Jiang Yanyi was a little surprised. Chef Li meant to give this business to himself
Tou'er Zhao also saw that the girl was hardworking and diligent tonight, so he said, "Go get the ingredients yourself, and remember to tell me the weights later."
Jiang Yanyi accepted the copper coins, thanked Chef Li and Tou'er Zhao, and hurried into the barracks to get something to eat.
The two sentinels were dissatisfied when they saw this: "Boss Li, why don't you cook for yourself?"
Chef Li pounded his lower back and said, "I've been standing on the stove for so long, my lower back hurts. Let the new kitchen helper cook for you."
When the two heard that the woman was just a kitchen helper, they immediately looked unhappy. What kind of decent food could a kitchen helper make
At least they spent money!
But considering Chef Li and the fact that the other party was a beautiful young lady, they couldn't get angry. The two of them didn't expect to have any good food, so they just urged impatiently: "Okay, okay, just get something to fill your stomach!"
They spoke very loudly, and Jiang Yanyi could hear it clearly in the barracks. She naturally sensed the unhappiness in their tone.
She weighed the copper coins in her hand, but actually she wasn't sure what these eight copper coins could buy. She was originally the daughter of a minister, and had handled gold, jade, and gems, but had never touched small change, let alone copper coins.
Fortunately, she had helped Chef Li to get ingredients before and knew the original prices of various ingredients.
With this estimate, eight copper coins are roughly the price of two bowls of noodles.
She went to the warehouse to get flour, only to find that the reserved flour had been used up. The remaining flour was for steaming buns for the soldiers the next morning and must not be touched.
What should I do
Jiang Yanyi's eyes lit up when he saw the reserved starch and sweet potato starch on the side.
On a cold night in late autumn, there’s nothing better than eating a bowl of hot and sour noodles to warm your stomach!
Here, the market price of sweet potato flour is much lower than that of flour.
She was not very good at using ancient scales, but with her many years of experience as a cook, she could estimate the weight almost accurately just by weighing it.
Zhao Touer trusted her to come alone to get the ingredients, which showed his trust in her. If the weight was shortchanged, it would leave a bad impression on Zhao Touer. When Jiang Yanyi came back to report to Zhao Touer, she deliberately inflated the weight to avoid any accidents.
After getting the ingredients, she went back to the barracks, lit a fire, and boiled water in a pot.
She poured the cornstarch and sweet potato starch into a small basin, added water and stirred it into a paste. When the water in the pot was about to boil, she found a large colander, poured the mixed cornstarch into the colander, and beat the cornstarch hard. Coarse vermicelli instantly overflowed from the colander holes.
After the vermicelli is cooked, take it out, drain the water in the pot, add a small dish of fried peanuts and soybeans.
The vermicelli and the ingredients were all ready. Jiang Yanyi found two large bowls and prepared the base, then added the oil-splashed dogwood and vinegar, and then added the soup. The sour and spicy taste came out instantly. He put the vermicelli in, sprinkled the previously fried peanuts and soybeans, and added some chopped green onions and chopped coriander. Just looking at it made people's appetites grow.
It’s a pity that there is no meat, so the hot and sour noodles are not perfect after all.
She found a tray and brought out two bowls of hot and sour noodles: "Enjoy your meal, sirs!"
The two sentries looked up and were dazzled by Jiang Yanyi's smile under the lamp. They thought that this young lady's appearance was even more beautiful than that of some young ladies from wealthy families.
But when I saw the noodles in the bowl, the unhappiness that I had just suppressed rose up again.
The noodles in the bowl were gray and not as white as the noodles. They were definitely not made with good flour. The noodles were almost as thick as chopsticks. The kneading and making skills were really disappointing.
They spend money to eat this
They wanted to lose their temper and talk, but when they saw that the young lady was still looking at them with a smile, they gave up the idea of getting angry.
I console myself that this noodle is not without merits. At least the bowl looks good, there are many ingredients, and the taste seems to be pretty good.
