Chapter 123 Chapter 123 Sturgeon.
This bald chef was none other than Wang Zhaoxiang, the chef of Tongfulou, who was a judge of the previous New Year's Party and one of the vice-chiefs.
Wang Wen from Tongfulou, who was among the top five newcomers at the last New Year's Party, is his youngest son.
Chef Wang's face darkened as he led Chef You and Lin Zhi toward the kitchen, explaining the situation as they walked. "According to the rules, apart from the dried goods that needed to be soaked in advance, the rest of the fresh goods were supposed to arrive the day after tomorrow. The arrival time for each ingredient was set two weeks ago. Who knew something went wrong at the Guanglu Temple? They sent a batch three days early."
Chef You frowned, "How could I make such a stupid mistake?"
"Who says it isn't?" Chef Wang sighed, feeling deeply annoyed. "Fortunately, this matter is ultimately the responsibility of the Guanglu Temple. If there's a commotion, it can't be blamed on us. We just need to see if these ingredients will affect the banquet and not worry about anything else."
Lin Zhi frowned slightly when she heard this. "Chef Wang is right, but if they can't gather all the ingredients later, our cooking will be affected."
"Why don't we take a quick look at the situation when we get there and see which ingredients are guaranteed to be in stock and which ones need replacements?"
"Everyone from the imperial court to the common people is watching the Qionglin Banquet. If something goes wrong, it won't be good for us in the future."
Chef Wang was slightly startled, then looked at Lin Zhi deeply and nodded readily, "You make sense."
After the three of them reached a consensus, they quickened their pace and rushed to the kitchen.
As soon as I arrived at the door, I saw dozens of wooden boxes piled up in the open space outside the kitchen, some large and some small, some sealed tightly, some open at the top. Most of the boxes were wrapped in thick quilts and the outside was wrapped with straw for insulation. There were also a few wooden boxes that were not wrapped with cloth, and drops of water were seeping out from the seams of the boxes.
The Guanglu Temple staff were already waiting nearby, lists in hand, their brows furrowed. The leader was none other than Mr. Qiu, who stared at the boxes with a grim expression, clearly having not expected that despite his repeated caution, he would still stumble and make a mistake in such a trivial matter.
Seeing Chef Wang, Chef You, and Lin Zhi arrive, Mr. Qiu forced himself to adjust his expression and said with a bow, "Thank you for your help in checking it out."
"It's my duty." Chef Wang replied seriously, and then went forward with Chef You and Lin Zhi to check it out.
Linzhi casually touched the wall of the wooden box that was not covered with cotton wool. It was icy cold to the touch, and he could feel the cold air emanating from it through the wall.
Linzhi didn't know what was in the other wooden boxes, but most likely they contained food such as fish and shrimp.
Even though the weather is getting colder and we use ice to keep food cold, no matter how much ice there is, delicate ingredients like fish and shrimp will not last more than three days.
Linzhi: "Is there an ice cellar here?"
Cook You quickly gave the answer: "Yes."
Mr. Qiu was cheered up: "I will immediately send someone to check the ice cellar to see how much space can be freed up."
After a pause, a murderous look appeared on his face. "I'm going to go back to Guanglu Temple and investigate to see who dared to tamper with this matter. There can't be any further problems."
Chef Wang quickly grabbed him and said, "I know you're anxious to investigate, but there are more pressing matters to attend to. You need to stay and reconcile the accounts with us first to see if we're short on ingredients and whether we can get more from elsewhere."
The anger in Mr. Qiu's mind subsided, and he thought to himself that he was confused, so he handed the investigation over to his subordinates and took charge of counting the ingredients himself.
After Chef Wang finished speaking, Chef You also spoke: "Then Chef Wang will go with Mr. Qiu, and I will go with Chef Lin? We can count the ingredients separately, and it will be faster."
Lin Zhi readily agreed, and Chef Wang and Mr. Qiu were not surprised. The four of them quickly called the servants and prepared to open the wooden boxes in front of them one by one to inspect the delivered ingredients.
