Chapter 53 (Steamed sea bass, beef cake...)

Staying for two days?

Yan Qiushu never imagined that one day she could become a baby soothener.

Looking at Princess Chang's expectant eyes, then at Ah Heng's bright eyes, and Zhou Zhaoqin's slightly brighter eyes, she felt a little pressured.

This...I am troubled whether I accept it or not.

If she accepted it, she would have to go to a strange place again, which was the territory of the royal family. As everyone knew, even if Prince Chang and his wife got along well with the royal family, other people didn't. If she wasn't careful, she might get into trouble, especially since she was from the Xiao family and had no identity to back her up. If someone else who disliked the Xiao family took their anger out on her, they would have no way to deal with her.

You won't accept it. It seems that Zhou Zhaoqin has experienced too much change. If it were normal, it would be impossible for him to suddenly lose so much weight. There must be something else going on. Besides, she is a little worried that she might offend others.

But before Yan Qiushu could speak, Dongdong had already jumped off the chair anxiously and shouted, "No!"

The child's loud, clear voice startled the adults present and they all looked over.

Dongdong had already run to Yan Qiushu's side, frantically protecting her, shaking his head in protest, "No! Sister Shu can't leave!"

Mrs. Xiao: “…”

She said with a dark face: "Dongdong, come here and talk properly!"

Dongdong didn't move, but looked at the adults vigilantly, fearing that they would take the person away.

Xie Qingyun covered her lips and chuckled, and the others also smiled to varying degrees.

Prince Chang and his wife were equally silent. Ah Heng also tugged at Princess Chang's sleeve and shook her head, saying, "Mother, no more..."

Princess Chang immediately apologized, "I'm sorry, Dongdong. It's my fault. I didn't think about it that much. I won't take your sister Shu away from you."

Yan Qiushu didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but she felt relieved.

Dongdong looked at her suspiciously, as if trying to judge whether what she said was true. After confirming, he pursed his lips and did not go back, but stood leaning on Yan Qiushu's legs.

Yan Qiushu rubbed his head with a smile, looked at Princess Chang, and politely refused: "Thank you for your kindness, Princess, but Ah Shu is timid and has gotten used to living in the Xiao family, so I can only let you down."

As soon as she finished speaking, the little boy, who had been silent all this time, lowered his head silently, and two drops of tears fell on his clothes, instantly turning the two spots dark.

Princess Chang was filled with regret, but she could not say anything and could only sigh.

Madam Xiao saw the two tears clearly and she sighed. Even though she hated the Third Prince, the child was only five years old, the same age as Dong Dong, and she couldn't bear to ignore him.

She gritted her teeth and said, "If the princess doesn't mind, you can let the Second Royal Highness stay at the Xiao family for a while. The Xiao family has many children now, and they can play with him. Ah Shu likes to cook, and the Second Royal Highness also likes to eat. I think they are the same."

"This..." Princess Chang's heart moved slightly. This suggestion was good, but she was afraid that the child would not be able to accept it.

The little boy, who had been silent the whole time, raised his watery eyes and nodded slowly when she looked over.

Princess Chang smiled with relief: "Then Ah Qin, I will go and tell your grandfather. If he agrees, I will send you over."

"Thank you, Second Aunt." Zhou Zhaoqin got down to the ground and saluted respectfully.

The matter was settled like this. The remaining matters were discussed by Princess Chang and Madam Xiao and had nothing to do with Yan Qiushu.

She returned to the yard holding the gift.

Once it was opened, it was filled with all kinds of beautiful and precious jewelry that would not be out of place, including a complete set of hairpins, earrings, and jade pendants!

In this situation, they naturally did not give silver. For a wealthy family, giving silver would be an insult, and they were not short of silver.

Yan Qiushu happily tried on these jewellery in front of the mirror, and whispered in her heart that she actually didn't mind if she was insulted for money!

With all the jewellery put on, a dignified face appeared in the polished mirror. The hairpins on her head were pretty but not cumbersome, dazzling but not too dazzling. Except for the fact that the clothes she was wearing could not support these jewellery, she looked really beautiful.

It's just not very good.

She is walking around in the kitchen all day. If she lowers her head and pearls fall into the frying pan, should she feel sad for the frying pan or for the pearls?

After the tangle, Yan Qiushu sighed and reluctantly put these treasures into the box.

At this time, Shui Yu came over and asked, "Girl, the farm has sent more milk, and we can hardly store it here. What should we do with it?"

Yan Qiushu was about to answer, but before she could answer, she changed the question: "Does the mansion have any ice stored?"

"There are quite a few. If you want them, I'll get them right away." Shui Yu nodded.

