The remaining orphans and widows of the Fang family had no choice but to move to this small courtyard.
There is also a soapberry tree planted in this small yard, but it is not old enough and does not bear any soapberries.
In order to generate income, Mrs. Fang would buy some soapberries from other people's homes, peel them, dry them, and sell them to the herbal medicine shop.
She can't do other physical work.
Peeling soapberries is a time-consuming, laborious and delicate job. There was a sack of soapberries, but the peeled soapberry grains only formed a shallow layer in the basin.
Old Madam Fang has been peeling for several days, so it is inevitable that she has some back pain and neck soreness.
She stood up and stretched herself, then heard someone knocking on the gate.
Who will come at this time?
Madam Fang walked to the door, but did not open it immediately. Instead, she raised her voice and asked, "Who is it?"
There is no way. Their family is now full of old and young people, some are widows or orphans, so they have to be cautious.
"Madam, it's me." Shen Yizhi answered from outside the door.
Qin, who was chewing the thread, looked up in surprise: "Mother, it's Miss Shen."
Only then did Old Madam Fang open the door and welcome Shen Yizhizi in.
Shen Yizi handed over a large basket filled with vegetables, meat and fruits.
There is also a letter of pastry.
Madam Fang scolded: "Just come, why bring a gift?"
In the end, I took the thing.
Qin had already moved a chair over and asked Shen Yizhi to sit down. She then poured her some water and washed some dates and brought them over.
Shen Yizhi waved her hand and said, "Aunt, just do your own thing and don't worry about me."
Qin could see that she was not just being polite, so she sat down again and picked up the embroidery frame.
Old Madam Fang put the things Shen Yizhi brought in order. Looking at the exceptionally fresh and juicy fruits and vegetables, she liked her even more.
When she came out of the house, she saw Shen Yizhizi and his wife huddled together, talking and laughing, and they seemed to be getting along very well.
"Mom, come and see, this is the embroidery pattern that Yizhi drew for me. It's really beautiful and will definitely turn out great when embroidered."
Old Madam Fang took a look over and couldn't take her eyes away.
The painting shows two fat dolls playing with a ball. The two dolls look exactly the same, except for their clothes. They are cute and adorable, and quite lovable.
The drawing is so lifelike that the laughter of the two dolls seems to come through the pages.
Old Madam Fang was already old enough to be a grandmother, and when she saw the two babies, she immediately liked them very much.
Shen Yizhi smiled as he watched the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law unable to let go of the embroidery.
Needless to say, the two dolls she drew were Qingbao and Yuanbao.
As expected, her baby is welcomed wherever he goes.
Now it has helped her to further gain the favor of the Fang family's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.
Taking advantage of the good atmosphere, Shen Yizi stated his purpose.
"In five days, Yingcheng's three-year cooking competition will be held. Madam, if I can help Huihui win the first prize in the competition, you will sell me the family heirloom kitchen knife. How about that?"
This news was found out by Xie Wanxiang.
Shen Yizhi felt that it was possible. Wasn't Mrs. Fang always thinking about reviving the family and promoting Fang's cooking skills? This cooking competition was a great opportunity to become famous!
As expected, Madam Fang was delighted when she heard her words, but she immediately became suspicious again: "How can Miss Shen help Huihui win the first prize at the conference? Huihui's cooking skills are outstanding among her peers, but compared with those chefs who have been immersed in cooking for decades, she is still inferior."
She was clear about this and would not blindly ignore it just because her granddaughter was her pride.
And cooking skills are not something that can be improved in a short period of time.
Shen Yizhi raised a mysterious smile: "The hermit has his own ingenious plan."
Seeing that the old lady was still hesitant, Shen Yizhi rolled up his sleeves and said, "How about this, I'll cook two dishes for you to try, and you can judge whether I am qualified to help Huihui win the first prize, how about that?"
"Okay." This time, Old Madam Fang agreed readily.
Shen Yizi walked to the earthen stove. To be honest, she hadn't used an earthen stove for a long time. She was usually used to using a constant-burning cauldron for cooking. After all, using a constant-burning cauldron, she could control the heat at will and switch between various cooking modes, which was very convenient.
"Madam, could you please help me light the fire?" Shen Yizhi walked to the door.
Old Madam Fang got up and went into the house, sitting down in front of the stove.
Shen Yizi was using the dishes he brought with him. Those were all from the space and tasted much better than the dishes outside.
The seasoning is also prepared by yourself.
While using it, he introduced it to Old Madam Fang.
Old Madam Fang has been married into the Fang family, a family of culinary experts, for decades, so she naturally understands that the quality of a dish often depends on the seasoning.
If the wrong seasoning is used, the taste may be much worse.
As for the row of seasonings that Shen Yizhi took out at this moment, not only did they include the basic ones like oil, salt, sauce and vinegar, but they also included MSG, oyster sauce, chili pepper, black bean sauce, pepper, etc. These were things that Old Madam Fang had never seen before.
Curry chicken, fish-flavored shredded pork, pickled fish, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and loofah soup.
Four dishes and one soup.
During this time, Mrs. Fang swallowed countless saliva.
Even Qin, who was outside, was so enchanted by the fragrance that she had no interest in embroidery and her fingers were poked several times.
Fang Hui and Fang Cheng came back and could smell the tempting fragrance from far away.
I was thinking, whose food is so delicious? It’s really making me hungry.
When I got home, I realized that the fragrance actually came from my own home.
"Are you back? Hurry and wash your hands and eat. Today's meal was prepared by Miss Shen, so we are all in for a treat." Old Madam Fang greeted her granddaughter and grandson with a smile.
Fang Hui was pleasantly surprised: "Sister Shen is here?"
The brother and sister quickly washed their hands and sat at the table. Looking at the sumptuous dishes on the table, they swallowed involuntarily.
Besides feeling greedy, Fang Hui also noticed that, apart from the loofah soup, the other four dishes on the table were all new dishes that she didn't know!
It was obvious that a whole chicken was used in the curry chicken, but the broth on top was rich and complex in flavor, and she could barely distinguish a few of the flavors.
You know, she was born with a keen sense of smell. When she was a child, her grandfather said that she was gifted by God.
When a dish is placed in front of her, she can often get a rough idea of the ingredients and materials inside it just by smelling it, and then she can make it after trying it a few times.
However, she couldn't tell the difference between this curry chicken, which could only be explained by the fact that several of the ingredients in it were things she had never heard of or seen before.
The ingredients of the two dishes, Fish-flavored Shredded Pork and Pickled Fish, were nothing special and she could tell by the smell, but the cooking methods were something she had never seen before.
There is also this scrambled eggs with tomatoes. The method and seasoning are simple, but the tomatoes inside are something she has never seen before.
I've never seen it before, let alone used it in cooking.
Fang Hui pondered while chewing slowly and savoring the food.