It is better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early. Xiao Que arrived just in time to catch the potatoes when they were at their crispiest moments after they came out of the pot. He held a small bowl and ate them with chopsticks. He finished them in a short while and was reluctant to give the rest to the craftsmen outside.
After the initial surprise, Meng Taotao felt more confident about their hastily-organized Guangji Temple rally. He stopped after finishing one bowl, weighed out the soaked soybeans, and turned back to help prepare the persimmons.
"Put the millstone here. Yes, be careful."
The sound of Wang Ting outside the door was heard above the hammering of the masons. Si Li smiled and said, "It's the timely rain. Xiao Que and I are waiting to taste your cooking. Go and see if it works."
Meng Taotao said helplessly, "The beans haven't been soaked properly, so it's useless to try."
Even so, she was still pushed out by Si Li to take a look. The stone mill Wang Ting mentioned was actually a bit similar to a modern manual vegetable cutter, with a grinding and hand crank on top and a detachable solid wooden barrel on the bottom.
Meng Taotao inspected the stone mill, Si Li walked around twice, silently adding a new achievement to the queen in the original owner's memory: improved stone mill. Just looking at the shape, she didn't believe it had nothing to do with the vegetable cutter.
Wang Ting crossed his arms and watched the excitement. Seeing that the two girls just watched but did nothing, he curled his lips and said, "Is it too heavy? Do you want me to help..."
He had just taken a step forward, and before he could finish his words, he saw another short and fat girl coming out of the kitchen. She bent over and picked up the millstone, looking very relaxed. She even had time to say, "Miss, where do you want to put it?"
Wang Ting no longer wanted to meddle in the affairs of this young lady.
Si Li waved her over and didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "Don't move, just open it. The bucket has just been brought in, so you need to wipe it before you can use it."
"Oh." Xiao Que took down the extremely thin millstone made of unknown material in two moves. The moment the two millstones fell to the ground, Wang Ting felt a vibration under his feet. Obviously, this millstone was very heavy.
"Then I'll go back and finish eating before I wash." Xiao Que came in with a bucket, and Si Li called her, "Leave some room for me, Tao Tao still wants to show off his skills."
Xiao Que, whose food intake was restricted, watched Si Li divide the remaining half basin of wolf tooth potatoes in the spirit of not wasting anything.
Wang Ting was not interested when he heard that it was potatoes again. There were many craftsmen in the yard, and there were not enough potatoes left, so Si Li cooked another pot. After the first attempt, the second time the two of them worked together much more smoothly.
[System: Ding Dong, a plate of ordinary wolf-tooth potatoes has been completed. Due to the assistance of employees, only 50% achievement points were obtained, achievement point +1]
This pot of wolf tooth potatoes is very different from the previous ones. As soon as it comes out of the pot, an aroma similar to that of French fries makes Si Li drool. The bowl is filled with potato strips, and the top is sprinkled with chili powder and cumin. When the hot oil is splashed, the aroma fills the air.
The masons and apprentices stopped their work and looked towards the kitchen, sniffing, "Why does it smell so good?"
Wang Ting, who was sitting in the yard with nothing to do, swallowed his saliva and was thinking about whether to go in and help and get a bowl to eat. He had even thought of a polite beginning, but he heard Meng Taotao come out and say, "Miss made wolf tooth potatoes herself, one bowl for each person."
Is this a potato too?
The thought of giving up swirled in Wang Ting's mind, and finally he took a step forward and took the small bowl that Meng Taotao handed over to him.
He regretted it after taking the first bite. What's wrong with potatoes? How can potatoes be cooked so deliciously?
Meng Taotao didn't notice the changes in his expression. Together with Xiao Que, they reloaded the wooden barrel of the millstone and added the soybeans that had doubled in size into the millstone with water. Xiao Que twisted the handle vigorously with his arm. Si Li was already preparing the next round of potatoes. The wolf tooth potatoes were finally successful, so they naturally had to be sent to various places for tasting, which would also appease the steward Wang.
