Chapter 194
194 If you don’t want to lend it to me, get lost …(1)
In the kitchen, a few female cooks were busy washing and cutting vegetables, and starting a fire to cook the stove. They chatted as they worked.
“We’ll be living in the inner city in the future.” The kitchen lady who was cutting the vegetables smiled.
The people of the capital yearned for the inner city, just like Xu lingying yearned for good food. Those who lived in the outer city were not necessarily at the bottom of the society, but those who lived in the inner city were definitely from well-to-do families.
The inner city was far better than the outer city in terms of public security and livelihood. There were almost no slums in the inner city. The little lady didn’t need to be afraid when she went out shopping.
When they saw a secluded alley, they could boldly walk in. Of course, such a thing was not worth advocating.
eldest brother is really promising. I heard from Madam that the house costs five thousand taels. The cooking maiden who was washing the vegetables spoke.
“Five thousand taels? That’s about the same as our house.” The cook who was lighting the fire said.
what do you know? ” the cooking maiden who was washing vegetables spat.”I heard from Furen that that house is at least seven thousand taels, it is even more imposing than this one.”
As for why he only spent five thousand taels, it was obviously because of dalang’s ability. He was a night watchman, so it should be easy for him to buy a house at a low price.
Madam told us that she’ll be bringing us to live in the inner city in a few days. Let me tell you, the inner city is very prosperous.
Many of the lower-class people living in the outer city rarely had the opportunity to go to the inner city. If they didn’t ride horses or carriages and only relied on their legs, it would take them two to four hours to get from the outer city to the inner city. By the time they set off in the afternoon, the sun was already setting in the inner city.
The servants in the manor were looking forward to moving into the inner city, so they worked hard these few days. He was afraid of being fired. Other than Lu ‘e who had sold herself to the Xu family and was a maidservant whom Xu dalang could sleep with, the other servants had signed a living contract.
“I realized something …” The kitchen maid who was cutting the vegetables suddenly interrupted. When the two kitchen maids looked over, she said in a low voice, ”
“Madam is more and more fond of showing off eldest brother. She always talks about him, but whenever eldest brother returns, she will never give him a good look.”
“Cough. cough …”
Suddenly, a cough came from outside the door, interrupting the chef’s babbling.
“Why is eldest brother here?” The female cook asked in surprise.
A greasy and dirty place like the kitchen was not a place for the owners.
You old mothers sure have a lot of drama … As if Auntie would show off … Xu Qi ‘an held the bowl in his hands and nodded.
“I made an exclusive recipe, so I’m here to help you cook.”
Xu Qi ‘an looked around. The kitchen wasn’t dirty, but it wasn’t clean either. After all, the walls and the stove were stained with a layer of grease that couldn’t be wiped away after years of oil and smoke.
However, as long as he washed the pots and pans, there would be no problem.
“What is this?” The kitchen ladies looked at the bowl in his hand, which was a sticky lump.
it’s good stuff. Don’t look around. This is a unique formula. Xu Qi ‘an turned sideways, not letting the kitchen lady see his baby.
The cook didn’t mind and continued to work. If the eldest son wanted to stay, then so be it. He was the master, and they were the servants. There was no reason for the servants to care about the master. Besides, every time Madam bickered with him, she would roll her eyes in anger.
In the family, other than the old master, probably only Erlang, who had a mouth that could bloom flowers, could argue with the eldest.
Xu Qi ‘an stood on the side and watched. The first dish was stir-fried meat with winter bamboo shoots. While the cook was stir-frying, he scooped a small spoonful of ” chicken essence ” into the pot.
Then, he picked up a piece with his chopsticks, tasted it, and nodded slightly.
The umami had improved a lot, but it still couldn’t be compared to the real chicken essence.
‘Guanyote and sodium glucose complement each other …’ If he wanted the taste to be the same as in his previous life, he would still have to develop MSG … Xu Qi ‘an was quite satisfied.
Seeing this, the cook took a pair of chopsticks, picked up a piece of bamboo shoot, and tasted it carefully.
Her eyes widened and she forgot to cook.
It was a smell that she was both familiar and strange to. There was the taste of chicken, but chicken definitely couldn’t be so fresh. A small spoonful of it actually increased the freshness of the bamboo shoots by several levels, which was something that soup stock couldn’t do.
