After Zhulan checked, she went to several other rooms before returning to the main room. The cook came in with the food, "Madam, there are six dishes in total. I don't know if they suit your taste. If not, I will change it next time."
Zhulan looked at the six dishes, which included fish, meat and chicken. They were delicious and fragrant just by smelling them. After checking the room, she trusted Zhao Bo very much. She thought the cook must be good. "Okay."
The cook was a little nervous when she saw the lady's calm expression, she needed this job.
Zhulan tasted each dish. Although it wasn't as good as Li's, it was still pretty good. "It tastes good. You should try some too!"
The cook's voice was weak, "Wait until Madam has finished eating, I'll eat the leftovers."
Zhulan looked at the cook's patched clothes and understood. When they were at the table, the cook dared not eat too much, and she could only eat by herself and could not take anything home. Zhulan and the children could not finish six dishes, so there must be a lot left. After the cook cleaned up, she could not only eat enough herself, but also take some home. It was common for some cooks to take leftovers home. "Go back to the kitchen and boil two large pots of hot water for later use. I'll call you when we're done eating here."
The cook was happy. She had worked for many families, some generous and some stingy. The lady was not unhappy with what she had just said. This was a tacit consent that she could take some leftovers home. She said happily, "Okay, madam. I'll go and boil some water."
Ming Teng became lively when he saw the outsiders had left. "Grandma, is this really our home? Our house is so big? And grandma, who was the person serving the dishes just now? Why did you call me Madam Grandma?"
Ming Teng was confused. Why did he change so much after coming to Pingzhou
Zhulan looked at her grandson's eyes full of curiosity, and holding the chopsticks, she said, "Of course this is our home. As for the aunt just now, she is the cook that grandma hired to help with cooking. As for the address, grandma is the mistress of the family, so naturally she should be called Madam. Well, you are still too young to know these, and you will naturally understand the rest when you grow up. Hurry and eat."
Zhulan saw that Mingteng stopped asking questions, fortunately she was smart, otherwise Mingteng would have asked her why endlessly.
Ming Teng is still young and loves to eat, so his attention soon turned to the food.
Xue Han was eight years old. This was her second time to come to Pingzhou and she felt that her home was completely different. When her father became a scholar, she would be the daughter of a scholar. When her father took another step forward, she would be the daughter of a juren. There was a cook to help at home and she adapted very well.
After dinner, the children were warm. Zhulan asked Xuehan to take out the quilt covers and bring them back to the room so that she could change them herself. As for the bedding they brought from home, they could not be used.
Zhulan followed the cook to the kitchen in the backyard. It was the kitchen in the backyard that was cooking today. There was hot water in the pot, the rice jar and the noodle jar were full, the radishes and cabbages were placed in the basket, there were many plates and bowls in the cupboard, and all kinds of kitchen utensils were complete. She silently calculated that these were all the money that Zhao Bo had paid in advance, and she roughly estimated that she had to return it to Zhao Bo.
Zhulan and the children had a lot of leftover food. They hardly ate the chicken, and half of the meat was left over. There was little fish in winter, so the fish were eaten very cleanly. The staple food was white rice, of which more than a large bowl was left over. Zhulan kept the chicken, which had hardly been touched, and the braised pork, which had been left over the most, for tomorrow. The little leftover fried liver and meat slices were given to the cook, who didn't eat them either. She took a bowl and put them all in the rice and took them home to eat.
The cook, Mrs. Li, worked harder because Zhulan was not stingy and was kind. After finishing her work in the kitchen, she also swept the snow in the yard.
Zhulan felt embarrassed. It was getting late and the party in the front yard was still going on. She would not be able to finish the meal in a short time.