Chen Ahfu was just joking, but the girl took it too seriously and it sounded like she was praising herself. She felt a little embarrassed, but she still managed to hold it together and didn't show it.
At the same time, she thought the old marquis was very interesting, not at all like a feudal stubborn old man, and quite humorous. With such an open-minded head of the family, the Chu San Laoye who had appeared before, Chu Lingxuan, and the men of the Chu family who were all good, the old Chu family should be very harmonious.
It seems that the princess is a bad apple, and she ruined the whole pot of soup for the Chu family. I just don’t know what kind of man is the man who is the Marquis of Chu and the Prince Consort, and why he is involved with the princess. He forced the original wife to leave the house, forced the only son to go far away to the border, and has a cold personality. He also let Miss Chu get that disease under his nose, maybe the death of his daughter-in-law is not normal...
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a slight smile on Chu Lingxuan's face. This smile was warm, like the sun after the snow. Although not scorching, it was clean and bright.
Chen Ahfu's old face seemed to be stained with a layer of rouge. She lowered her head slightly, knelt down and bowed to the old marquis and Chu Lingxuan, and said, "Old marquis, Mr. Chu, happy new year."
Chu Lingxuan's face returned to its previous coldness, and he nodded and said, "Thank you for troubling Master Chen. Today is the New Year, and I asked you to come here specially to cook for my grandfather."
Chen Afu smiled and said, "It's my honor that the old marquis likes the food I cook." Then she said it was too late to make hotpot, so she would stir-fry a few dishes first and then make hotpot in the evening.
The old man laughed and said, "It would be even better if we could have the little girl's cooking for both meals."
Seeing Chen Ahfu and Wei go to the small kitchen in the backyard, the old man frowned, puffed up his beard, and said to Chu Lingxuan, "Boy, you are greedier than me, but you use me as a shield. If you didn't tell me that her cooking is delicious, how would I know?"
Then he took Chu Hanyan's hand and called Qiqi and Huihui to go to the other side of the yard to play.
Feeling bored, Chu Lingxuan had no choice but to walk into the house.
Chen Ahfu looked at the dishes in the kitchen and decided on a menu: golden spareribs, braised fish, stir-fried pickled meat with garlic sprouts, stir-fried tofu with garlic sprouts, stir-fried bean sprouts with vegetables, stir-fried lotus root with vegetables, and fish ball soup.
She knew that her cooking skills were not really better than the cook in Tangyuan, but the water quality in her home was better, so the dishes she cooked were more fragrant.
In addition to the golden ribs and soup, each dish today has to be seasoned with garlic sprouts watered with bird's manure. Due to the limited amount of garlic sprouts, not much is added to each dish.
Thinking of the Chu family's wealth, he did not skimp on ingredients and even carved a few flowers out of white radish, carrots and oranges. After the dish was ready and served, he used the flowers as decoration.
That's taste! In her previous life, even when she was alone at home, she would wipe the edge of the plate with a towel before putting the food on it. When she had free time, she would carve a flower shape out of cucumbers and radishes. She didn't like to see plates dripping with oil and soup before being placed on the table, as she thought it was sloppy.
The Chu family's plates and dishes are all exquisite, and they look even more beautiful with those "flowers" as embellishments.
Mrs. Wei and the cook both laughed and said, "This is really a feast for the eyes. Chef Chen is very thoughtful."
Chen Afu did not stay here for dinner, and declined the Chu family's invitation to Dabao and Alu to come for dinner. Today was the second day of the Chinese New Year, so it was better for her to go home for dinner. After dinner, she would come to Tangyuan to make hot pot. Before leaving, she asked the cook to make soup with a hen.
After having dinner at Huilu Garden, Chen Afu told Chen Ming and Wang Shi about how Old Man Wang had come and was driven away by her.
Chen Ming said angrily, "Afu is right. We cannot let him in. He is not worthy of being a father. His son was sold, but he didn't even ask where he was sold to and whether he would have a good life in the future."
Wang just covered her mouth with a handkerchief and cried.
Chen Ahfu persuaded her again and was about to go to Tangyuan to make hot pot. Dabao wanted to leave, and Chen Ahfu said, "You can go out and play today, but you can't stay there to eat."
Seeing Dabao nod, he took him by the hand, took Zhuifeng with him, and asked Xue Dagui and Chu Xiaoniu to carry the special charcoal stove and table, and went to Tangyuan together.
The old man and Chu Hanyan were still taking a lunch break. As soon as Chen Dabao entered Yiran Courtyard, Chu Lingxuan called him to the eaves and said he would teach him real martial arts. Dabao was so happy when he heard it that he ran over with a big grin.
Chen Ahfu stir-fried the hot pot soup, put the boiled chicken soup in and slowly boiled it, and secretly put some Yanchenxiang residue into the pot. When she prepared all the dishes and the soup was ready, it was full of freshness and fragrance.
She took the pot and dishes to the upper living room with her friends.
At this time, the sky was already dark, and snowflakes began to float in the sky again.
Arriving at the front yard, the lanterns on the trees under the porch were already lit, illuminating the ground in red. Orange candlelight also seeped out of the lattice windows of the upper hall, and along with the candlelight came laughter. The voices of the old marquis and Dabao were the loudest, followed by Qiqi, Huihui, and Zhuifeng, and occasionally the giggles of Miss Chu and the voice of Chu Lingxuan.
Even before entering the house, one can already feel the warmth inside.
The maid opened the door and lifted the thick curtain. Chen Ahfu walked in, and a warm current rushed over him. Dabao and Miss Chu rushed to call "mother" and "auntie", and Qiqi and Huihui were not willing to lag behind and shouted.
Because the person behind Chen Afu was holding a copper pot filled with soup ingredients, the two children, two birds and one dog were all stopped for fear that he (it) would pounce on them.
Chen Ahfu smiled and agreed softly, while directing people to put the pot and dishes on the table. He also said that the soup base would become thicker and more fragrant as it cooked, and that if we just added some chicken soup to the pot, it would be enough to eat for at least several days.
Then, Chen Afu took Dabao and Zhuifeng and said goodbye.
Qiqi and Huihui hadn’t played enough and shouted, “No, no, we won’t leave. We want to be scoundrels…” This was Dabao’s voice.
Everyone laughed again. Silly Zhuifeng didn't even know he was being blamed.
Chen Afu and Dabao both walked down the steps, and Chu Lingxuan opened the door and walked out. He said, "Dabao has a talent for calligraphy. I have a copy of Wang Youjun's calligraphy. It will be very helpful for him to copy it every day. The copy is in the outer study room. I will go get it now."
Without waiting for Chen Ahfu to agree or refuse, he walked ahead first, and Chen Ahfu had no choice but to follow behind him, holding Dabao's hand. After walking for a while, they came to the corridor, where there was a lantern every few steps. The lanterns glowed red, illuminating the road ahead and the slender figure in front.
Arriving at the outer study room, Chu Lingxuan went in and out again, not only handed Dabao a calligraphy sticker, but also handed him two pens and a piece of ink. He said, "Study hard. If even Mr. Jiang from the private school can't teach you in the future, I will find a way to invite a better teacher to teach you."
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