Chapter 171: No loan, get lost…

In the kitchen, several cooks were busy maneuvering around, washing and cutting vegetables, building fires and stoves. Chatting while doing their work.

“We’re going to live in the inner city from now on.” The cook who cut the vegetables laughed.

The people of the capital city yearned for the inner city, just as Xu Jingyin did for the food. Those who lived in the outer city weren’t necessarily the bottom of the social ladder, but those who lived in the inner city were definitely all from well-off families.

Regardless of livelihood and security, the inner city was far superior to the outer city, and there were almost no such things as slums in the inner city. When Little Miss went out shopping, she didn’t have to be afraid.

When you see a secluded alley, you can also venture into it. Of course, this kind of thing is not worth promoting.

“Da Lang is really something, I heard from Madam that the mansion cost five thousand taels.” The cook who washes the vegetables chimed in.

“Five thousand taels? That’s about the same as our mansion.” The cook who burned the fire said.

“What do you know,” the cook who washed the vegetables spat, “I heard from the madam that the mansion would cost at least seven thousand taels, and it’s even more grand than this one of ours.”

As for why it only cost 5,000 taels, this is of course because Oro is capable, he is a night watchman, so I guess it’s easy to buy a mansion at a low price.

“Madam told us that in a few days she will take us to live in the inner city, and let me tell you, the inner city is very prosperous.”

Many of the lower class people living in the outer city rarely had the opportunity to go to the inner city, and without riding a horse or taking a carriage, if you relied on your legs alone, it would take one or two hours to get from the outer city to the inner city. If they left in the afternoon, it would be almost sunset when they reached the inner city.

The subordinates in the mansion were very much looking forward to moving to the inner city, and worked hard these days. They were afraid of being dismissed. Unless Green E has been sold in the Xu Mansion since she was a child, and Xu Dalang can sleep with any maid he wants, the other subordinates have signed a living contract.

“I noticed something…” the chopping cook suddenly interjected, and when the two cooks looked over, she whispered:

“Madame is getting more and more fond of showing off Oro, always hanging on to him, but never giving him a good look whenever he comes back.”

“Ahem…”

Suddenly, a cough from the door interrupted the cooks’ broken mouths.

“What’s Oro doing here?” The cooks asked in surprise.

A greasy and dirty place like the kitchen is no place for masters.

You moms are so full of drama …. It’s not surprising that my aunt will show me off …. Xu Qi’an held the bowl in his hand and nodded, saying:

“I created an exclusive recipe and came over to help you guys cook.”

Xu Qi’an swept around, the kitchen was not dirty to say the least, but it wasn’t clean either, after all, under the years of grease and smoke, the walls and stovetop were stained with a layer of grease and grime that couldn’t be wiped away.

However, as long as the pots and pans and those things are washed diligently, there is no problem.

“What’s this?” The cooks turned their attention to the bowl in his hand, a slimy mess.

“Good stuff, don’t look around, this is a unique recipe.” Xu Qi’an sidestepped, not showing the cooks his treasure.

The cook didn’t care and continued to busy herself, Dalang could stay as long as he liked, he was the master, a few of his own were subordinates, there was no such thing as subordinates governing the master. Besides, every time Madam fought with him, she was exasperated and rolled her eyes.

In the family, besides the lord, probably only Jiro, who had a mouth that could blossom, could fight with Oro.

Xu Qi’an stood at the edge and watched, the first pot of food was asparagus stir fry, while the cook was stir frying, he scooped a small spoonful of “chicken essence” into it.

Then he picked up a chopstick, tasted it, and nodded slightly.

The flavor is boosted quite a bit, but it’s not quite comparable to real chicken extract.

Guanosine acid and monosodium glutamate go hand in hand …. If you want to achieve the flavor of your last life you still have to develop MSG ah …. Xu Qi’an is still satisfied.

Seeing this, the cook took her chopsticks, clamped a piece of bamboo shoot and savored it.

Her eyes widened momentarily and she forgot to fry.

It was a flavor that was both familiar and unfamiliar to her. It had the flavor of chicken, but chicken could never be this fresh. A small spoonful of it had raised the freshness of the bamboo shoots by several notches, something that the soup could not do.

Xu Qi’an glanced at her and chopped his hand to snatch the spoon to fry the vegetables before they got mushy.

