Due to the seven-day appointment, Jiang Weiping worked behind closed doors and saw no outsiders.
But this outsider did not include Hu Yulin.
“Brother Jiang, I’ve been knocking on the door for a long time. If it hadn’t been for Lady Jiang’s return, I might not even be able to enter your house.”
Jiang Weiping ordered his apprentice to temper the weapon and looked up at the young man outside the door.
Wearing a silk robe and a long shirt, with his hair tied up with a kerchief, his face handsome, his eyes slightly narrow, the corners of his eyes slightly upturned, and his lips involuntarily curling to one side, when he saw Jiang Weiping, his smile was genuine.
When his friend arrived, Jiang Weiping had no choice but to give up his work, wipe his sweat with a towel, give some instructions to his apprentice, and lead Hu Yulin to the main hall.
Lady Jiang served tea at the right time and placed some cold dishes on the table.
“Brother Hu, brother, use some tea to calm the cold.”
Lady Jiang was a refreshing and open-minded woman. Dressed in a plain cloth robe and skirt, her hairstyle was simple, adorned only with a wooden flowing cloud hairpin slanted into her bun. While she lacked bright and vibrant colors, she exuded a combination of freshness and elegance.
She smiled lightly and generously.
Hu Yulin felt regret in his heart. After she left, he couldn’t help but sigh: “Lady Jiang has a good heart and good looks, but that stupid guy is really blind.”
Jiang Weiping didn’t want to say much about Lady Jiang’s divorce.
He and his sister were both over the legal age of marriage in the Wei Dynasty. According to the laws of the Wei Dynasty, they had to pay a fine of 600 yuan per year. Apart from that, there were no other unpleasant things.
Whether one gets married or not depends entirely on their own preference.
“Why are you here looking for me?”
Hu Yulin knew his temperament, so he restrained his idle talk and said seriously, “With winter approaching, I need to mine black stones, and I’ll visit you along the way.”
He was the only son of a charcoal seller in Mengshan County. He would inherit all the family businesses in the future. When he needed to get familiar with the affairs, he was sent by his father to dig coal.
The coalfield was located to the west of Linxi Town. He passed by Jiang’s Iron Shop and came to meet his friends. The two had been classmates for several years and had a deep friendship that had not changed due to the changes in the Jiang family.
“Then why don’t you go quickly?” Jiang Weiping was worried about new tools and was not interested in coal mining.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Hu Yulin twisted the squid, put it in his mouth, and bit it down. While chewing, he said, “Lady Jiang’s craftsmanship is really good. You should also eat some.”
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“Just now, I saw the object in your apprentice’s hand, which was quite novel. I really can’t figure out what it’s used for,” Hu Yulin frowned as he held the cup. “Where did you come up with such strange ideas?”
Jiang Weiping had pondered for many days but still hadn’t come up with an answer. Shaking his head, he said, “It was custom-made by the employer, and I also don’t know.”
Hu Yulin always liked novel things, so he couldn’t help but lean forward when he heard the words, “When will you send it? I will come with you.”
He had a favorable impression of creative minds. He just didn’t know if this object was truly ingenious, so he wanted to see it for himself.
After meeting with Jiang Weiping, Hu Yulin left the iron shop and went to the Zhenxi coalfield.
Several healthy servants were sweating profusely in the coalfield.
In fact, Hu Yulin had always believed that the value of black stone was much more than this, but he had not yet figured out a magic method to dig the black stone, and was only vaguely aware of it.
“Who are they?”
In a moment, three people approached from far away to attract his attention. This was Hu’s coalfield, no one else would come close.
The servant next to him happened to be born in Linxi and was familiar with the news in this area. He looked around and saw an old man among them, and he immediately reported back.
“The old man is a member of the Rong family in Linxi. He guards the ancestral home of the Rong family. His grandson is on the left. The remaining fat young man should be the legitimate son of Rong Shangshu in the capital and the eldest son of the Rong family.”
He didn’t dare call Rong Xi by his name.
