Blissful Days After Widowhood - Chapter 75

Before the two of them could go around the wall, they heard a thud behind them, and the second housekeeper really fell flat on his face and his whole body was lying on the ground.

Hua Mama, who could stand things like that, couldn’t help laughing.

“How did the little lady know that he was going to fall?”

Gu Yin whispered, “How can I have the ability to predict the future? It’s just that he is wearing soft satin shoes on a snowy day, with a thin layer on the bottom, and I said it casually.”

The two of them passed through the hanging flower door, passed through the veranda, and arrived at a large kitchen.

The kitchen was not as large as the back kitchen of Full Moon Hall, with a total of five large stoves and a row of small mud stoves next to it. All kinds of ingredients were slightly messy on the middle counter. But in the end, it was much better than Gu Yin’s own small kitchen.

There was someone in the kitchen. A fat middle-aged man who looked like a bun was the original chef of the house, Master Xu, who was responsible for cooking for several masters in the family. There were also two assistant, who were Master Xu’s apprentices, and were responsible for cooking for other servants in the family on a daily basis.

When Gu Yin greeted them, Master Xu who sat on the bamboo chair with the backrest, slowly lifted his eyelids to look at her. Although he didn’t say anything, his expression was already contemptuous.

The two little helpers saw their master like that, so naturally they didn’t talk to her.

Gu Yin didn’t care. She took off the big cotton robe and put it aside. While washing her hands, she asked Hua Mama, “Is the old man up today? Did he say what he wanted to eat?” (Old man is not derogatory)

Hua Mama said, “The weather has been bad recently, and the old man is asleep in the mornings. I guess he still didn’t get up. He likes to eat noodles in the morning. As for what flavor he wants to eat, I don’t know.”

The old man had been very picky about food recently, so Hua Mama did not dare to tell what flavor the old man wanted to eat, so she comforted, “But since the old man has invited you over, he must be very satisfied with your cooking skills. You can make whatever you want.”

Gu Yin turned her head and saw a piece of beef on the table.

That was something that could be eaten at any time in later generations, but at that era, it was rare. It was illegal to kill a cow, unless it was a sudden death or a sick cow, which could be killed legally. The beef was in short supply, so only big families like the Wen family could buy such fresh beef.

Hua Mama followed her line of sight and said, “The old man liked beef very much when he was young, but when his teeth got bad, he started to eat less of it.”

Gu Yin nodded, and asked about the old man’s dislikes. Looking at the gloomy sky outside, she was ready to make noodles in clear soup and oily noodles.

She first found a large pot, added flour and water and kneaded them into a flocculent shape, then added a little salt to increase the gluten of the flour, kneaded the dough to be smooth, white and fat, moderately soft and hard. Then she used a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a large sheet, and cut the dough into strips. After that, she brushed the cooking oil on the plate, put the strips on it, brushed them with the oil again, and then covered them with a cloth and set them aside to rest.

Within a quarter of an hour after resting, Gu Yin cut a small piece of beef and cooked a large pot of beef soup.

She sprinkled a handful of flour on the counter and started to pull the noodles.

The noodles shaking in her hand and falling on the chopping board was divided into two, and then divided into four each. In the end, one became as thin as a hair and the other was wide.

At that time, Master Xu couldn’t help sitting up straight.

He had previously thought that the old man couldn’t eat the food he made, nor could he eat the food made by other famous masters. Obviously, the reason was not their cooking skills, but the old man himself. So when he recruited such a little lady, he estimated that she would not last long.

At the time, seeing Gu Yin’s skills, he realized that he was wrong – she obviously had real skills.

The thin and wide noodles were put in separate pots. Gu Yin put some salt in the pot, took out the beef, cut it into thin slices with a knife, put it back in the pot and continued to cook.

When she turned her head and saw that Hua Mama was still with her, Gu Yin was grateful and asked, “Would you like to eat some too?”

She only used flour, and the Wen family ate refined grains every day. Hua Mama felt that it was not a bad idea, so she nodded and said, “Keep it for the old man first, and we can share the rest.”

Gu Yin smiled, at the same time shredded cucumber, added minced garlic, put it in a large bowl, and added cooked sesame seeds and a pinch of chili.

When the thin noodles were ready, Gu Yin added a spoonful of fragrant beef soup, a few slices of beef, and sprinkled a handful of chopped green onion on it.

Gu Yin put the wide noodles into the prepared ingredients bowl, and then poured hot oil on it, only to hear a “zzz” sound, the fragrance was overflowing, it would make people greedy.

After the two things were done, it was bright outside, and the servant who was taking care of Old Master Wen, came to pick up the food.