A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Starting from the Village Chief

Chapter 135: Uninhibited and Free

Carrying the marriage certificate,

Riding back to Pingkangfang,
In front of Wutou Gate, they met Li Erlang who had just returned from hunting, with hawks and dogs on leash, and was surrounded by people.

Looking at them, Xiao Shisanlang seemed to remember his past self.

"Brother Wuyi, congratulations, you've been promoted to county magistrate."

Li Dejiang greeted him with a smile, then dismounted and came over. "I heard you were back in Chang'an. I wanted to arrange to go deer hunting with you, but I never saw you."

He leaned closer to Li Yi and lowered his voice, "I heard that you are getting engaged to Shi Niang from the Fengxiang Marquis Mansion of the Jingzhao Du family?"

"The betrothal was just announced today. We are already engaged."

"Huh?" Li Dejiang thought it was just a rumor, but he didn't expect it to be true. "She's getting engaged to a rich family's daughter, it's such a happy event, why don't you call me brother?"

"Because Shi Niang's father is an official in Luoyang and can't come back, the Du family's old lady doesn't want to publicize it too much, so she keeps a low profile."

Li Dejiang seemed to be lost in thought. "Congratulations! You've really had a double blessing. On the one hand, you've been promoted to a higher rank, and on the other hand, you've married a woman from a different family. I'm so envious."

Li Yi saw Li Erlang's servants unloading the prey from the horses.
"You've gained quite a lot."

"Hey, autumn is bright and the clouds are light, so the wild animals are fat. Pick some. There are deer, pheasants, rabbits, and wild boars. When we have time some other day, we brothers can go hunting in the mountains. When the weather gets cold, there won't be so many prey."

As he said that, he beckoned a servant over.
"Pick out a fat deer, then a big wild boar, and a few pheasants and rabbits, and carry them directly to County Li's kitchen."

"No, I'll just take two pheasants."

"Why are you being so distant with me? If it weren't for you, my father would still be sitting on the bench."

"By the way, what has Mr. Li been busy with lately?"

"The old man is very busy. Isn't he the Yitong of You Wuhou now? He is busy training soldiers all day long. Especially after the rebellion of the surrendered Qiang people and the huge chaos caused by them, the troops of the entire capital are being trained.

But this is good for me, because no one is controlling me anymore and I can go hunting freely."

After chatting for a while, Li Erlang went home.

Li Yi looked at Li Erlang and saw him sending a deer, a wild boar, and seven or eight pheasants and rabbits to his home. He couldn't help but like Li Erlang more and more.
Li Erlang is a free and easy-going and generous person. He doesn't care about trivial matters and doesn't have the airs of a young master from a wealthy family.

Li Yi looked at Xiao Shisan in a daze, "Remember the past?"

Xiao Shisan smiled and said, "Yeah, seeing him reminds me of myself back then."

"This Li Erlang is also determined to become a great hero in Kyoto."

Xiao Shisan shook his head, "In fact, the so-called Kyoto heroes are just like that, young men from famous noble families, rich and powerful, spending money lavishly, surrounded by people, and naturally have hundreds of people to respond to their calls. In fact, they all rely on the power of their ancestors and the influence of their family.

There are also some sons of powerful frontier generals, who wear gorgeous clothes, ride on horses with golden saddles, and hunt and fight dogs on horseback.

The knights-errant of the previous dynasty were all like this: Zhou Luohou liked hawks and dogs, and was a knight-errant and unruly; Qifu Huibian was good at archery and horse riding, and also liked hawks and dogs.

Mr. Liu, who was known as the Kyoto hero, gathered his followers and became knights, not abiding by the law.

Shen Guang was a bohemian who associated with powerful people. Yu Qingze was a chivalrous man who loved to wear heavy armor and ride with a double bow. Shi Wanbao was also a hunter, known as the Great Hero of Chang'an.

