The ingredients for the plum soup had also been prepared the night before, and she conveniently brewed it in the morning.
It’s easy to make plum soup at home.
Take 15 grams each of dried plums, dried hawthorn, dried tangerine peel, and licorice, wash them, and then soak them in water for half an hour.
After that, pour them along with the soaking water into an earthenware jar and boil it over a strong fire.
Then, switch to a low flame and simmer slowly, watching the water turn a deeper color.
Add rock sugar to balance the sourness of the plums, and then continue to simmer for a while longer, and it’s done.
Shen Miao mainly brewed this soup for Jie Ge’er.
Before the exam, the child was too nervous.
He was still subconsciously reciting his lessons during dinner last night and accidentally scalded himself several times with the soup.
In the morning, she had him drink a bowl first, and after drinking it, he indeed became much more calm.
Plum soup is not only delicious, but it also has the effects of refreshing the mind and quenching thirst, which helped to alleviate the anxiety Jie Ge’er felt before the big exam.
As the melodious and lingering sound of bells came from the Bi Yong Academy, signaling that another exam had finished, five questions in total, with a bell ringing after each question.
The soldiers outside also struck the ground with their long sticks and repeatedly shouted,
“Silence! Silence!”
Since the children taking the exam were their own, the parents and relatives waiting outside gradually became quiet, and some even spoke in hushed voices, for fear of disturbing the children inside the high walls.
At this time, there were even fewer people coming to buy bread.
Shen Miao watched Sister Xiang eat and drink leisurely and contentedly sat under the tree.
She also ate a European bread as her lunch, then hugged her knees and quietly admired the continuous blossoms on the begonia and pear trees.
A gentle breeze blew, and the faint fragrance came through the wind.
What a nice day it is.
Jie Ge’er will definitely do well.
In the examination room, Jie Ge’er also put down his pen, stretched the paper filled with words, and gently placed it aside to dry.
Although there was a thin vine wall in between, each examination room was not soundproof.
Jie Ge’er could even hear the sound of other people’s pens scratching on the paper around him.
Therefore, as the sun rose to the center of the sky, the sound of people asking for hot water rang out one after another.
Heard that in the past, during the examination of Bi Yong Academy, only cold water was supplied, which led to many children suffering from diarrhea after drinking cold water, and some even got sick and almost lost their lives.
Not only was the examination affected, but their health was also compromised.
Because of this, the academy received a lot of public complaints.
Later, the academy switched to hot water, but the examination fee also increased significantly.
Jie Ge’er, who had been concentrating on writing the exam questions for the whole morning, also felt hungry.
He took out his large pottery bowl and took the opportunity to ask for a pot of hot water.
There were many things that were not allowed to be brought into the examination room, and food was also restricted.
For example, stir fried dishes and porridge were not allowed, in case someone hid cheat sheets inside.
Therefore, most people only brought dry biscuits, which would be broken into pieces by the soldiers at the entrance.
But his sister’s ingenuity was endless.
This fried soup cake was flat and thin, and you could see through it at a glance.
Even if it was broken, it wouldn’t affect the taste.
It would become soft and fragrant after being steamed and soaked, which was much better than eating dry biscuits.
When Jie Ge’er asked for hot water, Hai Ge’er, who was sitting diagonally opposite him, glanced at him.
It was really an ill fated relationship from a past life.
Hai Ge’er’s examination number was very close to Jie Ge’er’s, and their examination rooms were even diagonally opposite.
They were both stunned when they saw each other when they sat down.
However, after Jie Ge’er received the examination paper, he never raised his head again, which made Hai Ge’er, who was particularly concerned about him, always on edge.
In the past, in Mr. Liu’s private school, although Hai Ge’er was lazy and loved to gossip, he had a bit of cleverness in reading, so he didn’t read too badly.
Several times when Mr. Liu gave monthly exams, he often scored higher than Jie Ge’er, who slipped out to copy books and neglected his studies.
He always compared himself with Jie Ge’er in secret and had a sense of self importance.
Today, Hai Ge’er asked for hot water early.
Ding Shi prepared for him the most famous Liu’s mutton pie in Bianjing, and prepared five in total.
However, before entering, they were all searched by the soldiers and broken into a pile of mutton mixed with shredded pancake, which looked really messy, but the taste remained the same.
Even because it was broken, the fragrant mutton oil soaked into the pancake, making it even more delicious.
