Chapter 47 Becoming an Apprentice? Leaving aside the Third Sister sitting in the flower hall...

Leaving aside the reaction of the Third Sister sitting in the flower hall after hearing those words, let's talk about Su Zhihan, who had been busy in the kitchen all day. She finally had a moment to spare and took out the handkerchief tied around her waist to wipe her sweat.

"Han'er, come and have a few bites." The one who spoke was Mama Cao. Because the ingredients for the Laba Festival feast were prepared in advance, she was more relaxed than usual today. Mama Cao was not idle either; she specially kneaded dough and steamed a basket of fragrant braised pork buns for everyone to eat.

Su Zhihan thanked her and picked one up to eat.

I learned the kneading skills from her. The dough was kneaded until it was smooth, fluffy and soft. The scallion and meat buns she made were all glistening with oil, and just looking at them made people's mouths water.

Su Zhihan finished one in a few bites, and after sitting for less than half a cup of tea's time, she got up and went back to work.

The work in the main kitchen temporarily came to an end once the waitresses took away the after-meal snacks.

While tidying up the kitchen utensils, Su Zhihan reflected seriously. After this banquet, she had learned many more rules than before. For example, the banquet in the manor was divided into several steps, and the food, wine, ingredients and even bowls and plates required for each step were different. Any mistake would be a disgrace to the Marquis's manor.

After carefully reviewing what she had done that day, Su Zhihan immediately discovered several mistakes.

She was both embarrassed and ashamed, and quickly got up to apologize and express her gratitude to Cook Xu. If Cook Xu hadn't been watching their every move, it would have been a minor embarrassment, but more importantly, it would have been a disgrace to the Marquis's household—

Su Zhihan's gratitude grew even more genuine. If Chef Xu truly intended to make things difficult for her, she could have easily found countless faults in her today and used them to teach her back to be a lowly servant.

"Ever since you came to the main kitchen, I've thought you're clever, quick-witted, and quite capable, perhaps you've learned something outside."

The cook looked at Su Zhihan with a smile on her face and an exceptionally amiable attitude: "I didn't expect you to really not know."

"In the end, this was my oversight."

“I should have told you something when you first entered the main kitchen, but I didn’t expect it to be delayed until now.”

Looking at the dishes Su Zhihan had prepared, Chef Xu figured that Su Zhihan must have learned cooking skills from a restaurant chef before, and wanted to use this opportunity to find out more about her.

It wasn't until she saw Su Zhihan making mistake after mistake, and even seemed unfamiliar with various utensils, that Chef Xu finally realized, after several attempts, that Su Zhihan truly had never handled these things before.

So she grew up rough in the countryside? And yet she managed to develop such skills? Originally, Chef Xu had only mentioned wanting to see what was going on in the main kitchen and had no intention of taking on apprentices, but now she was truly tempted.

It's just that Su Zhihan's personality is too impulsive and not calm enough.

Cook Xu's mind raced, and she felt a renewed dislike. She preferred honest and reliable people, because only those could work in the kitchen for a long time and focus wholeheartedly on studying culinary skills, without being distracted by external affairs or harboring ambitions to climb the social ladder.

This is a major taboo in the household.

After thinking it over, Chef Xu suppressed her thoughts again and instructed Su Zhihan to write down everything she had said that day, so that she could call her over in a couple of days to test her.

Even if Chef Xu hadn't said anything, Su Zhihan would have made sure to memorize everything. She earnestly agreed, and after returning home, she was only puzzled by the calmness in the house for a moment before focusing on the information she was silently reciting.

Su Zhihan took out the candles from the cabinet and lit them, then took out paper and pen. She then leaned over the table and wrote down everything she could remember, carefully marking down anything she wasn't quite sure about, planning to ask about it again in the main kitchen the next day.

The unfamiliar knowledge filled Su Zhihan with excitement and enthusiasm. After writing it all down, she read it aloud several times, memorizing everything.

Previously, Su Zhihan had planned to open a restaurant after leaving the Marquis's mansion.

Restaurants and taverns in the capital city often offer banquet services, but the specific procedures vary from place to place. She had only heard a few things from gossip among the common people and from the servants in her household, but she was still unclear about most of it.

