The words that Master Qin blurted out were too concerned, and Pei Xi's small eyes were full of suspicion. Fortunately, he lowered his head and his eyes were small. Although Master Qin looked at Pei Xi with a burning gaze, he did not see any other emotions in his eyes.
As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Master Qin realized that his words and actions had lost their temper. His eyes flickered slightly, and he stood up and said, "I was anxious and rude. Since the Marquis's wife is not available to see guests today, I will come to visit you another day."
Pei Xi: "Master Qin, take care."
Shortly after seeing off Master Qin, Butler Pei, who had received the news, returned to the Pei Mansion from outside.
It was the twelfth lunar month and the end of the year was approaching. It was time for all the shops, farms, and fields in the Pei Mansion to take stock of their profits and losses. Butler Pei had been very busy these days.
"Xiao Xizi, where is Master Qin of Shangbao Manor?"
As soon as the carriage stopped outside the Marquis' Mansion, Butler Pei stepped out of the carriage and called out to Pei Xi in a loud voice.
Pei Xi had received orders to guard the gate today, so after seeing off Master Qin, he continued to diligently guard the gate of the Marquisate. Hearing Butler Pei's call, Pei Xi quickly came out to greet him.
"Quick, take me to see Master Qin. Has the master sent someone to inform us? This time the fat duck has come to our door, we can't let him go easily!"
Pei Xi's eyes twitched wildly when he heard this, and his tongue became tangled. "...Uncle Pei...Master Qin has already...already left."
"What!" Butler Pei's eyes suddenly widened, "Xiao Xizi, say it again?!"
"Master Qin..."
"Okay, you don't have to say anything!"
"Xiao Xizi, what on earth is going on in your head day after day? Qin Chengyu came to you on his own initiative, and you actually let him go?"
Butler Pei raised his hand and smacked Pei Xi hard on the head. "When the master returns, I will punish you with thirty lashes of the cane!"
Pei Xi groaned, tears welling in his eyes. He raised his hand and rubbed his head, saying, "Don't worry, Steward Pei. Before leaving, Manor Master Qin said he would come back another day. From what I've seen, it seems like this Manor Master Qin has some connection with my wife. He came here unexpectedly this time to see my wife."
"lady?"
Butler Pei's rapid strides suddenly stopped, and he turned to look at Pei Xi, "Speak more carefully..."
. ……
When Song Huan brought Jin Yue and Jin Le to the kitchen, Old Li was leaning on a cane and directing the people in the kitchen to go out and buy food for the Marquis' Mansion this month.
"Buy a month's supply all at once?" Song Huan, after hearing Jin Yue's explanation, immediately felt that she and Old Li might have a fight over kitchen matters in the future. "Going out to buy at dusk? At this time, the fruits and vegetables outside are not fresh anymore."
"It's a bargain now." Jin Yue replied to Song Huan in a low voice.
Song Huan: "..." Are all the people in this mansion evil?
Why did everything they did give her the feeling that Pei Yan was very poor?
"Won't you get sick if you eat like this?" Song Huan couldn't afford to offend Old Li at the moment, so he lowered his voice and whispered in Jin Yue's ear.
Jin Yue secretly glanced at Master Li, a suspicious blush flashing across her cheeks. She whispered back, "Occasionally, there are a few people who get headaches, fevers, or diarrhea. Luckily, we have Doctor Chen in the mansion. He can cure them right away, so it's... not really a problem."
That being said, for a girl, it would be somewhat difficult to talk about going to see Dr. Chen every few days because of diarrhea.
Even though Jinle is still young, he has been feeling a little embarrassed lately, not to mention that Jinyue is already a grown-up girl. Living in a marquis's mansion where almost all the people are men, she is bound to be teased. If she gets a stomachache one day, she will be teased until her face turns red.
They were just joking and didn't really mean any harm. Jin Yue herself was a quiet person, so in the end she could only digest it silently.
"Madam, are you coming to use the kitchen today?" Old Li prepared the things he needed and walked over with his cane. The cane made a "thump thump" sound, which sounded very intimidating.
Jin Yue and Song Huan, who were whispering, immediately stopped talking.
"Yes, Master Li."
Song Huan smiled brightly with his eyes curved, looking like a well-behaved and obedient younger generation to his elders.
To deal with stubborn people, you must use softness to overcome hardness.