One of them hesitated for a moment, picked up a noodle with chopsticks and tasted it, and his expression became very strange.
After tasting another one, he smacked his lips for a moment, then took a big bite with chopsticks and started slurping.
Seeing him like this, his companions thought he was trying to please the young lady who made noodles, and thought that this fool was not stupid in these matters. He also picked up the chopsticks and started eating. As soon as he took a bite, his eyes widened.
The vermicelli is sour, spicy and chewy, and the fried peanuts and soybeans are crispy and fragrant. One bite will make the tip of your tongue hot and numb.
This plain-looking noodle actually tastes so good!
He quickly lowered his head and started to suck like his companions.
While eating, he asked vaguely: "What kind of powder is this?"
The greatest satisfaction for a chef is to have his cooking skills recognized by diners.
Jiang Yan smiled so hard that his teeth were showing: "Hot and sour noodles."
With Chef Li and the others watching outside, Jiang Yan felt that there was nothing for him to do, so he went back to the kitchen and quickly made himself a bowl of hot and sour noodles to fill his stomach.
When Chef Li saw Jiang Yanyi bring out two bowls of such thick vermicelli, he felt his eyes were irritated.
He had been a chef for most of his life, but he had never seen a chef make noodles so coarse and ugly. It looked hard to eat, and he couldn't help but feel disappointed with Jiang Yanyi's cooking skills.
Chef Li thought the two sentries were very hungry as they ate voraciously. He shook his head secretly and felt sympathy for them.
But after the two sentries finished eating, they gave him money before leaving, saying that they would come back to eat the noodles again tomorrow.
Chef Li thought that if they came again tomorrow, they might not be here to eat the noodles, but to see the girl who made the noodles.
When collecting the bowls, he saw that all the soup in the bowl had been drunk up, and he was a little puzzled.
After a moment he smiled and shook his head, secretly sighing that it was indeed good to be young.
It was already midnight when Jiang Yanyi returned to the barracks where he used to live.
But the women in the barracks were not asleep. The lights were on inside, and a small leader with soldiers was holding a book and registering something.
As soon as Jiang Yanyi entered the door, several women took the initiative to greet her, and the warmth made Jiang Yanyi a little uncomfortable.
She asked, "What are these military officers doing here?"
"They said we needed to register our names and hometowns. There was a woman in the barracks next door who died of malaria. Two soldiers brought a fine coffin to bury her this afternoon. But that woman was kidnapped here a few years ago. Everyone usually called her Hui Niang, but no one knew her name or where she lived. Now that she's dead, we don't even know how to erect a tombstone for her."
"I heard that the coffin was a gift from the general. The general is really kind-hearted!"
"The last young officer who managed the barracks here was beheaded a few days ago. The new chief found that the original list did not match the number of prostitutes in the camp. He was afraid that the general would ask about it and blame him, so he made a new list."
Jiang Yanyi's heart was pounding as he listened to the women talking about this.
She was an illegal resident and we didn't know what to do with her after she was found out.
Nowadays, the country is peaceful and the people are prosperous, and every household has a registered household registration. After all, corvée and taxes are still a major source of income for the national treasury.
Not to mention buying a house, if you want to travel far away, you have to take your household registration to the government to get a pass. If you leave the city without a pass, you will be thrown into jail.
If she wants to settle down after leaving the Xizhou camp, she must first obtain a household registration.
Jiang Yanyi squeezed into the crowd to see how others registered.
"name?"
"Where is your origin?"
"When and what crime did you commit to be exiled to the Xizhou camp?"
The little boss asked formulaically.
Most of the women were sent here because they committed crimes. After answering, the leader would check the previous list and only pass on the next one after confirming that it was correct.
Some of them were abducted like the deceased Hui Niang, and they cried out of breath when they answered.
She was a good girl, but ended up in a place like this, and her life is ruined.
After the leader wrote down their names and hometowns, he said he would send a letter to the prefecture where they were from to ask them to verify whether there was such a person. If what they said was true, they would report it to the higher-ups to see how they would decide whether to stay or go.
