The next morning, Xu Qinyu woke up.

She slept quite well last night. Fourth brother slept very soundly and did not move at all, but she was not very comfortable when she slept and liked to toss and turn. When she woke up, she found that one of her legs was across Fourth brother's body. Then she quietly withdrew her leg and got out of bed.

When she got dressed and went out, Pei Weixuan on the bed also opened his eyes, looking a little helpless.

She fell asleep quickly last night, but he barely managed to fall asleep until midnight.

After packing everything, Xu Qinyu went to Zhu's Restaurant with her fourth brother, and Master Zhu and her apprentice.

For breakfast in the morning, Xu Qinyu prepared crab roe soup dumplings.

After dinner yesterday, Xu Qinyu told Madam Zhu what ingredients were needed.

It is now the beginning of autumn and the river crabs are starting to get fat. Last night, Madam Zhu asked someone to go to the river to catch river crabs, and the other ingredients were also prepared early in the morning.

In addition to crab roe and crab meat, crab roe soup dumplings also need pork belly, pork skin and some other seasonings.

The main purpose of this crab roe soup dumpling is to highlight the umami flavor, so there is no need to add too many ingredients, just simple crab and pork.

Because it is a soup dumpling, if you want the soup to come out, you have to use pork skin jelly to season it.

The skin is very difficult to cook.

Xu Qinyu prepared the pork skin last night and simmered it over a low fire on a small stove in the kitchen.

She even had a good grasp of the burning time of the charcoal fire. The pork skin jelly on the stove had been boiled for two and a half hours, and the charcoal fire had been burnt out. The pork skin in the stove was almost melted, and after blending with the soup and cooling naturally overnight, it had become pork skin jelly. At this moment, Xu Qinyu ignored the pork skin jelly and started to steam the river crabs in the pot.

River crabs are easy to steam. Add some ginger slices and a little Huadiao wine and steam them in a large pot.

But getting crab roe and crab meat is a difficult job.

Fortunately, there were many people, and Madam Zhu and other chefs also helped. In less than half an hour, all the crab meat and crab roe were taken out of the river crabs.

While others were taking the crab meat and crab roe, Xu Qinyu poured the dough that had been fermented with a dough starter last night onto the chopping board, sprinkled some white flour on it, rolled it into strips and cut it into small balls, and waited for another quarter of an hour for the second fermentation. She would start making soup dumplings soon.

After all the crab roe and crab meat were taken out, Xu Qinyu had already chopped the pork belly into puree and chopped the pork skin jelly into pieces. Then she began to mix the crab roe and crab meat in a certain proportion.

When preparing the stuffing, I only added a little salt, and then used soaked ginger and chopped green onions and another kind of warm water with spices. The water also had to be cooled before adding, otherwise the pork skin would melt easily and it would be difficult to wrap the soup dumplings. I added the soaked water into the stuffing three times, stirring in one direction. After pouring the water three times, the stickiness of the stuffing was just right.

Xu Qinyu also began to roll the dough into dough sheets.

No other diners will be served in the next few days, so Xu Qinyu also started to make stuffing.

Madam Zhu and other chefs also know how to roll out dough, but Xu Qinyu didn't let them help. The thinner the dough is, the better.

The skin of soup buns is different from that of ordinary buns. The dough needs to be rolled out thinner and have some toughness and chewiness. Otherwise, it will easily break after being steamed, allowing the soup inside to flow out.

A well-made soup dumpling will be plump even when you pinch it, and you can see the soup inside swaying. The skin is thin but will not break when you pinch it.

Only the dough she rolls herself can achieve this level.

In fact, they are just some small skills. Xu Qinyu still told Zhu Niangzi and the others how to roll the dough. But even if they know how to roll it now, they can't roll it out as well as Xu Qinyu. They also need practice to become proficient.

Zhu’s Restaurant only used the big steamer and didn’t have the small one, so Xu Qinyu would wrap the dumplings and then steam them in the big steamer.

In addition to the crab roe soup dumplings, Xu Qinyu also cooked some brown sugar millet porridge, fried some tofu, and made some egg pancakes.

To eat a soup dumpling, you need to insert a straw into the dumpling, drink the soup first, and then eat the filling and skin.

