Chapter 219 Jade Rainbow Bridge (Two in One)
"Master, can't you drive away mosquitoes?"
Liang Qu got the answer and felt relieved.
Yang Dongxiong nodded in response.
"Among the five insects, the cricket, the scale, the hairy, the feathered, and the insect, most of them are born with spirits, seeking benefits and avoiding harm.
Only a small number of maggots, insects, and scale insects, such as turbellarians, flying mosquitoes, and oysters, are extremely low in intelligence.
Unless you become a spirit and develop intelligence, you will not be able to feel the power of a warrior. Even if you are my teacher, you have to light mosquito coils at night, otherwise you will be in a panic. "
There are five kinds of creatures in heaven and earth: insects, scales, hairs, and feathers.
These five types can be considered as the previous generations’ understanding of living things.
Among them, 蠃虫 refers to naked worms, which have no hair or armor, such as turbellarians, earthworms, frogs, etc. Humans also have no hair or armor, so the sage is the leader of 蠃虫.
The rest is easy to understand. Scaly insects are scaly animals, including winged flying insects, and the dragon is the leader of the scaly insects.
Caterpillars refer to walking animals, feathered insects refer to flying birds, and insects refer to insects with shells and some shelled aquatic animals.
"That's not just my problem. Some creatures are indeed too stupid to be afraid."
After figuring out the reason, Liang Qu felt much more balanced.
Just be sure you are not an exception.
Then he ran out and came back with several huge copper pots in his hands, six in total, placed in a circle on the big table.
The copper pot has a unique shape, with a hollow chimney protruding in the middle.
Liang Qu asked Li Yuan from Third Senior Brother's shop to make these six copper pots a few days ago, and he brought them along when he went to invite Third Senior Brother.
"Your shape is unique."
It was the first time that Yang Dongxiong saw such novel cooking utensils. He picked one up to observe it and made a guess.
"Is it a shabu-shabu? Is it used to hold the charcoal fire in the middle?"
"Hey, Master has a keen eye!"
Yang Dongxiong smiled and said, "It's just hot pot, you probably won't make such a big fuss about it, right?"
Shabu-shabu is not uncommon. It has been around for a long time. There are several shabu-shabu restaurants in Pingyang County.
It is not uncommon to cook and eat at the same time. Dashun calls it "antique soup", named after the "gurgling" sound made when food is put into boiling water.
There are even double-boiled pots and "five-cooked pots", a copper pot divided into five compartments for cooking different foods to prevent their flavors from mixing.
Liang Qu’s real innovation is to combine all of these together and add his Liang’s secret soup base!
"That's right, the highlight of today is your apprentice's secret soup base!"
He untied the clay pot and poured the scarlet hot pot base into the copper pot, followed by bone broth, mushrooms, and sauerkraut.
When it was poured out of the clay pot, it was still steaming and not completely cool.
Not everyone likes spicy food.
For this purpose, Liang Qu prepared a total of six pots, three spicy ones, one beef bone, one mushroom, and one sauerkraut, which included the four most common flavors.
Spicy, pure, fresh and sour!
Yang Dongxiong sniffed it and his nose started to itch: "What a strong spicy smell, how many chilies did you put in? Why is it so fragrant?"
"The best butter, with chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, cinnamon, onions, bean curd, star anise, fermented glutinous rice, bean paste, sugar, cardamom, fennel, licorice, and grass..."
Liang Qu listed more than ten kinds of big stuff in one breath, and he couldn't count them all with ten fingers.
Yang Dongxiong was stunned when he heard this, and suddenly felt that it was very reasonable for it to smell so good.
"I never thought you had a talent for cooking..."
Liang Qu chuckled.
"It smells so good, I can smell it even when I'm walking in the backyard. I'm still wondering what to eat tonight."
Xu walked out of the corridor slowly, holding a small round fan in her hand, covering half of her face, and showed great interest in the six copper pots in front of her.
"Xiaojiu, what is the name of this thing you brought? I have never seen it before."
"In reply to Master's Wife, I call it hot pot, and it is something I came up with recently.
The taste is spicy and fresh, very suitable for hot pot, especially meat rolls. I am afraid that you may not be used to spicy food, so I have prepared other flavors. "
"Hey, Master's wife! Forget about the backyard, I can smell it at the door!"
