Chapter 101 Chapter 7: An Adventure in the Back Mountain

There is no need to be big in an elegant room, and the fragrance of flowers is not too much. When the two of them walked past the plaque engraved with "Easy Nest" on the main entrance, they both felt a sense of peace and tranquility in their hearts. Facing the two beams and pillars at the entrance, there is a couplet, which is written on a wooden sign, "It's time to tune the piano in the morning, and play the zither in the evening; when the old rain comes, the new rain comes first." The font is elegant and vigorous. This hall is an architectural form of a four-sided hall. Through the four-sided flowered windows, the precipitous cliffs covering the plants behind and the surrounding soft bamboos faintly penetrate into the hall, making the mahogany furniture displayed in it even more simple and unpretentious, leisurely and natural.There are steps made of Phoebe wood at the corner of the house, leading to the upper floor.

The old voice came down again: "Both of you, please come up!" Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged glances and went up the stairs. The upper floor is divided into front and back rooms by a screen, one side has a round table and chairs, and the other side is supposed to be the sleeping place of the master. At this time, there was a person standing in front of the window, facing the window, and said softly: "Two little brothers, please sit down and taste the six fruit liquid brewed by the old man." Only then did the two realize that there were jugs, cups and other wine utensils on the table, and the aroma of wine was overflowing.

Under the reflection of the two hanging palace lanterns, there are only a few necessary pieces of furniture except tables and chairs, all of which are made of rosewood, with a quaint and noble style. The old man has a tall crown and a broad belt, although they cannot see his face because he is carrying his back, but he is a little taller than Xu Ziling, and he is wearing a wide robe, which makes him look awe-inspiring. momentum. The two remembered their identities and looked at the fine wine on the table. Just as they didn't know what to do, the old man sighed and said, "Drink! When you are drunk with wine, what is life like?"

His tone reveals a kind of deep helplessness, which makes people feel that he must have a sad past. Kou Zhong gave Xu Ziling a push and sat down first. They were all careful not to disturb the holy silence of the small upstairs by making noise. The sound of the waterfall came faintly in the distance. Kou Zhong picked up the flagon and filled three cups. Seeing that the old man was still motionless, he picked up one cup and handed the other to Xu Ziling. Fruit stuffed into the throat, the wine tastes mellow, soft and refreshing, the most rare thing is the rich and harmonious aroma, which makes people linger aftertaste.

The old man said indifferently: "This wine is brewed from six kinds of fresh fruits: pomegranate, grape, orange, mountain dregs, green plum, and pineapple. After the process of blending, filtering and aging, it is put into wooden barrels and aged in the ground for three years, so the taste is not bad!" Kou Zhong praised sincerely: "The old man is really good at brewing wine, and he is very creative." The old man was silent for a while, then said softly: "The old man has lived here for nearly thirty years. Except for Xiu Xun, no one has ever dared to come here. You must be newcomers."

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling knew that they violated the taboo when they heard the words, and the latter said apologetically, "Deputy housekeeper Liang didn't mention this to us, which disturbed Senior Qingxiu, I..." The old man interrupted him and said, "It's strange that you have a Yangzhou accent. The ranch rarely hires outsiders. Why did you come here?" Xu Ziling explained it again. Up to now, the two still don't know the identity of the old man and the relationship with the ranch, but they are sure that he is an unfathomable senior master. Kou Zhong couldn't help asking: "Is it true that senior has never left here for thirty years?"

The old man laughed and said: "Of course not. Although I have regarded this comfortable nest as a safe place to live in for the past thirty years, I spend more time going out and less time staying here. It is a kind of fate to meet you today. It’s not easy for everyone.” After saying that, he turned around slowly, facing the two of them. It was a very special face, simple and quirky.His long, thick black eyebrows stretched all the way to his mottled temples, but the other ends were joined together on the bridge of his ears, in stark contrast to his dark eagle eyes.Sad lines formed around the corners of the mouth and under the eyes, giving him an air of resignation, weariness, and sadness.