There were no capillary tubes here, so Xu Qinyu asked Madam Zhu to prepare wheat stalks. The stalks of wheat stalks are relatively hard and can be used as capillary tubes.

She cut the wheat into palm-length pieces, blanched them in hot water and then dried them.

The aroma of the crab roe buns is naturally not as strong as the aroma of the roast suckling pig yesterday. It just smells very fresh and the aroma doesn’t spread very far.

But merchants living nearby can still smell the delicious aroma.

"What kind of food is Zhu's Restaurant making today? It smells delicious."

"Is it really made by Zhu's Restaurant? Then the old aroma that came from the evening meal yesterday was also from Zhu's Restaurant? Did Madam Zhu hire a new chef?"

"When the imperial envoy came out of Zhu's Restaurant yesterday, he seemed very satisfied and his face was greasy. This must be the new food of Zhu's Restaurant."

"Where did you hire this chef from? His food is even better than the chef at Zuixianlou."

"Is Zhu's Restaurant open today? I also want to try what that delicious food was like yesterday."

"Who isn't? The aroma yesterday was so tempting."

Amid the discussions of the surrounding shop owners, a horse-drawn carriage slowly drove into the ancient Qing family house and arrived in front of the Zhu Family Restaurant.

It was Fu Chenghong's carriage.

Today, Fu Chenghong invited Governor Zhu to come over as usual.

He was thinking that if today's breakfast was not tasty, he would still beat Madam Zhu with a stick to embarrass the prefect.

When he arrived at Qingguhu today, he smelled a fresh and fragrant smell. It was not as fragrant as the roast suckling pig yesterday, but it was also very tempting. He could not tell what kind of food it was.

After entering the restaurant, the waiter led us to the private room upstairs as usual.

Then the waiters brought up the brown sugar millet porridge, egg rolls and fried tofu.

The two officials who followed him immediately turned cold, "You guys are using this kind of stuff to fool our master."

This kind of food that can be prepared at home is just fooling people.

The waiter said, "Please wait a moment, sir. There is still some food that has not been served."

The other waiters had already brought out plates of crab roe soup dumplings.

Xu Qinyu had already placed the steamed crab roe soup dumplings on small plates and brought them to the private room, with a stalk of wheat next to each dumpling.

Seeing the crab roe soup, the two officials still looked unhappy, "Isn't this just an ordinary big bun? They prepared such ordinary food for our masters? Don't they take our masters seriously?" Although the skin of the big bun looked very thin, the filling inside could be seen clearly, and it was not known what was wrapped in it, and it seemed that there was a lot of soup inside.

The soup dumplings made by Xu Qinyu are slightly bigger than Cheng Hong’s, so they are more enjoyable to eat.

The waiter said hurriedly, "Your Excellency has misunderstood. This is different from ordinary buns. This is called crab roe soup bun. It is made by steaming river crabs, taking out the crab roe and crab meat, and mixing them with pork and pork skin jelly to make the filling. In addition to the delicious filling, there is also soup. The wheat next to it is used to drink the soup inside. Insert it directly from the opening inside the soup bun, first suck up the soup inside, and then eat the filling and skin."

In order to make it easier to insert the wheat straw, Xu Qinyu cut one side of the wheat straw into an inclined incision like a modern straw, which is more convenient.

"River crab? Pork skin jelly?" The two officials looked uglier. "How dare you serve such earthy food, which is made entirely of shells and made of pork skin, to our Lord?"

The guy is in a bit of a dilemma.

It was the governor Zhu who said, "Sir, why don't you try it first? This is the first time I've heard of such a novel method. I wonder how it tastes."

Fu Chenghong snorted and did not refuse. He twisted a straw tube, inserted it into the soup bag and took a sip. Others were stunned by the delicious soup, and there was even pork skin jelly in it, but it didn't taste good at all. Boring, there is no feeling of being tired, it is just a fresh word. He couldn't hold back and sucked up all the soup in one breath. Then he picked up the steamed bun that had lost the soup and took a bite. The filling was tender and fresh, with a bit of fishy meat jelly and river crab. None, and when eaten with the soup skin, it is slightly chewy and not soft. After eating one, not only does the stomach feel comfortable, but the freshness is still left in the mouth.

