The next day, when Gu Yin arrived at Wen's kitchen, Master Xu was looking at the door.
Seeing her coming, Master Xu said attentively, "The little master came just in time. I specially reserved for you the tofu skin steamed buns that were just out of the pot! It won't taste good when it's cold!"
The day before, Master Xu learned ramen from Gu Yin's hands, and Gu Yin didn't hide it from him when he was making dim sum later.
Gu Yin looked at him speechlessly while taking off his cotton robe.
Although the old man didn't bother with him about what happened yesterday, if he didn't restrain himself, it would be unreasonable after all.
Master Xu noticed the look in her eyes and immediately explained: "I didn't make it myself, but the second wife ordered it. As soon as it was done, she sent someone to say that it was not needed, and replaced it with plain porridge and side dishes! Other owners I've already ordered other breakfasts, so... hehe."
"Master Xu is indeed a smart person, but I think too much."
After speaking, Master Xu put a stack of tofu skin buns in front of Gu Yin.
The steamed buns were still steaming, and when I took a bite, they had a messy texture mixed with various ingredients such as shiitake mushrooms, dried sea rice, tofu and pork vermicelli.
Judging by Gu Yin's standard, this can only be regarded as mediocre and not delicious.
But this was specially reserved for her by Master Xu, and Gu Yin still finished the small plate of buns.
The day before, Mrs. Wen said that after getting up today, he was thinking about what to eat in the morning, and asked Gu Yin to come to Wen's house and wait for his words.
Now that the old man's servant didn't come, Gu Yin was fine for a while, and asked Master Xu if he wanted help.
Master Xu made three meals at the same time, waved his hand and said: "No, the second master is not in the mansion, the second wife has already called. The first master and the first wife have simple meals. Among the three young masters, only the first young master wakes up early. The other two young masters generally don’t need to eat in the morning. I’ll be fine after I finish these three morning meals. As for our little apprentices, we are cooking for the servants, so I don’t bother the little master.”
Don't think that Master Xu is not particularly proficient, but he is a little bit powerful, that is, he moves fast - anyway, Gu Yin claims that she is not slow, but she can't do it all, Master Xu can do it, there is not much difference before and after three meals He's done.
Gu Yin couldn't help but praise, Master Xu said a little embarrassedly: "I'm ashamed for the little master's praise, I can see it yesterday, you are the one born to eat this bowl of rice. I... It's just that your hands are faster than others. a little."
This is also practiced as apprentices everywhere. If your hands and feet are slow, you will not only be scolded, but may also be beaten.
It is precisely because of this that Chef Xu, who is not particularly skilled in cooking, is firmly seated as the chef of the Wen family - he can do the work of three people alone! Master Wen Er has become a jerk, so he is willing to keep hiring him because of this, and he turns a blind eye to the fact that he eats something in the kitchen.
Seeing that Master Xu was done with his work, and it was still dark outside, Gu Yin got up and gave him the back chair. He let Gu Yin sit with peace of mind, and took a new small bench to sit next to her.
The bench was the size of dried tofu, and Master Xu's chubby body sat up on it, and immediately covered the bench tightly, from a distance it looked like he was half-squatting and stomping horses.
But he didn't feel it was too hard, he lowered his voice and asked Gu Yin: "Usually the old lady must be up at this time, and it is not called Chaoshi until now, isn't it..."
Are you trying to make things difficult for you
In the second half of the sentence, Master Xu didn't say anything, but Gu Yin understood, she bent her lips and smiled: "It's okay, anyway, as long as the old man doesn't force me to study, he will find a more obscure food list and let me do it. I'm not afraid."
"That's it! You are this!" Master Xu had already convinced Gu Yin, and he gave a big thumbs up as he said, "To tell the little master, if I had your skills, I wouldn't have to be a few dozen people in the past. year apprentice."
At this time, the days of being an apprentice were not easy, and being scolded and beaten was not considered commonplace. I also had to work as a free laborer in the kitchen, serving the daily life of the master.
What about running errands, building walls, cleaning, and even pouring a chamber pot for the master, there is nothing that Master Xu has not done.
