Chapter 68 The Banquet. "Mama Pang, take a look," the maid said...

“Mother Pang, take a look,” the servant said.

"Shut up," Madam Pang snapped in a low voice. She didn't believe the servants' words. After all, while Steward Zheng was greedy, he wouldn't be so foolish as to let things fall apart at the old lady's birthday banquet by choosing a cook with no reputation or skills.

Madam Pang stepped into the house and walked straight behind Su Zhihan. She didn't tiptoe in; instead, she strode in openly and confidently. However, the three people in the kitchen were all focused on the chopping board and completely unaware of her arrival.

Following the gazes of the three, Madam Pang also looked curiously at the chopping board. The scene inside was just as the servant had described: the young woman in the center held a kitchen knife, her wrist flicking slightly, causing the knife to rise and fall rapidly, striking the chopping board.

Unlike the servant's words, Madam Pang was surprised to find that the knocking sound was rhythmic, and that the young woman's movements also changed subtly with each tapping sound.

Mother Pang held her breath and stared intently. She saw that every time the young woman made a cut, the distance between the cuts was as precise as if measured with a ruler. The cuts landed on the tofu like lightning, and before the tofu could react, they were gone again.

It wasn't until long after the cleaver left that the delicate tofu seemed to come to its senses, unable to maintain its balance, and gradually slumped down.

A guess arose in Pang's mother's mind, and she continued reading with a touch of disbelief.

Su Zhihan stopped what she was doing, discarded a small piece of tofu, and moved to a different spot to continue cutting. This time, the sound of the knife striking the cutting board was softer, but her speed increased even more.

Mrs. Pang was shocked by what she saw. Fearing that she might make a sound and disturb the scene before her, ruining the cook's skills, she quickly pulled her handkerchief over her mouth and stared intently at the cook cutting tofu without blinking.

Finally, Su Zhihan stopped again. With a flick of her wrist, she scooped up the sliced ​​tofu with a horizontal cut and placed it all into clean water to preserve it.

Seeing Su Zhihan wiping the kitchen knife, looking as if she had finished everything, Yao Lang finally dared to speak: "Han... Madam Su."

He didn't even dare to call her "Han Jie'er" anymore, and he was truly beginning to believe that Su Zhihan was a cook from the Marquis's mansion.

Look at that skill...it's real talent!

Yao Lang stared intently at the tofu in the basin of water: "Lady Su, this, this is tofu?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Yao Lang wanted to slap himself. He had witnessed the transformation of the tofu with his own eyes, and his words sounded as if he were doubting Su Zhihan's abilities. He hurriedly broke out in a sweat and quickly corrected himself, "No, no, I meant this isn't tofu, it's... um?"

Yao Lang's tongue and brain were tied together, and he didn't know how to speak for a long time, standing there dumbfounded.

Su Zhihan was amused by Yao Lang's reaction. She placed the cleaned kitchen knife on the cotton cloth, looked up at him, and said, "Brother Yao, this is of course tofu, but it's not ordinary tofu... Oh? Who are you?"

Su Zhihan caught a glimpse of an unfamiliar figure out of the corner of her eye, and her face turned wary. But when she straightened up and noticed the silk clothes the other person was wearing, she smiled again: "This mother, who are you?"

Pang's mother was the wet nurse of Peng's daughter-in-law. Although she came from a merchant family, she had seen a lot, but she had never seen such a tofu-making skill before.

The cook before her was so young yet possessed such excellent skills; could she perhaps be an apprentice of some great master? Madam Pang muttered to herself. When Su Zhihan inquired, her attitude was amiable yet even slightly respectful: "My surname is Pang, and I am by your side, Madam. You may call me Granny Pang."

"So it's Madam Pang. Madam Pang, is there something you need from me?" Su Zhihan smiled and addressed her as "Mama" as usual. She noticed at a glance that Madam Pang was wearing a gold hairpin, a silk handkerchief in her hand, and silk clothes. She also said that she was from the lady's side.

Based on what Su Zhihan saw after entering Master Peng's mansion, the mother in front of her was probably a very influential woman.

"Nothing of the sort."

"I heard from the maid that the lady had sent someone to buy fish. I was afraid that the servants in the manor were not serving her properly, so I came to take a look." Madam Pang did not mention the maid's words at all, but only pushed all the responsibility onto her own servants.

Su Zhihan didn't want to make a big deal out of it, nor did she mention the details. She only said that the manor might have missed some ingredients, which was why she couldn't send a servant to make the trip.

After exchanging a few words with Su Zhihan, Madam Pang led the servants out of the room. Once they were away from the kitchen, her face immediately fell: "You're such a gossip! You almost offended the cook because of you! You've been serving in the household for two years now, how come you can't even control your own mouth?"