He wrote a few lines of words and took a bite, which made the whole area smell like mutton.
After a while, the mutton cooled down and became smelly.
Some people couldn’t bear it and plugged their noses with waste paper, and started eating the lunch prepared by their families in advance.
Only Jie Ge’er seemed to have lost his sense of smell, and he was focused and wrote until noon before asking for water.
At this time, Hai Ge’er had already eaten his fill.
He wanted to see Jie Ge’er’s poor appearance of eating dry biscuits, but instead, he saw him bend down and take out a large pottery bowl from the book basket on the ground.
He lifted the lid.
Hai Ge’er was so far away that he couldn’t see what was inside clearly, but his curiosity had already been aroused.
He didn’t write a word, but stared at it without blinking.
If it weren’t for the exam, he would even stand up to take a look.
At this time, a pot of hot water that Jie Ge’er had asked for was sent by the soldiers.
He took it, lifted his hand and poured it into the bowl.
Boiling water poured in and instantly dissolved the bottom red burned meat sauce.
The rising steam also brought out the strong aroma of scallions and coriander.
The fried noodles absorbed water, collapsed, softened and blended into the sauce.
Hai Ge’er smelled the strong meat aroma and was so intoxicated that he closed his eyes.
However, the aroma suddenly stopped.
He opened his eyes wide and saw that Jie Ge’er had covered the lid again.
He was just a little disappointed, but in a moment, he lifted the lid again.
This time, after soaking, the aroma was even stronger.
Hai Ge’er was stunned and watched as Jie Ge’er magically heated a bowl of thick and fragrant soup cake in a moment, and then ate it noisily with chopsticks as if no one else was around.
In an instant, the cold and smelly mutton smell in the examination room was replaced by a fresh and spicy aroma.
The smell was really indescribable.
It was extremely fragrant, fresh and dominant.
Hai Ge’er smelled it again and again, feeling that the taste was deep, salty and fresh, with a hint of spiciness.
There was also the warm aroma of noodles, meat, eggs and vegetables…
Many different flavors were blended into one, and without any explanation,It has nestled into the nose, and it’s incredibly enchanting..
So fragrant, so fragrant, how could it be so fragrant!
Hai Ge’er’s neck couldn’t help but stretch longer.
This attracted many people to stop writing, sniffing with their noses, trying to capture the aroma that drifted from somewhere.
If it weren’t for the fact that they were in the examination room and couldn’t move, some people would have followed the smell.
Others didn’t know where the aroma came from, but Hai Ge’er, who was diagonally opposite, was so hungry that he almost cried.
He looked down at the oil paper wrapped mutton cake, which had cooled down and congealed into a lump of oil flowers, and it didn’t smell good anymore.
Inside the Bi Yong Academy, in the schoolhouse with the red painted “Jia” character, Ning Yi slept soundly in the old doctor’s self indulgent and eloquent lecture.
He slept deeply until noon, until his classmate Shang An woke him up with an elbow from a dream full of delicious food.
“Ning Da, school is over, let’s go.”
He looked up groggily.
The lecturer had long left, and even the students in the schoolhouse had already got up and started packing up.
Only Shang An and Xie Qi remained.
The two seemed to have just solved a policy question.
Shang An woke him up and also stood up and stretched.
In the Bi Yong Academy, only those who pass the child test are allowed to enter school.
After that, there is an assessment every ten days, and gradually the “five houses” are divided.
Students are divided into five grades: Jia, Yi, Bing, Ding, and Xu.
The Jia house students are highly respected in the academy.
Because almost all the future scholars, juren, and jinshi in the academy are from the Jia house.
Students assigned to the Jia house are also taught by the doctors and assistants of the National Supervisory Institute and the Wentai Institute, who are in charge of teaching Confucian classics.
Although Ning Yi often skips school and dozes off, he is still a Jia house student with Xie Qi and Shang An.
He can always barely hang on to the end of the Jia house student list in every exam.
Now he is still a student under the same doctor and lives in the same schoolhouse.
Therefore, the three of them have a very good relationship.
Today’s class is over.
Students in the lecture hall leave in groups of three or two.
The kitchen in the Zheyin Hall has already prepared the evening meal.
After Shang An finished packing his book box, he turned his head and saw that Ning Yi was still asleep, looking dazed.
Xie Qi was still holding a book, holding the policy question just now, and reading it with great interest.
