Chapter 74: Hot Pot and Barbecue
Madam Jin picked up a small piece of hawthorn cake with her handkerchief, her face showing reluctance, as if she had an instinctive aversion to it. However, as if trying to prove something, she still put it in her mouth.
A short while later, her eyes lit up and she exclaimed, "It tastes very good!"
Jin Zhen was stunned. He hated hawthorns just like his mother, so he had never eaten them since he was a child.
"Mother, you're not lying to me, are you? Are you just acting? I don't believe it. You've hated hawthorn for most of your life, and you don't like any of the ways it's prepared. How could you possibly accept it all of a sudden?"
Madam Jin snorted, "Haven't you heard that there are mountains beyond mountains and people beyond people? This hawthorn cake tastes really good, you should try it if you don't believe me."
She looked at Yu Wan again and asked curiously, "How did you make this? Why does the hawthorn taste so bland? I've always had indigestion, and the doctor always tells me to eat some hawthorn every day, but I really can't swallow it. I didn't expect that the one you made would taste so good."
Yu Wan smiled and said, "Madam, if you like it, I will tell Young Master Jin the recipe later, and then you can have someone make it for you according to this recipe."
Madam Jin was very pleased. "Good, good, that's wonderful!"
She knew what Yu Wan meant; it was late, so they should talk quickly.
"It's like this, Madam Yu, our distinguished guest said she wasn't satisfied with her meal today and wants to eat again tomorrow, but she doesn't want to eat the same dishes twice. So even if we serve the improved dishes tomorrow, she probably won't touch them. But we've prepared twenty dishes for each of our ten meals today, a total of two hundred dishes. The Jin family's chefs have run out of ideas. What do you think..."
Yu Wan thought for a moment, "I have an idea."
Everyone stared at her face, looking on with curiosity.
Madam Jin hurriedly asked, "What method? Tell me quickly."
Yu Wan laughed and said, "Hot pot and barbecue."
Everyone looked disappointed, saying that this was nothing new and just the most ordinary thing.
Jin Zhen scoffed, "I thought you could come up with something good. This? What's so great about hot pot and barbecue? You can't even make them look fancy, and they all taste the same. Are you trying to ruin the Jin family with this terrible idea?"
He casually tossed a hawthorn cake into his mouth, chewed it fiercely, and suddenly his expression went blank.
"This...this is made from hawthorn? How can it taste so good?"
Old Madam Jin wanted to kick him out, shouting, "Get out of here!"
Jin Zhen refused to leave; he wanted to hear Yu Wan's reasons.
Yu Wan explained, “This distinguished guest has tasted all the delicacies in the world. Most of the food she eats must have been served to her by others. I guess, given her noble status, she probably rarely has the opportunity to see the ingredients in their natural state, let alone freely combine and enjoy them according to her own preferences. Hot pot is fine, barbecue is fine too. She can freely combine them and do it herself; isn't that a kind of enjoyment?”
“But…” Jin Yizhuang said worriedly, “But this distinguished guest is far too important to handle herself…”
Yu Wan smiled and stood up. "That's all I can think of. There's nothing else I can do. If there's nothing else, I'll go back and rest."
Jin Zhen, however, did not intend to let her leave so easily, and asked,
"What exactly do you need to prepare for hot pot? It's nothing more than boiling a pot of soup, making a few kinds of dipping sauces, and then adding some vegetables and various meats. What's so special about that? It's fine for everyday meals at home. If you're serving this to your honored guests, aren't you afraid they'll blame you for being negligent?"
Yu Wan smiled and said, "You're talking about the simplest combination. There are so many choices for dipping sauces. Besides chopped cilantro, minced garlic, soy sauce, vinegar, and sesame seeds, there are also diced meat, peanuts, and so on. I can make hundreds of combinations. As for soup bases, there are also many kinds. This is no simpler than making a table of exquisite dishes. And then there's barbecue. What kind of sauce to use to marinate the ingredients, how long to grill them. Whether it's pan-fried chicken cutlets or grilled lamb chops, all kinds of ingredients can be grilled to bring out many different flavors. Different methods will result in different tastes."
As soon as she said that, those people stared at her with strange looks, and some were even drooling.
What should I do? It sounds delicious!
Madam Jin asked with a smile, "Madam Yu, how long will it take to prepare all this?"
Yu Wan smiled and said, "Two hours is necessary."
The group looked at the sky and said, "It will be dawn in two hours."
Madam Jin hesitated, "I'm afraid the Jin family's chefs don't have much experience. Could you please cook for us yourself?"
“Sure,” Yu Wan said confidently. “I can help, but I have one condition.”
Everyone looked at her, speculating whether she wanted mountains of gold and silver, making exorbitant demands.
Yu Wan said, "I need to sleep tonight and I'll get up early tomorrow morning to start preparing, so we won't be able to eat hot pot and barbecue until noon."
Everyone was in a dilemma. This third princess loved food and wanted to eat as soon as she opened her eyes. How could they make her wait? What if they upset her?
"Lunch? That's our honored guest's fourth meal. What about the first three meals? What should we serve her?"
Yu Wan said, "That's your business. I'll write a list of ingredients when I get back, so please make sure you have everything you need. I won't bother you any longer, I'll head back now, goodbye."
The next morning, she got up and found someone waiting in the yard.
"Madam Yu, we've come to take you to our distinguished guest's villa."
Yu Wan smiled and said, "No rush, I haven't had breakfast yet."
