Jiang Mansion
The You hour is about to arrive
It was time for students of the Imperial College to go home. Mrs. Jiang was eagerly waiting, as Dongdong would always be home at this time in the past.
But no one is here at this moment.
She was a little anxious and urged the nanny to go and see if he had returned.
As soon as the nanny went out, she came back immediately to tell them that the carriage had returned. Mrs. Jiang was overjoyed and thought that it was her grandson who had returned home, so she went to the gate of the inner courtyard to greet him. However, it was only Nanny Ji who showed up. Her expression suddenly changed: "Where is my grandson?"
Nanny Ji wanted to cry but had no tears: "Madam, I really asked the chef to make that thing exactly as it was, but the young master just wouldn't eat it."
Not only did he refuse to eat, he also gave the lunch box to the deposed prince's child!
She didn't dare say such words, otherwise the lady would definitely punish her.
But Mrs. Jiang's face was particularly ugly. "Useless thing! Hurry up and find a solution. Who made it? Can't we ask her for the recipe?"
Nanny Ji was silent.
Who dares to touch the people protected by the Xiao family?
Madam Ji's silence made Madam Jiang's heart choke. She pursed her lips in frustration, and her plump, fair face turned red. She said angrily, "Shame on you! How can you behave like a child!"
"Isn't it?" Nanny Ji quickly agreed, and then said tactfully: "Madam, should we see if we can change the chef? I heard that Tianxianglou..."
"No change! Forget it, forget it. I just don't believe he won't get tired of it!" Madam Jiang shook her head. Their house had spent a lot of money just to hire that chef, Yu, and they also had to use the relationship with the Third Prince. Now they had to change him. What if Chef Yu got angry?
Dongdong is greedy. The Xiao family just found a girl who is a little bit fancy. She is so young, how could she have any advanced cooking skills?
What if we wait a few days?
Just the first day passed, the second day passed, the third day...
Day after day, when the Imperial College was on holiday, Mrs. Jiang finally couldn't help it and went to pick up Dongdong in person. She wanted to bring the child back. But when she got there, she found that her grandson had gained a lot of weight!
And it is white and clean, looking very healthy.
Mrs. Jiang's heart choked and she almost couldn't utter any passionate words.
"Dongdong, grandma hasn't seen you for a long time. Will you go back with grandma this time?" Mrs. Jiang smiled and coaxed.
"Grandma!" Dongdong shouted.
Mrs. Jiang's face turned green. She had clearly corrected it before. She was a grandmother, not a grandmother! But after just a few days, it relapsed!
The Xiao family killed her son, and they still refuse to return her grandson to her? !
But Mrs. Jiang held back and continued to look at him with a smile, which gave Dongdong courage. He reluctantly said, "Can I not go back? Dongdong has been with grandma for a long time! Now I want to live with grandma..."
Madam Jiang: “…”
It's been so long!
Isn't it just... a few months...
Mrs. Jiang also felt guilty. At first, she only wanted the child to stay at home for a few days, but as she coaxed the child into staying for a long time, she even returned the nanny given by the Xiao family and kept the child in a cage.
At that time, Dongdong also said that she wanted to go back. She said it didn't matter if she didn't go back. At that time, there was nothing else in the Xiao family that Dongdong was worried about except Xiao Waiting. In addition, Chef Yu cooked his favorite food in various ways, and there were children in the mansion to play with him, so she was comforted.
But this time he said this, and Mrs. Jiang really couldn't reply, so she could only complain: "Grandma misses you, your grandfather misses you too, and your cousins miss you too."
Dongdong tangled his fingers in embarrassment, thought for a long time, and said, "Then how about I take my cousins back? Grandma, don't worry, Sister Shu will make a lot of food, they will definitely like it!"
Mrs. Jiang was speechless, so she retreated and said, "Then next time we take a break, Dongdong will come back, okay?"
"Okay~" Dongdong said reluctantly.
Mrs. Jiang forced herself to smile, turned around and left.
As soon as she got on the carriage, Mrs. Jiang's facial features were horrified. What was so special about the chef hired by the Xiao family? How could he make Dongdong, who was used to the chef's cooking, so happy and unwilling to leave?
