After Su Wan covered her face and said that the food was so unpalatable that she cried, she felt as if she saw someone out of the corner of her eye. But when she looked again, the deserted Guandi Temple was empty. However, it was quite clean here, and palace servants often cleaned it.

Forget it, even if the food is so bad that it makes me cry, I still have to work.

Su Wan stood on tiptoe to place the offerings and said to Lord Guan, "You must remember to only eat fruits and vegetables, and never eat porridge or I will let you down."

After Su Wan arranged the fruits, she respectfully lit a few sticks of incense before packing up and leaving.

Before leaving, he also advised: "Eat fruits and vegetables, don't eat porridge! Please!"

The handsome young man who had just hidden behind the statue of Guandi came out. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the porridge on the altar. It didn't look anything special. Was it really that unpalatable?

Just as the young man was about to go forward and give it a try, he heard the sound of the side door of Guandi Temple opening.

The young man turned and walked towards the side door, obviously avoiding others, and walked through here and headed north, where a soldier was already waiting.

The soldier was very respectful when he saw the young man, and whispered, "Third Prince."

"Well, today we should learn the art of war."

Su Wan had no idea that her mumbling was heard by a young man who happened to be passing by. She returned to the west kitchen and helped wash and peel the vegetables.

For lunch, I have stir-fried asparagus with meat, chicken and taro, stir-fried vegetables, and pickles, with steamed buns or millet rice.

The evening was much simpler, with stir-fried asparagus with meat and noodles.

Just peel a lot of asparagus.

Su Wan was not used to using a big knife to peel the fruits, but fortunately she still had some skills and soon became proficient.

But before she could become proficient, she was taken away to wash dishes while wielding the big knife.

There was no way, she looked too small and it was a bit scary to use a knife.

According to Aunt Yonglan, the left chef, it would be difficult for Su Wan to wash the dishes, but today several people from the west kitchen were transferred to other places to help, and the palace servants who were supposed to wash the dishes were not there.

Only the new palace maids could take over.

Su Wan, Chunxiang, Xiaoyue, and Yu Shu, the first two have to stand on a stool to wash.

Xiaoyue and Yu Shu were both fourteen years old, and they both silently took on more work.

Su Wan felt quite embarrassed when she saw this, so she moved much faster. It was just washing dishes! She could also be a happy dishwasher in the dark cafeteria!

Seeing that the four new palace maids were quick and not lazy, the other palace servants became more friendly to them.

Who doesn’t like colleagues who work hard?

At lunch time, the people in the western kitchen naturally ate their lunch before people from other departments arrived.

There were four dishes for lunch, but Su Wan had no appetite. It wasn’t that she was picky, but she was already used to the way the food was cooked in the western kitchen.

No wonder the palace servants in the West Kitchen are so thin, there is a reason!

Stir-fried bamboo shoots with meat. At first glance, you can't see the meat, only the bamboo shoots. Not only is it very vegetarian, but the bamboo shoots are also directly stewed.

It's more like boiled than fried.

Then there was chicken and taro, which should have been a great dish. Stewed chicken and taro, in Su Wan's opinion, would not taste bad no matter how it was cooked. But this was a western kitchen! There was a way to make it taste bad! And there was very little chicken, very little.

It is estimated that not even five chickens were killed to feed fifteen hundred people.

Is this still a kitchen? This is clearly a Buddhist temple.

Needless to say, the stir-fried vegetables at the end are also boiled in water with salt.

The pickled vegetables are what's left over from the morning.

Not bad, at least four dishes and one soup.

That soup is the diluted chicken soup. The stewed chicken soup is used as the soup, and the chicken in it is made into chicken taro.

Wow, this meal does contain meat.

To be honest, there was no meat.

Su Wan ate with a sad face.

No matter how I brainwash myself that this is a feast, it won’t work this time.

Even the staple foods of steamed buns and steamed millet rice have their own magical features.

But it is true that it is not easy to cook a good meal, but it is very easy to cook a bad meal.

There are many factors that can make a meal fail.

Su Wan tried hard to find an excuse and tried to fill her stomach first.

She is too thin. If she doesn't eat well, she will get sick!

Su Wan, who cherishes her life, works hard to eat!

But at the end of the day, I didn't eat much.

When the western kitchen was about to close at night, Su Wan said to Xiao Yue and the others beside her, "Didn't we say that we have to serve 1,500 people? Why do I feel that there aren't that many dishes to wash?"

As expected, Xiaoyue had inquired about it and whispered, "We are in the outer palace, it is easy to go out. Today is the tenth, which is the day when the monthly salary is distributed. Many palace people will go out to eat."

As mentioned before, the security in the outer palace is completely different from that in the inner palace.