Hu Yulin had heard about this a long time ago and didn’t have any good opinions of the oldest young master of the Rong family. After hearing this, he stopped asking and ordered his servants to continue working.
Seeing the three approaching, Hu Yulin couldn’t easily leave, so he gestured for his servant to intercept them, while he himself observed from a distance.
Liu He had lived in Linxi Town for decades and was well-informed. When he heard that Hu Yulin had arrived at the coalfield today, he informed Rong Xi.
He knew that Rong Xi was not buying charcoal, but wanted to discuss cooperation with the Hu family. Although he didn’t know what the young master had to discuss with the charcoal seller, Liu He didn’t ask any more questions and just followed the orders.
The three of them were stopped by a Hu’s servant.
“This is Hu’s coalfield, please leave as soon as possible!” The servant, with a solemn face and a strong body, shouted at him.
Liu Zishi had been protected by his grandpa since he was a child and had never seen such a scene. He immediately hid behind Liu He and secretly revealed his eyes, showing his fear.
Hu Yulin looked at them and couldn’t help but sneer inwardly. Seeing his servants so timid and cowardly, it was evident that the master was not a person of strong will. If Rong Xi was really as rumored, only knowing how to bully others, relying on distant connections in the capital city, then he was cowardly to this extent.
When Liu He saw this, he knew that his young master was being looked down upon. His face turned red with anger and his beard twitched. He was about to step forward to argue, but was stopped by Rong Xi.
Rong Xi’s body was weak and flabby, unable to walk far, already sweating profusely on the forehead and temples, panting heavily. Rong Xi managed to keep his breath steady, cupped his hands and said, “Please let me meet Master Hu.”
The servant had already received the order, so he flatly refused and said with a stern look: “My master is busy and has no time to see you. Please come back.”
Rong Xi had intended to discuss collaborative matters with Hu Yulin, but seeing Hu’s attitude, he no longer persisted. The profit from charcoal was not small. Although the Hu family was the most famous in Mengshan County, there were also other unpopular charcoal sellers. If he searched carefully, he would definitely find a good charcoal seller. Thinking of this, Rong Xi gave up and turned around and left. The plump figure staggered unsteadily and was gradually lost among the trees.
Hu Yulin narrowed his eyes slightly, and suddenly felt a little uneasiness in his heart.
What uneasiness can there be? He was stunned and sneered lightly.
After returning home, Liu He saw that Rong Xi’s face was calm and showed no anger at all. He was afraid that the young master would be distressed alone. He was worried and said with concern: “Don’t worry, young master. It’s the slave named Hu who doesn’t know good and evil.”
The young master was the son of a minister, but he was despised by a mere merchant. The young master had to be unhappy. That master of the Hu family is really hateful!
Rong Xi didn’t take this matter to heart. It was normal for negotiations to fail to reach an agreement. If he put himself in Hu Yulin’s shoes, perhaps he wouldn’t have wanted to talk much with someone with a notorious reputation either.
“Thank you, grandpa Liu, for your concern. I don’t have any worries in my heart, but your son may be really frightened. Please go and comfort him.”
After Liu He left, Rong Xi sat on the table and read the classics quietly.
For a moment, Liu Zishi, who was originally like a frightened bird, suddenly had a delighted expression on his face. He peeked his head out from behind the threshold, wanting to speak but hesitating. His grandpa had said not to disturb the young master’s study, but the bean sprouts had already grown a few inches, and according to the young master’s previous instructions, they should be able to pick and eat them. Thinking of the tender and refreshing bean sprouts that Rong Xi mentioned, the strong young man could only feel his mouth watering.
He lingered outside the door for a long time, and was finally noticed by Rong Xi who had finished reading a book. Rong Xi called him into the room with a smile and said, “Do you have anything to say?”
“Report to the young master, the bean sprouts have been growing for three days and are ready to eat.” Although he had not yet tasted the deliciousness, Liu Zishi had already imagined its wonderful taste after seeing the light yellow, tender, and crisp bean sprouts.
The cultivation of soybeans was very common in Wei Dynasty, and the people mostly ate beans and wheat as their staple foods. However, the method of cooking soybeans was relatively simple – only steaming.
