Yu Jijiu held the spoon in one hand and chopsticks in the other. He picked up a piece of rice noodles and put it into the spoon with a little soup. He blew on it slightly and put the thing called rice noodles into his mouth.

This thing looked a bit like noodles, but it was smoother and more refreshing than ordinary noodles, and the taste was completely different from noodles. The white rice noodles were slippery in the mouth and could be broken with a light bite, but they were tender and not mushy.

The special taste was so unique that Yu Jiji had never tasted it before.

Yu Jijiu simply loved the taste of this thing called rice noodles, especially the process of it slipping smoothly into his mouth, which made him feel that it was extremely enjoyable to eat.

After slurping several mouthfuls of rice noodles, Yu Jijiu scooped another spoonful of soup into his mouth. The bone soup was just the right amount of salty and delicious. The meat sauce made from sauerkraut and pork mince was tender and had the unique sourness and spiciness of sauerkraut, which soaked in the bone soup, giving the soup a unique sour, fresh, and delicious taste.

What he found particularly special was the small piece of leek. He was not a fan of leek, and the leek he usually ate was mostly fried, and occasionally he would eat some as a filling in dumplings, wontons, and pot stickers. This was the first time he had seen leek floating in the soup.

After hesitating for a moment, Yu Jijiu still did not remove the chive leaves mixed in the rice noodles with his chopsticks but put them into his mouth.

The moment he took a sip, Yu Jijiu couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows, a little surprised: he originally thought that the leek leaves paired with rice noodles would cause a strange sense of discomfort, but unexpectedly, not only did it not feel uncomfortable, but the taste was richer and it even had a unique spicy aroma, which could be said to be the icing on the cake.

Slurping rice noodles was really addictive. When Yu Jijiu finished eating and left the table, there was not even a drop of soup left in the casserole. Although he was sweating from slurping rice noodles, he felt a special kind of satisfaction from eating them.

When it was almost time for lunch, Wen Mingtang carried her xiǎo guō mǐxiàn to the dining table and sat down. While slurping the rice noodles, she discussed mooncakes for the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival with Tangyuan and the others.

Ji Caimai, who knew the revenue best, said frankly: “Our take-out business is very prosperous. Whether it is braised duck, bīngfěn, or sour plum drink, they are all very popular. Several bóshìdoctor / court academician (in feudal China) from the Imperial College next door have come to buy duck products several times. Master Wen, I think when the Mid-Autumn Festival comes, the mooncakes made in the public kitchen can be made more vigorously with the take-out trend!”

Wen Mingtang heard this and nodded, “I think so too.”

However, there was still more than half a month before the Mid-Autumn Festival, so there was no rush. Compared to this…

“I’m going to Mount Li in the next two days of rest,” Wen Mingtang said to Ji Caimai, “Yu Jijiu chose Mount Li as the venue for his banquet.”

When he heard the word “Mount Li”, Ji Caimai couldn’t help but twitch his lips: “They actually chose Mount Li…” But although he muttered something, he was not surprised.

“With the literary spirit of the Jijiu, he would definitely choose such an elegant place with high mountains and flowing water. It’s not surprising that he chose Mount Li!” Ji Caimai stroked his chin and said, “But for ordinary people like us, sending food is a bit far.”

However, no matter how far it was, Yu Jijiu was not stingy with money, so they could do it.

Wen Mingtang nodded, picked up the fried egg that was soaking up the soup, and took a bite. The runny egg liquid spread over the rice noodles. She picked up a piece of rice noodles mixed with egg liquid and put it into her mouth. She said, “I have never been to Mount Li, but I can take this opportunity to go and take a look!”

Mount Li, with its beautiful scenery, was also known as Xiuling. “The Wei River is white in autumn, and Mount Li is red in the evening.”The line “The Wei River is white in autumn, and Mount Li is red in the evening” is from the Chinese poem Qiū wǎn chū jiāo by the Tang dynasty poet Wang Wei. The poem reflects Wang Wei’s ability to capture the natural beauty and changing seasons through vivid imagery.
Mount Li’s evening was one of the “Eight Scenic Spots of Guanzhong”! The place chosen by Yu Jijiu for the banquet must be no less good. A few days ago, Yu Jijiu also sent the list of guests and their preferences.

