Chapter 324 Preparing Lunch

There was meat and vegetables on the scene, and there were quite a few people.

Naturally, hot pot and barbecue are more suitable.

Lord Huang was well prepared and had people prepare the pots and fire.

He even came over to discuss with Shen Huazheng: "Xiao Shen, what do you think of my arrangement? Do you need to add anything?"

Shen Huazheng looked at the prepared utensils and ingredients: "It's pretty good, everything is quite complete."

Mr. Huang: "I thought so too. In case someone doesn't have enough to eat, I plan to have someone cook some more rice. We also have some homemade bacon, which we will steam with the rice later."

Except for Chen Huazheng and a few others, all those present were grown men. Some of them were used to eating rice, and they might not be full with just these.

After hearing what Lord Huang said, an idea flashed through Shen Huazheng's mind.

"Master Huang, you don't have to ask someone to cook rice. We will make bamboo tube rice today."

Mr. Huang: "Bamboo tube rice? Rice made in a bamboo tube?"

Shen Huazheng nodded and looked towards the bamboo forest in the garden.

"Master Huang, I'd like to trouble you to have someone cut some bamboo. I want new bamboo."

Mr. Huang responded immediately: "Okay, okay, I'll send someone to pick some good bamboos."

He had a feeling that the bamboo tube rice should taste delicious.

Hahaha, it turned out that having dinner at Yuanchang today was the right decision!!!

After saying this, Mr. Huang hurriedly went to find someone to cut bamboo.

Chen Huazheng was not idle either. She first asked someone to take out some glutinous rice, red beans, and rice, wash them with clean water, and soak them in water.

After processing green beans, corn kernels, peanuts and other legumes, they can be used as side dishes for rice later.

Then he asked someone to dice the bacon and cut the pork into pieces, and marinate them with different ingredients.

In addition to beans and meat, Shen Huazheng also had people take out carrots, mushrooms and other ingredients, wash them and cut them into cubes for later use.

Princess Lejia and Zhou Ying noticed that Shen Huazheng was busy, and ran over to help.

Not long after, Mr. Huang brought his men to transport the bamboo over in a cart.

"Xiao Shen, I picked these bamboos myself. Take a look and see if they are okay. If they are not, I will ask someone to go back and cut more."

Chen Huazheng looked at the chopped bamboo carefully and said with a smile: "No need, Master Huang, these are all top-quality bamboos. They can naturally be used."

Not only is it usable, but the bamboo tube rice made in a while will be super fragrant.

She had the bamboos cut into pieces and then cleaned.

Mr. Huang was a little curious: "Xiao Shen, what is this bamboo used for?"

He thought about it for a long time, but he really couldn't figure out how to cook bamboo with rice into a meal.

Could it be that they were using bamboo as a cooking utensil? But they clearly had a pot.

Chen Huazheng: "We are going to eat bamboo tube rice today. We put rice and other ingredients into a bamboo tube and then steam or roast it. When the ingredients are cooked, they will have a bamboo fragrance."

In fact, steaming and roasting have different flavors, but Shen Huazheng prefers steaming.

Stuff glutinous rice and red beans into a bamboo tube and cook them in boiling water. They taste really fragrant and soft.

It's a bit like zongzi, but has a more bamboo fragrance than zongzi.

Mr. Huang took a deep breath and said, "Okay, okay, then we'll eat bamboo tube rice."

God, he was already drooling just at the description.

Under the guidance of Shen Huazheng, everyone filled the mixed fillings into bamboo tubes.

Zhou Zeyan ran over to find Shen Huazheng and Zhou Ying and found that they were making bamboo tube rice, so he rolled up his sleeves and joined in.

The bamboo tube is mostly filled with stuffing and then sealed with raw sweet potatoes or raw potatoes.

Everything is ready, you can start cooking.

Chen Huazheng had half of the bamboo tubes put in a pot to steam, and then the other half were lined up and roasted on the charcoal fire.

The charcoal fire was burning fiercely. The heavy bamboo tube was being roasted by the flames, and the scorching flames kept rising.

The people on Shen Huazheng's side were busy preparing the bamboo tube rice, and the others were not idle either.

Some people helped to process the vegetables, some helped to process the various meats, and some people found that there were not enough fish, so they quickly went to the pond and fished some back.

These fish are all raised by ourselves, and we usually don’t want to eat them.

Everyone is here today, so it's a good time to have hotpot.

