Records of the Cattle and Horses of Chang'an

"Master, let me get it!"

Before Jiang Shangxian even reached the place, Zhou Ying noticed it with his sharp eyes. He casually threw the linen cloth in his hand over his shoulder, trotted out of the small kitchen, and came to greet him. He eagerly wanted to take the wooden box: "Master, if you need anything moved, just call me. There is no need to do it yourself."

Jiang Shangxian, who was so young and had been treated with such filial piety, handed over the big box in his hand very naturally and asked with a smile, "Are Xiao Wang and Xiao Li here?"

"Here they are, my senior and junior brothers are working inside."

Zhou Ying had been working as a waiter at the front for a long time, and he was always in the habit of nodding and bowing when talking to people, with a very humble attitude even when smiling. Jiang Shangxian really wanted to help him change.

But there is no need to rush. Once you have mastered the skills and gained confidence, your bent back will naturally straighten up over time.

"Master."

"Well, how is the fermented tofu from yesterday?" The first thing a worker does when he arrives at his post is to pay attention to the progress of the work. Jiang Shangxian feels that he is very dedicated to his job.

But when she asked this, the three disciples looked at each other, twisting their clothes and not daring to speak. It was Wang Wan who bravely stepped forward and replied, "Master, there's something wrong with that tofu. It looks like it's gone bad."

"It's broken?" Jiang Shangxian was startled. He quickly walked to the bamboo tray where the tofu was placed, opened the lid, leaned over to examine it carefully, and breathed a sigh of relief: "It's not broken."

Wang Wan followed and said with tears in his eyes: "It's all hairy."

Things that have grown hair cannot be eaten. So much tofu has been wasted. The three of them came and saw it early in the morning. Just now, the three of them were still reflecting on what went wrong.

It’s not that I’m afraid of being scolded, but I’m afraid of being returned.

What if the master sees that they can’t even do such a small thing and gets angry and doesn’t want them?

"That's right." Jiang Shangxian put the lid back. He had been so busy yesterday that he forgot to tell his disciples, "White hair will grow during fermentation. You saw a thin layer of white hair on the tofu, right?"

"Yes, Master, but it has grown hair, so it's broken, right?" Zhou Ying put the box on the table and came over.

"Other things are likely to go bad if they grow hair, but we're making rose fermented bean curd, so we need to use moldy tofu, which has to have white hair. Wait until the tofu is covered with white hair tomorrow, and then we can use it. How's the potato pulp we ground yesterday?"

Jiang Shangxian strolled to the corner, where there was a large water tank.

"Master, the starch has turned red." Wang Wan lifted the linen covering it.

"Okay, pour out all the water and replace it with new water. Wait until it sinks to the bottom and then change the water again. Change it five or six times, and the water will be clear and white. Then take it out and put it on linen to dry, crush it and you can use it."

She had tried all of these at home, but she had never done such a large amount. However, it was not difficult, just a bit of effort.

"Come, let's try new dishes today." After inspecting yesterday's work, Jiang Shangxian prepared to start making new dishes.

Wang Wan and the other two were a little confused. They learned a lot of things yesterday, but there were still three dishes that they were not very proficient in. They were not sure if they were asked to cook them themselves, and today they had to cook new dishes again.

It’s not that they are unhappy. After all, no master is as generous as Jiang Shangxian. He learns new things every day, and they are afraid that they will not be able to remember them.

Jiang Shangxian ignored them. She had been craving this thing since she thought about it yesterday. She had been in the Tang Dynasty for half a year and had only eaten ordinary food. This time she wanted to get something special - Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.

Of course, she had only eaten the semi-finished simplified version of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall in modern times, and the taste was not very good, with a taste of technology and hard work.

The soup base is milky white with a layer of yellow grease floating on top. This is actually not authentic. The authentic Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, the kind served at state banquets, has a brown soup base and there will be no yellow grease floating on top.

She had originally thought about doing it herself, but even in modern times it is extremely troublesome and luxurious. Fortunately, now that she is here, she can give it a try.

The dignitaries of the Tang Dynasty would certainly be willing to pay for such a dish that uses a lot of high-end ingredients and takes a lot of time and process to stew.

This was also what she thought of when she was summarizing her work before going to bed last night. If you want to earn the money of rich people, you must use precious ingredients and make complicated things.

Ordinary dishes don’t work, so she has to make this kind of dish. She has already made up her mind that after Buddha Jumps Over the Wall is released, she will make Northeastern cuisine.

Well, the kind before 1988, the kind that would be a prison guide starting from five years in modern times.

"Xiao Wang, go get an old hen, an old Muscovy duck, and some chicken feet on a plate to clean up the mess. Xiao Zhou, go get some pork bones, pork ribs, pork trotters, mutton, some lean meat, two fish, and some pig skin."

Jiang Shangxian counted on his fingers, thinking about the ingredients he would need. "Xiao Li, go get the quail eggs, dried flower mushrooms, and a bottle of rice wine."

After she finished speaking, she turned around and saw her three disciples staring at her blankly without moving. She frowned and said, "Why? Can't you remember?"

