Chapter 184 Chapter 184 Update.
"I like bright children like you. Let's do our best. When this plague is over, there will definitely be a reward from the Minister of the Imperial Household.
Although you are hired from outside, you are also paid by the Shaofu, so if there is a reward, you will definitely be included."
Yi Gu felt that she had a good relationship with her, and she left only at this moment. When she left, she scolded Wang Huzi for not taking off his dirty clothes in advance, and said:
"Don't think that since Xu Niang just arrived, you should just throw all the work to her. Otherwise, you will never be able to drink the wine I brew again."
Wang Huzi started snoring, and it was unclear whether he heard it or not. Ji Xu glanced at the sky, tied up his sleeves with a pair of armbands, wrapped his hair with a square towel, and began to prepare dinner.
The plague department here provides three meals a day. According to the imperial physician, eating small meals frequently is beneficial to strengthening the body.
The ingredients in this kitchen are all delivered by special Yu Lin Lang every morning. Ji Xu also counted them when he was cleaning up just now. There are common seasonings such as salt, fermented black beans, and sauces, as well as some beans and wheat, which are staple foods that can be stored for a long time.
There was a large green-skinned winter melon in the corner, Job's tears in a cloth bag, and even a pair of large bones hanging from the beam. The weather was hot, so a few flies were attracted to it.
But when she smelled it, it was still fresh. It must be the bones of meat that had been slaughtered today, so it could only be kept in the afternoon.
Although the daily ingredients are not expensive, they are warm and fresh, and they have all been approved by the Imperial Medical Bureau, so they are beneficial to the patients.
It was just that Wang Huzi's cooking was sloppy, which caused everyone to complain. But he was fat and big, and if it were someone else, they might not be able to withstand the epidemic. For example, Li Chef, who was infected earlier, is still lying in the straw hut.
Therefore, what Wang Huzi did has been ordered by his superiors to continue until now. All of this was told to her by Yi Gu.
Since Ji Xu arrived here, she naturally tried her best to cook delicious food. However, she asked Yi Gu and found out that the number of people from Wuling who were suffering from the plague and were accommodated here today was eighty, which meant that she had to prepare eighty servings of food, which was a larger amount than before.
She looked at the cooking utensils here. There was a large three-legged bronze cauldron, two large iron pots and an iron steamer on the stove. Because they were very large and had walls as thick as a palm, they were not suitable for frying. They were only suitable for steaming, braising, simmering and stewing.
Those were patients, and spicy food was not suitable for them. She also asked Yi Gu, because some of their symptoms were very severe, it would be best for them to eat gruel, which was more suitable for them to swallow. Even if there was no gruel, at least there was some soup to pour over the rice and soften it before eating.
I saw her cutting the winter melon into circles, half the width of a palm, so that she could easily peel off the thick outer skin to reveal the tender white flesh.
The sac inside was slightly scratched, but she didn't throw it away directly. Instead, she picked out the white winter melon seeds from the sac.
There is no need to say much about the benefits of winter melon. It is a very ancient vegetable. Because "dong" and "dong" have similar pronunciations, it is sometimes recorded as "dong melon" in ancient books.
According to what she knew in her previous life, it has a high potassium salt content and a low sodium salt content, so even people with high blood pressure and kidney disease can eat it.
Even the winter melon seeds are good for people. They can make the skin moisturized, smooth and beautiful. They can also replenish the essence and strengthen the body. Therefore, they were used as medicine in the Western Han Dynasty. They have a nice name, Shuizhi.
She saved the winter melon seeds and wrapped them in a hot towel so that they would be easier to take out after cooking.
The winter melon was cut into medium-sized pieces and placed in a basin. Because the weather was hot, leaving it open would attract flies, so she placed it in a large basin and covered it with another upside-down basin.
Pour out half a bag of Job's tears to wash. Job's tears is the same as Job's tears in later generations.
Nowadays, it is not only a cereal, but also a good medicine. It can treat muscle cramps, dampness, and lower gas. Taking it for a long time can make the body lighter and improve qi.
Wang Huzi saw her picking and washing the Job's tears from a distance, and continued to say:
"You're asking for trouble."
If Ji Xu was still the same, she looked at the two large ribs in the big pot and they were already cooked. She had cooked them in advance. The hot soup was boiling and emitting bursts of hot steam.
Add the Job's tears now, and then add the winter melon, minced meat and seasonings at the appropriate time.
The minced meat was what she picked off from the big bones. Although it was not much, she chopped it up and mixed it in, perhaps to give more people a taste of meat.
During this process, she would step on a wooden block from time to time to stand higher and stir the soup with the iron stirrer that she had washed and boiled to prevent the bottom from being burnt.