Xiang Changsong and Hu Qi walked through the corridor and quickly came to the hall.
Xiang Changsong supported his hands on the table, bent down and took a deep breath, his stomach growling.
"I was wondering what Junior Brother was doing so mysteriously before. It turns out it was hot pot. But why is the base so fragrant?
Junior brother, let's open a restaurant together. You just need to provide a recipe, choose a location, recruit people, etc. You don't have to worry about anything, and I will split the profits with you 50-50!"
"Junior brother, let me do it. We will split it 40-60. I'll split 40 and you'll split 60."
Xu Zishuai came in from outside and ruined Xiang Changsong's good business.
"Brother Xu, why is he still competing with me for profit? That's not fair!"
"What do you mean by honest or not honest?"
Lu Gang's voice came from outside the door, followed by a beautiful figure.
"Brother Lu, Sister Zhuo? Come on, come on, Junior Brother, everyone is here, where are the dishes? Hurry up and serve them! I taught the apprentices all afternoon today, and they drank three cans of water. They are already exhausted."
"Right away, I'll ask the kitchen to get it ready."
Liang Qu ran to the kitchen and quickly led a few servants up to put out plates of sliced meat rolls and bowls of portioned condiments.
Another person held an iron shovel in one hand and used tongs to put the red-hot charcoal into the copper pot with the other hand.
Liang Qu only brought the soup base and seasonings, and the rest were from his master's home.
The ice cellar at my master’s house is very large, and it has everything in it. The mutton is frozen hard, and just cutting it makes the best meat rolls.
Normally, people eat hot pot meat with dipping sauce, and everyone chooses what they like.
It’s not the first time we have eaten together. We have dinner together four or five times a month. We are very familiar with each other, just like we are at home.
Liang Qu’s favorite combination is a spoonful of crushed peanuts, a spoonful of chopped coriander, a spoonful of chopped green onion, a spoonful of oyster sauce, and a spoonful of chopped garlic. Finally, pour sesame oil on it until it covers the other ingredients, which makes the aroma fragrant.
"The water is boiling, let me taste it first."
The boiling red oil was bubbling in the copper furnace, emitting billowing white steam.
Xiang Changsong picked up a piece of cooked mutton roll with chopsticks, dipped it into the sauce on the dish, and stuffed it into his mouth before it was completely cold. It was so hot that he breathed out hot air.
"Ha, ha, delicious!"
"This is the first time I've eaten such delicious hot pot. It's very unique. No wonder I heard Fourth Junior Brother and Eighth Junior Brother quarreling when I walked in. I can really open a restaurant in Pingyang County. Business will definitely be good. I'll buy all the copper pots that Junior Brother wants!"
"Third Brother, you are joking. I don't have time to manage the restaurant. Everyone, try this."
Liang Qu took a plate of black stuff from the servant and brought it to the table. On the plate were palm-sized slices covered with black spots. It was the soul of hot pot - tripe!
He specially asked the servants of the Yang Mansion to buy it and process it, soaking it in ice water. It became dark and shiny, and of very good quality.
Xu Zishuai picked up a piece and looked at it again and again. It took him a while to remember what it was.
"Beef tripe? Can you eat offal?"
Liang Qu stretched out two fingers: "Brother Xu, have a taste. Keep it hot for two breaths, no more."
Xu Zishuai took a piece of it doubtfully and put it into his mouth. Everyone focused their eyes on him, only to see that his brows were getting more and more furrowed.
Liang Qu asked with a smile: "How is it?"
"I can't tell. Let me try it again."
He scalded another piece, and after a crispy crunching sound, Xu Zishuai swallowed it.
"What about now?"
"It's not delicious, don't try it, I'll suffer for you."
Everyone finally realized the taste and snatched the tripe that had been moved away from Changsong.
"Why are you picking it up if it doesn't taste good? Here you go!"
"Brother Xu is not very considerate."
Yang Dongxiong also tasted a piece tentatively and nodded.
"It tastes great. It's the first time I've eaten something so crispy."
"Everyone, please feel free to eat. I asked Uncle Hu to make a lot of food. There are still many more dishes left!"
