What Cui Yan picked up this time were mainly clams and crabs.
In order to make it convenient for them to eat on a daily basis, Yin Xiaoman did not choose methods such as stir-frying or frying, but directly used the simplest method of boiling in plain water.
After the sand is spit out from the clams, peel the shells and wash them, then make soup. Add vegetables and a small amount of salt and the soup will be delicious enough.
Steaming crabs requires even less technical skills. After cleaning, put it in a large bowl, add some ginger slices, and steam it together when the steamed buns are hot.
But even such a simple meal made several people, big and small, very satisfied.
After the meal, Hu Zi even rubbed his belly and said to Yin Xiaoman: "Auntie Man, come to our house for dinner every day from now on. I will pick crabs for you every day!"
The group of people laughed so hard.
The brothers Qiangzi and Huzi of Cui Yan's family are two years apart in age. One is six and a half years old, almost seven, and the other is four years old, almost five. In fact, they are not much different in age from Dabao and Erniu.
When Dabao and his sister were first brought back by Shen Qingyun, Cui Yan felt sorry for them and always let Qiangzi and his brother take them out to play.
So the four children get along quite well with each other.
In just a short period of time, Dabao's speech became much more fluent than before.
After dinner, the two children wanted to stay at Cui Yan's house to play, so Yin Xiaoman took the things he had picked up in the morning and went home.
She took the things to the kitchen, poured the shellfish picked up by Dabao and the others into a basin to spit out the sand, and took out the small fish she had caught and cleaned them.
The house was unusually quiet because the little ones were not there.
In fact, the house is usually quiet at this time. After all, Shen Qingyun was always very busy, so it was not easy for him to go home for lunch. He usually went back to the camp immediately after lunch.
But for some reason, Yin Xiaoman felt that the silence at the moment made her feel empty inside.
She put the cleaned fish in a basin and marinated it with salt, ginger slices and a little rice wine.
Because the fish were not big, and there were only three of them at home, she didn't have to worry about how much oil to use, so she planned to save it for frying in the evening.
After cleaning up, Yin Xiaoman sat on a small stool aside, staring at the conger eels in the bucket in a daze. He didn't know what happened, but he suddenly felt very tired and had no desire to do it.
She said to herself that maybe she had been busy all morning and needed to take a break.
Moreover, the eel was too big, and the three of them definitely couldn't finish it in one meal. If they divided it into several meals, it would lose its freshness if left out for too long.
But she knew in her heart that she still wanted to stay and wait for the man to come back to eat together.
He must have never eaten this thing before.
After sitting for a long time and "struggling" for a long time, Yin Xiaoman finally surrendered to his obsession.
As a family, it is natural to share good things.
Finally, she comforted herself in her heart.
But at the same time, she began to worry again. The man had just left in the morning, so how could he come back so soon? If so, preservation is a big problem.
In fact, Yin Xiaoman could have put the eel in her room in the palace. After all, things wouldn't go bad in that room. It was as if the cakes, candies, and milk that were originally placed there were still exactly the same as when she first put them in, except for some of them that she took out to eat and used.
But everyone knows that she caught the conger eel today. It is easy for her to put it in, but how will she take it out when the time comes?
After thinking about it, she decided to make the conger eel into cured fish just to be on the safe side.
When they were in the palace, they would make some cured fish every winter. Although this thing is sold outside, the imperial concubine just likes to eat the one made by Yin Xiaoman.
In fact, her recipe doesn't use anything special compared to others. She just adds a little sugar and her own dried bean paste when marinating the fish.
This little bit of sugar and sauce will make the taste of the pickled fish much softer, and it won't be as salty as the fish you buy that is only pickled with salt.
Yin Xiaoman is very good at pickling fish, but this is her first time pickling conger eel. She is a little unsure about how to pickle it.
After thinking for a moment, she decided to go back to her house in the palace and bring back some of the pickled bean paste she had made.
Also, she should go see if Lichun has prepared what she wants.
Looking out from the half-open courtyard gate, you can see four children playing happily at the door next door. They were squatting in the grass at the door, I don't know if they were catching insects or doing something else, but they all looked very serious.
Yin Xiaoman smiled, came out of the kitchen and went straight back to the bedroom.
Closing the bedroom door, she quickly entered the space. He first checked the things in the house, then used his mind to send the bean paste and half a bowl of milk into the kitchen.
Looking at the half-full can of milk left, she frowned. I was thinking that if Lichun really prepared everything as she had requested before, then next time I could ask her to help buy some milk and store it.
Thinking of this, Yin Xiaoman closed his eyes and silently said in his heart: "Send me to the imperial kitchen."
After the familiar dizziness, she opened her eyes and found herself where she had been when she first came in.
