Chapter 101: Mandarin Fish: As long as you are here, I will definitely be here.
When Miss Pei heard that it was noon, she cried out and her face changed suddenly.
"I have to go back."
She was just doing her job, and now she has been here for so long and still hasn't gone back, wouldn't her parents think that their relationship has improved? If such a misunderstanding occurs, Ji Shubai will only annoy her.
"It's already lunch time, why are you going back home? How can you go back home without eating at this time? I have prepared new dishes for you."
Song Jin felt a little disappointed, as she was still waiting to show off her abilities to the girl.
"It's not good. In the past, I would just come here for a while and then leave. If I stay for too long, Brother Ji will get annoyed with me."
"He's not here, why are you bothering him? Eat your meal first and then leave. Otherwise, if you go back at this hour and your parents know that you haven't eaten yet, won't they blame your brother Ji for being rude?"
Pei Danyang pondered for a moment: "Is this good?"
"Okay, okay, this is the best." Song Jin spoke without thinking and made the decision for the other person.
"Should you ask Brother Ji first?"
"No, just a meal."
Song Jin felt that her lips were about to be worn out. How easy was it to keep a beauty? However, Miss Pei's words almost choked her to death.
"Can you make the decision for Brother Ji?"
Song Jin: “???”
This is a huge misunderstanding.
"No, no, absolutely not. How about asking Mother Chen to ask for your permission?"
Mother Chen was very attentive and said yes and went. Song Jin was a little embarrassed, so she just asked Miss Pei to sit down and went to the kitchen to cook.
She prepared quite a few dishes for that day.
In addition to the common boiled chicken, golden pumpkin, fried river shrimp with leeks, fried Chinese sausage with young pea pods, and some daily dishes, she also prepared a dish she had never made before: mandarin fish in soup.
It is a little troublesome to cook mandarin fish. You have to cut it from under the gills first to drain all the blood. This way the fish meat will look good and white.
Scrape off the fish scales, cut off the fins on the back and abdomen, cut open the belly, take out the contents, leaving only the fish pompoms, belly and maw, then use a bamboo brush to clean the belly.
The next step is to test the knife skills. The kitchen knife used by Song Jin is very sharp.
Chop off the fish head and side fins, cut the fish meat along the spine with the blade, then slice out the whole fish belly along the fish fillet bones, and finally chop the fish bones and head into pieces.
Cut the two pieces of fish belly meat diagonally into fish fillets. The thickness of the slices should be moderate. If they are too thick, they cannot be cooked through the soup. If they are too thin, they will shrink and curl up after being rinsed through the soup, making the presentation on the plate ugly and unappealing.
The fish fillets should be cleaned of blood separately.
Put fish fillets and a spoonful of salt in a large soup bowl, add a little water, knead out the gelatin and wash it. The fish fillets will become white and transparent, and will look even better when blanched.
Season the drained fish fillets with salt, flour and pepper separately. Chop some cilantro and chives, and chop them into fine pieces.
Take out a small bowl of rice that you have soaked earlier. The best rice is the one that can be broken by pinching it with your fingers.
Pour oil into the pan, add the drained rice, and fry slowly over low heat until golden brown. If the rice sticks together in the middle, use a strainer to scoop it out, and use a spoon to break up the rice clumps. Fry until they are browned and crispy, and each grain is distinct. Then scoop it out and put it in a deep bowl, piling it into a small mountain.
The sliced mandarin fish should be placed one by one, not on top of each other, otherwise it will look undercooked. Sprinkle coriander and chopped chives on top, and then make the soup.
Soak the fish bones to remove the blood, drain the water, put a large spoonful of lard into the pot, heat it until it melts, then add the fish bones and fry until fragrant. At the same time, add a few slices of ginger to remove the fishy smell.
The fish bones should be fried until crispy and fragrant. After they are crispy, they should be mashed vigorously with a spatula. Add in shallots and continue stir-frying until all the water vapor in the fish bones is gone. Then add boiling water and simmer until the fish soup becomes a thick milky white color.
