Chapter Thirty-Six [V] Cooking for the Magistrate's Daughter...
Li Yan didn't know her, so she couldn't help but be curious.
"May I ask who you are? What can I do for you?" She tried her best to keep smiling.
The young woman then said, "My name is Qingguo. I am my mistress's personal maid. My mistress sent me to find Lady Li."
"Your young lady?" Li Yan became even more curious. "May I ask which family your young lady belongs to?"
Qingguo said, "My young lady is from the county magistrate's family. She saw what happened to Madam Li in court that day. My young lady likes Madam Li very much, so she asked me to come and find Madam Li to have a chat."
The magistrate's daughter? Would he like her?
Li Yan hesitated for a moment.
Li Yan was quite vigilant, fearing that the person before her wasn't just the personal maid of the county magistrate's daughter, but had some other identity. She also worried that it might be some new trick being played by the Yue family.
But what if she was just overthinking things? What if it really was the magistrate's daughter looking for her? She didn't want to miss the opportunity.
She is currently troubled by her lack of power and influence. If she could establish a relationship with the county magistrate's daughter, it would only bring her benefits, not harm, in both her business endeavors and daily life.
Li Yan was still in a daze when Aunt Xue came over and asked what was going on.
Li Yan smiled and said, "This young lady is the daughter of the county magistrate. She said that the county magistrate's daughter wanted to talk to me."
Aunt Xue: "Today? Go now? But the weather isn't good... I'm afraid it might rain heavily again later."
Qingguo said, "The carriage is waiting at the alley entrance; you won't get wet in the rain, Madam Li. Please come in."
The magistrate's daughter was an official's daughter. For an ordinary woman like Aunt Xue, it was something she would probably never have to deal with in her entire life.
Therefore, she was somewhat at a loss for what to do.
Li Yan lowered her eyes and pondered for a moment before looking at Aunt Xue and saying, "Mother, I'll go take a look. I should be home in no time."
Aunt Xue seemed a little uneasy and reached out to grab Li Yan's hand.
At this moment, Li Yanxin calmed down, reached out and gently grasped Aunt Xue's hand, and nodded slightly to her.
Although she couldn't set up her stall these past few days due to the rain, her cooperation with Yuanbaolou continued. So, she still had to make braised pork every evening.
So, after getting into the carriage, Li Yan looked at Qingguo and said with a smile, "Qingniangzi, I have to be back by late afternoon at the latest. I found a job and I have to be back to work around that time."
Qingguo was not at all embarrassed and said with a smile, "Don't worry, Madam Li, my young lady has found out everything about you." She added, "It is precisely because she knows that the braised pork that Yuanbaolou is so popular is made by you that my young lady sent me to invite you over."
Seeing her so open and honest, Li Yan felt even more at ease.
Magistrate Hong took office two years ago. He is not a native of Huating County, but was sent from elsewhere.
Therefore, since he did not have a residence in Huating County, he lived only in the county government office.
Fortunately, Magistrate Hong only had one wife and one concubine, plus a son and a daughter. He didn't have many family members, so the backyard of the county government office was comfortable enough for him to live in.
The carriage headed towards the county government office, and Li Yan kept a close eye on the situation outside the carriage throughout the journey. The closer they got to the county government office, the more her heart sank.
Finally, when the car stopped in front of the county government office and Qingguo pulled Li Yan through the side gate, Li Yan was finally able to relax completely.
At that moment, she suddenly remembered that on the day she and Madam Yue went to court, there was indeed a young lady hiding behind the courtroom. At that time, Magistrate Hong had even given her a chair to sit on and watch.
Could it be... that was when the county magistrate's daughter noticed him?
Li Yan was lost in thought about this matter when Qingguo quietly began to explain: "My young lady is in the same situation as Madam. Both of them lost their birth mothers early and suffered some hardship with their stepmothers. Not long after the stepmothers entered the family, they had a son. From then on, the master and that mother and son were a family, and the young lady was superfluous."
After hearing Qingguo's words, Li Yan understood even more why Miss Hong had specifically sought her out for a talk.
Soon they arrived at Hong Xiuyun's secluded courtyard. Although the courtyard was not large, it was arranged quite elegantly. The courtyard was very clean, and the flowers and plants were arranged very neatly. It was clear that someone had taken good care of it.
Miss Hong is unmarried and must be quite young. The magistrate's harem must be managed by his second wife, Madam Hong.
Whether it was an act for outsiders or not, at least Madam Hong's public image was acceptable.
On this point alone, Madam Hong, who was also a stepmother, was far better than Madam Yue.
Hearing the commotion in the courtyard, Hong Xiuyun happily came out to greet them.
What caught Li Yan's eye was a bright young woman wearing a pale yellow jacket.
With a small, delicate face, fair skin, and smiling eyes, she was very endearing.
"Madam Li, you've finally arrived." Upon seeing her, Hong Xiuyun acted as if she were seeing an old friend, grabbing Li Yan's hand and pulling her into the house.
Li Yan was somewhat at a loss. After being forcibly pulled into the house, she politely bowed and said, "This humble woman, Li, greets Madam Hong."