This is the corner of the imperial kitchen, and it is also where the porridge bucket is placed.
The first thing Yin Xiaoman learned when she came to the imperial kitchen was to cook porridge. At that time, she was not even as tall as the porridge bucket, so she had to stand on a small stool every day to see inside.
Because the masters have different tastes, it is impossible to cook only one kind of porridge, so most of the time she has to watch three porridge buckets at the same time, often standing for most of the day.
But later, as she gained more experience in the imperial kitchen, and because she was willing to work hard, her cooking skills improved.
Gradually, you don’t have to do things like making porridge anymore.
She had already put these memories in the farthest corner of her mind. If it hadn't happened twice in a row in the same place, she would have thought she had forgotten them all.
Yin Xiaoman reached out and touched the ceramic jar that had been cleaned long ago and used as a porridge bucket, but the touch made her stop in her tracks.
She found that the empty pottery jar was actually a little hot!
It was already past lunch time, and the chefs and helpers in the imperial kitchen had already gone home, leaving the huge room empty.
Obviously, there was no porridge or traditional Chinese soup on the menu for the masters in the evening, so the pottery jars had already been cleaned. If it actually feels hot to the touch at this time, there is only one possibility: the fire is not completely extinguished.
Yin Xiaoman gritted his teeth, suppressed the anger that suddenly rose in his heart, and moved the pottery jar away from the stove. Sure enough, she saw a piece of charcoal with a faint red glow among the embers.
This kind of thing was a taboo when she was the head aunt, and anyone who found out would be severely punished.
After all, if there was a fire in the imperial kitchen, it would be a big deal.
It is very likely that many people will lose their heads!
Using tongs to pick out the burning charcoal and extinguish it, all hidden dangers were eliminated. Yin Xiaoman looked at the slowly cooling ceramic jar, but frowned.
Lichun is still a little young and has not experienced much, so people cannot always be completely at ease.
Although Yin Xiaoman is dead in this world, Lichun is her apprentice who she taught personally.
If something really happened, she would still worry.
Holding the extinguished charcoal with a pair of tongs, Yin Xiaoman carried it directly into the small compartment reserved for the aunt in charge.
After entering the room, she placed the piece of charcoal in the most conspicuous position in the middle of the table without even thinking about it, so that anyone who came in could see it at first glance.
Seeing this piece of charcoal and the fact that the pottery jar has not been put back in place, Lichun should be able to understand what happened, right?
If she still can't understand it like this -
Yin Xiaoman felt that she no longer needed to be the aunt in charge!
After dealing with this matter, Yin Xiaoman finally remembered the purpose of coming to this room.
She did not open the wooden door of the cabinet, but used her mind to take out everything inside.
A big bag full of japonica rice, every grain is white, crystal clear and full. Even just looking at them, one can almost smell the fat aroma emanating from them.
This is tribute rice. Even the princes in the palace can only enjoy a limited amount of it every month.
Concubines of lower status might stay in the palace for their entire lives without even having the chance to taste it.
Looking at this extremely precious rice, Yin Xiaoman did not feel happy at all, only had a headache.
The note she left originally asked for brown rice, the most common kind that servants ate every day.
It is obvious that Lichun acted on his own initiative.
If the bag contained brown rice at this time, Yin Xiaoman could steam rice tonight.
The golden fried fish served with fragrant white rice makes one drool just thinking about it.
As for brown rice, she could still use the excuse that it was left by her grandparents to fool the two children.
But the two children have probably never even seen this kind of high-quality japonica rice, let alone eating it.
How could she possibly hide the thoughts that Dabao had?
Looking at the rice bags, Yin Xiaoman felt extremely depressed.
But when her eyes fell on other things, her heart skipped a beat. She didn't even bother to think about it anymore and tore open the fine cloth bag containing the mountain products.
Sure enough, the yellow flowers and black fungus were of the best quality. There was no ordinary wild mushroom at all, but instead there were several Hericium erinaceus.
In addition, she actually saw several old ginseng roots and several high-quality official swallows.
Yin Xiaoman took a deep breath.
Is Lichun crazy? ! How dare you even touch the things in the treasure cabinet?
Those are for the use of the upper classes. Except for the Emperor and the Empress Dowager, even the Imperial Concubine’s tonic stew is not allowed to be added without the Emperor’s order!
Faced with such a large pile of things, and looking at the blue and white porcelain oil bottle standing next to it, and the aged Huadiao wine that could only be used as the main course in imperial banquets, Yin Xiaoman was no longer surprised and did not want to say a word.
After sitting there for a while, she silently put the polished round-grained rice, official swallow's nest, oil bottle, Huadiao wine... back to their original places, leaving only the yellow flowers, fungus and a few ginseng roots.