"From today onwards, you no longer need to serve in the front; instead, go to the backyard to do laundry."

The maid's face drained of color. She covered her face, wanting to cry but daring not to, and went to the back with red eyes.

Madam Pang had just finished scolding one of them, but she was still angry. So she went back to her memories. After the servants had served another round of dishes, she dragged out those gossipy maids and gave them another stern scolding before lifting the curtain and going back inside.

...

The incident involving Pang's mother did not affect the mood of Su Zhihan and the other two.

Seeing that Su Zhihan was bored after finishing her errands, Yao Lang went for a stroll somewhere and came back with a plate of melon seeds and candied fruit.

The three men picked up melon seeds and candied fruit, sitting or leaning against the door, watching the servants come and go in batches.

This is how banquets are these days: new dishes are served and old dishes are served. For example, banquets at the Peng family mansion are of a relatively low standard. The small dishes are served one after another after drinking a cup of wine, while the main dishes are served two cups of wine before being served.

"What just passed by? It smells so good."

“It should be oven-roasted chicken pieces.” Uncle Chai craned his neck, took a look, and was happy to show off his knowledge to Yao Lang: “This dish requires a free-range chicken weighing about three catties. First, boil it in water until it is 80% cooked, then cut it into pieces and cook it with vinegar, soy sauce, and spices. Every family makes it differently, and it is especially delicious with alcohol.”

Yao Langguang listened, his mouth watering. A moment later, the three of them saw a servant carrying a plate away. This time, the plate contained many skewers, some with vegetables, some with mutton or venison, some roasted, some coated in flour and deep-fried, all of which were dishes to accompany drinks.

The three more people then saw Lu Zaoren change into a silk robe and go to the front hall with a servant carrying a tray.

"Why did Lu Zaoren go ahead? Why didn't Su Niangzi go?" Yao Lang asked, immediately feeling indignant.

"Is Lü Zaoren going to make carp sashimi?" Uncle Chai interrupted Yao Lang, seeing that Yao Lang's loud voice had attracted the attention of several people. "His skills are extraordinary. Lü Zaoren is indeed exceptional."

The current trend of eating raw carp is less about tasting the raw fish and more about a feast for the senses of taste, hearing, and sight.

"The sashimi of carp is not prepared in the back kitchen, but rather by the cook at the table." Uncle Chai pointed to the tray in the servant's hand, on which was a mulberry knife with a bell hanging from its handle.

"When using this knife to cut fish sashimi, the bell can play in harmony with the instrument. Only when the two work together in perfect harmony can they create soothing music, rather than noise." Su Zhihan clicked her tongue in amazement. Such performances were not uncommon in the Marquis's mansion, but they were quite rare outside. But when she looked closer, she suddenly froze and exclaimed in surprise, "Not carp sashimi? It's actually pufferfish?"

Uncle Chai was stunned for a moment, while Yao Lang had never even heard of pufferfish before. He craned his neck to look at the basin in the servant's hand and asked repeatedly, "What is a pufferfish?"

"Pufferfish tastes delicious, but its internal organs and blood contain toxins, and even a small amount can be fatal."

"...Ah!?" Yao Lang's scalp tingled, and he almost jumped up. He was so shocked that his tongue tied in knots, and he stammered, "Then, then, that Lu Zaoren still, still sent him up, aren't you afraid something will happen?"

"How could that be? This is a rare delicacy." Su Zhihan laughed. Although eating pufferfish is very risky, there are countless foodies in the world, and even more people who love to take risks to eat this thing. In particular, there are many wealthy people who love to eat it. Perhaps the Peng family knew that Lu Zaoren was good at cooking pufferfish, so they invited him over.

Just as Su Zhihan had expected, several guests at the front of the table couldn't help but show surprise when they saw Lu, the cook, come out to prepare the fish sashimi. The young man at the head of the table, dressed in rich and respectable clothes, but with a slightly frivolous appearance, raised an eyebrow and smiled: "Brother Peng, you actually invited a cook to make fish sashimi?"

"I heard that Master Xu loves to eat fish, so I specially sent someone to invite him." Master Peng glanced at his expression, breathed a slight sigh of relief, and quickly replied with a smile.

"Sigh..." Xu Lang was uninterested, thinking to himself that Master Peng was so stingy that he made such a fuss over eating a simple dish of carp.

Apart from the first dish, wine-infused pear, which Mr. Xu praised as interesting, he showed little interest in the rest of the dishes, displaying an extremely arrogant attitude.

Unfortunately, Master Peng needed his help, so he could only force a smile while secretly cursing Steward Zheng for being useless. Now, seeing that Master Xu was completely unconcerned, Master Peng finally revealed a confident expression. He lowered his voice and said, "Master Xu doesn't know, this is not sashimi of carp."

"Not carp sashimi?" Xu Lang was taken aback.