Linzhi noticed with her sharp eyes that Cook You walked around the two wooden boxes that were not wrapped in straw and thick quilts, walked aside, and ordered the servants to open the other box.
"Chef You, the box over there is—"
"Those are probably fish," said Chef You, looking grim. "Especially the largest wooden box. Based on my experience the last three times, I'm afraid it's filled with sturgeon!"
Lin Zhi was horrified, but Cook You, fearing she didn't know the situation, quietly added, "The sturgeons used by the royal family weigh over several hundred kilograms each. A fixed number are caught and used each year. If something went wrong with this one, wouldn't it be easy to find another ingredient to replace it?"
After a pause, Cook You whispered, "I know you have a kind heart, but people in official circles are more treacherous than you think. They might just say a few words and push the responsibility onto you. Then, they'll turn right into wrong and put all the blame on you."
Lin Zhi pursed her lips, knowing that her words in persuading Chef Wang were a bit too much.
This is not a business nowadays. If you don't like the job, you can just turn around and leave. If you do something wrong here, you may be beaten with a stick, thrown into jail, or even lose your life.
Lin Zhi let out a long breath: "I was impulsive."
Seeing that Lin Zhi understood her good intentions, Chef You smiled. She led Lin Zhi forward and opened the box they had chosen. It was indeed filled with ordinary ingredients, such as winter bamboo shoots, lotus roots, yams, and white fungus.
"Take it to the kitchen and use it in the next few days." Chef You took a glance and gave an order.
"Oh." The servants reacted in the same way. They casually put the box of food into a bamboo basket and sent it to the kitchen.
After what happened earlier, Linzhi had decided not to express any opinion and just watch carefully from the side.
With the advice of Chef You, Linzhi discovered her weakness: she still retained the mentality of the common people in her previous life. In addition, the family business had only been expanding for a year or so, and the store was far from comparable to the numerous restaurants in Bianjing City. She was even less aware of the habits of the upper class.
What she has to do now is to study.
Linzhi calmed down her thoughts, put herself in the right position, and carefully followed what Chef You explained. She recorded Chef You's attitude and reaction from time to time, preparing to think about it carefully after returning.
Sure enough, the next few boxes also contained ordinary food. After these boxes were unpacked, the four people's eyes fell on the last few wooden boxes that were not wrapped in straw and thick quilts.
Chef You ignored the largest wooden box and signaled the officer to open the box next to it. Inside, he saw a layer of pine needles, ice cubes, and a bucket of water, with living creatures scurrying about.
Lin Zhi had never seen such packaging before. Curious, she leaned over to take a look and blurted out, "Chopstick eel?"
Chopstick eels are a common seasonal ingredient in spring and autumn, but are much rarer in winter. This is mainly because as the weather gets colder, the eels' activity and feeding slow down, and they spend most of their time sinking into the mud. This makes them difficult to catch, and their taste also differs from that of autumn eels.
Chopstick eels also refer to some small eels and juveniles. By winter, the juveniles have grown considerably and are no longer suitable for cooking. Furthermore, since there is currently no way to farm them artificially, catching chopstick eels is naturally even more difficult.
After a pause, Lin Zhi chuckled and said, "It seems we are lucky. This creature is relatively easy to keep alive."
Cook You agreed and called the servant over to give detailed instructions: "Send all these eels to the greenhouse. The temperature doesn't need to be too high. Keep the water in the basin shallow and put some water plants from the pond in it. Put a rack on top of it. Check on them twice a day and change the water every two days."
Qionglin Garden was an imperial garden, so it naturally had quite a few greenhouses. Upon hearing Cook You's instructions, the servant nodded in agreement, but before he could leave, Lin Zhi called him back.
Linzhi added, "Since we're going to keep them for five days, we need to feed them once in the middle. We can use some live fish fry or earthworms."
"By the way, just put two or three eels in each basin. Don't put all the eels in one place."
"Yes, I understand." The officer took note of it carefully and then called a few colleagues to carry the chopstick eels to the back.
