Chapter 97: There is one good thing about Ji Shubai, he is easy to appease.
Song Jin already had an idea in his mind about what to do with these potatoes.
She wanted mashed potatoes, the kind from McDonald's.
Song Jin wanted to laugh at the thought of cooking McDonald's dishes in the 16th century Ming Dynasty. If the beef was good, she would have made KFC's tender beef cubes.
As she cleaned the dirt off the potatoes, she thought about KFC and McDonald's and laughed. When her little follower Chunyun saw her, she tilted her head and looked at her: "Sister Mancao, what are you laughing at?"
"Laugh for a while and you'll have mashed potatoes."
"Mashed potatoes?" Chunyun looked at the potatoes in his hand in surprise... mashed.
The method of making mashed potatoes is very simple. Peel the potatoes, cut them into small pieces, and steam them.
Chunyun was asked to grind the salt into fine particles while it was still hot, and when the potatoes were crushed with a spoon, the salt would melt immediately and serve as seasoning.
Slowly add the fresh beef stew bought outside, little by little, until it can be shaped and no longer flows.
Take another small pot, add a small spoonful of dough flour, and instead of oyster sauce, Song Jin uses shrimp oil, a little bit of salt, and a little bit of pepper, add a little water and heat it up, stir until it becomes thick, and the seasoning sauce is ready.
When he got to this point, Song Jin was a little hesitant. After all, Ji Shubai likes sweet food, and this sauce is not sweet. What should he do?
"Chunyun," Song Jin called to Chunyun, who was scraping mashed potatoes off a spoon with her fingers, "Go to the street and buy some honey."
Chunyun went as ordered, and the two servants were also busy because Song Jin wanted to make glutinous rice balls.
Add cold water to the ready-made glutinous rice flour, knead it into a slightly dry dough, pinch it into individual pancakes and put them into a pot of boiling water to cook. When they float, they are cooked.
Use a strainer to drain the water and put it into an empty pot. Since there is no corn oil, Song Jin uses lard instead. It won't solidify in the hot weather and it has a strong aroma. Add some sugar, pound until it is soft, and pinch into small pieces. The glutinous rice cake crust is ready.
As for the filling, it would be more authentic if mango was used, but Song Jin didn't have any, so he could only use peaches which were in season instead.
I selected ripe peaches, peeled them, cut them into small pieces, and wrapped them into small dumplings. The remaining problem was how to make the skin non-sticky.
She couldn't find coconut flakes, and at first wanted to use the soybean flour used in donkey rolls. But when she thought about these beautiful white dumplings turning yellow, Song Jin felt a little distressed, so she chose to use fried white sesame seeds.
Song Jin looked at the glutinous rice balls that were no longer sticky after being coated with white sesame seeds and felt that they were still acceptable.
The two kinds of snacks were divided into two portions, one sent to the Chai family and the other sent to Ji Shubai.
Chunyun was used to going to the Chai family, so she delivered that copy and went to the Ji family's old house with the other copy.
Before going out, she changed into beautiful clothes.
Song Jin always felt that when standing in front of Ji Shubai, she didn't have to look like a Ming Dynasty cook. That satin straight dress was fine enough.
Like friends catching up on the past, not like a cook offering a bribe.
Every fifth day, Ji Shubai would always return to the old house to live. Song Jin often felt that he, a young man, was living like an old man, very lifeless.
Especially after she herself became a citizen, she became more lively and could not stand to see him like this, so she chose the right day to come find him, or rather harass him, under the pretext of bringing him some popularity.
However, what was unexpected was that another person had already come to the Ji family's old house to add to the atmosphere.
Because Ji Shubai had instructed before that Song Jin should not be stopped at any time, so when Mother Chen saw someone coming, she just said that the person was in the study in the backyard.
Song Jin was familiar with the place and didn't need anyone to lead him, so he went in on his own.
As soon as I entered the room, I saw Ji Shubai sitting behind the desk with a pen in his hand, and I didn't know what he was writing. There was a beautiful woman holding a book sitting on the rose chair below him.
