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

Cheng Yu brought a few kitchen people and a few charcoal stoves.

"This dish tastes better when it's freshly baked. I and the others will wait in the kitchen for the feast to begin."

After Cheng Yu finished speaking, he took the lead and picked up a piece of venison, put it on the charcoal stove, and when it was almost cooked, he wrapped it in a slice of apple and put it on the plate.

Zhao Rulan said, "Give it to the old lady first."

Xiangling brought it to the old lady.

"Everyone, follow me and bake like this."

After Cheng Yu finished speaking, maids also stood beside Qiuwen in front of the old lady, Qiuyue in front of Sun, Lu Yuner and Lu Tiancheng.

Lu Zhaowen: This was prepared by a maid in the old lady's room.

Today, the Lu family prepared two tables for the New Year’s Eve dinner.

The masters were sitting at this table, while at another small table sat several illegitimate sons and daughters of the main house.

The old man of the Lu family had two concubines, each of whom gave birth to two children. Both women got married, and some of them have become grandmothers at this age. As for the old lady's illegitimate sons, they were divided up after they got married.

The old man is gone, and the old lady has no affection for her illegitimate son.

During the holidays, the concubine's sons and daughters-in-law would bring their children to pay New Year's greetings, and the old lady would give them some things and money.

If anyone had ever been unhappy and came to complain about being poor, the old lady would give them some money.

But this New Year, they are not treated as one family.

The woman in Lu Zhaowen's room has not come out yet, which means she has not come.

There were several unfavored illegitimate sons and daughters sitting at that small table. The wife of the eldest wife was not qualified to attend the New Year's Eve dinner.

But today is New Year's Eve after all, so no matter whether it is the young lady of the Lu family or the servants, the dinner is quite sumptuous.

Today's meal includes meat, fish and plenty of white rice.

Only after serving his masters the roasted venison did Cheng Yu have time to rest.

"Not bad, let's see..."

The old lady was very satisfied with the meal, especially the roasted venison.

"Thank you, old lady." Cheng Yu said obediently.

"How did you come up with the recipe for this dish?" the old lady asked with a smile.

Cheng Yu said, "What I'm thinking is that the weather is cold now. If we grill the meat in advance, it will be cold and hard, which will affect the taste. Grilling it on the spot will taste the best. Grilled meat is usually greasy, so pairing it with apple slices will give it a sweet and sour apple fragrance, which will help to relieve the greasiness."

"That's a good idea. I like the food you cook more and more. If it weren't for Lan Niang being pregnant and unable to leave you, I would have wanted to come over."

Cheng Yu laughed inwardly.

You just like the food I cook.

My wife is different from you. She really cares about people.

I don't want to go.

Cheng Yu didn't say anything, but Zhao Rulan said, "Mother likes the food Yu'er cooks, so just send someone to learn a few dishes from Yu'er. Yu'er is my maidservant who came with me as a dowry, and we have always had a deep relationship. I can't bear to give her to anyone else."

The old lady didn't know what to say when she saw how Zhao Rulan was protecting Cheng Yu.

Lu Zhaowen ate delicious food and was in a good mood, and he drank some wine with Lu Tiancheng.

Zhao Rulan, who already hated the smell of alcohol, disliked him even more.

Ziwei took Zhijin to eat first, and after the meal she came to exchange Dingxiang and Chengyu.

Zhao Rulan waved her hand and signaled them to go.

Only then did Cheng Yu leave with Ding Xiang.

"You really made our lady proud with the food today. Look at the roasted venison, venison tendons, and fried squab you made. Everyone loves them. I noticed that the ones that everyone eats the most are the ones you make."

Cheng Yu smiled and said, "Chef Gao's cooking is also good. As for the squirrel fish, I need to learn the knife skills for a few more years to achieve that level."

"You're not bad either. The Wensi tofu you made shows your knife skills. Can you show me your hands?"

Dingxiang said this and grabbed Cheng Yu's hand and looked at it again and again.

"I said, every time you cook this dish, there are always a few marks on the palms of your hands."

"It's okay, it will be fine after a few days.

"Recovering from an injury in winter is the most troublesome thing. You also have to cook every day, and you can't avoid touching water."

"it does not matter."

Cheng Yu didn't care much about it. As a cook, it was inevitable to get some minor scratches.

When they arrived at the big kitchen, Cheng Yu and Ding Xiang served the food and found a place to eat.

He Hua suddenly came out, took out two chicken legs and put them in front of Cheng Yu.

"All the chicken legs were taken. I said I was saving them for you. I only took two. Take them and have them."

It's better to come early and eat.

I didn’t expect there were chicken legs to eat.

Cheng Yu laughed and said, "Thank you, Lotus."

Seeing Cheng Yu and Ding Xiang eating, He Hua didn't say much, put down the chicken leg and left.

There were two chicken legs, and Cheng Yu gave one to Ding Xiang.

"Don't refuse to eat. If you don't eat, I won't call you Sister Dingxiang anymore."

Ding Xiang said, "This is given to you by someone else. How can I eat it with ease?"

"I share with you what others give me. As for the favor to Lotus, it's all mine." Cheng Yu said, taking a bite of chicken leg meat, "Sister Dingxiang, what the eldest lady said to the old lady today is likely to be done. I think instead of letting the old lady designate who to learn cooking, it's better for me to choose it myself."

Ding Xiang said, "I think you really want to teach someone to learn your cooking skills. Since you know what you are doing, just choose someone you like and who has good intentions towards you. It's always better than teaching someone who is ungrateful."

"Can I make the decision?" Cheng Yu asked.

After all, she is a servant, not a nanny who can rely on her master to choose people.

"You have the cooking skills, so you have the power to choose people."

Cheng Yu smiled lightly, "Sister Ding Xiang, I love talking to you the most. Everything you say is useful to me."

"Little girl is cheap."

Dingxiang suddenly stopped eating.

"Yu'er, you brought something for your brother. Did your brother write back to you?"

Afraid that Cheng Yu would overthink it, Dingxiang explained again.

"I was thinking, would it be okay for him to come in and ask about my mother's health?"

Dingxiang was sold to the palace when she was young. There were many sisters in the family and they could not raise so many children, so Dingxiang was sold.

She had some resentment, but she couldn't bear to see her parents and younger brothers and sisters living in such hardship, so every Mid-Autumn Festival and before the New Year, she would send someone to bring some things home.

In addition, when she was in the palace, she gave money to the maid working in the kitchen.

Her father and mother came secretly to collect the swill from the palace.

You can also make a lot of money by raising pigs with this swill.

If there is a banquet in the palace, I can get some clean food, so this job is considered a good one.

Ding Xiang's father goes there every day, so it would be more appropriate to ask Brother Cheng Yu to help ask.

Cheng Yu didn't think much about it.

"My brother hasn't replied yet. I'll write one more sentence next time I send him a message."

Cheng Bin could read a few characters, so even if he couldn't understand the letter she wrote, he could find someone who could read to take a look.

Dingxiang hummed and continued eating quickly.