Goldfield
Chapter 152: Old Memories

From Madam Liu's point of view, the county magistrate was the highest official in Tanggu City. If the judge had to treat this man very politely, then he must be very tall. He should be more careful around him.

Resources in the home are limited. Most of them only had vegetables grown in the fields. They only had one type of meat at home and that was the portion of savory pork they bought yesterday.

Yu Xiaocao sliced a portion of the striped pork and cut it until it was finely chopped. He then sliced some eggplants into discs and dipped them into eggs and flour before he fried them into eggplant fritters. He had a premonition that emperor emeritus liked food with a strong taste, so he would likely enjoy these fragrant and scaly eggplant fritters.

As for the rest of the pork, he used it to make fat but not greasy, full of good taste, pork cooked twice. He took a long bean that had just been picked from the garden and fried it with a bit of lard to make a delicious ‘ dry fried long beans’. On tomatoes, he added some chicken eggs to make a plate of ‘tumis tomatoes and egg’. Therefore, he managed to gather four hot dishes to eat.

For two cold appetizers, he used cucumbers and peanuts that had been cooked with boiling water. However, with only two cold dishes on the table, he thought it was not very neat.

After thinking for a moment, Xiaocao took out five of the five seasoning duck eggs from the seasoning jar and boiled them until cooked. Then, he sliced it up and placed it on the plate. Spiced duck eggs taste full and quite good. The yolk of the egg is bright yellow and small droplets of egg yolk oil flow out. When eaten, it tastes a bit salty which is very fragrant.

Xiaocao calculated the time quickly and decided that the century egg should have been finished by now. He took one of the eggs that had been coated with a mixture of mud and gently pinched the top of his mud shell. The shell of the egg, which had been gently opened, peeled off, revealed a glossy dark exterior. On the surface, there is a smooth white design, which shows the appearance of the typical ‘ pine’ flower of that egg. He lightly sniffed the egg and a special and exotic smell touched his nose.

Xiaocao asked Xiaolian, who had just returned home, to ride their donkey to a neighboring village and buy soft tofu. The century egg with tofu is a simple dish that tastes delicious. This dish has a soft texture, a soft taste, and smudges in the mouth. Since they were entertaining top-tier guests, he specially prepared a more classy dish.

He first cut the soft tofu into a small rectangular beam and asked Madam Liu to hollow out the beam. Then, he finely chopped the century's eggs and mixed them with aromatic vinegar, sesame oil, and other seasonings. Next, he stuffed the century egg mixture into a hollow piece of tofu and sprinkled some chopped green and red chili peppers over it. The finished dish not only looks appetizing but also has a savory taste and aroma!

“Princess! Your godfather is home !! What are you making so that it smells so good, I can smell it from afar.. ”Not to say, in the past month, General Fang Zizhen often returned from the dock to eat food from the Yu Family. His loud and clear voice was often heard long before he stepped into the family courtyard.

This time, the resonant sound of his voice sounded like it had suddenly been severed and strangled to a stop. At this moment, Fang Zizhen's eyes opened wider than a bronze gong and were full of disbelief. He forcefully rubbed his eyes but the big and honorable person in front of him was still in the courtyard!

“This lowly official form as a greeting ..” Fang Zizhen advanced three steps and knelt in front of emperor emeritus. It was as if a golden mountain met a jade pillar. Just as he was about to finish his greetings to emperor emeritus, he was interrupted!

Emperor emeritus used his hand to wave at him in dismissal, “Mingzhe ah! We are not in the capital, so there is no need to be too serious. Come over! Sit here and spend some time with Fifth Master !! ” Mingzhe is the courtesy name of Fang Zizhen.

“Emp... Fifth Noble, why are you in Dongshan Village? Did you hear that my master lives here? That's not true ah! If that's true, then you should be at my master's house, so why are you at Brother Yu's residence? ” Fang Zizhen carefully sat on a small wooden bench next to the emperor emeritus and placed his hands on his knees. He was similar to an elementary school student who was receiving lessons from his teacher.