For example, the current Prince of Huai'an, Li Shentong, his son-in-law, Chai Shao, and Crown Prince Jiancheng were all young and chivalrous in their early years."

Back then, Xiao Shisan was also a Shang-Chi chivalrous man, and he was also involved in this circle.

During the Sui Dynasty, only Chang'an City
There are many so-called heroes, such as Kyoto hero Liu Jushi, Chang'an hero Shi Wanbao, etc. Among these heroes, the most famous are the sons of aristocratic families, followed by some border generals or sons of powerful people in the capital. They not only have family background, but are also good at riding and shooting, and have great personal charm.

Then there are some scoundrels and hooligans from the city. These people either work for the nobles and powerful, or engage in some gray industries, or even directly do illegal things.

Things like robbery, theft, plunder, human trafficking, minting illegal money, smuggling salt, tomb robbing, etc., as long as you can make money, it's fine.

Those top young masters would have some fun, make some friends, or recruit some talents for their family and brothers. As they get older and enter official careers, they would fade out of this circle.

After all, whether someone is a hero or not depends on his power, connections, and social circles.

For example, Mr. Liu used to follow Chen Zheng. Chen Zheng's father, Chen Mao, was the Sima of the Yizhou General Administration Office and a close confidant of Emperor Wen of Sui. Although he came from a humble background, he was the most trusted person of Yang Jian, just like Li Yuantong.

When Yang Jian was still an official in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, he led his troops to fight against the Northern Qi Dynasty. The enemy was in a strong position. Yang Jian was young and hot-headed and insisted on challenging. Chen Mao pulled the horse's head and refused to let him go. Yang Jian was so angry that he chopped Chen Mao's forehead with a knife. The blood was all over his face, but Chen Mao still did not let go. Afterwards, Yang Jian felt that Chen Mao was very loyal and always relied on him as his confidant.

When Chen Zheng was seventeen years old and worked as a prince's assistant in Chang'an, he made friends with heroes everywhere. Mr. Liu was known as a hero in the capital at that time, but in front of this young master Chen, he was still willing to be a follower. Li Xiaochang, the son of Li Yuantong, had a good relationship with Chen Zheng, so Mr. Liu also made friends with him.

But later, when Liu Daxia fell into the hands of Emperor Yang Guang, he was beheaded with just one sentence.

The Chang'an hero Shi Wanbao formed a circle with Li Shentong, Li Jiancheng, Chai Shao and others.

But Shi Wanbao's outcome was much better. He assisted Princess Pingyang and Li Shentong in raising an army in Guanzhong and welcomed Li Yuan into the pass. For this merit, he was awarded the title of Duke of Yuan.

Of course, Shi Wanbao's family background was not low either. He was the younger brother of Shi Wansui, a famous general of the Sui Dynasty. Shi Wansui made great contributions, but was later unjustly killed by Yang Jian. The Shi family also fell into poverty. He did not get involved in officialdom but in the underworld. He became a hero in Chang'an. Fortunately, he followed Li Yuan's daughter to start an army and then became a founding hero.
His father and brother, despite their many military achievements, were only a Duke of Taiping County, and his grandfather was only a Duke of a County in the Northern Wei Dynasty.
But Shi Wanbao was made a Duke just for raising an army to assist Li Sanniang and welcome Li Yuan into Guanzhong.

Mr. Liu was also a hero in the capital, and he was beheaded. Chen Zheng followed Yang Guang on a tour of Jiangdu, but he encountered Yu Wenhuaji who was trying to kill the king, and he almost lost his life. He finally returned to Chang'an.

He was sent by the emperor to Hanzhong to take over the post of governor of Liangzhou left by his father after his death, but he was killed as soon as he arrived there.

Li Jiancheng, Chai Shao and Li Shimin had always been known as knights in their early years, making friends with powerful people everywhere, and recruiting many people to rebel for Li Yuan.

Come in,

Afu's family asked what to do with the prey that was sent there.

