Blissful Days After Widowhood - Chapter 60

All kinds of materials were ready. Red beans, mung beans, kidney beans and other things were soaked in advance. Gu Yin took off the cotton robe, washed her hands, rolled up her sleeves to her forearms, and started to work.

The cooks in Full Moon Hall were all men with big arms and round waists, just like the shopkeeper. When they saw a young girl suddenly, they didn’t even notice anything else.

The shopkeeper glared at them one by one, and let them be honest.

The chef in charge of the kitchen helped the shopkeeper beat a few people, and then smiled and whispered to him, “They are usually surrounded by men, and it is rare to see a woman, and still such a beautiful little lady. It is impossible to look at something else.”

The chef smiled. Although the shopkeeper didn’t say anything about him, his face turned even darker.

He had long disliked this slick chef, but the person did have some skills. Although he did not have a particularly commendable craftsmanship, he had known many dishes. Second, the most difficult thing to do was that. The person was a distant relative of the owner’s wife.

While they were talking, Gu Yin had already put a few kinds of beans into the pot.

She only put half a pot of water in the pot, and added water while cooking. After adding cold water five times, she closed the lid of the pot.

Then she switched to another stove to cook kidney beans.

The chef didn’t notice the shopkeeper’s distaste for him, and continued, “Isn’t this Laba porridge cooked in one pot? Why did this little lady separate several kinds of beans? The shopkeeper, please don’t let her spoil our things.”

The shopkeeper suppressed his anger and said, “Kidney beans are the least likely to be rotten and need to be cooked separately. Cooking porridge is not just a matter of simmering in a pot. Since you don’t understand, don’t make a sound.”

When the pot boiled, Gu Yin then boiled water, put in chicken head rice, red dates, and quinoa, then covered the pot, then took the chestnuts from the bamboo basket on the table and put them on another pot to cook. When the beans in the pot were ready, she poured in peanut rice and sorghum rice.

Covering the pot again, she took a bamboo stick to remove the lotus seeds.

It was such a delicate job that an ordinary kitchen worker would have to spend a lot of time.

But when the bamboo stick came into her hands, it was as if it was alive, and every stroke could be inserted into the small hole accurately and pushed out the grass-green core.

After removing them, the chestnuts on the pot were also softened. Gu Yin flipped her fingers and quickly peeled off the chestnut.

Then she put the lotus seeds and chestnut kernels into the pot together, and then boiled it, then put the rice, longan, millet, and soft boiled kidney beans, adjusted the fire again, and waited for the porridge in the pot to tumble several times, then it was ready.

She didn’t put sugar, but the aroma of the food itself was stimulated by the precise heat, and the whole back kitchen was filled with a sweet and mellow atmosphere.

Since transmigrating, Gu Yin had never cooked as happily as she did that day. So she didn’t feel tired either. She wiped the sweat on her forehead while smiling and invited the shopkeeper to taste it.

The shopkeeper saw that her process was smooth, and the time and methods needed to cook various ingredients were even more perfect. He wanted to say that there was no need to try the taste, and she was hired.

Coincidentally, before he spoke, Xiao Er came in to report, “Shopkeeper, the owner’s wife is here.”

Because of the pickiness of the shopkeeper, it was a big problem to hire people in Full Moon Hall every New Year’s Day.

The owner’s wife was quite critical of him, and felt that it was because of his pickiness that the family did not do a lot of business during the holidays, so she came for that.

The shopkeeper thought about letting the owner’s wife come and try it in person to let her know that his persistence was right. Wasn’t he waiting for the right person? Moreover, the shopkeeper also cherished talents.

If the owner’s wife tasted her craftsmanship, he could directly hire Gu Yin as a chef, and her wages would naturally be doubled.

“Invite the owner’s wife to come over and say that I have recruited a new person and ask her to help Full Moon Hall.”

Xiao Er left in response, and after a while, two women, one tall and one short, came over slowly.

The taller woman was young, supporting another older, shorter old woman.

The young woman anxiously said, “Mother, the children of the second son’s household are going to study at Old Master Wen’s house. We can’t be left behind!”

The old woman said angrily, “Some of our children have failed Wu Juren’s school test several times. What can I do? Do you want me and your father to force the Master to accept students?”

“Then if not Wu Juren, isn’t there Elder Master Wen in our town?!”

The old woman became more embarrassed, “That’s the eldest master from the Hanlin Academy. Our children can’t even get in the door of Master Wu Juren, and you still want them to be students of such an immortal? You really dare to think!”

The young woman was embarrassed by what she said, “Eldest Master Wen doesn’t care about fame and fortune, but the Wen family is not necessarily like that. Isn’t the Second Master Wen worried that the Wen family’s eldest brother’s household would take away his fortune and is anxious to find another way out? We might as well get…”

After speaking, the two entered the back kitchen, and the young woman didn’t continue to talk because she was worried that there were outsiders.

The shopkeeper was about to recommend Gu Yin and say something nice for her, but she suddenly took off her apron, picked up her big cotton robe, and said, “Sorry, I can’t do this job.”

Hearing the voice, the two women looked up at her, and their expressions also changed.

“Why you?!”