The little cook in the book has fallen asleep

It was not yet 3 p.m. when the Cheng family returned home after selling the cold noodles, so everyone went about their own business. Everyone in the Cheng family had their own things to do.

The three brothers of the Cheng family continued to tend the crops in the fields, while the three sisters-in-law of the Cheng family were responsible for cleaning the wooden barrels and the newly purchased wooden boxes and checking whether they would leak.

Cheng Xiaowu and Cheng Xiaoliu pulled their eldest brother together to start counting the money. They calculated while their eldest brother checked, and the division of labor was clear.

When Mr. Cheng heard that Mrs. Cheng needed old bamboo to make bowls, he asked in detail about the required size and specifications, then took a hatchet and went out to the mountains to look for suitable bamboo.

Cheng Xiaoqi is a person who can't sit still, so he followed his grandfather to the mountain to help.

Cheng Xiaoba was chatting with his grandmother, mother and aunt in the kitchen. Before entering the kitchen, he did not forget to confirm the location of his sister. Seeing that his sister was watching his eldest brother and his fifth and sixth brothers settling accounts with relish, he felt at ease to enter the kitchen.

After listening to her fifth and sixth brothers settling accounts for a while, Cheng Yu lost interest, so she sat on a bench nearby and started thinking.

"Oh, Mom, we can never finish eating all the peas, and they won't taste good when they get old!" Li Huaxiang complained from the kitchen: "We grow too many peas every year, and we can never finish eating them. In the end, we can only watch them get old, and they won't taste good even if we use them to stew meat."

Zhao Yunniang sighed and said, "That's true, but if we don't plant more, there won't be enough pea tips for our large family. I'll feel empty when I don't have a mouthful of pea tips when I eat vegetables."

When Cheng Yu heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up. Yes, in addition to cold noodles, there is also pea jelly. If there are peas, there must be soybeans. The taste of the tofu pudding made Cheng Yu swallow his saliva.

She came up with an idea, which was to make peas into pea flour! This would not only solve the problem of villagers not being able to finish eating peas, but also increase the variety of products on their stalls.

Moreover, pea flour can be used to make pea jelly, cold noodles, etc., mixed with their chili oil and sauce, it tastes sour and spicy, and it will definitely be very popular!

The more Cheng Yu thought about it, the more excited she became. She decided to give it a try, after all, peas were readily available at home.

So Cheng Yu went into the kitchen and stood beside Old Lady Cheng, asking in his heart, "Grandma, do we have a millstone at home?"

Old Mrs. Cheng squatted down and asked in a low voice, "What does Nannan want the millstone for?"

"Beans... drink... eat!" Cheng Yu said immediately, and then answered in his mind: "Milk, grind soy milk, make tofu pudding and pea jelly!"

"What is it?" Mrs. Cheng didn't hear clearly and asked again.

"Bowl...peas, soybeans, eat!" Cheng Yu said it again patiently, and said in his mind: "Peas are made into jelly, and soybeans are made into tofu pudding." Sure enough, at such a young age, he can't even speak straight!

“Soak the peas in advance, then grind them into pulp, filter them and let them stand, then pour off some of the pulp water on the surface.

What is left is pea starch. Pour the remaining slurry at the bottom into the pot and boil it. Stir continuously to prevent the pot from sticking. After cooking, pour it into a container and it can be eaten after cooling.

The second method is a little simpler:

Place the unused pea starch (you can now buy pea starch directly online) on gauze to dry, and when using, mix it with water in a ratio of 1 bowl of powder to 6 bowls of water.

Stir well and pour into boiling water, stirring continuously until it becomes viscous and transparent, pour into a container and cool to solidify, remove from the mold and cut into strips, add seasoning and serve.

"Soy milk and tofu pudding are even simpler. Soak the soybeans, grind them into pulp with a stone mill, filter out the residue, and then boil them in a pot over low heat.

Wait until the soy milk is free of foam before beating it. Add some sugar and it becomes soy milk, add some brine and it becomes tofu pudding. If the proportions are right, it becomes tofu.

Ah! Killing two birds with one stone!" Cheng Yu recited all the methods of making pea jelly and soy milk tofu pudding in his mind.

The more Zhao Yunniang listened, the more excited she became. She immediately scooped out a bowl of peas that her sister-in-law had found and soaked them, and also scooped out a bowl of soybeans from another bag and soaked them.

It happened that the three Cheng Jin brothers had also returned, so Old Lady Cheng asked them to take out the stone mill from the utility room and put it under the big tree.

Li Huaxiang and her three sisters-in-law also quickly chopped grass for the pigs, lit a fire, and cooked pig food. After the pig food was cooked, they went to the backyard to pull weeds.

"Oh, you know what, this sweet potato looks quite similar to the real thing." The three sisters-in-law looked at the green sweet potato and couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

Meanwhile, in the imperial farm outside the capital, Lord Zheng was staring at the malnourished and dying sweet potato vines in front of him with a worried look on his face. He couldn't help but wonder in his heart, "Didn't they say that this thing can be kept alive with hands? How could this happen..."

At the same time, inside the palace, the emperor was carefully reading the memorial handed over by Minister Shen.

As he read further, the expression on his face became more and more excited.

Floods in the south of the Yangtze River have always been one of the biggest problems he has faced since he ascended the throne.

Every time a flood comes, not only does it cause the people to lose their crops and fall into hardship, but it also requires a huge amount of financial and material resources to reinforce the embankments.

What is more serious is that countless people die due to floods every year, which is heartbreaking.

However, the memorial in his hand gave the emperor hope of solving these problems.

Although the plan is not perfect yet, it is feasible to a certain extent.

Especially when he saw the detailed explanation on the back of the memorial, he was even more surprised.

