There were two men knocking at the Pei family's door. One was in his twenties, looking ordinary and rather honest. The other was probably in his thirties, tall and burly, with a full beard, and looked like someone who wasn't someone to be trifled with. When they saw Wen, the burly man asked, "Is this Miss Xu's home?"
When Wen saw the two men looking for Yu Niang, her expression changed slightly. She was afraid they were here to cause trouble. She was still thinking about how to change her words, but then she felt vaguely that the man in his twenties looked familiar. She opened her mouth and heard him say, "Auntie, don't you recognize me? Don't worry, I'm Chef Zhou from the Bafang Inn in Raozhou City. When I first came to Raozhou City over a year ago, I stayed at the Bafang Inn. In early autumn, Master Xu went to Raozhou City to sell wine."
After Xu Qinyu taught him a few dishes and some cooking tips, he started calling her Master Xu.
This person is indeed Zhou Daqing, and the person next to him is Liang Yi, the captain of the Liang family.
Captain Liang also said, "Don't be afraid, Auntie. We are not bad people. We came to see Miss Xu to ask for something."
Even if he missed and coveted the food made by Miss Xu, he would not come to her house to ask for food, especially in the middle of the night. It was obvious that he really had something urgent to do.
Wen thought carefully and realized that the younger man was indeed the chef at the inn she had stayed at in Raozhou City. She then hurriedly said, "Yu Niang is still resting. Why are you two here in the middle of the night? Is there something urgent?" She was a little puzzled. Yu Niang was just a young lady who knew how to cook. What could have caused the two of them to come to her house in the middle of the night? Could it be to make her a meal? Even if they were looking for Yu Niang to make food, there was no need to be so anxious in the middle of the night.
Xu Qinyu was also awakened by the knock on the door. She put on her clothes and slipped on her cloth boots before coming out. Seeing the two people at the door, she immediately recognized them and said with a smile, "Chef Zhou, Captain Liang, why are you here?"
Chef Zhou said, "I have something to ask the young lady."
It was still snowing outside and it was a bit cold. Wen invited the two of them into the kitchen, boiled some water and made tea for them.
Xu Qinyu had already heard the purpose of the two people's visit.
The two came for the mother of Zhu Taishou of Raozhou City.
Governor Zhu is fifty years old and was born into a poor family. He has an old mother at home who is over seventy years old, which is considered a long life. However, Mrs. Zhu's health has been getting worse in the past two years. When the weather got cold this year, Mrs. Zhu could hardly get out of bed. Her body became weaker day by day. In recent days, she has been unconscious more often than awake. A doctor was invited to see her, and he said that Mrs. Zhu has reached the end of her life and is afraid that it will be within the next two days. He asked Governor Zhu to prepare for her funeral.
I wish the old lady had lived a very old age and was in good health, so it could be considered a happy funeral.
However, Old Lady Zhu had been refusing to eat or drink for the past few days. Governor Zhu invited several famous chefs from Raozhou City to come to his house to cook for Old Lady Zhu, but Old Lady Zhu could not eat after just one bite. She had not eaten or drunk for several days. The governor felt sad and hoped that Old Lady Zhu could have a full meal before she passed away, so that she could die peacefully instead of starving like this.
Zhu Taishou knew Liang Yi and had eaten with him before. Liang Yi told him that he once had food cooked by a young lady who was about ten years old. It was so delicious and the taste was endless. He still remembered it to this day.
Prefect Zhu had invited all the chefs from the restaurants in Raozhou City, but Old Lady Zhu couldn't eat anything. Desperate, he asked someone to invite Liang Yi to the prefect's residence and carefully inquired about the young lady who cooked for him in the past to see if her cooking skills were really good.
Liang Yitong said to him, "Don't worry, Your Excellency. This young lady's cooking is even better than the chef at Zuixianlou. I don't know why the Madam is reluctant to eat, but perhaps we can ask that young lady to try it."
Governor Zhu knew that Liang Yi was also a gourmet. He had eaten all over Raozhou City, and he was still obsessed with his cooking skills. He must have some skills.
So Governor Zhu asked his cook where she lived and whether he could invite her to his house to cook a meal for his mother, and he was willing to give her a reward.
Liang Yi scratched his head and told Xu Qinyu, "Zhu Taishou is a good official, and I don't want to let him down. Although I don't know where Miss Xu lives, she was staying at the Bafang Inn before. I thought maybe Manager Zhou knew about it, so I went to the Bafang Inn."
