Second watch, request for pink.
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The fourth dish was a small pot of soup made with the head of a silver carp, to which tofu had been added, and which had been simred in an earthenware pot on the stove. The soup was milky white, sprinkled with bits of bright green scallions.
The staple food was plain stead rice, into which tender green peas had also been mixed.
These few dishes had been prepared with great care by Lady Zhang, Lian Manman, and Lian Zhizhi, mother and daughters. Even before they started eating, just looking at the food made it seem delicious.
Shen Liu glanced over the dishes on the table, then waved his hand, ordering the banquet and pastries sent by the County Magistrate and the gentry to be moved out. Then, Shen Liu stood up, called Shen Qian over, and the two brothers sat down by the table to start their al.
The dishes were full of color, aroma, and flavor, delicious and light without being greasy, exactly to Shen Liu’s taste. Shen Qian’s appetite was also quite good, with his favorite dish clearly being the pine nut corn. As for Shen Liu, he tried a bit of every pickled vegetable.
"What is this?" Shen Liu’s long and powerful fingers held chopsticks, hovering over the few stalks of black rice, hesitated for a mont, then he looked up at Lian Manman and asked.
Lian Manman chuckled to herself, Shen Liu didn’t recognize the black rice. Truly, no matter how many exotic delicacies he had tried, there were still foods on her table that he didn’t know.
"Sixth Master, this is black rice," Lian Manman said with a smile.
A look of confusion flashed across Shen Liu’s face. Black rice, he had not only never seen it before, he had never even heard of it.
"Black rice? But it’s clearly white," Fatty Shen remarked, "Manman, black rice is black, purple rice is purple. This black rice of yours, it’s..."
Fatty Shen stopped speaking and pouted at Lian Manman, seemingly accusing her of tricking him.
"It grows on sorghum stalks, and when it’s tender, it’s this white color, and very delicious. If it gets too old, it turns black and is no longer edible," Lian Manman explained what black rice was to Shen Liu, "When Sixth Master arrived, we were in the fields, looking specifically for this. There’s very little of it, and even in our large field, we found only about twenty stalks."
Shen Liu nodded, then picked up a stalk of black rice, dipped it in soybean paste, and took a bite.
"Not bad at all."
Shen Qian followed suit and ate one, also saying it was delicious.
The brothers, it seed, were hungry, and finding the dishes to their liking, ate most of them and each had a bowl of soup before they finally put down their chopsticks.
Lady Zhang, Lian Zhizhi, and Lian Manman were busy coming forward to clear everything away.
"My lord, there are gentry outside requesting an audience," a servant reported after seeing Shen Liu had finished his al.
The County Magistrate, along with those gentry seeking an audience, had not left but were waiting outside. In the servant’s hand, the tray was stacked thick with several piles of visiting cards. Shen Liu casually drew out a card, looked at it, and then put it back.
"It’s getting late, let them all go back," Shen Liu said, "Get the carriage ready, we should also head back."
The servant hurried out to relay the ssage.
"Sixth Brother, we’re leaving now?" Shen Qian heard Shen Liu say they were leaving and felt a bit reluctant.
"What, you’ve been wandering around all day and still haven’t had enough fun?" Shen Liu asked Shen Qian, looking down.
"Sixth Brother, it’s not easy for us to co here," Shen Qian said, laughing.
Shen Liu ignored Shen Qian’s comnts, simply asking a servant to bring over two boxes of pastries and two bags of tea leaves, which he handed to Lian Shouxin.
"As for the corn matter, just follow Manman’s suggestion," Shen Liu said, his gaze falling on Lian Manman’s face, "... If there’s anything, continue to let the Shi Family’s people in the town send a ssage. Co autumn, I will send soone over."
Shen Liu, in charge of the military affairs in the area, was naturally a very busy man. After giving a few simple instructions, he stood up, took Shen Qian with him, left the shop, and boarded the carriage back to Prefecture City.
The County Official and a host of gentry were there to see them off, waiting until Shen Liu’s carriage had gone far before they climbed into their own sedans and slowly dispersed.
Before that, the County Official had called Lian Shouxin over to speak, being very polite in his deanor. So astute gentry also found pretexts to engage in conversation, and by the end, the shop was stacked high with food boxes filled with fruits, pastries, and dishes presented by the gentry.
Once everyone had dispersed, the Lian Manman family thought of returning to the shop, but Lian Shouxin turned his head and saw Old Master Lian, Lian Shouren, and Lian Jizu standing across the official road.
Old Master Lian, seeing Lian Shouxin had noticed him, walked over with Lian Shouren and Lian Jizu.
"Dad, Big Brother, when did you guys get here?" Lian Shouxin hurriedly asked.
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