Everyone in the yard was busy. Wang Ting stood in the yard holding a bowl. He looked up while eating and suddenly felt that he was a little redundant.
Si Li used to buy ready-made tofu, but it was her first time watching someone make tofu, and she was curious about everything. She watched Meng Taotao's movements while cutting potatoes. The soy milk was ground and filtered through linen cloth three times before boiling and turning off the heat. Meng Taotao seemed to have a countdown in his mind, and after a while, he added white vinegar water on time. The whole process was methodical.
What is momentum? This is momentum. A first-level chef can already do this. Si Li imagined the scene after the upgrade, such as cooking with special effects and background music, and was immediately shocked by herself.
The solidified tofu was put into a wooden colander and pressed with stones until it was ready to be formed. After completing the task, Meng Taotao looked up and met her boss's envious eyes. She pointed at the chopping board and said with a smile, "Miss, if you cut any more potatoes, they will be gone."
Si Li thought that they didn't need so many potatoes. "Make some first and ask Madam Li to exchange for lunch. I'll think about it later when I give it to others."
Meng Taotao did not expose her and quickly finished another pot of wolf-tooth potatoes. Meng Taotao went with the kitchen maid to look for Li Niangzi. When she came back, she not only brought a food box, but also a piece of lean meat.
Mrs. Li made fried noodles with soybean paste for lunch and added a bowl of tomato and egg soup as a side dish, which was very delicious.
Si Li had only eaten roast duck once in her previous life in Beijing, and this was her first time eating authentic fried bean curd noodles. The thick, oily fried bean curd was mixed evenly, and the noodles were covered with brown-red sauce and served with a little cucumber and radish shreds, which gave a great visual impact, just like the food pictures on modern social platforms, which looked delicious.
The cooking skills of the first second-level chef Si Li had seen were clearly not fancy. The noodles were of moderate thickness and chewy, the fried sweet bean paste had a meaty aroma, the subtle mushroom flavor could only be distinguished after eating it, and the bamboo shoots, which were rare in this season, brought a fresh and crisp taste, making people wonder how enjoyable it would be to eat this bowl of noodles in the spring when the umami taste is at its best.
"Mrs. Li specially added these dishes for us. Please eat more, young lady." Meng Taotao instructed Si Li when she saw her put down her chopsticks.
Si Li glanced at the tofu cubes in her hand and asked, "Why don't you eat it?"
"Before, I lost my appetite, ate less, and spent less. Now I am overfed." Meng Taotao lightly explained the matter, intentionally diverting Si Li's attention. The tofu she had just pressed in her hand trembled slightly, and a broad-backed kitchen knife flashed, and the tofu block fell into the water under Si Li's eyes, forming a tofu flower with petals as thin as hair.
Si Li stared at the flower blankly. She had seen master chefs show off their skills before when eating Wensi tofu in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, but she never thought that Meng Taotao could actually do it.
Meng Taotao didn't get the surprise she imagined, and she felt a little embarrassed. She didn't say anything and quietly processed the tofu she had just pressed. The pressed tofu needed to be soaked in alkaline water with salt and then drained to form the tofu she used for the top tofu. Now the demonstration time was tight, and she had to make it before going to bed at night, so she had to hurry.
Meng Taotao was busy and naturally missed Si Li's excited expression.
——His knife skills are so good at level three. It’s a good deal to hire this employee.
After dinner, Si Li decided to cut tofu by hand. She didn't pursue cutting it in a flowery way, as long as she could cut it completely, she would be considered successful. However, the simple skill was quite difficult to do. She cut two pieces of tofu and almost cut her hand. Si Li was forced by Meng Taotao to stop the dangerous experiment. "Miss, you have been busy all morning. Take a rest after taking the medicine. Manager Wang will talk about the stall in the evening. If he sees that Miss cut her hand, he will not let you go out."
