Starting from a thatched cottage, the farmer embarked on the road to wealth through imperial examina

At first, Ye Changyan just felt that Mr. Cai, who once served as the head of the highest educational institution in the entire dynasty, seemed a little too casual.

Seeing the old man eating with his mouth full of oil, and stuffing food into his mouth non-stop, he could even say from his greasy mouth that the delicacies he brought were difficult to digest.

Cai Lao's words made Ye Changyan a little amused. How come Cai Lao's personality was a bit like a character in his impression? Ye Changyan stared at Cai Lao who was still picking up wild delicacies and stuffing them into his mouth, but a name emerged in his mind - Zhou Botong.

The every move of Mr. Cai in front of us makes him look like a naughty old man!

"I will humbly accept your valuable advice, Mr. Cai."

"Hey! That's right. Make it tomorrow and remember to send me two jars."

When Mr. Cai heard Ye Changyan's answer, he seemed very satisfied and nodded while eating.

Ye Changyan was a little stunned when he saw this. This man was really a naughty old boy. He asked for things so confidently.

Liang Jingcheng on the side looked embarrassed and gave Ye Changyan an awkward expression.

"Sir, I'm afraid you will scare Mr. Ye by doing this."

"How can you be so timid that you are scared by two jars of wild delicacies? If you are so timid, how can you participate in the imperial examination? I'm afraid you won't even dare to step into the gate of the Imperial Examination Hall."

Mr. Cai turned to Ye Changyan and smiled at him, revealing two remaining teeth.

Ye Changyan nodded slightly, not knowing how to respond.

"Master Ye, please don't mind. Master Ye doesn't treat you as an outsider. Master Ye just likes the food. I have accompanied Master Ye on his study tour, eating as I have walked. Although I have seen many delicacies, none of them can make Master Ye so happy. It seems that Master Ye's delicacies are really as good as they are said to be."

"Mr. Liang, thank you for your praise. I am very happy that Mr. Cai likes me."

Mr. Cai listened to the two young men exchanging pleasantries, but his chopsticks never stopped moving. By the time the two men noticed, the fried chicken mushrooms on the plate had already been completely eaten by Mr. Cai.

Liang Jingcheng shook his head at Ye Changyan, then showed a helpless smile.

Afterwards, under the leadership of Mr. Cai, the three of them entered the study.

After entering the study, Mr. Cai's attitude took a 180-degree turn. He became serious and introduced everything as he walked.

"This Chu Garden is the former residence of an old friend of mine. In August, he and his son went to Wuzhou to take up their posts. The garden has been vacant since then, with only a few servants left to look after it. However, all the items in the garden have been preserved. My old friend hopes that one day he can return to this place surrounded by green waters and green mountains."

It turned out that Mr. Cai was staying in the former residence of an old friend. It seemed that Mr. Cai really had many students and old friends. I didn't expect that in this remote Wanshou County, there was such a quiet and secluded house with pleasant scenery that could provide him with a place to stay.

In the study, Mr. Cai took out a few calligraphy and paintings, and the others appreciated them for a while. Then they heard the servant coming to ask whether to start the meal.

When he heard that the banquet was about to start, Mr. Cai's expression changed again. He hurriedly told the servants to start the banquet, and then with the help of Liang Jingcheng, he put away the calligraphy and paintings in no time.

Perhaps because they knew Ye Changyan was in mourning, the table consisted of only vegetarian dishes and no wine, only a white porcelain teapot.

"Come, come, today is the Double Ninth Festival. You two young men, accompany me to have a vegetarian feast, and then we can go to the garden to appreciate the chrysanthemums."

Seeing that there were only three sets of bowls and chopsticks on the table, Ye Changyan knew that there would be no one else here today, but he was amazed in his heart at how honored he was. A figure like Mr. Cai had students and friends all over the world, and was a great scholar in the eyes of scholars and students.

Unexpectedly, such a high-ranking figure only invited himself, and his attitude towards him before was so easy-going, without any airs or style at all, which really made Ye Changyan a little flattered.

