Chapter 1381 Night Banquet
?After going to the altar to pay homage, it is approaching New Year’s Eve.
Pingyang City is now huge, with nearly 100,000 residents in the city, plus some merchants who come from all over the country to stay for the winter and have not returned. When the New Year is coming, even the stingiest people will spend a little more at this moment. Purchase some items and have a good New Year.
This year is especially special.
Normally speaking, New Year''s Eve is a day for family reunion, but Fei lurked here in Pingyang, firstly to meet his son Miyue, and secondly, Lu Bu came to join him. Therefore, in addition to the main official positions of county guards in various places that he couldn''t get away from, some The officials and the surrounding nobles who could take a vacation took this opportunity to come to Pingyang despite the wind and snow. Even though they might not be able to meet and talk to General Zhengxi, it was still good to inquire about some trends and get some information. Therefore, many Not only did people not rush home on New Year’s Eve, but they stayed in Pingyang.
?So Fei Qian simply combined the two into one, postponed the Mid-Moon Banquet for a few days, and held it together with the New Year''s Eve banquet.
New Year''s Eve dinner should be eaten slowly, from early evening to late at night, which is also called staying up late on the New Year''s Eve. Staying up late is not only a nostalgia for the past years, but also a good hope for the new year.
Because of the large number of people attending the banquet today, General Zhengxi''s Mansion opened the square, front courtyard and front yard of the government office, and lit many bonfires in the open space, which can be used for night lighting and heating.
Since the morning, countless servants and guards have been busy, and they have been busy until the moment of Shenshi, when the preparations are completely completed. At this time, outside the Zhengxi Mansion Office, the officials, big and small, waiting in line have already left the government office. The queue stretched all the way to the street entrance...
At the time of You, officials of all sizes enter the venue one after another according to their positions.
??The bonfires were lit one by one, and the blazing flames seemed to symbolize the prosperous Zhengxi Group, shining red on the faces of everyone who attended the banquet.
At the second quarter of Xu, the bells and drums rang together, which represented the official start of the New Year''s Eve feast of General Zhengxi. The music of eating and drinking was played at the same time, the sound of silk and bamboo was melodious, and the maids and maids kept flowing, delivering dishes one after another to everyone''s table. on the case. Because of the large number of people participating, there were seats for four people and seats for two people. There were heads everywhere, and the entire Zhengxi front courtyard was full of people, with laughter and laughter flying freely.
Wei Xu was sitting in the corridor of the vestibule of General Zhengxi''s Mansion, looking at the beautifully decorated corridor with carved beams and painted buildings, listening to the music floating in his ears, and looking at the exquisite dishes on the table. He couldn''t help but feel dizzy and a little frightened. Although Fei Qian had had a banquet of this level before when he entertained Lu Bu in Hedong, this time it was completely different...
Because when Wei Xu came to attend this New Year''s Eve banquet, he was repeatedly warned by Chen Gong that this was not just a banquet, but also represented Lu Bu''s first official appearance within the Zhengxi Group. Every move by Wei Xu and others was not only It represents his person, and it also represents Lu Bu''s face. If he loses his etiquette, it is still a small thing to lose someone. It is a big sin to make Lu Bu the object of others'' ridicule!
?This made Wei Xu, who had not learned much etiquette, become a little constrained. It''s easy for others to say, but Wei Xu and Lu Bu are somewhat related by marriage, so in this regard, Lu Bu''s face is equal to his Wei Xu''s face, so how can he discredit Lu Bu on this kind of thing?
Wei Xu stared at the dishes in front of him, swallowed a sip of saliva, and then said to Cheng Lian who was standing beside him: "How much of the rules that Chen Gongtai said do you still remember?"
Cheng Lian was about to reach out to grab the meat. Hearing Wei Xu''s words, he couldn''t help but froze for a moment, and then withdrew his hand, "Uh... this... I almost forgot if you didn''t mention it... It seems that I can''t start directly..."
Wei Xu quickly glanced left and right, feeling as if everyone around him was looking at him and laughing at him. He couldn''t help sweating on his forehead and said, "What else? Besides not being able to grab it with your hands?"
Cheng Lian scratched his forehead and muttered: "I''ve said so much, how can I remember..."
Wei Xu stared at Cheng Lian and really wanted to scold his mother, but he held it back because he didn''t remember it either. Therefore, Wei Xu had to turn his attention to Hou Cheng and Song Xian on the other side, only to find that the two of them were holding wine glasses and drinking, looking free and carefree, as if they were not paying attention to the situation here. .
Wei Xu stared for a long time, and finally turned around helplessly. No wonder these two guys didn''t say anything before. Could it be that they already knew this set of precautions?
