Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

The wind stopped, the snow stopped.

The entire courtyard, from front to back and under the eaves, was covered with a thick layer of white snow.

Knowing that the cleaning ladies were coming, they had already taken dustpans and brooms, ready to sweep the roads inside and outside.

However, they were told that the Second Master had instructed that none of the snow in the courtyard needed to be swept.

The old women were quite happy, as this meant they had half the work to do.

But no one knew why the Second Master wanted to keep all the snow in the courtyard.

A closer look revealed that, before long, led by Ping'er, several maids began setting up stoves, pots, racks, bowls, and plates in the middle of the courtyard.

The old women all laughed, "Second Master, what a refined taste you have! Are you planning to eat hot pot in the snow?"

Under Ping'er's skillful arrangement, two pots were quickly set up in the snow, and the fine silver frost charcoal was lit.

With Xiangling's help, Jia Lian slowly walked to the middle, where Qingwen quickly set up a stool for him to sit down.

Ping'er cooked a thin slice of mutton that the cooks had sliced ​​very thinly, dipped it in sauce, and then, holding it in the sauce bowl, fed it to Jia Lian while it was still hot.

Jia Lian opened his mouth and took a bite, then nodded in approval; it tasted much better than he had expected.

Hot pot in this era was naturally not as diverse and colorful as it would be in later generations. Ping'er did not make his favorite spicy dipping sauce, but it was delicious in its original flavor, and the basic seasonings were all there.

It even has his favorite coriander!

Therefore, we should never underestimate the pursuit of enjoying food by people in ancient times who didn't have mobile phones or e-books. Eating hot pot in winter is now an extremely common thing.

Ping'er, concerned about Jia Lian's injured hand, personally served him food. Qingwen, seeing that everything was ready in Jia Lian's silver "Mandarin Duck Pot," ran to the copper pot on the other side and called to the maids to start setting up their own.

Although Sister Feng had many servants, many of them were not from this courtyard.

The couple had only a dozen or so maids, old women, and young servants (children under the age of ten who were used to guard the courtyard gate and relay messages) under their command, and most of them did not even live in the courtyard.

So at this moment, in this pure white snow, besides Ping, Xiang, and Qing, there were only two or three maids, including Feng'er, waiting to be served. But even so, with the kitchen utensils, bowls, plates, and various dishes scattered all over the snow, the scene was still full of laughter and lively conversation.

Seeing that the basic necessities had been prepared and that she was no longer needed, Ping'er handed the bowls and chopsticks to Xiangling and asked her to serve. She then said, "I'll go and see if Grandma is done with her work."

"Let someone else go. You've been busy all day. Aren't you afraid they'll have eaten all the good stuff by the time you get back?" Jia Lian said with a smile.

He had only thought of it by chance, and then asked Ping'er to make the arrangements.

Only Ping'er, the "chief steward" by Wang Xifeng's side, could handle such internal affairs with ease. Qingwen was not capable of this, and Xiangling was even less so.

Ping'er followed Jia Lian's instructions and called another maid.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Jia Lian quietly turned his head and instructed Xiangling, "Go, add more chili powder and Sichuan peppercorn powder..."

Xiangling was still hesitating when Qingwen noticed and quickly said, "Don't listen to him! The doctor said he needs to avoid spicy food so his wound can heal faster!"

As they were talking, Qingwen ran over, snatched the bowl from Xiangling's hand, and volunteered, "I'll serve him."

Seeing that Qingwen didn't take his words to heart at all, Jia Lian reached out and grabbed her ear, startling Qingwen who cried out, "No, no, no! Be careful not to spill the bowl!"

Just then, a sweet voice came from the courtyard gate: "Oh, it's quite lively here."

Everyone looked up and saw that it was Lin Daiyu who had walked in.

She wore a bright red cloak with a dark orchid pattern, and a light yellow fur-trimmed hood covered her head. Despite her small and slender figure, she walked with a graceful gait.

Behind her, Xueyan, dressed in a tight-fitting cotton-padded jacket and trousers, looked even smaller than Daiyu, following closely behind.

"Miss Lin is here!"

The maids all came to greet them.

Jia Lian also stood up and said with a smile, "On such a cold day, what brings you here, Lin Daiyu?"

"Having nothing to do, I wander around."

Daiyu casually walked closer, took in the whole scene at a glance, and then smiled at Jia Lian, saying, "Second Brother Lian, you certainly have a refined taste."

"I wouldn't normally dare to call myself elegant, but with your arrival, I certainly deserve the title. Please, take a seat."

Jia Lian's flattering words made Daiyu smile.

She had come specifically to check on Jia Lian and see how his injuries were healing. Now that she saw him actually having the time and energy to do this in the courtyard, she figured he must be almost fully recovered.

Seeing the shelves laden with dishes, he laughed even harder, shaking his head and saying, "I dare not enter your gluttonous feast."

