Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and Gu Xingzhi had already made arrangements with Yao Niang to prepare a small banquet at home later in the evening.
Today, the Gu family also gave all the servants the day off, allowing those with families in Shuojing City to return home for a reunion. Following the instructions of their masters, the servants prepared the ingredients needed for the small banquet at home and then went home as well.
Only those like Bitao, who had no one else at home, remained in the mansion to continue taking care of them.
The Gu family had only arrived in Shuojing a little over a decade ago and had no children born into the family. As a result, most of the servants in the mansion had left, making the spacious house seem exceptionally empty.
When Gu Yaoniang arrived home, Gu Xingzhi and Qiaoniang were still busy with the shop and had not yet returned home.
The once grand Gu family mansion was now only managed by Yao Niang.
Yu Erniang is still staying in the guest room of the Gu family. Bi Shuang is fast, so Yao Niang asked her to run a errand to tell Yu Erniang that she would have dinner with them tonight.
Yu Erniang was the same Li Niangzi that Yao Niang had rescued a month ago. Her maiden name was Yu, and she was the second child in her family. She had an older sister who was very excited when she was born, but she was surprised to find that she was also a daughter. They didn't give her a special name, and she was called Erniang (Second Sister) from a young age.
Ever since the old doctor gave his permission to move Yu Erniang, Yaoniang had someone bring Yu Erniang back to the Gu family to be cared for.
When Yu Erniang learned what Yaoniang had done for her that day, she was very grateful. As soon as she felt a little better, she hurriedly thanked Yaoniang. Gu Yaoniang naturally told her to relax and take good care of herself.
Just then, Wang Zhilan brought Yao Niang various recipes collected by her mother.
Yao Niang was not on guard against Yu Er Niang, and when Bi Shuang came to report, she simply walked around the screen. Upon seeing these prescriptions, Yao Niang was naturally overjoyed.
But then he sighed, "It's a pity that the pastry chefs at Jin Yu Lou are not quite up to par. Although I can do it, there's always something to do, and I'm constantly running around like a headless chicken. I can't possibly do everything myself at Jin Yu Lou."
She was somewhat disappointed and simply instructed Bishuang to keep the prescription safe.
Yu Erniang, however, heard Yao Niang's words clearly from her bed. Before she left the Li family, she made pastries, candied fruits, and nuts every day. As for her skills in making pastries, she was very confident.
Already somewhat worried about having no way to repay the kindness, upon hearing this news, he volunteered to help when Yao Niang came over again.
Yao Niang was well aware of Yu Er Niang's culinary skills. Since arriving in Shuojing, she would occasionally buy some of the pastries and candied fruits made by Yu Er Niang.
It takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone, and she shouldn't have had enough rest, yet she's still lying in bed.
Although Yao Niang also very much hoped that Yu Er Niang would work at Jin Yu Lou, she was so badly injured when she was rescued that Yao Niang was not at ease letting her start working in the fields so early.
Seeing that Yu Erniang even seemed inclined to leave immediately despite her limp, Yaoniang laid down three rules for her—
First, you must rest and recuperate at home until you are completely recovered before you are allowed to go back to work.
Secondly, wages must be paid at the normal market price; Yu Erniang is not allowed to work for free at Jinyulou just to repay a debt of gratitude.
As for the third point, it was suggested by Yu Erniang. Before she fully recovered and could get out of bed, Yaoniang could bring the recipe to her and study it together, working together to figure out some cooking tips. This way, Yu Erniang wouldn't feel ashamed of being idle, and the current pastry chefs at Jin Yu Lou could also get some guidance.
Yesterday's golden ham pastry was something that Yao Niang and Yu Er Niang researched together and then made in the kitchen of Jin Yu Lou.
Yao Niang strolled over to the Gu family's kitchen. She had planned to cook for the whole family today, so she prepared the ingredients and then left.
Autumn is the perfect time to enjoy crabs.
The batch of hairy crabs that Gu Xingzhi bought were all plump and juicy, with even their legs looking very robust.
Gu Yaoniang poked at the claws of the blue crab in the bucket, and seeing that it had its pincers out as if it wanted to pinch her, she quickly withdrew her hand.
Then he grabbed the straps to tie up the sleeves that were in the way and began preparing the dishes.
She had originally assigned Bizhu and Bishuang small tasks such as peeling garlic and washing ginger. But then she suddenly remembered that the two were skilled in martial arts and should be adept at using kitchen knives, so she assigned them the task of chopping vegetables as well.
Pork knuckles need to be tender and flavorful to taste good, which takes a lot of time to prepare. So Gu Yaoniang first scored the pork knuckles, then deep-fried them until golden brown, sprinkled in soybeans, and braised them in a pot.
Then a whole chicken was submerged in another pot and boiled without any seasoning.
Only then did they begin preparing the other dishes.
Steamed pork belly with rice flour is a must-have. Gu Yaoniang doesn't like greasy food, so she specially chose seven-layered pork belly.
Then, the pork tenderloin was cut into small pieces, coated with egg and sweet potato starch, seasoned with salt and spices, and fried into crispy pork.
The kitchen staff had already prepared small, thin pancakes as instructed. Yao Niang stir-fried shredded tofu and shredded meat, wrapped them in the pancakes, and made them into delicate and adorable little rolls. Then she arranged them into flower shapes on a plate.
The aroma of chicken had already filled the kitchen, carrying a hint of meaty fragrance and a faint fishy smell.
Yao Niang gently poked the chicken in with her chopsticks. Seeing that no blood came out, she scooped it out.
Bizhu was strong, so I handed the chicken to her and told her to wait until it cooled down a bit before tearing it into small strips by hand.
Yao Niang herself, together with Bi Shuang, filtered the chicken soup three times with fine gauze until the soup was clear, and reserved it as broth for cooking cabbage.
Gu Xingzhi and Qiaoniang returned home relatively late. When Ta Yu and Xie Xiang drove into the Gu family home, the sun had not yet set in the west.
The cold shredded chicken and delicate rolls were already on the table. Yao Niang poured hot oil over chili peppers, minced scallions, ginger, and garlic, and added chopped coriander to make a sauce, which she then poured over the shredded chicken. It looked very tempting.
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