Su Zhihan originally thought that she would learn more about it after leaving the manor, but she never expected that the best place to learn was so close at hand.

Just as she was diligently memorizing, Jiang Zhenniang also hurriedly returned home carrying a large pile of things.

She looked through the window and saw the lanterns dancing inside. She hurriedly pushed open the door and went in: "Han-jie, you're back?"

"Mother, I have something to tell you—"

“I know everything, look! Mother has prepared everything.” Jiang Zhenniang put the food and wine she was carrying on the table, then went into the inner room and brought out two bolts of silk. She carried them all in her hands and gestured for her daughter to follow her: “Come on, let’s go to Madam Xu’s house quickly.”

“It’s so late, how can we go to Chef Xu’s house? Besides, Chef Xu must be exhausted from preparing for the Laba Festival banquet today.” Su Zhihan was taken aback and quickly stopped her, saying, “If we want to thank her, we should visit her in person tomorrow.”

“…What you said makes sense.” Jiang Zhenniang slapped her forehead, snapping out of her reverie. She thought for a moment, decided to go to Madam Xu’s place tomorrow, and then leaned over to look at what Su Zhihan had written.

"Your handwriting looks like a dog's paddle."

"..." Su Zhihan pulled a long face, silently moved the paper she was writing on to the side, and ignored Jiang Zhenniang.

"I'm telling the truth, and you're still not happy." Jiang Zhenniang said with a smile, then tidied up the things in her hands. She felt that the silk fabric she had just picked out was not bright enough, so she went into the house and rummaged through the chests and cabinets for a long time, and picked out two more pieces of silk fabric with more fashionable patterns.

...

The next day, Jiang Zhenniang took Su Zhihan to the house of Chef Xu. Unlike many of the stewardesses and servants who lived in the servants' quarters, Chef Xu did not live in the mansion, but rented a two-courtyard house in a street alley near the Marquis's mansion.

Perhaps because it was Laba Festival yesterday, there weren't many people on the streets this morning, and even fewer people like Jiang Zhenniang carrying large and small bags.

Halfway there, Su Zhihan couldn't help but glance at the gifts Jiang Zhenniang was carrying. Yesterday, she had been busy writing down many important points about the banquet and hadn't paid any attention to what Jiang Zhenniang had bought.

Only now did Su Zhihan realize something was wrong. She paused, her steps faltering. "Mother, aren't you preparing too many gifts... a little too many?"

"Silly girl, this isn't enough," Jiang Zhenniang said, pulling her daughter along as she scolded her for not telling her sooner. If she had known beforehand, she would have definitely gone to the pawnshop or jewelry store and chosen a few fine pieces of jewelry: "If only I hadn't happened to see it in the main kitchen..."

"Did Mother go to the main kitchen?"

"Yes, I just happened to see you working with Chef Xu." Jiang Zhenniang's eyes lit up, and she couldn't be happier.

Su Zhihan blushed slightly upon hearing this: "How could I have foreseen this? I was quite startled when Chef Xu called me over to help yesterday morning."

"It started this morning?" Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhenniang finally breathed a sigh of relief. She patted her chest repeatedly, glad that she had arrived in time, and then began to grumble at Su Zhihan: "You were quite generous when you bought the gazebo stall, why are you being so stingy now?"

Before Su Zhihan could refute, Jiang Zhenniang continued muttering incessantly along the way. Only when Xu's cook's house was close at hand did she stop muttering and go up to knock on the door.

Soon, a middle-aged maidservant wearing an indigo jacket and a gray cloth skirt opened the door. She squinted at the two people outside the door and hesitated before asking, "Is it... Madam Jiang, and Madam Su?"

The maid recognized the two women and went inside to announce their arrival before leading them to the main hall. After the two entered and greeted each other, the cook, Xu, who was sitting at the head of the table, looked up and noticed the items in Jiang Zhenniang's hands: "Greetings, Madam Jiang, greetings, Miss Han... You've come all this way, why are you carrying so many things?"

Cook Xu spoke with a smile, seemingly in a good mood, but in reality, there was no smile at all in the depths of her eyes.