The bridge of his nose is as straight and powerful as his waist, together with his tight lips that naturally exude arrogance, and his slender and clean face, he looks like a prince who once enjoyed all the wealth and glory in the world, but now his heart is ashamed noble. His gaze swept across the two of them slowly, and he smiled slightly: "Do you know why I, who doesn't care about worldly affairs, invite you to come up to meet each other?" The two shook their heads blankly. The old man showed a exhausted expression, sat down slowly, took the cake and drank the six fruit juice, and said with a wry smile: "If it weren't for this thing hanging my life, I might not see you two again today."

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other, and the latter asked, "Is senior injured?" The old man nodded and said: "That was the injury I received thirty years ago. Even though the witch's Heavenly Demon Art is known as the crown of evil sects, it still can't take my life. Let me use the mountain terrain to escape thousands of miles and hide here. " He sighed again and said, "For thirty years, I have devoted all my energy here to building gardens. If I didn't have this kind of sustenance, I might have injured my hair and died. But these days, I always recall old hatreds from time to time. This is the harbinger of the recurrence of the injury, and the old man may not have much time."

Kou Zhong let out a breath of cold air and said, "Who is that temptress?" After staring at him intently for a long while, the old man glanced at Xu Ziling again, and said, "Actually, I've seen you before, and even overheard your conversation. They are indeed two very interesting children." The two were dumbfounded. Xu Ziling asked: "Where did you meet us before?" The old man said indifferently: "Do you still remember that deserted village? It is the place where Zhai Rang was plotted against and everything was lost." The two remembered the smoke from the kitchen, and their faces changed at the same time: "It turned out to be you!"