Miss Pei is here today too.
When Miss Pei heard footsteps, she raised her eyes from the book, and the moment she saw Song Jin, a hint of surprise flashed across her face.
"Mr. Song?"
Song Jin did not expect that Miss Pei was there too, and his first reaction was to look down at himself.
Fortunately, I changed my clothes before going out, and now I look very decent.
"Miss Pei."
Song Jin put down the food box, stepped forward, clasped his hands and bowed, then bowed to Ji Shubai and said, "Master Ji, our shop has made some new snacks today, and I brought them here especially for you to try."
With Miss Pei around, Song Jin restrained himself a lot and did not overstep the line.
When Ji Shubai heard Pei Danyang call him Young Master Song, he knew who was coming. Seeing her bringing snacks, he said, "It's just right. Miss Pei is here too. Let's try it together after opening the food box."
After saying that, he looked at Pei Danyang and said, "She is good at cooking. You should try it too."
Pei Danyang smiled and said hello.
Song Jin opened the lunch box and placed the two kinds of snacks in front of them.
Song Jin was careful and gave Pei Danyang a small bowl of mashed potatoes and two plates of seasoning.
She was afraid that Miss Pei would eat glutinous rice balls in an unrefined manner, so she put a spoon on the mashed potatoes to make it much more convenient.
Ji Shubai got the plate of glutinous rice dumplings.
Somehow, Song Jin always felt that when he handed it over, Ji Shubai looked at him with a strange look, but he couldn't tell what was strange, so he just stepped back and watched silently.
Ji Shubai glanced at the glutinous rice balls covered with white sesame seeds, then looked at Song Jin, with a smile on his face. He was about to speak when he heard Miss Pei's surprised voice.
"What is this? I've never tasted it before."
Song Jin crushed the potatoes into a very fine consistency, then added milk for flavor and oil for smoothness. When one spoonful was taken into the mouth, the potatoes melted instantly with the aroma of milk. It was truly something new and fresh that one had never tasted before.
"This is sweet potato, but I cooked it in a new way. Do you like it, girl?"
Pei Danyang smiled faintly: "I like it."
After saying that, he stood up, took the bowl of mashed potatoes and placed it in front of Ji Shubai: "Brother Ji, try it too."
She turned the untouched side towards Ji Shubai, but Ji Shubai just smiled: "I'll eat later."
Then he looked at Song Jin with an unfathomable look in his eyes.
Song Jin's mind followed Ji Shubai's gaze, and she had no idea what he meant. It felt like a knife was hanging around her neck, making her feel very uncomfortable.
"Mr. Song?" Ji Shubai smiled meaningfully: "I only found out today that your last name is Song."
It's over.
Song Jin's eyes widened suddenly. The Dean of Academic Affairs was here to expose him again.
"Hehe," Song Jin laughed without any confidence: "This... is a misunderstanding."
"Misunderstanding?" Ji Shubai stood up, not intending to let her go: "What misunderstanding? Where is the misunderstanding? Isn't your last name Lu?"
Song Jin felt his face burning hot, especially when Miss Pei cast a suspicious look at him, his face became even hotter.
Inexplicable grievance.
She didn't understand why she had to be exposed. She wouldn't do anything to Miss Pei.
"My last name is Lu." If you can't escape it, just admit it, but the tone is full of grievance.
The study was silent. After a while, Miss Pei said, "Whether it's Lu or Song, it doesn't matter. I just think Mr. Song... Mr. Lu's stories are wonderful."
Ji Shubai's fingers tapped on the table, making a tapping sound that made Song Jin's heart beat fast.
"Actually...I am a woman." Ji Shubai forced her to confess.
"woman?"
It would not be an exaggeration to describe Pei Danyang's expression as pale with fright.
She originally thought that the man she had been chatting with in the backyard of Ji's house was a knowledgeable young man, and she asked Ji Shubai not to tell anyone else about it. But today he said that she was a woman.
She took a half step back and looked Song Jin up and down. When she saw her big feet under her straight clothes, she became more and more puzzled.