"Skin and divide the meat, and have a good meal tonight. Remember to send a portion of venison and wild boar meat to my senior brother Sun Zhongcheng's family, Du Gong's family, Wang Lingshi's family, and Wang Fazuo's family.

The rest is salted."

Xiuzhi entered the palace,

Li Yi really needs a good inner courtyard housekeeper.

Ah Fu and his companions were at a loss when facing the deer and wild boar. Liu Heizi was not around, and the Four Heavenly Kings were now officials.
Xiao Shisan offered, "Let me skin and cut it up. I'm familiar with all this. I used to hunt and collect it often. This deer hide is quite valuable. If you don't skin it properly, it will be wasted. The wild boar hide can also be useful if you peel it off intact and collect it."

"Okay, Awei and Agui, help Thirteen."

"Cunli,"

It turned out that Cunli was the only one left in the five-member guard group, and he seemed a little lonely. Heizi also stayed in the countryside, feeling even more uncomfortable.

Li Yi invited the son of the former businessman to come.
"You will temporarily serve as the outer courtyard steward,"

"Alang, I, I can't do it,"

"A man can't say no, he has to say yes. I might rent or buy a shop in the future, and you will be the manager then."

Speaking of this, Cunli was quite excited. After all, he had been an apprentice in his own shop for a long time and was more familiar with doing business.

Back to the inner courtyard,

Ji came forward to greet them.

"Is everything going well?"

"Well, the betrothal gifts have been sent, and the marriage certificate has been received. We are waiting to go to the bride's reception on the 26th." "Then we have to speed up the preparations. There are only a few days left. The whole house needs to be decorated, and the wedding banquet needs to be prepared. The guest list needs to be decided, and the invitations need to be sent out in advance."

Li Yi waved his hand and said, "I'll leave all these matters to you."

"I will take care of it for Alang for a few more days. When Shi Niang comes home in a few days, I will hand it over to her from now on."

Li Yi smiled and said, "I think you have to be in charge of the inner courtyard from now on. Shi Niang will be coming home alone in a few days. She doesn't even have a maid to marry with, let alone a housekeeper or maidservant that she can trust. You have to help her take care of the household affairs from now on."

Ji agreed readily, "Okay, wait for Shi Niang to marry me, and I will help take care of the household chores."

"Tomorrow I'm going to redeem a girl from Zhongqu. Do you know what I should be careful about?"

Ji looked at Li Yi in surprise. "Alang went to the Du family today to get engaged, but tomorrow he wants to go to Pingkangfang to redeem a prostitute?"

"Don't get me wrong, it's not that I'm interested in someone, I'm redeeming someone else," Li Yi briefly mentioned Yu Youniang and Xiao Shisan.

"Actually, Alang can just ask Sun Zhongcheng for help. If Sun Zhongcheng is not available, you can also ask Wang Dalang, the clerk of the Ministry of Revenue, or Wang Fazuo of Chang'an County."

"Row."

Li Yi came to the outer courtyard again.

Xiao Shisan had already finished peeling the deer skin and was peeling the wild boar skin.
"This wild boar meat has a strong smell. How do I cook it?" The woman from Afu's family asked Li Yi. She felt a little at a loss when faced with the smelly wild boar meat.

The wild boar was quite big, weighing more than 100 pounds.

The fangs were sharp and the pig hair was long and hard. Fortunately, the skin was peeled off directly, otherwise it would be difficult to chew.

Wild boar meat stewed with white radish is actually quite good, or it can be stewed with potatoes, but unfortunately there are neither radishes nor potatoes now.

"Braise it,"

"Ah Lang, I don't know how to do this."

"I come,"

In fact, braised meat also needs to be stewed first, otherwise the meat will be hard to chew, and it needs to be blanched in water first to remove the fishy smell.

The material is sufficient.

After Xiao Shisan peeled the deer and wild boar skins, he continued to cut open the belly and cut the meat into pieces. Agui and the others helped to clean the internal organs.

