With the departure of the second branch of the Marquis's family, some were happy and some were sad. The happy ones were the servants of Mo Yuan Courtyard, although it sounded like they were left to guard the empty courtyard.
But I still get a decent monthly salary. And I don't have to deal with that lunatic Third Young Master anymore!
Even if you want to find another way out in the future, there is hope of changing to another position, because if you are guarding an empty courtyard, your master may transfer you to another place.
The group was overjoyed, but no one told anyone. They all wanted to enjoy the days of receiving a monthly salary without doing any work. In any case, their current situation was one of being able to advance or retreat at will, so how could they not be happy?
Everyone in Mo Yuanyuan felt an unprecedented sense of relief; it was truly wonderful.
Who was feeling sorrowful? Fatty Wang! And a group of servants who wanted to take advantage of the New Year holiday to see if they could find an opportunity to redeem themselves?
It's an obvious fact that they kicked the second wife out on New Year's Eve, no matter how nicely they put it on the surface.
When the second master's family left, they even gave out lucky money, but who didn't know there was something going on behind the scenes!
At this critical moment, you wouldn't dare to rush in and offend your master. The master's family has encountered some kind of trouble, and you, a servant, are rushing to run away in a panic. Aren't you just plain stupid?
At this point, requesting to leave the manor would not only be absolutely impossible, but would also incur the master's displeasure.
In another month, Wang Pangzi's senior brother would definitely have gone to help him plead for permission to leave the manor.
Moreover, everything was planned out: first, get him a freelance contract, then hire Fatty Wang back, make a quick buck after the New Year holidays, and then leave.
After all, what if Coco is promoted to the position of water affairs manager during the Lunar New Year's Eve and something goes wrong because she's unfamiliar with the procedures?
Although this is nonsense, everyone in the kitchen will help out and be willing to let Fatty Wang make an extra profit.
Firstly, it was because of Lu Qi's presence, and secondly, Fatty Wang truly possessed the skill. In previous years, no matter how chaotic the various items were during the holidays, he remembered them perfectly.
Thirdly, after Fatty Wang left, the newly selected water affairs manager who is to be promoted in the future is one of Fatty Wang's subordinates.
No matter how good your ideas are, you still have to follow your master's lead in everything.
Now everything is hopeless, and Fatty Wang feels too sad. He is the only one left in the mansion, with no one to rely on.
I decided to take three days off. If I didn't take a break soon, the end of the year would be approaching, and I wouldn't be able to go home for the next few months.
He carried a basket of pears on his back and huffed and puffed his way home. Finding no one in the houses on the other side of Horse Street, he turned and went to the foot shop.
He also brought two washed pears over for Wang Yan to eat.
Just as he reached the Wei River, he ran into Wang Yan head to head. Wang Yan, who was carrying a pig lung, called out to him.
"Dad! What brings you here so early in the morning?"
Fatty Wang, holding two pears, chuckled as he walked towards his daughter. The two of them returned to the shop together.
Then Fatty Wang took the pig lungs to the river to wash them, and Wang Yan went with him.
It was already a bit chilly this morning, so Wang Yan took a piece of old cloth, folded it up, and placed it on the steps by the river. She sat on it and watched Fatty Wang clean the pig lungs.
The entire pig lung is filled with water, then the lung is patted to remove any dirt inside, and then the water is poured out.
This step is repeated many times until the pig lungs are washed until they turn white.
Then add an appropriate amount of scallions and ginger to the pot, pour in a lot of water, put the pig lungs in the pot and cook for 15 minutes. After cooking, put the pig lungs in cold water to remove the membranes, then take them out and slice them.
Make a spicy stir-fried pork lung and a pork lung soup. For the spicy stir-fried pork lung, sauté ginger and garlic until fragrant, add the pork lung and stir-fry, then add a handful of chili peppers.
Then, Fatty Wang burned the pig lungs. Wang Yan looked at the plate of burnt pig lungs and almost cried in grievance.
