The next day at the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), before dawn, Xia Chunmei woke Xia Qiumei up. The two sisters quickly washed up and went to the Wang family with the others.
The Wang family members haven't gotten up yet, but they had previously instructed Aunt Li to help them.
Aunt Li was still tending the fire to simmer bone broth.
Xia Chunmei kneaded the dough, Xia Huohua and Aunt Lihua killed the fish, Xia Mingshi led Xia Ping to wash and cut ginger and scallions, and Qiu Mei processed the red bean paste according to Xia Chunmei's instructions.
Xia Chunmei kneaded the 38 jin of flour in four batches, taking more than half an hour just to knead it. Her hands ached from kneading. What a tragedy it is not having a machine!
The dough still needed to rise. While it was rising, Xia Chunmei cut the fish meat and peeled off the skin, while Xia Mingshi and Aunt Lihua chopped the fish meat into minced meat.
Seeing how efficiently Xia Chunmei worked, Aunt Lihua was so surprised she couldn't close her mouth.
All the fish had been killed, and Xia Huohua was also busy processing the sauerkraut according to Xia Chunmei's instructions.
Xia Chunmei had almost finished preparing the fish for making fish balls and fish cakes, and the dough she had kneaded at the beginning had also almost risen. Xia Chunmei then led Xia Ping and Xia Qiumei to start making longevity peach buns.
The wrapped longevity peach buns were placed on a steamer. Aunt Li was in charge of starting the fire to steam them. By this time, the bone broth had been cooked and poured into a clean wooden bucket for later use. Clean water was placed in a pot to prepare for steaming the longevity peach buns.
The Wang family didn't have a multi-tiered steamer specifically for steaming buns; they only had large enough pots and steaming trays. Five large pots could be used simultaneously, steaming over 130 buns at a time. These hundreds of longevity peach buns could be steamed in three batches.
The Wang family got up when the longevity peaches were half-finished.
Wang An'an couldn't stop thinking about longevity peach buns, so the Wang family had them for breakfast today. There were many people in the Wang family, and they ate a total of forty of them. Luckily, she made a lot today.
By the time all the longevity peach buns were finished, it was just past 9 AM.
At this time, Xia Chunmei and the others also stopped to have breakfast and rest.
The Wang family naturally provided two meals a day. Breakfast was simple: longevity peach buns made by Xia Chunmei, two for each person.
"It's so delicious!" This was their first time eating longevity peach buns, and they were immediately amazed.
"Not only does it look good, it tastes good too, even better than the meat buns you buy in the city," Xia Mingshi said with a smile.
"Chunmei, your skills are amazing!" Aunt Lihua gave Xia Chunmei a thumbs up, and her mind started to wander, thinking about letting her little daughter Guixiang learn the skills from Xia Chunmei.
After resting for a while, Xia Chunmei and Xia Qiumei fried fish skin and fish pieces, while Xia Mingshi and Aunt Lihua cooked fish balls. Xia Ping was in charge of tending the fire, and Aunt Li was in charge of boiling eggs. More than 300 eggs were cooked in two pots.
All the preparations were finally completed by noon.
After taking a sip of water and resting for a while, Xia Chunmei started cooking.
The weather is hot now, so she makes soup dishes first, such as sauerkraut fish, while steamed and sweet and sour dishes are served last.
"Changgui, Qianhong, why are you two here instead of cooking?" The Wang family's guests were quite surprised to see Liu Changgui and his wife sitting at the table.
Lin Qianhong looked very unwell. Liu Changgui smiled and said, "I heard there's a young girl who can make dozens or even hundreds of delicious dishes out of fish. I won't embarrass myself with my skills."
"Besides making soup and smoking it to make cured fish, what other creative ways can you prepare fish?"
Liu Changgui: "You'll see when the dishes are served. Since Village Chief Wang likes fish so much, the young lady's cooking skills must be quite good."
Originally, the Wang family's banquet was to be prepared by Liu Changgui, but unexpectedly, the Wang family changed their minds and praised Xia Chunmei's cooking skills as unparalleled. Liu Changgui and his wife wanted to see for themselves what kind of background the other party had and whether her skills were really that good!
