Datang First Chef

Mo Wenyuan turned his head and said in surprise: "Wang Sanlang!" It was none other than Luoyang Wang Wei.

I haven't seen him for more than half a year. Wang Wei hasn't changed much. He is still on the cutting edge of fashion. He sprinted towards Mo Wenyuan, bringing a burst of fragrance. lip fat.Mo Wenyuan also had a tinge of joy to see his old friend, so he couldn't help looking at Wang Wei's appearance carefully, he looked at the other's cheek and smiled and said, "Wang Lang is quite plump?"

Wang Wei is quite thin, with protruding cheekbones. The last time I saw him, his cheeks were slightly sunken. This time, when I saw him, his flesh became plump, and his chin changed from only skin to two layers of flesh. In general, the face It has changed from an oval to a circle.

Wang Lang, who loves beauty, heard Mo Wenyuan tease and vomited bitterly: "You think I think so? If the food in your restaurant is not so delicious, I will grow up like this?" The figure in the early Tang Dynasty pursued the tradition of the previous dynasty, no matter Both men and women like a slender and elegant figure, and a young man like Wang Wei who loves beauty and fashion will even go on a diet occasionally to make his waist slimmer. Considering that there were not many delicacies in the Tang Dynasty, it is very simple to eat less.

but!but!Wang Wei felt grief and indignation. It was easy to go on a diet before, but not now!Bean curd, steamed buns, almond tofu, yuba, jelly...there are so many delicious ones that even if he wanted to, he couldn't stop eating them!

Mo Wenyuan could tell what Wang Wei was thinking just by looking at him, not to mention the Wang family man, even the neighbors in Chang'an City have gained a lot of weight from him, and it is common in restaurants to complain about being out of shape. Desperately stuffing food into his mouth, he felt guilty when he saw it.

With a guilty conscience, Mo Wenyuan greeted warmly: "Wang Lang, do you want to try the new pastry?"

Wang Wei asked curiously, "But dragon and phoenix crystal cake, flower cake and so on?"

There was "cake" in the Tang Dynasty.Cake is food steamed from wheat flour and rice flour. Due to its high cost, ordinary people can only eat it during festivals.

After thinking about it, Mo Wenyuan said: "To be honest, it is similar to rice dumplings."

In the Tang Dynasty, there was no eating food with a clear meaning of cakes. The rice dumplings were sold as cakes, and they were sold in the cake shop in Guangdefang.Finely mix the rice noodles and honey, knead them into thin strips, and then twist them together in the shape of a twist, or form a ring, and then brush a layer of oil in the cauldron, and fry the porridge until cooked.

The price of this item is not cheap, each 粔籹 is only one-third of the size of ordinary cakes, but the price is not low, the market sells for three Wen yuan, even wealthy Chang'an people only buy it when children make a fuss .

Wang Wei suddenly realized: "So that's how it is." He couldn't help feeling greedy after hearing this. Mr. Wang's family is addicted to sweets, and when he was a child, he always urged Auntie to buy things like 粔籹 maltose, "If you have any cakes, bring them to me." Some." As a gesture, he wanted to order his followers to pay.

Mo Wenyuan immediately stopped him and said: "Confucius said: It's a great pleasure to have friends coming from afar. You come all the way from Luoyang. I will entertain you once as my host. I'll send the cakes. You come first." Have a cup of tea in the yard."

Under the envious and jealous eyes of other diners queuing up, Wang Wei entered the room with arrogance.

……

When Wang Wei came, the little black sheep was still fighting against the crushed sugar cakes. He smelled a stranger, raised his nose and bleated at Mo Wenyuan: Isn't he a big fool in Luoyang City?

In fact, Wang Wei is not stupid, but Xiao Taotie is bitter and mean, and he is very envious of Wang Wei being able to eat first-hand food at that time, so when addressing him, he cannot help but use derogatory terms.

Mo Wenyuan could understand what he meant when he heard his baa, but Wang Wei couldn't. He said stupidly: "How can there be sheep here? Mo Dalang, are you going to buy something to eat?" He commented from the perspective of a diner, "This The lamb is still young and has good legs, the meat should be tender and juicy, and the taste will be even better after roasting."