Yan Qiushu shook her head: "No, no, let's go boil some milk."

Shui Xuan thought they were going to make something similar to double skin milk, so she went there quickly.

What Yan Qiushu wants to do is butter. Many cakes taste good only with butter. Whipped cream, an essential product for making cakes, also needs butter. With this, the dessert shop in the food court can open!

When the dessert shop is ready, there will be a milk tea shop in the future...

It’s wonderful to think that she can get dividends without opening her own store!

Prepare a large pot of milk and heat it directly on the stove. Stir it constantly during heating to prevent the milk from getting stuck in the pot. When the milk finally boils, cook it for a while longer to sterilize it.

When the time was up, Yan Qiushu took the pot off and said, "Put it aside, cover it with a lid, and wait for it to cool down."

"Oh? Just like that?" Shui Yu wondered.

Yan Qiushu raised her eyebrows and smiled: "Of course, it's very simple. When it gets cool, put it around the ice cubes and freeze it all night. This may be a little difficult, and it will require more ice cubes."

"No problem. There's plenty of ice in the mansion, enough for the whole summer. If it's not enough, we can make ice ourselves." Shui Yan said confidently.

The young lady and others have said that as long as Miss Yan wants something, they will try their best to satisfy her. Ice cubes are not a very expensive thing for the Xiao family.

That's right, since there are fireworks, it's normal for saltpeter to make ice.

Yan Qiushu felt relieved: "That's it, we will get the results by tomorrow morning."

Shui Xuan didn't expect that it would take a whole night, so he had to find a place to put the pot to avoid scalding anyone.

Yan Qiushu stretched her body and began to prepare dinner.

We had barbecue and toothpick meat yesterday, both of which were strong flavors, so we have to eat something lighter today. Although the spiciness is not that spicy under her control, if it keeps happening, I’m still worried that the children’s tastes will be too strong.

It just so happened that this time the farm not only sent milk, but also fish.

What Yan Qiushu took a fancy to were two sea bass.

Yan Qiushu was not very good at killing fish, so she could only hand it over to Aunt Xu. After everything was done, she would make some cuts on the surface of the fish, spread salt on it, and marinate it for a quarter of an hour.

Then cut the scallion and ginger into shreds, spread them on the surface of the sea bass, pour a spoonful of sake on it, put it into boiling water, add a spoonful of lard, and steam it over high heat for a cup of tea.

This is a very simple dish, but although sea bass is delicious, it doesn’t go well with rice, and the staple food cannot be just white rice, so she also made a beef pancake.

The palm-sized pancake was fried until both sides were golden brown. Then it was taken out and cut into two pieces neatly with a knife. All you could hear was a "crackling" sound, and then the crispy outer layer rose up slightly, revealing the fragrant beef filling inside.

After the beef pancakes were prepared, the steamed sea bass was also ready to be cooked. There was just enough oil in the hot pan, so when the sea bass was out of the pan, I lifted it up directly. With a "sizzle" sound, the soft shredded green onions on it curled up. The perfectly cooked fish lay on the plate, with the tender fish meat exposed from the cut. The aroma was also released at this moment, without any fishy smell, only the fresh fragrance of fish meat.

Yan Qiushu took a deep breath with satisfaction, smelled the fragrance, took her own portion and went over, asking Shui Yu and Nanny Xu to give the rest to other people. When she reached the table, she was still sighing, why didn't Dongdong and the others come?

They don't come for three meals a day. For example, they didn't come this morning and at noon.

But he would come once a day, and Dongdong came more often. Except for occasionally having breakfast with Mrs. Xiao, he would spend the rest of his time with Yan Qiushu because his mother was not at home.

Just as I finished exclaiming, I heard Dongdong's loud voice shouting: "Wow! It smells so good——"

"Sister Shu, I'm here!" Wan'er shouted crisply.

Yan Qiushu was silent, and looked at Shui Yu: "Make another serving of beef cake."

"Yes." Shui Yu nodded with a smile.

But when the two children came over, Yan Qiushu was no longer so easy to talk to. She raised her eyebrows and pretended to be unhappy and said, "You came so late and didn't help with the work. Now you want to eat?"

Dongdong was very considerate. He came over with his fist and gave her a back massage: "You must be tired from cooking. Let me massage you. Is there anything else that is uncomfortable?"

"Well, this shoulder." Yan Qiushu pointed to the other side.

Dongdong immediately winked at his sister.

Wan'er was a little slow, but she still understood it, and came over to massage her back very obediently, her voice soft and sweet: "Sister Shu, is this strength okay?"

Actually, it doesn't have much power.