The aroma of fish soup spread in the kitchen. Song Jin took a deep breath. It was so fragrant and luxurious.
This was nothing in the past, but in the Ming Dynasty, when she cooked for herself, she would never be willing to fry the fish bones, mash them, and then boil them and throw them away. As the saying goes, even a fly leg is meat, and she is reluctant to do so now.
But now that Ji Shubai is paying the bill, it’s different, I can indulge in luxury.
After the fish soup is cooked, use a colander to scoop out the fish bone residue, leaving only the fish soup in the pot, add salt and a little pepper to season, and the soup is ready.
The boiling hot fish soup is slowly poured on the fish fillets in circles with a spoon, so that each piece of fish fillet is evenly cooked. The fried rice exudes a rich aroma when it meets the boiling hot fish soup.
The aroma of burnt food, fish and rice all mixed together. Song Jin took a deep breath and then let out a long sigh of satisfaction.
It smells really good.
When the food was served, Song Jin saw Ji Shubai and Miss Pei were both sitting in the dining room with an empty seat next to them, so she began to think about a difficult problem.
Is this the seat she should sit in?
Being a cook, you are naturally not qualified to sit here.
But is she a pure cook?
friend?
Not really, then...
"Come and sit down. It's not like you haven't sat down before."
Before Song Jin could finish his thought, Ji Shubai had already spoken. Song Jin thanked him hurriedly and sat down without any hesitation.
Miss Pei couldn't help but smile when she saw her like this. She guessed in her heart that Song Jin and Ji Shubai had an unusual relationship, but she didn't say anything.
Song Jin sat there eating and felt something was wrong.
No one is talking at the table.
She herself is quite talkative. Ji Shubai is the dean of studies, and is best at guiding and educating her. Miss Pei is a fangirl, and is best at looking at her with starry eyes and exclaiming in surprise from time to time.
But now the three of them were sitting together, and no one spoke.
Song Jin couldn't sit still, his eyes were looking around the table.
Ji Shubai's posture is straight, as if he has a steel bar on his back, and he can even participate in a body shape competition.
Miss Pei felt more relaxed, lowered her head slightly, and after eating a piece of mandarin fish, she looked astonished. She glanced at Song Jin and was caught by Song Jin. The two smiled at each other, showing a tacit understanding.
"Miss Pei, what do you think of today's dish?"
Deep down, Song Jin really wanted to hear her praise him.
"It's delicious. This fish fillet is especially delicious."
Song Jin was so happy that he turned around and asked Ji Shubai without knowing what was going on.
"Which one do you think tastes better, Master Ji?"
Ji Shubai remained calm, glanced at the table, and said coldly: "The bitter melon is cut too big, it's not easy to eat."
Well, she just asked one more question.
Song Jin took a big bite of the pumpkin and spoke up for the bitter gourd: You don't know its value. It tastes more delicious this way.
Just wait and see, I will take revenge sooner or later.
After everyone had finished their meal, Miss Pei had to go back. Song Jin couldn't try to persuade her to stay, so he just took the initiative to go out with her to see her off.
However, Ji Shubai went back to the inner courtyard after saying goodbye, which made Song Jin extremely dissatisfied.
You are so rude.
She was quite polite, and almost took the girl's hand and walked her all the way to the hall outside.
"Will you come again next five days?"
Miss Pei smiled gently: "Are you here too?"
"I'll be here when you come."
That’s right, it was Ji Shubai’s mission, but the girl was unaware of it and the smile on her face became even bigger.
"Then I'll come." Then he asked shyly, "Will you still make me milk tea?"
"Cook it for you. I'll make you lots of milk tea."
Miss Pei showed her white teeth: "That's good, but the Ghost Festival is coming soon, so I can't come that day. I heard that it's very lively outside that day, but it's a pity that I have never seen it."