The little black sheep exploded in anger, going crazy, "baa baa baa baa baa baa!"

You actually provoked the relationship between me and Mo Xiaoyuan, are you getting impatient? ? ?

When Mo Wenyuan heard Xiao Yang's unscrupulous words, cold sweat hung on his forehead, and he immediately smoothed things over and said: "Don't be disrespectful to him, this is a divine beast under the seat of a Bodhisattva. On a certain day when the moon is in mid-heaven, he will step on the moon. Guanyin Bodhisattva And entrusted me with the dream, let me take good care of him."

Wang Wei was shocked when he heard this, and immediately bowed to the little black sheep to make amends: "I said that it has sharp eyes and seems to understand human speech. It turns out that it is a divine beast under the seat of a Bodhisattva. Disrespect and disrespect!" He came from a family and has more knowledge than ordinary people. , The understanding of the gods, beasts and monsters is also quite rich, so it is easy to accept Mo Wenyuan's statement.

The little black sheep snorted and said: My lord has a lot, forgive you!

……

Tea was placed on the low table, and there was a plate of green green dough balls. This was the pastry that Mo Wenyuan had just made this morning. Wang Wei came by coincidence, so it happened to be a real treat.

"What is this?" Wang Wei held up a flat reed leaf. The green ball is made of glutinous rice, and its stickiness is no less than that of sweet-scented osmanthus cake. There is no modern plastic film to wrap the green round body, so we can only retreat Secondly, reed leaves are used instead.

"You can call it Qingtuan, Qingyuanzi is fine too."

What Wang Wei was most curious about was its dark green skin. He asked, "What kind of juice do you use to dye the skin emerald green?"

"The juice of wormwood."

"Wormwood?" Wang Wei was really shocked, "Don't tease me, even if I'm not good at farming, I know that the leaves of wormwood don't grow long in winter." The planting cycle of wormwood is short. It can harvest four to five stubbles. Although farmers in the Tang Dynasty invented a crude out-of-season planting method, they would not use it on wormwood.

Generally speaking, wormwood leaves are planted in March and April, and its seeds are very vigorous. You just need to spread them on both sides of the road and grow them together with weeds. In April and May, farmers will raise their knives Go to the side of the road and cut the first crop of tender wormwood. Among all wormwood, spring wormwood is the best.

Mo Wenyuan looked at the little black sheep with exaggerated awe, which made the vanity beast feel refreshed. He said: "The mugwort leaves near Chang'an have long withered and turned yellow, but not in the south. The temperature in the south is higher than ours." produce a lot, and the plants can thrive.”

"The beast sent by the Bodhisattva is compassionate and has great supernatural powers. Like the great disciple who followed Master Xuanzang, he can do somersaults over hundreds of thousands of miles. For him, it only takes a few breaths to go back and forth to the south. "

Wang Wei was almost stunned. The majestic beast used its natural supernatural powers to cross half of Li Tang's territory just to bring Ai Cao back to Beijing, which is too exaggerated!

Faintly, he had an insight into Xiao Taotie's intention to come down to the human world. Could it be that he was greedy for delicious food in the world, so he followed Mo Dalang around, eating and drinking, right?Thinking of this, he looked at the little black sheep with even more awe. This is the heartfelt admiration of foodies for higher-level foodies.

The little black sheep proudly raised its chest.

Taotie did not bring many youth groups, so they could only make some food for their own family, and selling it to outsiders was absolutely not enough. Wang Wei also knew that he was lucky, so he cherished the hard-won opportunity even more.

He is very curious, and has the spirit of inquiring about food. He poked the soft and sticky surface of the green dough with his fingertips, and when he was about to leave, he drew a thick and short green line: "How is the dough made?"

"Blanch the mugwort leaves in water, mash them, add them to the glutinous rice flour and knead them evenly." He lamented, "It's a pity that the mugwort in Nanzhong is more fragrant than the color. If you really choose, it's the quality of tender mugwort around the Cold Food Festival. The best, the kneaded dough is also dark green and green, slightly green, even the bamboo branches after the spring rain can't compare with it."

