Chapter 1045 - 1042: Thanks Gift

Zhao Qingqing ate with the patriarch every day, and her palate had been completely spoiled by Ye Muyu’s cooking.

Zhao Qingqing was fine, as the portion was enough for her, but the patriarch could not say the same. After finishing a dish cooked by Ye Muyu, eating the same dish prepared by their own kitchen maid just didn’t taste right somehow. However, they couldn’t simply use Ye Muyu as a kitchen maid, so they had no choice but to wait patiently for lunch each day, and they eventually got accustomed to this routine.

Zhao Qingqing hugged her arm and acted playfully, “That’s not true, Sister Ye, you don’t know how good your cooking is. I simply adore the dishes you make. If I can’t eat your food for a day, I can’t sleep!”

“Sister Ye, please accept it. I want to stay at your home for lunch today, is that okay?” Zhao Qingqing’s eyes were filled with twinkling stars, and she asked with great anticipation.

In the end, Ye Muyu nodded in agreement. She didn’t like taking advantage of others. She called Chu Ziluo to accompany Zhao Qingqing while she herself went into the kitchen to start making lunch.

Qingqing was not picky about flavors, so Ye Muyu decided to make one dish from various regions.

From Shandong cuisine, Ye Muyu chose the “Nine Turns Intestines” and “Clear Soup Swallow Vegetable”. The intestines were rarely eaten in restaurants in Great Chu because if not cleaned properly, they would have a strong taste that even nobles couldn’t stomach.

But in peasant households, they would still be eaten, at least to taste a bit of meat.

Ye Muyu herself thoroughly cleaned the intestines without letting Zhao Qingqing see, as the cleaning process was unsightly and could ruin the appetite for the final dish. For the sake of a good appetite, she naturally paid attention to these details.

From Huaiyang Cuisine, she chose the renowned “Crab Meat Lion’s Head”, and since Yuzhou was near a large river, there were fish, crabs, and shrimp available.

She also prepared “Pingqiao Tofu”, a landmark dish of Huaiyang Cuisine, naturally outstanding in its own right. Delicious and refreshing, it’s satisfying without being greasy, a light dish that pleases the palate.

Using soft tofu, she cut it into uniform rhombus-shaped pieces, paired with minced chicken, diced mushrooms, and minced cilantro, enhancing the flavor with carp brain.

Zhao Qingqing didn’t know when she and Chu Ziluo had come to the kitchen together, watching her cook and exclaiming in amazement from time to time.

“Sister Ye, where did you get these fresh greens?” Zhao Qingqing immediately noticed the fresh vegetables on the chopping board, like green onion and cilantro.

“They are from the manor’s greenhouse, where some side vegetables are grown.” Now, the shops that Ye Muyu was running were making a good profit, so she had a greenhouse built on the manor grounds, and the family’s vegetables all came from there.

“Eh, just by setting up a shed, you can grow spring and summer vegetables?” Zhao Qingqing was quite surprised when she heard it. “I read about this in a book once and even went to ask Grandfather about it.”

“Grandfather said that since Great Chu doesn’t produce colored glaze, it would be difficult to achieve. He even had the old farmers at the manor try growing them, but it required burning a lot of charcoal, which was very expensive and cost a lot of silver, so Grandfather thought it was wasteful. He said that he would only plant ahead of time when there were big banquets or celebrations at home.”

“Sister Ye, did you really manage to grow them on your manor?” Zhao Qingqing asked curiously.

Ye Muyu’s face carried a faint smile, “Actually, it’s also a colored glaze house, but only the top needs to be made of colored glaze. I just made a small warm greenhouse.”

“Sister Ye, I want to set up a warm greenhouse on the manor too, so that Grandfather can have fresh vegetables in winter.” In Zhao Qingqing’s heart, no matter what it was, Sister Ye always had a way; she was very capable.

Ye Muyu was not one to hide her knowledge; these things could be figured out with a bit of contemplation or by visiting the greenhouse at her manor, though the details would need to be experimented with gradually.

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