Chapter 106 Pampering

Wang Ziru found an excuse, went to the toilet, and ran away quickly.

After leaving the man's sight, Wang Ziru realized that she was too frightened. After coming out of the toilet, Wang Ziru looked at the clean sky and pouted, "Really? Why does Zong Hao always cause trouble for me?"

When I accompanied him to the city to find a job, I would meet people from the Han family.

After lingering in the courtyard for a while, I returned to the canteen, but there was no sign of the man.

"Zong Hao! Where is your brother-in-law? Where did he go?" Not being able to find him, Wang Ziru hurriedly looked for him everywhere.

Wang Zonghao lifted the lid of the pot and checked the sweet and sour pork ribs in the pot. "My brother-in-law must have found a place to hide. Otherwise, how dare he run out and show off again?"

"Can you please speak more politely? Your brother-in-law is an officer in the army. Show him some respect in the future, or I will get angry."

Wang Ziru slapped her brother in the face and warned him sternly.

Being slapped by his elder sister was not a big deal, but Wang Zonghao said nonchalantly: "Sister! What about Han Suijing? He can't be still a bachelor now, right? If he hasn't married yet..."

"Cook carefully! You got this job thanks to your brother-in-law." After saying that, Wang Ziru picked up a spatula and hit her brother on the head with it to teach the brat a lesson.

After being scolded by his sister repeatedly, Wang Zonghao never dared to make fun of her again.

When the sweet and sour pork ribs in the wood-fired pot were almost cooked, Wang Ziru lifted the lid of the pot next to it and took a look at the rough stewed chicken soup.

She is going to use this soup to cook cabbage.

Earlier, Wang Ziru had been rummaging through the drawers in the kitchen to find all the food that the comrades from the supply and marketing cooperative had delivered that day, and she discovered a neatly prepared old hen in a porcelain bowl under the chopping board.

She was overjoyed and picked out two pieces of chicken breast with bones, skin and meat, and threw them into the pot to make soup.

Although it only took 45 minutes to cook, the soup is flavorful enough for cooking cabbage.

In a blink of an eye, the alarm clock in the cafeteria rang after 12 o'clock.

"Shrimp is best stir-fried! Now let's start cooking the cabbage." Wang Ziru saw that the sweet and sour pork ribs in the wood-fired pot were almost done and fragrant enough, so she ordered: "Zong Hao, go get the cabbage."

Wang Zonghao turned around, took a bowl of cleaned cabbage from the chopping board, and tore it into small pieces with his hands.

“Is that how it’s going to be?”

"Yes, the leaves should be put into the pot last."

"oh."

Wang Zonghao is still very smart and often helps his mother cook at home.

So I can quickly understand what’s going on in the kitchen.

Soon, half a pot of cabbage soup was cooked. Sprinkle some salt to season it and pour it out.

"Are we going to stir-fry the shredded potatoes now?" Wang Zonghao asked after scrubbing the big iron pot clean.

"First, boil a small pot of water. Then, throw the washed potato shreds into the pot and blanch them..." Wang Ziru folded her hands, leaning against the earthen stove, feeling warm and relaxed. She pointed to the porcelain basin on the chopping board and said, "When the water in the pot boils, add a spoonful of white vinegar, put the potato shreds in the pot and cook for 10 seconds. Take them out immediately and rinse them with cold water. After they are thoroughly cooled, drain them."

"Sister, how did you come up with these weird methods?"

"Your sister is amazing. Just do as she says. I guarantee your cooking skills will improve dramatically. When you get your salary in the future, remember to bring some home to your parents. If I hear that you didn't give them any money..."

"Don't worry! If I don't give my salary to Mom, will I give it to Chen Pingping?"

Wang Ziru curled her lips and laughed inwardly, "I'm afraid my parents won't get to see a penny by then."

Old Man Zhang was going in and out of the small canteen, setting up the tables and waiting for everyone to come and eat.

Soon, there was a burst of smoke and fire in the kitchen.

Under the personal instruction of his sister, Wang Zonghao mastered the technique quickly and prepared two plates of spicy and sour potato shreds.

After taking the dishes out of the pot, put them in the pot next to it to keep warm.