Master Li's hard fist hit a ball of soft cotton, and he suddenly felt weak. He said to Song Huan in a bad mood, "Don't waste food."
Song Huan nodded hurriedly, "Okay, okay, don't worry."
Old Li snorted and turned away.
Pei Yan wasn't home tonight, so Old Li took the main force from the kitchen out to do the shopping, leaving the heavy burden of cooking to the kitchen's vegetable cutter, a sturdy man known for his powerful knife skills. His name was Chen Hu. The last time Song Huan came, he was also practicing his knife skills on the chopping board.
This man looks big and strong, but he is actually very honest and obedient. He does whatever you ask him to do and has a very good temper.
But this person's skill in cutting vegetables is hard to describe at a glance.
Shredded potatoes, he can cut them into cubes.
Tofu blocks, he can cut into tofu paste...
Song Huan only dared to let him, Jinyue and Jinle help wash the vegetables, and did not dare to let him help cut the vegetables.
But when cooking, it's okay to let him watch the fire and add firewood.
Before cooking, Song Huan tasted the water first. After tasting it, she couldn't help but frown in confusion. This water is delicious, sweet and delicious. But why does the porridge in the mansion always taste bitter?
Could it be a problem with the pot?
Song Huan leaned over to look into the large iron pot and asked Chen Hu, "Is the pot clean?"
Chen Hu nodded naively, "Clean, clean. Madam, Brother Chen always washes this pot three times."
That should be clean.
Song Huan nodded and added a bowl of water to the pot first.
The water is clear.
Song Huan waved his hand, "Chen Hu, add water."
Chen Hu: "How much?"
“How much do you add on a normal day?”
Chen Hu: "On weekdays, we have to cook three big pots."
Song Huan: "..." She seemed to know why the porridge tasted bitter.
It is indeed difficult to control the heat when cooking in large pots.
"First... add half a pot of water and try it."
"Okay."
Chen Hu was very strong and he picked up a bucket of water and poured it into the pot.
"Alright, alright, that's enough." Song Huan kept his eyes on her, not daring to be distracted.
Chen Hu put down the bucket, turned around and went to look for rice. He came over with half a bag of rice and was about to pour it into the pot.
"Wait." Song Huan puffed up his cheeks. "Can I go shopping?"
Chen Hu looked at Song Huan blankly, "Looking for something to buy?"
Song Huan took a deep breath. "Could it be that the rice has never been washed?"
Chen Hu shook his head.
Song Huan: "..." She thought that boiling in a big pot was all she needed, but she was still so naive...
Song Huan handed Chen Hu a clean wooden basin for washing vegetables. "First, pour half the basin with rice, then add water, making sure the water covers the rice, and then rub the rice like washing vegetables. If it's not clean in one go, pour out the water and repeat."
Chen Hu looked troubled when he heard this: "...Madam, it's a little complicated."
Song Huan: “……???”
Are you kidding me?
What's so difficult about it?!
"...Jinyue, do you understand?"
Jin Yue nodded, "I understand."
Song Huan looked relieved. "Okay, Jinyue, I'll leave the rice washing to you. Chen Hu, can you boil the water and watch the fire?"
This is easy.
Chen Hu touched the back of his head: "Okay, madam."
The original meal for tonight was rice porridge with pickles and two steamed buns.
The steamed buns were delivered directly to the Marquis' Mansion from an outside steamed bun shop, and they tasted normal.
The pickles were also bought from a shop outside and tasted normal.
When Pei Yan was not at home, this was the standard dinner for the servants and boys in the mansion.
Song Huan felt... a little pitiful.
But there are nearly a hundred people in the house. If she is asked to cook dinner for a hundred people by herself, she will surely die of exhaustion in the kitchen tonight.
So it's pitiful, but one thing is for sure. Song Huan only has the energy to cook for a few people in her yard.
At most... leave one copy for Chen Hu.
She took one look at the remaining meat in the kitchen and decided to give up. She just found some relatively fresh vegetables and stir-fried a few seasonal vegetable dishes.
When frying, the aroma is everywhere.
Chen Hu was burning a fire and his eyes kept looking towards the stove. As he looked, he swallowed unconsciously.
It smells so good.
Why are the stir-fried vegetables made by my wife so much more fragrant than those made by Uncle Li?
The author has something to say: Song Huan: Actually, my cooking skills are average, really average.
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