My Fantastic Chef Wife

308. How to Eat an Abalone

After they entered the courtyard, about ten maids came in as well. Some of the maids came to serve tea, some came to give them hot water for taking shower, and some came to give them clothes.

They had not changed their clothes for the past ten days nor had they taken a shower. The weather in the capital city was hot, so when they arrived here, they felt that their bodies were sticky and uncomfortable, and desperately needed to take a hot bath.

Ye Xiaoxian and Jin Xiaoyu were not prim at all. Along the way, Ye Xiaoxian repeatedly emphasized to live at the moment, to eat whenever there was food, to sleep when she had to, and to enjoy herself whenever she could.

The two took a shower separately, changed into the clothes sent by the maid, and then rearranged their hair under the maid’s service.

In front of the maid, Ye Xiaoxian started to discuss with Jin Xiaoyu, “This is the most comfortable time for me in my life. There is a yard, a maid, and even someone to comb my hair. This dress is also made of premium material.”

Jin Xiaoyu said, “I think you would really forgot your identity if you stay any longer. How about you leave Baoshan behind then find a man in the capital city who would offer you a huge house and have maids to serve you?”

“Well, as the case may be, if I’m really used to such a luxurious life, I really don’t want to go back to the tribe. I could only live in the yurt in the tribe. The sun was strong during the day, and the night was cold. If I stay for a long time, my skin will become rough.”

Jin Xiaoyu said angrily, “Little Ye, do you really think so? Just because of these things, you don’t want to be with Baoshan anymore?”

At this time, the maid was serving Little Ye with powder foundation. Little Ye did not say anything and only closed her eyes and mouth.

After a long time, they were finally done packing up.

Jin Xiaoyu couldn’t help but pick up the mirror and look at herself. She continued, “I haven’t been dressed for a long time. I feel like the woman I was before is now back.”

Then she turned to look at Little Ye.

Little Ye also turned around and Jin Xiaoyu was suddenly stunned.

‘This person… is Little Ye?’

‘So she could look so good!’

Little Ye was usually dressed in a tribe’s outfit without makeup. However, now that she had changed into the silk clothes of a woman in Zhongyuan Area, her hair was combed again and she wore powder foundation. Now she looked like a fresh water lily, and her entire body was charming, completely different from the village woman she usually was.

“Why are you staring at me?” Little Ye asked.

“You… look at the mirror yourself.”

Little Ye looked at the mirror.

The mirrors of this era were made of bronze, so the view was not clear. She could only see a rough outline of herself. Little Ye couldn’t see her in the mirror neither. Anyway, as long as Jin Xiaoyu thought she looked good, she must be looking good.

No matter in which generation, people rely on their makeup, especially the older they are, the more they need to wear well, and only when they are well-dressed will they have a good temperament.

Little Ye looked at herself for a while then turned to Jin Xiaoyu.

Jin Xiaoyu used to dress up when she was managing Longmen Inn. At that time, she looked gorgeous. Later, she went to the tribe and wore the most ordinary clothes, which made her less outstanding but more common.

Now that Jin Xiaoyu was dressed well, Little Ye seemed to see Jin Xiaoyu as if it were the first time they met in Longmen Inn.

“You are also very beautiful,” Little Ye said sincerely.

Jin Xiaoyu said, “What’s the use of being beautiful? No one looks at me.”

Little Ye smiled. “Just embrace yourself ”

……

After they were dressed up, the housekeeper arranged for the maids to leave, but soon another batch of maids came. They were here to deliver food.

Even though there were only two people eating, the maids sent seven or eight dishes that filled the small table.

These were all expensive ingredients, abalone, edible bird’s nest, ginseng stewed chicken, and even the simple shrimp fried leeks was made with the best shrimps.

Ye Xiaoxian couldn’t help but sigh again: how luxurious this was.

It was the first time she had had such a luxurious life ever since she transmigrated.

Even though her freedom was limited at this residence, if she was treated like this every day, she wouldn’t mind being imprisoned for a few more days.

Little Ye was about to eat when she picked up her chopsticks but suddenly felt inconvenient.

This outfit was gorgeous, but it had very wide sleeves. It looked rude to roll them up. But if she didn’t roll them up, she could only eat very carefully. Even she was drinking water, she could only use the other hand to gently block the lower end of the sleeves, or she would be stained with the soup in the dish.

It was said that the ancient great ladies were elegant. But who wouldn’t be elegant if she wore this?

Little Ye cherished the clothes on her. She was worried that there would be no extra clothes to change if she got them dirty, so she could only eat their food very slowly. They were all precious ingredients, so she had to eat more slowly.

As she ate, she also discussed which dish was good, which was stewed well, and which was slightly inferior.

The chefs in the State Preceptor’s residence must be the best, but this was ancient time after all. Although the chefs were good at cooking expensive ingredients, there was not much to eat.

Little Ye had a recipe for ancient food in the past, the so-called secret recipe from the court. She had made a few dishes according to the recipe in it, but the result was just normal. It was not as delicious as the food in the future.

