Nightwatcher

Considering the problem of oil fume, the kitchens of official ships are located on the upper deck of the cabin to facilitate the emission of oil fumes. The walls and floor of the kitchen are painted with fire-resistant red paint. The main material of this paint is a resin called "insect-eating tree", which can prevent fire.

Therefore, this kind of tree is promoted and planted by the Ministry of Industry on a large scale, and is widely used in the field of construction.

In the kitchen, several cooks prepared lunch, sweating in the winter. A large pot of fish soup was simmering in the pot, and the steam was "gurgling" against the lid of the pot, and the rich fragrance permeated the air.

Xu Qi'an came to the kitchen smelling the scent, opened the pot on his own, and asked, "Is the fish soup ready?"

"It will be ready soon!"

The cooks were amazed that an adult actually entered the smoky kitchen in person.

Xu Qi'an stared at the slightly light brown fish soup, which was the reason for the addition of soy sauce. He took a sip of the aroma and said, "Give me the spoon."

A cook obediently handed over the spoon, Xu Qi'an scooped up some soup, tasted it, and said in surprise: "The smell of earth is very light."

Limited by seasonings and cooking skills, most river fish in this world have an earthy smell that cannot be removed. Of course, except for the best restaurants, such as Guiyue Restaurant, where the cooks are of high level.

Hearing this, the cook proudly said: "My lord, those of us who float on the water usually eat fish. No one in the world knows better than us about eating fish. Hey, we have a secret method for how to get rid of the smell of earth. "

He also kept secrets and kept silent on purpose.

Xu Qi'an let out a "huh": "I also have a secret recipe, which can improve the umami taste of this pot of fish soup by several percent."

The cook didn't believe it, but he didn't refute it because he didn't dare. But the disapproval in his eyes was not concealed.

Xu Qi'an took out the porcelain bottle containing chicken essence.

"Big, my lord"

The cooks turned pale with fright. They have served in official ships for many years and have received many officials. Naturally sensitive to food.

If the officials on board were poisoned and died, they had to be buried with them.

"What are you afraid of, you guys will try the poison later." Xu Qi'an comforted.

The cooks were not comforted at all, but even more worried.

Xu Qi'an first poured a little into the pot, took a sip and tasted it, if it didn't feel enough, added some more, tasted it again, repeated several times, then nodded with satisfaction.

"Come on, try it!" He scooped up a small spoonful of fish soup and handed it to the man who spoke.

Xu Qi'an's tasting just now gave him courage, the cook hesitated for a moment, took a sip from the spoon, and in an instant, his eyes widened.

The delicious fish soup soaks the taste buds, and the "gulu" pours into the abdomen with the uncontrollable rolling of the Adam's apple.

Between the lips and teeth, the lingering fragrance is long.

"It's so delicious." The chef became excited, "My lord, what is this secret recipe? What a magical secret recipe this is, please teach me."

Xu Qi'an: "Hehe."

Governor Zhang sat on the collapsed bed, supported his forehead, and endured the shaking of the ship during the voyage. After taking the pills given by the magician in white, he felt much better.

The attendant brought hot tea and said: "Master, after passing the boundary of the capital, the wind on the river will be less, and then you won't have a headache."

Governor Zhang nodded and took a sip of tea.

"It's time for lunch, I'll get it for you." The follower said.

"No need." Governor Zhang waved his hand, pinching his brows: "I'm dizzy and have no appetite."

As soon as he finished speaking, his nose twitched: "What's the smell?"

Through the open window, Jiang Feng rushed in with a fresh scent, which aroused Governor Zhang's gluttons and accelerated his saliva secretion.

"Gulu" the entourage swallowed, his eyes frequently drifted outside the house, and his mind was not here.

Governor Zhang pondered for a moment: "Forget it, even if you don't have an appetite, and you can't compete with your body, just help me get some food. Well, although the fish soup smells unbearable, I can't carry it. I have to share the joys and sorrows with the soldiers." .”