“Xie Jiu, let’s go.” Shang An stretched and put the book box on his back.
“The food in the Zheyin Hall is like pig food. When it gets cold, it will be even harder to swallow”.
“After lunch, in addition to Ning Yi going to explore the newly opened badger meat shop under the North City Gate, didn’t the two of us make an appointment with Meng San and others to climb high and watch the sunset?”
“If we don’t go now, it will be too late.”
Thinking of the food in the Zheyin Hall that is not good in color, aroma and taste, Shang An felt that his stomach was aching again.
But if he didn’t force himself to eat a few mouthfuls, he would be too hungry to sleep at night.
“Coming.” Xie Qi finally put down the book.
Seeing Xie Qi’s hard working reading, Shang An felt it was a pity.
Xie Qi passed the child test presided over by the Prefect of Kaifeng when he was eight or nine years old, and was the first to get the qualification to take the scholar test.
He was not only the top student in the child house of the Bi Yong Academy that year, but also a genius who caused a sensation in Bianjing that year.
Now, he is always at the top of the Bi Yong Academy, but unfortunately, he has not passed the academy test to obtain the title of scholar.
He counted in his heart that every time Xie Qi encountered an exam, no matter big or small, there would always be some accidents.
He remembered one time when he took the academy test, the examination room he was in collapsed…
Ah.
Shang An shook his head and sighed.
He really didn’t know how to feel sorry for him.
On this side, Ning Yi, who was originally so sleepy that he had to hold his eyelids open with his hands, also woke up when he heard about food.
He immediately rubbed up to Xie Qi and asked in a low voice,
“Xie Jiu, Xie Jiu, do you still have that Yolk Pastry.?”
Ning Yi never expected that the Yolk Pastry he had eaten by chance in Lanxin Book Bureau and had been looking for in Yangliu East Alley but failed to get, had actually been bought by the Xie family!
After being gently refused by the cake selling girl that day, he returned to the academy in a state of depression.
All the way, he felt disheartened, listless and completely discouraged.
However, as soon as he pushed open the wooden door of the schoolhouse where he lived, he smelled the familiar aroma of yolk pastry.
In the room, Xie Qi and Shang An were sitting around the table.
On the table was a large lacquer screw shell inlaid with a hundred fruits, a nine compartment food box, which was neatly filled with round and golden Yolk Pastry!
“Ning Da, you’re back. Xie Jiu’s family sent some extremely delicious pastries”.
“You claimed that you wanted to travel all over the world and taste all the delicious food in the world, didn’t you?”
“This pastry has a very unique taste. I’m afraid even you, the food connoisseur of Bianjing, haven’t tasted it! Come and have a try!”
At that time, Ning Yi was stunned by the whole box of Yolk Pastry, and even the sound of Shang An calling him seemed to be out of his soul.
Later, he ate five alone, which relieved his ups and downs of desire and disappointment.
“The rest were given to the doctors. Where are they?”
Xie Qi shook his head with a smile,
“It doesn’t matter. Let Qiu Hao go home and get them later. Now the cook at home has learned it”.
“He has got the true transmission from Shen Niang, and he makes it no different.”
Ning Yi nodded vigorously:
“Promise, promise.”
The three of them laughed and talked, each took their own servant, ate a few mouthfuls of lunch, and then accepted the invitation of other schoolmates from other schoolhouses.
They tidied up and prepared to go hiking in the nearby mountains and fields.
Only Ning Yi did not go with them.
He excitedly left from the back door by himself to go to the food meeting.
The Song people were always artistic.
In this dynasty with extremely prosperous trade and strong cultural atmosphere, young students liked to spend their time in the mountains and rivers.
Xie Qi and his classmates were also like this.
They were going to wander in the bamboo sea in the mountains, to see the distant green mountains, the stones under the flowers and the pavilions by the water.
A few of them would knock on the bamboo, sing and write articles for fun.
However, after walking out of the academy gate, Xie Qi saw the crowd of people at the academy gate and on the post road, and suddenly remembered yes, today is the bookstore.
It was the day the academy recruited children every year.
He subconsciously thought of Jie Ge’er, Ge’er who was coming to take the exam.
And.
His gaze looked into the distance.
The branches full of flowers seemed like a rosy cloud settling down, reflected under the bright midday sun, with the flower shadows swaying.
There was also a beautiful woman under the tree.