He simply couldn't believe that such a brilliant idea was thought up by three young students in their teens!

Minister Shen also specially placed three copies of the manuscript in an envelope and presented it to the emperor.

The emperor couldn't wait to open the envelope and was instantly attracted by the handwriting of the three people.

In comparison, the version polished by Minister Shen seems a bit milder, while the original ideas of the three young people are more vivid and interesting, full of the sharpness and edge of youth.

"Eunuch Pan, the young are formidable. My country has talented people from generation to generation!" The emperor laughed happily. The Cheng family from Daqingshan Village, Bai Ze County, Xi Province, right? He remembered it!

"Your Majesty, that is the result of your hard work and efforts to expand the world. Congratulations, Your Majesty!" Eunuch Pan was good at speaking. He knew that the Cheng family had caught the emperor's eye.

"This time, three students are also taking the spring examination in the western province. Tell the people below to keep a close eye on them. If they bury these pillars of the country, I will make them pay for it!" said the emperor viciously.

He has only been on the throne for three years. During these three years, he abolished the hereditary system of the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers. However, there are still some aristocratic families who have not given up, and there will definitely be cases of cheating in exams or occupying quotas.

That's why he came to the provincial examination after the spring plowing this time to catch the noble families off guard! Sure enough, the three brothers of the Cheng family, who came from a farming family, gave him a big surprise!

"Yes, I understand!" said Eunuch Pan.

"By the way, reward...reward the Cheng family with a thousand taels of gold, twenty pieces of silk and satin, and a plaque that reads "A Family of Loyalty and Righteousness". Send it to the Cheng family in Qingshan Village immediately!" The emperor wrote an imperial edict and handed it to Eunuch Pan.

The emperor originally wanted to directly reward them with a sinecure, but when he thought of the talents of the three brothers, he decided to wait until the provincial examination was over before making plans. After all, the provincial examination was followed by the metropolitan examination, and people with real talents and knowledge would never be buried.

"Yes, I'll arrange it right away!" Eunuch Pan responded immediately, took the imperial edict, and left the Qinzheng Hall.

After Eunuch Pan left, he quickly summoned the secret guard camp and asked them to pass the message to various examination halls, and at the same time let the secret guards perform supervision in secret.

Then, he asked his godson to take the imperial edict and reward to Qingshan Village to convey the message.

These arrangements made by Eunuch Pan made this year's spring and autumn examinations the most fair, just and clean since the new emperor ascended the throne.

This spring examination also selected a group of truly talented people for the court, and a group of people with real talent and knowledge who dared to think and act emerged in the court.

The three brothers of the Cheng family who had caught the emperor's eye had just arrived in Western Province. Perhaps the change of environment caused them to feel physically unwell, especially Cheng Zhiwen and Cheng Liyao. They looked pale and sickly.

However, they immediately remembered the small jade bottle that Cheng Yu gave them. They couldn't wait to take out the small jade bottle, gently unscrewed the bottle cap, and a fresh fragrance wafted into their noses.

Then, they carefully put the bottle mouth to their mouths and took a small sip.

After drinking it, they felt a magical liquid flowing down their throats and instantly spread throughout their bodies, and then they fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, the inn's wake-up service was also very good. The waiter used a gong to wake up all the candidates one by one, including the three Cheng Yiyu brothers.

They slowly opened their eyes and felt refreshed, as if all their fatigue had been swept away.

They were surprised to find that their physical condition had recovered and they seemed to have endless energy.

Today is the Spring Examination. After the three of them had sorted out their clothes, they came to the examination room refreshed.

Since the message had been passed down from above, the examiners were worried that someone would manipulate the situation behind the scenes, so they decided to use an on-site lottery to determine the candidates' seats.

This made many people nervous, but the three Cheng brothers seemed exceptionally calm.

When they entered the examination room, they drew their own examination numbers according to the instructions.

Fortunately, although the numbers drawn by the three brothers of the Cheng family were not in the same examination room, they were all far away from the toilets, which made them very satisfied.

In addition, they also took out the meat patties made by grandma and the pastries given by their sister from their pockets. The pastries given by their sister are called "compressed biscuits". After eating the meat patties, they can eat them with hot water, which gives them a strong sense of fullness.

As the bell rang outside, the three Cheng brothers took a deep breath, adjusted their state, and began to answer the questions seriously.

Sometimes they were in deep thought, sometimes they were writing furiously, pouring their heart and soul into every word and every question. The examination room was completely silent, with only the rustling sound of the pen tip rubbing against the paper.

It was three days later when Mr. Zhou saw the three people again. He did not ask them any questions, but helped them get on the carriage and gave them some cakes to replenish their strength.

Cheng Yiyu and his two brothers looked at Master Zhou with amusement. His cautious look was a little funny, but it made the three of them feel warm in their hearts.

"Teacher, I think we did well in the exam. We all knew how to memorize the content, and the policy essays were quite simple..." Cheng Yiyu took the initiative to say. They applied many templates from the book that their sister gave them based on their actual situation.

At that time, when Xiao Ou had not yet upgraded, Cheng Yu used 1000 points to redeem a policy paper (contemporary) template and the current political affairs of their dynasty for his three brothers to read.

This is why they were able to write policy papers that even the emperor admired when they were in their teens.

At this time, some students came back from the bus, and they kept saying that the memorization part was too biased, the comprehension part was too difficult, and the policy essay was even more difficult.

Master Zhou and Master He looked at each other. Is this easy or difficult? Who cares? They won't test it anyway. We'll know after the revision.

"Okay, let's go back!" Master Zhou said after seeing that everyone had arrived, and the carriage headed towards Bai Ze County.

The Cheng family naturally didn’t know that their surprise was also on the way!