Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen: Sparrows

"Second Young Master, the cucumbers and luffas are blooming!" A servant boy ran over and shouted loudly. A flock of sparrows that were pecking at the snow on the ground flew away with a loud rustle.

"Zhao Xin, you really have perfect timing! You scared the sparrows away!" Zhao Cheng stood up from behind a rock, threw away the rope in his hand, and said in frustration. It had snowed heavily the day before, and today the sky was clear. Zhao Cheng had cleared a patch of ground in the garden, scattered some wheat, and set a trap with a basket, trying to catch sparrows.

"Second Young Master, I didn't mean to!" Zhao Xin lowered his head, fidgeting with his clothes and speaking softly.

"Forget it, but I'll give you two less at noon!" Zhao Cheng waved his hand 'generously,' and Zhao Xin nodded vigorously, showing no sign of fear. He knew that Second Young Master was soft-hearted and wouldn't really give him less.

"Ah, what are you waiting for? Pick up the bag. The cucumbers are blooming, I'll go take a look. Everything has to be taken care of by me!" Zhao Cheng shook his head, pointing to the cloth bag on the ground. It was already half full of sparrows, and he had caught quite a few in the morning. Zhao Xin stuck out his tongue and followed behind, carrying the bag.

Over these days, Zhao Cheng had adapted to his current body, as if he had truly 'become' a child, no longer troubled by it. He treated it as a chance to relive a wonderful childhood, spending his days eating, drinking, sleeping, and playing, making up for past regrets. Only Jianxi was a bit gloomy; the sudden change in the prince made him feel a bit out of place, and he followed behind listlessly.

The temperature had dropped these days, and to keep warm, several stoves were lit in the rooms. The warm greenhouse was filled with heat, and the servants working inside wore only light shirts, still sweating profusely. When Zhao Cheng entered, they hurriedly bowed, and Zhao Yi helped him take off his fur robe.

"Second Young Master, the cucumbers and luffas are blooming. I heard the gardener say that they tried growing them in greenhouses before, but they only bloomed and didn't bear fruit. The flowers bloomed, but they were useless!" Zhao Ren said.

"Tsk, that's because they were useless. Ours will definitely bear fruit!" Zhao Cheng said disdainfully. The ancients didn't know that in this season, there were no bees or butterflies to pollinate the flowers, so they only bloomed and didn't bear fruit. "Have you prepared the brushes I asked for?"

"Second Young Master, they're ready!" Zhao Ren said, quickly handing over a rabbit hair brush.

"Come closer, all of you, and watch carefully what I do!" Zhao Cheng took the brush and called the others to gather around. He dipped the brush in one flower and then touched another a few times.

"Second Young Master, what are you doing?" Zhao Yi asked, puzzled.

"Flowers have male and female parts. This is a male flower, and that one with the small cucumber is a female flower. If it's not pollinated, it will soon fall off. Remember, one male flower can only pollinate up to three female flowers, no more, got it?" Zhao Cheng explained.

"Oh, we understand, but why don't we need to do this in summer, and the cucumbers still bear fruit?" Zhao Yi asked again.

"Ah, how stupid. Have you ever seen bees or butterflies in winter? You're just doing their job now!" Zhao Cheng tapped him lightly on the head with the brush, and Zhao Yi rubbed his head and laughed.

"Second Young Master, we understand. You rest, we'll do it!" Zhao Ren said with a smile, seeing that everyone understood.

"Alright, this is the best time for pollination. It must be done before noon. If you do well, I'll make a good dish to reward everyone!" Zhao Cheng looked at everyone and said, "Zhao Xin, you help me prepare the sparrows. Jianxi, go to the kitchen and get some oil and seasonings, and use plenty of oil!"

"Sure thing!" Jianxi agreed happily. He licked his lips, remembering how delicious the pork the prince had made last time was. Today, he would get to satisfy his craving again.

"Second Young Master, you caught quite a few!" Zhao Xin exclaimed as he poured the sparrows out of the bag. There were easily a hundred or two, all with their necks twisted.

"Men die for wealth, birds die for food. They sacrificed their lives for a meal!" Zhao Cheng said, pulling out a dagger from his waist. If his grandfather knew that Zhao Cheng was using a dagger worth hundreds of strings of cash for this, he wouldn't know what to say. But Zhao Cheng, acting like a wastrel, didn't care, treating it as a way to let the dagger see some blood.

He picked up a sparrow, made a small cut in its belly, broke its claws, and with both hands, quickly skinned it. He then cut off the head, cut open the belly, and cleaned out the innards, throwing them into a dug pit and placing the meat in a basin.

Zhao Xin watched in amazement as the prince skillfully skinned and cleaned the sparrows, his movements clean and efficient, without a drop of blood on his hands. It didn't seem like he was a beginner. "Second Young Master, do you often do this?" he asked curiously, squatting down.

"Hehe, I never had the chance. Maybe it's a natural talent!" Zhao Cheng laughed. This was a skill from his previous life, but he couldn't say it was something he learned in his past life.

"Second Young Master, let me try!" Zhao Xin said, pulling out a small knife from his pocket.