Hu Qi was sweating from the spiciness. Suddenly, he felt a cool breeze on his neck. He looked around and said, "Master, why is your room so cool? Did you put an ice jar there?" "It's not an ice jar," Yang Dongxiong pointed to the ice table in the corner that was humming with steam. "A few days ago, Yue Long sent me two things called ice tables. They can produce cool air on hot days, and they make sleeping at night much more comfortable."
"There's such a good thing? Where can I buy it? I'll go buy one."
"Yue Long said it's a new thing from the imperial capital. It will probably take some time for it to be available on the market."
Xu Zishuai felt quite regretful.
"It's been really hot recently. It's the rainy season, so it rains a lot. It's hard to breathe outside. I can't go out to the yard to practice every day, otherwise I'll be sweating all over. It's really uncomfortable. I've started practicing meditation."
Senior Sister Zhuo picked up a few pieces of cooked meat and said, "Will the Tianbo Chamber of Commerce open the day after tomorrow? They said they will hold an auction, and there may be ice stands for sale. By the way, Master, are you going to the auction?"
Yang Dongxiong wiped the corner of his mouth.
"The head of the Tianbo Chamber of Commerce personally came to my house to deliver the invitation. I thought since I had nothing else to do, it would be fine for me to go and show my support."
"I heard that Tianbo Auction has countless rare treasures. Last month in Huaiyin Prefecture, an ancient book was sold for more than million taels! Even if I sold myself, I couldn't afford even a fraction of the price of that book. I don't know if it's real or fake."
"More than million? Those things have nothing to do with us. The auction items in Pingyang County are probably not that valuable."
"Not necessarily. Apart from a few counties at the foot of the imperial capital, how could other counties have as many people and martial artists as we do? In addition, since this is the first time, they will definitely take it seriously."
"Who are you going to sell it to?"
Xiang Changsong was puzzled.
It is not a problem for ordinary wealthy businessmen to take out a few thousand or tens of thousands of taels, but when it comes to millions, I am afraid only the wealthy families can afford it.
Their family really has a mine, and there are thousands of people in the clan.
Xu Zishuai scooped some soup into his bowl and said, "Brother Xiang, have you forgotten the magistrate of Pingyang County? The Jian family is a noble family with three Zhenxiang in the family. One million taels is not a small amount. I heard people discussing it a few days ago, saying that he had made great contributions to disaster relief.
Not to mention the Jian family, there is also Brother Yue Long, the grandson of the Duke, who is very famous. The second-ranked one is Wei Lin, whose grandfather is the Duke of Liang.
The people at the Demon Hunting Division are not much different, or they are all from wealthy families and gentry. There are many wealthy families in Pingyang County."
"Our county is changing faster and faster every day. I wonder if Senior Brother will recognize us when he comes back.
A while ago, two houses were built next to my house. Both have three courtyards and large gardens. They are extremely wealthy, just like Ninth Junior Brother’s house.”
"Me? Mine is simple. There's not even a carving on the pillars. It's just that the place is big, and the land in Yixing Town is not valuable. Not to mention that it wasn't even a town when it was built, but just a small township. We can build it as big as we want."
"It will be valuable in the future. When Pingyang County really becomes Pingyang Prefecture, Yixing Town will definitely be included. By then, my house will be in the middle, and it will be the central location!"
"I can't even imagine how comfortable a three-story courtyard with a garden would be. My small two-story courtyard is boring to live in."
"Come to think of it, I've never been to Junior Brother Nine's house, let alone attended Junior Brother Nine's housewarming party. When will Junior Brother Liang make up for it?"
"Isn't this today's meal?"
"Hey, I saw this mutton roll being dragged out of Master's ice cellar with my own eyes, does it count?"
"Why not? Brother, you were enjoying the meal so much, why are you turning your back on me now?"
Everyone was laughing and making noise.
Yang Dongxiong and Xu spoke little and just watched everyone happily.
……
Time flies like a galloping horse.
On June 18th, it didn't rain, but it was cloudy and the sky and the earth were covered with gray.
According to the information on the invitation, the Tianbo auction will start at 5:55 am and is expected to last an hour and a half. Lunch will be provided at the end.
Liang Qu did some morning exercises, took a shower to remove the smell of sweat, rummaged through the closet, and chose a black suit with a red edge. It was plain but slim-fitting. It was a gift from his master's wife in May.
Since becoming an apprentice, he has rarely bought ordinary clothes, only a few pairs of shoes and socks.