The entourage responded cheerfully, and trotted out of the room, thinking that your lord is worthy of being a scholar, and that shameless words can be said so beautifully.

Xu Qi'an and his colleagues sat in the spacious hall, eating and bragging while eating.

"This fish soup is absolutely amazing. I have never had such a strong soup in my life."

"Yeah, even that fishy smell is delicious."

"If I can drink this kind of fish soup every day, I will be happy to stay on the boat for the rest of my life."

Dageng people sweated profusely and enjoyed the surprising fish soup.

Jiang Lvzhong occupied a table by himself, closed his eyes, savoring the unforgettable fragrance on his tongue. He called the cook and asked curiously, "This fish soup tastes extraordinary. I have never tasted it before. How did you make it?"

It should be the thought of Jiang Lu, who has a secret formula.

He is not a secret recipe for greedy people, he is purely curious, and wants to know how this amazing fish soup is made.

The cook immediately looked at Xu Qi'an: "It's the master's secret recipe, it has nothing to do with the villain."

A group of watchmen immediately looked over.

"Look at what I'm doing. This is the secret formula made by Si Tianjian, and I don't have much of it myself." Xu Qi'an said immediately.

He knew that this group of unscrupulous watchmen, especially Jiang Lvzhong, would definitely find ways to ask him for money.

Everyone turned their heads to look at the three white-clothed warlocks in the corner, and the young white-clothed warlock said, "Look at what we are doing. Si Tianjian's secret recipe was taught by Mr. Xu."

Ma De, these sorcerers are purely trying to argue, right? Xu Qi'an cursed in his heart.

At this time, a group of armored guards came in at the cabin door. They sniffed the tantalizing smell of fish soup while silently receiving their own simple meals.

This time I went to Yunzhou, there were twenty Tonggongs, six Silver Gongs, one Golden Gong, three from Governor Zhang's chief attendants, and one hundred Tiger Guards accompanying him.

Including Governor Zhang, there are a total of 131 people.

These tiger benwei lived in the small and dark bilge, and the food they ate was not as good as others. Naturally, they didn't have a share of fish soup.

The lean men twitched their noses silently, swallowed quietly, and looked at the fish soup eagerly.

Xu Qi'an thought for a while, and called the cook: "Is there any fish in the boat? If not, go to the net, and cook a pot of fish soup for the soldiers, so everyone can drink it."

As he spoke, he handed the porcelain vase to the cook: "If you don't have enough, ask me for it."

The eyes of the Huben Guards lit up "shua", straightened their waists unconsciously, and said in unison: "Thank you, sir."

I am always too soft-hearted, too soft-hearted, and take all the problems by myself Xu Qi'an nodded: "My surname is Xu."

"Thank you, Mr. Xu."

At this time, Governor Zhang's entourage came in, and said loudly: "Is there any fish soup left? My adults still want to drink it."

Everyone laughed, and the cabin was filled with a happy air.

Beijing, before dusk.

Xu Nian returned to the capital, and he was going to go home to get some change of clothes, as well as rice noodles and silver taels.

Students studying in Yunlu Academy have to pay a sum of money every three months. At the same time, they bring their own rice and noodles, and the college does not include food.

So Xu Erlang would go home regularly, take home the dirty clothes that he didn't have time to wash and throw them to his servants, and bring three months' worth of food and money by the way.

"call"

He reined in the horse outside Xu's mansion, and was surprised to find that the gate was locked.

This is not a trivial matter. There are servants in the house. Even if the owner is not at home and closes the door to thank guests, it is locked from the inside. A padlock outside often means that there is no one in the house.

Xu Erlang's heart sank, and he had a bad premonition.

He got off his horse, came to the wall, took a deep breath, and said loudly, "Fly over the wall!"

After reading, he took a few steps back silently, feeling the surging strength filling his limbs, and with the help of sprinting, he jumped over the three-meter-high wall and landed firmly.

The house was quiet, no one was there.

