Xiaoqi is a raccoon slave with black and gray spots all over his body, which is the Chinese raccoon cat. Its ancestors were native cats and began to catch mice as early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

The cat owner was as arrogant as two thousand years later. He ignored Ren Hong. He just yawned lazily, stood up, walked to the edge with small steps, jumped lightly, and didn't know which gap he jumped into.

Ren Hong laughed and scolded: "Sooner or later, throw this raccoon slave who doesn't catch mice well."

Luo Xiaogou also gritted her teeth: "I have wanted to stew it for a long time, but the cat meat is not delicious!"

He said that, but isn’t it just Luo Xiaogou who secretly brings food to the rinu on weekdays? Don’t look at him as big and thick, with a beard all over his face, and he smiles happily when feeding the cat.

This cat and dog combination is really interesting.

Ren Hong did not expose it, and continued to move forward, uncovering the wooden cover of the clay tank, which contained unshelled grains, millet, wheat, beans and other foods, filled with them.

Among the grains of the Han Dynasty, except for the rice produced mainly in the south, the hanging springs were all planted, with a total of more than 100 stones, which was equivalent to 3,000 kilograms, which was enough for a group of hundreds of people to eat for one month.

Ren Hong was most concerned about one of the reserves: "I remember when the last time I registered the cereal, there were still a lot of Laimai?"

Luo Xiaogou said: "There are still thirty stones, and there are more than that."

Leimai is wheat. Although it is also one of the five grains, it has never been favored by people in the Central Plains.

Because the surface of the wheat is covered with a layer of bran, it will be very hard and rough when steamed and eaten, and it will easily bloated. It may even cause food poisoning due to moisture and germination of wheat, which is far less than using millet, and rice is safe and delicious.

So from a very early stage, wheat was the food ration for the poor. Some noble officials even took it as simple and filial to eat wheat rice when mourning...

However, by the time of Emperor Wu of Han, the situation changed.

Because the planting of Sumai, that is, winter wheat, has matured, planted in autumn and harvested in the summer of the next year, it can help poor farmers who are not in love with green and yellow breath to avoid starving to death. It is considered a good crop for emergency relief.

Decades ago, the great scholar Dong Zhongshu also wrote an article "Appointment to the people of Guanzhong to plant wheat". Later, Emperor Wu of Han asked the Grand Secretary to take the lead and vigorously popularize wheat cultivation in Guanzhong.

In addition to the cold-resistant characteristics of wheat, under the leadership of a Susu Duwei named "Zhao Guo", the newly developed Hexi Corridor is also widely planted, second only to Susu.

Even so, as a "coarse grain", wheat has not yet escaped its last position as a grain. In terms of price, it is one level lower than other grains and is cheaper than it, and only beans that livestock often eat.

But Ren Hong likes this large amount of wheat, which is very affordable and affordable, and is a big tank of wheat that is dressed in:

"I also ask Luo Chuzu to get 5 stones of wheat and grind them all!"

...

Next to the granary is the area where the grain is processed: a row of pestles, mortars, wooden pestles, and stone mortars are used to remove the millet from shelling.

There are several other pedal pestles that were pedaled with their feet. Thank God, since this thing has appeared in the Han Dynasty, Ren Hong does not need to invent it.

Pounding rice is a boring and tiring job, and usually let prisoners do it again. People are divided into three levels, and rice is the same. It is divided into four levels according to the coarseness of pounding. The best rice is called Yumi, and the rest are successively scattered (bài) rice, can (càn) rice, and scattered rice, which are provided to tourists of different levels.

In addition, there are two large stone mills, which are said to be invented by Lu Ban and have a long history. Although they were originally used to grind wheat, they were not widely circulated.

It was not until the reign of Emperor Wu of Han that the people planted wheat on a large scale in Guanzhong, and the common people were in front of the granary, but the unchewable wheat rice was really helpless. Shimu walked into every household.

Food made from wheat noodles is called "cake" by the Han people: it is called "soup cake" when boiled in a kettle with water, and it is called "steamed cake" when steamed in a steamer. It is often sold in Dunhuang markets.

There is also a bun of fried food and water to stuff it into your mouth, similar to the Tibetans' tsampa (zānba), called "bèi", which is often used as a military ration reserve.

There are quite a variety, but at present, because the flour is rough and the method is monotonous, the taste is not satisfactory, and you also have to face the deeply rooted Chinese grain food tradition.

Therefore, the pasta is still just a concubine on the table, and it cannot completely shake the seats of all kinds of rice grains.

However, the stone mill in Xuanquan was transformed by Ren Hong: the originally simple pit-shaped grinding teeth were adjusted by him to the eight-zone diagonal grinding teeth common in the northern stone mills in later generations. Because of the proper density and orderly arrangement, the efficiency and quality of the grinding surface are greatly improved, and the wheat surface produced is much more delicate than those in other places.

