After Lanting finished speaking, his face turned bright red with embarrassment, afraid that Xie Yushu would see through him and make fun of him.
To everyone's surprise, Xie Yushu actually believed it!
"You caught a cold? That's really something, getting sick during the Lunar New Year!"
"Nanxing, go to the pharmacy and get two bottles of pills for treating colds."
And then to the Orchid Pavilion
"Go back and take your medicine, then boil some ginger and brown sugar water to induce sweating; that should help you recover faster!"
Seeing that Xie Yushu didn't mention Lord Han, Lanting grew anxious. She thought to herself that her mistress had already made a huge fuss, and the cook was sick; if they couldn't come to the Lady's residence for the New Year, wouldn't all the effort have been for nothing? So she said...
"Thank you for your concern, Lord Xie. Actually, we servants are quite resilient. Catching a cold is nothing to us. We'll be fine in three to five days. It's just that my master has suffered. He has come all the way from his hometown to Tai'an Prefecture. He doesn't have a single relative here. I'm afraid he won't even be able to have a proper New Year's Eve dinner..."
well! ……"
"So... all the cooks in the manor have caught a cold?"
"That's right! The wind was strong last night, and the window was blown open. They were all sharing a room, so they all caught a cold!"
"How about I have two cooks from the villa come over to help out?"
"This isn't good. There are so many people at the resort, and we don't have enough manpower. Besides, the two of us can't cook many dishes, so neither side will be able to eat well!"
Don't worry, Lord Xiang. The man is used to being alone anyway, so let him make do with it for now!
"It's just that we subordinates didn't learn cooking skills during training, so the adults will have to suffer a bit!"
Seeing Lan Ting so sentimental, Xie Yushu sighed, thinking that Lan Ting, the leader of the secret guards, seemed cold and aloof, but was actually quite emotional!
On the one hand, they felt sorry for Han Zhongyu, who was all alone away from home during the Spring Festival. He couldn't even reunite with his family and couldn't even have a New Year's meal.
As for leaving one's hometown, that's not quite right. Only those who work away from home are considered to be leaving their hometown. Han Zhongyu is at most being sent to a post outside the capital. She automatically attributed it to Lanting's inappropriate wording and didn't think at all that Lanting was deliberately playing the victim for his master.
However, even though it was a posting away from home, it was a fact that she had no family or friends around, and the cook was also sick. Xie Yushu felt a little soft-hearted and sighed.
"Why don't you ask your parents if they would like to come to the villa and spend the New Year together?"
"Since I'm already far from home, and we'll be business partners in the future, how about we spend New Year's Eve together?"
Lanting had been waiting for this very sentence, and without even a moment's hesitation, he immediately said...
My family will definitely agree!
I'll go back and tell him right away!
As if afraid Xie Yushu would change her mind, he turned and ran away, even using his lightness skill!
"The medicine! I haven't gotten the medicine yet!"
Xie Yushu called out twice, but there was no sign of Lanting anywhere!
"Son, is it really necessary to run so fast just to have a New Year's Eve dinner?"
Xie Yushu was secretly suspicious. Seeing Nanxing return with the medicine, she gave instructions.
"Go find a cook and take some medicine to the Han residence. If all the cooks are really sick, have her help out with cooking for a couple of days. Lord Han might be coming here for the New Year, so I'll go check what dishes we can add!"
"Lord Han is coming to spend the New Year with us? Is that alright?"
Nanxing said in shock.
"What's good or bad about it? His cook is sick. There are so many people in our manor. If we borrow too many cooks, we won't have enough. So why not just send one of them over to cook for the guards in his manor? Then he can come and eat here. It's a win-win situation, isn't it?"
"Oh, that's true!"
Nanxing sensed something was wrong, but couldn't quite put her finger on it. However, following orders, she went directly to find the cook, while Xie Yushu went to check what ingredients were left in the kitchen and what to make to entertain Han Zhongyu, who was, after all, a high-ranking official of the third rank in the imperial court!
