Chapter 467 Bean sprouts

The An family rose to power through military merit, so they lacked strategy and had few connections. The emperor was jealous of their military achievements and they were envied by others. In addition, they had such an incompetent son, which gave the emperor enough reasons to deal with them.

Once the role of the An family is completely exploited, there will be no An family in this world.

Cui Wenshuo sighed in his heart, but his face was full of mockery, "An Leiting, you had a good hand in your hand, but it was ruined. You are so stupid."

"It's fine even if the An family is gone. The Cui family hasn't even started dealing with them yet, but they have gained all the benefits. It can be considered as not losing out."

"Yes." Xiao Luoan nodded, "From now on, the Western Frontier Army will only rely on Fan Honghui's methods."

"Everyone in the Fan family is an old fox. Although Fan Honghui is young, he is also very cunning. Moreover, the Fan family has always been loyal to the emperor alone. From now on, the Western Frontier Army can only watch."

Cui Wenshuo was very sad that he could not bring the Western Frontier Army under the Cui family. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Speaking of which, Lu Qiyan is also a young and promising man."

"Indeed." Xiao Luoan nodded.

"It's a pity that they're already married." Cui Wenshuo looked regretful, but raised his eyebrows, "But this man..."

"Lu Qiyan and his wife are deeply in love, so I'm afraid it won't work." Xiao Luoan interrupted Cui Wenshuo, "And I heard that the Xia family has a deep connection with the He family. Cui Wendong even had his eyes on the Xia family before... So I think it's better for Master Cui not to have this idea."

"That's right." Cui Wenshuo nodded.

If this makes Old Madam He unhappy again and offends the He family, it would be a loss.

No need!
Seeing that Cui Wenshuo was listening, Xiao Luoan continued, "Not only should we not have such thoughts, but the Cui family and Lu Qiyan should not have too much contact with each other."

"As for Cui Wendong's death, the Cui family should not pursue it, and the An family tried their best to calm it down. The matter should have been completely suppressed, but the emperor knew everything about it..."

Xiao Luoan paused and said, "I heard that the aunt of this Censor Wang is from the Wen family."

"You mean, there are people from the Wen family here?" Cui Wenshuo raised his eyebrows.

"The Second Prince sent me here to win over the An family. Since the Second Prince has this idea, there is no guarantee that the First Prince does not have it too. Not only here, I am afraid there are also spies from the Wen family in the military camp."

Xiao Luoan said, "So in my opinion, Master Cui should not have too close contact with Lu Qiyan. Otherwise, if the Wen family targets him, I'm afraid there will be no Lu Qiyan left in the army."

By then, the entire Western Frontier Army would have fallen into Fan Honghui's hands.

This matter does not bring much benefit to the Wen family, but for the Wen family, as long as it is disadvantageous to the Cui family, they will be very happy.

"Yeah." Cui Wenshuo nodded in agreement, but he was also worried, "But if we don't do this, I'm afraid it will be difficult to win over Lu Qiyan."

"In my opinion, this is not a difficult task, and there is no need to win over Lu Qiyan at all." Xiao Luoan said with a smile.

"Why?" Cui Wenshuo was puzzled.

"During the time I spent in the army, I got to know his character clearly. Lu Qiyan is a man of strategy, very calm in his work, and he values ​​profit very much in everything."

Xiao Luoan said, "This time he took the initiative to cooperate with Master Cui to deal with An Jingzhong's matter, and he has placed all his chips on the Cui family."

"From now on, Master Cui will just need to speak up for Lu Qiyan in the court, and Lu Qiyan will naturally know what to do. When Lu Qiyan can really take control of the Western Frontier Army, the Second Prince will come forward, and naturally everything will be safe."

"Before that, if Master Cui doesn't mind, I am willing to contact Lu Qiyan for the Cui family and make him loyal to the Cui family and the second prince." "To be honest with you, Master Cui, when I was recovering from my injuries in Jinqiu County, I had business dealings with Lu Qiyan's wife, Xia. Xia benefited a lot, and Lu Qiyan was very respectful to me and was willing to listen to everything."

Indeed, a subtle and silent influence is better than a sudden and sudden one.

Cui Wenshuo thought about it for a moment and then nodded, "In that case, I'll have to trouble the Third Prince."

"Mr. Cui, this is very polite." Xiao Luoan said, "These are all my responsibilities."

Duty matters.

Xiao Luoan smiled, with a dim light in his eyes.
-
Time passed quickly and it was already the twentieth day of the twelfth lunar month.

As New Year's Eve is approaching, many people are getting busier and busier preparing for the New Year. The streets are decorated with lights and people are in high spirits. This year can be said to be getting more and more festive.

Guo Kanglai came to the county town again, and when he came he brought two large carts full of things.

Chickens, ducks, geese and fish are all alive and are killed and eaten immediately, which is convenient and fresh.

In addition to the common radishes, cabbages and lotus roots, garlic sprouts, spinach, coriander... are all freshly picked from the fields, with a little fresh soil.

In addition, there are sun-dried lotus seeds, dried lotus leaves, brooms made of sorghum stalks, etc., which are convenient for daily use in the home.

When He Chuan went to Xia Ji to supply goods, he brought some dried red dates, peeled peanuts, and selected clean soybeans and mung beans.

Shopkeeper Ge also came and brought some fresh mutton, lamb chops, pork, spare ribs and other items to be used in cooking during the New Year.

Shen Shujun also came to help Xia Mingyue, Lu, Yin Lingyou and all the families working at Xia's write Spring Festival couplets and draw New Year pictures.

Lu, along with Zhuang Cui, Yin Qiao and others, began to clean the courtyard, clean the house, paste lanterns, make New Year's purses, steam buns, and fry oily food...

Xia Mingyue, who was busy in the vinegar workshop day after day, suddenly realized what she should do to prepare for the New Year, but found that everything in the house was already prepared.

The pot lids and kitchen utensils that are often washed very clean on weekdays are also symbolically brushed again with hot water to make them shiny before important days such as the Chinese New Year.

Even the quilt and bed sheets that Xia Mingyue usually covered herself with were replaced by Yinqiao and Qingju with a red color that perfectly matched the New Year atmosphere.

Seeing that all things, big and small, were ready, Xia Mingyue tilted her head as she ate fried tofu slices and freshly steamed sweet potato buns in the morning, wondering what she should do to fully participate in the New Year.

But the family has been well prepared from food to clothing to daily necessities, without any omissions, and the only thing she is good at is eating...

Eat?

Got it!

Xia Mingyue's eyes fell on the fried tofu slices in her hand. After finishing breakfast, she went to find the soybeans and mung beans that He Chuan had sent her earlier, washed them, and soaked them for a day.

Find two large coarse porcelain pots, make two or three holes in the bottom for draining water, put the two kinds of soaked beans wrapped in gauze into the pots, cover them with wooden boards, and then put enough heavy objects on them.

Make sure there is no light, and water the beans once in the morning and evening to allow the beans in the pot to fully absorb water, and make sure there is no water accumulation in the pot.

You can try to make bean sprouts. It is very easy to start. Remember, there should be no stagnant water, otherwise they will be spoiled. Do not expose them to light, and do not check them three or four times a day... Otherwise, they will not grow well. If you want to eat short and fat ones, remember to press them with something, otherwise they will grow too fast and become thin and long. You can eat them after three or four days of growth. I think this is the time when they are the most tender and have the strongest fragrance.