sbdcsierra Chapter 327 The Busy Kitchen
Chapter 327 The Busy Kitchen
"Mother, why are you looking at me with such pity?"
Nangong Ming was completely confused. Had he just been pitied by his own mother?
As for?
It really left him both amused and exasperated.
"Son, don't be too sad." Madam Nangong Ming changed her tone and took Nangong Ming's hand, patting it gently.
No, how did he show any sign of being upset?
"Mom, I'm not sad. You must have misunderstood something."
"Mother knows that Miss Long is very good, but we can't force her. Let's just consider it a missed opportunity! There are plenty of good girls in the capital. After the New Year, Mother will ask someone to arrange a few blind dates for you. Don't worry! Leave it to Mother. This time, I'm sure you'll meet one or two that you'll be satisfied with."
Madam Nangong continued earnestly, "You're not young anymore. Take advantage of the New Year holiday when business is closed and you have time to make arrangements. Don't make excuses to postpone this time."
Nangong Ming felt a headache coming on whenever he heard his mother start nagging about these trivial matters again.
Oh no, Mom's overthinking it again.
No, no, I can't stay here any longer, I have to get out of here right now.
If we start talking about it, it'll go on and on.
It seems I can't stay home all the time during the New Year holidays. Getting tired of hearing about it is a small matter, but being forced to go on blind dates is worse than taking my life.
Nangong Ming gently patted Madam Nangong's shoulder twice. "Hehe... Mother, um, weren't you still going to settle accounts? Please continue. I've already delivered the gift, so I won't bother you any longer. I have some urgent matters to attend to, so I'll be going now..."
After finishing speaking, Nangong Ming quickly turned around, as if he had made up his mind. Without the slightest hesitation, he took three steps at a time and walked towards the warehouse door.
All that remained was a resolute figure fleeing away, and a gust of cold wind that swept through the air.
Madam Nangong pointed at the storeroom door and shouted, "Hey hey hey...you brat, come back here! Your mother hasn't finished speaking yet! Why are you running away?"
"That brat, he ran away again this time. He's so useless. Every time we talk about his marriage, he runs away. He's getting more and more disobedient. He doesn't respect his mother at all. It's infuriating."
A maidservant came in from outside the door. "Madam, please calm down. Young Master must have his own plans."
"Sigh..." Madam Nangong sighed. "What plans could he possibly have?"
However, his son is also quite pitiful.
He finally fell for a girl, only to find out his rival was a prince of the court. What kind of situation is this?!
He thought he could finally relax after bringing a girl home, but it turned out to be all for naught.
When will his son, this iron tree, finally bloom?
It seems I should visit the temple more often to pray to the Buddha and donate more money for incense.
Nangong Ming, who had escaped, certainly didn't expect that he would be pitied by his own mother again.
-
On the 29th of the year, at dawn, the back gate of the Prince of Qin's mansion slowly opened.
Several delivery carts were pushed in one after another from the back gate of the Prince's Mansion. One cart was loaded with slaughtered cattle, sheep and pigs, and the other cart was loaded with fresh fruits and vegetables.
"Quack, quack, quack."
"Giggle."
A cart loaded with chickens, ducks, and fish followed behind.
The cattle and sheep were slaughtered at the fourth watch of the night, so this time was just right for them to be delivered. The chickens, ducks, and fish were alive, and to ensure freshness, they were handed over to the kitchen servants for slaughter after being delivered to the Prince's residence.
"Tuk-tuk-tuk."
"Dong dong dong."
Before dawn, the kitchen of the Prince of Qin's mansion was already bustling with activity, the sounds of mincing meat echoing throughout the main kitchen.
"Master Zhou, Master Liu, the dough is ready. Have you prepared the meat filling over there?"
Two strong and sturdy chefs were wielding two knives, rhythmically chopping the minced meat on the cutting board.
After mincing the meat, you can't just pick it up and wrap it. You still need to add various side dishes and seasonings to make it more delicious.
Master Zhou said, "This bowl of minced meat is ready, take it over and wrap it up!"
Today's main dish for breakfast is dumplings, and the chefs are busy rolling out the dough and chopping the meat filling right now! They need to prepare all the ingredients before they get up in the morning.
This morning, Uncle Zhong sent even more servants to help in the kitchen.
"You guys, be careful with your work, especially make sure to pluck the duck feathers clean."
The head chef was supervising the workers.
"Yes..." The servants who were plucking chicken and duck feathers answered in unison.
It was still dark, and we could only see by the light of the lantern next to us. The chicken feathers were relatively easy to pluck, but the duck down was particularly plentiful and fine, requiring more time and patience to pluck.
Fortunately, the ducks weren't in a rush to be used. They'll be given a rough treatment first, and then a more detailed treatment will be done when it's light and visibility is better.
"Little Sun, don't let the fire in the stove go out. There are still a lot of chickens and ducks waiting to be cooked."
"Don't worry, sir. The fire is still burning! With me here, it will never be put out."
Xiao Sun squatted down, his face flushed red in the firelight, and he shoved a few more pieces of firewood into the stove with a "clang, clang".
The firewood crackled in the stove, the flames roared, and soon the water in the large pot was boiling and bubbling.
Xiao Sun stood up and glanced into the pot. He was very satisfied with the result. He moved over and put a piece of wood into another stove.
A pot of rice cakes is being fried on this stove. The heat for frying rice cakes needs to be precisely controlled and should not be too high.
The white rice cakes slowly turn golden brown in the oil. The chef uses a strainer to scoop out the fried rice cakes, and this dish is served with breakfast.
Xiao Sun, who was tending the fire, peeked at the stove. The golden rice cakes were still sizzling with oil. His throat bobbed, and he couldn't help but swallow.
Who wouldn't love a golden, soft, chewy, and sweet rice cake!
Thinking that he would be able to eat this delicious food for breakfast soon, Xiao Sun squatted down contentedly and continued to watch the fire in the stove.
The other staff working in the kitchen were also busy with their own tasks. Some were responsible for processing ingredients such as beef, mutton, and pork, and they would carefully process them according to the dishes that the head chef needed to cook.
The head matron also sent several old women and maids to help, picking and washing vegetables, washing dishes, and doing whatever they could...
Several maids who were usually very good at making dumplings were also assigned to help in the kitchen.
One by one, dumplings stuffed full of meat filling were neatly arranged in a clean round bamboo tray.
Although it was cold and people had to get up to work before dawn, no one felt resentful at the moment.
The maids all had faint smiles on their faces as they held dumplings and chatted quietly.
I don't know if it's the joy of the upcoming New Year or the happiness of being able to eat delicious dumplings later.