That's why he respected Gu Yin so much that he didn't want to do anything, and was willing to give pointers to others.
Just as he was talking, Mrs. Wen came over in person.
The two of them stood up immediately, the old man's eyes lit up, and when he saw Gu Yin, he said with great interest: "You will know what is written in the book, and you will definitely know the other things in the white case. Otherwise, let's do something in the book today. No, I haven't heard of it, come out!"
Gu Yin was stunned for a moment, and Master Xu was even more shocked.
Be nice! This is still the old man, who can turn around and toss people in different ways!
Gu Yin came back to her senses but was not panicked and annoyed, she said yes, "Then I'll make a few things for you."
Just kidding, as a modern person, isn't it easy to come up with a few foods that the ancients didn't know about
Gu Yin said that he wanted tea, and Master Xu immediately went to the cabinet in the kitchen, but this thing was used very little. After searching for a long time, I only found a small bag of coarse tea foam.
Master Xu blushed with embarrassment and said to let the little apprentice go out to buy.
Mrs. Wen couldn't wait any longer and said he went to find it.
After speaking, the old man went back to his study, but after rummaging, he could only find last year's tea - although it was very good, it was brought from the capital a few months ago. Gone the taste. It's also that the old man doesn't usually pay attention to enjoyment, so he keeps drinking.
To say that there must be new tea in the family, needless to say, it is naturally the gentleman Wen Er who is lonely to others and generous to himself.
Mr. Wen Er also has a study, also in the front yard. The old man took the key and went to the second son's study by himself, and found a pot of new tea with fragrant aroma.
When the old man was looking for tea, Gu Yin found brown sugar and sweet potato flour in the big kitchen.
She first boiled brown sugar with water, poured in the sweet potato flour, and stirred while pouring. When it was not hot, she poured out the paste and kneaded it into a smooth dough. After kneading until the surface was smooth, she rolled it into a long strip, cut it into small pieces, and rolled it into a circle. ball.
After there was tea leaves, Gu Yin poured the tea leaves into the pot and stir-fryed them with sugar. When the sugar was scrambled and the tea leaves turned brown, pour boiling water and stir, then add milk, and after boiling, put the tea leaves. fish out.
Pour out the milk tea, put in the sweet potato balls, and a simple cup of bubble milk tea is ready.
The milk jelly that I ate yesterday had a smell of milky milk. Gu Yin thought that the processing method of milk at this time was different from that of modern times, and she already wanted to try adding tea to remove the fishy smell.
Just experimenting right now.
The hot milk tea is in hand, the milk is fresh, and the tea leaves are very good tea when you smell it. The milk fragrance is mixed with the tea fragrance. It is fragrant and strong.
Gu Yin presented it to the old man first, and the old man let them all have a taste. Everyone in the kitchen had a share, and Master Xu also got a big bowl. Then I put the Q-bomb pearls at the bottom of the bowl into my mouth, and chewed it with a big mouth. It was a fragrant thing to eat!
After drinking the long-lost milk tea, Gu Yin also squinted her eyes comfortably, and muttered in her heart, "It's a pity that there is no tapioca flour. The pearls made from this sweet potato flour are still a little different. But it's really delicious!"
Grandpa Wen sipped it, and when Gu Yin and Master Xu had finished eating, the old man said, "This doesn't count! I've heard of this milk tea, and that's what nomads outside the border eat like this."
Before Gu Yin could speak, Master Xu murmured in a low voice, "I've also eaten the milk tea outside the gate, and it's different from the one made by the little master."
On the contrary, Gu Yin was not annoyed and said with a smile, "It's okay, then I'll do the second thing."
Gu Yin said that she wanted iron sticks, bamboo sticks, cumin powder, fennel, pork belly, chicken, etc.
At this time, although spices such as cumin, pepper, and fennel have been introduced to the Middle Earth, there is no large-scale planting in the country, so the price is high.
When Gu Yin set up a stall, in order to take care of the tastes of different customers, she let customers add vinegar or minced garlic according to their tastes. She couldn't afford things like chili.
Wen's family's bag of chili noodles was given by a friend of Mr. Wen's business.