"Sure, take it slow and don't hurt yourself!" Zhao Cheng said. Zhao Xin nodded and drew his knife. Zhao Cheng suddenly noticed that the knife, though small, was very exquisite, with a silver handle wrapped in gold thread and a dark green sheath inlaid with two pieces of white jade, resembling a small knife carried by ethnic minorities in the northwest for cutting meat during meals.

"Second Young Master, I can't do it well!" Zhao Xin tried to clean a sparrow like Zhao Cheng but ended up with a bloody mess, the sparrow torn to pieces.

"You're so clumsy!" Zhao Cheng said, putting down his knife and grabbing Zhao Xin's hand to teach him. "You should cut here, gently, only breaking the skin, not the meat!"

"Second Young Master, let go!" Zhao Xin suddenly became shy, his face turning red. Zhao Cheng noticed that his small hand had long, slender fingers, smooth and delicate, like a girl's.

"Tsk, a fake girl!" Zhao Cheng let go and said with a snort.

"Second Young Master, what did you say?" Zhao Xin didn't understand what he meant but knew it wasn't a good thing, his face turning red as he asked.

"You, you're like a little girl, not a man!"

"Second Young Master, you're lying! I'm a man!" Zhao Xin stood up suddenly, his eyes wide with anger.

"Then you're like Jianxi, you can't do it either!" Zhao Cheng found the little guy quite amusing and teased him.

"Second Young Master, you're bullying me!" Zhao Xin's eyes welled up with tears.

"Zhao Xin, no disrespect to Second Young Master!" Jianxi, who had just returned with the kitchen items, scolded him sternly.

"Jianxi, don't blame him, I was just joking, right, Zhao Xin?" Zhao Cheng said, trying to hold back his laughter.

"I'm just a servant, how dare I joke with Second Young Master?" Zhao Xin pouted, but he didn't seem angry anymore.

"Alright, I was wrong. You're a man, not a woman. Is that better?"

"Hmph, that's more like it!" Zhao Xin said coldly, his manner more like a spoiled young lady than a servant.

Zhao Xin learned quickly and soon mastered the technique. The two of them worked faster, and by the time Zhao Ren and the others finished pollinating, they had cleaned all the sparrows. Everyone gathered around to watch Zhao Cheng.

Zhao Cheng marinated the cleaned sparrows with seasonings and instructed Zhao Xin to set up a pot on the fire and pour in the oil. "Second Young Master, I brought all the oil from the kitchen. Are you going to pour it all in?" Jianxi asked, puzzled.

"Oh, more oil makes it taste better!" Zhao Cheng smiled. Over these days, he had visited the kitchen multiple times and understood that oil was a precious commodity in this era, mainly used for lighting lamps. Cooking was mostly done by steaming or boiling, with oil used only for frying, and very little for stir-frying. The food was healthy, but it made Zhao Cheng, a time traveler, feel a bit out of place.

The oil heated up, and Zhao Cheng dipped the marinated sparrows in flour and put them in the pot one by one. Soon, the warm greenhouse was filled with a tempting aroma, and everyone around licked their lips and swallowed their saliva.

"Jianxi, try one first, is it good?" Zhao Cheng picked up a fried sparrow with chopsticks and offered it to Jianxi.

"Second Young Master, you haven't eaten yet. It's not proper for me to eat first!" Jianxi looked at the golden sparrow, reached out, and then pulled back, looking embarrassed.

"Tsk, you're talking about propriety now. If you don't want it, Zhao Xin, you try it!" Zhao Cheng said disdainfully, passing the sparrow to Zhao Xin, who caught it in surprise, not expecting this good fortune.

"Don't just eat it. Is it good or not?" Zhao Yong asked anxiously, watching Zhao Xin swallow.

"Chew the bones too, that's how it gets really tasty!" Zhao Cheng said.

"Tell us already!" Everyone else urged, smacking their lips.

"Delicious, really delicious, I haven't had anything this good in a long time!" Zhao Xin licked his lips and said, savoring the taste.

"Tsk, how could anything Second Young Master makes not be delicious? I knew it without trying!" Jianxi said with a hint of jealousy, regretting giving up the first taste.

"Step back, or I'll fry your eyes too!" The crowd around Zhao Xin quickly gathered around the oil pot, eagerly watching the sparrows sizzle.

"Alright, one for each of you to try. Don't crowd around, I can't work!" Zhao Cheng scooped out a batch and put it in a basin, saying helplessly. Everyone cheered, and the quick ones already had their hands on the sparrows, eating them with relish despite the heat.

"Damn, I'll teach you all the rules later!" Jianxi, who was slower, only managed to get a sparrow leg as thin as a toothpick, grumbled as he watched the excited servants.

Knowing that Zhao Cheng was in the greenhouse, the kitchen brought his lunch over. He washed his hands in the water channel, wiped them on his clothes, and took the bowl from Jianxi. He noticed that the servants were huddled together, squatting on the ground around the food basin, leaving him alone. Zhao Cheng's face turned cold as he went over to see what was happening.

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