"The weather is getting colder and colder."

"Do you want to add a quilt to sir?"

"That's not necessary."

"It's not the coldest now, at least it's not cold during the day. It will be the coldest in a month or two. By then, there will be snow on the top of the mountains behind." The innkeeper said to Song You, "It's just in the city.

Cherry blossoms must be planted outside, and some will bloom at that time, and roses will also bloom at that time. By then, all the wind, flowers, snow and moon that scholars often say will be seen here."

"Then you have to see it before leaving."

Song You smiled and sat in the lobby, chatting with the store owner.

At this moment, a person came in from outside the house.

A girl who was about half a person tall had a bulging and wet bag slung over her left shoulder. She held a fishing rod in her left hand and a length of sugar cane in her right hand, gnawing as she walked.

At any rate, she also knew that the ground in the city was paved with stone bricks and that sugarcane bagasse was not allowed to be spat out, so she held it all in her hands.

"I'm back from fishing."

"Oops it's back!"

The store owner quickly got up and went to greet him.

Song You asked curiously: "Where did Sanhua Empress get another piece of sugar cane?"

"It's also in exchange."

"You are so powerful."

"Yes."

Sanhua Empress didn't say much, she just weighed the fish as usual, sold it to the shopkeeper, and gave one to the shopkeeper to use as firewood in the kitchen. She kept one fish and asked the Taoist priest to cook it and eat it.

"..."

The Taoist is not lazy——

The breadwinner of the family has been working outside all day long, and when he comes back with food, he just makes a meal, how can he make irresponsible remarks.

Immediately he took the fish into the kitchen.

There was only a sound of cleaning, and the movements were clean and neat.

The store owner was still watching from behind.

The Taoist looked back at him with a smile and chatted with him:

"Xianning's style of cooking fish reminds me of a time when we were walking in Xuzhou more than ten years ago. We passed by a mountain village and stayed overnight at a local farmer's house. In order to entertain us, the farmer also caught two fish from the pond at the door.

When cooking, I also add sour stewed plums and sour fruits to it, which is very interesting."

"It's just that the poor are vulgar and don't have good food. Adding some sourness can coax the food into their stomachs."

"What a coincidence, the farmers at that time also said so."

"How can you remember so clearly what happened more than ten years ago?" The shopkeeper looked at Song You quietly. The Taoist looked young. If one were to judge his age based on his appearance, he would have been young more than ten years ago.

"deep impression."

"Does the 'we' you mentioned also include your cats?"

"Why does the store need to test us?"

Song You still smiled and put oil in the pot.

The petite girl huddled in front of the stove, lighting the fire, and stretched out her two hands with her fingers spread out, close to the stove's eye, concentrating on the fire, as if she was not interested in their conversation at all.

"Don't dare, don't dare..."

The store owner quickly lowered his head and did not dare to say anything.

"I like to eat sour vegetables, and I also like to eat sour pickles. We Yizhou people like this, but when we usually cook, the sourness comes from vinegar and pickled vegetables. Unlike here, the sourness comes from vinegar and pickled vegetables.

"Fruit." Song You said and paused, "It's just that in my opinion, it will be more comfortable if you can add a little spiciness while making pickled vegetables."

"Sir, do you mean dogwood and ginger?"

The owner of the store is someone who likes to study cooking skills, and his interest was quickly aroused.

"Cornus is good, as is ginger, but there is something better. Maybe it hasn't spread here yet." Song You pinched a chili pepper and handed it to the shopkeeper, "Give it to the shopkeeper. There are seeds in it. Wait.

You can plant them when the weather is slightly warmer, and if the soil is slightly moist, they will germinate. The fruit produced is called chili pepper, which is already very popular in many places. It is very suitable for cooking, and can be eaten fresh or dried in the sun."

"I think I've heard of it..."

"Today I will try it with the sour fish made by the store."

Song You said in his mouth and kept moving his hands.

While operating, explain and chat with the store owner.

In fact, I intentionally taught him and returned his kindness.

These are all cooking skills learned after many years. In this era when iron pots have been popularized and stir-frying has not been invented for a long time, in this remote Yunzhou, many common and simple knowledge are very precious - even if someone likes to delve into it like this store owner

People who are good at cooking are just practicing behind closed doors based on experience.

While Sanhua Empress was lighting the fire, she also listened carefully, often standing up and looking into the pot.

If you have new skills, write them down secretly.

Not long after, a pot of spicy and sour fish was ready.

The stewed plums and sour fruits were still added, and chili peppers were added. The soup base changed from the original white and yellow color to a bright red color, making it more appetizing. The fish meat floated in it, and the white color also became red, making it very appetizing.

Add a sprig of coriander as a garnish and it's perfect.

"Leave a bowl for the store and taste it. If you like it, you can make it for guests later." Song You said with a smile, leaving a bowl for the store as usual, putting the rest into a basin and taking it back upstairs to eat.

The store owner thanked me profusely.

The Taoist has returned to his room.

There was still an oil lamp lighting up half the room.

The Taoist put the fish into a bowl, mixed it with some chili peppers and soup, and put it into his mouth. It was sour, appetizing, and delicious.

There is a cat and a swallow standing on the table nearby.

There is a bowl in front of the cat with fish soup and rice in it. There is a plate in front of the swallow with finely minced fish and meat.

"How did Sanhua Empress change sugar cane?"

"Sanhua Empress came back from beating the monk, and she was walking away with the Jinzi Mountain God, and that little man saw her." Mao'er stood on the table, paused, and changed her words, "When she saw that little man, let the Jinzi Mountain God

I carried him around for a while and exchanged him for sugar cane."

"I see."

"Miss Sanhua defeated that monk today!"

"These days, there are rumors in the local area that there is a mountain god who often fights with demon monks in the wasteland over there. The Sanhua Empress has become the most common topic of discussion among Xianning people after dinner."

"But Sanhua Empress still didn't kill that monk." Sanhua Cat was not proud of his flattery, but remained serious, "That monk is so powerful, he can't be killed no matter how hard he beats him, even if the Jinzi Mountain God invited by Sanhua Empress

Even if you beat him, you can't beat him to death; even if you beat him into the ground, you can't beat him to pieces, and you can't beat him to death."

"That's it..."

Song You took the chopsticks and thought for a while, and then said: "The headless monk was unusual during his lifetime. After his death, he turned into a demon due to his obsession. He refused to admit that he was dead. With his Taoist skills, he became a demon even for others.

He is deceiving himself by saying that his head is no longer on his head, and he can beat him to death, so Sanhua Empress might as well try to beat him and at the same time repeatedly tell him that his head is no longer on his head."

"Is this okay?"

"Empress Sanhua must think of some way to make him believe it." Song You said with a smile, "Empress Sanhua is very smart, so she will not be stumped."

"Well……"

The cat stuck out its tongue and licked its mouth, lost in thought.

The swallow next to it picked up the fish eyes on the plate, raised its head and opened its mouth, and the fish eyes went into its belly.

"I'm almost tired of eating fish every day. Let's go to the market to buy some other meat to eat in a few days."

"Tired of eating? How could you get tired of eating?"

“If you eat too much, you will naturally get tired of it.”

“The fish is delicious.”

“It’s delicious but you should eat it in a different way.”

"Then why don't you get tired of eating?"

"The food is different."

"Why is it different?"

"..." Song You shook his head helplessly, "Sanhua Empress, please eat quickly. The fish soup will become fishy when it gets cold."

“It tastes better when it’s fishy!”
To be continued...