Li Hehua's cooking skills earned the Cao family enough face. They kept thanking her and became more polite to her.
The next morning, Li Hehua and the Cao family got up even earlier because they had to prepare a total of fourteen tables of banquets today, more than twice as many as yesterday, so they needed to start preparing earlier.
Many guests arrived early in the morning, and it was much more lively than yesterday. It was noisy in the front. Li Hehua really didn't know how people in ancient times got married. She really wanted to go out and take a look, but her main battlefield today was the kitchen, and she couldn't go out. So she could only regretfully think that she would have the chance to see it again next time.
Seeing that it was almost noon, Cao Simei's mother came in hurriedly and said, "Hurry up, hurry up, we can start cooking. The bride has been brought back, and the relatives from the in-laws' side have all arrived. It's almost time to start the feast."
Upon hearing this, Li Hehua nodded and said, "Don't worry, Auntie. I will start cooking now. It won't delay the banquet and the food will be served soon."
Aunt Cao smiled and nodded. "I believe you. Thank you for your help."
Li Hehua not only had a good attitude, but also never complained about anything. She was also polite to the kitchen helpers, and her words were soothing and comfortable. This made the Cao family have a very good impression of her, and they couldn't help but think of Zhou Laogen, who used to cook banquets in the villages. Zhou Laogen's attitude was very different from Li Hehua's, because there was no one else in the villages who could cook banquets, so everyone had to beg him to do it. His attitude was like that of a boss, and he had to urge him and say nice things to him. In addition to the money he was supposed to pay, he also had to give him a lot of good wine and food. In the end, he had a bad temper and yelled at the kitchen helpers, as if they were all his servants. But what could they do? His cooking skills were good, and if he wasn't invited, no one would cook banquets, so they could only smile and endure it.
This time their family was also planning to invite Zhou Laogen to prepare dinner. They had invited him half a month ago and had agreed on it, but when they went again a few days ago, his attitude had changed. He picked up the knife and said that too many families had invited him to prepare dinner and he was too busy to turn around and had no time.
Everyone could see that this was just his disguised way of asking for a kickback. He wanted to collect more money and things. The Cao family was so angry that they scolded him for a long time at home. But who can blame him for his good cooking skills? If he was not invited, no one would cook for the banquet. How could the banquet not have a decent meal?
So there was no other way. No matter how angry they were, they had to invite this person. The Cao family discussed it at home for a long time, and finally prepared to take a few bottles of good wine and invite him again.
At this time, Cao Simei came home and heard about this. She was very angry. She suggested to them to change someone to prepare the banquet and recommended Li Hehua.
At first, the Cao family didn't believe it. After all, she was just a young woman. Her experience was not as good as Zhou Laogen, who had been cooking for decades. Moreover, no one had ever heard of Li Hehua's name, so she must not be famous, which meant that she was not good at cooking. If they rashly replaced her with such a person, the risk would be too great, so the Cao family was against it.
Seeing that the Cao family did not believe the person she recommended, Cao Simei immediately told them what happened to Li Hehua at Old Man Wang's house in Lianhua Village that day. She then described in great detail the scene of Li Hehua making pickled fish that day, especially the aroma and the greedy looks of the Wang family as they ate. Only then did the Cao family believe her. Finally, they gritted their teeth and decided to take a gamble, so they invited Li Hehua.
This is how things are happening now.
Yesterday, the Cao family was still worried, fearing that the young woman was not up to the task. But who knew that they would be pleasantly surprised in the end. This woman's cooking skills were extraordinary, far better than Zhou Laogen's. After eating the dishes cooked by this woman, they realized that Zhou Laogen's cooking skills were nothing at all. They really didn't know how he could be so arrogant.
With this woman in his life, let’s see how Zhou Laogen can be so proud. Now we can finally curb Zhou Laogen’s arrogance.
Li Hehua had no idea what the Cao family was thinking; he was just concentrating on cooking.
Today's dishes are also eight main dishes and eight side dishes. The ingredients are the same as yesterday. The Cao family's idea is to make the same dishes as yesterday, since everyone does it this way anyway. However, Li Hehua thinks this is not a good idea. Making exactly the same dishes for two days is something that only a failed chef would do in her opinion. So she suggested to the Cao family to change the dishes. Of course, the ingredients remain the same.
When the Cao family heard that Li Hehua could use the same ingredients to cook a dish that was completely different from yesterday's, they naturally agreed and kept nodding. Now they completely believed in Li Hehua's cooking skills.
After obtaining the consent of the host, Li Hehua rearranged all the ingredients to create different dishes, and then started cooking.
Li Hehua cooked for fourteen tables today, and her speed was still quite fast. She finished the dishes in almost the same time as yesterday, though she felt a little more tired. However, she no longer felt tired when she thought about the completion of the task.
Because she was in a hurry to go home, she said goodbye immediately after the meeting.
Aunt Cao took some time to come to the kitchen, thanked Li Hehua profusely, and gave him 100 coins. To show her gratitude, she also packed a bunch of melon seeds and candies for Li Hehua, and then packed a basket of vegetables for her to take home. Li Hehua refused, but Aunt Cao insisted, "Please keep it. Don't refuse. If I invite others, these things are not enough for me. I will have to spend a lot more money. You have helped my family so much, it is only right for me to give you something to eat. Don't refuse."
Seeing that he could not refuse, Li Hehua accepted it, left Cao's house, and hurried home. He did not return to Zhang's house until it was dark.
The Zhang family had already finished their meal and seemed to have washed up and returned to their rooms. Only Zhang Lin came out of the room to get some water. She was a little surprised to see Li Hehua, whom she hadn't seen for a few days.