"Hehe." Jia Lian chuckled. Indeed, talking to cultured people like Daiyu felt different from talking to the maids.

As he helped Daiyu sit down, he turned to Ping'er and said, "Go and get some good wine."

"Second Master, Second Mistress instructed that you should not drink alcohol while you are recuperating," Ping'er advised.

Jia Lian replied, "If it were just me, I wouldn't make things difficult for you. But now that we have distinguished guests, are you suggesting that because of my minor injury, you can't even warm a cup of wine for them in the dead of winter?"

Ping'er, feeling helpless, looked at Daiyu, hoping she could speak up and persuade Jia Lian. But Daiyu ignored them, as if she hadn't heard their conversation, let alone offered to help persuade Jia Lian.

Ping'er had no choice but to go inside and fetch the wine.

After Jia Lian sat down, Daiyu said, "If I hadn't come today, you wouldn't have gotten any wine. How will you thank me?"

Jia Lian cupped his hands in greeting: "Sister Lin, you are so kind. I will definitely treat you to three big bowls of wine later, and we will drink until we are completely drunk."

Daiyu glanced at Jia Lian. At this moment, the gauze on Jia Lian's face had been removed, revealing a shallow scar that somewhat marred his originally handsome and flawless face. Feeling a pang of heartache, she didn't retort to Jia Lian, but simply snorted and ignored him.

With Daiyu around, Jia Lian no longer acted like a wealthy landlord, having his maids take turns serving him food.

Once the maids had warmed the wine, they were allowed to start eating as well, and everyone enjoyed the lively meal together.

Seeing Xueyan still standing blankly beside Daiyu, her innocent eyes already glancing at Qingwen and the others, she said to her, "You go and eat too. We'll call you when we need you here."

Xueyan felt embarrassed, and Qingwen and the others started to greet her, so she slowly walked over.

The maids had a large copper pot over there, and they didn't distinguish between meat and vegetables, but just stewed all kinds of dishes together in one pot. Five or six maids sat or stood around it in the snow, chatting and laughing, scrambling to grab the food, which was quite lively and interesting.

Daiyu drank a cup of wine. Although it was just the yellow wine that the Jia family usually drank, Jia Lian did not dare to give Daiyu the liquor he brought from the south. But after drinking a cup of wine, Daiyu's face still turned rosy.

Looking at the somewhat unruly manner of the maids over there, she thought to herself, "In the past two weeks, I've often heard people say that Brother Lian is a pleasure-seeker. That might be true, but to say that Brother Lian has no character, those words must be rumors they're spreading."

In her long-held opinion, Lian Ergege is a truly genuine person, not the kind of person who acts capriciously or puts on airs.

Otherwise, how could these girls dare to let their true nature show in front of him?

Suddenly, I felt a blur before my eyes, and then I heard someone say, "I told you to eat meat, what are you thinking about?"

Daiyu looked down and saw that there was a very fatty piece of pork belly in her bowl, and Daiyu frowned.

"I'm not eating it!"

"How can you eat only vegetables? Look how thin you are. You need to eat more meat. As the saying goes, 'No meat makes you thin.' How could Lin Daiyu not know this?"

Although Daiyu had only studied for a few years, she knew that these were the words of Su Dongpo, so she immediately replied, "There's also a saying that goes, 'Without bamboo, one becomes vulgar.' How can you say that since there isn't a single bamboo in your courtyard?"

What else can I say? He and Sister Feng are both ordinary people.

However, seeing Daiyu's competitive expression, Jia Lian laughed again: "Although I have no bamboo, I do have this."

As he spoke, he scooped a bamboo shoot from the bottom of the pot and put it into Daiyu's bowl.

Daiyu frowned even more. What was this? Was she responding to her by treating bamboo shoots as bamboo?

But then Jia Lian chuckled and said, "An old poem says: 'Without bamboo, one becomes vulgar; without meat, one becomes thin; to be neither vulgar nor thin, braise pork with bamboo shoots!'"

"???"

Daiyu's eyes widened, her watery, seemingly glowing eyes filled with shock, and a hint of utter bewilderment as if her worldview had been shattered.

"Hahaha……"

Jia Lian smiled smugly.

"What are they saying? Why is Second Master laughing so happily?" The maids nearby were also keeping a close eye on their movements.

"I don't know, I think I heard Second Master mention something about 'braised pork with bamboo shoots,' and something else..."

"Haha, you didn't hear me right. Let me tell you, what Second Master was talking about was 'not bad, but not skinny,' which is braised pork with bamboo shoots. Hahaha, that's hilarious. Let's eat some bamboo shoots and pork too; we're both pretty good people."

Qingwen's voice was the sharpest and most resonant, so loud that Daiyu blushed upon hearing it. She glanced down at the bamboo shoots and the piece of fatty meat in her bowl, and spat, "Pah, that's utter nonsense."