Records of the Cattle and Horses of Chang'an

Both mother and daughter were very fast at making dumplings, finishing one in the blink of an eye. In order to make the dumplings look more numerous, Jiang Shangxian made them only the size of his palm. If they were too big, there would not be enough dumplings, and how would they be divided?

Jiang Shangxian still knew a little bit about the rules of the cafeteria: "Mother, the meal will be served soon, you have to keep an eye on it. If there are too many people, this hand..."

She was just about to share her experience of being shaken by the window aunt in the cafeteria for several years, when she suddenly remembered that this was Dali Temple. They were eating at public expense, unlike the cowardly students who paid for meals. What if she got angry?

The words on his lips immediately changed direction: "When you serve the food later, you must keep your hands steady. Let's just do it for a few days and don't offend anyone."

As the buns were put into the steamer one by one, Jiang Shangxian began to make scrambled eggs with soy sauce. Jiang's mother went to talk to the guards at the door and told them to go and announce that dinner was ready. The buns only needed to be steamed for eight minutes and scrambled eggs could be eaten just as quickly. If they went to call for help now, the eggs would be hot out of the pot when they arrived.

The cafeteria of Dali Temple is more upscale than modern fast food restaurants. Everyone has a wooden tray and can order whatever dish they want, one dish per plate.

The exhausted Dali Temple runners were shocked to hear that the cafeteria was open for meals. They thought that they would have to find ways to eat before the end of the annual leave. It was not that they were reluctant to spend money, as the employee benefits of the Dali Temple were quite good. There were subsidies for business trips and overtime work on holidays. The main problem was the hassle. They were already tired enough, and now they had to buy their own meals.

Come on, why would they bother thinking about what to eat today? That's a problem for the chefs at the Dali Temple and the wives at home. They just need to complain about the food not being tasty enough.

After being taught a good lesson, when they heard that the canteen was ready for lunch, they all ran out faster than the other, jumping out of the rest room and rushing to the canteen. Before they even entered the door, they started shouting: "Hey, Lao Ding, you're back! If you don't come back, we'll starve!"

"Yeah, you ran away from Chang'an during the New Year. It's really hard for us!"

"What did you cook today that smells so good? You old man, I know I'm sorry..." The man said halfway, but after seeing the person inside, he choked back the rest of his words.

Why are there two women?

The yamen runners all slowed down their pace, their faces looking a little confused. Many of them even suspected that they were tired and dizzy. How could that fat and greasy Lao Ding suddenly turn into a delicate woman?

They rubbed their eyes and were about to say something to ease the awkwardness when they heard the sound of greetings coming from behind them: "Shaoqing Cui, Sizhi Wang..."

Now that the leader has arrived, they naturally have to step aside to make way. Cui Bianxu still has no expression on his face, but there is a hint of excitement and joy in his eyes - that's what it feels like!

Wang Leisheng yawned and lazily greeted them: "Alright, this is the master chef from Lexianlou that Cui Shaoqing specially invited back. Be well behaved and don't offend him."

If he let these rough guys scare the young lady away, he estimated that they would drag his own cook to take the blame, and his wife would definitely not let him off. He couldn't help shivering at the thought.

Jiang Shangxian immediately broke into a huge smile when he saw Cui Bianxu. As a man, it was worth keeping a good face until he had completely won over the woman. "Shaoqing, what do you want?"

"Well, thank you for your hard work. Someone from the mansion will come over to help you out later."

Cui Bianxu stared at the soft and fluffy steamed buns filled with braised pork, and his whole body softened along with the plump white buns: "This steamed bun is different from the usual ones."

(Steamed cakes in the Tang Dynasty were a type of pasta similar to steamed buns. They were small in size and relatively delicately crafted. They came in two varieties: stuffed and unstuffed. Sweet ones had jujube and walnut fillings, while savory ones had scallion and pork fillings.)

"It's made with homemade braised pork and chopped green onions. It's delicious. How many would you like, young master?"

Cui Bianxu looked at the young lady in front of him, standing there prettyly, with a soft and lovely voice and a sweet smile. He felt an itchy feeling in his heart, and immediately clenched his fists with great enthusiasm: "Fifteen!"

Miss Jiang came to the Dali Temple to cook so many meals for his entrustment. He must eat more to repay her kindness!

Jiang's mother took a deep breath and calmly looked at the five braised pork buns she had just hidden. She thought to herself that she was lucky that she had hidden five. Otherwise, if everyone ate like Cui Shaoqing, how would she get a share?

She was planning to bring these five home for everyone to try! She knew Cui Shaoqing had a good appetite and could eat a lot on New Year's Eve, but she was still shocked at this moment - without a son, the family really couldn't afford to support him!

Jiang Shangxian knew his appetite, so fifteen shouldn't be a problem. He took two plates and stacked the buns on them while saying, "A bowl of corn porridge, Shun Shun? And two side dishes, that'll be enough."

"Well, it's up to you."

Corn porridge is common, but those two dishes are new to me: "The pickled mustard is fresh, and the color is so crisp and tender."

(Zhu means pickled vegetables. Rich people in the Tang Dynasty could eat many kinds of vegetables in winter, but poor people could only eat pickled vegetables.)

"Yes, Shaoqing, if you like it, I'll bring you some later. This is best eaten with porridge."

Well, it’s actually not bad to eat with noodles. Tsk, Jiang Shangxian decided to make shredded chicken noodles and twice-cooked pork noodles for breakfast tomorrow. These two are also very delicious when paired with sweet and sour kimchi!

Wang Leisheng couldn't wait to see them start chatting. He chuckled and glanced at Cui Bianxu before speaking, "Ms. Jiang, I'm in the same boat with Cui Shaoqing. I want three of these steamed buns."

"Yes, Wang Sizhi, please wait a moment." Jiang Shangxian and his mother put all the prepared food on Cui Bianxu's tray, and quickly started serving food to the people behind.

Cui Bianxu glanced at Wang Leisheng with disdain, then walked away with the tray in his hand. "What a useless guy! What's the point of three steamed buns? You'll be hungry soon after eating such a small amount!"

Wang Leisheng, who was indulging in the aroma of food, didn't know that he was being despised. Even if he knew, he could only cry out for injustice. Cui Shaoqing was still too young and had not experienced the baptism of time. He didn't understand that once a man gets older, he will become weaker and his appetite will decrease!

If he dares to eat fifteen steamed buns, we will have to ask Doctor Ning to come over and take care of him!

However, Wang Leisheng only wanted three buns, but Jiang's mother secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing that there were so many people behind, if everyone was like Cui Shaoqing, how could the buns be enough?

When Lu Xingzhou got his meal, he asked for even less. Apart from the other standard items, he only wanted two braised pork buns. Mother Jiang felt more relieved and thought, "Okay, that should be enough."

Unfortunately, she thought of this idea too early!

Lu Xingzhou also ordered five meals for his five colleagues at the morgue...