Flowers in full bloom

Chapter 519: Traveling in the Summer

After requesting a few upper rooms and two large rooms with dormitories, everyone washed up, ate, and rested.

I heard that the first group of craftsmen from the Imperial Observatory and the Ministry of Works had already passed through Anqing County without stopping at 1:00 p.m.

The prisoners in the second group did not enter the county town, but went directly through Anqing County at 3:15 pm and traveled for several more hours.

Then he randomly found a flat area in the open air beside the official road, and prepared to spend the night using a mat and a blanket distributed by the court in advance.

Many of the staff in the third echelon were in the same situation. Although the court provided them with fixed food and lodging subsidies, in order to save a few coins, they followed the prisoners and prepared to spend the night sleeping under the tent.

In fact, Emperor Shengwu and the court were in a hurry to send people north in the middle of summer, and this was also their consideration.

If you wait another two months and head north, the daytime temperature will indeed not be hot, but the nights will be cold, especially the further north you go, the lower the temperature will be.

At that time, if these prisoners were to stay in an inn, the price would be high and might not be as good as the inns in the prefectures and counties. If they were to sleep in the wilderness, it would be too cold and something bad would happen.

Therefore, while it is hot during the day, you can travel earlier in the morning and rest later at night to avoid the sun at noon. You can sleep outdoors at night, which can save you a lot of trouble.

Moreover, the yamen runners preferred to sleep outdoors near rivers or streams, so that the smelly prisoners could take a free bath.

The next day, Rong Jin and Hua Lei had already gotten up at dawn. Similarly, Zhenzhu next door had already washed up. Because Jiang Yunqi was on duty to escort the team yesterday, he had just returned from duty at 4:45 in the morning.

Rong Jin, Hua Lei and others had breakfast at the inn, bought a lot of steamed buns, steamed bread and pancakes, and set off before the sun was high.

There were a lot of food ingredients in the carriage behind Hualei, but Lord Pei had instructed that when they could reach the provincial capital, they should try to buy food, and when they could not reach the provincial capital or county town, they would have to cook for themselves.

However, it would be time-consuming to cook for yourself on the road, so Hua Lei decided to travel quickly in the next few days to save time later.

I heard that they were traveling very slowly yesterday and were among the last few. They had already been verbally warned by the accompanying supervisory personnel for not completing the distance required by the court. They even traveled for half the night under the full moon last night.

The escort and monitoring personnel are happy to see those who walk fast, but they are very concerned about those who wander around, want to travel around, and fail to complete their daily schedule.

Supervisors can remind and supervise. And they will report to Rong Jin's subordinates, and someone will keep records.

Everyone set out again. Gao Tiedan and Xiao Yuanzi once again took over the job of the groom. Compared to their colleagues who camped in the open air, sleeping on a large bunk bed was so blissful.

Moreover, Master Hua also used wormwood mosquito coils for them. That night, there was not even a mosquito, and they slept very well.

In the afternoon, Xiao Yuanzi saw Xiao Huzi who was walking on the road and asked him to get on the carriage of the Marquis' Mansion, which made Xiao Huzi very grateful to Hua Lei.

They had just left the capital and passed through some provincial capitals along the way. In addition, the weather had been good in the past few days, so Hua Lei and Rong Jin were able to basically find an inn to stay in in each provincial capital.

On the way, sometimes I would meet other colleagues or noble families. If they were familiar, we would chat with each other and continue on our journey together. If they were unfamiliar, we would just nod and smile and pass by.

After five or six days of traveling, the number of prefectures along the way gradually decreased, and it was difficult to find an inn in a prefecture every day.

That night, Hua Lei and her companions stayed at a post station beside the official road. However, all the people along the way were going to Mobei.

Therefore, several rooms in the simple post station were already occupied by the people who arrived earlier. Only two rooms with very poor conditions were left for Hua Lei and her friends. There was no choice but for the others to rest in the courtyard of the post station.

Moreover, the food in the kitchen of the post station was running out, and they needed to use silver to buy it. Hua Lei personally went to the kitchen of the post station for a tour.

He spent one or two taels of silver and brought back the only bucket of miscellaneous fish left in the kitchen, about seven or eight of them, as well as some fresh vegetables and a few pieces of tofu.

However, this food is also very expensive. Usually, these seven or eight fish cost at most three hundred coins. However, when in Rome, do as the Romans do, and Hualei is very understanding.

Rong Jin had the necessary supplies unloaded from the carriage. The coachman, led by Uncle Yu, brought a few people to take all the horses and mules down to feed and water them.

Sister Hehua and a few quick-handed maids began to prepare dinner. In the past few days, in order to save time and trouble, they ate steamed buns and steamed bread in the morning and at noon, which was a bit boring, so Hualei prepared to make rice.

As for the dishes, Hualei decided to make pickled fish. During this trip, the dishes in the inns and restaurants did have fish, but they were mostly fish soup, and there was very little braised fish.

Although the fish soup is delicious, it is relatively light. Therefore, Hualei decided to make a strong-flavored pickled fish.

I picked a few fish weighing two to three pounds, removed the scales, gills, and internal organs, and cleaned them. I used a knife to remove the two slices of fish meat, cut the fish meat diagonally into slices, added salt, sweet potato wine, MSG, and eggs, and mixed them well, so that the fish slices were evenly coated with a layer of egg paste.

These seasoning buds are all on the carriage, and of course, sauerkraut, fermented bean curd, and bacon are definitely also there.

Take the sauerkraut, wash it and cut it into sections. Put the pot on the fire, heat a little oil, add ginger slices and garlic cloves and fry until fragrant, then pour in the sauerkraut and stir-fry until tasty, then add water and bring to a boil.

After the soup in the pot is cooked, shake the marinated fish slices into the pot. Heat oil in another pot, stir-fry the chili powder and spices, pour them into the soup pot and cook for a while. When the fish slices are cooked, add MSG and pour them into the soup bowl.

It should be noted that the cooking time of pickled fish is very important. The fish fillet should not be cooked for too long, so as not to affect the taste. In addition, the selection and processing of pickled cabbage will also affect the final taste.

Fortunately, Hua Lei had experience and adjusted the ingredients and flavors according to her preferences. A quarter of an hour later, a delicious sauerkraut fish was ready.

In the past, pickled fish was a famous local dish with a strong aroma, sour and spicy taste, which made people salivate. Its taste mainly came from the sour aroma of pickled cabbage and the spicy aroma of chili peppers.

This smell can stimulate appetite quickly and is very aggressive. For a moment, the small post station was filled with the unique aroma of pickled fish.