She cherished these ingredients and wanted the chefs to improve the recipe, so she decided to get some paper and an ink brush. Every time she tasted a dish, she would write some suggestions and opinions, and then let the maid hand them to the kitchen.

At first, the maid looked down on the two women. She thought they were just young ladies from the countryside. They should thank God for being able to eat these things.

Now that they even gave comments?

Did they know who the chef is? In the past, he had served the previous emperor. But the emperor now had a different taste from the previous one, which was why this chef came to the State Preceptor’s residence to serve him instead.

However, the State Preceptor had already told her that she had to serve these two ladies well. If they had any requests, she could only follow their order. After Little Ye finished writing, she asked someone to send her opinion to the chef.

The head chef in the residence was called Zhang Deshui. He was born in a culinary family and studied cooking skills since he was young. He was a famous chef in Great Qi Dynasty.

He had served the previous emperor and was praised for his excellent cooking skills. He had worked for the imperial court for twenty years. After the new emperor Li Chengkun ascended the throne, he was rewarded by Li Chengkun to State Preceptor.

State Preceptor also praised him for his good cooking skills and only ate his food.

Today, he received an order to cook for the two new women and had to cook the same food that State Preceptor usually ate. He was reluctant to do so.

He believed those countryside women didn’t know how to admire cooking. If he let them eat his food, it would be a waste of the ingredients. It would be good enough that they could distinguish between beef and lamb.

However, not long after the meal was finished, a maid came over to deliver a message. She said that after Mrs. Xiao tasted his meal and she felt that it was not right and wrote some opinions to help him improve.

Zhang Deshui was so angry that he almost tore the paper apart.

‘What do these women know? They could only cook small dishes at home and stew some soup. I’m afraid they haven’t even seen the ingredients I used!’

However, Zhang Deshui eventually didn’t tear the paper apart.

The main reason was that he found the handwritings on it were too ugly.

The fact that a grand general’s wife could have a handwriting like this was rare, one could tell that she had no education.

The same as him.

Zhang Deshui was a cook. His entire life was spent on cooking, and he had also never practiced his handwriting properly. The words he wrote were also in a mess, not better than Little Ye. Sometimes he couldn’t even hold a pen.

What was this called? Two peas in one odd pod?

When Zhang Deshui saw these words, he felt so released that finally someone had an even uglier handwriting than he did.

He took a closer look.

It was better that he only glanced at it, as he was shocked after he read it carefully…

Not only did the Madam General know all the ingredients, she also knew what procedures these ingredients had gone through, such as marinating, soaking, and boiling.

She listed her suggestions on the paper one by one, such as: The best way to keep the abalone fresh is…What kind of seasoning should abalone be with…

Zhang Deshui was so annoyed that he was not convinced.

The Madam General might just be a bit more knowledgeable and know how to cook, but her advice might not be the best. His culinary skills were passed down by his ancestors, different from those chefs outside.

Just as he was about to throw the paper away, the suggestion seemed to be magical and deeply engraved in his mind.

A cook’s nature is to try every new cooking method, and then constantly improve until it reaches the best taste.

The suggestions of the Madam General might work?

……

Zhang Deshui didn’t care about it so much. Anyway, there were enough ingredients in the residence, so he would try.

He tried the abalone.

The abalone he originally made was steamed with some minced garlic.

However, when Little Ye suggested that when cooking abalone, first use the raw oyster to make a sauce, that is, oyster sauce.

Little Ye also provided a way to make the oyster sauce.

Zhang Deshui started thinking, “Oyster sauce? What the heck?!”

But seeing that there was a method to make it, and it was so detailed, he decided to have a try. It turned out that oyster was actually the overcooked juice produced by oysters when boiling them.

There were a lot of ingredients in the residence, including fresh oysters.

The method of making oyster sauce was not complicated. It only took Zhang Deshui one afternoon.

At night, his oyster sauce was finally made. He continued to make minced garlic, drenched it in hot oil, added salt, and steamed with the abalone for a while. After it was cooked, he added a drizzle of oyster sauce.

He originally wanted to try the taste, but someone called him just at this time and the abalone was still hot, so he left the kitchen without eating.

Coincidentally, a subordinate of the State Preceptor came.

The subordinate came to the kitchen to get snacks because State Preceptor had practiced martial arts for a while this afternoon and was hungry.

After taking the desserts, he saw that there was a well-cooked abalone on the table. It looked like it was just ready, so he took it away.

Zhang Deshui came back and saw that the abalone was gone.

He hurriedly asked the servant, “Who was here just now?”

The servant said, “The chief steward was here. He said he was here to get the snacks for State Preceptor as he was hungry.”

“What about the abalone?”

The servant looked around and said in a daze, “I don’t know. It was still here just now.”

Zhang Deshui was so anxious that he slapped his thigh, “Damn it! The abalone was just finished and I didn’t had time to taste it yet. What if it isn’t delicious? What if State Preceptor thinks we’re teasing him?”

The servant was very nervous. “Then, let’s go and chase after it.”

How could Zhang Deshui care so much? He led the servant and ran out.