Shopkeeper Zhou did know that Xu Qinyu lived in Yuanbao Town, but he didn't know the exact location. Thinking that Madam Lu should know, he went to find Madam Lu at night. Madam Lu had already learned from Zhen Wu where Miss Xu lived, so she told Shopkeeper Zhou. After Shopkeeper Zhou came back, he asked his son to take Captain Liang on this trip.
After Liang Yi finished speaking, he told Xu Qinyu, "Miss Xu, you don't know this. Governor Zhu is truly an upright official, wholeheartedly concerned for the people. During the diarrheal outbreak in early summer, the new emperor sent a secret letter ordering Governor Zhu to seal off Yuanbao Town and the three villages below it and massacre all the people in the towns and villages. It was Governor Zhu who forced the situation. When the diarrheal outbreak in Yuanbao Town subsided, Governor Zhu wrote another secret memorial to the capital, which saved the day and prevented the massacre."
Speaking of the new emperor's actions, Liang Yi's face looked a little ugly.
These people guarded the border city, protecting not only the nobles and royal family of the Dasheng Dynasty, but also the people of the Dasheng Dynasty. However, the new emperor did not regard the people as human beings at all.
Xu Qinyu then realized that she was almost massacred when she had diarrhea. Her face changed slightly and she said, "Please wait a moment, I'll go back to the room to change clothes and then go with you." It was cold that day, and she definitely couldn't wear this outfit out.
Even if these things hadn't happened, she would actually be willing to take the trip.
Liang Yi immediately said, "Then let's go outside and wait for the young lady."
After saying that, he and Zhou Daqing went out, got in the carriage and waited.
Xu Qinyu went back to the house and changed into a thick blue-gray coat. It didn't look very good, but it was thick and warm. Even though it wasn't too cold because of the snow in the southwest, the carriage was a bit drafty. It would take an hour and a half to get from Yuanbao Town to Raozhou City if you walked fast, and at least two hours if you walked slowly, so you needed to dress warmly.
Wen was worried about Yu Niang going alone, so she went back to her room and changed into a thick long coat. She then told her mother, Gui, "Mother, Yu Niang and I definitely won't be able to make it back in time for breakfast and dinner this morning, and the restaurant isn't closed on that day. This morning, I'll go to Aunt Bai's place and tell Cheng'er to put up a notice outside the restaurant saying they have something to do and need to take a day off. We apologize to the customers."
Gui already knew what was going on and patted Wen's hand. "Don't worry, go to Raozhou City with Yu Niang. I'm at home."
Wen nodded and went out with Yu Niang.
Before leaving, Yu Niang took down the pickled ham hanging in the kitchen and cut off a large piece.
She pickled this ham at the end of last winter, barely a year ago, and she hasn't eaten a single bite of it yet.
It takes a month to pickle ham, and the rest of the time is fermentation. Half a year is the shortest fermentation time. It is barely edible after half a year of fermentation and has a bit of ham aroma.
Generally, ham tastes best when it is fermented for two or three years. However, if you want to eat ham raw, it must be fermented for at least three years. The ham fermented for three years has a salty, delicate taste when eaten raw, and the fragrance lingers on your lips and teeth. Even after it is eaten, the fragrance will linger in your mouth for a long time.
Xu Qinyu originally wanted to ferment it for three years before eating it.
However, she opened a restaurant this year and also sold wine. She currently has about five thousand taels of silver on hand, which is enough to pickle a lot of ham. However, she has no place to store the ham. Her house is just big enough for living. She has been planning to ask if there is any house for sale in Guihua Lane these days. She wants to buy a yard of similar size to the one she lives in now, and use it specifically as a warehouse. Not only can she store the ham she will pickle next, but also other vegetable jars and the like.
Now that she was going to cook for Old Lady Zhu, and she was on her deathbed, she had to find a way to make her want to eat, so she used this ham that was almost a year old.
When Wen saw Yu Niang taking the ham, she was surprised. She thought that Yu Niang's cooking skills were so good, why did she still need to touch the ham?
She remembered how much Yu Niang treasured this ham, and she said that after three years of fermentation, she would invite them to taste the raw ham slices. She would look at it from time to time.
She wrapped the ham and put it in a basket. In the basket were her homemade mushroom powder, broad bean paste, fermented bean curd in a wooden barrel, some pickles, and a bag of rice.
Yinmi is glutinous rice that has been soaked, steamed, and then dried in the shade. It can be used to make porridge. It tastes very good, is easier to cook, and is soft, sticky, and sweet.
