Lou Shanzi is not a very talented cook, but during the time he learned cooking from Xia Mingyue, he has come to realize this deeply.

When he first learned how to make this squirrel fish dish, his performance was not outstanding, even worse than the brothers Zhao Dahu and Zhao Erhu who had only been learning cooking for a short time.

When Xia Mingyue saw this situation, her brows were furrowed.

How can we be sure today that this dish must have been made by him?
"You are diligent in learning. After learning all the dishes, you practice them repeatedly, striving to achieve the best feeling. As long as the dish can be served on the table and it passes the test, there is no doubt that it must be made by you." Xia Mingyue said with a smile.

Then he looked at Zhao Dahu and Zhao Erhu and sighed, "You two have been quite lazy these past two days."

The brothers Zhao Dahu and Zhao Erhu are quite talented in cooking.

At least he is more talented than Lou Shanzi.

It's just that the two of them are still young, and their love for cooking is based on satisfying their own appetites. They don't like to do many things to perfection, and always feel that it's enough to just make do with something half-hearted.

Just focus on one that is good enough.

Therefore, there is nothing wrong with the dishes we cook, but in terms of deliciousness, they are still a little lacking, which is a very bad state.

Xia Mingyue made this public comment to serve as a warning to the two brothers.

The two of them are one year older after the Chinese New Year, and they care more about face. They both feel embarrassed at this moment.

When I thought about Aunt Xia's earnest teaching and my mother Lu's numerous instructions, I felt even more ashamed.

The two people blushed and lowered their heads, "We were wrong. We must be more careful next time."

"Now that we know, we must change it, so as to achieve the best effect." Xia Mingyue patted the two people's shoulders with a smile, "Let's make another home-cooked dish that you are good at. It's not enough to just eat fish at noon."

Zhao Dahu's specialty is Mapo Tofu, while Zhao Erhu's favorite is roasted eggplant. Both are very delicious dishes and are suitable for eating with steamed rice at noon.

Upon hearing this, the two of them excitedly went to prepare the corresponding ingredients.

There were three dishes of squirrel fish, one was left for Doctor Yin and Mao Sanli, the master and his apprentice next door, two were kept for everyone at home, and Xia Mingyue made another dish of squirrel fish by herself, specially for Lu Qiyan to taste.

It's a rare opportunity for you to come back, and you can't stay at home for more than two days, so you have to be treated specially, right?
When Lu Qiyan found out that Xia Mingyue had specially made a squirrel fish dish for him, the corners of his mouth couldn't turn down no matter what.

Fish and such, pretty good.

He can like it.

In the afternoon, Lu Qiyan went out again.

Xia Mingyue was also busy with her own things.

Before going to bed at night, Xia Mingyue saw two piles of scripture books on the table beside the bed.

A quick look reveals love stories, strange tales, folk rumors, travelogues... everything you can think of.

"Bought it for me?" Xia Mingyue stroked the storybooks and tilted her head.

In the afternoon, she did see Lu Qiyan coming back with a package in his hand, and the package was falling heavily, obviously it was not light.

At that time, Xia Mingyue just thought that this was Lu Qiyan's own thing and didn't think too much about it. She never imagined that there was a script bought for her inside.

Did Lu Qiyan buy these because he saw that she often read storybooks, so he wanted to cater to her interests?

Xia Mingyue felt warm in her heart. That night, Xia Mingyue did not crawl into Lu Qiyan's bed again, because the two of them slept in the same bed at the same time.

The quilt is large enough for two people.

When it was time to fall asleep, the two of them still lay back to back. Lu Qiyan still went to bed late, waiting for Xia Mingyue to be restless when she slept at night.

Unfortunately, until midnight, Xia Mingyue was still sleeping soundly and motionless.

Lu Qiyan touched his nose helplessly.

It seems worse than before?
But it doesn’t matter. This way Xia Mingyue seems to be able to sleep more peacefully.

Lu Qiyan glanced at Xia Mingyue's peaceful face as she slept soundly, and closed his eyes contentedly.

Early in the morning, Lu Qiyan set out early to return to the military camp.

Discipline in the military camp is strict and one cannot bring too many things with him. In addition to spare underwear, Xia Mingyue prepared some dried meat for Lu Qiyan for his daily chewing.

In addition, I still brought some fried noodles.

Fried noodles are very fragrant and easy to eat. When there is hot water, they can be made into a thick paste. When there is no hot water, you can even swallow them directly. They are much better than those dry and hard biscuits and dry food.

Xia Mingyue was a little worried when she saw Lu Qiyan bringing these things, "Is there going to be another war?"

"That's not the case." Lu Qiyan explained, "There are constant wars at the border, and people from some places gather together, occupy the mountains and become kings. They claim to be acting on behalf of heaven, robbing the rich to help the poor, and use this to win over people, but in reality they kill people, rob and exterminate families. The army intends to send people to clean up the situation, and I want to try my best to see if I can get such an assignment."

When the war subsides, suppressing bandits is also a way to gain military merit.

Xia Mingyue knew that Lu Qiyan was a man of strategy and ambition, so she just said, "Then my husband must pay attention to his own safety and do everything within his ability."

"Don't worry, my lady. I know what I am doing." Lu Qiyan responded in a low voice, took Xia Mingyue's hand in his and squeezed it gently, "My lady, you also need to take care of yourself. If you have any problems, you can come to me."

"Or, you can also look for Magistrate Pei. Magistrate Pei is an upright official, fair in his work, and able to make decisions for the people. I visited him before and found that he is indeed a good official. If you have any trouble, you can go find him."

"Okay." Xia Mingyue nodded in response, with her eyebrows slightly raised.

Did Lu Qiyan ever visit County Magistrate Pei?
When did this happen?

In the previous dispute with Yueran Restaurant, County Magistrate Pei seemed to be biased. At that time, Xia Mingyue only thought it was because of the connections behind Manager Ge. Could it be because of Lu Qiyan?
Just as Xia Mingyue was thinking, Lu Qiyan let go of her hand and jumped on the horse.

Galloping all the way westward.

Xia Mingyue watched him go away, and only walked home when Lu Qiyan's figure completely disappeared from the street.

When the sun rose to mid-sky, Guo Kang arrived at Xia Mingyue's house.

Without even having time to drink his tea, Guo Kanglai sat down and told Xia Mingyue everything about how Zhang Chunwang and his son went to the orchard to apologize yesterday.

"Why did Zhang Chunwang and his son suddenly come to apologize?" Xia Mingyue was a little surprised.

"I am also a little surprised by this matter. The village chief Zhang not only apologized, but also brought a lot of gifts. He said that he was a bad parent and frightened Madam Xia and everyone in the orchard. This was really wrong. These things are just a small apology. Please accept them."

Guo Kanglai said, "In addition, Zhang Lizheng also said that he would keep Zhang Chunwang under control in the future and would never let him cause trouble again. Otherwise, he would personally send Zhang Chunwang to the county jail." (End of this chapter)