Xu Qi ‘an glanced at her and grabbed the spoon to stir-fry the vegetables so that it wouldn’t burn.
“It seems … It’s delicious?” The other two female chefs were a little moved and looked at her.
“It’s, it’s so delicious. I’ve never eaten such a flavorful dish …” The cook said excitedly.
…..
In the front hall, Xu lingyue came over just in time for dinner. She looked around and said in a sweet voice,”Where’s big brother?”
Usually, at this time, big brother would already be sitting at the table waiting for dinner to start. He would tease Xu lingying while he was at it, holding her between his legs and swinging her around.
Or bickering with her mother, the aunt and nephew would hate each other.
“I’m taking a break today, probably because I went to the Imperial Academy.” Xu Pingzhi said as he lowered his head and wiped his saber.
“Father only knows how to talk nonsense. Eldest brother doesn’t even go to brothels.” Xu lingyue puffed up her cheeks and looked unhappy.
… ‘Yeah, I used to think so too …’ The Big Brother who didn’t go to the brothel was now a figure that the courtesans of the education square were fighting to pursue.
Xu Pingzhi sighed in his heart and said, ” he’s now in the Qi refining stage. He doesn’t need to guard his body anymore. Isn’t it normal for him to go to the Imperial Academy? which man doesn’t go …
Xu Pingzhi suddenly felt a murderous aura coming from the side, but he did not raise his head. He continued to wipe his saber and changed his words.”Your father and I never go. Ningyan might have been there, but it was all because of social gatherings.
“Speaking of which, the men of our Xu family don’t like to go to places with fireworks.”
Xu lingyue believed her father’s words. She thought that her proud second brother and honest big brother were indeed not the kind of men who would miss a place full of fireworks.
“Okay,” he replied and sat down at the table.
“Mother, I want to go to the guiyue restaurant.” Xu lingying crawled out from under the table, scaring her aunt.
Her aunt ignored her. Second uncle Xu lectured his daughter, “”Lingying, you can’t go to the guiyue restaurant often. You need silver.”
“Big brother took me there yesterday.” Xu Ling refused to accept it.
“Then go and find your big brother.” Xu Pingzhi waved his hand dismissively, not willing to educate his daughter any further. This daughter of his was too foolish, and even the teachers of the Yun Lu Academy were unable to teach her.
“It’s said that the chef of the guiyue restaurant came from the palace, and his skills are the best in the capital. It would be great if we could hire such a chef,” the aunt said with emotion.
“It smells so good …” Xu lingying suddenly said. Her nose twitched as she looked out the door.
Xu Pingzhi, who was at the peak of the Qi refinement realm, only caught a whiff of the rich umami after a second.
After a while, the female chefs came in with the dishes, accompanied by Xu Qi ‘an. But even Xu lingyue, who liked her brother the most, didn’t pay attention to him. Her eyes were firmly fixed on the dishes.
There were glistening winter bamboo shoots stir-fried meat, vinegar-fried cabbage, Chinese yam soup, leek stir-fried eggs, lotus root stewed pork ribs, red oil zucchini … And the pork trotters that Xu Qi ‘an had fried personally.
“Today’s dishes smell so good.” Xu Pingzhi asked in surprise.
He waved his hand and picked up a piece of crispy skin hoof, which was smeared with a gray sauce. Smelling the drooling umami, Xu Pingzhi couldn’t wait to stuff it into his mouth and chew.
“It’s so delicious?” He said in shock.
“Old master is too boastful.” The aunt pursed her lips. After the chef had set the dishes, she picked up a bamboo shoot with her chopsticks. After chewing a few times, her beautiful eyes instantly widened.
The dish was still the same. There was nothing special about it, but the umami exploded on his taste buds, bringing about a taste attack.
In the past, when cooking, at most a spoonful of soup stock would be poured, and the soup stock was also divided into different grades. In fact, it was not as delicious as one would imagine. This was because the soup stock in this era did not have seasoning such as MSG, so the taste enhancement was limited.
This included drinking chicken soup or eating shiitake mushrooms. Just eating shiitake mushrooms was already very fresh, but Xu Qi ‘an had used two baskets of purified shiitake mushrooms, which had a strong impact on the taste buds.