Yu Hai was in the middle of a vegetable field in the courtyard, turning the ground. When he saw a high level three official prostrate to Fifth Master, he knew that this Fifth Master had an incredible background. He was trying to guess how noble the Fifth Lord was when he worked.

However, since Fifth Master did not seem to have any ill intentions towards the current Yu Family, it was considered a great blessing!

“Eh? Godfather? Aren't you at the place where Grandpa Zhao helped them take care of matters relating to the imperial edict? How do you have time to come here? ” Yu Xiaocao came out of the kitchen to peek outside and smile brightly to the men in the courtyard.

His glowing and pale little face had somehow been coated with flour without his knowledge. Instead of looking careless, it instead made her look even more adorable and charming. In front of her adorable and cute foster daughter, Fang Zizhen's facial expression became so gentle that it looked like someone could squeeze water out of her.

Her smile became soft and her voice also softened, “Good girl! The eunuch who bequeathed the imperial edict would eat there, so I came to pick fresh vegetables for them. ”

“What? The eunuch who issued the imperial edict stayed with the Zhao Family to eat? Who gave him the right? ” Emperor emeritus wiped the friendly smile on his face and his voice looked a little more dignified and imposing.

Fang Zizhen smiled carefully and said, “Fifth Master, it's midday and there are no places to eat around Dongshan Village. Should the eunuch return on an empty stomach? Don't blame Eunuch Zhang.. ”.

Emperor emeritus frowned loudly and replied, “Dongshan Village is only about two hours by horse ride from the city. It's not like Zhang Quan doesn't know the customs and rules. Was he not afraid of being accused of a crime for trying to get too close to officials? ”

“Uh... Fifth Master, it shouldn't be this serious right? There was no one else in Dongshan Village, so it didn't seem like there would be anyone gossiping about this! ” Fang Zizhen felt a grain of sweat on his forehead.

“Are you me who as long as others don't see him it's okay for him to make friends personally with court officials?” Emperor emeritus frowned deeply and ordered the imperial guard next to him, “Little Zhuang, call Zhang Quan for me. Tell him that I am eating here and I need someone to serve me! ”

“Time to eat!!” Yu Xiaocao's bright and clear voice broke the silence in the courtyard. Fang Zizhen suddenly felt that there was nothing more pleasant in his ears than his adopted daughter who shouted ‘time to eat!’ at the top of his lungs.

The wrinkle on the emperor emeritus' face disappeared for a moment, and he sniffed, “Chicken boiled with mushrooms! The dish is pretty good, I like it! ”

“Fifth Master, do you want to eat in the room or on the page?” Yu Xiaocao asked.

The emperor emeritus glanced at the staggered Yu family home, from the mud bricks and curling his lips, “The room was rather stuffy and the courtyard was so bright and spacious. Let's eat in the yard! ”

When Yu Hang heard the old man voice his opinion, he quickly moved the new family dining table to the courtyard and took out all the benches in the house. He looked at the big people next to the Fifth Nobles, hesitated for a moment, and then asked Xiaocao calmly, “It seems we don't have enough wooden benches for everyone. Should I go to Auntie Zhou's house and borrow from her? ”

Although emperor emeritus was no longer young, his hearing was still as sharp as before. He laughed, “You don't have to go through a lot of trouble! These people won't eat with us at the same table. Mingzhe, before that little girl called you her godfather. You're pretty lucky. Earlier I wanted to adopt this girl as a granddaughter of honor but I was rejected outright by her! ”

Fang Zizhen grinned widely and laughed a few times before suddenly recalling something. A smile disappeared on his face as he said, “Fifth Master, don't blame him! Xiaocao was young and sometimes childish. Please forgive his ignorance! ”

“This servant, Zhang Quan, greets ..” A shrill and resounding voice resounded in the air. As a eunuch who had a high enough rank to issue an imperial edict, Zhang Quan was still kneeling obediently on the ground as his body trembled slightly.