The color of old mugwort leaves is green to black, and there is not enough water. The real top-grade green balls should be light dark green in color. Most of the dark green balls sold in the market are artificial preparations, which are harmful to the body. Mo Wenyuan said: The youth balls eaten by the cook were all bought on the street, but after he learned this craft and made it himself, he put an end to the idea of ​​buying it on the street, and he dared not buy it just because of the color.

Hey, handmade is safer.

The soft and glutinous cake is close to the mouth and nose, and the fragrance of wormwood fills the mouth. Wang Wei can't help but close his eyes. He feels the breath of spring. In early spring, the family went to the outskirts of Luoyang for an outing. The green grass, the willow branches fluttering in the wind, and the wormwood hidden in the weeds quietly emerge, bringing their unique strong smell.

This is the taste of clean spring!

The scent of the green ball alone made him have rich associations, and his anticipation for the taste intensified a bit. Wang Wei opened his mouth wide and bit down half of the ball in the first bite. The black bean paste slowly flowed out from the filling. Immediately stick out the tip of your tongue to catch the excess red bean paste.

Bean paste has not been on the stage of history these days. It is reported that the earliest record of bean paste comes from "The Sanji of Yunxian". It is said that a hundred years later, there was a chef named Deng Lian in the wife's house of Guoguo, who carefully filtered out the red bean skin and pounded it inside. It was crushed into "Lingshajiao", wrapped in a flour skin, and made into the earliest bean paste snack.

However, the import of Tianzhu granulated sugar and the thousands of years of gourmet knowledge developed in Mo Wenyuan's mind brought red bean paste to the stage of history earlier.

"What is this stuffing?!" The taste of red beans is already sweet, and Mo Wenyuan added granulated sugar and honey, natural condiments blended with selected red beans, and red bean paste stuffing without any preservatives even if it is put into the present They are all favorites of the sweet party, let alone in the Tang Dynasty when the diet was relatively poor.

Mo Wenyuan said: "It's just stuffing made from red beans, it's not a big deal."

His understatement obviously couldn't convince Wang Wei, and he was even a little bit aggrieved: "This statement is wrong! I have eaten a lot of sweet food in my life, and I have never seen anything that tastes like this! The sweetness and sweetness of red beans blend perfectly, The tip of my tongue is gone, and only small grains of rustling are left on the surface of my tongue, the sweetness of cane pulp and honey spreads..."

"How can you say it's not a big deal?! Even the food at the fairy banquet will not taste better than it!" Speaking of this, Wang Wei was about to slap the table, and he glared at Mo Wenyuan, as if he Defiled the goddess in my mind!

The little black sheep was still bleating beside him, fanning the wind and lighting up the will-o'-the-wisp.

Not bad, compared with bean paste, the flat peach and ginseng fruits at the fairy banquet are all pig food!Originally, there was no delicious food in heaven.

Seeing Wang Wei's attitude, Mo Wenyuan couldn't help but take two steps back, and smiled sarcastically, he didn't know whether he should thank Wang Lang for his high evaluation or let him calm down and eat snacks, not to rise to an excessive height.

Hey, no matter what, it's a good thing that the Youth League can get his favor.

……

After eating the cakes, Wang Wei started chatting with Mo Wenyuan, saying it was chatting, but the content was not "idle".

"When I come to Chang'an, I have two important things. One is to visit the Shen family." The relationship between the aristocratic family is complicated. When he was in Luoyang, Mo Wenyuan knew that the Wang family and the Shen family were related by marriage. If he remembered correctly If it is said, the Shen family seems to have the ambition to marry the daughter of the family to the royal family.

Naturally, he did not take the initiative to inquire about the above rumors, but Master Huiyuan told him that Master Huiyuan is worthy of being a capable person in Daxingshan Temple. , He knows everything about the palace, and it is not an exaggeration to say that he is a Bai Xiaosheng in the temple.

Huiyuan has always been interested in training Mo Wenyuan. After knowing his ambition and ability, he often tells him the untold stories of the aristocratic family, and also analyzes the relationship between Buddhism and Li Tang. thought.