Xu Qinyu had already taken out these soup dumplings and cooled them down in advance, so they were now just the right temperature.

Fu Chenghong finished a soup dumpling and said, "Not bad, bring a few more."

There were two in front of him, and he thought he could still eat a lot.

The waiter's face lit up and he agreed, "I'll get it right away."

The two officials were a little surprised, "Sir, this, this, this can be delicious?"

Fu Chenghong's face turned cold, "Why, are you questioning my taste?"

"I dare not."

The two officials couldn't help but follow Fu Chenghong's example and first sucked the soup inside, and then opened their eyes wide.

It’s so fresh, with a hint of sweetness. This is the sweetness of the crab meat itself, without any sugar added.

Then the two officials stopped talking and started eating their soup dumplings. They were a little surprised when they ate the fillings because they didn’t know river crabs could be so delicious. How come there was no earthy smell at all?

Fu Chenghong ate seven or eight soup dumplings in one breath.

Later in the meal, Xu Qinyu prepared some vinegar and asked the waiter to teach them how to eat it.

The soup dumplings with a dozen drops of vinegar have a unique flavor.

After eating the soup dumplings, Fu Chenghong tried egg rolls, fried tofu with scallions, and millet porridge with brown sugar.

Not to mention, even these ordinary foods that every household can make tasted very good and were very enjoyable. He ate two more egg rolls, a bowl of brown sugar millet porridge, and a few pieces of fried tofu.

Governor Zhu had a good appetite today because last night Wei Xuan sent a letter to his residence by flying pigeons with news, and also told the governor that it was Yu Niang who cooked for the imperial servants in Zhu's restaurant, and told him not to worry about Yu Niang's safety.

…

After breakfast, Fu Chenghong left, saying that the cook was good.

In the evening, Xu Qinyu prepared a roast suckling pig and some home-cooked dishes.

Fu Chenghong ate roast suckling pig again in the evening and was still very surprised. He asked again that he wanted to eat crab roe soup dumplings in the morning and roast suckling pig in the evening.

He thought that after eating it for three days straight, he would probably get tired of it.

After returning to Madam Zhu's house that evening, Xu Qinyu asked Madam Zhu for pen and paper so that she could write down the recipes for ninety-nine dishes, as well as the heat to pay attention to when making these dishes, the proportions of ingredients, and some small tips.

But her handwriting was easy to read, and she couldn't write in other handwritings, so Fourth Brother said, "Yuniang, you tell me the names of the dishes, and I'll write them down."

Xu Qinyu nodded, stood up and gave her seat to her fourth brother, who then wrote.

Sure enough, Fourth Brother actually changed his left and right hands to write, and his handwriting was completely different from his usual style, and a little more beautiful.

There were ninety-nine recipes written in a thick stack. Xu Qinyu put it away and felt relieved.

The next morning, she went to Zhu's Restaurant for breakfast. In addition to crab roe soup dumplings, she also prepared three-fresh bean curd.

Three-fresh tofu skin is made of glutinous rice and seasoned skin, and the stuffing is made of pork belly, fresh mushrooms, fresh bamboo shoots, pickled mustard, etc. It is also simple to make. In a large iron pot, first prepare the dough. The dough is made of mung bean powder and rice paste. The prepared paste is spread into the dough. The spread dough is golden in color, and a layer of steamed glutinous rice is placed on it, and then a layer of fried stuffing is placed on it. The skin around it is wrapped and arranged into a square. Then the pot is turned over, the whole tofu skin is turned over, and the stuffing side is continued to be fried, and sprinkled with chopped green onions.

The color is golden and the taste is fresh and fragrant. It is paired with the soft glutinous rice and tastes crispy, tender and fragrant.

This is also a classic breakfast in later generations.

Sure enough, Fu Chenghong was still very satisfied with his breakfast.

In the evening, they cooked roast suckling pig and had some home-cooked dishes, and Fu Chenghong enjoyed the meal very much.

This was already Fu Chenghong's third day eating at Zhu's Restaurant.

After eating for three days, he said to his staff, "Let the chef who has been cooking for me these days come over here."