Her words imply that she is originally a good girl and is very likely to regain her freedom.
But no one was happy. The women who left the military camp were even worse than the prostitutes. They had no hope of getting married, and it was hard to say whether they would be accepted by their families after returning home. Rumors could also drown them.
The next person to register was the round-faced woman. Jiang Yanyi heard her say, "My name is Qiu Kui. I'm from Wu County, Yunzhou. In the year Dingyou, Wu County suffered a drought. My parents starved to death on the way to escape the famine. I came to Xizhou to seek refuge with my uncle, but was sold to a brothel by my aunt. On that day, a high-ranking official died in the brothel, and I was arrested by the soldiers and sent to the Xizhou camp."
She did not cry as bitterly as the previous few people did. Instead, there was a look of confusion and sadness on her face, as if she had long given up any hope for this rotten life.
Qiu Kui's name was on the original list. When her aunt sold her, she signed a contract with the local government, which was recorded in the government. When she was exiled here, she was already a member of the brothel, and her crime was already established. She could only be described as a pitiful person.
Qiu Kui left after answering. Jiang Yanyi watched her return to her bed with a calm face, and felt a little sorry for the girl.
Jiang Yanyi was the last one to go forward to register. The little leader asked her, "What's your name?"
"Ginger flower."
"Where are you from?"
"I am from Kanshi Village, Fengxian County, Dengzhou."
Jiang Yanyi was talking about a place in the original book where there was a plague and all the people in the village died. In this way, even if a letter was sent to the Fengxian County government, there would be no way for them to verify it.
The little leader paused as he wrote, and looked up at Jiang Yanyi: "Didn't everyone in that village die of plague last year?"
When the women around heard about the plague, they immediately moved away from Jiang Yanyi.
Jiang Yanyi showed a bit of just the right amount of sadness on his face: "I was not in the village when the plague broke out. My father is a cook. A family in the neighboring county invited my father to prepare a banquet for his birthday. Unfortunately, my father broke his foot, so I went to the neighboring county to prepare the banquet on his behalf. Unexpectedly, something happened in the village during that period..."
The little leader was a little skeptical: "Can you host a banquet?"
Someone who tried to curry favor with Jiang Yanyi immediately answered for her: "She is a good cook. The tofu pudding she made today was even rewarded by the general."
When the little leader heard that she had received a reward from the general, he no longer doubted her and asked, "Why did you come to Xizhou?"
Jiang Yanyi tried to squeeze out tears, but couldn't, so he forced his eyes to redden: "My father and mother both died in the plague. My father had arranged a marriage for me when I was a child. I came to Xizhou to find that family, but I was taken captive to the military camp..."
The gauze on her forehead was particularly eye-catching. The little leader thought that only a girl from a decent family could be so fiery, so he did not suspect anything.
After registering the roster, the small leader and several of his soldiers left the barracks.
After Jiang Yanyi returned to his bed and lay down, his heart was still beating a little fast.
If everything goes well, she will not only be able to obtain a new identity by registering her household registration here, but also regain her freedom.
I just hope that the general will show mercy and let these good women leave the military camp!
At this moment, in Jiang Yanyi's heart, the King of Liaonan was simply a savior with the halo of Buddha!
If conditions allowed, she would have wanted to find three incense sticks and bow towards the King of Liaonan's tent.
The savior Feng Shuo is seeing a doctor in his own house.
The old doctor, who was over fifty years old, put his fingers on Feng Shuo's wrist and felt his pulse for a long time, but still could not figure out what was going on.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead and spoke carefully: "Your Majesty, your symptoms are something I have never seen or heard of in my many years of practicing medicine."
Feng Shuo's handsome brows were knitted tightly together: "I did develop a sense of taste when I was in the military camp, but I can't taste anything after I return home."
The old doctor hesitated and said, "Could it be that the cook in the barracks used some secret recipe to cook, which just happened to restore your sense of taste temporarily?"
Feng Shuo's eyes suddenly became deep.