While Linzhi was discussing with Chef You, Mr. Qiu and Chef Wang next to them also finished processing the fish and their eyes fell on the last large wooden box.
Mr. Qiu's heart was in turmoil, and he just hoped it wasn't that thing. But when the officer opened the wooden box and the fishy smell emanated, his face suddenly changed.
After a while, Chef Wang finally sighed, "Why did it have to be this?"
Lin Zhi and You Chu looked over when they heard the sound, and what caught their eyes was an extremely huge sturgeon!
Lin Zhi was shocked by the size, but then he found something wrong. The ice on the sturgeon had mostly melted, and the fish meat had taken on a stale color, and it seemed that it was no longer usable.
Besides feeling sad about the waste, Lin Zhi's heart sank. Even Cook You couldn't help but blurt out, "Oh no..."
As for Mr. Qiu, his face was already pale and he felt that his official hat might be over.
Sturgeons are indeed precious and rare creatures from the Jin Dynasty. They are also a delicacy used in New Year banquets in the palace.
In order to ensure that saints and royal families could taste this delicious dish, fishing would begin many months in advance in winter, and the caught sturgeons would be placed in pens and raised until the severe winter arrived.
Whenever the severe winter came and the New Year was approaching, the officials in charge of fishing would chisel through the ice, catch the corresponding sturgeons, straighten them, water them, and hang ice on them, so that a layer of ice shell would form on the surface of the fish to preserve and protect them. They would then wrap them in yellow silk and send them to Bianjing City by special car.
There is usually a set time for the carriage to depart one month in advance, and the sturgeons used in the Qionglin Banquet are also sent in advance so that they can be dispatched in advance.
When Lin Zhi thought of this, he was suddenly stunned.
She walked closer, looked at the fully opened wooden box, and suddenly said, "Is this the only sturgeon they sent?"
The three people, immersed in the dejected atmosphere, were suddenly startled and snapped back to their senses. Mr. Qiu suddenly came to his senses and his expression changed immediately: "That's right!"
Normally, in order to prevent spoilage, a batch of five to ten sturgeons would be delivered, depending on the weather conditions of the year.
It happened to arrive a few days earlier, and it happened to be on the verge of spoiling, which inevitably makes people wonder if there was a problem during transportation.
His face was twisted and ferocious, and he looked at the officer who was escorting the goods: "Where are the remaining sturgeons?"
The officer cried out in pain, "I, I, I, I don't know!"
Putting aside Mr. Qiu who left like a whirlwind, and the problems among the officials of the Guanglu Temple, Linzhi approached and carefully inquired about the sturgeon. He saw that its body was sticky with mucus, its eyes were cloudy and sunken, and it had entered a state of decay, which was a pity.
The largest sturgeon she had handled in her previous life weighed only about 500 pounds. The dragon bones she took out and stewed them in Nine Treasures Soup tasted absolutely superb.
I never thought that the one in front of me now is one size bigger than the one I saw in my previous life.
Chef You thought Lin Zhi had never seen such rare ingredients before, so he stepped forward to comfort her, "Don't worry, there will be more later. There will be more during the New Year holidays. You can take one or two and use them."
"Even dragon tendons and bones are acceptable?"
"...Hey!" Upon hearing this, You Chu looked Lin Zhi up and down in surprise. He patted Lin Zhi's shoulder vigorously and muttered, "Where on earth are you from? How do you know that the most important things about sturgeons are these two?"
"Can I get it?" Lin Zhi didn't answer You Chu's question, she was just concerned about this.
"Tsk." Chu You was silent for a moment, then angrily raised his hand and smacked Lin Zhi on the head: "You want it, I still want it!"
The bones and tendons of sturgeon are the best ingredients. As long as you master this skill, the imperial kitchen or the Duke's Mansion will open doors for you.
Chef You hadn't even tried it herself a few times, so she said unhappily, "I'm telling you, it's just some fish meat and fish roe at best, don't even think about anything else!"
Lin Zhi smacked her lips: "Ah..."
You Chu said indifferently: "It's no use sighing!"
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