The man had just left for one day, and Yin Xiaoman had no idea what would happen. Instead of overthinking, she thought it would be better to take this opportunity to make some preparations in advance. It's better to keep these ginseng roots in case you need them than to be at a loss at the last minute.
After packing up his things, Yin Xiaoman took out the change in his pocket and counted it. The more he looked at it, the less it seemed.
She put the silver coins together with the things she put back in the cabinet. Then she had to use her mind to take out another ten-liang silver ingot from the wooden box and put it together with the silver coins.
Looking at the small space that suddenly became empty in the wooden box, Yin Xiaoman couldn't help feeling a pang of pain.
She was depressed to find that if she had to prepare things like this every time the beginning of spring came, then... her savings would be exhausted after just a few uses.
She knew that she didn't have to pay and the silly girl wouldn't say anything.
But unfortunately - she knew the prices of these things better than anyone else, and if she really asked her apprentice to pay for it, she would never be able to get over the hurdle in her heart.
After taking the "bought" things back into the house and putting them away, Yin Xiaoman returned to the bedroom, but her mood was not even as good as before she entered.
Return to the kitchen and kill and clean the conger eel. Chop off the fish head, cut the fish body into several pieces, put them in a large bowl and add seasoning to marinate.
Fish heads are not easy to absorb flavor and do not have much meat. After being dried, there is almost nothing to eat.
So she planned to keep it and fry it in some oil to make the soup. The fish soup should also taste great if you cook the noodles there.
After packing up his things, Yin Xiaoman still felt a little upset.
After thinking about it, she simply took out paper and pen and wrote another note to Lichun, and placed it on the table she often used together with the charcoal.
As the aunt in charge, Lichun doesn't actually have to come every day according to the normal working hours of the imperial kitchen, and no one will say anything if she comes a little late.
But these days, she had something on her mind, and she would subconsciously look at the cabinet filled with things several times a day. Even after work, I felt uneasy and always wanted to come over to take a look, so much so that I arrived much earlier than the normal working hours.
Today, just like the previous few days, she opened the cabinet door as soon as she entered the house. She originally thought that what awaited her would be the same disappointment as before, but suddenly she discovered that the things inside had been tampered with!
She subconsciously ran over and locked the door of the cabin from the inside, then she suppressed her pounding heart and walked back.
After looking carefully, I confirmed that it was not my illusion and the things had indeed been moved.
However - the immortal did not take away all the things she had carefully prepared, and even left most of them behind.
Not only that, he also left silver for the mountain products and a few ginseng roots he took away.
Looking at the silver, Lichun felt frightened.
She was a little confused about what the immortal meant.
Why didn’t you take everything? Is it because you dislike it?
But this was the best quality she could find.
The more Lichun thought about it, the more nervous he became, fearing that he might not do well and anger the immortal again.
Ever since the immortal left the note, nothing has been lost in the small warehouse, and everyone was relieved.
Lichun was a little scared. If she angered the immortal because she didn't prepare everything properly, would she...
No no no! Lichun shook his head quickly to drive away the bad thoughts that popped up in his mind.
What on earth am I thinking about? !
Immortals are all compassionate and merciful, saving people from suffering. How could they care about a mortal like me?
Although she repeatedly comforted herself in her heart, she was still a little nervous.
She closed the cabinet door with a sense of loss and sat back in her usual chair.
This time I was shocked again!
She actually saw a note on the table that was exactly the same as the one left by the immortal before!
Lichun grabbed the note and was about to take a closer look when she heard a thud and the thing on the note fell to the ground. She lowered her head and picked up a piece of charcoal.
Lichun took the charcoal and observed it carefully.
This is a very ordinary piece of crude carbon.
If I'm not mistaken, this should be the fire used for cooking in the imperial kitchen.
The carbon is not big and it looks like it has been burning for a long time. It has turned grayish white overall, with only a few black spots that have not been completely burned.
The fairy placed such an ordinary piece of carbon in the most important position on the note, obviously wanting herself to see it.
But what does this mean? What does the fairy want to tell me?
Lichun racked his brains until his head ached, but he had no clue at all.
At this moment, there was a bang on the door, and a steward's voice came from outside: "Aunt, Aunt Lichun, come out and take a look."
Lichun frowned, quickly put the note and the carbon block in a safe place, and went over to open the door.
"What's up?"
When the people at the door saw her, they felt as if they had found someone to rely on. They first breathed a sigh of relief, and then said in a nervous tone, "Aunt, go and have a look! There's a thief in our imperial kitchen again!"
These words made Lichun's heart skip a beat!
She didn't even bother to talk to the manager anymore and walked quickly towards the group of people gathered not far away.