“It seems… delicious?” The other two cooks looked at her with some interest.

“Too, too delicious, I’ve never eaten a dish so flavorful ….” The cook said excitedly.

…..

In the front hall, Xu Lingyue pinched her meal time and came over, looking around and saying in a delicate voice, “Where’s big brother?”

Usually by this time, Big Brother was already sitting at the table waiting for dinner to start, teasing Xu Lingyin in passing, pinning her in her cackling nest for a fatal shake.

Or fight with my mother, and the aunt and nephew look at each other.

“Today is a day off, probably going to the Department of Education.” Xu Pingzhi, who lowered his head to wipe his saber, said.

“Father just knows how to talk nonsense, big brother doesn’t even go to the hookah.” Xu Lingyue puffed out her cheeks with a displeased face.

…Yeah, I used to think so too …. You don’t go to the hooker’s big brother, now it’s the figure that the flower girls of the Church Department are clamoring for.

Xu Pingzhi heart lamented, said: “He is now practicing qi realm, no longer need to guard the body, to go to the Department of Education is not human nature, which man does not go…”

Suddenly felt a murderous aura on the side, Xu Pingzhi did not raise his head, continued to wipe his saber, changed his words: ”Your father and I and Erlang never go, Ning Banquet Xu has been, but it is all because of socializing, can not be done.

“Speaking of which, none of the men of our Xu family love to go to places of fireworks.”

Xu Ling Yue believed her father’s words, thinking that the proud second brother and the honest elder brother were indeed not the kind of men who stayed in the land of fireworks.

“Uh-huh,” he said, sitting down at the table reassuringly.

“Mother, I’m going to Gui Yue House.” Xu Lingyin came out from under the table, startling her aunt.

Auntie didn’t like to talk to her. Uncle Xu’s second uncle educated his daughter in a serious manner, “Suzume, you can’t go to Guiyue Mansion often, it costs silver.”

“Big brother took me there yesterday.” Xu Lingyin was unconvinced.

“Then you find your big brother.” Xu Pingzhi waved his hand, unwilling to educate his daughter anymore, this daughter was too stupid, the gentleman from Yunlu Academy couldn’t even teach her.

Auntie lamented, “The cook at Gui Yue Lou is said to be from the palace, and his craftsmanship is one of the best in the capital; it would be great if our family could hire such a cook.”

“It smells so good…” said Xu Zhongyin suddenly, twitching her nose and looking out the door.

Slowing down for a second, Xu Pingzhi, who was at the peak of the Qi Refining Realm, was able to smell the rich fresh flavor.

A short while later, the cooks came in with meals, accompanied by Xu Qi’an, but even Xu Ling Yue, who liked her big brother the most, paid no attention to him, her gaze firmly glued to the dishes.

Glistening with oil, fried pork with asparagus, vinegared cabbage, yam soup, scrambled eggs with leeks, braised pork ribs with lotus root, wild rice in red oil ….. as well as Xu Qi’an’s hand-fried pig’s trotters.

“Today’s food smells so good.” Xu Pingzhi said unexpectedly.

He beckoned and harnessed a piece of hoof with a crispy outer skin, coated with a gray-hued sauce. Smelling the saliva-inducing fresh flavor, Xu Pingzhi couldn’t wait to stuff it into his mouth and chew it.

“It’s so delicious?” He said in shock.

“Master is too pompous.” The aunt bristled as she waited for the cook to set up the plate of dishes, she picked up a chopstick of bamboo shoots and chewed a few mouthfuls before her beautiful eyes widened instantly.

The food was still the same, nothing exotic, but the freshness exploded the taste buds and delivered a taste sensation.

In the past, when I cooked vegetables, I would pour a spoonful of broth at most, and the broth was divided into three, six, nine grades, which was actually not as delicious as I imagined because the broth in this era did not have MSG and other ingredients to go with it, which enhanced the flavor to a limited extent.

Including drinking chicken soup or eating shiitake mushrooms, simply just eating shiitake mushrooms would already make people feel fresh, while Xu Qi’an was using two whole baskets of purified essence, which had an extremely strong impact on the taste buds.

The aunt looked at the cooks in amazement, her eyes flashing brightly, “Today’s dishes are extraordinarily different from previous days, how did you do it.”