When the waiter heard this, cold sweat broke out on his forehead, thinking that this noble envoy was looking for trouble with the chef because he was going back to Beijing after a good meal.

They all knew how delicious the food made by that young master was.

You should know that even they have a share of the daily breakfast and evening meals.

The waiter went to the kitchen and told Xu Qinyu.

Xu Qinyu was not panicked either, she just glanced at her fourth brother.

Pei Weixuan nodded at her.

Xu Qinyu was just about to follow the waiter to the private room on the second floor when Madam Zhu stopped her and said solemnly, "Young master, there is no need to go over there. I will go over there." She also thought that it was Qin Cha who wanted to trouble Xu Qinyu.

Xu Qinyu already knew about Fu Chenghong's plan from her fourth brother. She also knew that nothing would happen to her. Fu Chenghong probably didn't want to make things difficult for her, he just wanted to see her.

"Don't worry, Madam Zhu. I guess the officer just wants to see me."

Madam Zhu was also hesitant to speak. She could see that the young master was helping her out of a favor he had done her a few days ago, but the imperial servant obviously had bad intentions. The young master was such a good cook, it would be wrong for the imperial servant not to have some ideas. She was just worried that the imperial servant wanted to take the young master to the capital.

Xu Qinyu said again: "Madam Zhu, don't worry, I will go over and take a look first."

After she finished speaking, Madam Zhu sighed.

Xu Qinyu followed the staff to the private room on the second floor and saw the imperial servant, Governor Zhu, and two other officials inside.

Even though she didn't like this imperial envoy, Xu Qinyu suppressed her discomfort and stepped forward to salute.

Fu Chenghong was surprised to see that the cook was so young, and couldn't help asking, "Did you cook all the food for these Japanese officials?"

Xu Qinyu nodded, "That's exactly what I made. My father once told me that one of my ancestors used to cook in the palace. I don't know if it's true or not. Over the years, my grandfather and father have created a lot of new recipes. But I heard that my ancestors committed a crime and were banished to the southwest. My ancestors were also scared and didn't dare to open a restaurant. In addition, I have some talent in cooking. My father passed away when I was young, so I relied on the recipes left by my father to figure out my cooking skills. With these newly created recipes, the taste is more special and fresh."

These words were naturally fabricated by Xu Qinyu.

When Governor Zhu saw the dark-skinned young man in front of him, he knew he was Yu Niang. But he didn't know how she disguised herself. She didn't look like a woman at all, and her voice had even changed a lot.

He naturally knew that what Yu Niang said was all nonsense.

In fact, Governor Zhu also saw through Fu Chenghong's plan. These dishes were delicious. He probably wanted to bring the chef who made these delicious dishes back to the capital to present them to the King of Handong or the Queen Mother in the palace, so he asked the chef to come out and see him. He probably didn't expect the chef to be so young.

Fu Chenghong nodded and was just about to talk to Xu Qinyu about going to the capital.

This was indeed his plan. Even though this young chef looked young, his cooking skills were really good. The desire for food is also a desire. Whether it was presented to the King of Handong or the Queen Mother, with the young chef's cooking skills, he would have made a contribution.

But before he could open his mouth, Xu Qinyu suddenly said, "I have something else I want to tell you, sir. Please ask the other three sirs to step aside."

Fu Chenghong looked at Xu Qinyu, and he couldn't figure out what a little chef like him wanted to say to him. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Okay."

After saying this, he looked at Governor Zhu and said, "Please step aside as well, Governor."

The other two officials were a little worried, "Sir."

They were afraid that someone would assassinate the imperial edict. If the imperial edict was assassinated, the two of them would be held accountable when they returned to the capital.

Fu Chenghong waved his hand and said, "It's no problem, you can go down."

He could see that this weak boy with no power at all was not a skilled assassin.

After the three of them left, only Xu Qinyu and Fu Chenghong were left in the private room.

Xu Qinyu didn't feel any fear towards Qinchao, she just disliked him, so there was nothing to be afraid of. She took out the recipe of the recipe that her fourth brother had written for her from her bosom and handed it to Fu Chenghong, saying, "Sir, this is a recipe that our parents created, but I'm afraid it won't be kept in my hands, so I want to present it to you. I hope you won't dislike it. The dishes on this recipe are relatively novel, and the heat and proportion of ingredients are also noted. Any chef with a little talent can cook delicious dishes."

