I was a queen in ancient times, no, a maid!

Dingxiang turned around and went back to the house to continue serving.

"My lady, you shouldn't give her any reward. Even if you give her a reward, she won't think of you."

"When beating a dog, you have to look at its owner first. Giving her money is just to save the old lady's face."

Zhao Rulan looked at the pickled fish and said, "Send the pickled fish and the eight-treasure duck to Mother Zhang."

"Keep the Matsutake Chicken Soup and Braised Pork for Second Master. Give a few of the remaining prawns to Yu'er."

Zhao Rulan had a poor appetite. She ate a bowl of bird's nest before dinner and was not very hungry at the moment.

Looking at the leftover food on the table, he picked out a few items and sent them out.

Dingxiang responded, called Xiangling, and brought the pickled fish cubes and eight-treasure duck to Zhao Rulan's wet nurse, Mother Zhang.

He also ordered a maid named Hongyan from the outer courtyard to bring the shrimps to the small kitchen.

Cheng Yu happened to be eating a big pot meal in the small kitchen.

Suddenly, the shrimps that the mistress had gifted to her were brought to her. She was naturally happy. The food her master ate was picked out by cutting off the heads and tails. The shrimps had to be well-proportioned, not too big or too small. She picked out the good-looking ones and discarded the dead or dying ones.

Only the best ingredients can produce the most delicious food.

No one dared to rush forward to eat the reward given by the lady.

This was not done by Cheng Yu himself.

If Cheng Yu did it, it would be okay for everyone to grab it.

But this rewarded food can only be eaten by the person who is rewarded. If someone else eats it, in the eyes of the lady, it would be considered as a greedy person.

I won’t ask you to do any good things in the future.

I'm afraid that you might mess up things because of your greed.

Cheng Yu could only eat three palm-sized shrimps by himself. The shrimps tasted really good, chewy and with a sweet aftertaste, without any fishy smell at all.

The three shrimps immediately made her full.

Especially Zhu'er's eyes were fixed on Cheng Yu.

"Yu'er, you got the shrimps given by the lady this time. We won't share them with you, but you should always consider the sisterly friendship between us."

Cheng Yu: "If you have something to say, just say it..."

Zhu'er: "I want to eat meat too. I want to eat hot pot. There was no meat in it last time. I want to eat more meat this time."

In the past, Cheng Yu would cook and call everyone to pick up the leftovers in the kitchen.

There is meat in the scraps, but very little. If everyone eats it, you take a chopstick at a time, and soon the meat is gone.

Not enjoying the meal.

But this time, Cheng Yu thought that she got a hundred taels of silver from her trip to the palace, and when she came back, the lady gave her a handful of gold beans.

She planned to take out some money and treat everyone to a meal.

Cheng Yu said immediately, "Okay, wait a couple of days, I'll ask the Madam for permission to go out and buy more meat, and then we can call the sisters from Lan Garden and have a hot pot with lots of meat."

Zhu'er and Taozi, who was burning the fire, were very happy.

But Taozi didn't dare to cheer, she could only look at Cheng Yu with expectation and admiration.

Mother Wang, who had not left, snorted when she heard what Cheng Yu said.

"Look, the lady gave us a lot of rewards after visiting the palace, so you are willing to spend money to feed and drink everyone."

There are many people who act in a sarcastic way, and Cheng Yu doesn't care about one more person, Mother Wang.

For example, in a company, you have performed well, received a bonus, and received gifts and praise from your boss, then your colleagues in the company are envious, jealous and resentful of you.

It's normal to say some sour words.

Excellent people always arouse jealousy.

Cheng Yu ignored Mother Wang and said with a smile: "As long as everyone works hard and is loyal to the Madam, the Madam will see it and will not treat you unfairly."

"That's right. You've seen how hard Wang Mama Yu'er works."

Pearl whispered.

Everyone was working in the Orchid Garden. Because the eldest lady loved the people who came with her dowry, she let her people eat in the small kitchen.

As per convention, the small kitchen in Lanyuan was only used to cook for Zhao Rulan.

The servants of Lanyuan all eat in the Lu family’s big kitchen.

Zhao Rulan felt sorry for them, so she used her own money to support her dowry.

The big pot meals in the small kitchen naturally didn't taste as good as what the eldest lady ate, but they were more meaty than the meals in the Lu family's big kitchen. Being able to eat meat once every three to five days was considered great.

Especially since he was originally a servant of the Lu family, he was grateful in his heart for being able to have something to eat in Lan Garden after following his new master, Zhao Rulan.

Mother Wang is the second cook in charge of the small kitchen, but Madam Li, the head chef, is only responsible for cooking and doesn't care about anything else.

Mother Wang was in charge of the small kitchen's purchases, portion quotas, and the servants' food and drink budgets.

Naturally, the people below are also afraid of Mother Wang.

I was afraid of offending her and having no food to eat in the small kitchen from now on.

People who came to eat at this time started arriving one after another.

Mother Wang continued to rant and rave.

"What you said, who doesn't work hard? If I, Wang Po, didn't work hard, I could have cooked for the Madam for many years. I am the Madam's dowry cook, and I have cooking skills."

"You are so young and you don't respect others."

Cheng Yu immediately refused to do so, "Mother Wang, think about it yourself, when have I ever disrespected you?"

Mother Wang knew that Cheng Yuli was in favor now, so she didn't dare to offend him directly.

He changed the subject, "I didn't say anything about you."

Anyone with a discerning eye knows that the person Wang is talking about is Cheng Yu.

Madam Li glanced at Mother Wang and came out to say a few words.

"Mrs. Wang, why are you arguing with the two little maids? We all work for the Madam. If the Madam knew that you, a housekeeper, were arguing with the two little maids, she would definitely think that you, Madam Wang, are bullying them. It won't do you any good."

"Besides, if nothing else, you should always consider Su Juan."

Sujuan is now the second master's concubine, making a living under the mistress.

She had just been accepted as a concubine, and her grandmother was arguing with someone in the kitchen, which had a bad influence on Su Juan.

When Madam Li and Madam Wang were in the palace, they worked together as cooks.

Later, they went to the Lu family as a dowry. Madam Li became the head chef and Madam Wang became the second chef.

Madam Li was not the type to care about things, and she let Mama Wang do whatever she wanted, so they got along quite harmoniously.

Mother Wang said nothing more. Just at this moment, Ziwei came with the people from the sewing room. Mother Wang asked someone to prepare food for Ziwei.

The maid who works for the mistress has food prepared for her when she eats.

It's the same with Dingxiang. Because she has to serve the lady in her daily life, it's easy for her to miss meal times.

In the small kitchen, a bowl of rice would be reserved for Dingxiang, including staple food and vegetables.

"Why are you all standing here instead of eating?"

Ziwei laughed, but looked at Cheng Yu, "Are you waiting for me to cook some delicious food again?"

"Sister Ziwei, not today."

Zhu'er said hurriedly, "Sister Ziwei, Yu'er said that she will treat us to a meal in two days. When she sees that there is a portion, she will spend a lot of money to treat us to hot pot, a hot pot with a lot of meat."

As Zhu'er spoke, her mouth was watering.