Chapter 131 Can Fourth Brother's Leg Be Cured?
After waiting for about half an incense stick's time, all the dishes were served.
Each dish has a small stove underneath with a lit candle, so you don't have to worry about the food getting cold.
The cooks at Yunshan Farm aren't top chefs; they're just a few elderly folks from the same village as Old Man He. Don't be fooled by their lack of expertise in preparing elaborate dishes compared to chefs in Beijing or the imperial kitchens. At a farm, the appeal is the rural, farm-style dining.
Stir-fried pork kidneys over high heat, braised pork trotters stewed until tender, and mutton offal soup with a milky white broth.
Farmhouse-style stir-fried pork, steamed pork ribs with rice flour, braised chicken in a clay pot, Mapo eggplant...
The table was full of very ordinary home-cooked dishes.
But perhaps because they didn't pay much attention to elaborate plating, these dishes had a visible wok hei (wok aroma), carrying a simple yet rich flavor.
After announcing the names of the dishes to the group, Old Man He said, "If any of you princes are dissatisfied with anything, please feel free to tell me, and I will immediately have the kitchen change it."
"Mmm! What's there to change? This smells amazing!"
Xie Yunqi couldn't resist taking several bites of the pork kidney. The smooth and tender texture burst in her mouth, and the generous amount of oil made it even more fragrant without being greasy.
One sip of mutton offal soup warms you from head to toe; the soup also contains a small amount of mutton.
The offal wasn't fishy at all, the mutton wasn't gamey at all, and even the vegetables used as ingredients in the soup were simply delicious!
There are many rules in the royal court, but since they were out in private, there were no rules. Xie Yunqi didn't care, and the oil from his food got all over his mouth. He even ate half a bowl of rice.
You know what, he ate so heartily, it even made his meal more appetizing.
Xie Yun smiled and said, "Fifth Brother likes salty food, so I guessed he would like this pork kidney dish and specially asked them to add it."
Xie Yunqi gave him a thumbs up: "Your Highness is wise!"
Seeing Xie Yunqi, who had just been throwing a tantrum at the door, now completely captivated by the aroma of the food, Old Man He breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, his face full of wrinkles.
"It looks delicious! Sheng Sheng, you should try some too!"
Xie Yunchuan had already ladled a bowl of soup for Xiao Tuanzi to cool down. Xiao Tuanzi wasn't hungry at first, but seeing Xie Yunqi like this, she unknowingly felt a little hungry, so she picked up the bowl and gulped it down.
As soon as it entered her mouth, Sheng Sheng squinted her eyes, saying how delicious it was.
"This soup is a little sweet, did they put sugar in it? And this lamb is delicious too!"
Little Dumpling loves both savory and sweet flavors, and enjoys both savory and sweet soups. However, this mutton offal soup has a slightly salty taste at first, followed by a fresh and sweet flavor, which is quite wonderful.
Xie Yunchuan chuckled and wiped the little dumpling's mouth with his fingertip: "The sheep at Yunshan Farm have at least four hours of free time every day. With enough exercise, the meat will be firm. If the soup is simmered for a long time, it will be springy when you eat it."
Old Man He smiled and said yes.
When Xie Yunwen and Xie Yunjia saw that there was such a saying about the mutton offal soup, they also drank a bowl and both showed a look of surprise.
The soup awakened Sheng Sheng's taste buds, and her stomach suddenly felt empty, so she started to eat heartily.
Apart from Xie Yunqi, the others also began to eat slowly and deliberately. Seeing this, Old Man He tactfully withdrew, leaving them to enjoy their meal alone.
After drinking several bowls of soup and eating a few light vegetable dishes, Xie Yunwen turned her attention to the fragrant pork kidney dish.
Xie Yunqi, who was standing next to him, had already eaten two bowls of rice with this dish. Xie Yunqi felt that he was still growing and didn't feel full at all. He was about to get a third bowl of rice when he saw Xie Yunwen staring at the pork kidneys and hesitating. He said, "Fourth Brother, is it because you can't reach it? Let me help you!"
Xie Yunqi picked up a large mouthful with serving chopsticks, but Xie Yunwen stopped him, saying, "Hey, I... I won't eat it, you eat it."
"Huh? Why? This is delicious, Fourth Brother, you should try it!"
Seeing that Xie Yunwen's bowl was full of sweet potato leaves, cabbage, and cucumbers, Xie Yunqi became even more determined to make him eat. "Fourth Brother, why are you only eating vegetables and not meat? That's not good. Come on, have a bite, it's delicious!"
Before Xie Yunwen could refuse, the oily pork kidney dish had already been piled into his bowl, completely covering the vegetables that were originally in his bowl.
"Sigh." Xie Yunwen hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.
The two's little movements attracted the attention of others. At the last palace banquet, Xie Yun-yang noticed that Xie Yun-wen ate very little, and when he did, it was only the light dishes.
Xie Yun-yang initially thought it was because he preferred light food, but seeing Xie Yun-wen's hesitant manner today, she felt that it was more than that.
Aside from Xie Yunqi, who is quite careless, everyone else could naturally see Xie Yunwen's unnaturalness.
Xie Yunjia's interactions with this fourth brother over the years haven't even reached half the level she's had with Shengsheng. She simply doesn't know how to start a conversation with him. Moreover, given Xie Yunjia's personality, she's usually too lazy to care about others, but perhaps the atmosphere today is just too wonderful, softening her heart and making her feel a little concerned.
Xie Yunyang and Xie Yunchuan exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with worry, hesitating whether to continue asking.
Xie Yunwen is sensitive, so her words and phrases need to be carefully considered.
But when Xie Yunqi put the pork kidney in his hand, Xie Yunwen was caught in a dilemma: whether to eat it or not. Xie Yunqi even asked, "Fourth Brother, why aren't you eating? Is there not enough? I'll give you some more!"
Sighing, "Fifth Brother's guess is quite right, stop guessing!"
In times like these, we still have to step in and take action.
To Sheng Sheng's right is Xie Yunqi, and Xie Yunwen is to Xie Yunqi's right.
Sheng Sheng first stopped Xie Yunqi's movements, then leaned forward a little to separate Xie Yunqi from Xie Yunwen and talk to her.
"Fourth brother, I've wanted to ask you this for a while now, has the imperial physician mentioned any other way to cure your leg?"
Xie Yunwen clearly wanted to eat the pork kidneys, but after weighing the options in her mind, she chose not to.
After much deliberation, the only thing that could make Xie Yunwen hesitate was his health.
When a person is sick, there are many dietary restrictions, and it is best to eat light foods.
So it's not hard to guess that Xie Yunwen had to give up this heavily oiled and salted stir-fried pork kidney dish because of his leg ailment.
The question was so direct that the others were slightly surprised, and Xie Yunqi was completely stunned, never expecting that Xie Yunwen's aversion to eating pork kidneys would have anything to do with this.
And what my sister asked was, "Won't this hurt my little brother's heart?"
Xie Yunqi, who was usually carefree and easygoing, stopped picking up his chopsticks and slowed his breathing. He sat up straight and carefully glanced at Xie Yunwen's reaction out of the corner of his eye. He was planning that if Xie Yunwen felt sad or hurt because of Sheng Sheng's words, or if he was angry with Sheng Sheng, he would immediately rush over to comfort him.
The others also quieted down, and at this moment, it was not Xie Yunwen who hesitated to speak, but the rest of them.
Although Sheng Sheng felt that her question was a bit too direct, she believed that it was better to be more direct about some things.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com