Wang Zonghao cleaned the large iron pot and threw down the spatula. "Sister! You should cook the fried prawns with green onions. Let me see how good you are at cooking."

"Little guy, your sister is a woman who has received authentic cooking training! The fried shrimp I make is so delicious that you'll lick your fingers. Watch me, I'll only show you this time. If you don't learn it, don't ask me next time."

"I know. Just show off."

The brother and sister switched places.

Mr. Zhang usually cooks seafood in one pot or steams it, and then dips it in soy sauce when eating.

This is the first time I heard that shrimps can be stir-fried.

Seeing that Wang Zonghao gave up the cooking position to his sister, he also stood by the stove.

As soon as Wang Ziru stood there, she already had the aura of a chef. She first brought over a pot of prawns with their whiskers and shrimp tongs cut off, fried them in rapeseed oil over high heat, sprinkled them with rice wine, scallion, ginger, soy sauce, and a little bit of sugar, and let them juicy and shape up, then put them on an enamel round plate.

"It seems very simple." Before Wang Zonghao could figure out what was going on, two plates of fried shrimps had been taken out of the pot and placed into large enamel plates.

At around 12:30, there were signs of commotion in the two-story building in the front yard.

After a while, Zhai Ximo and Zou Bu and others arrived at the backyard.

Perhaps everyone smelled the different aroma in the canteen, and they all hurried forward.

"Your brother-in-law is a great cook! This smells so good." Zou Bu said with a hearty laugh.

Even though he is a middle-aged man and works day and night, he still has to eat a full meal when it is time to eat.

Zhai Ximo knew that the lunch was mostly thanks to his wife.

Based on his understanding of his brother-in-law, the guy could at best cook a bowl of noodles.

The rest is all learned on the spot.

Everyone rushed into the small dining hall. Before they had time to get their rice bowls from the shelf, they were all deeply attracted by the dishes on the two tables.

"Wow! So rich!"

"Is today the early Chinese New Year? By the way, can shrimps be fried like this?"

Except for a few comrades at the leadership level, most of the others are young people in their twenties.

Seeing that the dishes on the table were all unique and fragrant, I quickly ran to the shelf to get my own rice bowl.

The straw raincoat rice that Mr. Zhang steamed at noon was a mixed rice, half of which was rice and the other half was corn grits.

First, cook the two ingredients separately, then steam the rice in a wooden rice steamer. This traditional rice steaming tool is shaped like a bucket with a lid, with an arched base made of bamboo strips at the bottom. This way, there are holes underneath to allow steam to rush up when steaming the rice.

The rice cooker was placed on the small table next to it. When everyone got the rice jar, they had already forgotten who the leader was.

Everyone gathered around to get their meal.

After getting the meal, he rushed to the table and sat down.

“Sister-in-law! I won’t introduce you yet. Let’s eat first. I’m so hungry…” Captain Tang, a burly man, rushed to his old seat and sat down with an enamel pot full of rice.

After all, Zou Bu was the leader, and he also heard that Zhai Ximo and his wife accompanied his brother-in-law to the city today to try the food.

After finishing his meal, he came over and sat down, and greeted Wang Ziru, "Is this my sister-in-law? She's really pretty."

Zhai Ximo took an enamel rice bowl, filled his bowl with rice, and sat in the empty seat next to Zou Bu.

He nodded and smiled, "Yes, my wife doesn't have many opportunities to go to the city, and she is not familiar with the city yet."

"It's okay. You'll get used to it the more you come." Seeing that everyone had already started eating, Zou Bu didn't bother to chat. His chopsticks wandered between the dishes on the table, not knowing which plate to pick up first.

Wang Ziru realized that this person must be the biggest leader.

She came over and introduced with a smile: "For lunch, we made three dishes and one soup: spicy and sour potato shreds, sweet and sour spareribs, stir-fried prawns with green onions, and boiled cabbage soup. Everyone, try them. If you have any suggestions, let us know after we finish eating."

"You don't need to introduce them to me, sister-in-law. Look, they have almost finished all the food on their plates. They are really a bunch of foodies." Zou Bu was also very anxious. He was afraid that there would not be enough food, so he didn't even bother to talk to Wang Ziru.

"This shredded potato looks delicious..." He picked up a piece of shredded potato with chopsticks and stuffed it into his mouth.

