Chapter 32 Spicy and Spicy Skewers
I want ten beef, ten mutton, ten duck intestines, ten hairy belly, and ten mushrooms.
When Chu Qin and Pei Yan rode the carriage to the West City, the small street on the south side of the West City was the busiest time.
This small street is no different from other places in the market during the day. It is filled with small vendors selling groceries, but at night, almost from dinner time, the vendors selling groceries go home in twos and threes. A new wave of hawkers selling snacks will come to occupy the place, and it will gradually become a snack street.
In such a snack street, although dignitaries and dignitaries occasionally come to eat something fresh, they are very few compared to ordinary people. So recently, Chu Qin and Pei Yan will find that others are avoiding them no matter what they eat. The advantage of this is that there is no one around, so it is convenient for them to talk about anything. The disadvantage is that it will inevitably affect the business of the store. Fortunately, the snacks sold on the street are not too expensive, so Pei Yan pays more every time, so as not to let the store suffer.
Today, Chu Qin thought about the spicy and spicy skewers all night, and when he got to the snack street, he went straight to the vendor. The place occupied by this vendor is quite large in the market. There are pots and pans for cooking skewers on the trolley in the middle. There are four low square tables on each side, with three or four small square tables beside each table. The stool can entertain guests at eight small tables at the same time.
Chu Qin and Pei Yan picked a small table to sit on the left, and the other three tables on the left were empty. Pei Yan first made a deal with the boss, and then took out a coin or two. The boss didn't expect them to be so reasonable, so he accepted it with great gratitude and asked them what they would like to eat.
This kind of spicy skewer is from Sichuan, and the taste is actually similar to the dish cooked in a hot pot. The soup base is not only the broth and the spicy butter, but also added with star anise, pepper, dried tangerine peel and sesame to enhance the flavor. It's just that the cooked dishes are not the scattered vegetables and meat that come out of the hot pot, but are dressed with bamboo skewers.
The bamboo skewers on the skewers are usually made very long, in order to facilitate taking them out of the pot, but the meat on each skewer is not very large, and most of them are only long and thin, and the vegetarian vegetables are worth a penny. Strings, meat dishes for a penny a string, convenient for guests to eat a variety of.
Then Chu Qin opened his mouth and said boldly: "I want ten beef, ten mutton, ten duck intestines, ten hairy belly, ten mushrooms." The
boss wrote it down and was busy. Chu Qin thought about it, and asked Qingqiu again. Went to the stall next to buy a fried pancake. In order to avoid the trouble of returning the bowl, I directly borrowed an empty bowl from the owner of the skewer to serve it, and ate it with the skewer to avoid it being too spicy.
When the fried cakes and skewers were on the table, the couple chatted while eating. When Pei Yan talked about the chat with the prince on the way out of the palace, Chu Qin took a piece of mutton from the bamboo stick and said, "His Royal Highness is really a kind person."
"Yes." Pei Yan nodded, and then sighed, "It's just the matter of Li Wang taking charge of the central garrison in Beijing... It's always disturbing, the prince is so concerned about His Majesty's mood, although he has done his filial piety, it is not the way to go on for a long time. "
Chu Qin pursed his lips: "Then what should we do?"
Pei Yan shook his head: "There is nothing I can do, I can only hope that His Majesty will recover as soon as possible, so that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince can rest assured."
Alas, the emperor's Holy Body moved his whole body with a single hair. , it's always troublesome when something goes wrong.
Thinking like this, Chu Qin also sighed, and then raised his voice: "Boss, do you have any vinegar?"
The boss who was busy cooking skewers in front of the trolley turned back and said "yes", and then took three steps and two steps. He brought a vinegar pot. Chu Qin poured vinegar into the plate, and Pei Yan, who was sitting across from him, frowned, "Is this even eaten with vinegar?"
"Suddenly I want to eat it." Chu Qin laughed.
This kind of skewer should actually be served with dry ingredients, but the meat dipped in vinegar is always delicious.
Following her, he said, "Prince is so busy with the government recently, do you still have time to study?"