Mrs. Jiang was not the only one who was wondering.
Even the Third Princess was puzzled as to why her son had become such a picky eater.
At first, on the first day, when she heard her son clamoring for delicious food, better than what Xiao Pingzhou of the Xiao family ate, she decided to let him do as he pleased, so she let him make the fuss in the kitchen.
However, when he came back the next day, he started to get angry and said the food was not tasty.
When he came back on the third day, he was even angrier.
There was no other choice, so the Third Princess specially asked the chef to go with her to see what the Xiao family's child ate, and then come back to practice.
The Imperial College had two days off every ten days, so during these two days, her son would taste the dishes cooked by other chefs from time to time. If he was not satisfied, he would be punished, which made the chefs in the prince's mansion feel insecure.
For example, right now, the emperor's grandson Zhou Zhaoqin was looking at something that looked similar in appearance, smelled sweet and greasy, and tasted sweet and salty. He was so angry that he threw his bowl and chopsticks and said angrily, "Are you all here for free? You can't even do a little thing right!"
Seeing her son imitating her husband's angry behavior at such a young age, she was frightened and said to him, "Don't worry. If you really like what the Xiao family's chef cooks, can I ask someone to go to the Xiao family to teach you?"
Zhou Zhaoqin was very young, but because his father had high hopes for him, he knew a lot of things. The Xiao family and his own family were not on good terms. Hearing this, he hesitated and asked, "Is it okay?"
The Third Princess rubbed her son's head with amusement and said confidently, "Of course you can. We are the royal family and the Xiao family is the ministers. Even if the relationship is not good, they still have to recognize him if you ask him to do something."
Zhou Zhaoqin's eyes lit up: "Okay then."
The Third Imperial Concubine heaved a sigh of relief: "Mother will arrange it right away. I will make sure you get what you want when you go to school tomorrow."
After she coaxed her son, she immediately had gifts prepared and asked the nanny beside her to take the cook to the Xiao family to learn.
Xiao Family
In Yan Qiushu's small courtyard, maids and old women gathered together, along with two little ones.
Wan'er and Dongdong, protected by their maids, stared at the things in front of them with their big eyes.
This is a stove, which looks like a small kiln with a fire underneath. The entrance in the middle can be used to put things to be baked, and the aroma will keep coming out of it.
Yan Qiushu had this done two days ago.
She suddenly had an idea to make an ancient version of an oven so that she could make some cakes and biscuits. Grilling is also possible, and it is much more convenient than grilling with charcoal, but it is easy to burn, so she can only grill some large skewers.
These days, Yan Qiushu mainly cooks for Madam Xiao and Dongdong, as well as Wan'er and other courtyards of the Xiao family. She sends over any fresh food she has, but since the diners are children and the elderly, the food she cooks is a little lighter.
After eating too much light food, she thought about barbecue day and night, so she asked Shui Yu. Unexpectedly, as soon as the news came out, a craftsman came directly.
At this time, the stove next to the kitchen was used for the first time. It was filled with large skewers of meat sprinkled with seasonings, mashed taro, cut chestnuts, etc.
Just a quarter of an hour ago, these things were pulled out and two oranges were added.
Now this stove is constantly emitting the aroma of meat, chestnuts, and the sweet fragrance of oranges.
The fragrant and quiet Wan'er couldn't sit still anymore, she came out from the living room and looked at it eagerly, and Dongdong was drooling so much that his mouth was almost watering.
The maid who was serving them was afraid that they might get hurt, so she stood by and watched.
Dongdong still came closer, the fragrance rushed straight to his nose, and he asked anxiously in a slightly hoarse voice: "Sister Shu, when can we eat this?"
On the last day of school, the child was too happy. He played Cuju with Yan Qiushu for a while and worked up a sweat. As a result, he kicked off the quilt at night and caught a cold.
This is also the reason why Yan Qiushu put two oranges in.
Roasted oranges have a certain cough-relieving effect, and now she can slightly magnify the deliciousness of food. I wonder if the cough-relieving effect of oranges can be magnified a little bit?