She had ordered this pig lung from the butcher two days in advance, and only then did she manage to get it. Aunt Wang quickly came over and hugged her, comforting her.
"It's alright, it's alright. I only cut one slice, there's still more than half left. Mom will cook it for you, go and eat some pears with your sister."
Not only did Aunt Wang skillfully stir-fry a pig lung, but she also made a radish and pig lung soup.
For the pork lung and radish soup, peel and cut the radish into large chunks. Sauté the pork lung in a large pot until the moisture evaporates, then add some oil and stir-fry until slightly browned.
Take a clay pot and place it on the small stove used for brewing tea. Put the pig lungs in the clay pot, add water and boil for 15 minutes, then add the radish and simmer for another 15 minutes.
Finally, add salt and pepper to taste.
Spicy stir-fried pork lung is numbing and fragrant, and it's very flavorful when served with rice. Wang Yan especially likes the soft texture of the pork lung, while the trachea inside the spicy pork lung has a crunchy texture, making it both spicy and fragrant.
After the meal, have a bowl of pork lung soup. The radish is soft and delicious, the pork lung is tender and juicy, and the soup is fresh and flavorful, nourishing the lungs and replenishing qi.
The family moved a small table and sat at the doorway, eating and drinking.
The spicy stir-fried pork lung smelled so good that Aunt Lu from next door even came over and brought over a bowl. I gave them a bowl of sour-filled steamed buns in return.
But Wang Yan didn't want to eat steamed buns right now. After finishing a bowl of rice with pig lungs, she drank two bowls of soup.
After finishing their meal, Fatty Wang moved a stool and sat down next to Wang Yan, looking at the river in front of them.
He told Wang Yan about leaving the manor with a melancholy air, "Your father... sigh, I'm so destined to be with our manor, so very destined!"
Wang Yan patted Wang Pangzi on the shoulder like a little adult, "It's okay. If we can't get out before the New Year, we'll definitely find an opportunity next year."
The two men each held a cup of hot tea and sighed deeply while gazing at the river.
Wang Yan was distressed because she realized that even if she prepared the ingredients for Fatty Wang, he probably still wouldn't be able to cook a dish.
My cooking skills aren't that great either; sometimes I can't even compare to Aunt Wang's.
All he does is talk, but he has a lot of recipes in his head. So Wang Yan was also worried. What should she do? She wanted to earn ten taels of silver and five taels of silver for a banquet!
"Dad, I want to learn how to cook!"
"Hmm? You're good at this, aren't you? Look at all those snack recipes you have, how much money have they made for our family?"
"I want to be a cook and prepare banquet dishes."
"Have you mastered the basics? Knife skills, spoon skills, and cooking skills?"
"No, but I can't compare to you. I can't match your knife skills. However, Aunt Sun has taught me a lot of basic skills over the past three years. I'm quite good at stewing soups."
"And this stir-fry?"
"My knife skills are not as good as yours, but I have practiced how to chop vegetables. I'm not familiar with stir-frying, and I don't know how to control the heat."
Fatty Wang pondered for a while, then said, "Try cooking for yourself for a while, and if there's anything you don't know, let Lu Qi teach you."
"No, I mean you should go and learn from Uncle Lu, then come back and teach me. What dishes go with what cooking time?"
Fatty Wang shrank his neck and said, "I know how to do it. I understand all the theoretical knowledge. It's just that when I'm actually cooking, I can't do two things at once."
"Hmm? How about we team up?"
Wang Yan got excited when she heard what Fatty Wang said, even before she had finished eating the big pig lung.
Sure enough, when Fatty Wang was focused on adjusting the heat for her, he did a really good job.
"Turn the fire up quickly, now I'm turning it down to a simmer. The water you add shouldn't exceed the size of this fire. Don't add the salt now, wait a few more breaths."