Starting at 1:15 PM, the dishes began to be served one after another.
Sauerkraut fish, braised fish balls, braised crucian carp...
"It smells so good..."
"I heard that the Wang family hired a girl who is particularly good at cooking."
"I heard it cost a lot of money."
"Oh dear, what kind of dish is that?"
"This...this...is this a peach?"
Hearing this, Xia Ping, who was serving the dishes, said with pride, "These are called longevity peach buns. Eating them will bring you a long and healthy life."
Who doesn't like to hear nice words?
"Wow, it looks really like it."
"It looks good and is also very fitting for the occasion."
The guests were full of praise even before they had tasted it.
Xia Ping added, "They're not only beautiful but also delicious. The young master of the Wang family ate three this morning. They're especially soft and sweet, unlike the buns you get outside."
After saying that, Xia Ping left, busy serving dishes.
As Liu Changgui and Qian Hong looked at the dish and smelled the aroma, a storm raged in their hearts, and they were filled with a sense of crisis!
"I'll help serve the dishes too." Lin Qianhong couldn't sit still any longer, so she quickly got up and made an excuse to go to the backyard. She wanted to see who was cooking.
When Lin Qianhong arrived, Xia Chunmei was preparing the last dish, sweet and sour fish.
Lin Qianhong stared intently at Xia Chunmei, never expecting that the person in charge of cooking would be such a young girl!
"Changgui's wife, don't stand here blocking the way." The woman carrying the dishes said casually, which immediately attracted the attention of Xia Mingshi and Aunt Lihua.
Lin Qianhong felt embarrassed to stay any longer, so she quickly helped serve the dishes.
As soon as she left, Xia Mingshi immediately whispered a reminder to Xia Chunmei, who was engrossed in her work: "Chunmei, Liu Changgui's wife is here. She probably thinks you stole her business and might cause trouble. Be careful."
"I see."
Xia Chunmei had actually thought about this long ago and was mentally prepared for it.
Around 1:45 PM, all the dishes were served.
Xia Qiumei finally breathed a sigh of relief. Damn, I'm so tired!
The guests outside have already started eating.
After resting for a while, Xia Chunmei and the others ate in the backyard.
"It smells so good!"
"Delicious! So delicious!"
Xia Ping and Xia Qiumei wolfed down their food.
Especially Xia Qiumei, Xia Chunmei had never seen such an ugly girl.
"Qiu Mei, eat more quietly and slowly," Xia Chunmei said again.
"Who told you to cook so well?" Aunt Lihua laughed. "I've lived this long and never eaten such delicious food. Chunmei, you really make me want to gouge my eyes out."
Xia Ping was a little confused. "What does 'gouging out eyes to look at someone' mean?"
"Auntie probably meant to say 'I'm impressed,'" Xia Chunmei explained.
"Yes, yes, that's exactly what I mean. Chunmei, your skills will definitely make you famous today. Next time you need this kind of work, please remember me. Money doesn't matter, the important thing is to be able to eat your cooking. I'd be willing to live a few years less."
"Of course, no one in the surrounding area has Chunmei's skills," Xia Mingshi praised. "Ping'er, you're two months older than Chunmei. Look at her, and then look at yourself."
“My Guixiang is the same. She’s only two years younger than Chunmei. She’s so weak that she doesn’t move when you call her. If she gets married like this, her in-laws will hate her to death. If she were even half as good as Chunmei, I would burn incense for her.”
It seems that no matter the era, children can't escape the curse of being compared by their parents.
However, Xia Chunmei could guess to some extent what Xia Mingshi and Aunt Lihua were thinking.
If she really wants to host a banquet, she will definitely need to cultivate two capable assistants.
Qiu Mei and Dong Mei are too young, and they also have a younger sister to take care of at home, so the two of them can only make steamed buns and mantou at most. If we want to train someone to take charge of cooking, they need to be a little older, otherwise they won't have the strength.
Of course, the most important thing is character.
So far, Xia Ping seems pretty good, and Xia Mingshi and Xia Huohua are also quite good.
Xia Chunmei gave them over 700 coins when she sold fish, but they refused to accept them. Because of this, I should help Xia Ping more in the future.
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