GBP Chapter 106 Old Zhu, the One Who Dropped the Ball
Chapter 106 Old Zhu, the One Who Dropped the Ball
After writing his memorial impeaching Magistrate Zhao and Magistrate Kong Xida of Qufu County, Magistrate Yang Shaofeng completely forgot about the two men.
To Magistrate Yang, Magistrate Zhao and Magistrate Kong were nothing more than insignificant nobodys. It was far more important to focus on the Mid-Autumn Festival than to waste time and energy on them.
The Mid-Autumn Festival was considered a minor festival in the Ming Dynasty, and the custom of eating mooncakes to pray for blessings gradually emerged.
The term "mooncake" actually originated from Wu Zimou's "Menglianglu" in the Southern Song Dynasty: "On the fifteenth day, every household offers mooncakes and fruits. After burning incense when the moon rises, they eat and drink lavishly, and many do not disperse until the night is over."
However, at that time, mooncakes were just a type of snack that could be eaten. Su Shi wrote in his poem "Farewell to Lian Shou" that "small cakes are like chewing the moon, with crispness and sweetness inside," indicating that the "moon" here has no connection with the Mid-Autumn Festival. It only describes that the cake is shaped like a full moon, and cannot be used to prove that it is the mooncake eaten on the fifteenth day of the Mid-Autumn Festival.
The connection between mooncakes and the Mid-Autumn Festival likely began around the Yuan and Ming dynasties.
During the Longqing era of the Ming Dynasty, there was an official named Shen Bang. He was actually an even more unlucky fellow than Yang Shaofeng. While serving as the magistrate of Wanping County in Shuntian Prefecture, he compiled "Miscellaneous Records of Wanping County", which recorded: "Scholars and commoners alike make cakes in this month and give them to each other. They vary in size and are called mooncakes."
During the Wanli era, a ruthless man named Liu Ruoyu, who castrated himself, recorded in his book "Zhuozhong Zhi": "From the first day of the month, there are vendors selling mooncakes. By the fifteenth day, every household offers mooncakes, fruits and vegetables... If there are any leftover mooncakes, they are collected and stored in a dry and cool place. They are distributed at the end of the year and are called reunion cakes."
Unfortunately, Magistrate Yang, being a proud bachelor, could only spend the Mid-Autumn Festival alone in the yamen.
Yang Shaofeng stood at the kitchen door, watching Chen Liu, the cook hired by the county government, busy making flaky pastry and mooncake fillings.
At this time, mooncakes were made with wheat flour, maltose, lard, and other ingredients to make the crust, and the filling included diced lard, pine nuts, and other nuts, similar to the later Suzhou-style and Beijing-style mooncakes.
Magistrate Yang didn't really like this flavor of mooncake, and Ningyang County was ultimately a poor and small county, so things like pine nuts and other nuts were actually quite rare.
As for diced pork fat, it would certainly be popular with the people of Ningyang County, since people at that time generally lacked oil and fat, and fatty meat was actually more popular than lean meat. However, for Yang Shaofeng, putting diced pork fat in mooncakes was simply heresy...
Then, Yang Shaofeng made a request to the kitchen: "Under no circumstances are you allowed to put in diced pork fat. If you do, you can only put in diced lean meat or diced chicken. Otherwise, I will not eat a single bite!"
The cook exclaimed "Oh dear!" and laughed, "My lord, if there aren't any diced pork fat in these mooncakes, they won't have any oily smell at all. And the chicken, if it's not stir-fried first, won't it be fishy?"
Yang Shaofeng said, "It's precisely because the addition of diced pork fat gives it an oily smell that I don't eat it. As for the diced chicken..."
Yang Shaofeng suddenly thought of something else because of the diced chicken.
mushroom.
Regarding mushrooms, an edible fungus, the "Benwei" chapter of the "Lüshi Chunqiu" states, "Among the most delicious flavors are the mushrooms of Yue and Luo," and the mushrooms of Yue and Luo refer to shiitake mushrooms.