But what made him more concerned was not any new moves by the Shen family, but Wang Wei's second mission: "I came to Chang'an this time to inquire about the price of Tianzhu granulated sugar."

"You also know Tianzhu Sugar?"

"I don't know, this sugar is different from cane pulp. It is cheap and easy to preserve, and its sweetness is better than cane pulp. The people and merchants in Luoyang City have been shocked by this sugar." A sharp light appeared in his eyes, "I heard that in Beijing Li Sanniang’s restaurant was among the first to use granulated sugar, so I came here to have a look, and also wanted to find out where I could buy this sugar.”

Mo Wenyuan said: "Can't you buy it in Luoyang?"

"In the past, some Tianzhu merchants sold it, but before I found out, it was sold out by Chang'an merchants." They bought sugar from all over the place, and then transported it to Chang'an to sell at a high price. Now the merchants who still have stock in the city are mostly Two dealers.

"I also heard that there are merchants in Jiangnan and other places looking for Tianzhu sugar."

"Has this letter been sent to Jiangnan?"

"Mo Dalang was joking. Even in the northwest wasteland, some people have heard of the name of granulated sugar." Tang people have a very high demand for sweeteners, but the domestic production is really not enough. Caramel is okay, but the way of processing sugar cane Basically, it is a simple and rough cooking method. The pure cooking method produces sugarcane pulp, which is difficult for aristocratic families to preserve. They often use expensive ice storage to save part of it when the season is out of season.

The Wang family paid attention to this matter because they had a keen sense of smell, and they already felt how much the cheap granulated sugar from Tianzhu would have in the future. Whether it was imported or planted sugar cane, they always wanted to get first-hand information.

After chatting for more than half an hour, Mo Wenyuan heard a lot of good information from him, and also figured out the current distribution of sugarcane planting in China. He sincerely asked Wang Wei to give himself a map of its precise distribution, Wang Wei didn't dare to agree, and could only say that he was trying his best. Mo Wenyuan reciprocated, recommending a few shops in the West Market, saying that they might have sugar in stock.

Both of them got the information they wanted, and the conversation was almost enjoyable. In the end, the foodie spirit in Wang Wei woke up again, and he rubbed his hands to remind Mo Wenyuan: "Mr. Buried peony wine in the restaurant?"

"Now, can we dig it out?"

……

Before Mo Wenyuan rushed to Luoyang to dig out the peony wine, Li Sanniang hurried back to Chang'an. If she couldn't make it back, it would be New Year's Eve. If she didn't go home now, when would she wait?

Li Sanniang was usually very fast, and left immediately after sending the letter. Mo Wenyuan and Mo Xiaogou hurriedly put on a fur coat after receiving the letter, and went to the gate of the city to greet her.

Li Sanniang Restaurant was originally a comprehensive restaurant integrating small stalls and restaurants. Needless to say, the family can eat whenever they want, and they have never been hungry. The same is true after Taotie came home, and the daily meal frequency is extremely high. When the height rises, while the sense of happiness increases, the sheep shape also swells up like a balloon, and at the end of the year, Mo Wenyuan can be carried around in front of him.

He seems to have upgraded from a small black sheep to a medium black sheep.

Zhong Heiyang had a very good impression of Li Sanniang. When he heard that Mo Wenyuan was going to pick up someone, baa baa baa baa, told him to get on his back and walk to the door. Mo Wenyuan was a little flustered when he was carried by him for the first time. To this day, I'm used to it, and after greeting Zhao Erniang and others, I left, with fresh pancakes and a skin bag filled with warm almond drink still clutched to my chest, and I would present them to Li Sanniang when I saw them.

During the Zhenguan period, the temperature was higher than other periods. Later generations of historians believed that the early Tang Dynasty was warm and humid, and there was little snow. However, the locals felt nothing at all. The temperature was slightly higher, but the clothes were not warm enough. Standing in the cold wind with a fur coat can freeze to death.

Mo Wenyuan shrank his head and waited for a while when he came out of the city gate. When Mo Xiaogou followed up on the black donkey, he saw the shadow of Li Sanniang sharply. She put on another layer of silk coat, her face was not tired yet, but she was full of energy.

