Chapter 66

Jia Jing, ancestral hall, banquet.

………… (ellipsis) no.

Jia Jing, Zhu Que, Bashang Daying, Jingnan Wuxun, clan.

Rong Ning Street, Jia Jing, clan members.

clan school.

Under Jia Jing's urging, the clan school only needed another five or six days to finish its reconstruction.

The training class was also preliminarily set up, and a few experienced old shopkeepers and managers were invited from Aunt Xue's shop to serve as advisors, responsible for teaching the first batch of clansmen, with a plan to assess them after three months of study.

In an instant, members of the Jia Clan mobilized en masse, and the whole Ningrong Street displayed a thriving scene.

And Jia Jing's reputation within the clan was soaring like the sun at its zenith, unrivaled.

That morning,

Because he had stayed up late reading history books yesterday, today Jia Jing managed to sleep in lazily.

It must be said that sleeping in the Jia Mansion is far more comfortable and reassuring than at a border post!

Suddenly,

Jia Jing felt his nose itch and was startled awake from his pleasant dream.

Jia Jing didn't need to guess; he knew it was the mischievous Xiao Jiaoer causing trouble, and she was the only one in the courtyard bold enough to disturb him while he slept.

"Hee hee! Third Uncle, Third Uncle, wake up quickly, it's snowing outside, get up and play with me, I want to go out for a snowball fight."

Jia Jing, eyes closed, reached out and scooped up Xiao Jiaoer, who was dressed like a little leather ball under the bed, into his arms,

Feigning irritation, he said:

"You've only been back for two days and you're still a bit scared of me; now in the courtyard you ignore all rules, coming early in the morning to disturb Grandpa's sleep!"

"Hee hee, Third Uncle treats me well, so I'm not afraid! Wake up quickly!"

"Sister Xiangling and Sister Xiaohong are already up, the earth dragon in the house is lit, how about we have roasted meat and a hot pot today with the snow!" Xiao Jiaoer's face was full of smiles.

Jia Jing's sleep was completely chased away by her commotion; he lifted the quilt, got up, pushed open the inner balcony window, and saw that indeed a downy heavy snow was falling outside.

It's only the end of the ninth lunar month, and the first snow came so early; the climate of the Da Han Empire has indeed been somewhat abnormal in recent years.

Xiao Jiaoer walked to Jia Jing's side; she was still young and short, and perched on the windowsill she could not see the scene outside.

Instead, a biting cold wind blew onto her delicate little face, making her shiver.

"Silly girl, you're cold, aren't you? Hurry over to the charcoal fire to warm up."

Jia Jing laughed, saying as he buttoned the front of Xiao Jiaoer's jacket and lifted her collar a bit.

The indoor temperature was actually quite high, not only because of the heated kang, but also several hand‑heated foot stoves that had just been lit this morning.

"Third Uncle, aren't you cold? You only wear so few clothes."

Xiao Jiaoer touched Jia Jing's large hand with her small hand and found it still warm, which amazed her greatly.

Given Jia Jing's current constitution, he naturally does not fear cold; he has the three great physiques of Zhao Yun, Lü Bu, and Xiang Yu merged in one, so calling him impervious to blades is an exaggeration, but being unaffected by heat and cold is certainly true.

"I am an adult, and adults are not afraid of cold!" Jia Jing said.

"That's not right! Sister Xiangling is also an adult, but her feet are still not as warm as mine every day when she sleeps!" Xiao Jiaoer retorted.

"That's because she hasn't grown up yet! Xiao Jiaoer, you must eat well; a strong body won't fear the cold!" Jia Jing advised.

Having said that, Jia Jing lifted a forked pole to prop the balcony window open, letting fresh air into the house.

"Third Uncle, you're up! Let me serve you and help you change!" At that moment, Xiangling entered, holding a book of Tang poetry.

These days she was a bit more familiar with Jia Jing, and was no longer as timid and restrained as before.

However, she now had a new hobby: reading poetry.

This stemmed from a few nights ago when Jia Jing was reading late into the night; seeing her bored while serving, he casually gave her a Tang poetry book to read for amusement.

Even though she could barely recognize a few characters in the book, she showed great enthusiasm, reading whenever she could, and Jia Jing took the opportunity to teach her a few verses.

"Reading Tang poetry again, it seems you truly enjoy poetry!" Jia Jing sighed, seeing that she could not put the book down.

