The General's Delicious Wife Chapter 018: The first bucket of gold
Quickly following after is another excellent dish, an essential one to serve on the newlywed's returning banquet, little chicken and mushroom stew.
Although this is a commonly seen dish, the taste of it is a big difference compared to how others cook it.
The chicken soup is clear and bright and taste pure, the chicken meat is flaky and falling off the bone, the honey fugus is soaked with the chicken soup flavour and the chicken soup is infused with the honey fugus scent. The aroma blends into one.
Two plates stacked high with jujube steamed bun is served, the maid who is serving this has a tactful eloquence with her words. "Wishing Sir-in-law and my Lady to be gifted with a precious son soon*."
Cui Wen Lan blushes out of shyness. The newlywed's returning feast today has surprised her beyond her expectations and has earned her a prestige image.
She retains the maid to ask her. "How is the meal going on for them outside?"
The maid smiles and replies. "Rest assured my Lady, Sir-in-law is eating happily."
"This girl, you, who is asking about him." Cui Wen Lan protests coyly.
"The dishes today are truly not bad." Madam Wang serves her daughter a chopstick full of food. "And the names are picked auspiciously, there is no one else who has a more remarkable newlywed's returning banquet comparing to yours within these ten Chinese miles and eight villages."
Upon hearing this, Cui Wen Lan smiles even more sweetly.
The maid serves another three dishes continuously.
"Sweet as honey."
"Shreds of adoration."
"Promise of three lifetimes."
Cui Wen Lan hears the names and looks towards the table.
Shreds of adoration is from that day of dish testing which is a dish of Wensi tofu, Madam Wang has already eaten before, so she ladles a small bowl for her daughter. "This dish tastes good, what's rare is the knife workmanship, to be able to shred tofu as thin as hair is extremely hard."
While eating the Wensi tofu, Cui Wen Lan keeps glancing towards the other two dishes.
Sweet as honey is a dish of candied sweet potato. Golden yellow sweet potato is coated with a golden glimmering syrup, every piece that has been picked up will pull out with a few silky strands of sparking sugar and dipping that into the bowl of chilled water on the side will immediately cool it down, resulting in hardening the sugar coating.
Biting through the outer layer of crispy sugar shell, the inside has the starchy fragrant of the sweet potato. Truly, you eat it with your mouth and it sweetens your heart.
The last dish, Promise of three lifetimes, is a clear meatball soup. The triple coloured meatball is floating up and down in the clean and clear broth.
They cannot tell what the meatballs are made out of, there is a certain bounce on the teeth as they chew but at the same time it has not lost its softness, the soup is also deliciously bright and savoury.
As an ending dish that completes the meal, it is perfect in resolving the accumulated grease from the previous dishes of fish and meat, leaving a sweet aftertaste in their mouths.
This meal has had the host and their guests eating to their utmost delight. Even Cao Xing with his initial sneering attitude has not stopped pouring out praises, and he keeps trying to find out where is the head chef from.
In the back kitchen, Xia Yue Chu uses the left behind corner cuts of the ingredients and cooks up an assorted stir-fry. Together with Madam Shan and the few others helping in the kitchen, eating it delectably with some steamed buns.
Madam Shan cannot stop herself from saying. "Yue Chu, with how skilled you are, if you go working in the city, you will definitely earn big bucks. Staying in the village is burying your talent."
Upon hearing this, Xia Yue Chu pauses in the motion of picking her food with her chopstick.
Of course she wants to go to the city but not now. She needs at least a fixed capital, and it would be best if she can get rid of her identity as a lawful wife to the Xue family.
Otherwise, even if she has gone to the city, at the end of the day, she would still be under the control of others' hands.
Sure enough, Madam Sun replies. "Madam Shan, there is something you don't know, my big brother is bed ridden now and my sister-in-law is busy with chores at home everyday, truly unable to go!"
Madam Shan seemingly has something more to say but eventually she swallows back.
Xia Yue Chu gives her a friendly smile and continues to eat with her head down.
Although her previous memory is blurry, but through this half a month long, it is enough for her to perceive that the Xue family and even the others in the village are still on guard towards her.
