vrcanaries Chapter 135 Urgent Matter! Urgent! Urgent! Urgent!
Chapter 135 Urgent Matter! Urgent! Urgent! Urgent!
At this moment, Lan's father also came over and pulled him to the middle of the room with heartache.
Inside the house, charcoal was burning; this charcoal was the honeycomb briquettes that the people of Bianjing used today.
Lan's parents did odd jobs in the house. Although their son was now successful and would soon be appointed as an official in the court, with a house and a salary, they were still thrifty and wanted to do some work to earn as much as they could.
Lance didn't urge them to enjoy their retirement. He knew his parents were used to working and would definitely not be used to being idle. Moreover, having nothing to do could easily make them feel depressed, so he let them do what they wanted.
"Is there a window open?" Lance asked his parents.
"It's open! Don't worry." Lan Sinian turned to look at the half-open window, feeling somewhat relieved, but fearing his parents might forget, he couldn't help but remind them again.
"Father and Mother, when you go to bed at night, be sure to check the doors and windows. Even if the doors are closed, make sure to open the wooden windows."
"Don't worry, there are servants watching over us!"
Lance knew they had listened, so he nodded and placed the food box on the table beside him.
Then he heard Lan's father say, "These honeycomb briquettes are really useful. If we had these before, your uncle's family wouldn't have frozen to death."
Lan's father sighed.
“Yes, these honeycomb briquettes are cheap and easy to use. We never dared to imagine that our family could use this kind of coal before!” Lan’s mother agreed, picking up an iron shovel and turning over the charcoal in the brazier.
"We have to thank the imperial court for thinking of us common people," Lansinian continued.
“Here, Mom and Dad, try this milk tea.” Lan Sinian handed them the ceramic bowl, and they took it instinctively.
"Milk tea? What's that? Is it tea?"
"It's a sweet tea," was the only explanation Lance Nian could offer.
"You added sugar?" Lan's mother asked in surprise.
Lance smiled but remained silent, offering no explanation, only telling them to drink it while it was hot.
Lan's mother took a sip, and her eyes instantly brightened.
"Delicious."
Sure enough, he knew his mother liked to drink it.
"It's so sweet! Simiao must have put in a lot of maltose!" Lan's father hadn't had sweet soup in a long time.
"I didn't put in much. If you two like it, I'll have the kitchen prepare more."
Lan's parents thought it tasted good and finished it in one go. Lan Sinian took out a teapot and poured them some more.
"This warm milk tea is so comforting on a winter's day. So, Simiao, you were tinkering with this yesterday!"
Lance didn't explain, tacitly agreeing.
After cleaning up the kitchen, Chef Bai put the food box hidden in the corner of the stove into his large, thick coat.
He secretly covered the food box and left the Lan residence.
In the darkness, his body appeared to bulge out, like that of a fat man.
Fortunately, it was dark and no one could see clearly.
He returned home to find his wife still sewing clothes by the dim oil lamp.
"Where's my daughter?"
"Go to bed."
Chef Bai took the food box out of his arms.
His wife was startled by his actions.
"This is?"
"This is a gift from the master, you should try it." Chef Bai hadn't drunk his own bowl, he was saving it for his wife and daughter.
Seeing that the servants were still enjoying their milk tea, he guessed that it must be delicious. Since Nannan hadn't had anything sweet in a long time, he thought of saving a bowl for them.
"Hey, it's still a bit cold. I'll go heat it up."
"No need," his wife stopped him. "It's too late. If we keep tinkering, it will make too much noise and wake up our daughter. Anyway, there's coal in the house, so it's not too cold."
"Shall we drink it now, my wife? We'll heat up the rest for Nannan tomorrow morning."
The woman took the ceramic bowl from his hand and took a sip.
"How does it taste?" Chef Bai asked.
"It tastes amazing, I haven't had anything sweet in a long time."
The woman wanted Chef Bai to try some too, but Chef Bai rubbed his stomach and said, "I drank some before I came back. You should drink it quickly so you can rest afterward."
The woman didn't refuse any longer and drank it all in one go.
The next morning, Lance Nian instructed the kitchen to prepare some more milk tea.
He then went to the backyard of the kitchen to see if his guess from yesterday was correct.
As soon as the white cloth was lifted, the three earthenware jars he had prepared the day before were indeed successfully made. It seemed that his prediction had come true, and he could not hide his excitement.
He quickly instructed the servants to collect the items and wrap them up together, and then ordered the kitchen to put the prepared milk tea and the two kinds of candy wrapped in oil paper into the food box.
Then he hurried back to his study, and without asking the servants to grind the ink for him, he eagerly ground the ink himself.
Then he laid out the Xuan paper on the desk, picked up the brush from the side, dipped it in ink, and began to write down in detail his method and steps for making refined sugar, as well as the points to note.
Before the ink had even dried, the servant carried the food box from the kitchen to the study and knocked on the door of the study.
"My lord, everything is ready."
Lance opened the study door and took the food box from the servant.
"I'm going to see the teacher. I'll go alone; you don't need to come with me."
After saying that, he left without looking back.
After leaving the mansion, he went straight to Sun Xianren's academy.
Without needing to report, Lance could freely move between Sun Xianren's academy.
Today, Master Sun is still teaching his fellow disciples in the pavilion.
He didn't disturb them, but found a place to stand and listen to the lecture while waiting for the class to end.
Fortunately, the lecture ended soon afterward. When the students came out of the building, they saw Lance Nian standing to the side of the building and greeted him.
Lance would always respond to them with a smile.
Seeing that most of the people had left, Lance Nian then strode towards the pavilion.
The pavilion was empty. Lans Nian had assumed that only his teacher was there, but to his surprise, a familiar figure was standing in front of his teacher. This person was none other than Guan Yan, who had just become a disciple.
Guan Yan seemed to be discussing something with Sun Xianren. Just as Lan Sinian hesitated whether to go forward, Sun Xianren saw him and quickly called him over.
"I heard from the servant that you have something important to do."
"Teacher, I do have something urgent to attend to."
"Then, teacher, you and your senior brother can continue your conversation. I'll take my leave now." Guan Yan politely bowed and said goodbye.
Watching Guan Yan's departing figure, Lan Sinian asked Sun Xianren, "The teacher seems to value him highly."
"This boy is talented, has a good temperament and good character." Sun Xianren did not hold back his praise for Guan Yan, but there was one more thing he did not say: he felt that this boy was similar to Lan Sinian and had the potential to become a great man in the future.
"You came to see me because you had something important to discuss? Is it about the white sugar?" Sun Xianren steered the conversation back, but Lance Nian, who knew his teacher well, could not fail to hear the expectation in Sun Xianren's words.
He smiled slightly, "Teacher, there's no rush. I've prepared some tea at my residence. While it's still warm, please have a taste."
Sun Xianren did not refuse. He also knew his student well and knew that the student must have his own plans for offering him tea. He waited for the student to speak to him first.