Spicy and sour potato shreds are a very popular dish to go with rice in any era.

The taste is crisp, sour and spicy, and the stir-fry effect is very appetizing, which can make people who like to eat eat two more bowls of rice.

As expected, the entire Zou tribe was astonished. “This spicy and sour potato shreds are even more flavorful than the ones we have in restaurants back home! So delicious!”

The others had no time to deal with his surprise.

Zou Bu looked at the sweet and sour pork ribs on the table again, looking at the ribs piled up like a small mountain in the enamel round plate, covered with sweet and sour sauce, moist and shiny, and the sour and sweet taste easily attracted his greed.

"Smells so good! Are these all cooked by Xiao Wang?"

Dozens of eyes couldn't believe it, seeing that the plain-looking young man could actually make such good-looking and fragrant ribs.

Just looking at it makes me feel very satisfied and happy.

Wang Zonghao naturally did not dare to neglect the leaders, and nodded with a smile, "Yes, if the leaders like it, we will do it again next time."

Zhai Ximo, who was eating at the same table with Zou Bu, cast a doting look at his wife amid everyone's exclamations. He happened to hear his wife's infinitely gentle words, "The ribs taste good, everyone, eat slowly."

A plate of stir-fried shrimps with scallions was placed on a large round enamel plate that looked like a mooncake. Half of it was soon gone on the tables on both sides.

Everyone was eating the vegetables and drinking the soup, and some people noticed that the cabbage was very different from the usual ones.

"Hey! Why is today's cabbage soup so delicious? It smells like chicken soup."

"Xiao Wang, did you cook the cabbage in chicken soup?"

“It’s delicious!”

Of course Wang Zonghao knew that this bowl of cabbage was cooked by his sister using the broth made from a few pieces of chicken.

Therefore, a seemingly simple bowl of cabbage soup, after adding old ginger to enhance the flavor, has an extra warm ginger aroma, which is neither spicy nor pungent, and can make the soup base more mellow.

Served on the table in a large white porcelain bowl, the soup had a hint of light yellow, sparkling, and a hint of emerald green onion.

Not only does the cabbage look fresh and refreshing, it also looks delicious.

Everyone kept whispering to each other, "The dishes made by the new chef are very sophisticated, much more advanced than those cooked by Mr. Zhang."

"With such good cooking skills, you should go to a state-owned hotel to be a chef."

Zou Bu was a leader who had seen the world. He looked at the dishes on the table and smiled sincerely.

His colleagues sitting at the same table with him also understood that the leader was talking about the state-owned hotel with a beautifully decorated facade that ordinary people dared not step into.

"I didn't expect that a simple bowl of cabbage soup would be so delicious that it was the first thing the whole table finished eating." Zou Bu took the lead in pouring a bowl of cabbage soup into his own bowl, and said with a smile after eating it clean.

When the others saw that the cabbage soup on the table had been eaten up, they hurriedly asked the new chef, "Xiao Wang, can you give me two more bowls of cabbage soup?"

Wang Zonghao lifted up his apron and stood in the small cafeteria, nervously observing the leaders' reactions to the dishes.

I didn’t expect that a bowl of cabbage soup cooked by my sister would be so popular!

"There's still a lot of soup left. It's enough." He hurried over, picked up the large white porcelain bowl from the table, turned around and went into the kitchen to get the soup.

"That's good! Old Tang has finally done a great thing for all of us this time. I'll give you two dollars as a reward at the end of the year."

Deputy Captain Tang, who was sitting at the table next to him, with his mouth full of rice, quickly put down his bowl and chopsticks and bowed to express his gratitude.

Next to them, Old Man Zhang, wearing a military green cap, a white chef's uniform, and black-and-red-checkered sleeves, stood by as usual to add rice and soup to everyone's plate.

He has never been lazy in his life, and he always thinks he knows the appetites of his colleagues.

Today the new chef came and made a few simple dishes that were extremely popular, which made him feel very ashamed...

After lunch, everyone was very satisfied.

Zou Bu finally had time to chat with Wang Ziru. "Sister-in-law, now I finally understand that you were the one directing the meal while your brother was the one cooking. But I want to know, what is your secret? I'll ask your sister-in-law to do the same."