Folk story 7

During the reign of Shunzhi in Qing Dynasty, there was a cook named Meng in Huayang County who cooked for weddings, funerals and weddings.

Meng was originally not surnamed Meng, nor was he from Huayang County. His original surname is Chen, and his hometown is Suining County. He is the youngest child in the family.

When Chen was six years old, a disaster happened in his hometown. He followed his relatives all the way to Huayang County. He died of illness when his family was separated. Chen became a little beggar, without food or clothes, struggling to grow to ten years old.

At the age of ten, Chen came to a village under the jurisdiction of Huayang County to beg, just as a family set up a shed at the door to hold a banquet. Before the guests arrived, the cook and the cook were cooking in front of the open-air stove.

Chen was hungry. When he smelled a smell of meat, he couldn't walk any further, so he dawdled to the stove.

A woman washing vegetables saw that he was a dirty little beggar, and she was afraid that he would touch the dishes and pots and bowls dirty, so she quickly drove him away. At this time, the middle-aged man who was cooking next to him stopped the woman: "Hey, such a small child, poor, why not give him a bowl of rice?" If the main family blames it, it's on me. "So let the woman filled a bowl of rice.

It's a bowl of vegetable rice, fried with lard, odds and ends of diced bamboo shoots and sliced meat, which is the lunch of chefs. Chen thinks this is the most delicious meal in the world. When he picked up the bowl, he wolfed it down and wanted more.

When he finished eating, the middle-aged man asked him about his origin. Chen cried and said that his hometown was not here. A disaster happened in his hometown and the whole family died. He has been wandering for several years. The middle-aged man sighed.

Meng Jiliang filled his stomach and was grateful, so he took the initiative to roll up his sleeves and help with his work. I squatted there to help choose dishes, sweep the floor and serve.

The middle-aged man saw that he was clever and the banquet was over, so he asked him, "The banquet is over, and we are leaving. Is there a place to go at night? "

Chen had tears in his eyes and endured for a while, but the tears still fell like broken beads. He wiped his eyes and said angrily, "No."

The middle-aged man wiped his tears before saying, "I'm a cook, and everyone calls me Master Meng. Although you are either rich or expensive, you don't worry about eating and drinking. You have no parents, and my wife and children have long since passed away. Why don't you live with me in the future? "

Hearing this, Chen was overjoyed. He quickly kowtowed to Master Meng and followed him home. Since then, he has changed his surname to Meng, and he is commensurate with Master Meng as a father and son.

Master Meng takes Meng with him every time he takes a job. He doesn't ask him to do any heavy work. He just helps. He has three meals a day and won't be bored at home. Meng is a clever boy. He carefully observed how Master Meng cooked. After watching it for several years, he has matured.

Later, Master Meng was very happy to see that he was interested in cooking. He taught him patiently. Meng 7788 learned Master Meng's craft, and at the age of 19, he was able to clean the mat alone. Master Meng is happy to take a back seat. When business came to him, he let Meng go People all over the country call him Master Meng Xiao.

Meng was educated by Meng's teacher since childhood. He is pure, kind and upright, has made banquets for others, and never cheats or skimps on ingredients. Some people's demands are very tricky, and he tries his best to meet them; Some families are poor, and they are afraid that the mat will be thin and ugly when they encounter great events. Meng has a way of filling a table with food.

Once, the son of a rich man in the village got married and held a wedding reception. When the rich man heard that he had done a good job, he was called to the wedding banquet.

Meng listed some dishes he often cooked for the rich to see how many dishes the rich usually cooked and what ingredients they used. How many dishes are cooked by ordinary people and what ingredients are used ... List them one by one.

Rich Zhang Man read it, but he didn't choose any. He put down the pieces of paper listing dishes, pondered for a moment, and said to Meng, "Master Meng, to tell you the truth, my son is getting married, and I'm going to invite twenty banquets. There are four tables in the living room. These four tables are the main tables, and all the invited people are important people. You can give me these four tables. "

"The remaining 16 tables in the yard are all villagers and poor relatives. How much can they pay for the wedding banquet? Even if I get married and have children, I can eat our family poor with one mouth, and I have long lost. Don't offer any hard goods at their party. You can do it as appropriate, but it can't be too ugly, which is beneath my family's dignity. Do you understand? "

When the servants of the Zhang family took Meng to the kitchen, there were no hard goods such as chickens, ducks and geese, only a bucket of silver carp, two big pig heads, pig bone sticks, pig blood, pig intestines and other scraps, as well as simple and cheap vegetables such as bean sprouts, vegetables and tofu. How can we make a good wedding reception?

