Chapter 42 Selecting Tableware
Wen Zhenyi looked at the tableware in front of him, three sets of gold, silver and jade, each set highlighting the wealth of the host family, but they seemed a bit tacky when used to serve dishes and decorate the dishes.
The texture of jade tableware is not translucent enough, otherwise it would be a good choice.
Seeing that she was not satisfied with the three sets of tableware, Cook Feng took her to look at porcelain tableware.
Wen Zhenyi looked at the porcelain tableware, red-glazed bowls and plates with gold-painted peonies, celadon bowls with blue and white patterns, celadon bowls and plates with the patterns of fortune, wealth, longevity and happiness, etc. Each set was well-made, and the glaze and patterns were of top quality.
But the dishes used for plating were still too fancy: "Aunt Feng, do you have pure white porcelain dishes?"
Cook Feng was a little stunned. Thinking she had misheard, she asked again, "Pure white porcelain?"
"Yes, these dishes are not suitable for tomorrow's dishes."
Cook Feng brought her to a shelf and lifted the cloth covering it: "Miss Wen, is this like this?"
Wen Zhenyi looked at the many white porcelain bowls and plates piled on the shelves, but they were all covered in dust, and it seemed that they had not been used for a long time.
She reached into the basket and took out a porcelain plate, looking it over from left to right. The texture was very good.
The bowls and plates on this shelf all have white bases and are not very fancy. Some of the plates have a circle of cloud patterns on the edge, which adds a very elegant embellishment.
Cook Feng didn't say anything, but just stood aside and watched her choose tableware. Although she had some doubts in her heart, the young master had instructed her to listen to her, so they had no objection.
Wen Zhenyi considered it as a whole and decided to choose pure white porcelain tableware: "Aunt Feng, use this set of pure white tableware."
"Miss Wen, it's not that I don't trust you, but isn't it a bit inappropriate to use white tableware for the master's birthday banquet, and such plain tableware at that?"
"No, after you make it tomorrow, you'll understand that using overly fancy tableware will actually affect the beauty of the dish."
After hearing her say this, Cook Feng stopped talking. If anything went wrong, they wouldn't have too many problems with the young master taking the blame.
"Then I'll have someone clean it out."
"Thank you."
"Miss Wen, you're too polite."
After Wen Zhenyi came out, he went to find Cook Li: "Aunt Li, please take me to the food storage. I need to get the ingredients out."
Cook Li nodded and said, "Miss Wen, come with me." Then she called a few servants to help get the things.
Wen Zhenyi had been to the food warehouse before and had people move high-end ingredients such as abalone, shark fin, bird's nest, fish lips, etc. to the kitchen.
Old Lady Wen and the others looked at these things. Some of them were familiar, but some were unfamiliar. "Yi Yi, what are these?"
"This is bird's nest, this is shark fin, this is fish lips..." Wen Zhenyi told them one by one, so that when they need them tomorrow, they won't be clueless.
Ma Yinghe picked up a piece of bird's nest and looked at it: "Is this bird's nest?"
"Well, but these ingredients need to be processed in advance, otherwise they won't be available tomorrow."
Wen Yongman looked at a box of abalone, which was bigger than his palm: "This abalone is so big."
"It's rare to find such a large abalone."
Old Lady Wen also found it strange. The largest item they had seen sold at the market was only one-third of its value. "This is also considered a rare item."
Wen Zhenyi asked his servants to bring a clean large basin, and asked them to put all the things that needed to be soaked into the basin and add clean water. They could be used tomorrow.
Chef Li looked at the ingredients in the basin and asked, "Is it okay to just soak like this?"
Wen Zhenyi then explained what needed to be done during this period: "Tomorrow morning, I will go buy the ingredients first, and then come over to deal with it after I finish buying them."
"Okay, Steward Yu will pick you up in person tomorrow."
Wen Zhenyi and the others left Cheng's house and took a stroll in the market. Now that Buddha Jumps Over the Wall was missing pork, she needed to see if there was anything that could be used as a substitute.
The Wen family also followed her around, while Wen Chengwen and Old Man Wen went to find the boss who sold mutton and beef, and the cattle and sheep went into the water.
Ma Yinghe and Old Lady Wen went to buy some vegetables for the family to eat today.
Wen Yongman watched her wandering around: "Sister, what are you looking for?"
"I'm looking for an alternative ingredient."
Wen Yongnan looked at her: "What ingredients?"
"There's a dish that requires pork legs, but now because of a pig disease, there's no pork legs. I'm thinking of what to use instead."
"How about some bacon or ham from home?"
Wen Zhenyi's eyes lit up and he turned to look at Wen Yongnan: "Brother, you are so smart."
Wen Yongnan felt a little uncomfortable with her sudden praise: "I just remembered that Dad didn't sell all the pork before, and Grandma made bacon out of fear of wasting it. She would cook it when she was out of meat."
Wen Zhenyi's eyes were filled with smiles. How could she have forgotten about this? If the fresh pigs were sick, then the old pigs must have been healthy. If bacon was added, the taste would be very good.
Finally solved a difficult problem.
When Wen Yongnan saw her brows relaxed, he knew that her worries had been solved, and a smile appeared on his face.
Wen Yongman pulled her hand: "Sister, what are we eating today?"
"I'll make you some snacks when I get home." Wen Zhenyi said that and then pulled him to find Ma Yinghe.
They have nothing to do today, so they plan to go home and have a good rest, as they will be busy tomorrow.
After returning home, Wen Zhenyi used flour and brown sugar to make cat ears for Wen Yongman and asked him to take them to share with his friends. He was so happy that his eyes almost curved into crescents.
Mrs. Wen said helplessly: "Just spoil him."
Wen Zhenyi stuck out his tongue and said, "Isn't he my brother?" Then he put the remaining cat ears on the table and said, "Brother, eat cat ears."
Wen Yongnan picked up a piece of cat ears and said, "It looks pretty good."
"Does it look like a kitten's ears?"
“Yes, they are quite similar.”
Ma Yinghe sat next to her: "Did you give some to your Grandpa Shen and the others?"
Wen Zhen nodded: "Let them go. I may not have time to cook for them at noon tomorrow."
"I asked your father to tell you when he went to deliver the food."
"That's good. Otherwise, I'm afraid I'll forget it tomorrow when I get busy."
At Zhu Tao's home in the village, Zhu Dafu's parents were discussing something in the room.
"Dad, we're out of money. Dafu and his grandparents are in this state now. How about we sell the land at a low price?"
Zhu Dafu's father now looks haggard. He couldn't understand why two people who were fine woke up and became mute and paralyzed in bed.
"If I sell it cheap, what will I do next?"
"This won't work, and that won't work. There are so many mouths to feed at home, and work to do in the fields. What about Dafu's illness? Will my parents' illnesses be cured?"
"What's the point of you yelling at me? Now it's sold at a low price, and there's a northwest wind behind it?"
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