She was helpless. The little foodie was too impatient, so she rubbed his head hard: "Don't be too impatient, otherwise it won't be cooked yet. If you eat it, your stomach will hurt all night."
Dongdong restrained his expression a little, but still watched eagerly.
Wan'er at the side couldn't hold back any longer and asked tenderly, "Sister Shu, how long will it take?"
"Right away!" Yan Qiushu said affirmatively.
The children stared even more intently after hearing this.
Two minutes later, Yan Qiushu asked someone to remove the stone slab covering the stove. She went in with a pair of iron tongs and came out with an iron sheet full of things. The fragrance suddenly became several times stronger.
The servant wrapped the iron sheet in a thick rag, lifted it up and placed it on the stone table in the yard.
Everyone followed the thing and moved over.
"Wow!" Dongdong exclaimed.
"It smells so good!" Wan'er exclaimed.
Shui Yu praised: "Young lady, your cooking skills are getting better and better. I have never smelled such delicious mutton."
Yan Qiushu smiled with satisfaction. This was grilled lamb chops. The lamb in that era was much leaner than that of today. There was not much fat on the lamb chops, which was melted by the high temperature in the oven, leaving only oil and water, which stuck to the lamb chops and was still sizzling with oil when it came out.
The fragrant flavors of cumin, pepper and salt are roasted to perfection, bringing out the most fragrant effect.
On the other end of the iron plate were chestnuts that had already burst open. There was no sugar or honey on them, only the sweetness of chestnuts. The sweetest thing was the roasted oranges with a thin skin.
Aunt Xu took a knife and cut the lamb chops into strips and put them away, while someone else was responsible for peeling the hot oranges. As diners, the three of them only needed to eat.
Dongdong didn't need anyone to remind him, he picked up the lamb chops immediately when they were in front of him.
But Yan Qiushu stopped him and gave him a small piece of meat instead: "Mutton will make you get angry, just taste it to avoid discomfort in your throat."
Dong Dong pouted, a little unhappy: "I want to eat the big one!"
He is the darling of both the Xiao and Jiang families. Basically, nothing he likes will be hindered, especially when it comes to food. There is nothing he cannot eat, except what he doesn't like. He will subconsciously start to lose his temper.
But her temper just started to flare up, Yan Qiushu frowned: "If you flare up, you won't be able to taste it at all~"
The girl who was always smiling suddenly became serious, and her eyes became sharp. Her pretty, cute and non-aggressive face made Dongdong's heart skip a beat. He suddenly didn't dare to make a fuss, and quickly shut up and took the piece that belonged to him.
It was just out of the oven and still quite hot. He asked the nanny for a handkerchief, pinched the two ends with his hands, stretched out his little white teeth and took a bite. A large piece of mutton that had been roasted until it was juicy was pulled into his mouth.
The rich aroma of cumin and other ingredients covers the strong smell of mutton, and it is so delicious that it makes your mouth water.
Wan'er, however, was not used to the taste of the food. She took a small bite and then refused it. At this time, the oranges and chestnuts had also been peeled.
She ate a chestnut first. The roasted chestnut had a more pink and soft texture, but it was a little dry.
The roasted orange had a black surface, but the peel was easier to peel. After opening it, the orange segments inside were plump and huddled together, as if the juice was about to overflow. She blew on it with her little mouth, and when it cooled down a little, she couldn't wait to take a small bite.
The juice immediately flowed out, and Wan'er caught it, smacking her lips twice, and said happily: "So sweet~"
Yan Qiushu took a bite of mutton and a bite of orange slice and just nodded.
So delicious!
The mutton smell is suppressed, and the salty and spicy taste of cumin and other condiments is more prominent. The mutton is roasted to be exceptionally soft and tender. Just a few chews and the meat melts beautifully in your mouth, leaving your mouth full of the meaty aroma.
It felt so good to eat meat in big mouthfuls. After two bites, Yan Qiushu felt greasy. She took another bite of the sweet and warm orange, which immediately relieved the greasy taste in her mouth. The sour and sweet taste made her even more appetizing. She could eat a lot more meat!