In mid-May, people shed their heavy cotton-padded coats and put on spring cotton and linen long gowns.
Good news came to Tianjia Village early this morning.
Tian Sangui was pulled out of bed early by Zhang Shi so as not to steal Yin Xiu's spotlight.
Tian Sangui specially wore a skirt and a dark gray headscarf.
Following Tian Sangui's example, Zhang made some potato starch noodles, sprinkled them with prepared chili sauce, and a simple yet delicious breakfast was ready.
Chunyan's wedding was the most important event in the village, and everyone in Tianjia Village, young and old, attended.
Just as Tian Sangui finished eating, Chunyan, dressed in a dark red dress, walked to the front door of Tian Sangui's house.
Zhang greeted them with a smile from afar.
"Has her aunt had breakfast? There's still some noodles in the pot. I'll go get you a bowl."
After Chunyan finished speaking, she turned around to serve Zhang Shi rice, but quickly ran a few steps and grabbed Zhang Shi's sleeve.
She shook her head to stop her, her emerald green hairpin and three-inch silver-edged tassels swaying in the breeze.
"My family has already eaten. I came to pick up San Gui and you two to have breakfast at my place, but I didn't expect to be late!"
Zhang smiled and pulled Chunyan along, saying, "Hey, we can go by ourselves. There's no need for you to come all the way to welcome us. You're too kind!"
"It's my pleasure. I should treat you well today since you've troubled me so much!"
After saying that, Chunyan gave Tian Sangui a gentle smile.
"Alright, I'll go over after I've cleared the dishes. San Gui, why don't you go with your aunt and see if there's anything else we need to prepare?"
"Why!"
Tian Sangui got up, and Xiao Li, who liked to squat while eating, saw his boss leave and quickly put down his chopsticks and followed Chunyan to her house.
At this moment, the dirt roads throughout the village were filled with square tables covered with red cloth, waiting for the villagers to sit down and chat.
It was still early, so Tian Sangui was led to the courtyard by Chunyan. At that moment, her house was decorated with red cloth and floral ribbons, creating a festive atmosphere.
The kitchen was too small to fit everything, so they moved the kitchenware to the yard.
Three or five women sat around the well, helping to wash vegetables, while two large, fat chefs prepared seasonings by the oil pan.
When Tian Sangui came in, the two cooks glanced at him sideways, but didn't take him seriously and continued with their work.
The women by the well, seeing that Chunyan had actually invited Tian Sangui, all showed joy on their faces and secretly winked at Chunyan, admiring her.
"San Gui is here. Do you see if there's anything else your aunt needs to prepare?"
Tian Sangui smiled calmly and said, "Once all the dishes are prepared, everything will be fine!"
"Well, everything's almost ready. We're just waiting for San Gui to show off her culinary skills!"
The woman's words drew disdain from the cook behind her. Tian Sangui was not far away, and the cook did not try to hide anything, so he heard it clearly.
Chunyan pulled Tian Sangui to the cook's side, "Let me introduce you, this is our village's famous young cook, she's even opened a restaurant in the city. You'll all be following Sangui's instructions and assisting her!"
After Chunyan finished speaking, she turned her head and smiled, saying to Tian Sangui, "If you need anything, just tell your aunt. You just need to cook, and leave the rest to the two of them. Don't tire yourself out!"
Tian Sangui nodded in agreement, while Chunyan busied herself with greeting the guests, leaving Tian Sangui behind.
She first glanced around the table, seeing only bowls of red chili oil and fried dough sticks in front of her, nothing else.
Putting aside the dishes themselves, many of the dishes in the village were things the cook had never seen before. For example, perfectly good tomatoes were marinated in oil, making them look greasy and unpalatable.
From the moment Tian Sangui entered the door, his brow remained furrowed.
Seeing that the cook was about to fry the corn, Tian Sangui quickly snatched the large ladle and corn from his hands.