Xu Ling Yue and Xu Ping Zhi also stopped their chopsticks and waited with interest for the cook to answer.

Only Xu Lingyin didn’t care, she only cared about how many delicious dishes could go into her stomach.

“It’s Oro’s secret recipe…” the cook quickly waved her hand.

The family immediately looked at Xu Qi’an, and Xu Pingzhi was surprised, “Where did you get the recipe?”

Xu Ling Yue and his aunt looked at him curiously.

Xu Qi’an discharged her chopsticks as if they were flying, explaining, “I just felt that the meals at home were bland, and the meals at Gui Yue Lou were too expensive, so I messed around with something myself, and it seems to taste pretty good.”

Uncle Xu nodded slightly, twisted his head to look at the table, and widened his eyes, “Xu Lingyin!”

Xu Lingyin climbed onto the table and scooted the dish to her side.

“It’s all mine.” She raised an eyebrow and said crisply.

…..

Xu Qi’an arrived at the Yamen at dawn and stayed there until noon, doing nothing but dealing with the gongs and silver gongs that returned from prison.

They had already learned yesterday from their colleagues about the fall of the Minister of Works and the case that would determine whether they stayed or went.

Without Xu Qi’an’s role in the middle, the fate of many of them might be about to change.

It was not easy to cope with them, Xu Qi’an tied up the gong and hung up his saber, his duty in the late afternoon was to patrol the streets.

“Ning Banquet, it’s been a while since you’ve been to the Department of Education.” The silent Zhu Guangxiao suddenly said.

Because I’m now having the illusion that it’s not me who’s whoring the flower queens, but they are whoring me …. Xu Qi’an said helplessly, “I feel like I’m almost at the peak of the Qi Practicing Realm, and I’m going to try to impact the God Refining Realm.”

Peak Qi Practicing Realm …. Zhu Guangxiao and Song Tingfeng stared at him blankly.

The two of them were also at the peak of the Qi Practicing Realm, which wasn’t difficult, as long as they exhaled day after day, stepping into the peak was just a matter of time.

The hard part is accumulating merits in exchange for a view map.

But Xu Qi’an had only joined the night watchman for two months, and he was at the peak of the qi practicing realm, what kind of qualification was this?

“Then you have to build up your merit.” Song Tingfeng said sourly, and added glumly, “But with your savings from the Sangpo case to date, it feels like it’s enough.”

“Uh-huh.” Xu Qi’an lightly sidetracked the topic, “I’m planning to build up two weeks before going to the Department of Education.”

The Church Department was always the best topic for them to liven up the atmosphere, Song Tingfeng squeezed his eyebrows, “Then Miss Fuxiang is guilty.”

As they walked, they came to the entrance of the court, and the three of them were attracted by a stout and tall monk in green monk’s clothes.

His monk’s clothes were slightly tattered, a thick Buddha bead hung around his neck, and he had two rows of knotted scars on his large bald head, and he looked bitter and hateful.

It’s none other than Monk Hengyuan.

Seeing Xu Qi’an come out, Hengyuan’s eyes lit up as he greeted him with big strides and folded his hands, “Lord Xu.”

No loan, get lost… Xu Qi’an interrupted him, helplessly saying, “Master Hengyuan, I have official business, let’s make this short. This official’s monthly salary is only five taels of silver a month, so I’m shy.”

As he spoke, he gazed downward and glanced at Hengyuan’s torn cloth shoes, two toes poking out.

It turned out to be looking for Ning Banquet to borrow silver …. Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao stared at Hengyuan with unfavorable expressions.

Seeing Xu Qi’an’s crisp refusal, Hengyuan was silent for a long time before bowing and saying, “Poor monk knows.”

Seeing the back of the big monk leaving, Xu Qi’an remembered for no reason that when he was in middle school, his father, who ran all the way to the school to deliver vegetables to him, also left this lonely back after being complained about the untimely delivery of the vegetables by him with a disgusted look on his face.

“Eh…wait,” Xu Qi’an called out to him, letting out a breath, “How much silver do you want to borrow this time, let’s make it clear, I won’t borrow too much, I really don’t have much silver these days.”

PS: I may not get an extra shift today, I’m a little tired and want to go to bed.