It has to be said that the stir-fried pig lungs that the two of them made together were really fresh, tender and spicy. When Uncle Chuan came over to buy food, he stared longingly at the plate in Wang Yan's hand.
Wang Yan took a flatbread, cut it open, added a pork lung sandwich to it, and gave it to Uncle Chuan.
After the customers who bought mala tang had passed by, Wang Yan turned her head and looked at Fatty Wang with bright, sparkling eyes.
"Dad, I'm thinking of starting a catering business at our shop after a while!"
"How about we work together? I'll cook the dishes, and you help me out."
Fatty Wang chuckled twice, "Alright, when Father leaves the manor, I'll follow you around to prepare banquets."
When they returned to the Marquis's residence, Fatty Wang told Lu Qi about it with great pride.
Lu Qi frowned upon hearing this. "Nonsense! How can you expect her to start cooking without practicing any of the other basic skills? Is she relying entirely on you to remind her?"
Fatty Wang was unhappy. "So what? My daughter is good at it!"
Besides, some cooks only chop scallions, some only tend the fire, and some, like in our family, only cook. The roles are different.
And aren't you the same, Lu Qi? Do you go behind the seven-star stove to light the fire when you're cooking?
Lu Qi sighed helplessly, "That's not what I meant. What I meant was that even if she doesn't get involved in this mess, she still needs to know what's going on."
A cook who only chops scallions and washes rice can't cook dishes; a cook who can cook dishes can control the fire.
We can't just have you remind her. How about this, have her come to the kitchen for an hour every afternoon, and I'll give her a concentrated period of practice.
At the very least, you need to know the basics. Once you know them, you'll become proficient after cooking a few times.
Fatty Wang, looking miserable, took another half-day off to go back and tell Wang Yan what he had said.
"Oh, no, it's me, your, father!"
Wang Yan was stunned. This was a trap! She had finally gotten out of the Marquis's mansion, and now they were calling her back to do chores!
What if she learns it and we have to buy it back for her? Also, she's not a servant of the Marquis's mansion anymore; can she just walk into someone else's kitchen?
However, Wang Yan's objection was ineffective. But Lu Qi listened to her opinion. That's right, now that she was no longer a servant of the Marquis's mansion, how could she come and go as she pleased?
She asked Fatty Wang to bring her a cookbook; Wang Yan could read, so he knew that.
He trained himself according to the manual, and every two weeks, he would go in during the morning vegetable delivery time so that Lu Qi could observe him. Under the guise of helping to organize the vegetables, he would do so.
"These are all our own children. They're just sitting at home doing nothing, so they come over and help out in the kitchen."
"I'm not very good at anything else, just washing and chopping vegetables."
In this way, the kitchen purchasing manager will turn a blind eye. The key is that Lu Qi's words are effective. If you are given a way out, you should hurry up and accept it.
Wang Yan was genuinely terrified. Now, her legs trembled whenever she approached the Marquis's residence, fearing they would buy it back for her. She had finally managed to get out!
She couldn't help but glare at her father. What was he showing off for? Now he's all set, isn't he?
However, it must be said that Lu Qi's gift of this booklet was a great help. Grandma Sun only knew how to make soup, and she taught Wang Yan quite well in this area.
But how do you add sauces to stir-fries without burning the pan? How much cornstarch should you use to make the meat smooth without feeling heavy? How should you combine different types of meat and vegetables? Which ingredients should be added first and which should be added later? How long should you stir-fry certain types of meat over high heat and low heat?
These moves were all carefully written down in the booklet and recorded.
Wang Yan already had some basic skills and could cook in modern times. In her ancient body, her grandfather often carried her to the main kitchen to watch the cooking when she was a child.
Well, her grandfather had little influence on her; she's forgotten most of it. Her modern experiences and the guidance she's received from Aunt Sun over the past three years have been much more helpful.
With all that added in, you know what, she feels like she can cook elaborate dishes now.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com