Were there afternoon snacks today? Liu Yuan’s eyes lit up when he heard this.

The Dali Temple public kitchen was only responsible for providing three meals a day for the servants and officials, and snacks were not included! However, since Master Wen came, she would occasionally make some snacks based on the ingredients in the warehouse that could not be kept for a long time.

After the takeout stall was opened, most of the snacks went into the takeout stall, and it was only when new snacks were made that one could get a taste of them.

As far as he could remember, the last snack was the táng chǎo bàn lì that they could not help but peel in their spare time. Now they were still sold at the takeaway stall, and when Yu Jijiu from next door came to eat, he liked to take some back and eat while he was working.

Thinking of the aroma of the táng chǎo bàn lì, Liu Yuan couldn’t help but drool. He was reluctant to put down the bowl in his hand, and looked at Zhao You who was holding the food box, saying, “Open it and see what’s in it!”

Before Zhao You opened his mouth, he heard Lin Fei, who was eating the Guo Bao Rou slowly, saying, “The manor didn’t send any seasonal items today…”

If the manor sent seasonal items, such as chestnuts and pears, the public kitchen would often “use seasonal materials” to make some snacks.

“No seasonal items were sent, but snacks were specially made,” Lin Fei said, looking at the puffy Guo Bao Rou on his chopsticks, “mostly because a lot of oil was spent on making Guo Bao Rou, Master Wen thought it was a pity to throw it away, so she took this opportunity to make some snacks like Niǎn zi!”

The expenses of the public kitchen had to be reported, but the silver money allocated by the court couldn’t be wasted carelessly, and the word “saving” should still have to be remembered.

Even if they were not investigating a case at the moment, but just eating, some habits had already been integrated into their bones.

Liu Yuan glanced at his superior who was completely unaware. He was obviously not satisfied with this bowl of Guo Bao Rou and was still thinking about the Niǎn zi, so he hurriedly urged Zhao You to open it and take a look.

“Master Wen said this snack was called xiaomi guoba. That guoba was the same word as the guoba we had last time in the Làwèi Bāozǎifàn,” Zhao You said as he lifted the lid.The oily aroma of the niǎnzi, mixed with the fragrant and spicy scents of cumin, pepper salt, and other Hu spices, wafted out from the food container. He looked down at the square-shaped “pieces” wrapped in oil paper and said, “But it’s different from the kind in the bāozǎifàn.”

Several packages of xiaomi guoba were wrapped in oil paper, but the top was open as if to dissipate heat. Because Zhao You was fast, he could still feel a hint of warmth through the oil paper: he felt that these were the first pot of xiaomi guoba here.

The guoba was a thin, crispy sheet of golden brown, but its surface was uneven—running your fingers over it, you could clearly feel the rough, bumpy texture. On the outside, it was coated with a sprinkling of fine Hu seasoning: the strong aroma of cumin and pepper salt hit you at once.

Counting the number of people, Liu Yuan realized each person could get two packs: one with cumin flavor and one with pepper salt. Inside, there was also a neatly folded oil paper packet. When he opened it, he found finely ground chili powder inside—bright red in color. Just looking at it made Liu Yuan both nervous and eager to try it.

This specially prepared chili powder was for them to choose and take, but Lin Fei’s two bags did not have such concerns. The cumin and pepper salt were placed separately, but the chili powder was sprinkled in early.

Looking at the guoba that was obviously different in color from the oil paper bag next to it, it was obvious that they were not meant for “slightly spicy eaters” like them.

Liu Yuan swallowed his saliva, not daring to try anything casually. He hurriedly swallowed the last two mouthfuls of food in the food box. After the plate was cleaned, he took his two bags of xiaomi guoba.

Seeing this, Bai Zhu, who had not finished eating yet, immediately reached out and took his two bags of xiaomi guoba: Although the ones in the bowl were not finished, the ones in the food box could be taken first!

After everyone’s guoba was taken, Liu Yuan, who was burping while touching his stomach, could not help but stare at the lower layer of the food box.