"I should have come to kowtow to you yesterday, Madam." Jiang Zhenniang handed the things in her hands to the maid, and said with a smile, "Han'er saw that it was late and was afraid of disturbing you, Madam's rest, so she didn't dare to come."

After Jiang Zhenniang finished speaking, she turned her head to look at Su Zhihan and gestured for Su Zhihan to step forward and kowtow. But Su Zhihan's eyes were wide open, her mouth slightly agape, and she stared at her blankly.

Jiang Zhenniang sighed and reached out to push her daughter.

Su Zhihan was a beat slow to react: "Wait, what's this about kowtowing?"

Jiang Zhenniang was almost amused by her silly daughter's antics. She pushed her again, gritting her teeth, and said, "Of course you have to kowtow to become a disciple—"

"Become an apprentice?" Cook Xu raised an eyebrow.

"Become an apprentice!?" Su Zhihan was dumbfounded.

The two gasped almost simultaneously, their startled reactions causing Jiang Zhenniang to pause in surprise. Realizing something was amiss, she gradually came to her senses, her face showing visibly panic: "Huh? No, no, isn't that right?"

Seeing this, Su Zhihan immediately understood that Jiang Zhenniang had misunderstood. She was both amused and annoyed, and also quite embarrassed: "No, that's not it!"

"I said I wanted to come, and you didn't stop me..."

"Oh dear, I thought Mother knew I wanted to thank Madam Xu and specially prepared these things." Su Zhihan felt like she wanted to dig a hole and crawl into a hole when she thought about how she had noticed something was wrong on the way and hadn't been able to stop Jiang Zhenniang.

Before Madam Xu could reveal anything, he and his mother rushed over. They might even think that he and Madam Xu had planned this all along and were preparing to "force the emperor to abdicate"!

Su Zhihan sensed something was wrong and quickly perked up to explain the whole story, emphasizing that she really wanted to come and thank her mother for what happened yesterday. She didn't expect her mother to have misunderstood and thought she wanted to become her disciple, which led to this whole mess.

"I truly want to thank Madam Xu for her kindness."

"I had never been exposed to any knowledge about banquets before, and it was thanks to Madam Xu's guidance that I learned so much."

"Yes, yes, that's it." Jiang Zhenniang realized what she had just done and wished she could dig a hole with her toes and burrow straight into the ground.

That person must have an incredibly thick skin!

She was both ashamed and embarrassed, and her face flushed as she apologized to Chef Xu: "It was all my fault for being so presumptuous..."

“My mother meant well,” Su Zhihan explained instinctively for Jiang Zhenniang.

It was precisely because Jiang Zhenniang was overly concerned and worried about her future that she was so anxious to prepare various gifts and hurriedly pulled her over: "It was because I didn't explain clearly yesterday that Mother misunderstood."

Seeing the reactions of the two, Chef Xu, who was sitting to the side, finally couldn't help but laugh. The disgust that had just risen up disappeared, and a genuine smile appeared on her face. She teased, "I thought that Sister Han wanted to become my apprentice. It turns out that I misunderstood."

Su Zhihan reacted quickly, her eyes filled with resentment: "Madam Xu, please don't tease me and my mother..."

...

Leaving Xu's cook's house, Su Zhihan, her face stung by the icy north wind, glanced sideways at Jiang Zhenniang: "Mother, oh Mother, from now on..."

"It's all your fault, you didn't even know how to explain yourself clearly." Jiang Zhenniang shamelessly continued, which made Su Zhihan laugh in anger: "It was clearly you who made a mistake, Mother, how can you say it's my fault..."

"It's because you didn't explain it clearly—"

"How was I supposed to know you could think so much..."

The mother and daughter bickered and argued all the way to the Marquis's residence. Their voices were so loud that the servants who saw them off could hear them clearly.

The maid turned and went back into the house, whereupon she recounted the entire conversation between the mother and daughter to Madam Xu, jokingly saying with a smile, "The little girl you've taken a liking to this time seems to be quite lively."

"...Being too lively isn't good."

"Huh? But I remember you were like that when you were young."

"No way, I'm much more disciplined."

"Is that so?" The maid covered her mouth and chuckled secretly. "If that's what the young lady says, then so be it."