"Miss, is there anything you'd like to eat?" Gao Pan'er asked Du Juan after she recovered.
"Aunt Gao, just cook a few of your best dishes."
"I've already instructed people to prepare the ingredients in advance. Aunt Gao, please check if there's anything we're missing? I'll have someone prepare it."
After Du Juan finished speaking, she led Aunt Gao to the place where the ingredients were specially placed.
The kitchen counter was piled high with lamb, beef, pork, old hen, mushrooms, tofu, tomatoes... basically all the dishes we usually eat at this time of year.
The condiments were also fully prepared on the side: salt, soy sauce, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, white vinegar, balsamic vinegar, cooking wine, premium soy sauce, fermented black beans, spices, sesame paste...
"The ingredients are all there, nothing is missing, so there's no need to prepare anything else."
"I've looked at the ingredients, so I'll make twice-cooked pork, crab meat lion's head meatballs, Kung Pao chicken, braised beef brisket with tomatoes, and a chicken soup," Gao Pan'er said after thinking for a while.
"Alright, I'll make some chicken soup to nourish Miss. It's cold now, and young ladies are most prone to depleting their energy," Du Juan happily agreed.
When Du Juan saw Gao Pan'er about to pick up a piece of meat to wash it, she quickly stopped her.
"Aunt Gao, stop doing this. Let the kitchen staff handle the cleaning of the ingredients."
"The water is still a bit cold. Don't let your hands get cold, or it won't look nice. If the young lady finds out, she'll blame me."
Du Juan went up, took the piece of meat from Gao Pan'er, and casually handed it to the person working in the kitchen.
"Aunt Gao, leave these matters to us. As servants, how can we let our masters do all the work while we stand by and watch?" The head cook in charge of the main kitchen stepped forward and flattered her, her face full of obsequiousness.
"Cuizhu, Xiangxiu, you two come and help clean these ingredients." The head housekeeper turned to call the two maids in the kitchen who were in charge of cleaning the ingredients to do the work.
His face was serious. "Wash it clean. If I find it's not clean, you'll be in for a world of hurt."
"Okay, Mom, we'll go right away."
Then the two maids took out the ingredients needed for the dish that Aunt Gao had mentioned making and washed them.
Before long, the ingredients were washed and placed on the counter.
There was a servant nearby who was about to go up and cut the ingredients into pieces to prepare for cooking.
Du Juan knew something was wrong. Making Aunt Gao cook was an attempt to torture her. The servants did all the work, and she only had to lift a finger and flip the spatula. That wouldn't do!
If I wasn't worried that she wouldn't handle the ingredients properly, I would have skipped the vegetable washing step just now!
After all, it's freezing cold, and soaking your hands in ice water is quite an unpleasant experience.
The task of washing vegetables has been waived, but the task of chopping vegetables cannot be neglected!
"You can all leave now. There are so many people standing in the kitchen, there's no room to even step. Don't interfere with Aunt Gao's performance."
"If you don't do a good job, you'll all be in trouble one by one."
"Don't just stand there, get out of here." Du Juan shooed everyone out first. Now, only Qing Yan remained in the kitchen.
However, Du Juan didn't care. She knew without a doubt that Qing Yan wasn't as easily fooled as the others, so she didn't want to waste her breath.
Besides, you might talk until your throat is dry, and the other person still might not listen to you, which would be infuriating.
"Aunt Gao, all the ingredients have been washed. What should we do next?"
"Look at how clumsy I am, and how bad I am at cooking. I want to help Aunt Gao, but I don't know where to start," Du Juan said, lightly slapping her hand with an innocent look.
"Cooking has always been about achieving a perfect balance of color, aroma, and flavor, which also places certain demands on the size, shape, and composition of the ingredients."
"It's my fault for not putting in the effort to improve my cooking skills before. Now I can't help you even if I wanted to, so Aunt Gao will have to prepare the ingredients herself."
After Du Juan finished speaking, she slapped her thigh in regret, as if she were truly filled with remorse.
"It's okay, I can manage on my own, no need for help." Gao Pan'er's expression turned slightly pale.
She had blocked the way, clearly not wanting anyone to help, and besides, all the kitchen staff had left.
Qingyan, that girl, has her own insights into everything from makeup and clothing to cosmetics.
However, when it comes to cooking, she's not as good as me. Don't even think about asking her to help chop vegetables. Du Juan is obviously a lackey of the young lady, so don't count on her doing any work.
Gao Pan'er was furious inside, but she quickly concealed her displeasure on her face and kept busy with her hands.
"Thump"
"Thump"
"Thump"
...
The kitchen was filled with the sound of chopping vegetables, which carried far.
Gao Pan'er seemed to be venting her emotions, slicing meat and vegetables incessantly on the cutting board.
We also need to pay attention to the size of the ingredients. They can't be too big, which would affect the appearance, nor too small, which would make it difficult to pick them up. Otherwise, if we're not careful in these small details, we might get targeted by that little bitch Mo Qian again!
To sum it up, let's just tolerate her for now and see how I deal with her when the master comes back!
In Gao Pan'er's mind, she imagined Mo Qian suffering a miserable fate at her hands, kneeling before her, crying and begging for forgiveness...
She was secretly overjoyed, and a smile appeared on her face. She no longer felt annoyed; she was smug now, but she would have plenty to cry about later.
Gao Pan'er thought bitterly, a smirk playing on her lips.
Du Juan looked at Gao Pan'er, who was chopping vegetables, and suddenly started laughing for no apparent reason. She wondered what she was laughing about, and whether she was too angry. She couldn't help but rub her arms.
However, with the young lady around, how could a mere concubine like Aunt Gao possibly overpower her? Dream on.
In ancient times, she would have been just a concubine, a plaything, someone who could be easily dismissed if she was unhappy; she was nothing more than a lowly person.
Even if she gave birth to a son, he would still be born out of wedlock and wouldn't stand a chance against the legitimate eldest daughter.
Not to mention, Young Master Mo Lu is still young and hasn't grown up yet, so he's not a big threat now. By the time he grows up, the young lady will have already married.
As the young lady's personal maid, she would definitely accompany her to the young master's house as part of her dowry. No matter how far Young Master Mo Lu's influence was, it couldn't reach the future young master's family, so it wouldn't have much of an impact.
The eldest daughter is the legitimate daughter, while they are illegitimate children and concubines, so they are inherently on opposite sides. Moreover, she is on the eldest daughter's side, so there will never be a day when they can turn hostility into friendship.
All I can do is suppress the arrogance of that mother and son during the time before the young lady's marriage, so that the young lady can have a grand and glorious wedding!
Thinking of this, Du Juan straightened her body, and her expression became even more determined.
Seeing that Gao Pan'er had almost finished cutting, Du Juan went outside and called in a maid who was in charge of tending the fire.
It's unrealistic to expect Gao Pan'er to watch the cooking in the pot while simultaneously tending the fire.
Qingyan also grew up in the mansion, so she probably can't be relied on for these chores like tending the fire.
Since we can't mess with Gao Pan'er, we shouldn't create more trouble for ourselves. It's getting late, and I guess the young lady is getting impatient, right?
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