Jiang Mansion

The hour of You is about to arrive

It was the time when students from the Imperial College returned home, and Mrs. Jiang was eagerly waiting for her return. In the past, Dongdong would have been home by this time.

But there is no one here at the moment.

She was a little anxious and urged the nanny to go and see if he had returned.

As soon as the nanny went out, she immediately came back to tell her that the carriage had returned. Mrs. Jiang was overjoyed, thinking that her grandson had returned home, and went to the inner courtyard gate to greet him. However, it was only Nanny Ji who showed up. Her face suddenly changed: "Where is my grandson!"

Nanny Ji was about to cry, "Madam, I really asked the chef to make that thing according to the recipe, but the young master just wouldn't eat it."

Not only did he refuse to eat, he also gave the lunch box to the deposed prince's child!

She didn't dare say such words, otherwise the lady would definitely punish her.

But Mrs. Jiang's face was also particularly ugly. "Useless thing! Hurry up and find a solution. Who made that thing? Can't we go ask her for the recipe?"

Nanny Ji was silent.

Who dares to touch the people protected by the Xiao family?

Madam Jiang's heart choked at Nanny Ji's silence. She pursed her lips in frustration, her plump, fair face flushed red. She angrily said, "Shameless! Such childish behavior!"

"Isn't it?" Nanny Ji quickly agreed, and then said tactfully: "Madam, should we see if we can change the chef? I heard that Tianxianglou..."

"No change! Forget it, I just don't believe he won't get tired of it!" Madam Jiang shook her head. Their mansion had spent a lot of money just to hire that imperial chef, and they also had to rely on the relationship with the Third Prince. Now they have to change him. What if the imperial chef gets angry?

Dongdong is greedy. The Xiao family just found a girl who knows a few tricks. She is so young, how could she have any advanced cooking skills?

What if we wait a few days?

Just the first day passed, the second day passed, the third day...

Day after day, when the Imperial College was on vacation, Mrs. Jiang finally couldn't help it and went to pick up Dongdong in person, wanting to take the child back. But when she went there, she found that her grandson had gained a lot of weight!

And she is fair and clean, looking very healthy.

Mrs. Jiang's heart choked, and she could hardly utter any enthusiastic words.

"Dongdong, grandma hasn't seen you for a long time. Will you go back with grandma this time?" Mrs. Jiang smiled and coaxed.

"Grandma!" Dongdong shouted.

Mrs. Jiang's face turned green. She had clearly corrected it before, saying she was a grandmother, not a grandmother! But after just a few days, it relapsed!

The Xiao family killed her son, and they still refuse to return her grandson to her?!

But Mrs. Jiang endured it and continued to look at him with a smile, which gave Dongdong courage. He said reluctantly: "Can I not go back? Dongdong has been with grandma for a long time! Now I want to live with grandma..."

Madam Jiang: “…”

It hasn’t been long at all!

Isn't it just... a few months...

Mrs. Jiang also felt guilty. At first, she said she would only stay at home for a few days, but as she coaxed the child into staying there for a long time, she even returned the nanny given by the Xiao family and won over the child.

At that time, Dongdong also said that she wanted to go back. She said it didn't matter if she didn't go back. At that time, there was nothing in the Xiao family that Dongdong cared about except Xiao Huaiting. In addition, the imperial chef cooked his favorite food in various ways, and there were children in the mansion to play with him, so he was comforted.

But this time, when he said this, Mrs. Jiang really couldn't respond, so she could only complain: "Grandma misses you, your grandfather misses you too, and your cousins, they all miss you too."

Dongdong twisted his fingers in embarrassment, thought for a long time, and said, "How about I take my cousins back? Grandma, don't worry, Sister Shu will make a lot of delicious food, and they will definitely like it!"

Mrs. Jiang was speechless, so she retreated to advance: "Then next time we take a break, Dongdong can come back, okay?"

"Okay~" Dongdong said reluctantly.

Mrs. Jiang forced herself to keep her smile steady and turned to leave.

As soon as she got on the carriage, Mrs. Jiang's facial features turned fierce. What was so special about the chef hired by the Xiao family? He could actually make Dongdong, who was used to eating the imperial chef's food, so happy that he didn't want to leave?