"Schoolwork can't be put down." Pei Yan smiled, "It's just that the master also knows that he is busy, and he has less homework recently. Now we are all relaxed. If my father didn't come back at this time, I would have to stay in the palace for an hour or two every day, so I would play with you when I am free."
"How can you be so playful. "Chu Qin glanced at him with a smirk, dipped a bunch of mutton skewers in rice vinegar and sent them into his mouth.
The two were eating and chatting like this, and it was almost time when they got home. After Pei Yan took a bath, he looked in high spirits again. Chu Qin pushed him with both hands and feet, shouting that he was tired. He finally let her go and let her sleep well tonight.
As if receiving amnesty, Chu Qin closed his eyes and fell asleep thinking: Sure enough, everything is a double-edged sword, and the relationship between the two is too good, but it is still a bit bad!
He was too energetic, and in the last life, both of them "restrained themselves and restored rituals", and she didn't feel anything. But now that the relationship is good, he will always refuse to let her sleep well for six or seven days in ten days. She really can't bear it.
She thought about falling asleep like this, but she didn't sleep well, and her dreams were messy. In the chaos, some long-term memories that had been left behind suddenly appeared, and she heard Pei Yan say in a trance: "Your Majesty reprimanded His Royal Highness, and ordered him to think about it behind closed doors. I don't have to enter the palace recently... Do you have anything to do? place that I want to go?"
Chu Qin woke up abruptly, and it was pitch black as far as his eyes could see. It was already deep into the night, and it made her tremble inexplicably. She reached out her hand subconsciously, the back of her hand touched Pei Yan's arm, and she gradually calmed down.
She rolled over and faced him in the dark. His eyes gradually got used to the darkness, and his handsome facial features became clear. She looked at his face to calm her mind, and she wondered when she heard that sentence in her dream.
... It should have been many years, at least when the last prince was still alive. And she didn't pay much attention to these things. At that time, she must have listened to her left ear and heard it out of her right ear. Now it's a little hard to recall clearly.
So Chu Qin didn't know how long it took to think about it dully, maybe it was the past two years. Because they weren't familiar enough at the time, he spoke to her with that cautious politeness.
It seems now that he was very interested in going out with her at that time, but her answer—Chu Qin is no longer in a hurry to answer her at that time, but if she guessed correctly, she should be indifferent and alienated. After taking him, he even told him to study hard.
In her previous life, she was so awkward that she was going to be fine.
Chu Qin teased and turned over, and continued to recall why the prince was reprimanded. It didn't matter what she thought, but she was stunned for a moment when she was thinking about the whole story. She vaguely remembered that the reason seemed to be: His Majesty reprimanded the Crown Prince for being cowardly, indifferent, and ignorant of generalities...
This is a very severe rebuke. For the prince, this is tantamount to saying that he is "embarrassed". Chu Qin had already remembered this matter, and even thought about it. At that time, Beijing and China seemed to be nervous for a while, and the lords like Dingguo's mansion closed the door tightly and pricked up their ears, for fear that he would take a wrong step and be angry. Sheng Yan, ended up in exile.
The more Chu Qin thought about it, the clearer it became, and the more clear it became, the more she couldn't fall asleep.
This morning, Chu Qin got up with Pei Yan as usual. Recently, she accompanies him to the palace and then comes back to sleep. She washes and dine together in the mornings. Although there is not much time, talking and chatting can always add a little warmth to the busy morning.
When Pei Yan washed his face, he said to her, "The swing will probably be ready today. I'll let the craftsman engrave the words you want me to write on it. Remember to take a look."
"Okay." Chu Qin stood a few steps away. Also washing face. Her face was covered with drops of water, and it was not easy to speak. After answering a word, she was quiet for a long time, and after drying, she said, "What words have you written?"
Pei Yan said, "You can see it by looking at it. I'm done."
"I'm hooked again!" Chu Qin snorted coldly, and then sat in front of the dressing table to dress up, while dressing up, she couldn't help looking at Pei Yan in the mirror.
She hadn't slept after thinking about it for so long at night, and she had some guesses about the prince's punishment, but she didn't know if she should tell him.