"Why?"
"My parents didn't let me go out, saying that there were too many people and it would be bad if something happened."
Song Jin thought about it and it seemed to be true.
Women in the Ming Dynasty were not allowed to go out easily, except for occasionally going to temples to burn incense. If they went out during festivals, they would travel in groups, with a bunch of servants in front and behind, and even then they had to get the approval of their parents.
Song Jin herself was a little better. She was used to running around in men's clothes. Her father couldn't control her now, and he was counting on her to make money. None of their family members had their morals improved instantly because of the denaturalization. Relatively speaking, having enough money to survive was more important.
She had seen some festivals outside last year, but she had only heard about them. After all, she was in the kitchen and had no time to watch. So after hearing about the excitement of the Ghost Festival, she was also itching to go.
"How about you tell your parents that your brother Ji invites you?"
"ah?"
Song Jin thought that since the girl's parents were intent on matchmaking and Ji Shubai was willing to make things easy for the girl, he might as well be a good person and let the girl see the splendor of Suzhou so that she wouldn't grow up here her whole life without ever seeing the hustle and bustle around her.
But Miss Pei was too embarrassed to bring it up, and she was even more worried about facing Ji Shubai alone, which would make everyone feel awkward.
"If you're not here, it would be pointless for me to go."
"I'll be with you. If you're here, I'll definitely be here."
Even if Ji Shubai didn't take her with him, she would still "meet" him by chance.
Miss Pei was pleasantly surprised and nodded immediately, hoping that Song Jin could accompany her to watch the City God's procession during the Ghost Festival.
After the two of them agreed, Song Jin watched the people get into the sedan chair and then went straight to the back to find Ji Shubai.
This time, he finally didn't stay in the study, but was on the corridor bridge, grabbing some fish food to feed the fish.
Song Jin ran over excitedly.
"Master Ji, Master Ji--" Like a string of crackling fireworks: "What are you busy with?"
"Feed the fish." The tone was flat, as if he had said nothing.
Song Jin had long been accustomed to it and didn't care about it at all: "Master Ji, I heard that the streets will be very lively during the Ghost Festival next month."
"Yeah, it's lively."
"Then will you go and see it, sir?"
Ji Shubai's hand that was feeding the fish suddenly stopped, and he turned to look at Song Jin: "Speaking of this, I suddenly remembered that you accompanied me to Chai's house on the Ghost Festival, and prepared a few dishes by the way. After that, you can go and play by yourself."
"Ah?" Song Jin was unhappy: "But I want to go out and play with Miss Pei."
Ji Shubai's face was visibly stunned: "You want to accompany her?"
A look of disbelief.
"She just said she wanted to come with me, but she couldn't get out, and I was thinking..."
"What are you thinking? Are you not going to make money?"
That's right. Every time Chai Heng gave her rewards, it was like pouring water on her. She didn't take any for a long time and actually forgot about it.
"I want it..." You can't have both money and beauty, bear's paw and fish.
She was extremely reluctant to leave, as she wanted to play with the beauty but also wanted money.
In my previous life, I had the ability to earn money but not the ability to spend it. Do I have to follow the same old path in this life?
"I want them all." Greedy and honest, honestly greedy.
Ji Shubai was so angry that he laughed: "Can you not be so greedy?"
"I'll just be greedy this time, okay?"
With a "splash", Ji Shubai poured all the fish food in his hand into the lake, attracting a group of golden, red, white and black carps to scramble for it. The surface of the lake was covered with white water due to the slapping of the fish's tails.
"I've never seen anyone like you." Ji Shubai had a straight face, but changed his tone: "If you want to see it, then go to Chai's house. The City God's route will definitely pass by Chai's house, so just go there and wait."
"What about Miss Pei?"
"I'll send someone to invite him, what do you think?"
Ji Shubai suddenly put his face close to Song Jin and asked her back with an angry look on his face. Song Jin smiled awkwardly.
"......good."
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