Chapter 23 Set Meal

"Aunt He, are the buns out of the pot?"

He quickly shouted, "It's out of the pot, it's out of the pot."

Immediately after hearing the answer, several people walked in.

"Aunt, your shop is different now. It feels clear and spacious."

"You can even sit inside and eat here, not bad, not bad."

"This is delicious with tofu pudding and steamed buns."

"I have to go to work soon. It's warm inside and I don't have time to sit and eat."

He heard the conversation between these people and knew that they were workers at the nearby dock, so he quickly said,

"We will have a set meal at noon today, everyone remember to come after work!"

"What is a set meal? Is it expensive?"

"It's not expensive. We also have pie for lunch."

The last few people bought buns and pies, glanced at the soy milk with satisfaction and reluctance, and left with regret.

After opening the door to welcome business, wave after wave of people came in, making He very busy.

Xu Qingmeng couldn't leave the kitchen either. The pie was ready, but the buns were not. Fortunately, she knew it would be busy today, so she prepared enough fillings and dough.

But there is only one pair of hands, and even though the hands are moving very fast, it still feels a bit strenuous.

I was thinking of asking when I had some free time about the progress of He's search for someone to help, when I saw Gu Yunyi come in.

Xu Qingmeng took the opportunity to glance out the window. It was still dark outside. Although Gu Yunyi usually got up early, he had never gotten up so early.

She quickly wrapped the unformed bun in her hand, stood up from the stool, and said,

"Why are you up so early? Are you hungry? Why don't you eat a bun first? I don't have time to cook for you today."

Gu Yunyi shook his head, washed his hands, dried them, walked to the table, holding a rolling pin,

"You're not hungry yet. I'll roll the dough and you wrap it."

Xu Qingmeng was stunned, and the whole person froze, "But you..."

Gu Yunyi stood up straight and turned his head. His eyes looked particularly deep under the light. He raised his lips slightly and said, "I'm fine now. You don't need to treat me like a patient. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be so weak."

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Choked by Gu Yunyi's straightforward words, Xu Qingmeng didn't know what to say for a moment, and her face felt slightly hot, but fortunately the light in the kitchen was flickering and it was hard to see.

She lowered her head and coughed lightly to cover up, then saw Gu Yunyi holding the dough in one hand and rolling it with the other. In a few breaths, a round bun skin was rolled out.

The bun wrapper is thick in the middle and thin at the edges, which is perfect, even better than He’s.

Xu Qingmeng had not expected that this future Prime Minister, who was so powerful and decisive in the court, could actually roll out the bun skin so smoothly at this time with just a push and a turn.

Xu Qingmeng was silent. She did not treat him as a patient, but as the future Prime Minister.

She sat down slowly and said softly, "I never considered you a patient. I just thought that your hands should be used to write and depict the beautiful mountains and rivers. I didn't expect that you could cook."

Gu Yunyi chuckled, and his laughter was particularly clear in the silent kitchen.

Xu Qingmeng could not help but be a little stunned and looked at him blankly. He was still laughing softly, his voice was a little hoarse, but it revealed an indescribable charm, as if it could stir the strings in people's hearts, making Xu Qingmeng feel a little embarrassed and annoyed.

"why are you laughing?"

She glared at him, but unfortunately her face was too fleshy to tell that she was glaring at him.

"I am laughing at myself. How could I deserve such praise and trust from you? I am just a scholar who has not passed the Tongsheng exam yet. I really don't deserve it."

Xu Qingmeng was shocked, and came to his senses, and hurriedly explained,

"That... isn't it just a matter of time?"

Gu Yunyi did not delve into her words, but just raised the corner of his lips slightly, "Scholars are also human beings, and they also need to eat fireworks. I am not one of those spoiled young masters. Besides, my mother is not good at cooking, and my father has taught me many times but it has no effect. So, when I grew up, I often worked in the kitchen."

Xu Qingmeng nodded, and when she thought of He's craftsmanship, she understood.

Gu Yunyi turned to look at her and said, "I am well now. I don't need to stay in the room all day."

Xu Qingmeng was stunned for a moment, then she understood what he meant, but she felt something was wrong, but she couldn't figure out why.

"Qing Meng, are the buns ready? They're almost sold out." He asked from the front.

"It's getting up, it's getting up." Xu Qingmeng shouted loudly.

After Gu Yunyi finished rolling the dough in his hand, he stood up and went to the open counter to get a basket.

He saw Gu Yunyi coming in, "Yunyi is up, just in time to help. There are so many people today, and the sales are so fast, I am exhausted."

"Mom, I'll come to the front to help after I finish rolling the dough in the back." Gu Yunyi said, holding an empty basket.

He said with a smile, "It's okay, it's okay, you can help me pick up the buns, and you can stay in the kitchen with Qing Meng, mother can handle it."

He is still thinking about having a grandson. The two of them don't sleep in the same room, so it's easy for them to develop feelings for each other. No matter how busy they are, they can't let it stop them from developing feelings for each other.

Gu Yunyi came to the kitchen with a basket. Xu Qingmeng helped pick out the buns, and then Gu Yunyi went out with the basket.

Gu Yunyi came back quickly to help roll out the buns. With his help, Xu Qingmeng was much faster. After the two of them worked together to prepare the dough, they asked Gu Yunyi to watch the fire.

She quickly took out the soaked shank bones, washed them, put them in a pot with cold water, and added clean water to cover the shank bones.

Add the chopped ginger slices and green onion segments, add an appropriate amount of rice wine, bring to a boil over high heat, skim off the floating blood foam, then remove the leg bones and rinse them with cold water.

After washing the big pot, he put cold water into the pot, put in the washed pork shanks, added enough water at once, poured in an appropriate amount of rice wine and ginger slices, told Gu Yunyi to boil it over high heat, then switch to low heat and simmer it, and he went to the front to help.

The front hall was bustling with people. It was already dawn outside. The aisle in the lobby was filled with people, and the six tables were all occupied.

"Aunt, give me a bowl of tofu pudding. I want it salty and without coriander."

"Okay, here I come." He said without raising her head.

Xu Qingmeng walked over and helped silently. She was quick at calculating and had nimble hands and feet, and for a moment she was much faster than He.

They were in a state of chaos in the morning and were busy until the sun came out. Later, all the dough and fillings that had been proofed were used up, and the buns and pies were sold out. Yet many people complained that they did not prepare enough.

Business was good, so Mrs. He was naturally happy. After the items were sold, Xu Qingmeng returned to the kitchen, and Mrs. He started chatting with a few other women.

"Sister-in-law, your life will get better and better."

He smiled and said, "Thanks for your good words, my life is indeed getting better now."

A woman nearby said, "Sister He, you have a good wife. Although she is a little fat, fortunately her family is not the kind that will cause trouble, and she is also capable. You can just wait to enjoy your life in the future."

He was very happy when he heard this.

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(End of this chapter)