It stands to reason that she and him can talk about everything now, but she is willing to talk about everything except that she really can't tell him about the fact that she has lived once.
But things about the prince seem to be different - it's about the prince, and that's politics. When it comes to political affairs, she is not "inexperienced", but "doesn't know anything", so she feels unreliable for those guesses in her heart.
But when the two of them had dinner, the idea of "talking to him" prevailed. Chu Qin was eating white porridge and looking at him, pretending to be calm: "Pei Yan, about King Li, what do you think..."
"Huh?" Pei Yan was peeling a quail egg in his hand, and suddenly listened to her Bringing this up, he looked up at her subconsciously.
Chu Qin paused: "Do you think that His Majesty gave the Imperial Guard of Beijing to King Li by training the crown prince?"
Pei Yan frowned: "What kind of experience is this?"
Chu Qin lowered his eyes, calmly "Perhaps he's waiting for the prince to do something? It's up to Shang Shu to persuade him, or to push King Li down by other means. It's what he should do as the prince." In
a few words, Pei Yan's hands The quail eggs are peeled. He handed it to Chu Qin, and he peeled off another one. Chu Qin bit off half of the quail egg and continued: "His Royal Highness is pure filial piety, which is naturally good. You are his close minister and feel at ease with such a master. I am an official family member, and I also feel that my husband follows such a person at ease. But...if you want to change your identity."
She said and waved her hand, making Qingqiu Qingquan retreat, and heard the sound of the door closing. Then he lowered his voice and continued: "If you are the honorable man of Ninety-five, would you feel that the 'pure filial piety' of His Royal Highness is too cowardly and can't distinguish priorities? If you are in that position, you want to see the prince who is blind to yourself. Filial piety and respect, or do you want to see that he has the strategy and courage to rule the world?"
Pei Yan was slightly startled, and a sudden realization occurred in his heart.
It has been half a year since he first entered the East Palace. Every time he talks with the prince, he often feels a little weird, but he can't say it. Now that she said this, he suddenly understood.
——The prince is an upright gentleman and a "good man" who is innocent and innocent. When he talks with the prince, he often laments that there are such upright people in the world, but the source of the strangeness in his heart is precisely because the prince is too honest.
The so-called upright gentleman is innocent and magnanimous, but there is a lot of filth in the government. In those turbulent struggles, Yang Conspiracy may not be able to see the light, let alone countless conspiracies?
Qing people like the prince will make people admire them. But when he is in the position of the prince, it will make people think that he is too good to be a prince, perhaps even less suitable to be an emperor.
Pei Yan then subconsciously felt that Chu Qin was right, but then, caution made him restrain his thoughts.
He sank and didn't make too many judgments, only said: "Your heart is unpredictable, His Royal Highness is His Majesty's own son, and he always has more thoughts on His Majesty than we do. If he doesn't think about that, let's not worry about it. I'm sorry ."
"Actually, I think so too." Chu Qin nodded and took a small dumpling, dipped it in the vinegar, and said in deep thought, "It's just... you might as well be careful, in case that's the case. , you might as well persuade the crown prince directly. Otherwise, let's not talk about the overall situation, let's just say that the prince is so pure and filial - he was originally for the health of His Majesty's Eucharist. I'm afraid it will make Your Majesty's heart even more unhappy, but it will be a waste of the Prince's kindness."
Pei Yan was startled, and couldn't help but glance at her again.
Her words were clever, as if she was reasoning with him, but in fact, she gave him an idea for him to persuade the prince. He originally thought it was difficult to persuade him, and he didn't really plan to speak in front of the prince because of her speculation in a few words. When she said this, he felt that it was okay to talk about it.
As long as the prince's concern for His Majesty is true, he will tell the prince according to her remarks, and the prince will not blame him even if he disagrees.
During Pei Yan's brief pondering, he saw Chu Qin dipped in vinegar for the third time.
The xiao long bao was not big at all. She bit it twice, and now it was only a little narrower, and she even had to dip it in vinegar alone. He felt sour just looking at it, gritted his back teeth and said, "Why is it so sour?"
