sjar Chapter 107 Banquet Chef, An Qiao
Chapter 107 Banquet Chef, An Qiao
Gu Qingyun and others were stunned. After all, Gu Qingyun was from a well-known family in the capital, but he was despised like this. They didn't know how An Qiao won over Qingzhou Master Zhao with just one sentence.
An Qiao smiled mysteriously, "Nothing."
Everyone became even more curious. Gu Qingyun thought for a while, "If the one who is entangled with cousin Qingqing is probably Zhao, Zhao Hengzhi."
"Zhao Hengzhi!? Then I am mentally balanced, he is just like that. I remember when I was little, I heard my cousin in the clan say that this guy was a bastard. Even when he was punished by his grandparents to kneel in the ancestral hall, he always looked like a devil." Zhao Huaiqing almost spit out the fruit tea in his mouth.
"I said that the Zhao family has always been humble and polite. I thought the world had changed, but it turns out I finally got a bitter pill." Xinhai said with a smile.
"As for Zhao Hengzhi, it's normal." Gu Qingyun summarized.
Zhao Hengzhi has been like this since he was born. He doesn't take anything seriously and is arrogant and domineering. Even if he invites many teachers from the Hanlin Academy to teach him, he remains the same.
An Qiao knew a thing or two about these aristocratic families they were discussing. Not to mention her days in the palace, even outside the palace, the milk tea shop and restaurant were frequented by many female customers every day. They all had a mysterious obsession with marrying into an aristocratic family.
Even Gu Qingyun brought a lot of customers to this restaurant.
An Qiao just wants to sit back and collect money, so why not?
The group ate until midnight, trying all the new dishes in the restaurant during that period, and left the restaurant with full stomachs.
Even the taciturn Shuangxi and Shuangfu had a pale face, as if they were about to vomit at any time.
"I told you to eat less." An Qiao counted the silver coins, grinning from ear to ear. She didn't look like she was sincerely advising them to eat less.
……
With the days chasing after me so closely, the day for the banquet finally arrived. An Qiao took Dahan, Lixia and Xiazhi together.
A few days ago, Bai Yu's servant delivered the list of ingredients to An Qiao. As expected, crabs, shrimps, fish, quail, venison, and beef were all on the list, as well as abalone, deer antlers, bird's nests, and shark fins.
An Qiao roughly drew up a menu and handed it back to the servant who came to deliver the list of ingredients. In the afternoon, the servant gave An Qiao a reply, saying that his master also wanted to have some dessert and hoped for more.
Anqiao could only add cakes, puddings, snow skin moon cakes, candied haws and cheese balls to the list.
Bai Yu was satisfied.
……
"Young lady, is it okay for me to dress like this?" Lixia looked at the new clothes that An Qiao had made for her and felt a little uncomfortable.
"You're not the only one doing this. I've done it to everyone in the store. You just have to follow me." An Qiao had lost her patience after answering countless times.
"Isn't that a bit rude?" Lixia asked again.
"No, no, no, we are just cooks." An Qiao checked all the sauces that would be needed.
Looking at the three people who were a little nervous, An Qiao said half comfortingly and half complainingly, "It's okay, we just need to work in the kitchen. There will be maids to serve the dishes, as long as you don't throw anything in the dishes that shouldn't be thrown. If you think the dishes are too difficult, I will make them myself, but fried spareribs are usually made by you, why are you in a hurry?"
Several people got on the carriage and went all the way to Bai Mansion.
What comes into view is a dark wooden gate, which looks somewhat low-key. The main home of the Bai family is not in Kyoto, this is just a villa.
Bai Yu should be a member of the Bai family who went to study in the capital.
An Qiao walked forward and knocked on the door, and it soon opened. An old man came out. He looked at the few people, and there was no emotion in his eyes.
An Qiao handed over the invitation letter, and the old man confirmed it and said calmly, "Follow me to the side door."
An Qiao nodded.
They had a lot of carriages and food, so usually people would let them go in through the side door. Not only them, but many guests had to go in through the side door.
Lixia and the other two didn't say anything, still a little nervous, as the carriage slowly entered the yard.
"This yard is so big." After walking for a quarter of an hour, Xia Zhi finally whispered in An Qiao's ear.
"All wealthy families are like this." Compared to the three of them, An Qiao seemed to be more familiar with it.
They didn't dare to look around for fear of being impolite, and could only secretly look at the buildings on both sides with their peripheral vision. There were carved beams and painted rafters, pavilions and towers, and even a lot of gold and silver decorations, but they looked fresh and elegant, and didn't feel like a nouveau riche at all.
This is probably a noble family.
Several people were taken all the way to the back kitchen. In fact, this kitchen was also built temporarily and was not the kitchen of the Bai Mansion.
The kitchen and the banquet hall were separated by only a wall, and the door was opened on the side to avoid disturbing the guests, but the sounds from the banquet could still be heard almost exactly.
It was still early and no guests had arrived yet. Even Bai Yu hadn't shown up, so he was probably still dreaming.
An Qiao put on her apron skillfully, and also gave several people hoods to cover their hair, aprons, etc.
I explained again, "Other things are not important, just make sure it's clean, don't use chopsticks or spoons to taste directly, and don't let even a hair appear on the food. If there's anything wrong, not only will you not be rewarded, you'll be punished, or even sold."
It's not that An Qiao is scary, it's that at banquets like this, most of the guests invited are nobles of equal status. If one is not careful, it is easy to get into trouble. No matter how much money An Qiao makes, he is just a cook.
By then, you won’t be able to save anyone else, you won’t even be able to save yourself.
Several people nodded seriously, because they entered a familiar kitchen, they didn't feel so nervous anymore.
After An Qiao finished giving the instructions, several people began to prepare the ingredients. Desserts, for example, were brought directly from the restaurant by An Qiao, as they couldn't make them because they didn't have the stove she wanted.
An Qiao brought out a pot, which was filled with Buddha Jumps Over the Wall that had been stewed for several hours. Ever since she saw the abalone, An Qiao's mind was filled with Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.
It’s not that it can’t be steamed, but after thinking about it, I still think Buddha Jumps Over the Wall is better.
The banquet is divided into appetizers, side dishes, in-meal delicacies and after-meal.
Since we invited An Qiao to prepare the banquet, we didn't expect to feel full at any one stage. Generally, at such banquets, people would try a little bit of everything, and would feel full after eating dozens of dishes.
This Buddha Jumps Over the Wall is a dish that is cooked before meals. It is very nutritious and can both stimulate the appetite and warm the stomach.
It was already November, and after the guests arrived after a long journey, they were served a dish of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall to warm their stomachs, and then some amber walnuts, a fruit platter and a braised food platter were served.
When it’s almost done, we’ll serve the main course.
Before lunch arrived, guests began to enter the Bai Mansion and the banquet hall.
An Qiao looked at the front yard skillfully. After each guest sat down for about half a quarter of an hour, An Qiao would serve a dish of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.