In addition, Zhuangzi said in "Free and Easy Wandering" that "the morning mushroom does not know the difference between dawn and dusk", and Liezi also said in "Liezi: Tang Wen" that "there is a mushroom on the rotten soil, which is born in the morning and dies at dusk".
The term "rotten soil" refers to soil containing decaying wood, in which fungi (such as Ganoderma lucidum) grow.
In the Sui Dynasty book "Shanshu Pu" which describes the local products of Yongjia, Wenzhou, there is a saying: "Fragrant mushrooms, commonly known as shiitake mushrooms, come in two varieties, winter and spring, with winter mushrooms being the best."
The oyster mushroom that Yang Shaofeng thought of is actually a type of mushroom with white stems and gray caps, commonly known as fresh mushroom. The taste of this mushroom stewed with chicken is no worse than that of shiitake mushroom, but it has a unique flavor. If you add more soy sauce for color and braise some glass noodles, it is simply a rice-eating masterpiece.
Of course, Yang Shaofeng did not intend to teach people how to cultivate mushrooms, because artificial mushroom cultivation had already appeared in Shandong during the Yuan Dynasty.
If Yang Shaofeng were to instruct the people on how to grow mushrooms like other time travelers, he would probably be laughed at.
Therefore, Yang Shaofeng's idea was actually to cultivate mushrooms in greenhouses.
For Yang Shaofeng, it didn't matter whether he knew how to cultivate mushrooms artificially. As long as one of the people in Ningyang County knew how, it was equivalent to Magistrate Yang knowing how as well.
As for the need for plastic film and similar materials in greenhouses... the answer is that light does not have a significant impact on mushroom growth, so there is no need to use plastic film to solve the light problem. As long as the temperature and humidity of the greenhouse can be guaranteed, it will be fine.
Yang Shaofeng instructed the cook, "Sister Chen, remember this: no diced pork fat. If you must add it, you can only add diced lean meat or stir-fried diced chicken."
After the cook agreed, Yang Shaofeng left the kitchen. After thinking for a while, he asked someone to bring Limpy Five over and instructed him, "Brother Limpy Five, please have someone find me a courtyard."
"It would be best to have several rooms in the yard, each room should not be too big, just big enough to fit two or three beds."
"It's best if the room has windows, but it's okay if it doesn't, but the walls must be thick to keep out the wind."
Upon hearing the two conditions proposed by Yang Shaofeng, Lame Wu simply nodded in agreement and asked, "Does the county magistrate have any other instructions?"
Yang Shaofeng said, "Also, try to get some coal back. Not the hard kind of coke, just the fine coal that can be ground into powder, or just charcoal dust, the more the better."
"Once the charcoal is brought back, have someone go to the lighter workshop and call over Liu the carpenter and the others. I have some things to tell them to do."
Thick walls make it easier to insulate the room. You can have straw mats hung outside the walls so that the temperature inside the house won't drop too quickly due to the harsh winter.
As for sending someone to fetch charcoal powder, that was another ingenious tool Yang Shaofeng came up with to keep the mushrooms warm.
Honeycomb briquettes, or coal slurry, will also work.
Honeycomb briquettes are not very difficult to make, and they burn very well; three to five briquettes can keep the stove burning all night.
Most importantly, the materials needed to make honeycomb briquettes are very cheap. You just need to mix the coal powder and clay with water, then demold and dry them. Ordinary people can afford to use them.
As for coal slime, it's even simpler than honeycomb briquettes. Just mix coal powder and clay with water, spread it into thin cakes, and let it dry. When you need to burn it, just break one of the cakes. It's like a honeycomb briquette without ventilation holes.
Perhaps we should set up a honeycomb briquette workshop?
Just thinking about the word "workshop" gave Yang Shaofeng, the county magistrate, a headache, and his gaze toward the south held a hint of resentment.
There's nothing we can do. Old Zhu is just too unreliable. His memorial has been submitted for half a month, but Emperor Zhu Chongba still hasn't sent a few prisoners to Ningyang County!
Then, Yang Shaofeng decided that he must sell the oyster mushrooms cultivated in the greenhouse to Lao Zhu at a high price in the future—who told him to mess things up like that!