Chapter 60 Steamed Chicken with Wine Upon hearing the sound, Master Sun looked around and saw…

Upon hearing the sound, Mr. Sun looked around and saw that all the neighbors looked surprised and were expressing their own opinions.

Some praised the fish soup for its rich and delicious flavor, others for its succulent and juicy lamb, still others for its salty, fragrant, and crispy shrimp, and still others exclaimed, "This chicken is also very delicious!"

"Chicken too...wait, Mr. Song, isn't this just wine-steamed chicken? They all taste the same, what's the difference?" Yao, who was talking to others about how big and expensive the prawns were, turned around and asked in confusion.

The Yao family man and his wife were both idle people. They neither studied nor worked. They spent their days hoarding money to go cockfighting and gambling. The family's income depended on a large house in the alley.

The Yao family man divided the ancestral house into small rooms with bricks, which he rented out to poor students or minor officials who came from afar to take the imperial examinations. On ordinary days, he could earn about ten strings of cash, and during the spring and autumn imperial examinations or additional examinations, he could earn twenty, thirty or even fifty strings of cash.

Master Song looked at people with disdain, his contempt practically written all over his face. He disliked the Yao family and didn't want to talk to them, but Yao Lang didn't mind and shamelessly turned to ask Master Sun.

Mr. Sun laughed and said, "Young Master Yao, you don't know this, but there's a huge difference between different kinds of wine-steamed chicken."

"This wine-steamed chicken is not uncommon; many shops in the capital make it, but the high-end restaurants use very generous amounts of ingredients."

“I once ate at a restaurant that used goji berries, red dates, and even ginseng and cordyceps flowers, paired with eight-year-aged Daughter Red wine steamed chicken. The taste was truly…” Mr. Sun smacked his lips, his eyes narrowing as he savored the flavor: “Thinking back on it now, it still haunts my dreams.”

The last time Mr. Sun had this meal was two years ago, when his superior was promoted and invited everyone to a banquet at a restaurant.

It turned out that his rank was not high enough to be invited, but he had helped his superiors with some small favors before, which is why they remembered him and asked him to go with them.

"I've only eaten it once."

"The chicken skin was firm, and the meat was tender and juicy, so fresh that you would want to swallow your tongue along with it."

"It contains cordyceps and ginseng?" Yao's man couldn't help but widen his eyes and raise his voice: "What price would that cost?"

"This..." Upon hearing this, Mr. Sun felt a little guilty. He had already spent his entire monthly salary on clothes and other necessities and socializing with his colleagues. He didn't even dare to ask the price of a restaurant that was far beyond his means. He touched his nose and hesitated for a long time before answering, "Perhaps... a few hundred coins?"

"Several hundred coins?" Upon hearing this, Official Song couldn't help but scoff. "That starts at one string of cash, and the more expensive ones cost two or three strings. I was once invited to a doctor's banquet, and the dishes on the menu were prepared by top chefs from the capital. Just hiring the chefs cost five hundred strings."

Yao Lang didn't notice the mocking tone of Master Song; his entire mind was stunned by the price: "Two or three strings of cash for one dish?! I'll have to try it!"

Yao Lang craned his neck to look, and saw a golden steamed chicken lying face down in the earthenware pot.

At first glance, it looks like an ordinary steamed chicken, with the chicken meat being golden in color, oily and shiny, and the chicken soup being clear and transparent without being greasy.

Upon closer inspection, the steamed chicken in the earthenware pot appeared to weigh only about one or two pounds, and was otherwise quite intact, except for a missing leg.

Of course, this steamed chicken with wine is not served with ginseng, cordyceps flowers or other medicinal herbs, but with finely shredded shiitake mushrooms, ham, and carrots, which makes the colors brighter and more appealing.

Yao Lang's mouth watered at the sight of it, and he couldn't wait to reach for it with his chopsticks. As soon as his chopsticks landed on it, he gently tore the tightly connected chicken skin apart, saw the gushing juices inside, looked at the clearly textured meat, and smelled the rising aroma. Only then did he realize that this was no ordinary steamed chicken at all.