Mrs. Jiang was not the only one who was puzzled.

Even the Third Princess was puzzled. Why did her son become so picky about food?

On the first day, when she heard her son clamoring for delicious food, which was better than what Xiao Pingzhou from the Xiao family ate, she thought she should let her son do what he wanted, so she let him go to the kitchen to make a fuss.

However, when he came back the next day, he started to get angry and said it was not tasty.

When he came back on the third day, he was even more irritable.

There was no other way, so the Third Princess specially asked the cook to go with her to see what the child from the Xiao family ate, and then come back to practice.

The Imperial College had two days off every ten days, so during these two days, her son would taste the dishes made by other chefs from time to time, and punish them if he was not satisfied, which made the chefs in the prince's mansion feel insecure.

For example, right now, the emperor's grandson Zhou Zhaoqin was looking at something that looked similar, smelled cloyingly sweet, and tasted both sweet and salty. He was so angry that he threw his bowl and chopsticks and shouted angrily, "Are you all just eating for free?! You can't even do the smallest thing!"

Seeing her son imitating her husband's angry behavior at such a young age, she was frightened and said to him, "Don't worry. If you really like what the Xiao family cooks, can I ask someone to teach you?"

Zhou Zhaoqin was young, but because his father had high hopes for him, he knew a lot about things. The Xiao family and his own family were not on good terms. Hearing this, he hesitated and said, "Is it okay?"

The Third Princess rubbed her son's head with amusement and said confidently: "Of course, we are the royal family, and the Xiao family is the ministers. Even if the relationship is not good, they still have to agree to do whatever he wants."

Zhou Zhaoqin's eyes lit up: "Okay then."

The Third Imperial Concubine breathed a sigh of relief: "Mother will make arrangements right away. I'll make sure you get what you want when you go to school tomorrow."

After she coaxed her son, she immediately asked someone to prepare gifts and asked the nanny beside her to take the cook to the Xiao family to learn.

Xiao family

In Yan Qiushu's small courtyard, maids and old women gathered together, as well as two little ones.

Wan'er and Dongdong, protected by their maids, stared at the things in front of them with their big eyes.

This is a stove, which looks like a small cave. There is a fire underneath, and the entrance in the middle can be used to put things that need to be roasted. At this time, there is a constant fragrance wafting out of it.

This was made by Yan Qiushu two days ago.

She suddenly had an idea to make an ancient version of an oven so that she could make some cakes and biscuits. Grilling is also possible, as it is much more convenient than grilling with charcoal, but it is easy to burn, so she can only grill some large skewers.

These days, Yan Qiushu mainly cooks for Madam Xiao and Dongdong, as well as Wan'er and other courtyards of the Xiao family. She will send fresh food over to them, but since the diners are children and the elderly, the food she cooks is a little lighter.

After eating too much light food, she thought about barbecue day and night, so she asked Shui Yu. As soon as the news came out, a craftsman came over.

At this time, the stove next to the kitchen was used for the first time. It was filled with large skewers of meat sprinkled with seasonings, mashed taro, cut chestnuts, etc.

Just a quarter of an hour ago, these things were pulled out and two oranges were added.

Now this stove is constantly emitting the aroma of meat, chestnuts, and the sweet aroma of oranges.

The fragrance was so sweet that the quiet Wan'er couldn't sit still. She came out from the living room and looked at it eagerly. Dongdong was drooling and almost came over to her.

The nanny who served them was afraid that the two would get hurt, so she stopped them.

Dongdong still leaned in close, the aroma rushing straight to his nose. He asked anxiously in a slightly hoarse voice, "Sister Shu, when can we eat this?"

On the last day of school, the child was too happy and played Cuju with Yan Qiushu for a while. He worked up a sweat and ended up kicking off the quilt at night and catching a cold.

This is also the reason why Yan Qiushu put two oranges in.

Roasted oranges have a certain cough-relieving effect, and she can now slightly increase the deliciousness of food. I wonder if the cough-relieving effect of oranges can be magnified a little bit?