Now that the weather is cold, the restaurant has added a new dish of yin rice and brown sugar porridge for breakfast, which is very popular. Wen and her friends also like this yin rice and brown sugar porridge for breakfast on weekdays.
Carrying the basket, Xu Qinyu and Wen went out.
There were not enough seats in the carriage, and since the two women were women, it was not convenient for them to ride in the same carriage with a man from another family, so they went to the horse shop in the town to rent one. Zhou Daqing and Liang Yi were both drivers, and Liang Yi drove the rented carriage to Raozhou City.
It was exactly the middle of the night, at Chou time.
It was snowing on the road, so the carriage didn't dare to go too fast. By the time we arrived at Raozhou City, it was already bright, around three quarters past noon, and we had been traveling for more than two hours.
Liang Yi did not delay and sent the person directly to the prefectural government.
After getting off the carriage, Xu Qinyu glanced at the prefectural mansion.
The prefectural government's residence was much larger and more imposing than the county magistrate's residence in the town.
Liang Yi took the two of them through the back door, which connected to the backyard. The backyard was where Zhu Taishou's family lived. Zhu Taishou's father had passed away many years ago, leaving only his old mother. He had already married and had children, and now had grandchildren.
The backyard of the prefect's mansion was quite large, but there were about a dozen people in Prefect Zhu's family, including servants, so it was just enough for people to live in. The backyard was kept clean and had some flowers and plants placed in it, but there were not many, so it was quite quiet.
Liang Yi took Xu Qinyu to see the prefect Zhu Wenyi.
Zhu Wenyi couldn't help feeling disappointed when he saw Xu Qinyu. The young lady in front of him was really too young, with a fair and pretty face. She looked only two or three years older than his granddaughter. Could she really compare to the chef of the big restaurant in the city?
In fact, just looking at Miss Xu's age and appearance, Liang Yi couldn't believe that the young lady in front of him had such cooking skills. But he had eaten there and had seen Miss Xu cooking with his own eyes, so his thoughts were naturally different.
All I can say is, don’t judge a book by its cover.
When Xu Qinyu and Wen met Governor Zhu, they bowed and saluted.
When he saw Wen, Governor Zhu was slightly stunned. His eyes could not help but linger on Wen's face for a moment, but he was worried that looking at other women like this would make people feel dissatisfied, so he suppressed his doubts and looked away.
When Xu Qinyu saw Governor Zhu, she felt that he looked quite kind and his eyes were very gentle.
Xu Qinyu said, "Greetings to the governor. How about I go and make breakfast for the old lady first?"
Zhu Taishou said hello.
Although he felt that Xu Qinyu looked too young, he would not really judge a person by their age.
Xu Qinyu and Wen went to the kitchen. Liang Yi was about to leave. Zhou Daqing thought for a moment and asked quietly, "Master Xu, would you like me to stay and help in the kitchen?"
It was still easy for Xu Qinyu to cook for one person, but she still asked Zhou Daqing to stay as a kitchen helper.
Even if Liang Yi was craving the food made by Xu Qinyu at this moment, he would not be so tactless as to leave food for her. He could not cook and could not stay to help in the kitchen, so he left first.
Zhu Taishou saw him out. When he went out the back door, he saw Zhu Taishou was worried and couldn't help but said to Zhu Taishou, "Don't worry, my lord, the old lady will definitely eat it."
He simply believed in Miss Xu's cooking skills. You know, he used to dislike the raw fish porridge made by Miss Xu. But after tasting it, he, who didn't like porridge, could drink two casseroles of fish porridge in one breath, and he is still craving it even now.
It can be seen that Miss Xu has many cooking skills. She can make things that he doesn't like to eat in a way that makes him miss them.
Prefect Zhu nodded without saying much. He was even a little absent-minded, with other things on his mind.
After Liang Yi left, Prefect Zhu went to the kitchen again and couldn't help but look at Wen. Finally, worried about his mother, he went to Old Lady Zhu's room.
Zhu, the wife of the prefect Zhu, was standing in front of her mother-in-law. Her mother-in-law was born in a poor family and her family was not wealthy. She revealed her master's identity. Her master, Zhu, the prefect Zhu, passed the imperial examination at the age of eighteen, and he married Zhu after he passed the imperial examination. At that time, the Zhu family fell in love with Zhu and asked someone to find a matchmaker.
The Zhu family was also a family of officials, but in the capital city where there were countless nobles, the Zhu family was nothing special and their family background was only average.