Yao Lang picked up a piece and put it in his wife's bowl, then picked up another piece and smelled it. You have to admit, it smelled really good!

Seeing this, Mr. Sun did not pick up any chicken meat, but instead scooped up a spoonful of chicken soup.

Despite his long speech, he actually didn't believe that a small family like the Jiang family could really make such amazing wine-steamed chicken.

He was taught that the best way to judge the quality of a chicken is by looking at the broth. Master Sun ladled up some chicken soup and was immediately drawn to its golden, clear, and translucent color.

Sun scooped the wine into a bowl, took a sniff, and a faint aroma of wine quietly wafted into his nostrils, making his heart flutter slightly.

Mr. Sun remained silent, but his anticipation only intensified. He scooped up a spoonful and put it in his mouth. Instantly, the delicious flavor struck his taste buds like lightning, bombarding his mouth, nose, and even the depths of his mind.

...How come it tastes so good?

"Wow, this chicken is so delicious!" Yao Lang exclaimed, his eyes wide open.

The first bite is filled with the rich aroma of chicken. The chicken meat and skin are tightly connected, with the skin being smooth and tender while the meat is firm. The combination of the two not only makes it chewy but also incredibly tender, with a hint of wine in the aftertaste.

If it were camel hump, bear paw, abalone, shark fin, or other delicacies, that would be one thing, but what I'm seeing is just a chicken, or even a chicken that looks like it's been steamed without any special ingredients!

At the same time, Yao Lang also heard the sound of slurping soup. He turned his head and saw that Master Sun was squinting, not caring that it was hot, drinking chicken soup one mouthful after another, and occasionally taking a breath to cool it down.

For a moment, only the sound of chewing could be heard at the table.

The learned official Song tasted a few pieces before stopping. He wiped his mouth and asked curiously, "Madam Jiang, which chef prepared today's meal?"

Originally, Master Song thought it must have been the Jiang family's own chef, but this one dish alone demonstrated the chef's skill. After tasting all the dishes, he was even more certain of his guess, guessing that Madam Jiang had hired a chef from outside.

Upon hearing Master Song's question, everyone except Xiao Hong and Grandma Chen perked up their ears, secretly curious.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhenniang couldn't help but chuckle: "Master Song is joking. These are dishes from my family."

Mr. Song's eyes widened, and Mr. Sun gasped, secretly wondering about the background of the head chef of the Jiang family restaurant. Could he be someone from some restaurant?

Sun Guanren was curious. His gaze first fell on the two female servants, but after a moment he shook his head in secret. He then turned to look at the male servant standing at the door.

Although the servant had calluses on his palms, judging from his position, he certainly didn't seem like the head chef.

Sun Guanren became suspicious, but finally looked at Jiang Niangzi and asked, "Jiang Niangzi, who is the head chef of your restaurant? Could you please invite him out so we can meet him?"

Other neighbors reacted in a similar way to him.

Hearing the whispers, Jiang Zhenniang was secretly pleased and couldn't hide her pride. She covered her mouth and laughed, "That person is right in front of us; it was my daughter who did it."

"Wh-what?"

"Did your daughter make this, Madam Jiang?"

Upon hearing this, the neighbors all looked at Su Zhihan with disbelief in their eyes, after all, the young woman in front of them was indeed very young, even childlike.

Looking at her still-chubby face, her soft hair, and her completely flat figure without any feminine curves, everyone tried to guess that she was at most... twelve or thirteen years old? Could she be a dwarf?

Su Zhihan noticed the intrusive gaze and glared sharply at the neighbor who had been scrutinizing her. Startled, the neighbor hurriedly looked away, secretly thinking to himself, "She may be young, but her aura is quite imposing."

"How old is Sister Jiang?"

"Just call her Han-jie'er, she's fourteen years old this year."

"Fourteen years old!?" Everyone at the banquet was stunned. Although fourteen is older than twelve or thirteen, it's still very young!

