Chapter 190 Chapter 190 Update.
"They're evenly sized and delicious. Mm, these chess piece noodles are pretty good."
After tasting it, Hua Shanren asked her to make the chess piece noodles that were sent to the Ye Ting and other palaces today.
The Ye Ting was not just a place where palace maids did odd jobs, but also where concubines below the rank of Jieyushi lived. The Weiyang Palace and the Changle Palace were the residences of the emperor and empress respectively, and the latter was also where the empress dowager lived.
However, their bakery was only responsible for making noodles. As for how much to make and where to deliver it, it was not their responsibility. Instead, it was the commander and his subordinates who were responsible. Every month, the types and quantities of meals for that month would be written on a bamboo sign.
After the three meals a day are prepared, the guide officer will send someone to pick them up and deliver them to various places, so the daily menu is basically set in advance. If there is a banquet, the guide officer will also write it on a bamboo plate and give it to the Taiguan and Tangguan to prepare.
Ji Xu made chess-piece noodles, and at noon he also made two other noodles that he knew how to make as needed. He was a little free in the afternoon, because the noodles at that time were unleavened, and eating too much could easily cause indigestion and abdominal pain, so there were no noodles in the afternoon meals most of the time.
The cooks in the bakery prepare the flour and cooking utensils for tomorrow morning and then they can take a break.
Ji Xu followed a kitchen maid named Zhou Ping to the residence. There was a row of houses here, and all the female cooks and kitchen maids of the canteen lived there.
Cooks of higher rank could live in a separate room separated from their courtyard by a wall.
When Ji Xu arrived at the yard, he saw elm trees planted here. Many ropes were tied down from the trees to the wall, and many clothes, quilts and other people's clothes were hung out to dry in the sun, giving off a strong smell of the sun.
Two young kitchen maids were running around playing in there, and the older cook was scolding them for bringing their clothes down.
Ji Xu was walking inside along the crooked drying rope when he was accidentally pulled into the arms of two half-grown maids.
The two of them bumped into each other and made a loud bang. They looked up to see who it was and then they all ran back, shouting:
"Chef Ji is here! Chef Ji is here!"
The people living in this government office had already spread the word that a chef named Ji had come to the bakery today. He knew how to make chess-piece noodles. When they heard that he had arrived at the residence, some of them secretly watched him through the window.
"If you make any more noise, I'll tell my aunt and make you push the millstone all day long."
Zhou Ping taught the two kitchen maids a lesson, saying that her aunt was none other than Hua Shanren, who was in charge of the key to the bakery. She had a separate room in the next yard and there was no need to squeeze here.
The two young kitchen maids then slipped into a room inside and sat on the kang, one on the left and one on the right. In the middle were Ji Xu's two big bundles, still tied in the same way, and no one had touched them.
Zhou Ping said:
"This room has three of us kitchen maids living in it. Do you prefer to squeeze in with us, or live with those old maids outside? They grind their teeth and fart when they sleep. I advise you not to mind that we have too many people here, and live with us."
Most of the cooks here are of the age called "nuns". Ji Xu is the youngest one, and is about the same age as Zhou Ping.
"Our house is full, so don't come here."
Just now, a nun was collecting clothes in the yard and saw Ji Xu and said.
In fact, there were only two cooks living in their room, but the space was divided up properly. Even if there were some empty beds, they were filled with their own things. New people would have to clean up after moving in, so they found it troublesome and simply sent them away.
"I snore when I sleep. If you were a light sleeper, you would definitely dislike me."
The chefs watching the fun at the door didn't want Ji Xu to go to their place. There were already enough people in the room, and if one more person stayed there, it would become crowded.
But Ji Xu was also a cook, and if she didn't want to share the same space with the kitchen maids, they couldn't force her. Ji Xu thought for a moment and said,
"Zhou Ping and I are about the same age, and the two little girls here are cute. We're both from the Bakery Room, so we probably have a lot to talk about. It's great for me to live here."
"That's right, after all, you two are closer."