"A Niang—" His shout pierced the air and reached Li Sanniang's ears.

Li Sanniang desperately waved to the two, and after checking Lu Yin, she flew to Mo Wenyuan like a small whirlwind, and hugged him tightly in her arms.

The middle black sheep next to him let out a dissatisfied "baa baa baa", obviously he was hit by Li Sanniang.

Li Sanniang said: "I'm sorry." Then she reached out and stroked the newborn's small pointed horns.

Mo Wenyuan temporarily put his miss for A Niang aside, and said in surprise: "A Niang, can you understand what he said?"

The bleating of the middle black sheep was the sound of beasts in the ears of everyone except Mo Wenyuan. Even Mo Xiaogou and Zhao Erniang couldn't understand what he was saying. Was Li Sanniang talking to him just now subconscious? Understand his complaint?

Li Sanniang said: "Of course." She knew about the existence of Zhongheiyang from the letter from home, not to mention that the responsible Bodhisattva at that time entrusted it to her in a dream.

Middle goat: "Baa baa baa baa baa baa!"

I can decide who can understand me and who can't!

The middle goat was very proud when he said this, he shook his head, his small horns remained motionless, but the long ears hanging beside his head flicked and flicked.

"Baa baa baa baa baa baa!"

I am very happy San Niang.

The mother and the son showed a look of pride at the same time, Li Sanniang hesitated and said: "I like you too?"

Zhongheiyang was a little bit shy, he snorted and he did not know what supernatural powers he had displayed. He had a bunch of flowers in his mouth, and there was dew on the petals. The flowers were brightly colored, which matched Li Sanniang's face.

Mo Wenyuan: =mouth=!

Can't tell, Zhongheiyang, is he so good at flirting with girls?

……

Back home, the first thing Mo Wenyuan and Mo Xiaogou did was to take off their warm but heavy sheepskin jackets and put on stuffed clothes made of linen.They didn't mention this dress to Li Sanniang in the letter, she saw the two dressed up funny and said: "Our family is not so poor?"

In winter, you can tell the wealth of each family by looking at their clothes. In the early years of Zhenguan, cotton had not yet been introduced, and there were not many types of winter clothing for residents.The most common one is the sheepskin jacket. People in the Tang Dynasty like to eat sheep, and a large number of sheep are slaughtered every year. The skin of a sheep can be peeled off to make several sheepskin jackets. Ordinary poor people can also get a sheepskin jacket to keep out the cold.

Further up, there are fox fur, mink fur and the like, which often appear on noble people. These clothes are not very warm, but the cost is high, and it is very dignified whether it is worn by a gentleman or a lady.

Even if the price of sheepskin jackets is not expensive, some people still cannot afford them, and the winter clothing worn by these poor people is similar to what Mo Wenyuan is wearing now.They often sew two layers of coarse cloth to make interlayer winter clothes, and then fill them with various leftovers, such as messy hemp, unwanted old clothes, and impurity floating silk from silkworm cocoons, etc. The thermal insulation performance is average, but it is better than nothing.

Li Sanniang laughed and scolded Mo Wenyuan because she thought he was wearing this kind of clothes. She even struggled for a while, thinking that the restaurants in Chang'an were not running well. They were worried that they would get angry so they put on poor clothes to show themselves So cute and pitiful?

But even when the family is in the most difficult time, sheepskin jackets are still available.

Mo Wenyuan smiled and said: "No, no, this dress is not the other. When I was making it, I asked Zhao Erniang to help you make one for your mother. Would you like to try it on?"

Li Sanniang had no choice but to try. After Zhao Erniang took out the clothes she made for her, she realized that the clothes were very long, the neckline was wide, and the fabric was much harder than ordinary fabrics. It was not very comfortable, so she wore it on her body. After a while, it felt very unusual: "This clothes is so warm!"

Zhao Erniang laughed and said, "It was done according to what Da Lang said."

Mo Wenyuan happened to pass by and explained: "It's more than enough to keep warm, but not enough for comfort, and I can't wear it outside. You can just wear warm clothes at home."