When the season changes, my master's wife will send someone to deliver clothes. The styles are pretty good and all of them are in line with my aesthetic taste.
There's no need to dress extravagantly for an auction. Those who receive invitations must be from extraordinary backgrounds. Brother Xu and others must be there. Why would you go over and compete with them in elegance?
Isn't that just intentional to embarrass yourself?
After hanging up the sachet and putting away the badge, at the quarter hour of noon, Liang Qu took the invitation and rode up Chishan Mountain to Pingyang County.
"The painted beams fly over the clouds of Nanpu in the morning, and the pearl curtains roll up the rain of Xishan in the evening."
Liang Qu crossed the street and looked up at the tall buildings in front of him.
When I came to Pingyang County in the past, I only went to a few places, including Yang Mansion, the wharf, the academy, and the clinic, all in the southeast. I had never been to the west.
I had no idea that a three-story building had risen on the flat ground to the west.
Carved beams and painted buildings, and the house is full of orioles.
A rough calculation shows that the entire Tianbo Tower is twenty-five meters high.
There are three floors in total, and each floor is at least eight meters high. You can guess how spacious and grand it is without even going in.
only……
The shape of the building seemed a bit strange to Liang Qu. He always felt that such a lobby-style building was a bit out of place.
Like... a huge tree?
Liang Qu squeezed the horse's belly lightly, and Chi Shan understood and quickened his speed. After turning a street, they found that the entire area in front of Tianbo Tower was almost packed with people.
Ordinary people cannot enter the Tianbo Chamber of Commerce's auction, but that doesn't stop them from watching the fun from outside.
Where there are people, there will naturally be vendors, carrying a shoulder pole and walking around selling wontons, buns, and candied haws.
There was a huge crowd in front of Tianbo Tower, with people shoulder to shoulder.
Liang Qu had no choice but to get down and lead the horse. He was meters tall, half a head taller than the others, and he saw the jugglers in the crowd at a glance.
It was a boy of about thirteen or fourteen standing on one foot on a wooden stake with a large vat on his head.
The sultry weather left a layer of sweat on the boy's neck, which was very even and looked like it was brushed on at first glance.
The vat was at least half the size of the boy. From his hands to his feet to his neck, everything was trembling, with veins bulging and twisting under his skin like thin snakes, making people wonder if he had squeezed all the blood out of his bones.
Liang Qu led the horse over and the people around him unconsciously made way for him.
His clothes were clean and tidy, without even a crease, and had a faint scent of spices. He looked different than an ordinary person.
Liang Qu had rarely seen similar street fighters before, so he couldn't help but stop to take a look.
I heard that according to underworld rules, if a large jar falls down from above your head, you have to swallow the broken pieces of pottery alive.
"Liang Qu! What are you looking at?"
Liang Qu looked up.
Ran Zhongshi and others stood at the entrance of Tianbo Tower and waved to him.
"coming!"
Neither is easy.
Liang Qu felt in his pocket and took out a piece of silver the size of half a fingernail, about one penny, and threw it into the broken bowl in front of the boy, attracting the man next to him to thank him crazily.
The boy swallowed his saliva, forced a smile on his salty face, and pushed harder.
"Brother Ran, Brother Xiang, Brother Bai."
Liang Qu came up to the crowd and a servant came forward to lead the horse.
Xiang Fangsu glanced behind him.
"What's so interesting about a few martial arts tricks?"
"I think it's strange. I've never seen it before."
"Come on, you're here now, you must have received the invitation, right? Let's go in and take a look together?"
"it is good."
The steward at the door glanced at the invitation, bowed and led the group in.
Liang Qu followed the crowd through a corridor and came to a wide hall. As soon as he entered, he was shocked by the scene before him.
Not only him, but many people around him stopped and felt the shock from the bottom of their hearts.
The entire hall is almost a square. There is not a single pillar inside, except for an extremely thick ancient tree growing in the very center!
The trunk was as green as jade, and its thick and luxuriant branches extended out in all directions, entwined and coiled around each other like pythons, forming a large top that held up the entire second floor!
What the hell is this?
"Brother Liang, you haven't seen it before." Ran Zhongshi patted his shoulder, "The Jade Rainbow Bridge Tree, the entire Tianbo Tower under our feet, all grew from that tree!"
(End of this chapter)