Wen Mingtang has already drawn up a banquet menu for this purpose, which happened to be sent to Ji Caimai for review. There was nothing wrong with the menu, and Ji Caimai could find all the ingredients needed, but…

Ji Caimai frowned, looked at Wen Mingtang who was eating rice noodles, pointed at a name on the list, and asked her: “Is this Wang He the great scholar Wang He from Shuozhou?”

Although the name “Wang He” was not uncommon, there might be only one “Wang He” in the entire Darong who could appear on Yu Jijiu’s banquet list! Ji Caimai’s face became a little solemn when he thought of this.

Wen Mingtang nodded and said, “That’s him! Earlier, Yu Jijiu told me where these people came from. Although I don’t know them, I wrote them down. This Wang He is from Shuozhou.”

After hearing this, Ji Caimai began to hesitate. He looked at Wen Mingtang, who was lowering her head and using chopsticks to press the fried egg into the soup, letting the fried egg absorb the soup, and he was hesitant to speak.

Wen Mingtang noticed Ji Caimai’s expression and looked up at Ji Caimai: “Ji Caimai, what’s wrong?”

Ah Bing and Tangyuan, who were eating rice noodles nearby, looked up at Ji Caimai when they heard this.

They were all family, so there was no need to beat around the bush. Ji Caimai looked at Wen Mingtang and said frankly: “This Wang has some grudges against Wen Xuance.”

Wen Mingtang nodded, picked up the fried egg soaked in soup, took a bite, then said, “Oh,” and said, “There are quite a lot of people who have grudges against him!”

Ji Caimai: “…”

Seeing the girl acting as if she was used to it, Ji Caimai couldn’t help himself. After thinking for a while, he defended Wen Xuance: “As a scholar, it’s inevitable that he is a little arrogant.

Wen Mingtang tasted the astonishingly fresh soup in her mouth and said with half-closed eyes: “But it’s really rare to find someone as arrogant as him who makes enemies everywhere.

Ji Caimai: “…”

He really didn’t know how to refute this.

But despite this, Wen Mingtang still asked Ji Caimai: “What was the reason for the rivalry between them?”

Ji Caimai said, “Wang He and Wen Xuance were in the same exam. When he was in Shuozhou, Wang He was a cáizi in the limelight. As a result, Wang Caizigifted scholar was ridiculed by your father one by one with poems and articles during the DiànshìPalace Examination .”

Wen Mingtang suddenly realized: “This is probably the first time that Wang cáizi had been treated so humiliatingly in his life. He must be so angry that he must be dying!”

“Isn’t it? Although he won second place in the palace examination, when had the Wang cáizi ever been inferior to others? He would rather not become an official of the court if he was not the top scorer! So he packed his bags immediately, refused the official position, and returned to Shuozhou to become a great rúqùConfucian scholar !” said Ji Caimai.

Tangyuan, who was eating rice noodles, was stunned when she heard this: “Isn’t it good to be the second place? He even gave up his official position. Is it really that serious? He is too arrogant!”

No one cared about your ten years of hard study, but once you become famous, the whole world would know you. You had studied for so many years, but you didn’t want to be an official?

Ji Caimai glanced at Tangyuan and said, “How can ordinary people like us understand such a great cáizi? After your father got into trouble, I heard that Wang cáizi was very angry. Because he could no longer compete with your father, he fell seriously ill. If he sees you in Mount Li, I’m afraid he will drag you to compete in poetry and writing!”

Wen Mingtang spread her hands: “…”

What kind of poetry or writing talent did she have? She was barely better than cooking or something.

Just as she was thinking this, Ji Caimai on the other side seemed to suddenly think of something, and said, “Oh, right! You went to the palace at that time, so you probably didn’t know what was happening outside. I heard that one of your father’s students defected to Wang He after your father got into trouble. His name was…”

It had nothing to do with her! Wen Xuance had many students, but as for the original protagonist, who was still a child at the time, it’s unlikely she remembered any of them. While eating, Wen Mingtang pondered, but then heard Ji Caimai say, “I remember the surname was quite uncommon, something like Xun Zhou…”

With a “Plop!” sound, the spoon in the hand of Wen Mingtang, who was drinking soup opposite, fell into the soup, and the soup splashed on the girl’s face. The girl didn’t bother to wipe it off, but looked at Ji Caimai in surprise and asked, “Ji Caimai, what’s the name of that student?”

(End of this chapter)

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Not only the recipe but also history of the dish