Meng knew this was a sly and stingy host, but there was nothing he could do. Now that the work has been taken over, he must do his best.

Meng went back to think all night and had an idea. On the day when rich Zhang Man held a wedding banquet, he brought three chefs. Zhang Man, who is rich, provided him with more than a dozen maids to help cut, wash and serve vegetables.

Watching Meng staring at the bucket of big silver carp, the servants of Zhang's rich family all muttered in their hearts: This silver carp is cheap and fishy. What would Master Meng Xiao do?

I saw Meng picking up big silver carp. First, he cut off their heads, washed them, deodorized them with onions, ginger and wine, then added hot oil to the pot, and added minced garlic, Jiang Mo and pepper to stir-fry the fragrance. Then add soy sauce, lobster sauce and sugar, pour them on the fish head and steam them in a steamer. This is a bowl of Chili fish head, which was served.

Then cut the fish into thin slices, add more pickled radish, pickles and bean sprouts to make pickled fish, which is another big pot; Then boil the fish bones into fresh and thick fish soup, and add noodles at the end of the banquet, which is delicious and full. It's called silver carp eating three times.

Every day, butchers in the town leave a lot of scraps such as pig bones and water, which are treated at low prices. Rich Zhang Man is greedy for cheap, so he bought them all back. Meng used pork bones with pepper, cooking wine, ginger, boiled on high fire, simmered on low fire, and then added pork intestines, pig blood and pig lung leaves to make Maoxuewang. Chickens are so greedy that they flap their wings, while dogs are so greedy that they stick out their tongues. The fragrance flies ten miles and tastes wonderful.

Then use the remaining chicken pieces on the main table to tear into shredded chicken, and use pig's head, cabbage and vermicelli to make a pot of stewed vegetables; A few salted duck eggs picked the yolk and made crab-yellow tofu with tofu; And a big pot of rice crust piled up in the kitchen is crispy and fragrant, and it is also a snack.

Finally, all the guests ate their mouths full of fragrance and gave thumbs up, praising Meng's exquisite mat making. Meng became an instant hit in the local area, and since then, more people have been looking for him as a cushion. However, in these good days of the Spring Festival and holidays, people looking for Meng Jiliang as a cushion are waiting in line. A few years later, Meng has saved a lot of money.

He is a filial man. When he makes money, he wants to give it to Master Meng. To expand the house at home, the house where Master Meng lives should be spacious and bright, warm in winter and cool in summer; The clothes of the four seasons were entrusted to the women in the village in advance and made for Master Meng. Master Meng loves to eat meat and drink, so there is a constant supply of wine and meat at home; In the off-season, there are not many people holding banquets. When Meng is free, he drives a donkey cart and takes Master Meng around.

Everyone in the village said, Master Meng, you are so lucky. You adopted this orphan, and now he is more filial than his own son. He is really the first blessed person in the village!

Master Meng laughed and watched Meng grow up day by day, filial and sensible. He is very happy.

He said to Meng, "Son, I know you are filial. You earn a lot of money now, but you can't squander it. There are only two of us at home now, but when you get married and have children in the future, there will be more places to spend money. I still have to save money and live a long life! "

When Meng heard Master Meng talking about marrying a wife, he bowed his head a little embarrassed, but said in his mouth, "Don't worry, Dad, I am still young and have a long time to earn money. There is nothing wrong with spending some money on you! "

Master Meng was naturally moved, but he also realized that Meng was not young and really had to find a marriage for him.

There is a young man named Zhao Qiang in the village. He is an iceman. What is an iceman? The Book of Jin once recorded that Xiaolian Linghuce once dreamed that he was walking on the ice and found a person standing under the ice. Linghu talked to people under the ice. After waking up, I found the dream interpreter and asked the meaning of the dream.

The dream interpreter said: The sun is on the ice and the shadow is under the ice. Marriage between men and women is called a matter of yin and yang. This means that you are about to get married for others, and when you break the ice, it is the wedding day.

Later, Ling Huce really helped others to be matchmakers, and the marriage was really negotiated when the spring was warm in bloom and the ice melted. Therefore, later generations called the matchmaker the Iceman. The profession of Iceman is not only for older women, but also for some men.

This is just a gossip, and most people don't respect it. Therefore, in Zhao Qiang, ordinary villagers generally don't get close to him and make friends except asking him to have a blind date. Only Master Meng, who has something to do with him, has always been very kind and enthusiastic to him.

