. Do you really have time?"
Fang Qing found that the other party's voice was obviously a bit dry, and his eyes seemed erratic, unwilling to look at him, which made him more suspicious. Especially when he saw that the other party had round fingers and smooth skin, he didn't look like someone who often did rough work. His suspicion gradually increased to seven points: "Of course, I have plenty of time."
He answered this and saw the man laugh dryly. Then he skillfully turned on the fire to cook the glutinous rice balls, stirred the sugar water for dipping, and then actually started to boil the milky white milk on the other side. All his movements seemed very quick. He couldn't help but wonder if he was too vigilant because he had experienced too many things today.
Soon, the other party served out the glutinous rice balls with a smile, and handed him a portion of four sugar balls dipped in walnut and brown sugar water. He lowered his head and tasted the first one, and immediately felt that he had tasted the taste of his hometown. It was even more fragrant and delicious than the taste of most chefs in his hometown. He immediately forgot about everything else and ate one ball at a time, and in a moment, all four balls were swallowed.
When he finished eating, thinking of the ambitions he had when he left his hometown, the respect and love he had for his teacher in the past, and then thinking of the coldness and rejection he had just received from Principal Yue and other people in Zhaoming Academy, Fang Qing felt grief-stricken and unknowingly two tears fell into the small porcelain plate with only a few walnut pieces left.
He was so dazed that he didn't even notice that the porcelain plate in his hand was a bit too delicate compared to the rough porcelain bowls or paper bags used for street snacks. At this moment, he heard a deep voice in his ear.
"As a stranger in a foreign land, I miss my family all the more during festivals. I know my brothers are climbing the mountain, but there is one less person wearing dogwood branches."
Although a poem like "Remembering My Brothers in Shandong on the Ninth Day of the Ninth Month" is indeed very appropriate at this time when he had just finished eating the special desserts of his hometown and was worrying about the past and missing his hometown, the Double Ninth Festival had long passed, and Fang Qing always felt that the other party's recitation of this poem was a bit weird.
When he looked up again, he saw that the person was no longer paying attention to him. He was carefully pouring the milk in the pot into another bowl while it was still hot. When the milk skin in the bowl solidified, he used chopsticks to make a hole in the milk skin in the bowl and carefully poured the milk at the bottom into the other bowl, leaving the milk skin on the top.
Then, they started beating eggs to get egg whites, then beating the egg whites, adding sugar and pouring out milk to mix, skimming off the foam on the top, and then putting it into the original bowl with the milk skin to steam. Watching this process, he was a little dazed.
I remember that my mother at home was also very good at this. Before he left, he boasted that he would pass the imperial examination and return home. If the news came out one day that he was expelled from Zhaoming Academy, would his mother be heartbroken?
After an unknown amount of time, Fang Qing suddenly heard a cough. When he looked up, he saw the other party handing him a small covered bowl: "This is double skin milk... sir, both dishes you ordered are here. Fifty coins for two desserts !"
Fang Qing was full of complaints, but the rich milk flavor in the bowl made him forget his doubts for the time being. He casually took out a handful of money from his purse, but he was afraid that it was not enough because he hadn't counted it, so he simply grabbed another handful and handed it over. Then he took the covered bowl and the small and exquisite spoon handed over by the other party. After just one bite, he was completely satisfied.
It's the real hometown taste! But there is a little difference, it seems that the milk taste is different from that of my hometown, but it is also mellow!
Not caring about the heat, he finished the small bowl of double skin milk in just two mouthfuls. Fang Qing breathed a sigh of relief. When he was about to return the covered bowl and spoon, he suddenly noticed the patterns on the utensils. Then he found that both the covered bowl and the spoon were made of fine porcelain. Not to mention roadside stalls, even the best restaurants might not be willing to use them.
Now all his initial doubts came to his mind at once.
However, the memory of asking in vain was still there, so he pretended not to notice anything, and when the other party took the utensils he handed over, he suddenly reached out and pulled down the scarf covering the other party's face. The moment he saw the face clearly, he was completely stunned.
"Song Shude?"
"Mr. Fang, you eat your food and I do mine, why are you trying to ruin my business!" Mr. Song was furious, and quickly put the porcelain bowl and spoon into the hanging bag beside him. After cursing, he hurriedly put on a scarf on his face, and then pushed the cart to leave. But since Fang Qing recognized him, how could he let him go so easily? He quickly stepped forward to stop him.
"What are you doing? If someone else's family suddenly encountered a change and they could only sell sugar water on the street to make a living, it would be fine, but your family is the richest in Guangdong. Even if this is the capital, you have the Song family. Do you have to sell sugar water on the street?" Fang Qing felt more and more that something was wrong, and then he suddenly raised his voice, "Did you get kicked out of the Song family?"
"Pah, pah, pah!" Mr. Song was immediately furious. "You crow's mouth, who said I was kicked out of the Song family?"
Fang Qing was always outspoken and had offended countless people. If he had not graduated from Zhaoming Academy, he would have gotten into countless troubles. Therefore, he was nicknamed "Crow Mouth" in Guangzhou. But he was punished for his words today, so he was particularly afraid of this nickname. Now that Mr. Song suddenly brought it up again, he was immediately furious.
"Song Hunzi, you still have the nerve to criticize me? Aren't you just relying on your family's wealth and power to fish for three days and rest for two days, and not doing your job all day long?"
Mr. Song was also very angry about the nickname of Song Hunzi. He blurted out: "What do you mean by not doing your job? I just participated in the imperial chef selection competition a few days ago and directly entered the semi-finals. Even Princess Yongping said that the sweet soup I made was delicious!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Fang Qing dumbfounded, and he immediately realized that he had said too much. But the matter of Xinglong Tea House had already spread like wildfire. Even if Fang Qing had just arrived in Beijing, he would know about it as long as he met a few more fellow villagers. He was too lazy to hide it, and snorted coldly.
"My uncle even went to the mansion of Duke Zhao to look for someone, saying that his family was unfortunate. But he was choked by Duke Zhao's words that there are top talents in all 360 professions and the emperor also praises me. He retreated in disgrace. Why am I not doing my job properly?" Fortunately, I was not there!
Seeing that Mr. Song was so confident, Fang Qing, who had just found it incredible, was finally completely sure that the man was not lying to him, but was telling the truth! Thinking that Song Shude, a dignified scholar, had a sudden whim to participate in the selection of imperial chefs, the Song family would definitely be in an uproar. He first found it funny, but when he thought about himself, he felt that Mr. Song's heresy was just a trivial matter.
"Even if your story gets out, it will be a good story after all. It's better than me getting into trouble."
Mr. Song was about to leave with a huff, but when he heard Fang Qing say that he was in trouble, he stopped. They were both scholars in the same exam, one ranked third and the other fourth, and they were also both successful candidates in the same exam, one ranked seventeenth and the other eighteenth. In addition, they often saw each other at literary gatherings, so they were very familiar with each other.
He looked at Fang Qing suspiciously: "Crow Mouth, who have you offended with this mouth again?"
