Just as Wu San Niang and her daughter were each lost in thought, Min Yueqing led A Mei into the kitchen.
As soon as Wu San Niang turned around, she saw Min Yueqing. She quickly bowed and greeted her, "Greetings, Madam." She then tugged at Wu Yanyan, who also shyly bowed her head and greeted her in return.
Seeing that they seemed a little nervous, Min Yueqing smiled and said, "I came here to make some milk tea. Do you have an empty pot?"
Although Wu San Niang didn't know what milk tea was, she did have an empty pot. She quickly replied, "Yes, Madam. This pot is unused; we've already washed it clean. Just tell me what you want to cook."
Min Yueqing said, "Making milk tea is very simple. First, boil the milk, then boil a pot of water. After the water boils, put this tea bag in and boil it for a while. Add milk and a little sugar to the tea and continue to boil it. After removing it from the heat, let it steep for a little while."
For convenience, she had asked Amei to pack a bag of black tea leaves in a spice bag before coming, which she then handed to Wu San Niang.
Since it was Wu San Niang's first time cooking this new dish, she was afraid she wouldn't do it well, so she said to Min Yueqing, "Madam, I'll start cooking now. Please check if I'm doing it correctly, okay?"
Since Min Yueqing had nothing else to do and wanted to see the production process for herself, she stayed.
Wu Yanyan was very perceptive and immediately went to fetch a stool and placed it next to Min Yueqing, saying respectfully, "Madam, please sit down."
Min Yueqing smiled and thanked her before sitting down.
When Wu Yanyan saw that this ethereal lady was actually thanking her, she blushed instantly and quickly lowered her head and retreated to her original position to continue taking care of the porridge.
Wu San Niang had already quickly started boiling the milk. She remembered clearly how A Mei had taught her to boil the milk yesterday.
After the milk was cooked, Wu San Niang took a clean small bucket and scooped it out. Then she added boiling water and, following Min Yueqing's instructions, put the tea bag in after the water boiled.
Wu San Niang nervously watched the tea in the pot. It was her first time brewing tea; she had only ever brewed tea made by the village elders at home before. When the tea turned a dark brown, Wu San Niang was unsure how much milk and sugar to add, so she turned to Min Yueqing and asked, "Madam, how much milk and sugar is appropriate?"
Min Yueqing remembered that the ratio of milk to tea was roughly 1:1, so she replied, "Add as much milk as there is water in the pot."
As she spoke, Min Yueqing walked to the pot and looked inside. There was enough for about twenty people, so she continued, "If you're adding sugar, put in ten spoonfuls."
Don't add too much sugar when making milk tea, otherwise you won't be able to taste the aroma of the tea and milk. Ten spoonfuls of sugar may sound like a lot, but when divided among everyone's bowls, it's only about half a spoonful, which is just right.
After adding milk and sugar, the pot boiled again. Wu San Niang remembered Min Yueqing's words and, as soon as it boiled, quickly moved the firewood to the side, which was equivalent to turning off the fire. Then she covered the pot and let it simmer.
Min Yueqing estimated that about two minutes had passed, and said to Wu Sanniang, "It's ready now, serve it out. When everyone eats breakfast, give each person a bowl."
Upon hearing this, Wu San Niang quickly opened the pot lid and ladled out the brewed milk tea.
At this time, the vegetable and lean meat porridge and the side dishes to go with it were ready, and Wu San Niang led Wu Yan Yan to bring breakfast into the dining room.
Contrary to his usual behavior, Pei Han didn't rush to the front office today, but instead spent time reading with Pei Ji. Since the desk and chairs in the study weren't ready yet, Pei Han hadn't started teaching Pei Ji to write.
Min Yueqing returned to her bedroom and said to the father and son, who were engrossed in their books, "Breakfast is ready, gentlemen."
When Pei Ji heard Min Yueqing call him "Young Master," he was overjoyed and rushed towards her, hugging her leg tightly. "Mother, am I a Young Master now?"
Min Yueqing smiled and playfully pinched his nose, teasingly saying, "How could you not be? Isn't this a handsome young master?"
Pei Ji gladly accepted the title of "Young Master" and rubbed his soft little face against Min Yueqing.
Seeing this, Pei Han joined in the fun and asked Min Yueqing, "Madam, what kind of young master am I?"
Min Yueqing glanced at him with a smile and said, "What do you think?" Then she took Pei Ji's hand, picked up Xiao Wei, and walked towards the dining room.
Min Yueqing was clearly dodging the question. Pei Han stood there and shook his head helplessly before quickly following after her.
As soon as he sat down at the table, Pei Ji noticed the large soup bowl on the table. The liquid inside was a color he had never seen before, and it was clearly not an ordinary soup, because there were no vegetables in it.
Pei Ji sniffed the air and thought it smelled a bit like milk. He immediately pointed to the soup bowl and asked, "Mother, is this the milk tea you were talking about?"
Min Yueqing praised, "So clever! This is milk tea, would you like to try some?"
Pei Ji nodded quickly.
Seeing that the young master nodded, Amei served him another bowl of milk tea and placed it beside him.
Min Yueqing reminded her, "Lele, eat some porridge first, then drink milk tea."
Drinking coffee on an empty stomach is bad, and I guess drinking tea on an empty stomach isn't good either. Although the tea was diluted with milk, just to be on the safe side, Min Yueqing still made the little one eat something before drinking it.
Pei Ji was always well-behaved, and upon hearing what Min Yueqing said, he picked up a spoon and started eating the porridge.
After finishing a small bowl of porridge, he couldn't wait to scoop a spoonful of milk tea into his mouth. It was indeed as delicious as Min Yueqing had said, very fragrant and sweet, but the sweetness was rather mild and did not mask the taste of tea and milk at all.
Pei Ji drank it sip by sip, and soon finished the whole bowl of milk tea.
Seeing how much his son liked it, Pei Han also tried it and found that it tasted really good, so he drank a bowl as well.
Min Yueqing looked at Pei Han and Pei Ji with a smile, thinking to herself that milk tea is appealing to all ages. Usually, once you take a sip, you want another. You two are no exception.
Min Yueqing took a sip of the milk tea in her bowl and couldn't help but sigh: It's a pity there are no pearls or milk foam, no red beans, taro balls, coconut jelly, or pudding.
If you can make these toppings, the milk tea will be even more irresistible.
As usual, Wu Yiyi went to the kitchen to eat breakfast with the servants and helpers in the courtyard. To his surprise, he found that today's breakfast included a bowl of something that smelled like milk but didn't look like cow's milk.
Wu Yiyi curiously picked it up and took a sip. It was sweet and fragrant, and it did taste like milk, but with other flavors as well. It was much better than any milk he had ever drunk before.
After drinking the milk tea, the men started discussing it, and one of them asked Wu San Niang, "Sister-in-law Wu, what is this? It's so delicious!"
Wu San Niang replied with a proud expression, "This is a method that Madam came up with. This thing is called milk tea, and it is made by adding milk and sugar to black tea."
Wu Yi immediately understood why the milk tea was so delicious. How could it not taste good with sugar added?
At that time, sugar was very expensive and production was very low. Ordinary people simply couldn't afford sugar, let alone such high-quality white sugar.
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