Of course this is false. Who can compare with her cooking talent?

But these recipes can indeed taste very good to a talented chef.

Fu Chenghong was a little surprised, "You just gave me the recipe?"

Xu Qinyu said, "Because my family committed a crime, we were banished to the southwest. Only my brother and I are left. I am also worried that others will bully my brother and me and want to snatch this recipe. I just hope that you will remember this kindness and take care of me if there is anything in the future."

Fu Chenghong asked again, "What was your ancestor's surname?"

Xu Qinyu said: "My ancestor's surname was Zou Mingshiming."

This identity was not even a random fabrication. I don't know where the fourth brother got it from, but it seemed that there really was such a person whose ancestor was a cook in the kitchen of the Zou family. Somehow he committed a crime and was demoted. Then the Zou family settled in the southwest, but in recent years, only a few people of the Zou family were left, and it seemed that only the two brothers were left.

Although Fu Chenghong didn't know whether what the young chef said was true or not, he could investigate after returning to Beijing, and he believed that the young chef would not dare to deceive him.

He was very attracted by the recipe, and originally planned to bring the young chef back to Beijing to present it to the King of Handong or the palace. However, his ancestors had committed crimes, so he certainly could not be brought back to the capital easily. However, he was willing to present the recipe to himself.

Fu Chenghong was well aware of the value of this recipe. Jixianglou in the capital city made a lot of money every day, and these dishes were much more delicious than those of Jixianglou. If he really used these recipes to open a restaurant, it would surely be packed with customers, and its business would be even better than that of Jixianglou.

With this recipe, he can let the women in his family open a restaurant and hire some famous chefs.

The annual income is easily hundreds of thousands of silver coins, and may be as much as two or three hundred thousand.

How many years would it take him to work as a subordinate of the King of Handong to earn so much money?

Just like this time's military pay embezzlement case, only two thousand taels of silver came into his hands.

Compared to this priceless recipe, it was easy for him to make the decision.

Fu Chenghong knew very well that he should choose between bringing back the recipe or bringing the little chef to present to the King of Handong. Naturally, he would choose the recipe. No one could refuse an income of two or three hundred thousand taels of silver a year.

And he was the only one who knew the recipe. When he returned to the capital, he did not have to present it to the King of Handong. He could just find an excuse and say that it was obtained by a woman in his family.

Fu Chenghong suddenly didn't want to take the little chef back to Beijing anymore, so he decided to let him stay in Zhu's Restaurant.

Fu Chenghong accepted the recipe and said with a smile, "Zou Ge'er is thoughtful. Don't worry. After returning to the capital, if the case can be overturned, I will definitely help you. Even if the case cannot be overturned, if you have any difficulties in the future, you can write a letter and have someone send it to the capital, and I can help you solve it."

Xu Qinyu pretended to be happy and said, "Thank you, sir."

Seeing him accept the recipe, Xu Qinyu breathed a sigh of relief.

Four days ago, her fourth brother told her that the imperial servant might be impressed by her cooking skills and would want to take her to the capital to present her to the King of Handong or the Queen Mother.

Seeing that he wanted to see her today, he must want to ask her to go to the capital. If he really asked her, how could she refuse? Even if she refused, with the heart of this servant, she would let someone take her away by force. So the fourth brother told her that money can make the devil work. Most people can't resist the profits that a recipe like this can bring, let alone someone like Fu Chenghong.

So he easily gave up the idea of ​​bringing Xu Qinyu back to Beijing.

Bringing Xu Qinyu back to Beijing was just to present her to his superiors, who would just think of her as a chef who cooked more delicious food and would not remember Fu Chenghong's contribution at all.

And bringing back the recipes is a clear way to make a fortune.

Moreover, her fourth brother also told her that Fu Chenghong could not bring this recipe back to the capital. Once they left the southwest, someone would take action and the military pay embezzlement case in the capital would not end there.

Xu Qinyu thought that her fourth brother had received the governor's order and would take action after the imperial edict left the southwest.

She couldn't help but worry about her fourth brother's safety.