Seeing her coming, the people around her moved to the sides and made way for her.
When Lichun walked in, he saw two extinguished stoves and a ceramic jar for cooking porridge next to them. There was nothing special about them.
She frowned again: "What's wrong?"
Hearing her question, a middle-aged palace maid who was in charge of cooking porridge walked out from the crowd tremblingly.
After bowing to her, he said, "Aunt, I swear to God that I put all the pottery jars in good order before leaving work. I put them all on the stove and didn't put them in any disorder. But when I came in the afternoon, I found that both jars had been moved and placed in a mess."
The imperial kitchen is different from other places in that it emphasizes each person's duties.
Everyone has his own duties, and everything has its fixed place.
There are regulations about who is responsible for what, and everyone will check carefully before and after work.
Some people even make secret marks on where they place things to avoid being harmed by others, so that if they are touched they can be easily discovered. Better to save it as soon as possible.
Otherwise, if someone really poisons or puts some unclean things in your room while you are away and harms your health, you will be in big trouble.
So, when this middle-aged palace maid came in the afternoon and found that all the porridge buckets she was responsible for had been moved, how could she not be scared? !
Everyone knew that the imperial kitchen had been robbed before, and now everyone heard that someone had sneaked in again, and everyone couldn't help but feel scared.
At this moment, when the middle-aged palace maid was speaking to Lichun, other people also showed various expressions of nervousness, worry, and fear.
At the beginning, Lichun was still listening attentively. But as she listened, her eyes were attracted by the pile of charcoal in the stove that had long been extinguished.
"Where are your carbon clamps?" she suddenly asked.
The middle-aged palace maid was startled and looked around quickly, only to find that the bamboo clips she had placed next to the stove were nowhere to be seen.
"The thief also stole the carbon clamps?" She muttered subconsciously, but she didn't even believe it when she said it out loud.
She took a few steps to both sides, as if she was going to continue searching, but Lichun stopped her coldly: "No need to look for it, someone else should help her turn the pottery jar over."
Although no one understood why Aunt Lichun wanted to look at the bottom of the pottery jar at this moment, no one dared to ask.
After hearing her instructions, a palace maid who was on good terms with the palace servant hurried over and worked hard with her to turn over a pottery jar.
Everyone was startled by this flip, and there were gasps one after another from the surroundings.
Because the exterior of this pottery jar is dark brown, it is very resistant to dirt.
When it was placed on the stove, no one would look at it carefully, and no one would notice that its bottom had been turned into a burnt black by the smoke.
The palms of the two palace maids were stained with soot.
"It's burning dry! Isn't your fire extinguished?!"
Before Lichun could speak, the manager in charge of the staple food supply shouted in a stern voice.
The middle-aged palace maid's face turned pale with fright.
They were all veterans who had been working for many years, and they knew what was going on as soon as they saw the situation. At this moment, she didn't even have the courage to quibble, and she knelt down on the ground with a thud.
Lichun turned around and left.
She had no interest in how to punish the palace maid at the moment. She was so shocked that she wanted to scream!
She finally understood what the fairy meant by putting charcoal and tongs in her room.
The fairy was warning her.
Lichun's legs felt weak and every step felt like he was stepping on cotton.
The fear made her heart beat so fast that it seemed like it was going to jump out of her throat. Somehow, it reminded her of her master.
She shivered involuntarily and couldn't help curling her fingers tightly together and putting them behind her back.
If my master were still alive, if I encountered such a thing, I would also be punished by kneeling and having my hands slapped, right?
Thinking of this, her nose felt sore and tears almost fell.
She wanted to say, "I am willing to do it. I am willing to be punished to kneel or have my hands spanked. I just want my master to come back."
It’s a pity that the master will never come back.
There will never be someone who punishes her harshly while standing in front of her and defending her from everything...
After entering the room, Lichun took out the note left by the fairy.
I originally thought that if the fairy kept it, she would scold me like her master did, and then warn me not to do it again.
But the note did not mention this matter at all, as if the warning was not left by the fairy.
Lichun quickly wiped his eyes, wiped away the tears that were about to overflow, and looked carefully.
"Twenty eggs, a bag of brown rice, a can of cooking oil, half a bag of corn flour, a bucket of milk..."
The content of the note was not much different from the previous one, and it just listed what the fairy wanted this time.
But this one was more detailed than the previous one. Not only did it list in detail the specific weight and amount required for each item, but most importantly, the fairy also specially marked the purchase price behind these things!
Looking at the one following closely behind: "Twenty coins, fifty coins..."
Lichun was so shocked that he couldn't think normally!
Why are the prices listed by the fairy basically the same as the prices they usually buy?
In fact, some of them seem to be clearer than I remember? !
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