The nuns dispersed with relief, and some of them thought, he is indeed a city chef, who doesn't even mind living with the servants.
Zhou Ping felt that although Ji Xu was an official cook, she did not look down on them as official slaves and was willing to live here. Therefore, he wanted to make friends with her and took the initiative to help her tidy up her bedding.
This bedding was packed for her by Tian, and the government office could also receive it, but it didn't matter whether it was new or old, and it didn't necessarily mean who had slept on it before. After all, he was just a small official with a salary of less than 200 stones, and he didn't have such good treatment, so Ji Xu brought it himself.
"Chef Ji, what's in your bag? It smells so good."
Ji Xu's bedding was spread out at the very back, against the wall. She turned around and saw a little girl picking at her big bag and sniffing it, asking her what it was.
She untied the knot and took out a can of fried pork slices. This was made by Tian. She used pork with alternating fat and lean parts, coated it with rice flour and flour, and fried it in hot oil.
The climate in Guanzhong is drier than that in Wu, but the food is still crispy and has a strong aroma. No wonder they are greedy.
Official slaves were slaves after all. They still did rough labor and had two meals a day. The food provided by the government was not very good, especially for those who had no one to rely on. Their lives were even more difficult. When Ji Xu was a slave, he was so hungry that he pulled wild radish seedlings from the palace wall to eat.
Now each of them gave them two pieces,
"Take this fried pork slice and eat it."
One was eaten in one go;
One maid was reluctant to part with it, so she wrapped it up in a handkerchief and said she wanted to save it for dinner.
He also gave Zhou Ping two pieces. Zhou Ping hesitated for a moment and continued:
"I heard your family owns a restaurant in Kaohsiung City, no wonder the food is so good.
I thought you were difficult to get along with because of your relationship with the Imperial Physician. Now that I've eaten your food, let's go. I'll take you to the Western Weaving Bureau to have your measurements taken and your official uniform made. You probably don't even know where it is."
After licking his fingers, Zhou Ping took her to the Western Weaving Bureau to measure her size. Half a month later, Ji Xu came back with two sets of clothes.
He was wearing a round-necked inner shirt, and a wide-sleeved jacket with a right-side opening. He also had a square scarf tied around his head, the same one worn by the two cooks, Kong and Wu, both made of fine white cloth, but the styles were different for men and women.
After two months, when winter came, the upper garment was padded, and the lower garment was still cloth. However, Ji Xu would wear padded trousers inside. When it was colder, he could also put on woolen leg warmers. After all, making pancakes every day inevitably involved touching cold water.
"Ji Chef, have you gone to the palace to see Wang Huzi again?"
The weather was cold, and a few idle cooks were huddled in the back porch, drinking and gambling, using sheep shanks as chips. Kong and Wu were also there, and when they saw Ji Xu coming back from outside, they laughed at him.
Since the asylum was disbanded, Wang Huzi originally went back to work for the Tang official as a cook in the soup room. However, because he drank too much and was too lazy to get up, he was demoted again not long after he came back and went to the Ye Ting to work as a cattle official.
Ji Xu went to see him. Although Wang Huzi looked rough, he was not a bad person at heart. He could sense this when they were together in the shelter.
This time, I gave him the food I brought with me and advised him to drink less.
"He's no longer our Tang Guancheng. That Niu Guan sounds nice, but he's just a cow feeder and shoveler. You're trying to curry favor with the wrong person! Be careful or you'll end up like him, demoted to collecting cow dung!"
The group laughed at it, and then started throwing sheep bones, clamoring for someone to pay.
Ji Xu gathered her cloak, returned to her residence, and took out a bamboo scroll from her sleeve to read. This was what Wang Huzi had taught her while feeding the cows, and she had copied it down herself.
There were only three words written on it: "Dietary Recipes". He used to be the Tang Guancheng, the second in command of the Tang Guan, second only to the Tang Guanling. Naturally, he knew all about the meals of the four rooms: cakes, fruits and vegetables, wine, and soups.
