Chapter 6: Stir-fried Bracken with Bacon
Ji Zhisui looked hesitant and seemed to be in a difficult situation.
Seeing this, Lao Wutou immediately added: "Don't worry, young lady, if your cooking is delicious, we will definitely not treat you unfairly."
These words were a guarantee and achieved the effect that Ji Zhisui wanted, so she did not refuse.
After Lao Wutou left, Pei Yuanyuan, who was standing aside, turned green with anger. These yamen runners would only react when they saw money. Along the way, their family had spent a lot of money to bribe those yamen runners in order to live more comfortably.
But this bitch didn't do anything. She just said she could cook something and she easily got preferential treatment from the yamen runners. She was so angry that she felt like her face was being slapped and her silver teeth were about to break.
"Third cousin, were you the cook in the Marquis' Mansion before?" After hearing what the yamen runner said before, although Pei Yuanyuan became a little more honest, she still spoke in a sarcastic tone and questioned Ji Zhisui's identity.
How could a lady from a wealthy family have good cooking skills?
Even if I did, I only learned a little bit to please my husband.
Although she was no longer a noble lady, Pei Yuanyuan still despised these low-ranking yamen runners in her heart, not to mention having to cook for them.
Of course, she only dared to think about this in her mind and didn't dare to say it out loud.
Before Ji Zhisui could make a move, Madam Pei spoke up, "Our Sui Niang is amazing. She knows everything. Unlike some people, they always rank last in the academy tests. It's so embarrassing!"
"You...you..." Pei Yuanyuan was embarrassed as her clothes were blatantly untied. Looking at the old woman, her eyes were full of hatred.
"You want to attack your elders? Yuanyuan, have you even forgotten the rules?" The oppressive look on Mrs. Pei's face was still there, making Pei Yuanyuan feel as if she had returned to the past, when she was causing trouble and was lectured by this damn old woman.
She gritted her teeth, stamped her feet, and looked fiercely at Ji Zhisui and others. Then, meeting the majestic and oppressive gaze of Old Madam Pei, she turned around and ran away quickly.
Madam Pei withdrew her gaze, her eyes softening in an instant. She said softly to Ji Zhisui, "Sui Niang, don't take the people from the second house to heart. They are just a bunch of ungrateful people who can never be tamed."
"Mom, isn't it inappropriate to break up with the second house like this?" Pei asked in a weak voice, with a hint of worry.
The eldest wife had always been nice to the second wife. After all, they were a family. When they were exiled, they had to support each other. If they fell out now, what would happen in the future...
Madam Pei's expression immediately grew serious. She knew what her daughter-in-law was thinking, and she spoke to Pei in a serious tone, "The second branch's family is no good. They only tried to curry favor with the first branch because of the power and status of the General's Mansion. Now that they've been exiled, they probably hold a grudge against us. It's best if you give up on those hopes completely."
When the first wife's family went to the second wife's house to ask for medicine and were humiliated, Pei was already seriously ill and in a coma. No one talked about this matter, so she didn't know about it.
Pei was an obedient girl. When she heard the old lady's serious tone, she came down as instructed.
Afterwards, everyone did not continue to talk about the second house. Pei Ersao asked curiously: "Sui Niang, have you learned cooking?"
Ji Zhisui nodded, "I used to cook for myself in the Marquis' Mansion and learned a little from the chefs."
Although she was originally a young lady from a marquis's family, her mother died early and she was not favored by the Marquis Weiyuan. Her life was even worse than that of a maid. She often had to cook for herself and fiddle with the food a lot. This also explains why she has such good cooking skills.
Pei Ersao felt a little regretful for her hasty words, knowing that she had accidentally touched upon Sui Niang's sad story. She was sent by Weiyuan Hou to marry in place of others and suffer, and she must have been the unfavored one in the family. She had to cook for herself, and her life in the marquis's mansion must have been difficult.
The others present had the same idea. Madam Pei stepped forward and took Ji Zhisui's hand, saying distressedly, "Good boy, you have suffered."
Old Madam Pei's gaze fell on Pei Yian, who was leaning in the corner with a pale face. The warning in her eyes was self-evident, asking him to treat his daughter-in-law well and not let her suffer.
Pei Yian received this look without any ripples in his heart, and nodded to his grandmother in response.
He looked at the petite figure with deep eyes. She had changed a lot since the afternoon, as if she had become a different person. Could a person really change so much?
But what made him even more surprised was his own body. His body, which had been in great pain and weak, seemed to have gotten much better. There seemed to be a warm current flowing through his body, gently caressing his wildly agitated meridians.
He frowned, closed his eyes, held his breath, and felt the strange warm current. He wanted to explore it, but the warmth was beyond his reach.
This is not normal, very abnormal.
He was given the Five Poison Powder, which causes him to feel severe pain and weakness all over his body if he exerts too much force. But with these symptoms now, could it be that the person was worried and gave him other poisons?
Thinking of this, his eyes became dark and dangerous.
At this time, Ji Zhisui came to the stove built by the yamen runners. Old Five was worrying about what to eat tonight!
Although there are a lot of ingredients, the cooking skills are not good enough!
Seeing Ji Zhisui appear, his eyes lit up, "Young lady, you are finally here?"
The yamen runner who was stoking the fire at the stove saw Ji Zhisui, frowned, and said disapprovingly, "Old Fifth, why did you let this young lady come over here?"
Someone was cooking for him, and Old Five's voice was filled with joy: "This young lady can cook, I'll ask her to come and help."
"Can this young lady really do it? Are you kidding me?" Old Li, who was stoking the fire, looked at the small and weak person in front of him and couldn't help but doubt whether this young lady had the physique to lift a spatula to cook?
"I don't have any. The soup made by this young lady is so fragrant. Her cooking skills must be impeccable." Thinking of the smell he just smelled, he couldn't help swallowing.
Ji Zhisui's eyes fell on the stove, where a lot of food was piled up, including a large piece of bacon, white flour buns, dry food cakes, bracken, cabbage, eggs, etc.
"Young lady, are you okay with these ingredients?" Old Five followed Ji Zhisui's gaze and looked at the stove.
"No problem." Ji Zhisui already had a plan in his mind.
"Okay, then just tell me where you need my help." There were quite a few yamen runners there, and they had big appetites, so naturally they ate a lot.
Ji Zhisui asked Old Li to make the fire stronger, blanch the processed bracken in water, and then use chopsticks to put the blanched bracken on a plate. He put the bacon in water, blanching it to wash away some of the saltiness and soften the hard bacon to make it easier to squeeze out the fat.
Slice the blanched bacon, pour it into the pot, stir-fry to release the fat, add the blanched bracken and stir-fry. The bacon itself is very salty, so there is no need to add salt to season it.
Soon, the aroma of meat began to waft in the air.
The yamen runners who were resting nearby were also attracted by the fragrance and began to look forward to dinner.
Old Li and Old Wu, who were burning the fire nearby, were more aware of the aroma. They couldn't help swallowing their saliva and stared at the fern bacon in the pot.
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