Although the old man exposed their identities, his demeanor was still as kind as ever, and he smiled and said: "This is the reason why I invited you to come up, I just want to see that you can completely restrain your demeanor, and even hide it from Xiu Xun, then you will know that your kung fu is better than others. You have improved a lot in the past. Can you tell me, Brother Kou and Brother Xu, why they condescend to come here to be pastry chefs?" The two felt embarrassed, but fortunately they saw his friendly demeanor, so they didn't hide anything, and told him about the accidental collision, of course they wouldn't tell him that it was because Kou Zhong had taken a fancy to the role of the pasture in the struggle for world hegemony, and only said it was to avoid Enemy tracking. The old man did not express whether he believed it or not, he pondered for a while, and said: "Among the four deacons of Pegasus Ranch, in terms of intelligence and martial arts, Liu Zongdao ranks first. Under normal circumstances, he would never interfere with the dining room. Personnel arrangements, what he likes about you may be something else, or your appearance and qualifications!" Xu Ziling asked respectfully: "Senior must be a well-known figure in the Jianghu, can you enlighten me?" There was a proud smile on the corner of the old man's mouth, as if he said casually: "Even if Guan Ning Daoqi sees the old man, he should respectfully call him 'Mr. Lu'. Sigh! So what? In the end, it's not because of hatred In the hands of the temptress, the fame of the whole life is lost." Both Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong frowned, they couldn't think of anyone whose surname was Lu among the predecessors in Jianghu. Kou Zhong was embarrassed to ask directly, so he could only make indirect remarks: "Who is the temptress after all?" The old man straightened his back, raised his eyebrows, his sharp eyes were murderous, and said fiercely: "Have you ever heard of the Yin Gui sect?" The two blurted out at the same time: "'Yin Empress' Zhu Yuyan!" This time it was the old man's turn to say in amazement: "You guys are not so simple, you know that there is such a monster. Sigh! I have done two things that I regret all my life, one of them is falling in love with this woman. Thinking of me, Lu Miaozi, I am conceited all my life, I made mistakes again and again, and good luck tricks people, what else can I say." The two only felt that Lu Miaozi's name was very familiar, and after thinking hard for a while, they suddenly realized that Shen Luoyan had mentioned him, and said that he was the most skillful craftsman in the world, and that her strange net came from his skillful hand.It's no wonder that every tree and stone in the garden in the castle are arranged so skillfully, it's all because he is secretly in charge. Tears welled up in Lu Miaozi's eyes, with a look of unbearable desolation. Shaking his head again and sighing deeply, he said in a low voice: "You guys should go back to sleep! If you are free tomorrow, come here sometime, I have something to tell you." Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling fell asleep for less than two hours when they were awakened by knocking on the door. Xiaojuan shouted outside: "You two young masters, get up quickly, it's dawn!" The two got up reluctantly, Xu Ziling was pushed by Kou Zhong to open the door, Xiaojuan frowned when she came in and said, "What did you two do, you went to bed wearing such dirty clothes, quickly change them and let others Take it for washing, okay? Two 'generals'." Kou Zhong rubbed his eyes, sat down sleepily and said, "Would it be enough to sleep a little longer?" Xiaojuan crossed Xiaoman's waist and said angrily: "The host sees you, and you still don't let me wash and change my clothes." Xu Ziling sat in a corner, smiled wryly and said, "Does not taking a bath also violate the family rules?" Xiaojuan stomped her feet and said, "If you are like this again, people will ignore you!" Kou Zhong jumped up, pressed Xiaojuan's fragrant shoulders with both hands, and said with a smile: "Miss Xiaojuan calm down, may I ask which direction is the bathhouse in the southeast, northwest? How many miles do we have to go, we will go back quickly." Xiaojuan wanted to put on a pretty face, but she couldn't help but burst out laughing. She turned her beautiful eyes a few times, and said with a frown, "Don't stand so close, you stink!" Kou Zhong laughed, stepped back, took the clothes thrown by Xu Ziling, and argued stubbornly: "There are many kinds of smells, and mine is the best." Xiaojuan went out with a coquettish smile, and the two hurriedly followed her left and right. The weather was excellent that day, and an old servant in the courtyard was sweeping up fallen leaves, and there were people coming and going everywhere. The three young maidservants who were pruning flowers and plants looked boldly at them. Kou Zhong moved closer to Xiaojuan's small ear and said, "You know why the owner wants to see us?" Xiaojuan said indifferently: "How do I know, Sister Fu ordered me to come to you." Kou Zhong retreated to Xu Ziling, who was three steps behind, and said with a low smile, "Is it because you are handsome enough? Ha!" Xiaojuan stopped abruptly, turned