Both children were soft and fluffy, but Yan Qiushu was happy. She enjoyed herself for a while, then held one in each hand and said, "Okay, okay, thank you Wan'er and Dongdong for massaging my back. I'll treat you to dinner."

"Wow! It's ready to eat!"

"Thank you, Sister Shu!"

Dongdong found a seat and sat down happily. Wan'er sat on the other side of Yan Qiushu. Although she didn't shout as loudly as him, she was also very happy. At this time, Shui Yu also came over with the prepared food.

Half a bowl of rice, half a beef pie, plus the steamed sea bass in front of it, and a bowl of mushroom soup.

The light dishes were not as attractive as the big fish and meat before, but if you smelled them carefully, they were delicious in another way. Dongdong twitched his nose and smelled a slightly stronger fragrance: "It smells so good!"

"This fish has few bones, so you can eat it. But you have to eat it slowly and chew it thoroughly, okay?" Yan Qiushu reminded.

"Yeah!" Dongdong nodded vigorously, and the chopsticks had already passed by.

It was a pity that the fish was so tender and smooth, and he was not good at using the chopsticks, so he was unable to pick it up for a while.

Yan Qiushu then gave each of them a piece of the fish belly and also took a piece for herself.

The fish meat was specially soaked in soup, and when it was eaten, it was still filled with salty juice. The tender and smooth fish meat was like a top-level enjoyment when it entered the mouth. With the blessing of Yan Qiushu's cooking skills, this fish not only had no fishy smell, but was surprisingly delicious!

There are not many fish bones, just a big skeleton and a few bones on both sides. You don't even need to spit out the bones when you put them in your mouth. Just purse your lips and tongue, and the fish meat will slide down your throat.

Take another bite of rice at this time, the sweet taste and the salty fragrance lingering in your mouth do not conflict at all, but complement each other.

Wan'er has a lighter taste and she particularly likes the steamed sea bass and is reluctant to stop eating it.

Dongdong took two bites and found it delicious. At least he remembered to eat half of the beef pie in the bowl.

The meat filling inside seems to be gathered together, but it is not hard at all. When you bite it, it seems that there is soup in the filling. The initially crispy shell quickly softens under the soaking of the soup, mixed with the beef filling with fragrant aroma, every bite is satisfying.

"This beef pie tastes better!" Dongdong concluded.

Wan'er also took a bite of the cake and shook her head: "It's delicious too, but the fish is better!"

The two looked at each other, neither of them convinced, so Dong Dong rolled his eyes and said, "Then give me the beef cake and I'll give you the fish."

Wan'er blinked: "Why can't I eat them all? I like beef cakes, too."

Dong Dong: “…”

His desire to eat one more bite was so easily exposed. Unwillingly, he leaned over to Yan Qiushu's ear and whispered, "Sister Wan'er is not as easy to fool as before!"

Yan Qiushu narrowed her eyes slightly: "Did you lie to Wan'er before?"

Dongdong gave a guilty smile and buried his head in eating the meat.

Well, as a man of the Xiao family, of course he prefers the feeling of eating meat in big mouthfuls!

Yan Qiushu snorted and ate the cake in big mouthfuls. As an adult, she had a whole beef cake.

It’s great to be an adult.

She smiled happily and picked up another piece of fish. This time, she didn't soak it in soup. The fish tasted less salty and more sweet. It tasted great even if eaten without rice.

When they had almost finished eating, Yan Qiushu took another mouthful of the delicious and hot mushroom soup. It didn't have any extra flavor, but it was delicious enough. After one mouthful, she felt warm from her throat to her esophagus and then to her stomach.

After the last bite, the three of them tacitly wiped their mouths with handkerchiefs, and Yan Qiushu invited them: "Let's go for a walk?"

"Sure!" Dongdong held his stomach and burped with satisfaction.

Wan'er also nodded: "Okay! Take a walk after dinner, so you won't be as fat as Dongdong."

Dong Dong: “…”

But before the three of them left the yard, they saw several people hurrying over. The one running in front was a five-year-old child, who was Zhou Zhaoqin.

Yan Qiushu took a deep breath and looked at the sky.

They ate slowly, from dawn till dusk, and by now the sky was already dim.

Zhou Zhaoqin was sent here at this time? !

When she got closer, Yan Qiushu realized that it was not only sent to her, but also sent by Princess Chang herself. She looked apologetic and embarrassed, and her voice also revealed an embarrassment: "Miss Yan, I went to ask my father, but I didn't meet him. The Royal Concubine said that since Ah Qin likes it, then let him stay at the Xiao family for a few days and let Li Ma Ma come to take care of him."