No wonder she's the 'poetry fanatic' who in a past life penned the exquisite line 'The essence seeks to hide, the material is hard; the shadow is graceful, the soul is cold.'

Xiangling whispered:

"Seeing Grandfather so capable, reading late into the night every day, shows that studying is truly beneficial."

"When I was with Miss Bao before, I also heard her compose poetry, and it was first‑rate."

"I am just a maid, lacking the great learning of Grandfather and Miss Bao, yet I still wish to learn some poetry, to amuse myself in daily life..."

Speaking, her bright eyes carefully observed Jia Jing's reaction.

Jia Jing smiled and lightly tapped the rouge mark on her forehead:

"Watch what Grandfather does! It's good that you like reading and improving! How could Grandfather not allow it!"

"In the future, also teach Xiao Jiaoer some poetry to cultivate her temperament, so she won't be running around like a crazy girl all day long."

Xiangling smiled shyly and said:

"I can barely recognize a few characters myself! How could I teach Xiao Jiaoer!"

Jia Jing said:

"What's so hard? Today I'll find you a master to teach you first."

"Later you can teach Xiao Jiaoer, and if other maids enter the courtyard, they should also learn from you; that would be refined!"

Xiangling instantly broke into a delighted smile, about to kowtow to Jia Jing.

Jia Jing stopped her, and after dressing, he went outside the courtyard, where the world between heaven and earth was already a blank white expanse.

The eaves, courtyards, pavilions, and the two jujube trees in the yard were all covered with a thick layer of snow.

Xiao Jiaoer, like a mad child, hopped and leapt in the snow, sweating profusely, then returned to Jia Jing's side and pleaded:

"Hee hee! Third Uncle, shall we have roasted meat and hot pot today? I once ate it on a snowy day in Miss Lin's courtyard, and it was delicious!"

The so-called warm pot is the ancient hot pot, mentioned in chapter eight of the original work, where Daiyu and Baoyu went to Xue Yima's house and just drank alcohol and ate warm pot.

In the Da Han Empire, northerners have this eating habit in winter.

"All right, all right, all right! Whatever you say!" Jia Jing still doted on Xiao Jiaoer a bit, always raising her as his little sister.

Who let it be that when he just transmigrated over, only Xiao Jiaoer was by his side keeping him company! This is fate.

Immediately,

After Jia Jing washed up, he had Xiaohong and Xiangling go to the kitchen to fetch the ingredients.

The kitchen in the Jia Mansion is divided into a large kitchen, a small kitchen, and a public kitchen.

Jia Mu, Lady Wang, Jia She and the other masters naturally used the large kitchen, while Jia Baoyu, Jia Lian, Tan Chun and others used the small kitchen, and the servants, granny-maids, and maidservants used the public kitchen.

Now Jia Jing naturally set up a large kitchen here, after all there are many personal troops here, and Jia Jing usually eats together with them on a daily basis.

Soon after, Xiangling and Xiaohong brought from the kitchen several pots, an iron stove, iron forks, iron wire mesh, as well as chicken, duck, pork, and mutton meat and a few winter vegetables such as radish and winter melon.

The two of them, together with the skilled Xiao Jiaoer, quickly arranged these utensils and dishes, and soon set up the iron stove for grilling meat and the hot pot in the small pavilion in the courtyard, lighting the silver-frost charcoal underneath.

Xiao Jiaoer eagerly placed the sliced mutton into the pot and onto the wire mesh, almost drooling with greed.

"Come sit down and eat together! Eating this should be lively with many people, don't be restrained!"

Jia Jing greeted everyone to sit by the stove, and Xiaohong and Xiangling were not polite either,

These past few days the two have become somewhat familiar with his temperament; as long as he doesn't cause trouble, this master is still quite approachable.

Jia Jing glanced at the condiments that Xiangling and the two had brought: salt, sesame oil, yellow wine, Sichuan pepper powder, fennel, scallion-ginger, pepper powder, red oil garlic paste, hot and sour sauce, etc.

As a noble household of the Jia Mansion, they are still very particular about food, and the seasonings are basically complete.

Once everyone had prepared their own dipping sauces, the water in the hot pot had already boiled, and several people were ready to start.

Suddenly, a clear, pleasant sound came from the back courtyard gate:

"Yo, I just happened to come at the right time!"