At noon on the dog days, the sun hanging in the sky emits hot energy all the time, scorching everything in the world. Almost all living beings hide in a cool place wisely, waiting for the hot weather to pass. However, in contrast, humans, as the spirit of all things, are still very busy. For example, on the official road below, a huge team is slowly moving forward.

Cao Song opened the kettle and drank a few sips of water. In fact, he was not thirsty at all. His stomach was already full of water, but he wanted to take advantage of the cool air in the water to make it feel comfortable. However, he didn't expect that the water in the kettle was also dried into warm water. When he drank it, his stomach turned into sweat. His whole body was sticky for a while. Coupled with the scorching dust on the road, it made people feel even more uncomfortable for a while.

"Brother Jiu, it's too hot, so should we discuss with those military officials and find a cool place to rest for a while. It's not too late to leave after noon!" At this time, a fat middle-aged man in his forties came to Cao Song and then whispered.

This middle-aged man is named Cao Fu, and he was born in the Cao family. Their family has served the Cao family for generations. Although Cao Fu is fat, he is a financial expert. This time he went to Xixia to open a bank, and he was Cao Song's help. However, at this time, Cao Fu's whole body was soaked with sweat, and his chest was opened, revealing his tanned belly inside. The dust covered with sweat rushed out of the ravines, looking like a black watermelon.

"Uncle Fu, you also know that the army we are following is going to go back to Hezhong Mansion to rotate. The heavy rain a few days ago has delayed them for some time. If they cannot go back as prescribed, they will definitely be punished. That is why they are so desperate now." Cao Song couldn't help but smile bitterly when he heard this. A heavy rain a few days ago destroyed the road, forcing them to take a long way, and as a result, they delayed their trip. It doesn't matter, but the army that accompanied them is not good. If they fail to do so, they will be subject to military law.

Although Cao Fu was a servant, he grew up in the generals and knew a little about the military. Now, when he heard Cao Song's words, he couldn't help but sigh and nodded and continued on the way. In fact, they could be separated from the army. After all, this time it was already within the territory of the Song Dynasty. However, Cao Song escorted a lot of money and property collected from Xixia this time. In addition, this is the northwest of the Song Dynasty. There were already strong people and there were many robbers, so for safety reasons, he could only keep up with him.

It was not very pleasant to rush on the road with a big sun, but it was like this when I went out. Even people like Cao Song, who were born in a noble family, are now like ordinary porters, and they are as hot as dead dogs, but compared to them, the soldiers are even worse because they have to keep alert at all times. They are all wearing leather armor at this time, and now they are all like fishing out of the water.

Seeing this situation, Cao Song immediately asked someone to pour the prepared salt and sugar into the water and divide it into everyone in the team. Especially those soldiers, they even divided it into double portions. This method was taught by Zhao Yan. It allowed people to maintain their strength after sweating a lot.

Originally, Cao Song expected that it would be cooler in the next few days, but he didn't expect that it would be so hot. He had to sigh that his luck was so bad that he chose to return to the capital in this kind of weather. But it was all blamed for Zhao Yan. If he hadn't been urging him all the time, he might have drunk the iced sour plum soup in Xixia, so how could he have to suffer this kind of pain?

However, although the weather was hot, Cao Song and his team were not slow. Finally, they arrived at Hezhong Prefecture before the deadline. The army of thousands of people naturally returned to the barracks to report. Cao Song and his team also took this opportunity to rest in Hezhong Prefecture for a few days, and then left after they recovered their energy.

Hezhong Prefecture is an important town in the northwest, and the city is also very prosperous. When Cao Song and Zhao Yan went to Xixia before, they passed by here, but they did not stop. The weather is really not suitable for rushing. He happened to take this opportunity to walk around Hezhong Prefecture City and taste the local food. Speaking of which, he has been following Zhao Yan for a long time and his mouth has become very clever. Ordinary food really cannot catch his eye.

"Brother Jiu, where are we going today?" After breakfast that day, Cao Fu, who was obese, ran over to Cao Song with a smile and asked. He knew that he must be a delicious person. In fact, although Cao Fu is just a manager, his mouth is even more stingy than Cao Song. Although Cao Song suffered a lot during this period, he also tasted a lot of delicious food.

