Chapter 29 The county government office, water pavilion and tea drinking
The county government office in Yangcheng County was different from what Ye An had imagined. It was not grand and grand, but rather chilling. Could this be considered a government office in the Song Dynasty? It was simply a dilapidated building that was about to collapse!
The face of the government office can be vaguely seen at the door. Two extremely small stone lions stand at the door of the government office, which can be used to tell others that this is the seat of the county magistrate of Yangcheng County. The plaque indicating the status of the county government has long been somewhat unclear.
There is no big grievance drum for people to beat in front of the door, there is only a small drum, and the drum head is broken, and the word Ying Mao can be faintly seen on the side...
Ye An pointed to the county government office in front of him and smiled bitterly at the old Taoist: "If you don't build a government office, how can you live like this!"
The old Taoist smiled and didn't care, but said as he walked forward: "No one is repairing the front hall, but that is not the case in the back hall! Follow the teacher and go in to meet the county lord Wang Wen."
"You don't dare to think of yourself as a county official in front of Mr. Guanmiao. Is it okay for you to come down the mountain?"
As he was talking, he saw a man in public clothes appearing in front of the county government office. In this era, public clothes were a symbol of status. They were not ordinary clothes that people with money could wear. Only officials could wear them.
Public uniforms are also the regular uniforms of officials, with a curved collar and large sleeves, a horizontal train, a leather belt around the waist, a futou on the head, and leather shoes on the feet.
What caught Ye An's eye the most was the green color on Wang Wen's body. He didn't know what kind of dye was used for this silk satin, but it was very green, so green that it made people's eyes bright...
Wang Wen appeared on the steps with a smile and walked down quickly: "Mr. Guanmiao came down the mountain to my Yangcheng County. How could he not go to the county government office to see him?"
"Wen Ping, what you said makes my old Taoist blush with shame, is Ling Ci okay?"
"Alas! There is no cure for my mother's illness. Even my father asked the officials to ask the imperial doctor to take a look. However, the imperial doctor said that this is not an emergency. As long as you pay attention to your diet and be indifferent, you can be cured temporarily.
It’s nothing serious. The medicine has been used, but my mother is the least taboo about it. What should I do? Please ask Mr. Guanmiao to help me!”
The old Taoist touched the beard on his chin, counted his fingers, and then shook his head slightly and said: "This matter cannot be done. This is not a fatal emergency, nor is it an evil thing. It is the trouble caused by Ling Ci himself, and it is caused by greed.
Do you think it will harm... my disciple?"
Ga!?
Ye An was a little confused, why did he suddenly bring the topic to himself, and how did he know what disease Wang Wen's mother had?
A life-threatening disease, a poor diet, and taboos...
He probably knew it well, and Ye An looked at Wang Wen with the brightest smile: "My dear, Ye An, I have met Mr. Wang."
Wang Wen looked at Ye An up and down, turning a blind eye to the purple robe and Luo Shang he was wearing, and just stared at his face, or to be precise, staring at his eyes.
The eyes are the door to the heart, and you will feel uncomfortable if you are stared at by someone for a long time, but Ye An doesn't feel it at all. He once stared at a fierce beast and was not afraid.
After only a moment, Wang Wen nodded slightly: "This boy has a pure mind and has no hidden things in his eyes. He is a thorough seedling. Congratulations to Mr. Guanmiao."
"It's been pretty good over the years. As for the rest..."
"Sir, you just don't want to be tainted by Karma! Why do you need to hide it in front of Wen Ping? The Qian family has entrusted a great power, but they didn't expect Mr. Guanmiao to be so unwelcome! Don't talk about this and go to the Yamen quickly. Wen Ping is making tea in the back Yamen.
After a long time, it’s time for elegance!”
It is not easy to refuse an invitation from the head of a county in person, but for Xuan Chengzi, it is not a grand etiquette. If he is not an old acquaintance, it will not give him much face.
Ye An was extremely curious. This was a real Song Dynasty county government, not a nondescript scenic spot that had been repaired by later generations.
In fact, there is really nothing to see in the county government. In the Song Dynasty, the county government was divided into eight levels: Chi, Ji, Wang, Jing, upper, middle, middle lower, and lower.
Yangcheng County has a population of more than a thousand people. In the Song Dynasty, it was just a Zhongxian County. The size of the county government in Zhongxian County was not that big. After passing through the main hall is the Houya, which is also the residence of officials and their families.
What's rare is that there is a garden and a small pond here. A narrow corridor in the garden is connected to a pavilion. Because the pavilion is by the water, it is called a water pavilion. In fact, it is not comparable to a real water pavilion.
There are carps swimming in the small pond, and the red carps really add to the scenery of this small place.
After the guests were seated, an old servant in a round hat served the tea skillfully, handed it to everyone, and then stood by the waterside pavilion to wait. The old Taoist nodded: "A garden in one place is quite appropriate for the scene, but it's a pity that it is a little narrow."
"It's very difficult to be like this. If it weren't for the previous servants, I don't know what it would be like. Originally, this place was a wasteland. After several magistrates, there was little success."
Ye An didn't have time to listen to the chat between Lao Dao and Wang Wen. Can this small garden be regarded as a garden? Any "organized" garden in later generations would be thousands of times better than this one...
The old Taoist saw Ye An's disdain, and also saw that he didn't move the tea in front of him. This was quite rude. After all, someone invited you to drink tea, and you took it without moving, wouldn't it mean you were looking down on him?
Wang Wen's face on the side is no longer very good...
"Why don't you drink it, disciple? This is the group tea gifted by the Wang family. Most people don't have the opportunity to appreciate it. It's rare for even a master to see it!"
"How dare Ye An?! It's just a matter of waiting for the aroma to come out and then savoring its beauty..."
Although Ye An was terrified on the surface, he hated this kind of tea from the bottom of his heart.
Just think about it, the best tea leaves have gone through many processes including picking, sorting, steaming, squeezing, grinding, brewing, roasting, and storage to bring out the tea aroma to the extreme. Such tea leaves will almost never be seen in future generations. If there is,
It is a treasure in the world, a wonderful product!
But such unparalleled tea leaves have to be beaten into powder, and many other impurities such as onions, ground ginger, salt, spices, etc. are added to it, turning the original bowl of tea into a turbid thing.
This is just tea, and Ye An can't stand it. He wastes everything, like a swarm of blowflies floating on a bowl of delicious mutton soup...
The most he could do was smell the tea. If he were allowed to drink it, he would be making his five internal organs suffer. But with Wang Wen staring at him expectantly and unhappily, Ye An helplessly picked up the tea bowl and took a sip.
For Ye An, who is used to drinking tea from later generations, the taste is like poison, but on the surface, he pretends to taste it in his mouth, pretending to be wonderful.
Holding the exquisite rabbit-hair tea cup leaves, he sighed: "What a tea! What a good tea! The tea leaves cling to the rim of the tea cup and stay together for a long time. The young man will know the goodness of this tea soup by watching it "fighting the snow waves". It is indeed mysterious!"
Wang Wen's face instantly brightened up, and he sighed: "Little friend, I am not as good as the diligent boy in my eyesight, but my skill in ordering tea is extremely good, and the tea paste prepared by him is from luck.
It is excellent to use the chopper, blow, or spread the flowers, so that you can have the appearance of fighting against the snowy waves!"
The old Taoist's eyes also became exciting, looking at Ye An full of suspicion.
From Ye An's understanding of tea ordering, it can be seen that his family has a rich heritage. Ordinary people do not have the time to waste time on tea ordering, and he can also explain the operation of it accurately...