Hong Xiuyun had no airs of a high-ranking official's daughter. Magistrate Hong came from a poor background and had only recently risen through the ranks by passing the imperial examination. Hong Xiuyun herself had grown up in the countryside.
The Hong family owned land, and back then, she often ran barefoot into the fields.
Actually, Grandma originally said she wanted to keep her by her side, and that she should go with Father to his new post because she was afraid her stepmother would bully her. But Father insisted on taking her with him, saying that she was getting older and would soon be of marriageable age, and having her by his side would help him find a better match.
Hong Xiuyun knew that this was all a pretense; it was definitely her stepmother who had instigated her father to keep her by his side. The purpose was to deliberately provoke her, or even ostracize her.
But she didn't back down either. She imitated her, putting on an act. As long as her father was around, she would speak kindly to him. But the moment her father was gone, she would show her aunt a cold shoulder.
“Li Niangzi, I never thought that you and I were both suffering the same fate.” Hong Xiuyun didn’t have many friends here. Some people tried to get close to her and win her over, but she hated their worldliness and slickness and never gave them a kind look.
Until today, I met Ms. Li, who had the same experience as me.
Li Yan smiled and said, "How could Madam Hong be a person with a tragic fate? Madam doesn't know, there are many people in this world who envy your life."
Hong Xiuyun said, “My biological mother passed away early, and my current stepmother is my aunt. When my mother was seriously ill, my aunt, who was still unmarried, came to take care of her. After my mother passed away, my father married my aunt as his second wife. My mother suffered so much with my father during her lifetime, but now, this stepmother has become the wife of a county magistrate, wearing gold and silver, and having no worries about food or clothing. Why is she so lucky? All of this should have belonged to my mother.”
Li Yan didn't know what to say. From her perspective, she did feel indignant on behalf of her birth mother.
To outsiders, while they might pity the deceased Madam Hong, they wouldn't think that the current Madam Hong is mistreating Miss Hong.
The younger sister marries the older sister's husband as a concubine in order to take care of the older sister's orphaned child; this is a common plot in novels.
Before clarifying the situation, Li Yan didn't want to get involved in other people's disputes. So, when faced with Ms. Hong's complaints, Li Yan just smiled and remained silent.
After complaining to herself for a while, Hong Xiuyun probably got bored and stopped talking about it, instead bringing up another matter.
"I heard from Qingguo that you not only rented a stall on Xifu Street to sell milk tea, but you can also cook? Did you make the braised pork at Yuanbaolou?"
Seeing that she had finally changed the subject, Li Yan breathed a sigh of relief.
Li Yan humbly said, "I can only do one or two things, I'm not an expert."
Hong Xiuyun disagreed: "I've tried the braised pork, and it's the best dish I've ever eaten in my life. I also had Qingguo buy me some milk tea to try. It's sweet and rich, but not cloying at all. It's so delicious."
Li Yan immediately stood up, bowed, and said, "Thank you for your kind words, Madam."
Hong Xiuyun pulled her down to sit again: "I've already said, I'm not some rich young lady. You don't need to follow so many rules in front of me." Then she touched her stomach, "I didn't eat much for lunch, and I'm hungry now. I'm really craving your braised pork. Can you make me a bowl?" At noon, she had been arguing with her stepmother just to win her father's sympathy, so she didn't eat much.
She felt great at the time, but now her stomach is suffering.
“Of course.” Li Yan stood up and said, “I’ll go now.”
"I want to go with you to see it." Hong Xiuyun couldn't stand being cooped up in the house; she was bored. Since this Lady Li seemed to have taken a liking to her, she wanted to go and see for herself.
But after I said it, I suddenly remembered something.
That braised pork is someone's specialty, and they probably have a secret recipe. If she went to see it, wouldn't that be considered prying into their secret recipe?
Hong Xiuyun didn't want to be that kind of petty person, and she didn't want to make things difficult for Madam Li, so she immediately changed her mind: "Never mind, I'd rather not go. I'll just sit here and wait to eat."
Li Yan also said, "Don't worry, my wife, it will be quick." As long as there are ingredients, a braised pork dish can be prepared very quickly.
Hong Xiuyun didn't go, but Qingguo went with her.
It wasn't cooking time, and the cook wasn't there either. Qingguo followed her over, briefly explained the kitchen to Li Yan, and then tactfully retreated to wait outside.
Li Yan, on the other hand, cut a piece of the fattest and leanest pork belly.
Fortunately, the magistrate's kitchen had plenty of seasonings, and before long, a steaming bowl of braised pork was ready.
There was some leftover white rice in the pot at noon. Li Yan scooped some out, cracked an egg, and made a bowl of egg fried rice.
I also stir-fried a melon and made a soup.
She values efficiency and does many things at the same time. So, it didn't take much effort to prepare a meat dish, a vegetable dish, a soup, and rice.
The kitchen has windows on all four sides, so even a slight aroma can immediately waft out.
The aroma wafting from the kitchen made Qingguo's mouth water.