"Who are you......"
"Actually, I am the cook at the Lu Family Restaurant on Guhuai Street. I used to be a servant."
"Cook? House servant?"
Pei Danyang looked incredulous. He looked at Song Jin, then turned to look at Ji Shubai.
Song Jin was extremely embarrassed, and Ji Shubai just watched him without saying a word.
Pei Danyang was tactful, put down the spoon in his hand, smiled lightly and said: "Since you are in the backyard, you must be familiar with Brother Ji, so I won't bother you."
After saying that, she bowed and said goodbye to the two of them. Ji Shubai did not try to keep her. Instead, Song Jin lowered her head, pouted, and cursed Ji Shubai over and over again in her heart.
She wouldn't see him every day, so why did she have to reveal it? Wouldn't it be good to leave an image of Mr. Song who was knowledgeable and good at telling stories in Miss Pei's mind? He had to peel her skin.
Pei Danyang went out, and Ji Shubai followed him out from behind the desk. Song Jin still kept his head down and said nothing, just like a stubborn person who had made a mistake. He admitted it verbally, but he was not convinced in his heart.
"Wait for me here."
Ji Shubai left a few words and followed Pei Danyang out.
Song Jin stood there and took a deep breath. He felt suffocated and panicked, and his vision became blurry.
She just stood there quietly for about a cup of tea, and then Ji Shubai came in again.
He stood in front of Song Jin and stared at him silently for a while, but Song Jin did not look up.
"Angry?"
Song Jin turned his head to the side and sniffed.
"Didn't you promise me that you would be a good man in the future?"
Ji Shubai changed his tone. It was no longer as aggressive as at the beginning and became much gentler.
"I don't usually see Miss Pei, and I won't ruin her reputation, so why do you have to expose me?"
She heard Ji Shubai sigh softly:
"This has nothing to do with whether you can see her or not. If you want to be a good person, you shouldn't lie all the time. Why do you still accept the name of Mr. Song? I see that you and her are not doing business. If you are friends, how can you lie all the time? In business, you should be honest. How can you be friends and even lie about your gender?"
Song Jin still felt aggrieved. Song was obviously her last name and she just blurted it out at the time. It wasn't really a lie.
Besides, there was a reason why I pretended to be a man.
When they met in the backyard of Ji's house that day, she suspected that this girl had a special relationship with Ji Shubai, but she didn't tell him because she didn't want to cause misunderstanding. She was originally dressed in men's clothes. Who knew that Ji Shubai not only didn't understand, but blamed her instead.
"My surname used to be Song." She didn't dare to refute Ji Shubai's words, and just muttered in a low voice.
"What?"
Song Jin's voice was filled with sobs, Ji Shubai didn't hear it clearly, but Song Jin didn't say anything else.
After thinking about it, he seemed to understand it again.
"Okay, I don't want you to tell any more lies. Rather than being exposed in the future, it's better to tell the truth today. Are you going to pretend to be Mr. Song in front of Miss Pei for the rest of your life?"
“I may not even be able to see her.”
If she hadn't come to the Ji family, she would probably never have met Miss Pei in her life.
"What? Do you still think you're not wrong?"
Ji Shubai is a bad person, he is very serious.
"I know I was wrong." Song Jin gave in.
There is one good thing about Ji Shubai: he is easy to coax.
"Since you know you are wrong, don't lie casually in the future. I know you have no choice but to disguise yourself as a man to do business, but at least you don't have to wear a mask in front of some people."
Song Jin tugged at the hem of his sleeve and nodded slightly, agreeing with what he said.
"Okay, let's not talk about this matter anymore. Next time I see Miss Pei, you will be Miss Lu." Ji Shubai's tone became relaxed and cheerful, and he unconsciously reached out and patted Song Jin's shoulder, as if he was treating a primary school student who had truly reformed.
Ji Shubai changed from the director of studies to an elementary school teacher. Song Jin sniffed and instantly felt much more comfortable.
It turns out she is easy to coax.
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