You should know that most of the residents in this alley are well-off, considered middle-class families. They often eat out and have been to many restaurants. No one has ever seen a female chef of such age with such skills.

"At such a young age, I wonder where you learned your skills?" Master Song couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.

"I studied under the government for a period of time before," Jiang Zhenniang mentioned casually, but she didn't elaborate when pressed further.

"Did you learn it from an official?" The neighbors were skeptical when they heard this.

Restaurants and taverns outside the capital love to boast about their backgrounds, saying they've cooked for wealthy families, been cooks for officials, or even using the title of imperial chef.

Of those, eight or nine out of ten are fake.

Just as everyone was doubting that Jiang Zhenniang was talking nonsense, Xiao Hong, who couldn't help but puff out her chest upon hearing everyone's praise, said, "Han Jie'er used to be the cook in the Marquis of Zhongyong's mansion!"

The room fell silent for a moment, then erupted in a startling shout. The highest-ranking official in the room was Master Song, who was still a low-ranking ninth-grade official, yet he was able to persuade Jiang Zhenniang to invite him to sit at the head of the table.

As for the rest of the people, whether they were low-ranking officials like Lord Sun or ordinary people, they were all astonished when they heard the words "Loyal and Brave Marquis's Mansion".

Some people believed it, while others did not. Jiang Zhenniang and Su Zhihan did not explain further, letting everyone discuss it for a while before inviting everyone to continue drinking and eating.

By the time everyone had eaten and drunk their fill and took their leave, it was already dark. Jiang Zhenniang happily saw off her neighbors and friends, and when she returned to the house, her smile hadn't faded yet. She turned to Su Zhihan, who was counting the gifts everyone had given, and said, "The gentlemen seem quite satisfied. I wonder if we can get you a couple of banquets later to test our skills."

To run a restaurant, you need to attract more customers and make more money.

For a low-class banquet, the cook would typically charge anywhere from three to five strings of cash, or even more than ten strings. For medium-class or even high-class banquets, the fee could be double, tenfold, or even a hundredfold. The best cooks could charge five hundred or even a thousand strings of cash for a single banquet.

"I don't need a grand feast at first, just let me cook a couple of dishes." Su Zhihan paused her work, a hint of anticipation in her eyes.

"Han-jie, you have too little ambition."

"You have to walk this road step by step, and you have to eat this meal one bite at a time."

In fact, both Jiang Zhenniang and Su Zhihan wanted to run banquets and make money. Unfortunately, while banquets were lucrative, the business was also complex, and it was difficult to enter without a recommendation.

At first, Jiang Zhenniang chose to find the broker who did this. But when the broker heard Su Zhihan's age, he didn't even let them try the dishes, and called it nonsense, so he had her thrown out.

What can a fourteen-year-old girl do? In a restaurant, any girl or boy of that age who can become a kitchen helper is considered exceptionally talented.

Only a third-rate foot massage parlor would let a fourteen-year-old girl take the lead when there's no one else around.

Undeterred, Jiang Zhenniang went to other houses, only to be turned away again. Later, she inquired with the eunuch Wei Yaren and learned that most of the top chefs in the capital were around forty years old, with some even in their sixties or seventies.

Let alone a fourteen-year-old girl, even someone the age of Chef Xu is considered very young.

"But my daughter has a skill..."

“Nobody knows either.” Wei Yaren shook his head repeatedly and explained, “When people hold banquets, they are mostly entertaining guests. What if something goes wrong and they lose face or offend people? Besides, those brokers have many chefs they cooperate with, and even the children and apprentices of those chefs are introduced by others.”

“They all have connections and influence.”

“No matter how good your daughter’s skills are, no one knows her, and she’s unwilling to take the risk.” After hearing this, Jiang Zhenniang gave up on finding a way out and went back to discuss it with her daughter.

Taking advantage of moving to her new home, Su Zhihan hosted a banquet, inviting the neighbors from the back alley to try the food. Her intention was to let the officials there taste the dishes and hopefully get them to order a couple of dishes from her place in the future, thus spreading her reputation. If that helped, the banquet would have been worthwhile.