Under Meng Taotao's gaze, Si Li felt like she had turned into a giant baby. She compromised, "I'll steam two pots of cake and then go out to bask in the sun."
Why take medicine? Si Li used to think that it was a waste not to take it, but now that I have the healthy beef tendon produced by the system, who would want to take that bitter medicine!
The sun was shining brightly outside, and Xiao Que helped move the newly-caged rice cakes to the other side of the yard, away from the construction dust in front of the kitchen door. Si Li dipped her hands in madder juice, marking the rice cakes while leisurely basking in the sun.
Just now, her achievement points finally broke through the 100 mark. Si Li opened the system panel and happily went to the mall to make a purchase.
After the novice mission guidance was completed, it was the first time she saw a fully unlocked mall, with both the recipe module and the material module open.
She clicked on the material module, took a look at it, and quickly exited it. It was okay to look at it, but it was impossible to buy it. At the top of the material module, it was clearly written: The price of materials sold in this mall is unified with the time and space. Due to the limitation of time and space, there are no special materials for sale. One penny is equal to one achievement point.
Just kidding, achievement points are so hard to earn, why would you use them to buy things that you can buy for a penny outside!
Looking at the recipe module again, the lowest-priced "Fried Milk" costs 1,000 achievement points. What's even more annoying is that it doesn't have any empty star recipes for sale.
Deeply understanding the current situation of the only chef who never fails in cooking dishes being despised, Si Li bought some beef tendon to quickly shut down the system. If she continued watching, she was afraid that her mentality would explode.
Achievement points are earned slowly but spent quickly. Having become a pauper again, with only a few achievement points on her account, Si Li cheered herself up, finished drawing the rice cakes, and went back to the kitchen to bake and steam cakes.
Meng Taotao, who was familiar with the process, had already processed a batch of persimmons and mung bean skins while she was dawdling. The employees were working too hard, and Si Li silently regretted her salted fish for a second.
The sun was setting, and it was almost time for Meng Taotao to soak the tofu. The bricklayers had finished half of the work outside the kitchen, and they only needed to lay two more layers of bricks tomorrow to complete the roof. Wang Ting sent them out and never came back. If Xiao Que hadn't mentioned it, Si Li wouldn't have noticed that there was one less mouth to feed.
"No matter what, he will never be hungry."
Si Li sat upright at the small table, waiting for Meng Taotao's top-ranking tofu to be served. Meng Taotao came in with a plate and saw Si Li's expression, and smiled bitterly, "The soybeans were not soaked for a long time, and the time to set was not enough, so the taste may not be as good as what you have eaten before. I am ashamed that the lady is so nervous."
"Of course the dishes cooked by Taotao are good." Si Li picked up a piece of tofu that was fried until golden brown and filled with soup. Although there was no meat in it, it had a faint and mellow meat aroma.
The taste of the hurriedly made tofu is not as good as the ones I have eaten before, but the aroma of the fresh and spicy sauce is similar to but different from the ones I have eaten before. After tasting this one and comparing it with Old Man Huang’s fried tofu, Old Man Huang’s fried tofu is like a poor imitator, who has tried his best to learn the appearance, but always lacks some taste.
Si Li sighed as she ate, "Tao Tao's cooking skills are good enough to open a restaurant. There's no meat but it smells like meat, isn't this what vegetarian food is all about?"
"We do have meat soup, but we can't say we have vegetarian dishes. As for opening a shop, isn't this where the young lady lives?"
When Meng Taotao mentioned Wanglaiju, Si Li laughed, "You are right. I wonder how jealous others will be if I have a top scholar lady as the second in charge of my Wanglaiju in the future."
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The author has something to say:
Lili: A queen, a time traveler, a cooking god, a technical instructor, and a reformer all in one. So awesome! An idol! It's a pity that she died young.
Prince: You are right.
——On the glorious life of the previous generation’s protagonist, the queen (not)
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Wolf tooth potatoes, mashed potatoes, French fries, next I want to eat (?) croquettes...