Zhu had a gentle personality and had lived in harmony and love with Governor Zhu over the years. Governor Zhu treated her very well and had never had any concubines except her. She also admired her mother-in-law very much, and the relationship between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had been very good over the years. So now that her mother-in-law was about to die of old age, she had been staying by her mother-in-law's side all these days, for fear that the master was busy outside and her mother-in-law might pass away at any time.
Zhu asked, "Have they arrived?"
Zhu Taishou was still thinking about something else. He nodded and said, "We're here. Breakfast is already in the kitchen."
Zhu's heart also began to feel uneasy. "I hope mother-in-law can eat some this time."
Her mother-in-law hadn't eaten for several days and she was really worried.
When Governor Zhu went to my mother's bedside, he saw that she had her eyes closed but her brows were still furrowed. Even at this moment, I was still worried about my eldest sister who had been abducted decades ago.
He couldn't help but recall his mother's appearance when she was young...
…
Xu Qinyu and Wen went to the kitchen of the prefect's mansion, which was quite big.
The Zhu family also has a chef. Prefect Zhu does not care about food, and the chef's skills are average, not even as good as the kitchen helpers in the restaurant. Old Lady Zhu didn't like the food he cooked some time ago, so Prefect Zhu invited a good chef in the city to cook in the house. The old lady ate reluctantly, and in the past few days, she hardly ate a grain of rice.
The cook of the Zhu family was a fat middle-aged man with a naturally smiling face, but at this moment he had a frown on his face, and it was obvious that he was worried about Old Madam Zhu.
Xu Qinyu asked him, "What kind of breakfast did the chef who came to cook for the old lady a few days ago make?"
The fat cook thought for a moment and said, "Breakfast is mostly wontons, meat soup, egg soup, or meat soup porridge, big meat and vegetable buns, and rice porridge and millet porridge."
"Where's the evening meal?" Xu Qinyu asked again.
The fat chef gave another answer. Breakfast was a little lighter, while dinner was basically delicacies from land and sea, mostly big pieces of meat, and too greasy. The old man was already in such a state, and he probably had no appetite to eat these.
Xu Qinyu had an idea in her mind.
She saw that although there were many ingredients in the kitchen, they were not prepared. She originally wanted to cook some Laba porridge for the old lady. Although it was not the twelfth lunar month yet, the weather was just starting to get cold, so it would be best to drink some Laba porridge. Laba porridge required many ingredients, including several kinds of beans, which needed to be soaked in advance. It was definitely too late to soak them now.
Unable to make Laba porridge, she planned to make brown sugar glutinous rice. She brought a lot of glutinous rice, which was just right for her.
Brown sugar rice porridge is very simple and convenient to make.
She asked the fat chef for some red dates and wolfberries. She first washed the red dates and wolfberries, and removed the pits from the red dates and set aside.
Brown sugar is also boiled into brown sugar juice in advance.
Clean the large pot, heat it up, add a little lard, when the oil temperature is right, add the rice, and stir-fry until it becomes fluffy and pops.
Add appropriate amount of water to the fried yin rice, bring to a boil over medium heat, then add red dates, wolfberries and brown sugar juice, and simmer over low heat for half a quarter of an hour.
Brown sugar glutinous rice porridge tastes light, with a hint of brown sugar, paired with the soft and sweet red dates. The porridge made after the glutinous rice is fried is not only thick and sweet, with full grains, but also has a hint of chewiness. The flavors are intertwined and you can't stop eating one mouthful after another.
This is easy to make, and you don’t need to cook it in small casseroles one by one. You can cook it directly in a large pot, and it is no problem to cook dozens of bowls at a time.
A bowl of brown sugar yin rice porridge like this is smaller than a clay pot of raw fish porridge at Xu Ji Restaurant, but it costs eight cents a bowl, but it is a must-order breakfast for everyone.
When Xu Qinyu was cooking brown sugar rice porridge, Zhou Daqing and the fat chef kept swallowing their saliva after smelling the aroma.
Although the fat chef didn't show it on his face, he felt the same as most people. When he saw Xu Qinyu for the first time, he felt that she was too young and her cooking skills might not be superb enough. But facts speak louder than words. As soon as he smelled the fragrance of the porridge, he knew he was wrong. Although she was young, her cooking skills were probably very good.
After all, he had only smelled the aroma but had never tasted it himself, so he could only guess at the young cook's cooking skills by saying "I'm afraid it's quite good too."
When the soup was halfway through, even the governor Zhu and Zhu, who were taking care of old lady Zhu, were alarmed.