around with her hips on her hips, and shouted coquettishly, "What are you talking about? You must be speaking ill of the host." The two of them didn't expect her reaction to be so intense, and they were taken aback. Xu Ziling hurriedly said, "Sister Xiaojuan misunderstood. Xiaoning just said that the host or thought that we were not taught enough, so she asked us to lecture again." Xiaojuan was dubious, and said solemnly: "Remember not to show any disrespect to the owner, otherwise no one will be able to save you." The two had no choice but to nod. Xiaojuan said in a low voice: "If you really dare to speak ill of the owner behind his back, I will ignore you from now on." When Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling arrived outside the "Flying Maxuan" where Shang Xiuxun handled the ranch's affairs, the beautiful farm owner was talking to the chief steward Shang Zhen and the four deacons including Liu Zongdao.There were more than a dozen men and women standing in the courtyard outside the Xuan, the deputy housekeepers Liang Qian and Lan Gu were two of them. When everyone saw the two coming with Xiaojuan, they all showed attention. Lan Gu even whispered to one of the men, obviously talking about them. A well-proportioned, demure, dignified, and beautiful girl greeted the three of them and frowned, "Why did you come so late? I don't know how embarrassing it is when the host is urging you." After Xiaojuan explained the reason, she introduced: "This is Sister Fu!" The two hurriedly saluted, secretly praising Luo Fangyan for being a blessing, let alone expecting her to have such a status in the ranch at such a young age. Sister Fu looked at the two of them for a few moments, her pretty eyes flashed the surprised expression, and she was about to speak when a man guarding the door sang, "Bring the two pastry masters!" Sister Fu ordered in a low voice: "Follow me, be careful what you say." They couldn't help being a little nervous, and followed her to the threshold. I saw that the hall is full of finely carved furniture. There are three marble large reclining chairs in the middle, two pairs of marble round screen chairs symmetrically from east to west, together with coffee tables, flower tables, etc., which make the atmosphere solemn and solemn. Shang Xiuxun was half lying on the couch, dressed in men's attire, and wore a hat that hid her hair, but it was still difficult to hide her natural beauty. The chief steward, Shang Zhen, sat on the first chair on her right, and the second person at the bottom was Liu Zongdao, and the other two deacons were on the other side. The three of them first gave way to an old man who came out of the hall, and then Miss Fu saluted and said, "The two young masters are here." Then he said in a low voice: "You are newcomers, you cannot cross the threshold." Then he retreated to one side. The two had no choice but to lean outside the threshold to salute, which felt weird. Shang Xiuxun was drinking tea with his head down, and Shang Zhen was puffing out his pipe. Liu Zongdao smiled back, but the eyes of the other three deacons shot at them like sharp arrows. Liu Zongdao's single eye lit up, and he smiled and said, "Is it because of the hard journey that you can't get out of bed?" Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling are so clever, they knew that he was saying good things to excuse them, so they quickly responded. Liu Zongdao took advantage of Shang Xiuxun to drink tea and introduced the other three deacons. Chief Deacon Liang Zhiwu has a short stature and is in his forties, but he has a beautiful black beard, his eyes are shining with lightning, and his temples are bulging. The third deacon, Tao Shusheng, was a tall, middle-aged man, but he had a pair of goat-like eyes, which made his appearance unattractive. On the contrary, the fourth deacon, Wu Zhaoru, was young and handsome, with a prudent complexion like a woman, but compared with the unique physiques of Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, he immediately looked very vulgar. The reactions of the three were quite indifferent, it seemed that Liu Zongdao reluctantly nodded to the courtesy of the two just to show some face. Shang Xiuxun put down his teacup, picked up a few things like an account book, looked down, and said absent-mindedly: "Aside from pastries, what else do you know?" Including Sister Fu and Liu Zongdao, everyone was stunned. Unexpectedly, the owner, who has always been shrewd, would find two people to ask such trifles. Kou Zhong lowered his hands and replied respectfully: "I know a little bit about everything." The third deacon Tao Shusheng scolded: "Idiots! The host is asking you what special skills you have besides pastries? Do you understand?" Wu Zhaoruxian had a nostril with Tao Shusheng, mockingly said with a smile: "Maybe they are good at everything!" Xu Ziling didn't have anything to say, but Kou Zhong wanted to drag them out and beat them up, but right now he could only swallow the breath in his stomach with a "bone beep". Shang Xiuxun was still concentrating on the book, and seemed to be unable to hear other people's words at all. After a while, he slowly said: "There will be distinguished guests from the north tonight, and the northerners love to eat barbecue, bacon and so on. Do you know how to do something like that?" Kou Zhong nodded and said: "There is no problem with bacon and bacon, the owner of the restaurant, please tell me what kind of meat to get." Shang Xiuxun said casually: "Just bacon!" The head deacon Liang Zhi coughed dryly and said: "It's not that I can't trust you, but that the status of the guests is very important, and they are also a noble family, and they are very particular about food. As long as you are poor in this respect, you will become a gangster, so Can you tell us how to make the bacon first?" Shang Xiuxun finally raised his head, looked at them with beautiful eyes, and agreed: "That's right! Come and listen to me." Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling knew that Liang Zhi and others were suspicious of their identities, but fortunately they had indeed learned skills from Lao Zhang. The latter said indifferently: "The most important thing for bacon is to adjust the taste. Fire soup with pepper, cinnamon, cloves, amomum, cardamom, soybeans, garlic, fresh ginger, bean curd with sauce and sweet noodle sauce, the finished product can not only have bright color, but also be rich and delicious.” Kou Zhong said: "The second is the method of smoking. First, the selected meat is mixed with the sauce in the pot, and then smoked with cypress wood to ensure that the skin is crispy and the meat is tender. Thin and not sticky, unique flavor.” Both of them are eloquent and flexible in their use of words, and they sing and choke with each other, vividly and vividly, as if a plate of hot and spicy food has been placed on the stage full of fragrance. The big housekeeper, Shang Zhen, moved the pipe away, and said emotionally: "Sure enough, he is a generation with real talents and real learning, not a fool." The two laughed secretly in their hearts, and said in unison: "Thank you for your appreciation, Chief Steward." Shang Xiuxun was noncommittal, looked down at the book again, and said casually: "In addition to being responsible for this dish, you also need to make some desserts tonight. Step back!" When Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling returned to the dining room, they couldn't help laughing, they didn't expect Shang Xiuxun to come to them solemnly, just to talk about such trivial matters. But this had an unexpected side effect, because Lan Gu couldn't figure out Shang Xiuxun's attitude towards them, she immediately became much friendlier. After asking for the required materials, she immediately went to collect them for them. Kou Zhong thought hard: "Who would be the person from the north with a prominent family background?" Xu Ziling said unhappily: "You'd better save some energy for tonight's pastry dishes! Although we know how to make bacon, we can't do anything even if we take Lao Zhang captive, and deceive people who have never eaten bacon It's okay for those who want to be praised by those distinguished guests from the north, it's just a dream." Still having lingering fears, he said, "Thinking of those creative pastries I made yesterday makes me even more headache, you should quickly think of a way." Kou Zhong smiled wryly, "I'm also relying on you to find a way!" The two of you looked at me, and at the same time, a flash of inspiration came. Kou Zhong pointed to Xu Ziling and said, "Have you thought of him?" Xu Ziling nodded and said: "He is the most skilled craftsman in the world, and he is also well-informed. At least he is excellent in wine making. He shouldn't be sent there to make vegetables and cakes!" The two jumped up at the same time. Xu Ziling tugged at Kou Zhong, and said with a smile, "You stay here to deal with Lan Gu, I'll go and ask his old man for advice, understand?" Before Xu Ziling left, Lan Gu stepped into the door and asked with a frown, "Where did Xiao Jing go?" Kou Zhong rubbed his stomach and pointed to the outside. Lan Gu said knowingly: "The sauces are all available, but you have to choose the meat by yourself. Do you want to ask someone to help, or change to another dining room." Kou Zhongli used a tactic to delay the attack, saying: "My two brothers have always advanced together and retreated together. There is an agreement and an agreement. Let's do it after he comes back from diarrhea. Hee! I will notify you when there is any need for manpower or room change!" Lan Gu glared at him, she was about to explode, but Xuan suppressed her temper, muttered a few words and left. After a while, two male servants brought a batch of condiments, and Kou Zhong immediately got busy. At this time Luo Fang came to him, after chatting for a while, Kou Zhong asked: "Do you know who is here tonight?" Luo Fang replied: "I don't really know, but the person who came here must have a lot of background, otherwise the owner would not personally lead people to pick up the boat. In the past two years, people have come to make friends from time to time, but the owner has never paid as much attention to it as this time. The opponent's." Kou Zhong didn't know what to make, and said casually: "Now the world is in chaos, and we have war horses for sale, so naturally everyone wants to make friends with us!" Luo Fang proudly said: "Exactly. But there are also some people who