"What should I do? How do I eat this?" Cheng Lian stared at the table, drooled, and muttered vaguely, "What should I do? Let''s get started?"
When Wei Xu was in trouble, a young man seemed to pass by unconsciously and noticed the uneasiness of Wei Xu and Cheng Lian. Hearing Cheng Lian''s words again, he smiled slightly, stopped, arched his hands towards Wei Xu and Cheng Lian, and then He sat down and rearranged the tableware that had been messed up by Wei Xu and Cheng Lian, while whispering: "General Zhengxi has not eaten yet, so we are not allowed to eat. This is a courtesy... If you are hungry, You can sip wine…”
"Oh..." Wei Xu and Cheng Lian couldn''t help but breathed a sigh of relief. They turned around and looked at the other people around them. As expected, no one touched the dishes on the table. At most, they just raised their glasses and drank. Only then did they suddenly realize that they didn''t care to ask. Who was the young man? He quickly asked, "Is there anything else I need to pay attention to?"
"Today is the main banquet, although there are more etiquette..." The young man smiled slightly and whispered, "But it is not as good as the palace banquet... To put it simply, when General Zhengxi eats, he will ring the bells and cauldrons. At this time, It’s ready to eat…”
“Hmm…” Wei Xuchenglian nodded repeatedly.
"When it''s time to eat, you must first eat a little of each dish..." the young man continued, "...then you can eat according to your own preferences. At the same time, if you want to eat food placed far away, you must first You can eat only after you have eaten what is close by, and you can’t eat what is close to you for what is far away..."
“Oh…” Wei Xuchenglian continued to nod.
The young man seemed to have started talking, pointed to the dishes on the table, and continued: "There is a certain number of dishes on the table, and the quantity is fixed. You can''t just go to the table to get it. … There are twenty-six dishes on the emperor’s table, sixteen dishes on the prince’s table, and twelve dishes on the table of the princes, three princes, generals, and ministers. And ministers with a salary of two thousand dan and two thousand dan are given eight dishes on the dining table, while ministers with a salary of 1,000 dan and below can only enjoy six dishes..."
?? Wei Xuchenglian quickly lowered his head and looked at his desk.
Roast beef, lamb, cold chicken, steamed fish, roasted meat, pickled vegetables, sliced ??raw courgette. There are indeed six bean dishes, but there are also bean pastes next to them, and there are also several bowls filled with rice, wheat, millet, beams and other staple foods. Near the top of the right hand are two kinds of syrup, two kinds of wine, and one A big bowl of meat soup…
"This..." Wei Xu and Cheng Lian looked at each other, "How many do these count for?"
“Staple food, desserts, soups, and wine do not count.” The young man said with a smile, “You are worth less than a thousand stones, so there are six bean dishes on the dining table.”
Cheng Lian frowned and said, "That''s all?"
Soldiers are all big-bellied, and they can eat for three days without being hungry. Their food intake is astonishing. The bean plate looks big, but is actually flat, like a plate with a high base, so the amount of food on one plate is not very large.
"Of course not..." the young man said, "Each dish will be served six times. In addition, the wine, syrup, and meat soup will also be replaced accordingly. Normally, the good ones will be left for later. As usual, General Zhengxi also I will reward you with some extra food, which is not included in the six courses..."
??Wei Xu grunted and swallowed a mouthful of saliva. Then he realized why he was swallowing saliva so loudly. He turned around and saw that Cheng Lian was also swallowing saliva.
"Finally, let''s talk briefly..." The young man seemed to feel that he had been sitting down for too long, or he saw that the chairman of the hall seemed to be getting ready to start, so he was about to leave and said in a quick tone, "There are rules when eating. Use your hands. You can only grab staple food and meat without soup... Use a spoon if there is soup, use chopsticks for finely chopped vegetables... Do not leave dishes and staple food outside the plate... Do not put eaten fish bones and meat bones back on the plate If you want to put it here, someone will come to collect it... Don''t just eat one plate, don''t eat it all, don''t make too much noise when drinking soup, don''t eat it with the rice wine, this is for dipping... How are the spoons and chopsticks used? , put it back the same way... Besides... forget it, just leave it like this..."
??Seeing Wei Xu and Cheng Lian''s obviously confused eyes, the young man decisively gave up and continued talking. Then he nodded and left without waiting for Wei Xu and Cheng Lian to react. "Ah...this...that..." Wei Xu stretched out his hand, but saw that the young man had already left. He wanted to call him back, but finally resisted and turned to look at Cheng Lian, "How much do you remember what I just said?"