I couldn't help but think of the high school cafeteria, where the chef also used a shovel to stir-fry big pots of food, and the shape was almost the same as this shovel.
The more it cooked, the thicker it became. It became more difficult to stir it, and both my arms became sore.
When she smelled a pleasant fragrance, she knew that the big pot of winter melon, barley and lean meat soup was ready.
Following Wang Huzi's example, he filled two large buckets and carried them to distribute.
Before this, she wore a dress given to her by Yi Gu when she went out. It was made of hemp cloth and was rough, but it was cheap. When it was no longer usable, she would throw it on the fire and burn it.
She put it on, took out her mask and hung it over her ears, then called out to Wang Huzi:
"Uncle Wang, the soup is ready. Let's each bring one and share it together."
Wang Huzi was sleeping in the shade of a tree. When he heard her call, his snoring stopped. He wanted to drink some wine, but found the bamboo tube was empty. He threw it away in frustration and said:
"A hired market cook dares to order me, Wang Huzi around?"
Ji Xu thought for a moment and said:
"How can I say I'm being ordered around? You slept all afternoon while I was here making soup. If you want to tell me to be ordered around, I'm the one being ordered around. If Aunt Yi knew you did all the work for me, you wouldn't be able to drink the rice wine she brewed."
"snort."
Wang Huzi is addicted to alcohol. In this isolated place, if he is without alcohol, he may not be able to survive a day. Come here and pick up the bucket.
"You need to wear a sackcloth when you go there."
Ji Xu reminded, "That's what Yi Gu said as well."
Wang Huzi put on his clothes, picked up the bucket and walked away with big strides.
Ji Xu was weak, and the bucket was hot, so she couldn't use it to support her legs. She could only hold her hands in the air, taking two steps, then stopping. Slowly, she finally made it to the plague department, but she heard a commotion inside.
"Let me out! What kind of official kitchen are they? They feed us food that is so worthless that even the slop from my Manxianglou is worse than that!"
It turned out that the person causing trouble was the shopkeeper Hu from Manxianglou. She wanted to go outside the Great Wall because she heard that there was a famous doctor in Bashu and wanted to go there to ask for medicine to cure the plague in her body.
But Hangu Pass is now closed, and the inspections a while ago were also very strict. She had rashes and sores on her body, which could not be concealed at all. It was impossible for her to be released from the pass. She was spreading the plague everywhere, so she was immediately detained by the Yulin Lang and sent to this shelter. It has been five or six days now.
The prescriptions here didn't work, and she had poor meals three times a day. She was making a fuss, with disheveled hair and a dirty face, and was arguing with Wang Huzi.
The people in the straw huts were murmuring,
"Who is that?"
"Shopkeeper Hu from Tianxia Diyi Lou also came here because of the plague?"
"The more she runs a business, the more likely she is to be infected. The deceased Yang Liu often went to Manxianglou to drink."
"If you ask me, this is a good thing. We really don't eat well here. Wang Huzi, the official chef, feeds us like pigs."
She pulled out a burning stick from the fire and was about to burn those who tried to stop her. She was about to burn the straw huts here. When she realized what they were more afraid of, she said:
"Don't come over here! If you come over here again, I'll set this place on fire. Prepare a carriage and take me back to Manxianglou!"
When they saw the fire, everyone was scared and the people begged her not to burn it. The sheds here were all made of straw and if it burned, a large area would be burned.
The Yulin Lang and the Li family soldiers who wanted to arrest her did not dare to approach. Chen Juan heard about it and rushed over and said:
"We hired a chef named Jinnv to cook at our shelter. She's a famous chef in Gao City who specializes in stewing and stir-frying. Today's soup is different from the past. You should try it before you speak."
When Manager Hu heard it was her, he was distracted and the guards took away his torch and took him back to the straw hut. To prevent her from causing trouble, they locked her room.
Later, when the people here were dispersed, Ji Xu and Wang Huzi began to divide the pie.
When I was assigned to work for Manager Hu, I could see the situation inside through the wooden gate: a straw mat, a clay basin, and a set of bowls and chopsticks.
The thing hanging on the wall should be her bag. She was sitting under the bag. When she saw Ji Xu coming, she didn't say anything and didn't bring the bowl over.
Ji Xu called her twice, but she ignored him.
"If you don't eat it, I'll go somewhere else."
People outside are saying:
"Really a golden girl?"
"This soup tastes really good, soft, sticky and fragrant. It's the best soup I've had here."
"I couldn't afford to go to Gao City outside, but I didn't expect to be able to taste the cooking skills of Yijin Nv Niang when I got here."
"Mrs. Yijin, can we all eat the meals you cook in the future?"
They also knew the rules and took out their bowls in advance when sharing the soup to reduce contact with those who were not infected with the plague.