don't know how to live or die, and want to take advantage of it, but whoever is not a child of our ranch within a hundred miles, we can't hide any disturbances from us." Kou Zhong followed his tone and said, "Who are so bold?" Luo Fang was a little distressed and said: "Have you heard the four jingles recently among the people? They are 'no blade of grass grows to dominate the sky, chickens and dogs do not leave a house to see a tripod, scorched earth meets dry hair, ghosts cry and gods call Cao Yinglong'." Kou Zhong suddenly said: "The four big bandits Xiang, Fang, Mao and Cao!" Luo Fang said bitterly: "It's these four people who hate ghosts and gods, they run around and loot everywhere, destroying everything like a snake, raping and looting, and doing everything." After a pause, he continued: "We and Jingling's Domineering Villa are close to each other and support each other. We have killed them many times and fled. They have long been regarded as thorns in their eyes. But recently they have secretly formed an alliance, and they are planning to block them first. The method is to cut off our rescue of Jingling, and then attack Duba Villa with all our strength, this plan is indeed vicious." Kou Zhong understood that although the strength of the four bandits alone could not cope with the war on the two fronts, they were enough to encircle Jingling and Pegasus Ranch separately. The good times will never come again, even if they win the final victory, they will suffer a lot of damage. Asked: "How strong are these thieves?" Luo Li said: "Among the four bandits, Cao Yinglong is the most brilliant in terms of martial arts. He also has the largest number of bandits, up to 30,000. He is constantly recruiting new recruits, and is expanding every day. Now it occupies us. More than a hundred miles to the west, Badong County, which is tightly strangling the river, has grown in momentum, and the other three rebels regard him as the leader." At this moment Xu Ziling came back, with an excited expression on his face, he said, "Start working immediately!" After Luo Fang greeted him, he said: "Work hard, the host has never tried to pay so much attention to the people who work as a kitchen. Maybe you can become brothers with me later, so don't bother you!" After Luo Fang left, Kou Zhongxi said, "Is there any material?" Xu Ziling praised: "Not only are there ingredients, but also the unique secret recipe of the world's most skilled craftsman. For the time being, we will learn two flavors first, one is smoked fish, and the other is Jinhua, which is fragrant and crispy. Come on! It takes time to cook, but there is not much time. Make it as you go." Said, tonight let our Central Plains double chefs show their skills, amaze everyone with their skills, and eat to convince everyone, isn't it better than subduing people with martial arts?" Kou Zhong's "Old Huai" was greatly relieved, and said with a smile: "Of course, it's best to eat it when Shang Xiuxun personally promises you Chef Xu, it will be even more fulfilling! Ah..." Xu Ziling saw that he was stubborn, so he said in a bad mood: "Come here! This place is rich in a treasure called 'Changjiang saury'. Mr. Lu said that if it is mixed with eggs, sauces, and flour to form strips, it will be crispy and delicious after being smoked. You will open your eyes even if you eat a blind, get out! Stop dreaming about your hegemony." Once all the materials were ready, the two of them were too busy. At dusk, smoked fish and crispy fish are on the scene. It was only then that the two of them remembered that they hadn't had half a grain of rice in their stomachs all day, that's still polite, and each grabbed a piece of smoked fish and ate it with great enjoyment. Kou Zhong chewed and said: "We actually made such a delicious food, why don't you take that old guy as your teacher and see if there are any special skills you can learn from him." Xiao Juan and Sister Fu came to visit at this time, seeing the two guarding themselves, the former glared and said: "You two are so brave, you dare to eat the food for the guests first." Kou Zhong said with a smile: "We are just testing the taste, hey! This piece of smoked fish is still a little bit off, let me add some sauce and try again." He grabbed another piece of smoked fish, pretended to dip it in some sauce, and started to gobble it up again, without any regard for his manners. The two girls had nothing to do with him, and Elder Sister Fu said angrily, "The owner ordered that although you will be waiting at the banquet, I will introduce you to Jiangnan's delicacies when necessary, do you understand?" Xu Ziling didn't like excitement, let alone being a servant sent by others, he pretended to be tired and said, "We've been busy all day and we're exhausted, can we be spared this job?" Xiaojuan said with a smile: "What is half a battle? Do you think you are going to fight? The owner of the field thinks highly of you, so he is willing to let you go to see the scene. What the owner said is the golden rule. Anyone who violates orders will be beheaded. Be clear!" Sister Fu smiled sweetly and said: "There is no one in the ranch who likes to play tricks like the two of you. Quickly take something and follow me. The farmer wants to taste it first!"