“Good!!” Emperor emeritus shouted loudly and stopped the eunuch from finishing his sentence. “Why do you look so confused? Why don't you come now to serve? Are you blind and losing energy ?! Liu Fusheng must be blind to regard a fool like you as his adopted son! ”

Zhang Quan had secretly asked the imperial guards, who had given him the message, about the mood of the emperor emeritus. At that moment, his entire body was suddenly drenched in cold sweat. A court eunuch who befriends a court official is a serious crime that can lead to beheading! He can only blame himself. Previously, the emperor had repeatedly warned him to treat General Zhao with respect. He became too proud and almost unexpectedly committed an incredible offense ah! Fortunately, emperor emeritus had called him. Emperor emeritus was truly like his second father and the benefactor who had saved his life!

“Come here! Don't just stand there ah !! Mingzhe, Little Yu, and you, little girl, come and eat with Fifth Master !! ” Emperor emeritus glared at Zhang Quan and then ignored his presence. His eyes were drawn to the table full of delicious smelling food that was familiar to him.

In his previous life, Zhu Huaiyong had also been a brilliant and outstanding military official in his country. He had no other interest than eating good food. After he had moved into this world, he had been on the battlefield for several years in a row. Being able to eat enough to fill his stomach was already considered good enough, so how could he be picky about food?

After he ascended the throne, he discovered that the imperial palace cooks were all fine. Maybe he still missed his previous life but he always felt the food here tasted bad. However, he and the current emperor were men who did not know how to cook. Because of this, he was increasingly bound to find a sense of his previous life in this world.

Decades passed and the memories of the familiar food in his previous life slowly faded away. He initially believed that he would never be able to feel his homeland again in this life. However, he did not expect that in this poor little courtyard, he could finally satisfy his long-standing desire.

“This is all just some home cooking, so please don't hate it because of that, Fifth Master. Please eat until full! ” Yu Xiaocao took a plate of century eggs with tofu and lightly placed the plate in front of emperor emeritus.

Zhu Huaiyong's eyes sparkled brighter and she smiled cunningly like an old fox, “Little girl, you even know how to make century eggs and you claim that you can't make vermicelli? Don't try to trick me, Fifth Master's eyes are still sharp! ”

“Eastern century? Daughter, our family century egg ready to eat? ” Fang Zizhen was quite busy at the dock and almost forgot about these eggs. He stared at the delicate and delicious plate of century eggs with the tofu that was in front of emperor emeritus. He could barely control his desire to try it now.

Xiaocao had finished serving all the food to the table and was about to go to the kitchen to serve food to the palace guards when the emperor emeritus stopped him, “Little girl, you have been busy for a while. Come, sit next to the Fifth Lord and eat. They all have working limbs, if they are hungry, they will be able to find food to eat! ”

The emperor emeritus had ordered that only Fang Zizhen, Yu Hai, and Yu Xiaocao would have the honor to accompany him to a meal. Zhang Quan stood to the side and held a new pair of chopsticks. He picked up a piece of eggplant and was about to taste it.

“Stop! You don't need to test food for poison here, go to the kitchen where Commander Zhuang and the others are and eat food there! ” Emperor emeritus trusted the Yu Family and having someone taste a meal before he tried it was not important. He refused to allow anyone else at his precious food table!

Zhang Quan clearly made a agreeing voice. In his heart, the Yu Family had risen in rank. Perhaps not many people could make the emperor emeritus trust them so much, right?

“Eld century with tofu! It's been decades since I last ate this! I almost forgot what it felt like ah! ” Emperor emeritus carefully took a piece of tofu filled with century eggs and opened his mouth wide. He put it all in his mouth. The tender tofu with the savory taste of a century egg spread through his mouth. Being able to taste the food he did not have for so many years almost made Zhu Huaiyong let out a few tears in excitement.

Fang Zizhen watched the emperor emeritus earnestly. When he saw the real pleasure on the old man's face and some faint signs of moisture in his eyes, anxiety arose in his heart —— is there really something so delicious that would make the emperor emeritus cry?