The inner palace is where the emperor and his concubines hold court, and it is difficult to enter and exit there.

But the outer palace is different. It has four departments and six bureaus, as well as various government offices. Across the wall is the residential Anqingfang, where there are many delicious and fun things to do.

Some palace servants and guards used their access tokens to buy some food while at work, and most of them turned a blind eye.

That's the benefit of being in a remote place.

The food in the west kitchen is so bad. If they are not allowed to eat outside, he will be like the eunuch who came last time and get angry and argue with Aunt Yonglan.

No wonder nothing serious happened in the west kitchen and no one objected. It turned out to be because they had other meals to eat.

It's just like when the food in school is so bad that everyone tries to order takeout or eat outside of school.

The five small government offices around their west kitchen were no exception.

Xiaoyue added, "Only those who are really broke or very frugal would eat in the western dining room every day. Five hundred people would be enough. I heard that there are more people these days, and there will be fewer in the future."

Three meals for five hundred people is not a small amount. No wonder my back and waist ached from washing dishes all day.

When dinner in the west kitchen was over, it was almost seven o'clock in the evening, and there was still one last thing to do.

But the other palace maids were obviously impatient.

Monthly salary is distributed today!

Among the several government offices nearby, they were the only ones who did not go to collect it.

That is to say, there were too many things to do today and I couldn't finish the work on time, which caused the delay.

Su Wan and the other three were not in a hurry. They had only been there for two days and it was not yet their turn to collect their monthly salary.

Among them, Yu Shu looked at them and said, "Sisters, why don't you go and collect your monthly salary? There is only a little work left, and we can finish it."

Su Wan also nodded: "Yes, didn't they say that you can't receive it after the Xuzheng period?"

The beginning of Xu is about seven o'clock, and the exact time of Xu is eight o'clock in the evening.

There is still one hour left before we can receive last month's salary. Everyone is anxious.

Aunt Yonglan saw this and said, "Can you four?"

Seeing the four people nodding together, Aunt Yonglan, the left-hand official, also knew that every palace servant was looking forward to receiving their monthly salary, so everyone should go.

Even if the four of them don't do their job well, no one will object if they come back to clean up tomorrow.

Thinking of this, Aunt Yonglan said, "Okay, leave Su Wan and the other four to look after the house, and the rest of you should go and collect your monthly salary."

Everyone cheered, and only Su Wan and the other four were left in the west kitchen.

In fact, the four of them felt more at ease.

My hands and feet are also lighter.

Now all I have to do is clean the remaining pots and pans. The tables and the shop have already been cleaned up. It’s just a tedious job.

Su Wan didn't expect that she would be cooking all the time in the palace, but unexpectedly she became a dishwasher.

But compared to her original home, she was happier as a dishwasher.

The last dishes were about to be cleaned up, and the last ingredients had to be put into the small ice cellar underground. Even though this was the worst kitchen in the palace, it still had a small ice cellar.

Actually, there wasn't much left, just a little bit of half-fat and half-lean meat, a little bit of chicken soup, and some noodles that hadn't been cooked the night before.

The noodles are soft and thin, and they become mushy easily when cooked.

This is the kind of noodles they eat in the evening.

Su Wan held her hungry stomach. It had been a whole day! She hadn't had a full meal all day. How did it feel to be sitting in the kitchen without a full meal?

But the shop was about to close, and she couldn't use the ingredients for herself.

So difficult.

She has the cooking skills and the ingredients, but she just can't cook.

Su Wan had just packed up the containers containing the food and was about to move them downstairs when she heard someone shouting at the door, "What kind of food do you have now?"

The young eunuch was out of breath as he spoke: "Forget it, just give me whatever you have. I haven't eaten for a day, I can eat even pig food."

The young eunuch had obviously been busy all day. He looked exhausted and almost didn't have the strength to speak.

But when he saw Su Wan and the others, he was surprised and said, "It's you. Do you remember that I gave you pickles?"

Su Wan was also a little surprised that it was this little eunuch who delivered the pickles.

But Chunxiang next to her said, "But we have nothing here, the pots have been cleaned."

"How about I find you some steamed buns?"

When the steamed bun is turned out, it is so hard that you can hit someone with it.

The young eunuch's face turned green. Today he went to the inner palace to do some work. He was so busy all day that he didn't even have time to drink water. When he arrived at the outer palace, he slapped his thigh and remembered that he forgot to eat in the inner palace. He couldn't go to other kitchens, so he could only eat in the west kitchen.

Why is his life so miserable?

Do I need to boil water to soak the steamed buns?

What a miserable person.

I didn’t have time to collect my monthly salary today, and I didn’t even have time to eat.

Tomorrow, tomorrow he must go to Li's house in Anqingfang to eat a delicious big pig's trotter.