"There are people selling spices at the fairs in the new year, and that's the price..." Master Xu looked at Mrs. Wen with his small eyes.
Mrs. Wen was also generous, and immediately weighed his purse, "Cook Xu leads the way, let's go buy it now."
The group of three, plus Mrs. Wen's servant, immediately left the house.
When I walked to the gate, I met the second housekeeper who was overseeing the work at the gate.
Across the distance, Gu Yin began to greet him enthusiastically by calling "Second Housekeeper".
The second housekeeper was actually very smart, and he had to turn around to check when he heard a noise in the house.
Hearing Gu Yin's shout, he changed his mind, first turned a deaf ear and blocked the road, and then deliberately scolded the housekeeper who was sweeping at the door: "What have you said, cats and dogs, go to the door, and show me the tricks. One point. Don't look back and be smashed by some cat or dog!"
Gu Yin felt embarrassed for him when she heard this, but fortunately, it didn't take long for Mrs. Wen to raise her leg high and kicked the second housekeeper's ass!
The second housekeeper was still wearing those soft satin shoes, and he was kicked and staggered and slipped out.
This time he didn't fall, but while screaming and hugging the big pillar in front of Wen's house, he looked more and more ridiculous.
"Okay you little cook!" The second housekeeper gritted his teeth while staring at the snickering housekeeper.
Gu Yin endured a smile and said, "The conscience of heaven and earth, I didn't kick you!"
"That could be..." The second housekeeper turned his head and saw the dark-faced old man.
He was surprised, afraid, and regretful, and his expression in the blink of an eye was brilliant.
"Things that don't have eyes!" Mrs. Wen snorted coldly and walked away with his hands behind his back.
Gu Yin smiled and said: "Second housekeeper, I have already reminded you, but it's not good to be so oblivious to the road. Look, you have fallen twice in just two days. Be more careful next time!"
Then, without waiting for the second housekeeper to react, Gu Yin followed the old man briskly.
Chef Xu led the way, and the group of four went to the most lively gathering in town.
Although Mrs. Wen is from Hanshan Town, he has been studying at home since he was a child, and he has never joined in this kind of fun. In addition, he hasn't come back all these years, and everything is both familiar and unfamiliar.
As Chef Xu said, the spices that Gu Yin wanted are indeed not cheap.
Gu Yin was calculating how much spices he would need to make skewers for Mrs. Wen alone, and the old man waved: "Buy all, buy more!"
Gu Yin quickly persuaded: "A sprinkling of spices is enough, you won't be able to finish it if you buy too much."
"Who said I ate it alone? If you don't eat it, others won't eat it?"
As the old man spoke, he glanced at Chef Xu from the corner of his eye.
Chef Xu blushed and said, "I don't eat it, I really don't eat it!"
Gu Yin also thought so, the pastry and milk tea in the front, they can get some of it, the grandfather is generous. Spice, meat skewers and other precious things, where do they have the nerve to eat them
"Why do you think so much, little girl?" Mrs. Wen said very freely, "If you don't bring these vulgar things, you won't bring them with you."
He is really not bad for money. He has been a high-ranking official for decades. Although there is no corruption or bribery, the Beijing officials have ice and charcoal respect - that is the filial piety that the emperors acquiesce in. Coupled with the appreciation of the great ancestors, the late emperors respected him. There are constant rewards during the festival, and the old man is not greedy for enjoyment. The silver and money are only stored in the warehouse to eat ashes, and he still lives a simple life. After decades of accumulation, he is naturally rich.
A pass of spices cost five taels of silver.
Seeing the snack seller behind, Mrs Wen's eyes glowed with a little warm light, and said softly, "I couldn't come out when I was young, and every New Year my father would buy some food from outside, and in the blink of an eye, I was already this old. ."
"Why don't we buy some to try and see if we can get back the taste of your childhood?"
The old man hummed: "I didn't eat good food when I was a child. Is it possible that I still think this street food is delicious?" Without waiting for Gu Yin's answer, he said again: "Forget it, let's see you go. I'm tired in the middle of the morning, let's find a place to sit and rest."
