Blissful Days After Widowhood - Chapter 83

Although Mr. Wen was from Hanshan Town, he had been studying at home since he was a child, and he had never joined in this kind of fun. In addition, he hadn’t come back all these years, and everything was both familiar and unfamiliar.

As Chef Xu said, the spices that Gu Yin wanted were indeed not cheap.

She was calculating how much spices she would need to make a skewer for Old Master Wen alone, when he waved his hand, “Buy all, buy more!”

Gu Yin quickly persuaded, “A sprinkle of spices is enough, you won’t be able to finish it if you buy too much.”

“Who said I’ll eat it alone? If you don’t want to eat it, others won’t?” As the old man spoke, he glanced at Chef Xu from the corner of his eye.

Chef Xu blushed and said, “I won’t eat it, I really won’t eat it!”

Gu Yin also thought so. They could get some of the pastry and milk tea, as the old man was generous. Spice, meat skewers and others were precious things, how dare they have the nerve to eat it?

“Why do you think so much, little girl?” Old Master Wen said very freely.

He was really not bad with money. He had been a high-ranking official for decades. Although he hadn’t been engaged in any corruption or bribery, the Beijing officials had given him some as respect – that was the filial piety that the Emperor tacitly approved. There were constant rewards during the New Year and festivals. The old man was not greedy for enjoyment. The silver and money were only stored in the warehouse, and he still lived a simple life. accumulation, he was naturally rich.

The spices cost five taels of silver.

After seeing the snack seller, Old Master Wen’s eyes glowed with a little warm light, and said softly, “I couldn’t come out when I was a kid. Every New Year, my father would buy some food from the outside and come back. In the blink of an eye, I’m already this old.”

“Why don’t we buy some to try and see if we can get back the taste of your childhood?”

The old man hummed, “I didn’t eat good food when I was a kid. Is it possible that I still think this street food is delicious?” Without waiting for Gu Yin’s answer, he said again, “Forget it, let’s go. I’m tired, so let’s find a place to sit and rest.” 

After speaking, Old Master Wen asked Chief Xu and the servant to go buy what Gu Yin wanted, and told them to buy more. He and Gu Yin went to a noodle stall on the side of the road.

Gu Yin asked for a bowl of Yangchun noodles, but the old man still said, “Pad your belly.” (Eat something appetizing before a meal to raise appetite) 

When winter was approaching, Gu Yin wanted to open a stall at Jishang for Chinese New Year, but she gave up after inquiring about the stall fee there.

So even though that noodle stall was small, the noodle soup was made from old hen soup, and the noodles were also hand-rolled, which was very strong. The bowl of noodles was better than the one made in a restaurant.

After eating, the old man said, “It’s worth it. The noodles are strong and the soup base is clear. Although I can taste the taste of chicken soup, but I don’t know how much water is added, it didn’t taste as good.”

That was natural. A bowl of noodles was sold for a little silver. If they used rich broth, they would lose money.

Gu Yin smiled apologetically at the boss, but fortunately he was also very kind and didn’t care.

After paying the money, they ate yellow peas, pancakes, donkey rolls, and even two strings of candied haws. But these were not what Gu Yin invited him to taste. The old man bought them himself in the name of thinking she wanted to eat.

Until they couldn’t eat any more, Chef Xu and the servant also finished shopping and came back.

The group returned home.

The old man was really full, so he told her to cook the food in the afternoon, and he went back to the house to rest for a while.

Gu Yin and Chef Xu went back to the kitchen.

Chef Xu started to cook lunch, while Gu Yin started to process the ingredients and string them together.

By the time he prepared a few lunches, Gu Yin had already put on dozens of strings.

Chef Xu saw that the work was simple, so he let Gu Yin rest and he did it.

Gu Yin really didn’t feel tired. She was used to doing chores on a daily basis. She went out for a while in the morning and sat for a while at noon. How could she get tired?

But Chef Xu was really fast, and in less than a quarter of an hour, he finished preparing all the ingredients.

In the afternoon, the kitchen was very idle. Gu Yin sat in the yard and basked in the sun for a while, until Old Master Wen woke up from a nap, and then moved again.

The charcoal basin was ready-made in the house, with a few long iron sticks on it, it was a simple barbecue grill.

Because of the heavy smoke, Gu Yin asked Chef Xu to help move the barbecue to the yard.

Assorted skewers were placed in a basket, Gu Yin was asked to grill ten skewers of beef and ten skewers of mutton according to the old man’s taste.

The sizzling sound of the roasted meat, the meat oil dripping on the charcoal fire along the smoke was really fragrant.

When the cumin and chili were sprinkled on top, it was even more incredible.

Soon the skewers that the old man asked for were grilled, and Gu Yin grilled a lot.