Li Hehua forced a smile and greeted her, "Mom, I'm back from preparing the feast."
Zhang Lin ignored her and poured water for herself.
Li Hehua walked to the table, put the basket on the table, lifted the white cloth covering it, revealing the contents, and said to Zhang Lin: "Mother, this is a gift from the host family. I can't eat it either. It would be a pity if it goes bad. Mother, you can take it and eat it. Just heat it up, so you don't have to cook for yourself."
The dishes inside were all main dishes, including chicken, duck, fish and meat, filling up a basket. Zhang Lin didn't expect that she would be so generous and give all these delicious dishes to them. She was surprised for a moment.
Li Hehua herself wants to lose weight, so it is impossible for her to eat all these big fish and meat. Even if she eats, she can't eat so much. It would be a waste to just leave it there. Why not give it to others? At the same time, it can also improve her favorability and make the Zhang family hate her less. Why not do it?
Li Hehua took out a large bag of melon seeds and candies, "These are also given by the host. Leave them for Shulin. I won't eat them."
Zhang Lin was a little resistant, "I don't..." She didn't want anything from this woman.
Li Hehua knew what Zhang Lin was struggling with, so she interrupted her and said, "Mom, I can't finish all this. It will be a waste if you don't eat it. I'll have to trouble you to help me eat it. If you don't eat it, no one will."
After hearing what Li Hehua said, Zhang Lin felt a little relieved.
Li Hehua smiled and said, "Mom, that's it. I'm tired. I'll go back to my room first." Then he went straight back to the woodshed.
Zhang Lin closed her open mouth and looked at the basket on the table. After a while, she covered it with the cloth again and put it away in the kitchen cupboard.
Li Hehua was almost exhausted. Her feet were sore after walking such a long way. Once she collapsed on the bed, she didn't want to get up.
This job is really tiring. Cooking is okay, but some villages are too far away, and she doesn't have a donkey cart or a horse carriage, so she has to rely on her feet. If she walks like this often, her feet will be broken.
It's okay to make banquet noodles in a village as close as Lianhua Village, but it's not worth it to go to Caozhuang Village, which is so far away. Not only will you be tired from walking, but you will also have to spend a whole day on the road.
This price needs to be changed.
In the future, for places nearby, the price will still be five cents per table, but for places far away, the price will be increased to eight cents per table, so as to avoid losing money. She believes that her reputation has been spread and she will not have to worry about no one coming to her for a banquet. If people from far away places think eight cents is too expensive, then they can find other people. She can prepare banquets in villages that are closer.
After thinking it over, Li Hehua looked at the sky. It was already very late and it would be too late to make cakes to sell, so he could take a day off tomorrow and sell cakes the day after tomorrow.
Because he didn't have to go out early to sell cakes the next day, Li Hehua had a good sleep, and when he woke up, the sun was already high in the sky.
I opened the door and went out. There was no one at home, even Zhang Lin was not at home. She must have gone out to do laundry.
Li Hehua's eyes turned and she immediately ran to the kitchen. She wanted to see the little guy.
The little guy was indeed in the kitchen, sitting in the same position as before.
Li Hehua was the first to say hello, "Little guy, you got up really early."
As Li Hehua spoke, he moved behind the stove and slowly approached him.
"Little guy, have you eaten? Is your little tummy full?" She moved about half a meter away from him and stopped.
Li Hehua didn't care about his lack of response and continued to talk: "Little guy, have you not seen me for several days? Do you miss me? I miss you. Let me tell you, I have been preparing banquets for others these days. Do you know what banquets are? They are the dishes that people prepare for their relatives when they marry their bride. Let me tell you..."
Li Hehua talked a lot, sharing with the little one everything she had done in the past few days, like pouring beans out of a bamboo tube, and stopped only when she said there was nothing more to say.
Seeing that the little girl still had no reaction, Li Hehua sighed softly, "Little girl, why are you ignoring me? Was it because the previous me was too bad to you? So you are scared? But don't be afraid of me, I'll tell you secretly, I'm different from the previous person, I'm not hers, and I won't hit you. I like you very much and will treat you very well, do you believe me?"
Li Hehua would not tell this secret to anyone else, but she wanted to tell the little one. She wanted to share this with the little one so that the little one could distinguish between her and the original owner and stop rejecting her.
But disappointingly, the little guy was still in the same posture as before, and I don’t know if he heard what she said.
Li Hehua told himself not to worry and stood up. "Little guy, why do I feel like you've lost weight again? You can't do this. You need to eat more to gain weight. How about I make you something delicious? You have to eat it obediently. Let me think about it. How about I make you some barbecue rice? You've probably never had it before, right? Let's try it today."
Although I didn't have any barbecue, I brought back a lot of meat last night. It can be used after a little processing. As for the rice, I just need to cook it a little bit and it will be ready soon.
Li Hehua first cooked the rice, then took out some meat he had brought back from the cupboard, poured oil into the pot, heated it, then put the meat in and started cooking.
Barbecue rice is very simple to make and it was ready in less than half an hour. Li Hehua finally took out an egg, fried a poached egg and put it in the bowl of rice for the little guy. The job was done.
The bowl for the little one was beautifully placed. Li Hehua brought it to a small stool and moved the stool in front of the little one. "Baby, the barbecued meat and rice are ready. Try it. It's delicious."
Without expecting the little guy's reaction, Li Hehua thought that Zhang Lin would come back and coax the little guy to eat, so he turned around to get the remaining bibimbap as his lunch for the day.
After she washed the pots and bowls, she picked up her bowl and prepared to go back to her room to eat. Just as she was about to say hello to the little guy, she saw that the little guy who had been motionless just now was now holding a spoon and eating the meal she had just cooked.
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