After speaking, Mrs. Wen asked Cook Xu and the servant to go buy what Gu Yin wanted, and told them to buy more, so he and Gu Yin went to a noodle stall on the roadside.
Gu Yin asked for a bowl of Yangchun noodles, but the old man still said no Pad your belly."
The old man was willing to use chopsticks.
When winter was approaching, Gu Yin wanted to open a stall at Jishang for Chinese New Year, but she gave up after inquiring about the stall fee here.
So even though this noodle stall is small, the noodle soup is made from old hen soup, and the noodles are also hand-rolled, which is very strong. A bowl of noodles is no better than a restaurant.
After eating, the old man said: "It's worth it. The noodles are strong and the soup base is clear. Although I can taste the taste of chicken soup, I don't know how much water I added, but it doesn't taste good."
This is natural. A bowl of noodles sells for a few cents. If you use rich broth, you must not lose money.
Gu Yin smiled apologetically at the boss, but fortunately the boss was also very kind and didn't care.
After paying the money, the old man and the young man ate pea yellow, ghee pancakes, donkey rolls, and even two strings of candied haws. But these were not what Gu Yin invited him to taste. The old man bought them himself in the name of "thinking she wants to eat".
Until they couldn't eat any more, Chef Xu and the servant also finished shopping and came back.
The group returned home.
The old man was really full, so he said that he would cook the food in the afternoon, and he went back to the house to rest for a while.
Gu Yin and Chef Xu went back to the kitchen.
Chef Xu started to cook lunch, while Gu Yin started to process the ingredients and string them together.
By the time Chef Xu prepared a few lunches, Gu Yin had already put on dozens of strings.
Chef Xu saw that the work was simple, so he let Gu Yin rest and he did it.
Gu Yin really didn't feel tired. She was used to doing chores on a daily basis. She went out for a while in the morning and sat and dressed for a while at noon. Where did she get tired
But I couldn't hold back that Master Xu's hands were really fast. In less than two quarters of an hour, all the ingredients prepared by Gu Yin had been skewered.
In the afternoon, the kitchen was very idle. Gu Yin sat in the yard and basked in the sun for a while, until Mrs. Wen woke up from a nap, and then moved again.
The charcoal basin is ready-made in the house, with a few long iron sticks on it, it is a simple barbecue grill.
Because of the heavy smoke, Gu Yin asked Chef Xu to help move the barbecue to the yard.
Assorted skewers were placed in a basket, Gu Yin asked to grill ten skewers of beef and ten skewers of mutton for him according to the old man's taste.
The sizzling sound of the roasted meat, the meat oil dripping on the charcoal fire along the smoke is really choking and fragrant.
When the cumin and chili noodles are sprinkled on top, it is even more incredible.
Soon the skewers that the old man asked for were grilled, and Gu Yin grilled a lot for herself.
At first, Mrs. Wen disliked the smoke and didn't want to approach it. After finishing ten skewers, he didn't dislike the smell, so he ordered a few more skewers, and approached to watch Gu Yin roast. Later, when they saw Chef Xu and the others, their drool was almost dripping, so the old man asked them to build another charcoal basin and do it themselves.
In the end, even the eldest master Wen, the eldest wife, and Wen Lang smelled the smell. At first, they thought it was the water in the house. Later, they knew that the old man was messing with people to eat, so they ignored it.
But the taste was so appealing. Master Wen had eaten Gu Yin's oil-splashed noodles, and knew that she was good at craftsmanship. When it was time to use dim sum, he couldn't eat the light pastry, so he couldn't help but search for it.
In the courtyard of the large kitchen, Mrs. Wen had already taken off his coat and leather hat, wearing only a straight brocade robe, with his sleeves rolled up to his wrists and started to do it himself.
Gu Yin was full after more than a dozen skewers, and pointed to the old man beside her.
Master Wen rubbed his eyes, unable to believe that this was his always serious old father.
Mrs. Wen was very happy to see him, flipping a handful of skewers with one hand and waving at him with the other: "The boss came just in time, come and try my skewers!"
Master Wen swallowed his saliva and was stuffed with a bunch of strings.
Who can resist kebabs on an empty stomach
Not even Mr. Wen!
