Chapter 49 (Barbecue (Part 2)...)
Yan Qiushu was so startled that the skewer in her hand almost dropped and she quickly picked up the chicken wing.
This one looks a bit burnt.
Fortunately, it is not serious.
She used the middle part of the chicken wing, which had a thick layer of skin on both sides. In order to make it delicious, the skin had to be roasted until crispy, otherwise it would be too greasy for their taste.
Yan Qiushu changed the side and asked Shui Yu to take a knife and cut two cuts on the chicken wing. She spread the meat in the middle of the wing and took a look. Then, in front of everyone's expectant eyes, she said, "Wait a little longer."
Chicken wings take much longer to bake.
"Oh..." Dongdong sighed and took another vicious bite of the mutton skewer.
Hmm!
Really delicious!
Yan Qiushu didn't make sure the chicken wings were ready until everyone had finished their skewers and the new ones were not yet ready. She distributed the chicken wings to the children, one each, and two to the adults. As an adult, she also got two for herself.
Just so willful!
Xie Qingyun also put down the barbecue in front of her and temporarily handed it over to Shui Yu and Aunt Xu. She pinched the two ends of the chicken wings through the oil paper with her white fingers, slightly opened her lips, and took a small bite.
Yan Qiushu has eaten countless delicacies, and chicken wings are a popular ingredient. She has eaten a lot of them. The original honey chicken wings and spicy chicken wings each have their own flavor, but the chicken wings made by this grilled method have a completely different taste!
The freshest chicken wings are grilled over charcoal and sprinkled with a lot of seasonings. The taste is somewhat similar to lamb kebabs, but completely different. Compared to the rich gravy of lamb, the chicken wings are also tender but less greasy.
The fat on the skin had long been roasted away by the heat of the charcoal fire, turning it crispy and not greasy at all. When you bite it open, you will find tender meat inside.
The chicken legs and wings are the most muscular parts of the chicken and have the best taste. When you take a bite, your mouth is filled with the aroma of meat. It lacks the seasonings but has the delicious taste of chicken.
Mutton needs seasoning to cover up the smell, but chicken is completely different.
It was not sweet either, but it was so tender! The first bite was as if the meat went down her throat smoothly.
One word: tender!
Zhou Zhaoheng was the same, he loved delicious food, eating a full meal was a kind of happiness for him, let alone such delicious food, so at the end of the meal, he was reluctant to let go of even a bit of meat on the bones.
After eating, he licked his lips as if he was still unsatisfied and looked at Yan Qiushu with envy.
Adults are so nice that they can eat two in one breath.
Yan Qiushu had been keeping an eye on him. She saw it immediately and looked over. She raised her eyebrows, picked up her second piece of chicken wing, and asked maliciously, "Do you want to eat?"
Zhou Zhaoheng pursed his lips, his eyes revealing desire, but he was too embarrassed to say it.
Yan Qiushu said: "If you praise me, I will give it to you."
The little boy blushed and stammered, not daring to say a word.
Dong Dong just finished the chicken wing in his hand. He blinked twice and saw that he didn't say anything. He said excitedly: "I'm bragging! Just give me a bite!"
Yan Qiushu: Child, don’t be so arrogant!
Perhaps out of competitiveness, fearing that it would really get out of hand, Zhou Zhaoheng blushed and whispered, "Sister Shu is beautiful, a great cook, and kind-hearted!"
After saying that, he closed his mouth again, and his little face turned red all the way to his neck.
Zhou Zhaoheng has fair complexion and has gained a lot of weight due to being fed by Yan Qiushu during this period. His blushing face is even more obvious and adorable.
Yan Qiushu laughed happily: "Oh, it sounds really good. Here you go."
"Thank you, Sister Shu!" Zhou Zhaoheng took it with both hands and thanked her politely, but his voice was a little too soft.
But Yan Qiushu knew his embarrassment and did not force him. She took a bunch of vegetarian dishes and put them on top. The eggplant and lotus root slices were both excellent ingredients. She was very natural throughout and did not think there was anything wrong with Zhou Zhaoheng's praise.
If it was too formal, she would definitely feel uncomfortable, but in this case, she didn't take it seriously.
But others were not so surprised to see her accepting the compliment so readily, and could not help but take a few more glances at her.
When Yan Qiushu raised her eyes, she found that several adults were looking at her. She blinked blankly: "What's wrong?"
Mrs. Xiao rarely joked: "Look at Ah Shu's beautiful face."
"Puchi!" Everyone laughed.
Song Mingdai's cold face also curved her lips.
Yan Qiushu blushed and coughed lightly, saying, "I think Ah Heng is such a well-behaved kid, let's tease him. What else does Auntie want to eat? I'll bake it for you."
Mrs. Xiao smiled and said, "All is fine."
Yan Qiushu found some more mutton, and the mutton on the barbecue was simply delicious!
Dongdong, who had finished eating what he had on hand, was waiting expectantly for the results of the three people's work. When he saw whose food was ready, he would immediately rush over, take it, and then continue eating happily.
He enjoyed the meal and thought to himself, "It would be nice if Brother Pingyu was here."
He has never tasted such delicious mutton!
Although he said that he was like a mouse seeing a cat when he met Brother Ping before, he still liked him very much after he stopped forcing himself to study.
Yan Qiushu said casually: "Then you can write a letter to your brother Pingyu and tell him how to make barbecue so that he can cook it himself."
Dongdong blinked, thought for two seconds, and slapped his thigh with his greasy little hands: "That's right! I want to write a letter and tell him how delicious barbecue is! But I won't tell him how to make it... hehe..."
He smiled smugly, who made Brother Pingyu chase him and punish him before!
Leping Shen Family
Leping, about ten days away from Kyoto, is also a prosperous city.
