Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

118 Tangxi Sword

The eldest princess was in a cheerful mood. She took Xie Yan on a tour of the gardens, and even guest-starred as a tour guide:

"This house was built in the pre-Song Dynasty. It initially occupied an entire square, about 400 acres. It was later confiscated by the government, and by the end of the Song Dynasty it had been abandoned. Daily maintenance cost a lot of money. At the prefecture and county levels, The government is not willing to pay.”

"After the Ming Dynasty moved its capital to Luoyang, Emperor Taizong demolished about fifty acres and sold it to merchants to build street shops. The remaining house was divided into two, and after being renovated, it was given to the two founding princes."

"The descendants of Prince Zhang demolished several shops. They also occupied the backyards of several shops, leaving only a front shop for others. One after another, they expanded the property to two hundred acres."

"The garden has also been renovated."

"The gardens of the former Song Dynasty were too simple and not as exquisite as they are now. The essence lies in the two words "tai" and "yi". If a pavilion is suitable, then a pavilion will be used. If a pavilion is suitable, then pavilions will be pavilions. It is better to deviate from the path and place it in a gentle way. As the saying goes, "fine and appropriate", "tai and appropriate". Skill lies in The two words "because" and "borrow" follow the trend..."

Xie Yan listened carefully, he really understood.

The eldest princess was talking about garden design, and Xie Yan understood it after just listening once. But it’s one thing to understand it, and another thing to actually do it.

Just like those senior fans, they can also speak clearly when watching football. But if this fan is allowed to be a coach and direct the players on how to play, every one of them will be blinded.

"This waterside pavilion used to be called Lotus Viewing Terrace, but I changed its name to Li Xue Pavilion. Viewing lotuses in summer is certainly pleasing to the eye, but standing in snow in winter is even more interesting."

"The hill in front is built manually. I often read and play the piano in the pavilion above. Maple trees are planted around the pavilion, which makes it really beautiful in autumn. So the pavilion is called Hanqiu Pavilion."

"This small bridge is called Suoyue Bridge. When the moon is extremely bright in the sky, it can be reflected under the bridge hole, as if it is locked by the water of the small bridge..."

Xie Yan lacked vocabulary in his mind, and only six words came over and over in his mind: good-looking, good-sounding, awesome.

After walking for a while, the eldest princess felt a little tired, so she chose a covered bridge to sit down.

The eldest princess asked: "Besides reading, what else does Liulang like to do?"

Xie Yan couldn't say that he loved playing video games, so he left it there and continued to hide his stupidity: "My family is strict in discipline, and my parents only let me study hard. Apart from that, I only play chess. I don't know anything about music, horse riding, or gardening." , I will need to be taught by my princess sister in the future.”

What a simple young gentleman.

The eldest princess became more and more satisfied: "It is also a good thing to concentrate on studying. Those casual things can be mastered after being exposed to them a few times, and they are not something worth boasting about. There are many dandy children in the homes of the powerful in the capital, so it is difficult for those who can concentrate on their studies. try to find."

After chatting for a while, Xie Yan asked: "I have known her for many days, but I still don't know the name of the princess sister."

"What do you want to do here?" the eldest princess said with a smile.

Xie Yan said: "Princess sister is so beautiful, her name must be beautiful too."

The eldest princess's smile became brighter: "My name is not beautiful, but it is very fierce. It is the name of a sword."

"Which sword?" Xie Yan was very curious.

The eldest princess said: "Tangxi, the first of the nine swords in the world. Have you heard of the other eight swords?"

Xie Yan was very uncertain and asked: "General Mo Xie?"

The eldest princess said: "Those are the last two. The ones in front of them are Longquan and Tai'a."

"Sister, this name is both powerful and nice." Xie Yan praised sincerely.

"Hold the Tang River to pruning the ponchos, hold the stem to cut the flesh," the eldest princess read "Nine Sighs" from "Songs of Chu". "These two sentences were originally Qu Yuan's lament that they were not reused, but his father transformed the words. When I was born, my father was in the process of reorganizing the army, and he regarded those young men in the army as small as the sword of Tangxi, which could be eradicated with a wave of his hand. "

Xie Yan said with emotion: "The late emperor was truly a hero of his generation."

The eldest princess... will be called Zhu Tangxi from now on.

Zhu Tangxi shook his head gently: "It's quite sad not to talk about this. You said you were going to cook something delicious for me today."

Although Xie Yan didn't understand "Chu Ci", he knew how to cook a few dishes. He immediately stood up and said, "Then let's go to the kitchen."

Zhu Tangxi said: "If it doesn't taste good, I will punish you."

Xie Yan asked: "What is my sister going to punish me for?"

Zhu Tangxi thought seriously: "If your cooking is not delicious, you must do something for me. I haven't figured out what to do specifically yet."

"Don't say one thing, as long as my sister tells me, I will do a hundred things without frowning." Xie Yan has already entered the state, treating this as a love game, and his words are becoming more and more eloquent.

Zhu Tangxi was indeed coaxed so happily: "I have written these words down, and I won't regret it."

Xie Yan continued to pretend: "If I go back on my word, I will be a puppy."

Zhu Tangxi laughed out loud with joy: "You are also a bachelor of Furong after all. How can you be a puppy? If word spreads, you will think that I treat you badly."

Xie Yan patted his chest: "It doesn't matter whether I am a puppy or not, but for the sake of my sister's reputation, I will never regret it."

Zhu Tangxi's smile became even brighter, and his steps became much brisker.