"This is a steamed bun." Chu Qin looked at him seriously.
Pei Yan felt that he was being treated as a fool, and frowned dissatisfiedly: "I still don't know if this is a bun?" He said while pouting, "You don't like to eat sour so much on weekdays, so you can find a doctor today if you have nothing to do."
He said It seemed calm, but an excited guess could not stop in my heart: I suddenly feel sour, could it be?
"Just dip in some vinegar, there is no such a fuss." Chu Qin complained in a low voice, thinking that it would be okay to invite a doctor to take a look.
She is someone who has lived once. When it comes to "loving sourness", of course, she also has some guesses, but after thinking about it, she will not guess that.
She knew that a lot of things had changed since she started to live again, but the matter of "children's fate", whether according to Taoism or Buddhism, seems to be fixed.
Based on the "experience" of the previous life, she will indeed have a child this year, but not now, at least it will take another three or four months to be diagnosed with pregnancy. It will take a month or two to conceive.
That being the case, I will not be happy when I think about it now.
Thinking of this, Chu Qin felt at ease. So she accompanied Pei Yan to the gate of the palace as usual, and then went home alone to make up for her sleep. After waking up, she forgot about seeing the doctor, and asked Qingqiu Qingquan to take the account book and patiently check it.
When she lived in Dingguo Gong's mansion, Muyuan's account book was checked once a month. One was because of the complicated staff in the mansion, and the other was because she was afraid that Mrs. Hu would take the blame if she slacked off. Now that they have moved out, the people around them are simpler, and they don't have to look at Madam Hu's face anymore when they make their own decisions. Chu Qin changed the daily reading of accounts to one-quarter viewing. Anyway, this is something she can easily do, and even if it is a year, there will be nothing wrong with it.
As a result, looking at it like this, it really made her see the problem.
They moved out in August and September last year, and there will be no major issues for the next three months. The daily food and clothing expenses in the house are only so much. Even if she often adds a snack and a dish, the money she spends is limited.
But now that a new year has passed, a lot of money has been spent on entertainment, visits, and gifts. After that, Duke Dingguo returned to Beijing, so Pei Yan went home late. The two of them went to eat supper together every three days. It was not a big expense, but since they went away, it would affect the source of customers, and they had a good conscience. If you can't make it through, you will always have to pay more, and it will cost you a lot to go back and forth.
As a result, the expenditure in January tripled; in February, the expenditure was normal, and the expenditure in March increased by 20% to 30%.
Therefore, Chu Qin was surprised to find that they were living beyond their means, and they had to move the savings at home!
Their husband and wife have three sources of money in total: one is the salary of Pei Yan as the prince's servant; the other is the rent and profits of the shops in Chu Qin's dowry; the third is the monthly allowance allocated by the Dingguo government, both of them have it, and they are moving After coming out, this month's routine did not stop, but Mrs. Hu even gave them 10% in order to look good.
Adding up the three items, they have a total of about 300 taels of income each month. In the past, there was always a surplus, so they saved it for emergencies. Now that the accumulation was suddenly moved, Chu Qin suddenly became nervous.
Years of experience in housekeeping told her that it is absolutely not advisable to sit and eat. Although most of these extra expenses now come from various interactions over the years, but Pei Yan moved out after working as a job in front of the prince, and these interactions will happen from time to time. .
Therefore, it is necessary to open source and reduce expenditure...
After thinking about it, Chu Qin felt that "open source" is more important than "reduction" in the current situation, because Pei Yan's social expenses are not easy to "reduce". It is very limited to save on things like greed and food.
So she asked Qingqiu to find out all the house deeds and land deeds in her dowry, and carefully sorted them out for most of the day, memorizing the land deeds, house deeds, and shops by category, until she had a headache.
In her last life, she never really bothered about this kind of thing. Because in the first few years of their marriage, they all lived in Dingguo Gong's mansion. Living at home could always save money, and the expenses were a lot less than now; Out of his head, the salary has risen.
So at that time, she never encountered a shortage of money, and she turned a blind eye to various obvious industries, just waiting to collect money every month. As for whether there is any shop or field to pay She never bothered to get a little less, or to earn more but didn't.