After he finished scooping up the chili noodles in his hand, he pointed to the chili noodles next to him and said, "Father, make me more spicy!"
Mr. Wen grilled him again a wave of spicy food. After eating it, Mr. Wen's mouth was swollen and he still praised the deliciousness!
At dusk, Wen's barbecue stall was closed.
Gu Yin and Chef Xu only made less than 100 skewers at the beginning, but in the end, the old man cooked as much as he could, so that Chef Xu had to rush to work temporarily to make the skewers again.
Everyone couldn't eat it. Fortunately, there were many people in the house, so they were sent to the masters of the big room and the second room.
Mrs. Wen still didn't let Gu Yin stay for dinner, saying that it was getting dark early and it was not safe for her little girl to go home.
Gu Yin and the old man thanked him and listened to him again: "Although this grilled skewer with pepper and cumin is fresh, it is written in the Book of Songs that 'there is a rabbit's head, and it is burnt'." Qi Min In Yaoshu, there is also a chapter on the method of roasting, which records the roasting method of more than 20 kinds of ingredients. There are also roasted venison and roasted mutton in the capital… So…”
"So it's not something that's not in the book, right?"
Mrs. Wen nodded with a burp.
Gu Yin smiled and said: "Then I'll think about it again tomorrow."
Grandpa Wen smiled again, and asked Gu Yin to take some of the grilled skewers into food boxes for Gu Yin to take back.
When the old man left, Chef Xu couldn't help but say: "Why is the little master smiling? According to the old man's words, the food in the world is nothing more than fried, fried, boiled, stewed, marinated sauce mixed with raw, roasted and steamed... Twenty-eight kinds. Where is there anything that is not in the book, and the old man doesn't know about it? You are also very good-natured, the old man is clearly... "
It was clearly intentional to embarrass people!
It's not that Gu Yinte is good-natured, but she can see that the old man is either embarrassing her or looking for something to do with her!
Gu Yin had entertained retired cadres like the old man in her last life.
They have worked hard all their lives, and they feel all kinds of discomfort when they suddenly retreat. Like the old man, they just have no appetite and are looking for work. The symptoms are mild, and the severe ones are depressed.
The old man just looked fierce, but he was actually very lenient. First, he didn't care about the stage, and he didn't deal with Chef Xu who stole meat and the second housekeeper who talked nonsense in front of him. Seems like a good boss!
Like today, she "played" with the old man for a day, made him happy, and while she received a day's salary, she also ate and drank with the public expense, which was obviously the best of both worlds!
But it's not easy to say this clearly, so Gu Yin just smiled and said, "It's okay, the old man didn't embarrass me. I'll think about other things tomorrow."
Later, when Gu Yin left Wen's house, the second housekeeper, who was ugly and very angry, made several appearances in front of Gu Yin and touched the big kitchen.
Both of them are old people in the house, and because one is in charge of the family's affairs, and the other is in charge of the large kitchen, they are considered to have real power in their hands, so they can be considered to be able to talk in daily life.
The second housekeeper first praised that today's skewers tasted good, and Chef Xu is good at craftsmanship, and then said coldly: "Master Xu doesn't know, although this little cook has been here for two days, but she has a lot of skills, and the old lady was coaxed by her. Go round and round, this is going on..." There will be no place for you in the back kitchen!
Chef Xu thought to himself, aren't you talking nonsense? The little master was ordered by the old man to go round and round, and the old man insisted on supervising the workers, but didn't he follow her all the time
Seeing that Chef Xu was silent, the second housekeeper stepped up and lowered his voice, "Does Master Xu know how much the little chef's wife earns per month?"
Chef Xu shook his head.
"Twelve taels! Twelve taels! She will pay you two months' wages in one month!"
"unacceptable!"
Chef Xu suddenly stood up from the small bench, and the second butler smiled upon seeing his reaction, "That's right, I also think it's too much. Look at how many years you've been in the house, one person can be used by three people for a month. It's only five taels. She's a yellow-haired girl, why should she... "
Chef Xu was filled with righteous indignation: "The little master's craftsmanship, this cleverness, is to go to a big restaurant to be a master chef, earn those 22 taels, and 30 taels will make it, why only give 10 taels! The old man and the master bully people together!"
