Records of the Cattle and Horses of Chang'an

After some exercise, Cui Bianxu felt very energetic. Most of the fatigue of the past two days disappeared. He walked into the box in high spirits. Seeing that there was only one chopstick left on the table, he moved his feet and sat down the next moment. He picked up the chopsticks and put them into his bowl at the speed of light.

After exercising for a while, he felt a little hungry.

Wang Mingqian had almost finished his meal and took a piece of glutinous rice cake and put it in his mouth: "Where is the person?"

"They've taken him back to the Dali Temple. We'll talk about it later." Cui Bianxu answered casually and asked, "How is it going? Do you have any clues?"

Wang Mingqian shook his head. If there was any situation, the Jinwu Guards' whistle would have sounded long ago.

Sitting on the edge with one hand on his knee, half-deadly directing Lu Xingzhou, Wang Leisheng, who had poured three glasses of water, finally recovered. He had lived a stable life for too long in the past few years and had indeed neglected exercise. Not only did he fail to catch up with the person, but he was also exhausted. "Shaoqing, you eat so much. Can you still finish the lunch that Miss Jiang makes later?"

He still remained skeptical about Cui Bianxu's appetite. Doctor Ning had said that overeating would damage the stomach.

Wang Mingqian tilted his head, his features wrinkled, and questioned Cui Bianxu dissatisfiedly, "Mrs. Jiang cooked for you? You ordered food from Lexianlou?"

Why not order one for him? Why be so stingy?

"No, General Zhonglang, you don't know that the chef of the Dali Temple is not in Chang'an right now, and our daily meals have become a problem. Shaoqing is considerate of his subordinates and has specially invited Miss Jiang to work as a chef in our Dali Temple for a few days. Today is the first day."

When Wang Leisheng said this, his face was full of satisfaction. He patted his belly and shook his head. "The braised pork and scallion buns that Miss Jiang made this morning were really delicious. The filling was salty and sweet, but not greasy at all. It was just right with the scallions."

Well, there are just too many green onions and not enough braised pork. Tsk... Miss Jiang is too stingy...

Seeing Wang Mingqian's interest, Lu Xingzhou joined in the fun. "I think those two side dishes to go with the porridge are particularly delicious. I've never eaten them prepared this way before. This time, it's the first time I've had them, and they go really well with rice."

Wang Mingqian's expression grew increasingly serious. He stared intently at Cui Bianxu, who refused to meet his gaze. After a while, he managed to utter, "Cui Yi, don't you have anything to say?"

Haven't they been best friends over the past six months?! Why is he eating alone? Hateful! Shameful!

Cui Bianxu, who was called out, slowly picked up a handkerchief to wipe his hands and nodded earnestly in affirmation: "What they said is wrong. They are obviously all delicious."

By lunchtime, they still found nothing. Cui Bianxu took the people from Dali Temple back to the cafeteria to eat. Wang Mingqian was calm and collected and quietly joined the group of people from Dali Temple who were going back to eat.

Anyway, they, the Jinwu Guards, are all warriors and don’t have as many troubles as those civil officials. He is on patrol outside, so he won’t be bothered if he doesn’t go back to eat.

In the Dali Temple cafeteria, Jiang Shangxian was making the final preparations. Hot oil was boiling in one pot, and in another pot, hot dough sugar cakes were being fried. The golden and crispy smoked fish were already soaking in the sweet and sour sauce made of sugar, soy sauce and vinegar, absorbing the juice as much as possible.

Food is the most sensible thing in the world. With a little effort, it will bloom.

The steamed chicken with yellow skin and tender meat has been cut and neatly arranged on the plate. The pot is filled with sesame oil, chopped onions, ginger and green onions, and the aroma is slowly beginning to emit.

When it is almost done frying, remove the dried ingredients, mix the oil with minced garlic, chopped green onion and soy sauce, and pour it on the chicken.

"Nian Nu, is the soup ready?" Jiang's mother lifted the lid of a large earthenware pot beside her, and white mist gushed out. After it slowly dissipated, one could see that what was cooked inside was pickled mustard greens and winter bamboo shoots soup (snow vegetable and winter bamboo shoot soup).

Jiang Shangxian flipped the sugar cake over with a pair of long chopsticks in his hand. He took a quick look and nodded, saying, "Alright, let's move it out."

The big pot of rice was always served in the largest container, which was very heavy. The clever mother Jiang didn't carry it herself. She asked Huang Niangzi and Xu Niangzi to move it, while she herself moved the fried cabbage residue.

Seeing this, the guards hurried over to help. They couldn't stand the smell outside and ran in to help. It was so fragrant. The smell became stronger and stronger as each dish came out of the pot, and it was completely irresistible.

"Gentlemen, there are some hot Hu pancakes. Please take them out." Jiang's mother was not polite. Such large portions of food were quite heavy.

After Cui Bianxu and the others came back, they went straight to the cafeteria. When they arrived, all the dishes except the hot sugar cakes were already there.

Wang Leisheng's mouth was watering as he watched these dishes he had never seen or eaten before. This was only the second meal, but he was already looking forward to tomorrow!

"Shaoqing Cui, what would you like to eat?"

It was Jiang's mother who was in charge of serving the meal, while Jiang Shangxian was frying pancakes in the back! Cui Bianxu was a little disappointed. Without Miss Jiang, who would introduce the dishes to him?

He looked behind him, then at the food, and finally at Jiang's mother. Like a lost black-backed fox, his eyes drooped. "What is Miss Jiang doing?"

"Here, these are the hot-skinned sugar cakes. You have to eat them hot. She is still frying them in the back! How many would you like, Shaoqing?" Jiang's mother said as she took the empty plate in one hand and the long chopsticks in the other and reached for the bamboo basket containing the sugar cakes.

Cui Bianxu pouted slightly: "I'll take eight. I don't like sweet things."

"Yes."

Jiang's mother didn't even stop, quickly picking up eight dishes. She then placed two plates of scallion chicken, a plate of sweet and sour smoked fish, a bowl of pickled mustard greens and bamboo shoot soup, a plate of stir-fried cabbage with oil residue, and finally a Hu pancake on his tray. "If it's not enough, Shaoqing, just come and get more. We made a lot for lunch. Nian Nu even packed some food for you in case you're hungry tonight and put it in the back. I'll have your guards take it over later."

Cui Bianxu, who had been feeling inexplicably down, immediately raised his head after hearing this. His eyes lit up, and his hair seemed to have been smoothed over. "Thank you so much, Miss Jiang! Remember to take more!"

Jiang's mother gave him the same polite smile as Jiang Shangxian: "Yes, Shaoqing, don't worry, next one."

At lunch that day, the staff of Dali Temple had the most delicious lunch in their careers. No, strictly speaking, the four days that Miss Jiang was in Dali Temple were the four days they had the best food.

When it's time for dinner, everyone no longer eats just to survive. They talk twice a day about what they will eat for the next meal and are full of expectations for the future. This feeling has made them miss it for many years.

After all, the chefs of Dali Temple, regardless of their mediocre cooking skills, have been serving the same dishes for decades. The menu is based on a three-day system, and the dishes are different within three days, but after three days, the menu will start to cycle automatically.

Of course, if a certain vegetable is abundant on the streets, the menu will be slightly adjusted. For example, when cowpeas are on the market, we will eat cowpeas twice a day for half a month, at least once a day.