This food box was divided into two layers, the upper layer was obviously shorter than the lower layer. Now that each person had taken two bags of xiaomi guoba, the lower layer had not been opened yet. Obviously, there was still food on the lower layer.

“Zhao You, don’t keep us in suspense. What is the lower layer?” Liu Yuan said.

Right now, his stomach was full—he couldn’t eat any more food—but he himself wasn’t satisfied yet, so it didn’t stop him from already thinking about these snacks in advance.

Zhao You glanced at Liu Yuan and lifted the lid as he said, “Today’s snacks, besides xiaomi guoba and other such niǎnzi, also come with a drink—it’s called jiāotáng niúrǔ chá!”

The lid of the food box was opened, and several green bamboo tubes were neatly lined up in the food box on the lower layer, and a thin bamboo tube was tied to each bamboo tube.

“That’s called a straw!” Zhao You pointed at the bamboo tube and said, “It’s connected inside, just use it to drink jiāotáng niúrǔ chá!”

As he said that, he took out two servings of iāotáng niúrǔ chá, one for himself and one for Lin Fei, and then walked away with his own snack!

Liu Yuan shook his head: He didn’t expect that the stubborn Zhao You would ever “know the ways of the world” and help pass things around, and stood up and took the remaining iāotáng niúrǔ chá and distributed it to everyone.

Although his stomach was still full and there was no room left, he could still feel the heat of the iāotáng niúrǔ chá in the bamboo tube. He could not help but open the lid of the bamboo tube and take a look.

It was okay to take a look without eating it first!

The moment the lid was opened, a strong fragrance came out of the bamboo tube.

This fragrance was so familiar that Liu Yuan took a deep breath and sighed intoxicatedly: “It seems that there is a hint of tea fragrance mixed in the milk fragrance, and it is not just tea fragrance, but also a sweet fragrance, but it is not the taste of fine sugar, but… it is very similar to the caramel fragrance that we smelled when Master Wen made táng chǎo bàn lì last time. This jiāotáng niúrǔ chá seems to have integrated all the fragrances together. This fragrance… this fragrance…”

“It’s so unique, and so…”

“Hiss!” Compared to Liu Yuan who was still intoxicated and sighing, Bai Zhu, who was silent on the side, had already inserted the thin bamboo tube into the rich jiāotáng niúrǔ chá.

Although his stomach seemed to be full with no room left, he could squeeze out some space, at least for a sip or two of jiāotáng niúrǔ chá.

So while Liu Yuan was still giving a long speech, Bai Zhu couldn’t help but take a sip of jiāotáng niúrǔ chá from the thin bamboo tube, and then…

The slightly hot jiāotáng niúrǔ chá was sucked into his mouth, with the smooth, unique milk, caramel, and tea aroma, and the “boiling” heat.

Bai Zhu, who originally wanted to drink it secretly, was betrayed by the “boiling” heat, and he hissed startling Liu Yuan, who was still holding the bamboo tube and reveling in it, and Zhao You, who was beside him, and they both looked over here.

Seeing Bai Zhu sticking out his tongue and inhaling with a hissing sound because of the burn, Liu Yuan couldn’t help but tease, “Bai Zhu, I never thought you would have such a day!”

Usually, he was always the impulsive one, so it was inevitable that he would be stopped by the “steadier” Bai Zhu and told to “wait a minute”. Now, Liu Yuan, who had rarely caught this opportunity, naturally couldn’t help coughing, and pretended to be mature and said, “It’s just a jiāotáng niúrǔ chá! What’s the hurry? Have you never tasted it?”

“I really haven’t tasted it!” Lin Fei, who had just finished his lunch, replied leisurely, and then, under the gaze of everyone, he opened the lid of the jiāotáng niúrǔ chá. With Bai Zhu’s “burning mouth” first, Lin Fei did not use a straw but took a sip from the bamboo tube, squinted his eyes, nodded, and said, “This jiāotáng niúrǔ chá tastes good!”

(End of this chapter)

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