The maids exchanged glances, not daring to urge them on. They had been instructed beforehand to escort the person over with utmost respect.
Yu Wan ate her breakfast with great pleasure, while the maids sat quietly in the courtyard waiting. Sometimes they would pace back and forth anxiously, and sometimes they would look at each other and exchange glances.
Zhu Zhifeng heard about the big meal and couldn't wait to go.
"Awan, I really want to eat it too."
Xue Xiujun looked at Yu Wan expectantly, "Boss lady, our food court already has hot pot restaurants, which is already quite good. From what you're saying, today's feast will be even more lavish."
Yu Wan laughed and said, "Of course, this is very expensive. After all, the food court is located in Sui County, and many people can't afford it, so we can only do a budget version."
"When can we eat it too? Don't just focus on making it for the Third Princess, give some benefits to us family members too!" Xue Xiujun almost drooled.
Zhu Zhifeng nodded eagerly, indicating her agreement.
Yu Wan said, "Okay, okay, I'll make it for you when I have the chance. It's not difficult."
Before leaving, He Jing whispered in her ear, "Don't worry, I'm here."
Yu Wan nodded and followed the maids out of the Jin family's residence and into a luxurious carriage.
The entrance to the villa was heavily guarded, and people were only allowed to pass after confirming that no one was carrying weapons or suspicious items.
Yu Wan followed them into the kitchen, where the chefs of the grand restaurant were busy preparing food.
This was the third princess's second meal.
They looked at her as if they'd seen a ghost.
The girl wasn't in a hurry at all; she was leisurely strolling around.
Cooking for distinguished guests is no small matter, so why isn't she nervous or afraid at all?
The maids were the old lady's head maids, and they had never done any manual labor before. Now they had to follow Yu Wan's orders and were responsible for picking and washing vegetables.
Yu Wan, on the other hand, chopped vegetables and meat, and made marinades to preserve the ingredients.
When the chefs started preparing the third meal, Yu Wan finally started cooking, stir-frying and deep-frying as needed.
When the chefs' third meal was ready to be served, Yu Wan went to set up the restaurant.
In less than half an hour, the restaurant was set up as a buffet, with hundreds of ingredients on the table, including more than a hundred kinds of condiments.
Everything was ready, the soup pot was bubbling and boiling, and it was time to start cooking.
Madam Jin instructed that the Third Princess must never see Yu Wan.
The maids planned to take her away quickly, but the Third Princess found her by following her scent.
The Third Princess was twenty-four years old. Her skin was as white as snow, her figure was well-proportioned with a slight plumpness, and her features were exquisite. She was breathtakingly beautiful.
Yu Wan was so captivated by her beauty that she momentarily forgot to bow and greet her.
Rumor has it that this princess has a bad temper, but after meeting her in person, it turns out she's not so scary after all.
She spotted Yu Wan at a glance and guessed her identity.
"Are you the Lady Yu they've been talking about?"
Yu Wan replied politely, "Yes, this humble woman, Yu Wan, greets your distinguished guest."
The third princess didn't say anything, her gaze sweeping over the countless ingredients. "What are all these? They're not like what I usually see."
Yu Wan was worried that the princess wouldn't eat it after she left, which would be a complete waste of all her preparations. She gave a brief explanation, also outlining how to eat it.
The Jin family won't let her stand out.
The third princess didn't really want to use her brain.
"I've had hot pot before, but it's not quite the same as this. Why don't you come with me? Since you know about these things, it'll definitely taste better if you cook it."
Yu Wan smiled and said, "Distinguished guest, you are of noble birth. I can certainly stay and serve you, but I suggest you try to put together your own outfit. It will be quite interesting."
Princess Chaohui was very impatient. "No, I want you to come. Hurry up, I'm starving."
Yu Wan stood next to the Third Princess's seat, "What would our distinguished guest like to eat?"
The Third Princess said, "You decide what to do."
Yu Wan went to prepare the seasonings for her first.
The third princess saw her adding various seasonings with a small spoon in the condiment area, just like when she was a child playing house, which looked very interesting.
I wonder what it will taste like in the end?
Yu Wan placed the bowl of dipping sauce she had prepared in front of her, along with dozens of small dishes, each containing a different dipping sauce.
"Honored guest, I suggest you eat the meat first, then the vegetables."
The Third Princess laughed and said, "That's exactly what I was thinking too. I love eating meat the most."
Her father-in-law coughed, reminding her not to forget to conceal her identity.
The third princess didn't care at all. "Forget it, forget it. It's just a meal. Why so many rules? She's just a young girl. What can she do to me?"
She pulled Yu Wan along, "Hot pot tastes better with more people, right? Go pick out some dipping sauces yourself and sit down to eat with me."
Yu Wan dared not disobey, so she sat down to the side.
She held the chopsticks and listened to the princess's instructions. Whatever the princess said she wanted to eat, she would cook it for her.
The Third Princess ate heartily and was in a great mood. When she got tired, she took a break and stood up to stroll around the room with Yu Wan.
"You don't seem to be a member of the Kim family, do you?"
“I am from Sui County, in the north,” Yu Wan replied.
“Sui County? Isn’t there a war going on there?” The Third Princess looked at her father-in-law. “Did He Jing disappear there? I haven’t heard from him for so long, I miss him quite a bit.”
Her father-in-law gave her a meaningful look, "Miss, be careful what you say."
The Third Princess snorted, "You old hag, always following me around, complaining about this and that. Get out of here, you're not needed here anymore!"
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