"Hehe, I've asked my friend yesterday that there is a restaurant in the south city of Hezhongfu. The fish banquet made in a restaurant is very famous, especially a yellow river carp made of extremely delicious, without any earthy smell. Let's go and taste it today!" Cao Song also smiled and said with a smile that Hezhongfucheng is right beside the Yellow River. The carp in the Yellow River is big and thick, which is very delicious, but there is too much mud and sand in the Yellow River, which makes it difficult to remove the earthy smell in the fish.

"Oh, that's a good relationship. Although the fish is prickly and many people don't like it, I like to eat fish very much. Today I don't even eat breakfast!" Cao Fu was overjoyed when he heard this. Although the food was delicious, most of them were very expensive. As the manager of the Cao family, he received generous rewards every month, but he also had to support a family, especially his sons were about to get married. It was time to use money, so he didn't dare to spend money indiscriminately in recent years, but now he would be fine with Cao Song. Anyway, he wouldn't let him pay the bill if he eats much.

When Cao Song heard this, he laughed, and then called a few idle managers. The group rushed to the south city of Hezhong Mansion. This should be the most prosperous area in the mansion. There were various shops and restaurants on both sides of the street, and there were pedestrians on the street. For a moment, Cao Song felt like he was returning to the capital.

"Yuweilou! It should be here!" Cao Song looked up at the plaque on the tall restaurant in front of him, and said with a smile. He had already inquired clearly before that the dishes in this fish-style building were mainly fish and were very famous in the Hezhongfu area. When outsiders come to Hezhongfu, they have to taste the dishes here.

Cao Song took Cao Fu and others into the restaurant. When they came, they walked and enjoyed the scenery of Hezhong Mansion, which was delayed for a while. Now it was about noon. This is a prosperous area of ​​Hezhong Mansion, so there are many people in the restaurant, and the hall on the first floor is almost full.

As Cao Song's identity, he naturally disdained to sit in the hall, so he ordered the restaurant's staff to open a private room on the second floor. Then the group of people called all the signature dishes of Yuweilou. After the dishes were served, Cao Song told everyone not to be polite. These managers have followed Cao Song for a long time and know his temper very well, so they are not restrained. They eat and drink while talking and laughing, which is very lively.

Speaking of this Fish Flavor House, there are some tricks. The dishes they make are all mainly fish, but they have their own flavors. Especially the vinegar-slide Yellow River carp in the middle, it really doesn’t have a trace of earthy smell and the taste is extremely delicious, which makes Cao Song praise it. As for Cao Fu and the others, they kept chopsticks. After a while, a big fish weighing seven or eight pounds was eaten completely by them.

After eating and drinking, Cao Song and his friends sat in the Yuweilou for a while. When they were about to leave the private room, they suddenly heard someone talking outside: "Teacher, the carp in this Yuweilou is very famous. You must try it later!"

When Cao Song heard the voice outside, he was stunned because although he was not familiar with this voice, he was not very unfamiliar with it, especially since he had just met this person last year and left a deep impression on him. So when he heard this voice, he knew who the person outside was.

"Jin Qing, you are so polite. This time I came to Hezhong Prefecture just to see the combat power of the Western Army, but I didn't expect to meet such a rare student as you, which made my teacher very happy!" Then a middle-aged man's voice came from outside.

"Teacher, you are so polite. All Confucian scholars in the world admire you very much. It is also a blessing for students to be honored by their students!" The familiar voice outside said again. The middle-aged man just called him Jin Qing, which made Cao Song even more sure that the person who spoke outside was Wang Sheng who he met when he went to Xixia before.

"Brother Jin Qing said it well. My father's name is well-informed. The court has also recruited several times. All the scholars in the world want to worship my father's disciple. However, my father has always been very strict in choosing students. It is very rare for Brother Jin Qing to be favored by his father this time." At this time, a young and somewhat arrogant voice outside said.

"I'm rude and Jin Qing is very talented. It's really a bit inexplicable to be a small staff member here. This time I'm going to be an official in the capital. It's just when I need talents..." Wang Shi obviously brought people here to have dinner, and the middle-aged man who spoke seemed to be his teacher. The two of them walked in the corridor and their voices became more and more blurry. Maybe they had already entered the private room, so Cao Song didn't hear the words behind them.

"Wang Shi actually worshiped a teacher, and this teacher seems to be very famous. He actually has to go to the capital to be an official. Could it be that Wang Shi, a guy, also wants to go to the capital?" Cao Song sat there and was silent for a moment, passed the conversation he heard again, and then he murmured to himself that Wang Shi was going to return to the capital, which is not good news for Zhao Yan! (To be continued)
Chapter completed!