The venison and wild boar meat were divided and sent to each of the several friends in Chang'an.

Li Yi also got a large piece of wild boar meat without the skin and started to cook.

First, chop the meat into pieces and blanch it with ginger and scallions, especially adding some rice wine to remove the fishy smell.

Clean all the blood foam, blanch it for a while, remove the meat and wash it clean, then put a little oil in the pan and stir-fry until the water is dry.
Then add spices and oil and continue to fry until the pork is slightly browned.
At this time, pour more rice wine, add soy sauce to adjust the color, and when the wine is almost cooked, add water to cover the pork.
Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low heat and simmer.

This is actually the same method as stewing dog meat, which can remove the odor as much as possible.

"Keep the fire high and simmer for an hour."

"How long does it take?"

"This is wild boar meat. It won't be edible if it's not stewed for a long time."

Start another pot,

Celery fried venison, pan-fried venison steak,

On the other side, have a pheasant soup and a stir-fried rabbit meat...
After Xiao Shisan finished cutting the meat, he came over and saw Li Yi's skillful cooking skills. He was full of admiration and said, "Looks like we're in for a treat tonight."

Li Yi smiled and said, "Do you want me to send someone to Zhongqu to pick up Youniang?"

"If we go pick it up now, that fake mother of explosive charcoal will definitely ask for money."

"Don't worry, I can afford this little money. Come here, Cunli."

"Ah Lang, what do you want?"

"Take my invitation and go to Zhongqu to find Yu Youniang's fake mother and tell her that the county magistrate wants to invite Youniang to host a banquet tonight."

"Which Yu Youniang?"

"Let Thirteen take you there."

Xiao Shisan clasped his fists towards Li Yi and said, "Thank you, Alang. I will pay you back later."

"Hurry up and go. I'll call Li Erlang over later so we can have a couple of drinks."

in the kitchen,
The wild boar meat was simmering on a low fire. Menshu and Menzhu, the brothers, were tending to the fire, sniffing non-stop. "This wild boar meat was so pungent just now, but now it smells so good."

Li Yi looked at the two brothers.
Their fate has been completely changed because of Xiuzhi.
"Let me give you two brothers a big name,"

"Your name for the door bolt is Guodong, and your name for the door post is Guoliang."

The brothers' original surname was Zhang. Xiuzhi originally wanted them to follow Li Yi's surname Li in the future, but now they naturally still have the surname Zhang.

The two brothers both liked this name very much, which was much better than the door bolts and doorposts.

"Are Brother Shitou and Brother Gousheng famous?" asked Menzhu.

Li Yi smiled and said, "You have a very good relationship with them. Now that you have a great reputation, you still care about them. I will also give them great names. Shitou will be called Guoqiang and Gousheng will be called Guosheng. How about that?"

"Brother Shitou and Brother Gousheng also have Chinese characters in their names,"

"Ah."

"Okay, from now on all four of us will have Chinese characters in our names,"

"Just like brothers."

The pillars of the country mean a strong and prosperous country. Li Yi was a bit lazy in naming, but it still sounds very grand.

"Brother Shitou and Brother Gousheng will definitely be very happy when they find out."

"Ah Lang, when will Brother Shitou and the others come to Chang'an?"

"Alang will get married in a few days, and we will bring them all over."

It was getting dark.
The gate is closed.

Yu Youyu was taken back by Xiao Shisan and Li Cunli. Cunli complained to Li Yi that the fake mother was very greedy for money. Yu Niang only came out to host a banquet that night, but she actually asked for five thousand coins.

He still collected money before letting people come, and also sent two people to follow.

Li Yi thought it was normal. Although Yu Youniang was not the most famous person in Pingkangfang, she was worth 200,000 yuan. To her fake mother, she was a cash cow and of course she had to be protected.

"Stop talking about that, hurry up and get some wine. Li Erlang is here too, the guests are all here, and the wild boar is cooked."

(End of this chapter)