The so-called "not blind or deaf, not a family man" is somewhat reasonable. There are many and complicated things in the big mansion, and the management is so meticulous that he is exhausted to death.
- Except when you are short of money.
Chu Qin was so busy until the evening. After dinner, she took care of it for a while, and then she took out her pocket watch and saw that it was half past seven.
It was too late to go to the palace gate by dressing and changing clothes at this time, so she had to call Qingqiu and ask her to send a servant to ride a fast horse to talk to Pei Yan, saying that she was too busy to take care of it today, and let him Just go home, save him waiting for her there.
At half past eight, Pei Yan came back.
He entered the door and went straight to the main courtyard. He stepped into the bedroom and saw that Chu Qin was sitting on the tea couch holding a book in his hand. He only knew that she was reading a book, and asked, "What did the doctor say?"
Chu Qin looked up at the same time: "You're back, I have something to tell you." Hearing what he said, he was stunned, "What doctor?"
"..." A second ago, she thought she was going to tell him about the doctor's results. Pei Yan immediately knew that he was wrong, and raised
his eyebrows, "You didn't let the doctor come?" "I forgot." Chu Qin smiled dumbly, then he glanced at Qingqiu, asked Qingqiu to invite the doctor, and then sat down Across the couch from her, he asked her, "What's the matter?"
Chu Qin said, "Wait for your next rest, and accompany me to see various shops and farmhouses."
Pei Yan asked, "What shops and fields are there? House?"
"It's the ones in my dowry." Chu Qin looked earnestly, "I want to see how the shops are doing and what the farm houses are like. If there is more money, we will make more money in the future. !"
Pei Yan was stunned, "Why do you worry about this all of a sudden?"
Chu Qin looked at him: "The family is short of money, and I can't make ends meet."
"..." Pei Yan was bored for a long time, then said "oh".
It was the first time he had encountered such a thing. During the seventeen years in Dingguo Gongfu, although Mrs. Hu treated him harshly, she never lacked money. Now, when he suddenly heard Chu Qin say that he was going to inspect the shops and fields, he didn't think about the lack of money at all, and he realized after hearing her straight up.
After realizing it, I felt guilty and ashamed.
He felt that he had brought her out regardless, and now it was very wrong for her to worry about making money.
Pei Yan sank, lowered his head and said, "I can accompany you to see it, but don't worry, I'll find a way to make more money."
"Well, let's take it slow." Chu Qin was rather relaxed. She was nervous, but she didn't feel the pressure.
After the two of them finished talking, they thought about their own thoughts for a while. Chu Qin thought about how to make the shop make more money, and Pei Yan thought about how to make her work less.
After such a moment of silence, Qingqiu arrived with the doctor. Duke Dingguo's mansion does not have many doctors, so they didn't take one with them when they came out, so they hired one, surnamed Qiu, who was recommended by Dr. Huang in the mansion.
Doctor Qiu was older than Doctor Huang. He was over sixty years old, and his beard was already gray. After entering the house, there was no nonsense. After asking about Chu Qin's recent symptoms, he started to take her pulse.
Chu Qin is falling into Qian's eyes, and this doctor gives her the pulse, and she is still thinking about how to make money. In the absence of her mind, she vaguely heard a "Congratulations—" and so on, but she didn't respond at all.
Pei Yan, who was separated by a case, originally held his breath, but when he heard the words, he suddenly relaxed: "Really?!"
Dr. Qiu smiled with his whiskers: "Now the month is still young, my wife needs to be well-bred, so I don't have to work hard."
"Okay! Pei Yan agreed, then looked at Chu Qin with joy, "Qin Qin!"
"Ah?" Chu Qin suddenly returned to his senses, glanced at him in a daze, and then looked at Doctor Qiu, "How is it? What is it?" What's wrong? Does it matter?"
Pei Yan: "..."
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[Notes]
① [Spicy Chuanchuan] is actually Chuanchuanxiang, but the name of Chuanchuanxiang is too modern (?), so I changed it to something simpler called.