“That’s right, it’s pufferfish sashimi.” Master Peng stroked his beard and saw that Xu Lang’s expression suddenly changed, his face flushed, his body leaned forward slightly, and he stared intently at the kitchen worker’s movements.

Master Peng was secretly pleased and finally gave Steward Zheng a pleasant look. Steward Zheng, who was serving nearby, breathed a sigh of relief, straightened his back, and hurried off to instruct the actors to perform and prepare the main dishes for later.

After the pufferfish sashimi, there were two or three more dishes that were either boiled, fried, or stewed, followed by another main dish for the day: nourishing fish soup.

The servants filed in, placed the casserole on the table, and then lifted the lids together.

As the steam and aroma rose, half a fish head appeared before everyone's eyes. The fish head lay on the pure white broth, half-hidden, surrounded by various delicacies. Just the smell alone made Master Peng's mouth water.

Master Peng was increasingly satisfied as he looked at him, but he was taken aback when he caught a glimpse of Xu Lang's expression out of the corner of his eye.

In the flower hall, the old lady sat in the middle, with Madam Qi from the Peng family sitting beside her. Opposite her was Aunt Xu, and beside her was Madam Xu. Further down were the wives of officials and merchants who were frequent contacts of the Peng family's business.

When the ladies of the officials first arrived, they were unhappy, feeling that Madam Qi looked down on them. But once they learned about the background of Aunt Xu and Madam Xu, they changed their tune and began to flatter Madam Qi.

If it weren't for Aunt Xu's reminder, everyone would have almost forgotten that today was the old lady's birthday banquet.

In the flower hall, there was an ice chest with a silver bottle with auspicious patterns on it, filled with peach blossom wine. The maidservants filled the bottles with wine and served them to the ladies one by one. After she left, the servants outside filed in and served the nourishing fish soup to everyone.

Madam Qi was about to use this opportunity to praise her husband, letting Aunt Xu and Madam Xu know the effort her husband had put into preparing the banquet. However, before she could speak, she heard an exclamation: "Oh dear!"

The person who exclaimed was Aunt Xu. When she saw everyone looking at her, her cheeks flushed slightly: "I'm sorry to have made you ladies laugh. I was really startled. It's the first time I've ever seen such a big fish head... put directly into the soup to stew."

Aunt Xu looked embarrassed, but the women around her didn't blame her. Instead, they chimed in, "This is the first time I've ever seen something like this."

"Such a banquet is truly rare."

"..." Only Madam Qi couldn't laugh; her expression was almost frozen. She still remembered how proud her late husband had been, saying that the fish head was specially purchased for Xu Lang and had cost a fortune.

But……

If Xu Lang likes to eat this, how could Aunt Xu not have seen it before?

Qi's thoughts raced like lightning, and she quickly regained her composure. She pulled out a handkerchief from her bosom, pretending to wipe her mouth but actually half-covering her face. She gave Pang Mama a look, signaling her to go out and inquire, while she herself blushed slightly and replied, "Please forgive my rudeness, sister. It's just that the old lady has always favored this dish, so we specially asked the kitchen to make it as a token of our filial piety."

The old lady remained calm and understood, tacitly picking up where her daughter-in-law left off: "My son is acting out of filial piety, but I, this old woman, have unintentionally frightened you all. I am truly sorry."

"Oh, oh, oh... Grandma, what are you saying?" Aunt Xu quickly replied, "Today is your birthday, Grandma, so naturally we should use your favorite dishes at the banquet. That's the only right thing to do."

After saying that, she nimbly picked up the wine cup and said to everyone, "Come, come, let's all toast the old lady and wish her boundless happiness and longevity!"

While everyone was laughing and chatting, Madam Pang quietly left the house. She had only taken two steps when she saw Steward Zheng on the veranda, pulling someone aside and saying something in a panic.

After the man broke free from Steward Zheng and hurriedly left, Steward Zheng's face turned ashen, and from a distance, Mama Pang could see beads of sweat rolling down her forehead.

"Manager Zheng."

"...Mom!" Zheng Guan was initially startled, but then, as if he had seen a lifeline, he rushed forward and bowed deeply to Madam Pang: "Mom, save me."

A bad feeling crept over Pang's mother. After patiently listening to the whole story, she felt a wave of dizziness wash over her. Instinctively, she reached out and slapped Steward Zheng hard on the back, cursing, "You utterly foolish thing! All you ever do is indulge in a few drinks! Now you've ruined the master's important business. From now on, you can spend your whole life farming in the fields!"

"Mother, Mother..." Steward Zheng didn't even try to dodge, taking several blows head-on. Seeing that Madam Pang's movements were slowing down, he hurriedly begged for mercy: "Please, for the sake of your daughter, help me!"

"How...how can I help you?!"