Xie Yushu originally planned to have a banquet at the resort, with eight dishes served together, so that everyone could eat together and have a lively time. Moreover, eight dishes is the highest level of banquet for ordinary people to hold for happy occasions, so it was not considered to be overstepping the bounds.
Aunt Su's menu included steamed carp, chicken stew with mushrooms, braised pork belly, braised lion's head meatballs, pork ribs stewed with yam, stir-fried pork liver, stir-fried cabbage (a dish called "Hundred Fortunes Gathering"), this was a must, and also Mu Shu pork.
Make sure to prepare plenty of eight dishes, and steam several large pots of steamed buns so that everyone is full and there is still some left over, symbolizing abundance year after year.
Since Han Zhongyu is coming, let's add eight more dishes to this. Anyway, the things she has at her manor to entertain Han Zhongyu are not excessive.
A third-rank official's menu might have about twenty dishes, while the emperor could have over a hundred. She couldn't imagine what a hundred dishes would consist of, but a dozen or so dishes were nothing to her!
Then let's braise a big pig's trotter, fry some shredded shrimp, add glutinous rice dumplings, mixed tiger salad, stir-fried chicken gizzards, and baby bok choy. To cut through the richness, we also made a "gathering of heroes" with white sugar. Finally, let's make a super fragrant and authentic Northeastern-style sweet and sour pork!
These are all Xie Yushu's specialties, and she is very confident!
Once the dishes were decided, everyone got to work. Manager Wang led a group of workers to set up a separate stove outside to make tofu, while two cooks were in charge of steaming buns, preparing to eat on the first and second days of the Lunar New Year. According to custom, the first and second days of the Lunar New Year are for eating, drinking, and having fun, and it is best not to do any work. Even the food is just reheated leftovers from the 30th day.
Aunt Su personally led a few young maids to prepare the big pot of stew, which was the eight-bowl feast that everyone ate together.
Xie Yushu prepared the six dishes that were added later, with Nanxing assisting her.
Qu Xiaodie led people to set up tables in the large classroom.
Han Zhongyu arrived very quickly, accompanied by Han Zhong, Han Yi, Lan Ting, and four secret guards.
However, Xie Yushu's family is large and well-off, and they have prepared plenty of food, so they don't need these few people.
Lan Ting had already become familiar with the guards of the manor. Seeing that Han Zhongyu went straight into the kitchen, he and a few guards went to find Zhao Hu and the others.
Han Zhong and Han Yi stood outside the kitchen, eating melon seeds and watching the commotion.
When Han Zhongyu came in, Xie Yushu was making the last dish of sweet and sour pork.
The golden-brown, crispy fried meat slices are then stir-fried again, their enticing aroma making one's mouth water.
"It smells so good!"
What's this? "
"Hey? You're here!"
Seeing that it was Han Zhongyu, Xie Yushu picked up a piece of the sweet and sour pork that was almost ready to be served and brought it to his mouth.
"How about trying the most authentic Guo Bao Rou from Northern China?"
Han Zhongyu blew on the air conditioning by the door for a moment, then ate a piece of food.
"Great! It's crispy and crunchy, with a hint of sweetness—it's delicious!"
"I'll write down the recipe for you later, so you can have the chef make it whenever you want!"
"That would be perfect!"
As Xie Yushu spoke, she served the last dish and called out.
"The tables are set! Everyone come and get the dishes, let's start the feast!"
At his command, the idle guards, young and old, all came over to serve dishes and meals.
Fortunately, the classroom that was originally reserved was big enough, and now it has been set up as a circular banquet, so it's not too crowded for sixty or seventy people.
All the dishes were served in small bowls, with two portions placed on each of the four sides to ensure that everyone could reach them and have a full meal!
Only Xie Yushu and Han Zhongyu sat in the main seats, where sixteen dishes were laid out.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