Second housekeeper: …
This chef Xu seems to be seriously ill!
…
When Gu Yin carried the food box back to Zhenyi Lane, her footsteps were very brisk.
Encountering the Wang family who came out of the alley, Gu Yin stepped forward with a smile: "Mother, are you worried? I went well today, and I brought back a lot of meat skewers. We don't have to prepare supper at night."
After she finished speaking, Mrs. Wang seemed to have just seen her and said, "Oh, why did you come back so early!"
Gu Yin said strangely: "You didn't come out to pick me up, then this is..."
Wang Shi said, "I'll go out and buy some steamed buns, and give them to the people who work at home!"
As she said that, she also laughed, her eyes were so laughing that she couldn't see, she lowered her voice and said, "Where is the pankang in our house!"
There is no kang in the small yard they live in, but a simple bamboo bed, which is usually fine, but it gets cold after winter.
Wang has asked before, but after the winter, there are many people in this line of work, and the asking price is also high. In the twelfth lunar month, the price has doubled several times.
Wang Shi was heartbroken and did not give up the money, so he just put a few more mattresses on each person's bed.
Without waiting for Gu Yin to ask questions, Wang shi took her aside and explained the ins and outs.
It turned out that Guan Zhaotou came to the house in the morning and asked Wang to go to the county office.
Wang Shi was so frightened that his calf trembled, and he almost knelt down to him, calling him wrong, saying that he was a good citizen!
Guan Caotou asked his apprentice to help her up and explained: "You misunderstood, the magistrate heard that you adopted a child on the dock and wanted to reward you. In addition, your mother-in-law and daughter-in-law have settled in the town, and you have to pay the poll tax. "
Speaking of the second half of the sentence, Guan Zhaotou was also a little embarrassed. He boasted that he had some ability to manage Hanshan Town into a paradise in this troubled world.
However, the taxation of the imperial court was not allowed to interfere with him, so even if he knew that Wang's orphans and widowed mothers were not easy, they had to levy taxes with her.
When Wang Shi heard this, he exhaled a long breath, his legs were no longer weak, and he put on the silver coins and Guan Caotou and went to the county office.
The county magistrate is an unassuming, very easy-going middle-aged man.
Mrs. Wang relaxed a little, crying first that it was not easy for her to escape from the famine and being an orphan and a widow. Seeing the county magistrate was also embarrassed, she paid the head tax of one person and a half taels without hesitation—as for the child, The county magistrate knew that he was a refugee, and he was supposed to be taken care of in a shantang, but the help of Wang's family in the adoption helped reduce the county's financial expenditure. So he doesn't get taxed.
When it was time for the awards, the county magistrate asked Wang what he wanted.
Of course, Mrs. Wang wanted money the most, but she really didn't dare to ask for money from an official, and secondly, the county magistrate's clothes were half-new and not old, and she even called her over for a poll tax. , want to know that they are not well-off.
Wang Shiqi Ai Ai said: "When I got to the town, under the control of the eldest master, the women knew what a good life was. It was just a new arrival, and there were still many inconveniences in life, such as sleeping on a bamboo bed at home, and the wind blowing in the winter, it was really not as good as my hometown. That heated kang is comfortable. It's a pity that there is no man in the family, and that's all..."
The county magistrate was originally a kind person, and he had a good opinion of the Wang family. The life of an orphan and a widow was not easy, but he did not argue when paying taxes, and he was kind enough to adopt an orphan, so he said: "It's not difficult, the arrest in the yamen Almost young and strong, I just don’t know if they can do this.”
Guan Suotou said that he would know, and learned from relatives when he was a child.
Now that there are leading people, there is no shortage of people in the yamen to contribute. The county magistrate nodded, and Guan Zhaotou led the people to the pan kang in Jinyi Alley.
"A few years ago, I asked these people to say less than two taels of silver. Our family of three paid one or two half of the head tax, and we still earned half of it!"
Gu Yin heard that everyone was stunned—
This ginger is still old and spicy. She can at most eat and drink at public expense.