This wasn't Gu Yaoniang's first visit to the Wang family.
After the summer vacation last year, Wang Zhilan also invited Gu Yaoniang to visit her home.
At that time, because Wang Zhilan told her family and Gu Yaoniang pulled her out of the river, the Wang family members were very enthusiastic towards her.
Madam Wang, in particular, was very fond of her.
He held her hand and thanked her profusely, praising her beauty and even considering adopting her as his goddaughter.
Gu Yaoniang took it as a polite refusal and declined it amicably.
She was very grateful for the Wang family's affection, and since Jin Yulou used the recipes that Madam Wang had collected, Gu Yaoniang would order someone to pack a portion and send it to the Wang family every time Jin Yulou served a new dish.
Gu Yaoniang came down from Zhaocai and carried the food box herself. On the way, she met Wang Zhilan, who was walking out in a hurry.
"Didn't they say it was already past noon?"
Seeing that Yao Niang was carrying a food box, she hurriedly reached out to take it.
Gu Yaoniang smiled and said, "I brought you some new dishes. I just finished cooking them, and I was afraid they would get cold, so I came over a little earlier."
Are you blaming me?
Wang Zhilan took the food box, seemingly with some difficulty, but instead of handing it to the maid beside her, she carried it forward herself.
She affectionately linked arms with Gu Yaoniang and giggled, "How could that be? I'd love for you to live in our mansion."
Before they knew it, they had arrived at the Wang family's unique garden.
Gu Yaoniang noticed that Wang Zhilan was carefully moving her fingers, as if she was having some difficulty. After a moment's thought, she suddenly realized what was going on.
It must have been because the food box was a bit heavy, and Wang Zhilan's other hand was constantly holding hers, so she couldn't free her hand to switch.
They're exhausted.
"Why didn't you give it to Chunying?"
Gu Yaoniang glanced at Chunying, who was walking not far behind the two, but did not see anything amiss with her.
Wang Zhilan's insistence on carrying the food box despite all the effort was somewhat puzzling.
So she deliberately lowered her voice, as if it were a whisper between sisters, and asked in Wang Zhilan's ear.
Wang Zhilan was taken aback for a moment: "You don't mind?"
"What do you mind?"
Gu Yaoniang was somewhat puzzled.
Wang Zhilan breathed a sigh of relief and eagerly called Chunying over, handing her the food box. Then, she affectionately took Gu Yaoniang's arm and shook it, saying, "I was afraid you'd be unhappy. You brought the food box yourself when you came in. If I had taken it and given it to Chunying, wouldn't that have been embarrassing for you?"
She chuckled softly, a little embarrassed as she spoke.
Gu Yaoniang was taken aback, then her heart was filled with emotion: "Silly girl, how could that be?"
She gently raised her arm and nuzzled Wang Zhilan. The two looked at each other, their eyes filled with smiles.
The paths in Wang Family Garden are straight and crisscrossed, unlike other courtyards which have winding paths leading to secluded spots.
Because they didn't take any detours, the two quickly arrived at the main courtyard where Madam Wang lived.
Before Gu Yaoniang could even curtsy, Madam Wang had already firmly supported Gu Yaoniang's elbows: "Good child, no need for such formalities. You've finally come to see this old woman again!"
Gu Yaoniang smiled lightly, "Aunt Qin is in the prime of her life, youthful and everlasting. How could she be old? Even if she went out and said she was my sister, people would probably believe it."
Madam Wang laughed heartily: "You child, you have such a sweet tongue."
Her eyes lit up immediately when she saw the large food box in Chunying's hand, which was engraved with the Gu family's emblem: "Why are you still being so polite? You've come all this way, why did you bring any food!"
She was actually quite looking forward to it. Ah Han gave all of her treasured recipes to Gu Yaoniang. At first, she was a little unhappy, after all, these were recipes she had pieced together from various sources over the years.
The child didn't understand, so he handed it over to his friend so easily.
But Gu Yaoniang was indeed very likable. She would give him dividends and send him new dishes every time she introduced them.
Her slight displeasure vanished instantly.
Professional matters should be left to professionals.
Kitchen chores should be left to people like Gu Yaoniang, whose families own restaurants. Keeping them for yourself would be a waste.
Having figured this out, Madam Wang's affection for Gu Yaoniang became even more genuine.
She stared at the untouched food box, her eyes filled with a longing look.
Gu Yaoniang chuckled inwardly and said, "Isn't it crab season now? I raised some hairy crabs in the lotus pond downstairs last year, and they're ready to eat now."
I learned how to make 'Crab-Stuffed Orange' from your recipe and brought it here for you to try.
Lady Wang also remembered the crab-stuffed orange; she was deeply impressed by this exotic recipe.
She wanted to do it back then too.
I was pinched by that fierce male crab at first, and after finally managing to get the crab meat out, I ran into trouble when it came to steaming it.
She steamed it for a little too long the first time, and her husband praised the newly burned charcoal in the mansion, saying it smelled of orange peel.
The second time, she steamed it for only the time it takes for an incense stick to burn before the entire orange collapsed. It looked completely unappetizing.
The third time, she learned from her mistake and steamed it for only the time it takes to brew a cup of tea. It looked alright, but when she tasted it, there was neither the freshness of oranges nor the savory aroma of hairy crabs; instead, it had a fishy smell of river mud. It had absolutely nothing to do with the fresh, sweet, and fragrant flavor described in the recipe.
She then simply stopped touching crab-stuffed oranges altogether.
When Yao Niang mentioned that she had brought crab-stuffed oranges, her eyes lit up, and she quickly told the maid beside her to bring the crab-stuffed oranges up.
Gu Yaoniang stopped the little maid and turned to Madam Wang, saying, "Aunt Qin, the crab-stuffed oranges have gotten a bit cold on the way here. Let's ask the kitchen to reheat them in a steamer before bringing them up."
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