The chef immediately turned hostile, "What are you doing? The food is almost served, don't make such a mess here, okay?"
His tone was extremely disdainful of Tian Sangui. Another cook, who was in cahoots with him, sided with his companion and mocked Tian Sangui from the side.
"Oh dear, the big bosses in the city are just putting on a show to fool the city folks, as long as they can make money."
Where have I ever seen a village banquet with a continuous flow of food?
She's just become a little famous and gets praised by others; she really thinks she's something special, huh!
Two ignorant fools, after serving as village officials for a few years, have become arrogant and disrespectful.
Okay, let's teach this kid a lesson today. If we don't really slap these kinds of people in the face, they won't know what pain is.
"Little Li?"
"Shopkeeper!" Little Li was furious, wishing he could kick those two arrogant guys a couple of times.
"Get those two noisy brats out of here!"
"The grain in Tianjia Village is precious, and we cannot allow others to waste it!"
"yes!"
Little Li grinned slyly, his hands moving with the strength of an ox, shooing the two fat cooks aside.
Tian Sangui called out to Xiao Li for help: "Xiao Li, watch the fire!"
"Alright, Third Manager!"
The two cooks scoffed, arms crossed, watching Tian Sangui overestimate herself, waiting to see how the host would hold her accountable.
They were happy to have some peace and quiet and watch the excitement from the sidelines.
Tian Sangui paid no attention to them. The food was prepared in sufficient quantities, but the chef was not up to par and had not prepared anything that should have been prepared.
"Aunt Wang, come help me!"
Wang, who was chatting by the well, heard Tian Sangui calling her and quickly put down the vegetables in her hand and came to her side.
"San Gui, tell me, how can your aunt help?"
Tian Sangui poured in fresh oil, made room, and pointed to a pot of pork on the table behind him.
"Auntie, please chop the meat into small pieces for me, quick!"
"Oh, Auntie is very quick, it'll be ready in no time!"
Wang invited two of her best friends, and the three of them together chopped the meat.
With sharp blades and quick hands, a bowl of pork belly was chopped into a paste in no time. Tian Sangui then sprinkled starch on it and stirred it well.
She asked Xiao Li to bring the bowl to her. With one hand holding the meat and the other holding a spoon, she skillfully squeezed out meatballs of uniform size and arranged them neatly around the spoon.
Then they were fried in oil until golden brown. The process was repeated one after another, and a whole basin was filled with them in a smooth and efficient manner.
Next, fry the fish. Take grass carp of uniform size, fry them in the oil, and then remove them for later use.
Afterwards, when Zhang arrived at the fried dough stick shop, she saw that her daughter was being helped by several of her older sisters.
Looking again, she saw two cooks standing there with amused expressions, and Zhang Shi immediately became angry.
Given today's auspicious occasion, it is not appropriate to act out on the spot.
She rolled up her sleeves and came straight over to help her daughter.
"Mom, quickly prepare the pastries for me and teach the aunties how to make different flavors of pastries."
"Okay, leave it to Mother, you do something else!"
The pastries weren't ready to be served, but the deep fryer forced us to stop.
"Xiao Li, please prepare some cold dishes for me!"
"yes!"
In front of me were baskets of cucumbers, tomatoes, vermicelli soaked in well water, corn, potatoes, and so on...
Everything was in its original state. Tian Sangui was speechless. Did those two cooks have nothing else to do besides frying food?
At least if you haven't seen the food before, you can break it open and taste it to know how to cook it, right?
I don't know where Aunt Chunyan got these two little darlings from; they're really giving me a real headache.
Tian Sangui was extremely busy, while the two fat men watched from the side, feeling dizzy and confused. They thought Tian Sangui was just doing fancy tricks, and they saw her cutting the vegetables and putting them into the plate, then sprinkling on the sauce, which was just ordinary food.
"Tch, it's sure to eat bad people!"
"Just amateurish skills!"
Their tone revealed their disapproval of Tian Sangui's cooking style.
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