Zhao Qiang said: "Uncle Meng, your family wants to find a beautiful woman, why not entrust someone else? Just look for me. "

Master Meng asked happily, "You helped me find it, so I'm naturally relieved." Now do you know if there are any women in the nearby village who are suitable for our Jiliang family? "

Zhao Qiang thought for a moment and then said, "Now I have a candidate here. The characters have nothing to say. They are very beautiful and generous. It's just that this woman is not from here. Her parents passed away. She came here to reunite with her relatives a year ago. I didn't expect all her relatives to move out of town. Fortunately, Mrs. Wang, who runs a tea shop in the town, took her in and recognized her as an adopted daughter. She is not going to continue looking for that relative now. She is worried that even if she finds it, people may not take her in, so there is no need to disrespect her. So I decided to find a local husband's family. I think she is very suitable for your Ji Liang, but I wonder if you care about her lack of parents and brothers? "

Master Meng waved his hand: "Our family has a small population, how can we dislike others?" ? As long as people are really nice. Ji Liang recently went out to find a job. When you took me to Mrs. Wang's house, I covered his eyes. "

Zhao Qiang smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'll show it to you tomorrow!"

The next day, Zhao Qiang took Mr Meng to the Wangfu family in the town. Mrs. Wang opened a tea shop in the town, and Master Meng and pretend to come for tea. When I arrived at the store, I winked at Mrs. Wang. The woman shouted inside, "Daughter, someone is coming, please help me."

"Hey-!" A gentle voice came, and then the curtain was gently lifted. A young woman came with a teapot. Although she is wearing a cloth dress, her eyebrows are like willow leaves, her face is like peach blossoms, and her figure is graceful.

The woman poured tea for Meng He and asked with a smile, "Would the guests like some fruit and snacks when they drink tea? We have oranges, water chestnuts, steamed croissants, lotus seed cakes and some cooked meat. "

Zhao Qiang said, "Two Jin of cooked meat and one Jin of water chestnut."

"Ok, just a moment, please." The woman said, and took her time.

Zhao Qiang looked at Master Meng with gherardini, quietly approached and asked, "Uncle Meng, what do you think?"

Master Meng saw that the woman was clever and capable, so she stroked her beard happily and repeatedly said, "Good, good."

This marriage has been decided for the time being. When Meng got home, Master Meng told him what he had seen. Meng said to him, "Everything is up to Dad. You are right. "

Two days later, Meng prepared some gifts, took down the ones he had been carrying with him since childhood, and gave them to the Wangs to make a decision.

Yu Pei was over one year old when he was in his hometown. Chen Guren's parents found a good material and helped him type it out. It is in the shape of a gourd. I hope he is happy.

There are gifts, and the two sides have decided that it will be an auspicious day in three months, when the wedding will be held.

Meng's marriage has been decided, and Meng is overjoyed. He only felt that when he walked, he stepped on the clouds, and there was nothing uncomfortable.

Who knows that after more than a month, I came to you and said to Master Meng awkwardly, "Uncle Meng, I am sorry for you. The woman promised the Meng brothers, and their relatives suddenly heard that she was here, so they went to find her. It turned out that the son of that relative was engaged to the woman earlier, but the woman didn't know it. Now the son of that family has won the prize and wants to take the woman to get married. You see? "

Master Meng was angry and annoyed: "Since she has an appointment, how could she not know?" Won't you ask? "

Zhao Qiang said, "Marriage was decided by both parents when she was young. I didn't expect her parents to die unexpectedly, and I didn't have time to tell her, so she really didn't know about it. I think their two families have been engaged for a long time, and that son won the lottery again, but we can't afford to offend. "

Master Meng sighed: "In that case, it is difficult to prevent women from having better choices. Even if they get married reluctantly, they will become husband and wife in bad karma. You ask her to return the gift. "

Zhao Qiang smiled and said, "Of course, the betrothal will be returned. It's just that Meng Dage's gourd was accidentally dropped, and she was very sad. She is willing to pay fifty taels of silver to Brother Meng. Uncle Meng, what do you think? "

When Master Meng heard this, he only felt puzzled: "How could anyone do this? We have taken a step back. How could we be so careless and ruin our Yu Pei? This is the only thing my biological parents left him in Ji Liang. Where can I exchange money? What is this! "

When Meng came home, he quickly comforted Master Meng: "Dad, forget it if you break it. It seems that she and I really have no chance. Then Yu Pei is not worth 520 taels. If it is broken, forget it. "

Zhao Qiang also said, "Uncle Meng, I was negligent this time. I will make amends to you. Don't worry, I will definitely find another good relative for the Montessori brothers. Last time, it was because I was from other places and I didn't know her situation. This time I will definitely find someone who knows the roots. " Zhao Qiang said either good or bad, and Meng encouraged him, but Master Meng just wouldn't let go.