At present, Luo Xiaogou was calling a few people to drive the donkey to grind noodles, but Ren Hong naturally couldn't wait for them. On the other end of the Dongchu courtyard, the chef Xia Dingmao had already started kneading the dough with water with ready-made wheat noodles...

The water is made of the hanging spring water two kilometers away. After being beaten, it is stored in the water tank. It is clear and cold, and it is not fine. Then beat an egg in it.

Xia Dingmao never washes his hands before cooking. Recently, after listening to Ren Hong's words, he changed his old habit.

I saw the yellow dough kneading under his powerful hands, deformed, and finally patting it into a large flat and round dough and placed in a pottery basin.

Seeing Ren Hong coming, Mr. Xia asked:

"A gentleman, do you want to die or give me a date?"

"Just send it a little."

Xia Dingmao was a little curious: "What kind of food does a gentleman want his old servant to make?"

Ren Hong smiled but did not answer, and Xia Dingmao began to guess one by one:

"Donkey meat yellow noodles?"

"Hulao braised pancakes?"

"It's not right, could it be a fish roe?"

The ones ordered by Xia Dingmao were all Dunhuang snacks two thousand years later. Under Ren Hong's guidance, they were basically made in the Xuanquanzhi kitchen. With a wok and such a variety of food, Xuanquanzhi was widely known to the county within half a year.

Compared with the brown rice with dai sauce these days, it is indeed too delicious. Xu Fengde, who has always been uncontested, has the courage to compete for the title of the No. 1 store in the county.

Ren Hongxiao said, "It's something I haven't done before. As for what it is, Mr. Xia will know later. However, I'm still missing something that can add color to it..."

While he was talking, a cry came from the door of Xuan Quanzhi.

"Ren! I bought the items you want from the county and city!"

Ren Hong went out and happened to see Lu Duoshu driving a van driven by an old horse and parked outside Xuanquan.

Lu Duoshu took leave yesterday evening and went to Xiaogu County to visit his mother. He sent out a letter and clothes to his younger brother, and helped Ren Hong buy something.

After getting out of the car, he picked up a few small bags in the car with both hands and carefully handed them to Ren Hong.

"This thing has never been seen even after traveling to the county and city. As Ren Jun said, you have to find it in a place where the medicinal materials are sold."

These small bags are yellow-brown in color. As for their material, they are fine and tough, like linen, but not linen.

That's right, this was theoretically invented by Cai Lun until more than a hundred years later...

Paper!

Several paper bags used to hold items appeared in front of Ren Hong. Not only that, they also used a brush to tilt and two words were written:

Not a cannibal.

But "Masua"!

...

Ren Hong was not surprised at the appearance of paper in this era.

They all sat down, they all sat down. What's so strange about this? Although they were just a small frontier, they were the earliest discovery place for paper documents in China two thousand years later!

When Ren Hong sorted out the documents, he found several pieces of hemp paper, and there were a lot of words written on it.

The ironclad evidence shows that Cai Lun only improved papermaking. Before that, at least since the Wenjing era, rough hemp paper appeared in Guanzhong. Later generations called it Baqiao Paper, and the Han people called it "Heshu (tí)".

There are also a lot of paper in Dunhuang County. Ren Hong also inquired about the source and found that it was mostly from the weaving room of the government textile silk and hemp, where a large number of needles, threads and rags are produced every day. In order not to waste, an unknown craftsman chopped them, steamed them, pounded them, and made the first piece of paper...

Paper was invented, but no one remembered the craftsman.

Because of the rough texture, these ancient papers are not suitable for writing, and are more used to wrap fine items. There are many in the East Kitchen, which contain aconite, asarum, etc., which are obviously used to wrap medicinal materials.

These bags in his hand are no exception. What Ren Hong really needs is the sturgeon wrapped in a ball of paper.

Ren Hong gently opened the paper bag, which was filled with flat and tiny black particles.

That's right, it's indeed the best black sesame seeds.

This thing is a typical alien species, and it is said that it was brought back from Dayuan when Zhang Qian went to the Western Regions.

Xia Dingmao also came out and was a little surprised when he saw Hu Ma: "A gentleman wants to decoct medicine?"

Since Zhang Qian's return, the Han people like to bring sesame seeds, but decades have passed, and this thing has not been treated as food, but as a medicinal herb: poor Ren Hong was given a lot of sesame soup by doctors when he first came to the Han Dynasty. It is said that it can replenish the five-point internal organs, nourish the energy, grow muscles, and fill the brain.

Ren Hong likes the Southern Black Sesame Paste very much, but the taste of the sesame soup is really not satisfactory.

Ren Hong explained: "It is not used as medicine, but to sprinkle it on the food you want to make later, which will make it more fragrant!"

Xia Dingmao's mind still didn't turn around: "What does a gentleman want to do? He actually needs to add medicine to guide him!"

Ren Hong had no choice but to uncover the answer:

"Naan."
Chapter completed!