She was helpless. The little foodie was too impatient, so she rubbed his head vigorously: "Don't be too impatient, otherwise it won't be cooked yet. If you eat it, your stomach will hurt all night."

Dongdong restrained his expression a little, but still watched eagerly.

Wan'er, who was standing by, couldn't help herself and asked softly, "Sister Shu, how long will it take?"

"Right away!" Yan Qiushu affirmed.

The children stared even more intently after hearing this.

Two minutes later, Yan Qiushu asked someone to remove the stone slab covering the stove. She went in with a pair of iron tongs and came out with an iron sheet filled with something. The fragrance immediately became several times stronger.

The servant wrapped the iron sheet in a thick rag, lifted it up, and placed it on the stone table in the yard.

Everyone followed that thing and moved over.

"Wow!" Dongdong exclaimed in admiration.

"It smells so good!" Wan'er exclaimed in admiration.

Shui Yu praised, "Young lady, your cooking skills are getting better and better. I have never smelled such delicious mutton."

Yan Qiushu smiled with satisfaction. This was grilled lamb chops. The lamb of that era was much leaner than that of modern times. There was not much fat on the lamb chops. It was melted by the high temperature in the oven, leaving only oil and water, which stuck to the lamb chops and was still sizzling with oil when it came out.

The fragrant flavors of cumin, pepper and salt are roasted to just the right degree, bringing out the most fragrant effect.

At the other end of the iron plate were chestnuts that had already been fried open. There was no sugar or honey on them, only the sweetness of chestnuts. The sweetest thing was the roasted oranges with a thin skin.

Aunt Xu took a knife and cut the lamb chops into strips and put them aside. Someone else was responsible for peeling the hot oranges. As diners, the three of them only needed to eat.

Dongdong didn't need anyone to remind him, he picked up the lamb chops immediately when they were in front of him.

But Yan Qiushu stopped him and gave him a smaller piece instead: "Mutton can cause internal heat, just taste it to avoid sore throat."

Dongdong pouted, a little unhappy: "I want to eat a big piece!"

He is the darling of both the Xiao and Jiang families. Basically, nothing will stop him from doing what he likes, especially when it comes to food. There is nothing he cannot eat, except what he doesn't like. He will subconsciously start to get angry.

But just as her temper started to flare up, Yan Qiushu frowned and said, "If you flare up, you won't be able to taste it at all~"

The girl who was always smiling suddenly became serious, her eyes became sharp. Her pretty, cute and non-aggressive face made Dongdong's heart skip a beat. He suddenly didn't dare to make a fuss, and quickly shut up and went to get his piece.

It was fresh out of the oven and still quite hot. He asked the nanny for a handkerchief, pinched the two ends with both hands, stretched out his little white teeth and took a bite. "Awoo...", and a large piece of lamb that had been roasted until it was juicy was pulled into his mouth.

The rich aroma of cumin and other spices covers the strong smell of mutton, and it is so delicious that it makes you feel bubbling with joy when you take a bite.

Wan'er, however, couldn't get used to the taste. She took a small bite and then refused. At this time, the oranges and chestnuts had also been peeled.

She ate a chestnut first. The roasted chestnut had a more tender and soft texture, but it was a little dry.

The roasted orange had a black surface, but the peel was easier to peel. After opening it, the orange segments inside were plump and huddled together, as if the juice was about to overflow. She blew on it with her little mouth, and when it cooled down a little, she couldn't wait to bite a small hole in it.

The juice immediately flowed out, and Wan'er caught it, smacking her lips twice and said happily: "So sweet~"

Yan Qiushu took a bite of mutton and a bite of orange slices and just nodded.

So delicious!

The strong smell of mutton is suppressed, and the salty, spicy and numbing flavors of cumin and other condiments are more prominent. The mutton is roasted to be exceptionally soft and tender. Just a few chews and the meat melts beautifully in your mouth, leaving you with only the aroma of meat.

It felt so good to eat meat in big mouthfuls. After two bites, Yan Qiushu felt sick of it. She took another bite of the sweet and warm orange, which immediately relieved the sickness in her mouth. The sour and sweet taste made her even more appetizing, and she could eat a lot more meat!