A few days later, Zhao Qiang discovered Liujiazhuang, 30 miles away. There is a rich man in Zhuangzi who has several hundred acres of fertile land at home. His son is studying in the county seat. He has a daughter who is twenty years old now. She is beautiful and knowledgeable.

Master Meng was puzzled: "How could such a good family find us Ji Liang as a son-in-law, especially if his daughter has any problems, or if he wants us to be a son-in-law?"

He said with a smile, "Uncle Meng, you don't know that this rich man Liu likes to eat and see the intelligence of the Meng brothers, so he took the initiative to inquire after him. If you don't trust me, I will accompany you to Liujiazhuang in a few days. "

Master Meng is a little uneasy. Although Meng is good everywhere in his eyes, his family is just an ordinary family. How can he deserve the daughter of a rich man?

A few days later, Master Meng went to the rich man's house, not wanting him to be warm and thoughtful. I don't despise the Meng family at all. I spoke politely and invited my daughter to see me. I see Liu's daughter looks healthy, ten times more beautiful than the woman in the tea shop. She is polite and gentle.

Master Meng was so happy that he thought, "Maybe it's my son's luck. With such a family, we don't have to worry about the future! " !

The two families soon decided to get married, only two months later.

Two months later, on the eve of the wedding, Meng personally ordered the menu, and he also checked the ingredients at the wedding reception. I was watching the chef cut the meat when I heard a voice. It turned out that the chef was chasing a little beggar, who looked about seven or eight years old and bony.

Meng Jiliang suddenly remembered himself in those days, and quickly called him over, cut off a large piece of braised pork, stuffed it into his mouth, and asked with a smile, "Is it fragrant?"

While chewing, the little beggar said, "Xiang! Very fragrant! "

Meng said with a smile, "I'm going to get married the day after tomorrow and have a banquet at home. At that time, I will set a table outside the door to invite the helpless poor, and you will come to eat. " This is what I am saying now: I want to hold an umbrella for others, because I was caught in the rain.

The little beggar agreed happily, and Meng stood up and continued to be busy with the wedding reception.

On the wedding day, Meng took the bride back and worshipped heaven and earth. The bride entered the new house, and Meng greeted the guests outside.

Suddenly, the little beggar walked around the crowd and shouted, "Master Meng Xiao! Master Meng Xiao! "

Hearing this, Meng went over and asked, "Why don't you eat at the table outside?"

The little beggar pulled him to the corner and asked quietly, "Master Meng, did you marry the daughter of Liu Jiafu in Liujiazhuang?"

Meng nodded: "Yes, what's the matter?"

The little beggar's face showed anxiety: "Master Meng, don't go into the bridal chamber tonight, or you will die."

Meng was taken aback: "What did you say!"

The little beggar was about to speak when Zhao Qiang suddenly came over and hugged Meng's shoulder: "Brother Meng, how do you talk to the little beggar? Everyone is waiting for your toast. " Say that finish, look at the little beggar.

As if startled, the little beggar hurried out and said, "Master Meng, remember what I said!" " "

When the guests dispersed, it was already dark. Meng came into the room, thinking about what the little beggar said, and he was a little nervous. Suddenly, a man jumped out of the corner. Meng was shocked at first, and then he realized that he was a little beggar. He asked, "Why are you still here?"

The little beggar said, "Master Meng, I don't trust you even if I think about it. During the day, I heard myself saying that you married Liu's daughter, entered the bridal chamber and died. When I heard it, I came to tell you, but I was interrupted by Zhao Qiang. I was afraid that you didn't hear clearly, so I hid here and told you again. "

Hearing this, Meng was more confused. But now that he has married Liu's woman, he can't help but enter the new house. So he decided to be cautious and go to the new house.

When I entered the bridal chamber and took off the red veil, I saw that Liu's daughter was really beautiful and moving. Only her face didn't light up. She shed tears when she saw Meng.

Meng Jiliang asked her, "Why is Madame crying?"