"I only heard that it seemed like you could grab it with your hands..." Cheng Lian also said in a daze.
Wei Xu glared, "Is that okay?"
Cheng Lian also stared, "Isn''t it possible?"
While the two people were talking, Binzan, who was standing in the hall, raised his head and shouted loudly: "The general who conquers the west~~"
Suddenly, everyone in the front hall and front yard became quiet. Everyone turned from sitting to kneeling, facing the front hall, listening to the words of General Zhengxi Xianna.
General Fei Qian of Zhengxi said a few words of blessing, then raised his wine cup in a toast, and everyone responded in return. This was considered as a round of toasting, and they sat down again.
Before Wei Xu and Cheng Lian could sit down, they heard Binzan continue to shout loudly: "Bingzhou Governor Shi Jing~~"
??Everyone cheered and stood up and knelt again. Wei Xu and Cheng Lian also quickly picked up the wine and knelt on the table.
Lu Bu said a few more words, and then he also saluted, and everyone returned the same salute. Then Fei Qian and Lu Bu gave in again. Finally, Fei Qian raised his chopsticks, picked some of the dishes, and put it into his mouth on a small plate. Then he heard the musician on the side ringing the bell gently. drum…
so…
Can it be eaten?
?? Wei Xuchenglian looked around and found that Hou Cheng and Song Xian on the side had already started to lift chopsticks. Then he carefully picked up the chopsticks and picked some dishes to eat...
As soon as I eat it, I can''t hold it back and can''t stop at all.
It’s so delicious!
The beef was obviously marinated and then grilled. Although it was already a little cold, the spices that penetrated into the texture of the beef mixed with the juice in the meat fibers bloomed in the mouth, and the dogwood was applied on it, giving it a slightly spicy taste. It’s so delicious that it explodes…
The shy lamb is stewed just right. If it is overcooked, the bones and flesh will inevitably separate. If the heat is not enough, it will be a bit laborious to tear. Like now, a piece can be separated with a gentle pull, and it is obvious that it is constantly stewing. The soup is poured on the pieces of meat, so the mutton does not look bad and is full of the flavor of the soup...
There are other dishes that are also very delicious, especially the meat soup. I don’t know how it is made, but it is delicious and tender. Wei Xu and Cheng Lian drank two bowls each and wanted to drink more...
“Ahem…”
Wei Xu and Cheng Lian were eating and drinking happily when they suddenly heard some coughing sounds from the side. At first they didn''t pay much attention, but later they discovered that the sounds were from Song Xian and Hou Cheng.
?Song Xian saw Wei Xu looking over and quickly winked.
“?” Wei Xu opened his eyes wide, “!”
??Wei Xu poked Cheng Lian with his elbow.
Cheng Lian puffed out his cheeks, "?"
Following Song Xian and Hou Cheng''s instructions, the two people slowly turned their heads and met Chen Gong''s eyes on the other side, as if they were about to spit out fire.
"Well…"
Wei Xu and Cheng Lian silently lowered their heads and put down the meat in their hands. Although they didn''t say anything, they couldn''t help but murmured in their hearts, why don''t they just have a meal? What''s so important...
When Chen Gong saw that Wei Xu and Cheng Lian did not continue to make smacking sounds like pigs eating, Chen Gong took a deep breath, calmed down, and put the smile on his face again.
For Chen Gong, it didn''t matter what he ate, or even whether he ate or not. What was important was that he could get to know some people at this banquet, especially those who were members of the Shangdang Party in Taiyuan.
Lu Bu is about to take office. It is obviously not enough to have rough guys like Wei Xu and others. He still needs some helpers in people''s livelihood affairs. Today''s dinner is about contacting people like Taiyuan Shangdang, and even reaching a certain level. best chance of consensus.
Chen Gong didn''t want the powerful nobles who had merged with the Shangdang in Taiyuan to leave the impression that Lu Bu''s subordinates were all rude and fighting soldiers, so he repeatedly emphasized and requested. In the end, Hou Cheng and Song Xian were better off, and Wei Xu and Cheng Lian had basically forgotten everything. They were making more noise about eating and drinking than two pigs. How could Chen Gong have the face to say hello to the people around him?
Ask one question, oh, are those two men who eat like pigs your men?
Oh, so it turns out that Wenhou Lubu’s subordinates are all like this?
?Oh, the newly appointed governor of Bingzhou?
hehe…
?How can this make Chen Gong less angry?
“Boping, please change places with Colonel Wei later...” Chen Gong said to Gao Shun who was sitting at the same table, “We can’t let these two people ruin Marquis Wen’s reputation...”
(End of this chapter)