Li Sanniang is a business-minded person, and she is eclectic, comprehending by analogy, and never restricting things to a strict limit.Since ancient times, the problem of keeping warm in winter has been a major issue. The rich and wealthy entered Chang'an and even had frozen bones, let alone other places. The clothes she was wearing were ugly and uncomfortable, but they reached a very important point, that is, warmth!

"This statement is wrong. The most important thing for winter clothes is warmth, and the appearance and cloth should be placed in the back row." She took off half of the sleeve and pinched it, "What is added in the interlayer of the robe. "

Mo Wenyuan said: "It's the belly fluff of ducks and geese, and some cashmere wool and other things." Down filling alone cannot support several clothes. There is no inflation technology at all these days, and of course the condition of the outer leather cloth is not good enough Allowed, even if their family is a restaurant, they didn't kill poultry and down to the point where they have everything you need.

Li Sanniang suddenly realized: "The belly down of ducks and geese? No wonder, I once heard that a woman from a good family gave birth to a baby and often used it as a quilt and pillow. The down is soft and cold in nature, and it is especially suitable for relieving the baby's shock."

"Why is the fabric so hard?"

Mo Wenyuan fumbled in his bosom, and took out a small handful of fine fluff, and exhaled, the fluff flew all over the sky.

"The belly fluff is too small, and it can easily escape from the seams of the fabric. Even if I asked Er Niang to add more layers of fabric by using the method of putting on the sole of the shoe, the fluff would still escape."

The corner of Li Sanniang's mouth twitched: "The way to get the soles..."

Zhao Erniang smiled shyly: "It is to sew clothes with a layer of cloth first, then apply a layer of paste after sewing, stick another layer of cloth, and then sew the two layers of cloth together with thread."

Li Sanniang was a little disappointed. Whether it was the complicated manufacturing method of the clothes, the low yield of the down, or the fabric that was easy to fleece, it proved that the low-end down jacket could only be worn at home, and could not be sold, let alone mass-produced.

She sighed and thought: It would be great if there was a more warm and easy-to-obtain stuffing than down.

……

The Spring Festival is the most grand festival of the year. Unlike the Cold Food Festival, which can only be prepared in a day or two, citizens are busy preparing for the festival before New Year's Eve arrives.

There are a lot of things to prepare, such as clothes, useful things, food, and drinks. In addition, as the year is approaching, businessmen from other places are packing up and preparing to go home, so the business of Li Sanniang's restaurant is quite deserted.

Semi-finished products, unprocessed soy products and various snacks are selling well.

Mo Wenyuan guessed that he would have time, so he sketched on the paper with a pen in his right hand and made a New Year's menu.

His New Year's Eve dinner menu is very rich, not only the Wuxin Pan, Tusu Wine, Pepper Pork Wine, Tangzhonglao Balls, etc. that people in the Tang Dynasty must eat and drink on the first day of the Yuan Dynasty, but also famous Shanghai dishes such as Braised Pork and Boiled Chicken.

When he wrote the words Pepper and Baijiu, his teeth became sore for a while, his facial features were wrinkled together, and the depth of his throat was even more bitter.

Zhong Heiyang was also beside Mo Wenyuan. When he saw the words on the menu clearly, he backed away in horror and said to Mo Wenyuan, "baa baa baa baa baa!"

Zhongheiyang: Why do you abuse your tongue? Is it because the braised pork is not tasty enough or the chicken is not tender enough?

It’s no wonder that one person reacts in the same way. The classic New Year’s dishes are really unpalatable. Let’s talk about pepper and cypress bar, which is a wine soaked with pepper and cypress leaves. Many strange flavors are added during the brewing process. Spices and tonics that can prolong life. Li Sanniang told Mo Wenyuan that drinking this wine can keep away from disasters, exorcise evil spirits and detoxify. Every time I pour it down his throat, the taste, tsk tsk, can be compared with the disinfectant in the hospital .

Suddenly, Zhongheiyang, who was terrifying with Mo Wenyuan, raised his head high and bleated a few times, with a lingering sense of anxiety in his voice, and the sound of footsteps came from the front of the hall. Messy and heavy.

"No no no no no bad!"

"Sun Xingzhe came to buy food!"