After all, the people here have become doctors through long-term illness. When they saw Ji Xumeng's handkerchief, they were not as surprised as the people outside. They knew it was used to protect the mouth and nose from air. They only cared about talking about the golden girl and today's soup.
"If she doesn't want to eat it, can she give me her share?"
They were talking at once, some of them were not satisfied with the meal and were already thinking about Manager Hu's bowl of soup.
Ji Xu was about to leave when he saw the shopkeeper Hu push out the bowl. He took the bowl of soup, ate it all, wiped his mouth and said:
"Just wait until you catch the plague here!"
The further inland you go, the sicker the people living there are. Most of them are the elderly, the weak, women and children. Unlike the people outside, they still have the energy to chatter. Most of them close their eyes and remain silent, or lie down and groan.
Wang'er had a convulsion and was held in Qiugu's arms. He applied some kind of herbal medicine to his gangrenous face and neck, but it all fell on Qiugu.
He vomited everything, which was the medicine he had taken at noon and two mouthfuls of soup. Fortunately, the cramps stopped.
Aunt Qiu let him sleep on the mat and went about getting some ash and a broom to clean up the place.
When she met Ji Xu, they talked. She was not infected with the virus. She came here on her own to take care of Wang'er.
She didn't feel sorry for Yang Liu's death, but she was afraid that Wang'er wouldn't survive and would die like his grandfather. Now Wang'er was in a bad situation. Her eyes were swollen from crying. She held the soup and fed it to Wang'er, saying:
"Wang'er, look, this is the soup made by Xu Niang. Don't you always say that her family's food is delicious? Have another bite."
Wang Er really ate half a bowl of rice and did not say that he ate it and then vomited it out. Qiu Gu was very happy.
"As long as I can eat, eat well, sleep well, and I won't get sick."
Seeing that he could eat it, Ji Xu was happy too. He divided the porridge and went back. He also ate the portion of porridge that was reserved for himself as a snack.
Wang Huzi's bowl was left in the cauldron. As soon as he came back, he went to ask Yi Gu for wine. He didn't know when he had eaten the soup. Later, Ji Xu only saw an empty bowl there.
After Ji Xu finished eating, he first changed his sweaty inner clothes to avoid catching a cold. A weak body would be unable to resist the invasion of the epidemic. If he wanted to be an official chef, his health was his capital.
She couldn't go out at night and lived in a shelter. The room was near the kitchen. There were two separate rooms, one for her and one for Wang Huzi. The furnishings inside were simple, with a bamboo couch, a mat, and a basin.
She wanted to take a shower, but there was no such facility here, so she just fetched some water and wiped herself.
Because he had been to the plague office and his hair was wet on a hot day, he found three firewood sticks, tied them together into a tripod, placed a basin on it, bent over and washed his hair, wrung it half dry with a towel, and boiled his own dose of plague-repellent medicine in the small stove under the eaves, using a small fan to fan the fire.
At dusk, there was the sound of horse hooves. A group of people rode their horses quickly to the vicinity, raising a cloud of dust. The leader dismounted and walked towards here at a brisk pace.
Ji Xu stood up and was about to say hello when he was dragged out of the shelter and was already far away from the watchtower at the door.
Just then, a carriage arrived and stopped at their feet. Zhuang Gaiyi then let her go and took the stool at the back for her to step on, saying:
"Get in the car, I'll take you home."
Ji Xu finally understood his intention and did not move for a moment.
"When I first arrived, I also thought about going back, but after seeing the people from the Shaofu, Wang Huzi, Yi Gu, and going to the Plague Office, I wanted to stay."
She glanced at the smoke from the fire in the direction of the Plague Bureau and said, "Not only for them, but also for myself. I want to be an official chef in the Ministry of Personnel in the future."
"You can't bear it." Zhuang Gaiyi was also looking in that direction, at the smoke.
"I can endure this if I have the willpower. When the Li family closed down my restaurant and I was left with nowhere else to go, I felt I couldn't bear it. But now that I'm here, despite all the horrible rumors out there about this place, my heart has calmed down. It's like I've found a new path."
"Do you really want to stay?" He looked at her from the smoke.
"Um."
Ji Xu's eyes revealed her determination, so Zhuang Gaiyi no longer forced her to go back. He sent the carriage back to the mansion, and the two walked back to the orphanage. Ji Xu's hair was dry, so it would be blown to the front by the wind, so she used a bamboo hairpin to tie it into a simple bun behind her.
More than a year has passed since we parted in Youzhou. The last time we met was briefly at Manxiang Tower, and now we have time to catch up.
"You've come back from Hangu Pass, exhausted? What's it like outside the pass? I heard there's a shelter like this there, too."
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