"Mr. Cai, do you believe that this vegetarian meal can taste like meat?"

The master and the apprentice, who had just picked up their bowls and chopsticks and were about to start eating, turned their heads and stared at Ye Changyan. Then they saw Mr. Cai looking around at the plate on the table, and then they saw him shaking his head.

"Then let me show off in front of you."

As he spoke, Ye Changyan took the jar of fried chicken mushrooms, scooped a little bit of it with a spoon and put it into the braised bamboo shoots, then stirred it.

He scooped a little oil from the bottom of the can with a spoon, put it into the vegetable and tofu soup, stirred it a few times, and looked at Mr. Cai with a smile.

"Mr. Cai, please try it."

Mr. Cai was skeptical. He stretched out his chopsticks, picked up a piece of bamboo shoots with a piece of oily chicken mushroom, put it in front of his nose to sniff it, and then put it into his mouth.

Liang Jingcheng looked at his teacher and saw a smile on his face, so he also stretched out his chopsticks and picked up a piece of bamboo shoots dipped in oily chicken mushrooms.

"Yeah, as expected, it's really like bamboo shoots and roast chicken, fresh and delicious. But with my teeth, I'm afraid I can't handle a few pieces of these bamboo shoots, hahahaha."

Although Mr. Cai said that he had bad teeth and couldn't do anything about the bamboo shoots, he still stretched out his chopsticks to pick up a piece. Ye Changyan and Liang Jingcheng, who were standing by, laughed when they saw this.

"Hahaha, this is indeed a vegetarian dish that tastes like a meat dish. It's so fresh and fragrant, even better than the bamboo shoot roast chicken I've had in the past."

After tasting the braised bamboo shoots processed by Ye Changyan, Liang Jingcheng also felt it was magical and did not hesitate to praise it.

Ye Changyan was also smiling when he heard the praise from the master and disciple. He picked up the soup bowl, poured half a bowl of vegetable and tofu soup into it, scooped out two small pieces of tofu, and then handed it to Mr. Cai.

"Mr. Cai, please try this tofu soup."

With the experience of braised bamboo shoots in oil, Mr. Cai was full of anticipation for the tofu soup. He picked up the soup bowl, blew on it close to his mouth, and then took a small sip.

Liang Jingcheng saw his teacher's eyes wide open, not caring whether the soup was still hot or not, he finished half a bowl of soup along with the tofu in two sips.

"This soup is so delicious, it has the freshness of fish soup and the fragrance of chicken soup. I want another bowl."

A meal that brings joy to both the host and the guest.

After dinner, the three of them strolled leisurely in the huge garden of Chu Garden.

The garden scenery is exquisite and detailed. Standing at different angles, each view is a unique scene. Ye Changyan deeply admires such ingenious scenery setting techniques.

In this autumn, chrysanthemums naturally become the protagonists in this huge garden. Different varieties of chrysanthemums bloom in competition, and the white, red, yellow and purple flowers compete with each other in beauty.

"Boy, I heard that your two passages of "White Snake" have made the scholars and students in Wanshou County deeply obsessed with it?"

Just as Ye Changyan was admiring the colorful chrysanthemums on both sides of the flower path, Mr. Cai brought up the storytelling.

"You are too kind. I was provoked by someone and it was just an impulsive act."

"Mr. Ye, you are too modest. I listened to the two passages in their entirety that day, and everyone present praised them highly."

Liang Jingcheng naturally also highly praised "White Snake". After he came back and mentioned it to his teacher, it aroused the teacher's great interest.

At this moment, Ye Changyan discovered a plant not far away that was more than one meter tall and was covered with red flowers and fruits. He was attracted by it and walked towards the plant.

"I wonder when I can listen to this old man's play. What is so special about it?"

Ye Changyan was so attracted by the plants not far away that he didn't pay attention to Mr. Cai's question.

When Master Liang Jingcheng and his disciple saw that Ye Changyan did not say anything but walked straight forward, they were curious and followed him.