Ji Xu had just arrived here, so even if he was proficient in making noodles, that was not what was wanted here.
After all, she was seconded here to do rough labor for only a short while, so there was limited information she could learn.
The noodles used in the palace were fine and precious, and might not be available in the market.
So she had never heard of or seen many of the noodles on the bamboo slips handed to her by the guide, let alone made them.
This is my new chess game. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to meet someone who knows how to play chess, but I’m not sure about the others.
Both Kong and Wu here would ignore her and would just like to find her mistakes. Zhou Ping's knowledge was limited, and Hua Shanren only cared about whether she did well or not, and would not kindly give her any advice.
Fortunately, Wang Huzi told her a lot, and Ji Xu already called him Master. He would ask him for advice from time to time, and write it down on a blank bamboo scroll. He would try it himself in his spare time. Now he has read it and put it in his bag.
It didn't matter if someone translated it. She didn't write in official script, but in simplified Chinese. Wang Huzi never looked at her to take notes. He just said that if she didn't write in simplified Chinese, she really couldn't keep up with his fast and slow speaking speed. Now it was just right, she was the only one who could understand it.
The plague outside has gradually subsided, and the lives of the neighbors in Sangshu Lane seem to have returned to the past, weaving felt hats to wear in winter at Tian's house.
Now it is Aunt Xiao who is looking after the grocery stall in Huai City, and she is paid a monthly salary. Although she has the same surname as the thief Xiao, she is a very down-to-earth person who would not take a single needle from others. Therefore, she was given the job to sell the goods, and since the plague was over, everything has been going well.
"My aunt said that the East and West Palaces are going to Ganquan Palace to offer sacrifices to the Five Plague Gods."
The East and West Palaces refer to Changle Palace and Weiyang Palace. Because the former is on the east and the latter is on the west, they are often called the East Palace and the West Palace, and are also used privately to refer to the emperor and empress who live there respectively.
Ji Xu had just put away her bag when Zhou Ping came in and said to her,
"I heard that because the plague outside has subsided, they are going to bring all the officials to Ganquan Palace to offer sacrifices."
Ganquan Palace is a detached palace also in Chang'an, but not in Jingzhao Yin where they are. Instead, it is located at the foot of Ganquan Mountain in Yunyang County, Zuofengyi, about 200 miles away from here, and is the northernmost part of Guanzhong.
It is not only a summer resort, but also a place for sacrifices since the time of the previous emperor. It is said that there is an axis that connects to gods, where hundreds of gods gather, and the Five Plague Gods are naturally enshrined there.
As expected, the next day, Hua Shanren also told about this matter, especially telling her and the three cooks Kong and Wu.
"Sacrifices are held at Ganquan Palace, and cakes and bait are essential as part of the offerings. We need some people from the cake and bait room to contribute."
Ji Xu had been staying here for a few days and had heard the cooks in the residence talking about it. They said that cooks basically did the same thing every day. If they could go to the detached palace to make sacrifices for the sacrifice, it would be like having a chance to show their face. Maybe at the end of the year they would have the opportunity to be promoted to a cook and live in a separate house in the next courtyard.
So when it comes to going to Ganquan Palace, everyone is looking forward to it, but Hua Shanren said:
"The palace has limited accommodations. The Tang official said that we have four rooms for cakes, vegetables, wine, and soup. You don't have to go with everyone. Just pick the ones who can handle it.
For example, the wine room only needs one winemaker, and our bakery, since everything is freshly made, needs two cooks to go with me."
"two?"
"Kong Chef and I are the elders here. According to seniority, it's our turn to go. As for the new city chef, he will naturally be left to guard the gate."
"I told you, your tricks won't work here. In my bakery, talent is everything. Whoever does well will go to Ganquan Palace."
The chef said, "Kong and Wu glanced at Ji Xu and then dispersed to the two sides." The chef Wu said,
"Even if it comes down to who does it best and who does it skillfully, it must be me and Kong Shou."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com