Liu's daughter was silent for a long time before saying, "I don't want to hide it from you." I promised three families, but they all died inexplicably on their wedding night. My parents insisted that I remarry. I am afraid that the Iceman lied to you and asked you to marry me, but I can't bear to think that you are going to die. "

Meng was startled and turned to tell Master Meng that the father and son had finally slept all night. In the morning, I took Liu's daughter to the Liu family to find out, but Liu just refused to admit that Master Meng had broken his head.

Meng looked very embarrassed and could not reconcile, so he went to the yamen to sue the rich man Liu for cheating on his marriage.

County magistrate Zhang went to Liujiazhuang to inquire about it. Sure enough, Liu's three previous husbands all died on their wedding night for no reason. Zhang county magistrate asked the rich man Liu, "Have you told the Meng family about this?"

Liu, the rich man, said, "The Iceman said that the Meng family knew, but he didn't tell the truth. I thought the Meng family was greedy for our family's money. A daughter has a reputation as a husband, so it is difficult to marry. Otherwise, how could she marry a cook? "

Meng was furious: "Zhao Qiang, why do you want to harm our Ji Liang?"

Zhao Qiang denied that Zhang County ordered the village chief to drag him down and beat him fifty times. At this moment, something fell out of your clothes. It turned out to be!

Meng was surprised: "Didn't you say that this Yu Pei has been broken by Wang Po's adopted daughter?"

Zhao Qiang was speechless. Zhang County magistrate knew that the focus of the case was, and shouted angrily: "Zhao Qiang, if you don't confess, you will add another 30 boards!"

Hit the board eighty times, Zhao Qiang is bloody, this just reluctantly admitted.

It turns out that when Zhao Qiang was young, his father was idle, drinking and gambling. He got drunk and lost the bet, so he hit his wife, and she couldn't stand it. When he ran away with a peddler, he began to beat his son.

Once he lost a bet, and he wanted to send Zhao Qiang to a brothel as a slave. The brothel people came to take Zhao Qiang away, but Master Meng couldn't stand it and helped him pay off his gambling debts.

At that time, my father was very grateful to Master Meng and said, "You helped me pay my gambling debts, and I will give you this son."

So, Master Meng came back with it, which was the happiest time in his life. But after a few months, Zhao Fu refused to recognize his son. Meng thought they were flesh and blood after all, so he returned to Zhao Qiang. Later, Master Meng met Meng and took him home, making adoption even more impossible.

Therefore, he held a grudge and thought that Meng had taken away his happiness. Meng, in particular, later learned the skills of Master Meng and lived better and better. However, he did something that others looked down upon, and he was even more unhappy.

Knowing that Meng was getting married, he found a singer on a flower boat and pretended to be a good girl to cheat Meng's family. Meng took it out and took it for himself.

I didn't expect him to take Yu Pei to the city. He met a gentleman named Chen and dragged him to ask about his origin. It turns out that this Mr. Chen is the eldest brother of Meng who was separated in those years.

Pretending to be Chen, but he doesn't remember when he was very young. Mr. Chen was very excited and let him live in the Chen family, saying that he had no children and that he would inherit the family business in the future.

Became greedy and worried about the future of the event, so he changed his mind and refused to let Meng marry the singer. He heard that Liu's daughter had three husbands, all of whom died on their wedding night, so he set a trap for Meng to marry Liu's daughter and tried to kill him, so that no one knew his hypothesis.

When this was said, everyone was surprised. Meng Jiliang asked excitedly, "My eldest brother is still alive. Where is he? "

Finally, he was sentenced to exile and his engagement with Liu's daughter Meng was cancelled.

Later, Meng recognized Mr. Chen, and the two brothers cried bitterly. Meng took Master Meng and Mr. Chen to live together, and the family got along well.

A year later, Meng married the daughter of a local tofu shop, which was really full of troubles. Later, the husband and wife fell in love and had a happy family.

As for the original Liu Nv, it is said that she became a nun and suddenly disappeared one day.

Some people say that Liu's daughter is actually a snake girl born of a human snake. Most people can't bear it, and they died inexplicably on their wedding day. Disappeared well, maybe the snake family picked her up, but that's another story!

Jing Yue Zhai News:

As the saying goes, "life is a drama", in fact, people's experiences are often more exciting than drama. But no matter what situation we are in, as long as we are kind and do more good deeds, we will be rewarded.

Master Meng was kind enough to save the beggar and got a dutiful son. Master Meng Xiao invited a beggar to dinner, so he was reminded and escaped life and death. It's just Zhao Qiang the Iceman. His fate is really bad, but his life is bad. He shouldn't deceive people and harm others. He'd better be beaten and exiled, and that's what happens when he does bad things!