The aunt looked at the kitchen ladies in surprise, her eyes shining.”Today’s dishes are different from usual. How did you do it?”
Xu lingyue and Xu Pingzhi also put down their chopsticks and waited for the Cook’s answer with great interest.
Only Xu lingying didn’t care. She only cared about how many delicious dishes she could eat.
it’s dalang’s Secret formula … The cook quickly waved her hands.
The family immediately looked at Xu Qi ‘an. Xu Pingzhi said in surprise, “”Where did you get the formula?”
Xu lingyue and his aunt looked at him curiously.
Xu Qi ‘an quickly picked up his chopsticks and explained, ” I just thought that the food at home was too light, and the dishes at guiyue restaurant were too expensive, so I made some things myself. It looks like they taste good.
Second uncle Xu nodded slightly and turned to look at the table. His eyes widened.”Xu lingying!”
Xu lingying climbed onto the table and moved the plates to her side.
“They’re all mine,” She raised her eyebrows and said crisply.
…..
Xu Qi ‘an rushed to the Yamen in the blink of an eye. Until noon, he did nothing but deal with the gongs and silver gongs that had returned from prison.
They had already heard the news of the fall of the Minister of Works from their colleagues the day before, as well as the case that had decided whether they would stay or leave.
If Xu Qi ‘an hadn’t played a role in the middle, many of their lives might have been changed.
After dealing with them, Xu Qi ‘an tied the gong and hung the knife. His duty in the afternoon was to patrol the streets.
“Ningyan, you haven’t been to the Imperial Academy for some time.” The taciturn Zhu guangxiao suddenly said.
It was because I had an illusion that I wasn’t the one fooling around with the top courtesan, but they were the ones fooling around with me … I feel like I’m about to reach the peak of the Qi refining realm, ” Xu Qi ‘an said helplessly. I’m going to try to break through to the spirit refining realm.
The peak of the Qi refining realm … Zhu guangxiao and song tingfeng looked at him in a daze.
Both of them were at the peak of the Qi refining realm, so it was not difficult for them. As long as they accumulated enough Qi, it was only a matter of time before they reached the peak.
The difficult part was to accumulate merit points to exchange for the visualization picture.
However, Xu Qi ‘an had only been a night watchman for two months, and he was already at the peak of the Qi refining realm. What kind of talent was this?
“Then you’ll have to work hard to accumulate merit points.” Song tingfeng said sourly, then added gloomily, ” but with the savings you’ve accumulated since the Sang Bo case, I think it’s enough.
“Yes.” Xu Qi ‘an changed the topic.”I’m planning to save up for two weeks before going to the Imperial Academy,”
The Academy’s workshop was always the best topic for them to liven up the atmosphere. Song tingfeng winked, “”Then, miss fuxiang will have to suffer.”
As they walked and talked, they arrived at the entrance of the Yamen. Their eyes were attracted by a tall and burly monk in a green monk robe.
His monk’s robes were slightly worn out, and a thick Buddhist bead hung around his neck. There were two rows of scars on his bald head, and he looked bitter and hateful.
It was monk Hengyuan.
Seeing Xu Qi ‘an come out, Heng Yuan’s eyes lit up. He strode forward and put his hands together.”Lord Xu,”
No, get lost … “Master Hengyuan,” Xu Qi ‘an interrupted him helplessly,”I have official business to attend to. Let’s cut to the chase.” This official only has a monthly salary of five taels of silver. I’m short of money.”
As he spoke, he looked down and saw that Hengyuan’s cloth shoes were already tattered, and two toes were sticking out.
So, he was here to borrow money from Ning Yan … Song tingfeng and Zhu guangxiao glared at Hengyuan unkindly.
Seeing Xu Qi ‘an’s Swift rejection, Hengyuan was silent for a long time. He bowed and said, “”I understand.”
Seeing the monk’s back, Xu Qi ‘an couldn’t help but think of his father’s back when he was in middle school. His father had come all the way to his school to deliver food to him. When he was complained about not delivering the food in time, his father had also left alone.
“Eh … wait, ” Xu Qi ‘an called out to him and exhaled.”How much silver do you want to borrow this time? I’ll make it clear first, I won’t lend you too much. I really don’t have much silver recently.”
[ PS: I probably didn’t add any more chapters today. I’m a little tired and want to sleep. ]