Qingluan and several maids followed behind, listening to the conversation between the two. They were stunned at this moment: Xie Liulang is really good at it. The princess's smile never disappeared after being coaxed! In the past six or seven years, the princess has probably not spent as much time laughing together as she does today.

Full of emotional value.

Xie Yan was also secretly proud that I was actually a master of love. How come I never used my talent in my previous life? You have been a straight man for so many years, it’s too humiliating!

Zhu Tangxi smiled all the way and gradually came to the kitchen.

The chefs in the princess's house were mainly from the two capitals and Henan, and two chefs from Guangzhou and Hangzhou were specially invited.

Guangzhou cuisine at this time was particularly heavy, especially with a lot of spices. Although some spices were grown locally, many spices came from overseas. Guangzhou had a good port and the price of spices was cheap.

Especially the coolies at the Guangzhou docks, they needed heavy oil and salt to replenish their physical strength. With enough spices, how could it not taste good?

The Guangzhou coolie diet decades ago is now liked by some dignitaries.

"What ingredients are there today?" Xie Yan asked.

The head chef was actually a middle-aged woman. She stepped forward and replied, "Your Highness said that Xie Xueshi would come today, so more ingredients were prepared. A sheep and a pig have been slaughtered and cleaned, and there is also a chicken and several fish ready to be slaughtered. There are also many fresh fruits and vegetables."

Xie Yan went to see the various spices. Most of the common spices in later generations were already in this kitchen.

Seeing dried chili peppers hanging on the wall in the corner, Xie Yan asked, "Does the princess eat chili peppers, too?"

The call of "Princess Sister" made all the cooks look over.

Zhu Tangxi felt the gazes of the crowd, but instead of being angry, she felt sweet in her heart: "It's a little spicy."

The cook said, "There are three kinds of chili peppers in Beijing, and this is the least spicy."

During the evolution of chili peppers in the Americas, places with more rainfall have higher spiciness. Places with less rainfall have lower spiciness.

This is caused by the natural environment.

For plants, producing capsaicin will interfere with their ability to retain water and reduce the number of seeds they produce in dry weather. It will also consume some energy, making it impossible for them to produce enough wood in the seed coat, making them more susceptible to insects.

It is also related to fungi. In an environment with more rainfall, fungi grow more vigorously, and chili peppers need to produce more capsaicin to resist.

Over time, different varieties are formed.

"Is the one that hasn't been killed yet a rooster or a hen?" Xie Yan asked.

The cook replied, "It's a castrated chicken."

"That's fine."

Xie Yan began to give instructions: "Kill the chicken. Wash the pot and turn on a low fire."

Xie Yan picked out some spices and asked the cooks to wash them.

When the pot was heated over a low fire, he poured all kinds of spices into the pot and dried the water from the washing. Then he poured in the chili peppers and roasted them dry.

Xie Yan picked out the spices that needed to be powdered: "Pound them into small pieces."

While the cooks were busy, Xie Yan started to heat the cooking oil again.

He put all kinds of spices into a basin, and when the oil temperature gradually increased, he scooped up the hot oil and poured it on the spices.

Oil chili!

A strong aroma came to my nose, and even the princess took two deep breaths, and the cooks were even more surprised.

There are many customers who order Sichuan cuisine from takeout. This thing is not easy to fail, and it won't be too bad no matter how bad it tastes, so the store and customers like it more.

While Xie Yan was waiting for the food to be served, he saw that the chefs cooked Sichuan dishes the most.

Xie Yan found that there was only sesame oil, and no ready-made scallion oil and pepper oil, so he continued to make these two.

Hearing that the chicken was killed, he asked the chef to throw it into the pot and cook it, and added a lot of spices to it.

Then he asked the chefs to cut scallions and minced ginger and garlic.

Zhu Tangxi was watching intently, and Qingluan came to her side: "I didn't expect Xie Liulang to be so good at cooking."

"It's just a little thing after all, a gentleman should stay away from the kitchen." When Zhu Tangxi said this, there was a faint smile on her face, and it was obvious that she was not sincere at a glance.

Seeing Xie Yan still busy, Zhu Tangxi called the cook: "Have you seen these things before?"

The cook said: "I know how to make scallion oil and pepper oil, but this is the first time I have seen chili oil made with many spices. You don't even need to taste it, just smelling it will increase your appetite."

Qingluan smiled and said: "If Mr. Xie didn't study, he would be a famous chef."

Xie Yan asked: "Does your sister have ice cubes?"

Zhu Tangxi said: "Yes."

Xie Yan ordered the servants to get ice from the ice cellar, and asked the cooks to prepare cold boiled water: "Sister, let's go out first, the chicken needs to be cooked for a while."

As soon as they left, the cooks started to work again, they couldn't just eat this one dish.

After waiting for a long time, the chicken was almost cooked.

Xie Yan came back and poked it with chopsticks, picked up the chicken and threw it into the ice water to make the meat firmer and more tasty.

It was probably cool, so Xie Yan said to the cook: "Tear the chicken into long strips. Only the chicken legs are needed, and you can eat the rest."

A plate of spicy shredded chicken was quickly prepared.

Xie Yan brought it out very elegantly: "Sister, please enjoy the delicious food."

Zhu Tangxi picked up a piece, raised her sleeve to cover her mouth, and her eyes lit up as soon as she put it in her mouth.

"How does it taste?" Xie Yan asked.

Zhu Tangxi said: "You don't have to be a puppy."

Xie Yan also picked up a chopstick and ate happily.

The spicy shredded chicken is done, and the next step is to discuss the matter of jointly running a cement factory.