Li Yan packed the food into a food container. It was cold today, and she was worried the food would get cold quickly if she carried the tray outside. The food container was airtight and kept the food warm, so it wouldn't get cold even if she carried it like this.
"Did you make any other dishes, my lady?" Qingguo asked with a smile as soon as Li Yan came out.
Li Yan said, "Eating only braised pork would be too much. I saw that there was rice and some fruits in the kitchen, so I made a stir-fry and a vegetable soup as well."
Qingguo: "My wife has excellent cooking skills. I could smell the aroma from far away."
Li Yan: "It's just some home-style dishes, nothing special."
Although it's just a simple home-style dish with very basic steps, there's still a lot to consider regarding the cooking time and temperature. Sometimes, if the temperature isn't just right, the flavor will be significantly different.
In addition, there's the order and amount of seasonings to add. Even a small mistake can lead to a huge error.
Li Yan has loved cooking since she was a child, and later became a cooking blogger, so she naturally put in a lot of hard work to study it.
Leaving aside delicacies, she can still easily whip up these simple home-style stir-fries.
Li Yan's cooking skills were superior to those of the county magistrate's cook, and coincidentally, Hong Xiuyun was extremely hungry at that moment, so she easily finished all the dishes that Li Yan had prepared.
"Li Niangzi, the food you cook is so, so delicious!" Hong Xiuyun had never eaten such delicious food in her life.
They look like ordinary dishes, but the taste is just different.
She suddenly had a bold idea: it would be great if Madam Li could cook for her every meal.
But then he thought, his own cook only earns eight qian of silver a month, while the other woman sells drinks at a stall, plus her partnership with Yuanbaolou... her monthly income must be far more than eight qian. If he were to recruit her to be the cook at home, let alone whether his father and aunt would agree, he probably wouldn't even agree himself.
Therefore, Hong Xiuyun had another idea.
Li Yan was unaware that Hong Xiuyun had other ideas. When it was almost time, she said goodbye to Hong Xiuyun.
That evening, Hong Xiuyun waited for her father to come to the backyard for dinner and rest. As soon as she saw him, she went to greet him and said, "Father, I would like to hire a cook to prepare the meals myself."
"That's utterly ridiculous." Magistrate Hong refused without even thinking.
With a small household, hiring one cook is sufficient.
Besides, his monthly salary was only ten taels of silver. With such a large family to support, he simply couldn't afford to hire another cook.
After refusing outright, she realized something was wrong. Why would she suddenly want to hire another cook?
"Yun'er, why did you suddenly have this idea?" The question was directed at Hong Xiuyun, but her eyes were looking at Madam Hong beside her.
Seeing her husband looking at her, Madam Hong said, "Today, Yunniang invited that Lady Li to come over. After eating the meal Lady Li cooked for her, she complained that the cook at home was not good enough."
The cook at the county government office was hired; the household had maids and servants who were responsible for buying groceries, so the cook only needed to come and cook at mealtimes each day.
Magistrate Hong was frugal, eating only one meat dish and one vegetable dish per meal, with soup only served at lunchtime. Moreover, the cook was hired by an ordinary family in the city; her cooking was acceptable, but certainly not comparable to the master chefs in restaurants.
Hong Xiuyun was young and greedy, and she also deliberately wanted to go against her stepmother. This was because the current cook was someone her stepmother had found for her.
Li Yan's entry into the county government office was naturally not hidden from Madam Hong's eyes. Therefore, Madam Hong also knew that Li Yan was cooking for Hong Xiuyun.
When Li Yan was cooking, Madam Hong went over to watch. She was hidden in the shadows and far away, but the aroma still wafted into her nose.
Actually, not to mention Xiuyun, even she herself has a sweet tooth.
However, although her husband was a county magistrate and received a salary from the imperial court, he was honest and upright and did not have any extra income. Although she was the wife of a county magistrate and looked respectable, she lived a very frugal life in terms of food, clothing and daily necessities.
The wealthy wives of the merchants in Huating County often invited her to banquets at their homes, where the dishes prepared by their chefs were far superior to those at home.
Over time, Madam Hong also began to feel resentful.
In private, she secretly made deals with those ladies. But she dared not bring these deals into the open, much less let her husband know.
Over the course of more than a year, she had accumulated a considerable amount of savings. However, despite having the money, she dared not openly spend it, which caused her great distress.
Magistrate Hong naturally remembered Lady Li and knew her identity.
Yuanbaolou's braised pork was famous far and wide. When Prefect Xu of Jiangning Prefecture came to Huating County to inspect work a while ago, he arranged to be received at Yuanbaolou and ordered this braised pork. The taste, the texture... even now, many days later, the memory still lingers on my lips and teeth.
Therefore, he could understand why Yun'er found the food prepared by Madam Li so delicious and unforgettable.
Thinking that his daughter had lost her mother at a young age and was pitiful, Magistrate Hong couldn't bear it and said, "We can't afford to hire her, but you can invite her to come and cook a meal for you on the first and fifteenth of each month."
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Author's Note: Update delivered! Yay!
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