Xu Nian walked from the outer courtyard to the inner courtyard, and opened the doors one by one. The sister's, parents', and servant's rooms were empty.

The most important thing is that everything in the house has been emptied, leaving only an empty bed in the room, but no quilt.

Where is my home? What about my big family? Oh, it’s still there, but where is my family? Xu Erlang stood in the yard blankly, thinking about life.

"The door is just locked and there is no seal, which means that the eldest brother committed another crime and the house was emptied, but there is no dust on the ground, and the cleaning is very clean, which means that it was not ransacked."

Relying on Juren's intelligence, Xu Erlang deduced the result: they moved.

Why did no one notify me of the move? Have they forgotten that there is another Erlang in Yunlu Academy? Xu Xinnian was so angry that he wanted to curse.

Immediately after that, his face changed, he quickly added a layer of buffs to himself, climbed out of the wall, mounted his horse, and planned to leave the capital before the city gate was closed.

At this time, there was a faint sound of drums in the distance, which was the sound of drums before the city gate was closed.

new house.

Uncle Xu will be on night duty today, so he has to go out after dinner.

The aunt looked at her husband and said doubtfully, "It stands to reason that Erlang should be back by now. Last time he didn't bring much food and money."

The mother naturally cared about her son, always estimating when her son would return home.

"Probably only a few days." Second Uncle Xu said indifferently.

"Did Dalang write to him?" asked the aunt.

"have no idea."

"I don't know what it means?" Aunt raised her eyebrows.

"I didn't ask either." Second Uncle Xu replied, after eating the last bite of his meal, he hung his saber on his back and put on his helmet:

"I'm going out. I'll watch Lingyin at night. Don't let her go to the well again. Also, don't be suspicious all day long. The house is not haunted."

After all, Uncle Xu went out.

That night, he led a team of sword guards to patrol the outer city. When passing by the ancestral house, he found a figure squatting at the gate of the mansion, hugging his knees, burying his face in his arms, shivering in the cold wind.

Beside him was a horse, snorting listlessly and pawing its hooves.

There is no curfew in the outer city, and people can travel without restriction, but Yudaowei has the right to conduct spot checks and interrogation. When he saw someone squatting in front of his house, the second uncle immediately led someone to greet him.

Just as he was about to ask questions, the light from the torch illuminated the man's Confucian shirt, and suddenly he felt familiar.

Uncle Xu was taken aback for a moment, thinking he wouldn't

"Erlang?" He asked a little uncertainly.

The Confucian shirt student slowly raised his head, he was handsome and haggard, it was Xu Erlang.

The father and son looked at each other in silence for a long time, Second Uncle Xu's scalp was numb: "Why don't you go to the inn?"

Xu Ningyan, who received a thousand knives, really didn't write a letter to his brother.

"There's no money left."

"Why don't you rest in the mansion?"

"Horses will be stolen."

"Why don't you go back to the academy?"

"The city gate is closed."

"The family moved to the inner city, and I forgot to tell you. Well, the inner city has a curfew, so my father will take you to the inn."

Xu Erlang slowly turned his face away, and said in a hollow voice, "My lord, I have no family."

Uncle Xu: ""

At night, the lonely moon hangs high.

The official ship has limited rooms, Xu Qi'an does not have the treatment of a separate room for a gong, and he sleeps in the same room as Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao.

It's the kind of row of beds.

He turned his head to look to the left, and Song Tingfeng was facing him. Look to the right, Zhu Guangxiao is facing him.

Xu Qi'an suddenly remembered a joke: If you slept between a man and a woman, would you point your butt towards the man or the woman?

Butts facing women will be regarded as gay, while facing men risk being raped, and in my case, I choose to lie down and sleep Xu Qian complained in his heart when the door knocked.

The voice of Governor Zhang's entourage came from outside the door: "Master Xu, my master is here to invite you."

PS: I didn't save the manuscript, once I get stuck, it will delay the update time.