*

Just as everyone was preparing for lunch, Emperor Jingning, who was in the palace, also learned about the dinner at the Sinong Temple.

I also know that his good brother was shameless and joined other people’s department’s year-end party.

Not only that, officials from other departments also went.

Emperor Jingning picked up the milk tea beside him and took a sip.

I don’t know why, but the milk tea doesn’t taste as fragrant as usual.

I really want to know what they will eat today. Chen Huazheng should cook some new food.

Emperor Jingning put down the cup and looked at the several potted lettuces in the imperial study.

Isn’t it just a hotpot or barbecue?

Nothing special.

He also grows vegetables here, you can pick them if you want to eat them.

Seeing that Emperor Jingning had been staring at the lettuce, Andersen asked tentatively: "Your Majesty, do you want to eat some lettuce?"

Emperor Jingning: "Pick some lettuce leaves and ask the imperial kitchen to prepare hot pot."

Andersen: "Yes, Your Majesty."

Judging from your Majesty's expression, he doesn't seem very happy.

As Andersen walked towards the vegetable pots, an idea suddenly occurred to him.

His Majesty was apparently fine before, but his expression changed after he learned about the dinner at the Sinong Temple.

Could it be that His Majesty is unhappy because this time the dinner was attended not only by people from the Ministry of Agriculture, but also by officials from the six ministries and even Prince An?

Could it be that Your Majesty feels that Prince An is too close to the officials, so he is wary and suspects that Prince An wants to take the opportunity to win over important officials in the court?

No, in Prince An’s mind, apart from the princess and the young prince, food is the most important thing.

Even His Majesty and the Queen Mother had to sit in the back row.

An Desheng quickly denied his previous thought. Your Majesty would not be afraid of Prince An no matter who he was afraid of.

Even if the young prince rebelled, Prince An would not rebel.

He was usually reluctant to attend court sessions, and he was never seen getting close to any official in private.

Prince An was only concerned with eating and drinking. Even if he attended the dinner party at the Sinong Temple, it was definitely for the delicious food, not for taking the opportunity to win over court officials.

Thinking of delicious food, another idea popped into Andy's mind.

Your Majesty would not want to attend the dinner party held by the Sinong Temple, but it would be difficult for him to lower his status and attend.

That's why she's sulking in the palace.

No, what Your Majesty wants to eat is not the food from the Sinong Temple, but the food made by Lord Shen.

As Lady Xiao Shen is the commander of Shanglin Office, she will also attend today's dinner.

Usually at such banquets, she would always prepare some novel and delicious food.

The more Ander thought about it, the more it made sense. This must be the truth.

As he thought about it, he walked to the potted plant.

Emperor Jingning was already irritable, and when he saw Andesheng moving so slowly, he became furious.

"Andy, what are you doing so slowly?"

Andersen: …

Your Majesty is indeed not afraid of Prince An, nor does he suspect that he is forming a clique for personal gain, but rather he is jealous of him.

She was jealous that he could go anywhere at any time and eat the delicious food made by Lord Xiao Shen.

Just as Andersen stretched out his hand, Emperor Jingning's voice rang out again -

"Wait a moment."

An Desheng was stunned, and just as he looked up, he saw Emperor Jingning standing up.

"Forget it, you can leave. I will come in person."

As soon as he finished speaking, Emperor Jingning strode to the potted plant and began to pick the lettuce leaves.

Andersen: …

Judging from the situation, all the leaves will be plucked out soon.

It seems that His Majesty is indeed unhappy. No, it’s not just unhappy anymore.

He must be angry.

He stood aside silently and watched Emperor Jingning attack the lettuce leaves.

Just by watching Emperor Jingning picking lettuce leaves, Andersen felt pain for the lettuce plant.

Emperor Jingning originally left potted vegetables in the imperial study and his bedroom because he thought he could grow them in his free time as a way to relieve stress.

But he was too busy and had no time to take care of the potted plants on weekdays. Most of the time, they were taken care of by An Desheng and other palace servants.

An Desheng really wanted to rescue the poor potted plant from Emperor Jingning, but he was powerless and could only sigh silently in his heart.

Alas, there is nothing we can do, since he is His Majesty.

Having been with Emperor Jingning for many years, An Desheng naturally knew that his majesty was in a bad mood. If anyone bumped into him, he would be in big trouble.

He lowered his eyes and tried to reduce his presence as much as possible, for fear of attracting the attention of Emperor Jingning.

Since Your Majesty has already lost his temper with the lettuce, he cannot lose his temper with him again.