Zhu murmured, "What a delicious smell."
It tastes better than the food cooked by the chefs who came to the mansion before. It smells like dessert, a very sweet one.
Prefect Zhu couldn't help but stand up, said a few words to his wife, asked her to look after his mother while he went to the kitchen.
Xu Qinyu cooked a big pot of brown sugar rice porridge, thinking that it was still early and the other people in the prefect's mansion must not have eaten yet. She and Wen had not eaten either, so naturally she had to cook their share as well. She simply cooked more for everyone to eat together.
She cooked rice porridge with brown sugar and asked Zhou Daqing to wash some radishes and cut them into thin strips.
In winter, radish and cabbage have become the most common vegetables, and almost every household cannot do without these two vegetables in winter.
Add salt to the shredded radish and marinate for a quarter of an hour to squeeze out the moisture, then add eggs, flour and some seasonings. She also added a little homemade mushroom powder to enhance the flavor. After mixing evenly, spread it into pancakes of similar size and fry it slowly over low heat with a little oil.
Brown sugar rice porridge and shredded radish egg pancakes are enough, no need to prepare anything else.
However, Xu Qinyu still filled two plates with the fermented bean curd she brought from the wooden barrel, and also filled two plates each with pickled side dishes, so that the breakfast was complete.
While she was making the omelet, Governor Zhu came over. Xu Qinyu also said, "Sir, breakfast is almost ready. I made brown sugar rice porridge and radish omelet. I've already fried a lot of radish omelet. You can give it to the old lady first. When I finish making the rest, the rest of the people in the mansion can also eat together."
Governor Zhu wanted to tell the young cook that his mother had not woken up yet and was still in a coma.
In the past few days, Old Madam Zhu has been sleeping for a long time, so they didn't dare to wake her up. They only brought her food when she was a little more awake.
Just as he was about to speak, a maid came hurriedly from outside, with a happy look on her face, "Sir, the old lady has woken up."
Prefect Zhu could only nod at the young cook and leave the kitchen to go back to the yard.
As he left, he couldn't help but glance at Wen again.
Wen's heart was pounding, and she didn't understand why the prefect always looked at her.
Xu Qinyu could only continue frying the shredded radish egg pancakes.
When Governor Zhu returned to the room, he found that his mother had indeed woken up and was leaning against a large soft pillow. Although she was still a little confused, she was talking to Zhu and asking what food was prepared in the kitchen.
Zhu's face was filled with joy as she whispered, "Master, mother was woken up by the aroma of the food and she said she was hungry and wanted to eat."
Governor Zhu didn't care about anything else and immediately asked the maid to go to the kitchen to serve breakfast.
The little maid quickly came over with a food box, took out the food inside and placed it on the table, including a bowl of brown sugar rice porridge, a plate of radish and egg pancakes, a small dish of moldy tofu, and two plates of pickles.
The maidservant whispered, "Mrs. Xu said this is brown sugar yin rice porridge. Yin rice is glutinous rice that has been cooked and dried naturally. She said this brown sugar yin rice porridge can nourish yin and replenish deficiency, and benefit the spleen and stomach. Miss Xu also said that this dish of fermented bean curd and pickles are also made by her, and can be eaten with the porridge."
This was the first time Zhu heard of Yinmi.
Zhu Taishou had already brought the bowl of brown sugar porridge to my mother's bed. He blew on the porridge in the bowl, waited for it to cool down slightly, and then scooped it up with a spoon and fed it to my mother's mouth, "Mother, drink the porridge. This is brown sugar porridge."
Although Old Lady Zhu was a little confused, she was not completely bewildered, and she knew that her son wanted to feed her.
She had smelled the fragrance early on and had a rare appetite, but her eyes were completely blind, so she could only open her mouth subconsciously and put a spoonful of warm sweet porridge into her mouth.
Just one bite, you can taste the sweetness of red dates, the honey-like sweetness of brown sugar, and the fresh sweetness of rice porridge. The rice porridge grains are full, sticky yet chewy. Although it needs to be chewed, it is very easy to chew. These flavors are intertwined to form a bowl of good porridge.
After living for more than seventy years, Mrs. Zhu finally realized that there were such delicious foods in the world. Even though she had no appetite, a bowl of hot and sweet porridge would whet her appetite.
Old Lady Zhu couldn't help but open her mouth and wait for the second bite.
When Governor Zhu and Mrs. Zhu saw this, they finally felt relieved.
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