A woman married here to live as if she is a widow, can she stay on? Will she fail her morals? Will she secretly run away?
In the eyes of others, these are all annotated with a huge question mark.
Sometimes when she is walking alone on the streets of the village, there will be people who pretend unintentional asking her where she is going, even after going far in distance, she can still feel other people's sight sticking on her back.
Now despite Xue Zhuang has returned, but he has turned into a disabled, and the Xue family members alertness seem to be even more intense.
If not for Madam Sun following along today, Madam Sheng will probably not allow her to go out for such a long time by herself.
As the few of them finishes their lunch in the kitchen, Madam Wang sends of her daughter and son-in-law at the front, then bringing Madam Guo with her, coming personally to the back kitchen.
Madam Wang comes in through the door and pulls onto Xia Yue Chu's hands. "Its all thanks to you today. Even though I have tasted what you made yesterday and have also heard the menu you wrote, but the dishes today has surprised me. Even more so for others, there is no one who is not praising!"
Madam Guo chimes in. "That so true, the food is pretty and tasty, their names are all so festive and auspicious. Old Sir today has his lips curled up all day and cannot be happier!"
After saying so, Madam Wang pulls out a large chain of coins, putting it into Xia Yue Chu's hands. "Good child, thanks to you today, this is five hundred coins, consider the extra as your bonus from me."
Xia Yue Chu does not decline. She knows her own skills which is definitely worth more than this rate.
Nonetheless, since the other party has initiated to give her a pay raise from the originally negotiated three hundred coins, she gives her thanks repeatedly.
Madam Wang continues. "In another half a month's time, it will be our Old Sir's sixtieth birthday celebration. At that time, we can't miss out in inviting you to be the main chef here."
"That will not be a problem, Madam can send someone over a few days in advance to let me know, I will surely come."
She has only just earned money and has confirmed a second deal, Xia Yue Chu is thrilled in her heart.
Madam Wang has grown in her reputation in front of friends and family and her son-in-law today, currently heartily in generous mood. Telling Madam Guo to pack more steamed buns and eggs for Xia Yue Chu, even more so, using a straw rope to tie up two tails of fish and a strip of pork belly, the good stuff for Xia Yue Chu to bring back.
Seeing Xia Yue Chu turning down repeated, Madam Wang tells her. "This is for Da Zhuang to replenish his health, it is not for you, quickly take it and go back home, you must have been tired today!"
The other two kitchen assistance look at Xia Yue Chu enviously. But they understand in their hearts that her ability is real, unlike themselves who only know how to wash vegetables and cut ingredients. They cannot compare to her, even when it comes cutting the ingredients, they are not as good as her.
Madam Sun benefits from her association with Xia Yue Chu, receiving her thirty coins directly and does not need to stay behind to wash the dishes or clean up the kitchen.
She keeps the money close to her carefully and helps Xia Yue Chu to carry the basket, happily throughout the whole way home.
Before reaching the gates of the house, Madam Sun suddenly stops in her tracks and pulls Xia Yue Chu. "You wait here a little first, I will go in and take a look."
After saying so, she places the basket on the ground, goes up to the gates gingerly and sees that it is silent in the yard, there is not a single figure. Then she waves her hand at Xia Yue Chu, signalling her to hurry over.
Madam Sun tip toes to the door of the west wing, opens the door gingerly and lifts the cotton portiere, and shoots a look at Xia Yue Chu to signal her to be quick.
Xia Yue Chu carries the two baskets by herself, it takes up a lot of her strength, but she bites down hard with endurance and dashes back into the room.
Placing the baskets down in the room, the two hurriedly stash the goods in areas the are hard to be discovered. Just when they hide a good majority, they hear Madam Sheng's voice coming from outside the door.
"You two still know about coming back? Comes back without making a noise, what are you doing so secretively?"
Madam Sheng draws away the portiere and comes in, her eyes are immediately attracted to the jujube steamed buns that are placed on the stove countertop.
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Translator Notes:
*The Chinese word for 'jujube' has the same pronunciation as 'early' and 'soon'. So jujube holds a common symbolic well wishes for marriages in the Chinese culture.
Translated by Yellow. Aug 2022.