There was no impact from Kyoto, so even in Leping, which had just finished its Chinese New Year celebrations, there was still some festive atmosphere.
A young boy walked out of the teahouse leisurely. He had a handsome face with a bit of childishness. He was wearing plain clothes and looked ordinary, but his straight back was impressive. Passersby looked at him in surprise, wondering whose family he was from.
Someone from Leping would immediately explain to him: "He is the legitimate young master of the Shen family."
"The Shen family! No wonder it's like this!" The astonished people suddenly calmed down and felt it was natural.
The Shen family is a large family that has been passed down for hundreds of years. It is not an aristocratic family, but its status among scholars and literati is more respected than that of aristocratic families.
The direct line of the Shen family is weak, so the Shen family will support the side branches. For this reason, the Shen family has such a high reputation, but they can still unite as one, with the direct line of the Shen family as the main body and the side branches as the auxiliary, and the level of knowledge is judged. For hundreds of years, there has never been any major conflict.
As the legitimate son of the Shen family, he naturally holds a high status, and it is normal for him to have such character at such a young age.
At this time, the young boy had already walked to the carriage. The driver opened the curtain and he bent down to get in. After sitting steadily, a light smile appeared on his expressionless face. He played with the jade pendant with excellent water head on his waist and thought.
He had always been worried that the Xiao family would be dragged into the fight for the throne by the Third Prince and others.
But in fact, he knew very well that the Xiao family would not be loyal to anyone here. Everyone who should know the inside story knew it, so in the end, the Xiao family would not be able to escape death.
Unexpectedly, the deposed crown prince suddenly came out by means of a self-torture tactic. What was even more unexpected was that not only did he come out, but he also made great contributions in such a short period of time. The threat posed by the third prince was no longer there.
Just yesterday, the news from Kyoto had completely spread. He also came to the teahouse and listened to the scholars discussing the matter, which deepened his own judgment.
Instead, everyone is optimistic about the former crown prince, now King Chang.
Not to mention that many years ago, the old emperor and the prince had a very good relationship, and Prince Chang had been the prince for more than ten years. During his time as the prince, he did very well in every aspect.
No one expected that he would be suddenly deposed five years ago. More than half of the court officials begged for mercy for him at that time. However, five years ago, the old emperor was still in good health and power was concentrated, so his decision could not be shaken by others.
It is said that the emperor sent someone to convey a message to the prince, asking him if he could understand his painstaking efforts, but the prince refused to give in and continued to fight the emperor to the end. This made the emperor unable to back down, and regardless of the resistance from others, he deposed the prince and imprisoned him for five years.
Now that Prince Chang has risen again, he actually has no other shortcomings, so it is possible for him to become the crown prince again.
Shen Pingyu also thought so. With the appearance of Prince Chang, the Xiao family also had someone who could assist them.
With the eldest uncle's wisdom and the younger uncle's fighting skills, the possibility of the Xiao family's downfall is much lower.
With such a great thing happening today, Shen Pingyu wanted to follow Aunt Yan's example and eat something delicious to celebrate, but what should he eat today?
After a while, the carriage stopped and arrived at the Shen family.
The Shen family is a true scholarly family. Hundreds of years of inheritance and cultural heritage have made the maids and servants here very polite in every move.
He was courteously welcomed off the carriage and walked all the way to the outer courtyard, where he heard the maid say, "Young Master, the Madam wants you to come over for dinner."
Shen Pingyu's face was slightly stiff, and he felt a little reluctant inside.
After returning to the Shen family, he had adapted well to life, especially when he encountered something he didn't understand in academic matters. If he wanted to ask for advice, the only person he could ask from the Xiao family was his eldest uncle. However, his uncle was in poor health, and he didn't want to bother him.
So the only thing that is not adaptable is the diet.
At the Xiao family, he could eat all kinds of delicious food, but here, everything remained the same for almost ten years.
In fact, the Xiao family also sent him a chef who had learned many skills, but he mostly ate with the lady, who was his grandparents, and rarely had the opportunity to use this chef.
However, the Shen family eats light food and never eats anything with strong flavors. Shen Pingyu has been eating light food for the past few days and he actually misses some of the food.
It was also very coincidental that a maid came over and asked, "Young Master, Chef Zou from the small kitchen asked you, are you going to make fried chicken legs or fried chicken fillets for lunch?"
Can’t eat any!
Shen Pingyu secretly thought it was a pity and was about to shake his head to tell the kitchen not to prepare it, but as soon as he opened his mouth, a thought popped into his mind.
Even though grandpa and grandma don’t like strong-flavored food, these aren’t really strong-flavored and they haven’t tried them yet. What if they like them?
Thinking of this, Shen Pingyu became eager to take action.
As a good child, he knew from childhood that he had no father. He stayed in the Shen family to fulfill his filial piety for his father who passed away early. Normally, he could only obey and never thought of breaking the rules. Even his deceased grandfather once said that he and his father were completely different in character. One was rebellious enough to become a son-in-law of the Xiao family, making the Shen family want to expel him from the family, while the other was obedient and a standard heir of the Shen family.
His personality was not very likable. Dongdong had never liked him before and would run away very fast every time he saw him. Grandma and uncles would try their best to cooperate with him.
Only this time when he went back, he cooperated with others, began to give up his high demands on Dongdong, endured the reminders of various cumbersome rules, tried to integrate into the Xiao family, and so on.
This little thing brought about a huge change in him.
For example, now, when the thought came to his mind, Shen Pingyu couldn't suppress it. After a few tangled breaths, he said, "Make fried chicken fillet!"
"Young Master!" The nanny reminded him that he would have dinner with the Madam later, and he would not be able to eat it even if he prepared it now.
Shen Pingyu smiled and said, "Take it to grandma and let her taste it."