As the last dish of braised mutton was served to the table, the banquet finally came to an end.
The popularity of braised food had exceeded everyone's expectations, especially the white braised mutton. Even Uncle Yu didn't expect it to be so popular.
The people of the Central Plains were not used to the smell of mutton. In order to remove the smell of mutton, the chefs would often choose to add more spices and sauces. Thus, the red marinade, which had a more spicy taste, became the first choice to braise the mutton. However, Uncle did the opposite and used a light white marinade.
In the end, the braised mutton was neither fishy nor rank. It was very tender, smooth, and refreshing. This was the only braised dish that finished its gravy. The remaining braised food wasn't bad either. They were all the first dishes that had been finished off.
Previously, the chefs who didn't believe that Yu Wan and her group could make any good dishes all felt their faces burning. Naturally, they had also tasted the Yu Family's dishes. Indeed, they could afford to say that they were extremely delicious. It was no wonder that Young Miss had invited them over from "afar".
"I admit defeat!" An old chef from the Bai family patted Uncle Yu's shoulder and said sincerely.
"This little girl can work too," said the chef from White Jade Restaurant. He had seen Yu Wan before and knew that she knew how to cook salt. However, Miss Bai had given the order to keep their mouths shut, so this matter was not made public. What he did not expect was that this little girl's knife skills were also so good.
If his apprentice was half as smart as this little girl, he would be able to serve dishes much faster.
Of course, the two young men were not bad either. All day long, they did all the dirty work without any complaints. Even their youngest son stayed obediently in the backyard and did not come in to complain at all.
They were exhausted, especially their uncle, whose legs were not in good condition. Yu Wan had already tried her best not to let him do anything other than braised food. However, even if he had to sit on the chair and cut vegetables for an entire day, it would still be hard for him as he's injured.
"Where's Little Bruiser?" asked Uncle Yu breathlessly.
"The backyard," Yu Song said.
The three siblings went to the backyard. They were so busy today that they did not care about the little fellow's food. He must be starving. Little Bruiser sat in front of the cold stove and was tearfully eating the scallion pancake that Yu Wan had left for him in the morning.
They felt so guilty that their conscience hurt.
However, when they went around the fence and came to the quiet corner, Little Bruiser, who was supposed to be covered in snot bubbles, was sitting on a box that they didn't know where it came from. The box was extremely exquisite.
He sat with his legs crossed, one hand holding a bunch of crystal clear purple grapes, the other holding a piece of jerky that was both fat and lean. On the stove in front of him, the scallion pancake was gone, replaced by a pot of white and thick stew.
Little Bruiser chomped down on the jerky and grapes, occasionally taking a sip of hot soup.
Yu Wan's lips twitched. So, they had worried for the entire afternoon and blamed themselves for three seconds for nothing. In the end, this little guy was even happier than a god?
Soon, Yu Wan found several large boxes beside Little Bruiser. Compared to these, Little Bruiser's anti-season fruits, dried deer meat, and cow tail soup were nothing.
"What happened?"
Under Yu Wan's detailed questioning, Little Bruiser honestly told her everything that had happened during the day.
The three of them could hear their hearts breaking after listening to Little Bruiser. They had worked themselves to death for an entire day, yet they were still inferior to Little Bruiser who just sold two pancakes.
...
"Ah, there's such a thing?" Uncle Yu seemed to be slightly surprised. It wasn't that there weren't any complacent young masters in the Capital, but he'd never seen such a troublemaker in his life.
They only had a few people when they came, but there were a few more carriages on their way back.
"I'll go ask the Bai Manor if they have any extra carriages to rent to us," Yu Feng said.
Uncle Yu nodded.
Yu Feng went to the bamboo shed to look for Steward Ding. Who knew that he couldn't find Steward Ding and instead was met with a cold shoulder.
"What did you say? You want to take away three large carriages? Who allowed you to take things from the Bai Manor?" The servant from the Bai Manor slammed the table.
The servant from before was no longer here. This was someone Yu Feng did not recognize.
Yu Feng explained, "It's not from the Bai Manor. It's ours."
"Your own? Why didn't I see you bring so many things when you came?" The servant didn't believe Yu Feng's words and hurriedly got someone to invite Mrs. Bai over.
This Mrs. Bai was the second wife of Old Master Bai. She was a few years younger than Mrs. Jiang, but she did not look as young and beautiful as Madam Jiang. However, she could be considered pretty and moving.
Mrs. Bai brought a large group of servants to the kitchen. The chefs, who were packing up and preparing to leave, were completely stunned by this scene.
"Where are the things?" Mrs. Bai asked coldly.
The servant replied, "In the backyard. Madam, please follow me."
Mrs. Bai entered the backyard with the servants and came to the place where the gifts were placed.
When Mrs. Bai saw the superior yellow pearwood boxes, her eyes widened. When she looked at the items inside, her eyeballs almost fell out!
Their family also had snow lotus, but who had seen such a big one?
She could afford fox fur, but when did she have the opportunity to wear the snow mountain purple fox's fur?
She had enough money to buy a cow mountain. Even if she had a hundred guts, she would not dare to kill one of them to make cow tail soup.
There were all kinds of items here. Although they were not gold, silver, or jewels, they were hard to buy.
"Madam, there are many guests today. They must have stolen the guests' congratulatory gifts when no one was paying attention! If I didn't discover it in time, the people in the manor might have already let them smuggle the items out of the manor on Miss's account!" The servant said with a face full of praise.
The servants were stupid and could not see the value of the congratulatory gifts, but Mrs. Bai had a clear background. With the Bai family's status, if they had not gone through the connections of the late wife's family, they would not have been able to buy the manor on this street. How could the guests they invited obtain these rare items?
But… So what? She knew the truth, so she had to tell the truth?
Uncle Yu replied, "We didn't steal anything. This is our first time coming to the Bai Manor. We don't know where you put your gifts. Besides, we have never left the kitchen without permission."
"Their whole family was cooking in the kitchen. I can testify that they have never left," The old chef from the Bai family said.
The chef from White Jade Restaurant also stood up. "That's right, we can all testify that they really never left."
The servant scoffed, "Really? They haven't even been to the toilet?"
This was unreasonable.
Yu Song pointed at the servant's nose and said, "Then why don't you try to go to the toilet and steal so many things for me!"
"You still dare to be arrogant!" The servant relied on Mrs. Bai's support and did not put these countryside chefs in his eyes at all. He raised his fist and smashed it towards Yu Song's head. He was a martial arts practitioner. If he took this punch, Yu Song would definitely bleed.
At that moment, a hand grabbed his wrist. He was turned around and thrown onto the ground. Then, Yu Wan stepped forward and stepped on his chest!