Rong Xi had been here for more than ten days. He ate two meals a day, which were nothing more than flour cakes and soybeans. Seeing that there were a lot of soybeans left, he soaked them in water and raised them to the buds. Within three days, the buds were about an inch long and ready for eating.
Seeing Liu Zishi’s joyful and eager expression, Rong Xi smiled warmly. He closed the book and placed it on the table, then straightened his clothes and stood up. Even though his robe was loose-fitting, it couldn’t conceal the excess flesh on his body.
“Young master seems to have lost some weight.” Liu Zishi said this without thinking.
He still remembered that when the young master first arrived in Linxi, he was so fat that even walking was difficult. He seemed to have lost weight, and his face had shrunk a bit.
Rong Xi didn’t care much about weight, as long as it didn’t affect his daily life. However, being too fat was harmful to health, so losing weight appropriately could be considered a good thing.
“Perhaps it’s because of the illness from falling into the water before.” After Rong Xi finished speaking, he led Liu Zishi to the spacious area in the backyard, where he saw the bean sprouts in the bucket, slender and curved, tender, crispy, and beautiful. He felt quite pleased.
“Young master, can we have them for dinner?” As a fifteen-year-old young man, all he could look forward to every day was food.
Rong Xi scooped up several strands, put them in his palm to observe, nodded and said with a smile: “It’s possible.”
The young man immediately cheered and became extremely excited. Under Rong Xi’s instructions, he went to the kitchen to get a bamboo basket, fished out the densely packed bean sprouts into the basket, and asked earnestly: “Young master, how do you cook them?”
In fact, stir-frying bean sprouts until they were well-cooked and flavorful made for a delicious dish. However, in the Wei Dynasty, the iron woks were too thick, and there were no conditions for stir-frying, so they were only blanched in boiling water.
In the kitchen, Liu He gathered firewood and started the fire. Liu Zishi prepared all the oil, salt and wine ingredients. He saw the water in the pot boiling. Before he could speak, he saw Rong Xi placing soft and crisp bean sprouts in the boiling water. After a few seconds, he picked them up with a colander. , spreadthem evenly onto the plate.
The bean sprouts were blanched in boiling water to retain their crispness and freshness, eliminating any bitterness. Then, they were drizzled with seasoned hot oil and spices, enhancing their flavor. When eaten, they were refreshing yet flavorful. This dish, with its unique whiteness, contrasted beautifully with the dark patterns on the plates. Placed on the table, it was visually appealing and aromatic, making one’s mouth water.
The three of them ate it with sesame cake rolls. Liu Zishi was instantly captivated by its crisp yet soft, light but not bland taste. He couldn’t help but devour it and praise it loudly.
Even Liu He, who had bad teeth, had no choice but to say: “Young master is full of ingenuity and superb skills. I have never heard that there are such things as bean sprouts in the world. It is better to eat a bird’s nest and a shark’s fin. It is a delicacy.”
This was too exaggerated, and Rong Xi smiled lightly.
First, it was the first time they had eaten it, so it was mostly novel. Second, as a servant, Liu He was used to flattering his master, and his words were inevitably exaggerated.
There were not many bean sprouts, and the three of them were only half full. Liu Zishi couldn’t forget it after eating. He had a sweet dream that night, in which he was submerged in the soft, crisp, and delicious bean sprouts. He was so happy.
A few days later, the sky was clear and the swans were flying south.
The scheduled time had come, Jiang Weiping came with his things as promised, and with him was Hu Yulin, the young master of the Hu family.
Before entering the house, he saw the word “Rong’s mansion” written on the plaque. Hu Yulin already felt something was wrong. When he walked to the main hall, he met the plump young man sitting cross-legged behind the table, his back stiff.
It turns out that the person who customizes those objects is actually the infamous Young Master Rong?
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thank you for the chapter! 🔥
Interesting culinary book
Thank you for your translation 💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙
Liu Zishi is quite cute 🤣🤣🤣
Here I go, reading in bed again and drooling in the middle of the night 🤤