Su Wan thought for a moment and said, "I'll make you some noodles as a token of my gratitude for the pickles you made that day."

The little palace maid cooks?

Didn’t she just enter the palace a few days ago?

The remaining Chunxiang, Xiaoyue and Yushu were also surprised, but when they thought about it, they knew they didn't know how to cook a big pot meal, but they could still cook ordinary meals in a small stove.

Basically speaking, big pot meals, small stoves, and meals at home are three different areas.

The first two are not very good, but who hasn’t cooked at home?

The young eunuch smiled happily when he heard this.

No matter what! After a busy day, having a hot meal is enough!

Seeing the little eunuch's expression, the rest of the palace maids and cooks also laughed. People are so easily satisfied, as long as they have something delicious to eat!

Yu Shu, the oldest, said, "Let me do it. You're young."

Who knew Su Wan insisted: "It's okay, I'll do it."

She has been craving for her craft for a long time!

Today she also wants to eat the meal she cooked! No one can stop her!

Looking at the ingredients in my hand, stale bamboo shoots, a little bit of pork, chicken soup, soft and thin noodles, and some vegetables that can be used at will.

Su Wan immediately thought of what to do.

Except for the stale bamboo shoots, everything else can be used.

Everyone saw her standing on a small stool in front of the chopping board, quickly chopping the necessary onions and ginger. The meat knife was extremely sharp and she quickly cut the previous slices of meat into extremely thin shreds.

After preparing these ingredients, heat the oil in a pan on the small stove. Once the oil is hot, stir-fry the scallions and ginger.

Su Wan's movements were so quick and agile that the others were unable to help even though they wanted to.

There's no way, she moved too fast.

Before anyone could think of anything else, the aroma of scallions and ginger made their stomachs growl.

Not only the little eunuch's stomach was growling, but the other little palace maids too.

The young eunuch understood and said, "You have suffered in the west kitchen."

The food in the west kitchen is not enough to starve you to death, but it is difficult to eat enough, let alone eat well. There is no way, it is too bad.

After the scallions and ginger are fried until golden brown, pour the chopped pork directly into it. The aroma of the meat mixed with the aroma of the scallions and ginger not only gets rid of the fishy smell, but also adds to the flavor of the stir-fried pot.

What Su Wan wants to make is the stir-fried noodles that can be prepared in ten minutes.

Stir-fried noodles are often found at roadside food stalls. It is a quick dish, but the stir-fry method can easily bring out the spicy flavor of the ingredients, stimulating the taste buds as soon as it is put in the mouth.

Stir-fry the shredded pork for a few times, then pour in soy sauce and other condiments, and finally add chicken broth and water.

This chicken soup just has a umami flavor. It would taste even better if it had some broth, but now it is already very good for everyone who is hungry!

After pouring the chicken soup into the pot, turn the stove to high heat and let the water boil directly, and finally put the soft and thin noodles in.

Su Wan directly put in enough noodles for five people and coughed lightly, "There are too many noodles. Let's eat together later."

The next step is to wait for the noodles to be cooked, add the vegetables, and the stir-fried noodles are ready.

After Su Wan finished speaking, she looked up at everyone. She saw that everyone was staring at the noodles in the pot, and then she could clearly hear the sound of saliva being swallowed.

“It smells so good.”

“I’ve never smelled noodles so delicious.”

"I'm going to eat two bowls, no! Three bowls!"

The young eunuch's bold words woke up Xiaoyue and others nearby.

Xiaoyue and the others had similar expressions. Even Yu Shu, who had the strongest patience, couldn't help but say, "What a delicious noodle."

It has been two days since they arrived at the palace, and they have not had a comfortable meal.

Can't wait to start eating now!

As for Su Wan saying that she accidentally added too much noodles?

Is this a problem? Even if we order twice as much noodles, they can still finish it!

As everyone couldn't wait, a big bowl of stir-fried noodles was served.

Very simple ingredients, garnished with chopped green onion and ginger, the beautifully colored noodles absorb the soup smoothly.

This soft and thin noodle is very easy to cook and can absorb the flavor of the stir-fried pot to the greatest extent. Finally, it is garnished with green vegetables and the shredded meat is the background.

The soft and thin noodles soaked up the soup are the finishing touch when you take a bite.

I thought the noodles were overcooked and tasted terrible last night, but now I think they are just the right softness.

This is the control of heat.

Su Wan just picked up a bowl of noodles and was slowly tasting her own cooking.

Several people over there were already wolfing down their food, as if they were eating something delicious.

They never thought that a simple bowl of noodles could be so delicious?

Such talk is disrespectful to food. Only the speed at which they eat can reflect their sincerity!