Records of the Cattle and Horses of Chang'an

Chapter 440 Chicken Soup

Xiao Jiang felt a little embarrassed. He didn't usually give anything away, so he only gave things when he needed help. It was a bit...

"Ms. Jiang, just go ahead and say what you want. There's no need to be polite with Old Wang!"

Wang Leisheng patted his chest and joked that just because Cui Shaoqing was concerned about his promotion, he would definitely help Jiang Shangxian if he had any problems!

"It's like this. There's a student named Qi living near Changshoufang. He came from out of town to Chang'an to take the imperial examination, but he didn't pass this year..."

Jiang Shangxian repeated Qi Sanlang's general information and described his appearance. "I would also like Wang Sizhi to help find out where this man came from, what his family situation is like, and whether he is married."

To be honest, there is too little useful information, especially Qi Sanlang's appearance is not very memorable. Jiang Shangxian and the others can go there and ask people, but the information they get is mostly rumors and gossip. Unlike Wang Leisheng who works in the government, the authenticity of the information they get will be much higher.

Getting information was Wang Leisheng's forte, and when he heard about a student from out of town taking the exam, he was even more confident. He immediately gave a guarantee: "Don't worry, Miss Jiang, this is just a small matter. I'll be able to find out in two days!"

Two days is still conservative. If it weren’t for the fact that it’s almost the end of the shift today, we could find out today.

Whether you are a student who comes to Chang'an to take the exam or has already taken the exam once, the government has archives and you can find it by just checking. It's very easy.

He thought something big was going on.

Jiang Shangxian quickly said, "The New Year is coming soon, so there's no need to be so anxious. Wang Sizhi can help check it out when he's free."

Tomorrow is New Year's Eve. Although she still has to go to work, she is basically slacking off and waiting for the holiday. How can she have the nerve to ask others to help her check someone?

By the time Jiang Shangxian, whose face was stiff from the wind and snow, rode Xiongba back home, the main hall of the Jiang family was already bustling with activity.

The cold dishes were already on the two square tables. Old Fan was turning the sizzling grilled lamb chops on the charcoal brazier on the ground. Two guards were coming in and out carrying dishes. Jiang Wangri still had tear marks on his little face. He stood by the door in the breeze with a wronged look on his face - his butt hurt when he sat down.

When he saw Jiang Shangxian come in, he sniffed and turned his head away in a bad mood.

Old Madam Xia and Xia Zhenying were not at home. Jiang Shangxian glared at him and turned to go to the kitchen: "Mother, what dishes are left? Let me do it."

"It's all ready. When can we have dinner if you come back and cook again?" Jiang's mother was a woman with a sharp tongue but a soft heart. She was obviously afraid of tiring her daughter, but she also complained that she came back late and delayed dinner.

Xiao Jiang knew his mother very well, so he was not angry. He smiled and took a clean big plate to take out the solid steamed buns on the stove. This would be the main course for tonight.

"Mom, shall we make dumplings tomorrow morning?" Xiao Jiang used chopsticks to stack the steamed buns one by one. They were made entirely of white flour, and each one was white and soft, about the size of a man's fist, and smelled incredibly fragrant.

Jiang's mother was frying yellow croaker with bean curd skin using long chopsticks. This dish should be eaten with vinegar while it is still hot out of the pan. The bean curd skin on the outside is fried in layers, and it is so crispy that it falls apart when you take a bite.

The filling is made of yellow croaker, which is made by scraping the fish paste with a spoon and adding some seasoning to adjust the taste. Yellow croaker itself is delicious and not fishy, ​​the meat is tender and floating, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, it is extremely delicious, Xiao Jiang can eat a whole plate by himself.

"I'll ask you at dinner time what kind of fillings you want. We've got plenty at home this year. If there's anything you missed, I'll go out and buy it tomorrow morning."

There definitely won’t be as many stalls selling vegetables, meat, and fish as usual, but there are still some, so you can still buy whatever you want, but the prices will definitely be much higher than usual.

It's normal for prices to increase at the end of the year.

At dinner time, men and women sat at separate tables, one table for four people and one table for five people. Yingzi looked at the table full of delicious food and was a little dazed.

She didn't even react when Old Madam Xia said a few polite words and prepared to start eating.

Jiang's mother kept her word. She stood up and reached out to pick up a chicken leg and put it in her bowl. "Yingzi, this is for you. Eat more. You are still too thin!"

Eat some weight so that you can continue to help her next time she beats her son!

Yingzi came to her senses and looked at the chicken leg in front of her with red eyes. She picked up the chopsticks and tried to pick it up several times but failed. So she just picked it up with her hands. After taking a bite, Yingzi burst into tears. She kept chewing with tears falling down. No one noticed at first.

Because there were so many dishes, everyone was busy picking them up. It was only when Jiang Shangxian heard her teeth chattering and turned his head that he noticed her abnormality: "Yingzi, why are you crying?"

"Ah? Yingzi is crying?"

"Why are you crying about such delicious food?"

"Could it be that you cried because you enjoyed it so much?"

Jiang Wangri, who was sitting there showing off his food with a grin on his face, curled his lips when he heard this: "I should be crying!"

Yingzi swallowed the chicken in her mouth with all her might before looking up. Her face was a mixture of tears and laughter. "I never thought I could live such a good life. It's like being in heaven."

The Jiang family usually eats well, but this is the first time they have made chicken soup. Jiang Shangxian prefers roast chicken, stir-fried chicken, chicken stewed with chestnuts, big plate chicken, and wine lees chicken. This is the first time she has eaten chicken soup since coming to the Jiang family.

When they were still in the countryside, although her family was very poor, they would occasionally kill a chicken to eat during the New Year. The chicken was very fat, and she raised it by digging insects every day.

There were two times in total. She remembered that both times, the chicken legs and wings were given to his younger brother, the chicken breasts and butts were eaten by her father, and the chicken bones, chicken feet and necks were eaten by her mother. The chicken soup was kept to be eaten for the whole year. Every time she put some of it in the dishes when cooking, the dishes would be more fragrant.

Just heat it up and put some leftover rice in it. Her brother eats it up and it tastes so good that she is drooling.

There was no seasoning like the Jiang family added today, nor was there any blanching process. The chicken was simply killed and stewed in the pot. Although she had never eaten it, she remembered the aroma clearly. It was extremely fragrant.

Even if she couldn't sit at the table and could only sit in the corner and watch the thin coarse grain rice, just the smell made her feel that the coarse grain rice tasted better.

Before she was sold, she was thinking that if she died one day, it would not matter if she could have chicken soup and chicken legs before she died.

I didn't expect that I could eat it today without dying.