"No, it's not."

Zhou Ying was a waiter, and he was very familiar with the names of dishes. This was not difficult for him. Not only did he have to take the dishes he wanted, he also remembered the names of his fellow apprentices. But the question was, "Master, how many new dishes are you going to make today?"

With so many ingredients, they really can’t learn how to cook them all!

"Just one! Go quickly!"

Jiang Shangxian didn't plan to explain to them right now. The only way to learn stove work properly was to observe it firsthand, do it yourself, and ask questions when you didn't understand. Explaining more now would be a waste of words.

So after giving the instructions, she opened the wooden box given to her by Manager Wang. Inside were five neatly arranged small pottery jars. Each one was covered with oil paper, tied with a rope, and then closed with a lid to ensure that the contents would not spill out.

She opened them one by one and checked them. There were sea cucumbers bigger than her palm, white fish maw, 13-head golden abalone, golden hook shark's fin, scallops, and fish lips. If these were dried goods, she would definitely not be able to make new dishes today. Therefore, when she talked to Manager Wang yesterday, she directly asked for the ones that had been soaked.

Wang Wan and the other two came back with a lot of things, filling up the old wooden table in the small kitchen in one go, and they also brought several little tails.

They were all apprentices from next door, and they didn't dare to come in to take a look. They just stood on tiptoe outside the door, craning their necks to watch curiously.

They had seen Jiang Shangxian cooking on the day of the interview and knew what ingredients to use. She suddenly took out so much today, so they naturally wanted to know what she was going to do.

When they were accepting disciples yesterday, although they didn't stand up, they were hesitant and unsure whether Jiang Shangxian could make many delicious dishes.

They also planned to observe for a period of time. If Jiang Shangxian was really powerful, they would come and become his disciples.

Of course, this is wishful thinking! Jiang Shangxian is not planning to take on any more disciples.

She didn't chase them away. After all, they wouldn't be able to watch for long because they would have to go back to work. Otherwise, the master chefs over there would definitely scold them when they came to work.

"Come, chop the old hen, old Muscovy duck, and pork ribs into pieces, chop the pork bones in half, and cut the mutton and lean meat into pieces." She told her apprentices to work, and she took two fish and walked to the stove.

This fish has to be fried in oil before it can be used.

Wang Wan and the other two were full of questions, but fortunately, in this era, respecting teachers is particularly strict. Once you become a disciple, the teacher's words often carry more weight than your own parents.

They did whatever the master said and each of them chopped the ingredients. With more hands on deck, they worked faster. By the time Jiang Shangxian finished frying the fish and switched to another stove to boil water, they had finished.

Li Meng ran over silently to light the fire for her, while Zhou Ying went to wash the dirty pot.

As the eldest senior brother, Wang Wan still had some status. He came over with the cut food and said, "Master, everything is ready."

"Yeah." Jiang Shangxian took a look and thought it was okay. She had never done it before anyway. She just taught herself by watching a lot of teaching videos. To be honest, it was her first time doing it.

"Come on, pour it all in, bring it to a boil, take it out, put it back in the pot, add some oil and stir-fry, then add some water to stew."

She decided to direct her apprentices to do it. It didn't require much technical skills, and the main problem was that her arms were still sore.

This is lactic acid accumulation. It is the same in modern times. When I was in college, their dormitory was on the 7th floor, and the girls' suitcases were full of things and very heavy.

Every time school starts or goes on vacation, she has to carry the weight on her own. The pain will last for three days and she will groan even when she sleeps at night.

By the time the soup base for Buddha Jumps Over the Wall started to simmer, it was already time for the meal and the orders from the front had all arrived. They were a little less busy today than yesterday.

The main reason was that Jiang Shangxian had taken them to prepare some ingredients yesterday, and today they just had to stir-fry three dishes, and he was still able to do it with ease.

Shopkeeper Wang came to take a look, but unfortunately Buddha Jumps Over the Wall is just a Kung Fu dish that does not require high technical skills and only takes time and ingredients. Therefore, Shopkeeper Wang left with some disappointment.

This is what is called letting the flavorful ones out and letting the tasteless ones in.

At noon, a young man in front came running over and said, "Master Jiang, someone is looking for you outside!"

Jiang Shangxian then remembered that her mother had said yesterday that she would take her to the Yue Lao Temple to register. Tsk, she slapped her head and realized that she had actually forgotten about it. She had not yet asked for leave from Manager Wang.

Wang Wan, the man in the cotton-padded jacket, immediately said considerately, "Disciple, wrap some food in oil paper and let Master take it with him on the way. The shopkeeper has gone to rest now. When he comes back later, I will talk to him."

This is the time when the restaurant employees have lunch. Although Manager Wang stays in Lexianlou every day, he has a family after all. He will still go home to rest and communicate with his wife and children when there are no customers.

"Okay, I'll be leaving now. Please keep an eye on the soup base. I'll be back soon."

Jiang Shangxian was even more pleased with Wang Wan. What was this called? It was like having connections in the court made things easier. As long as the connections were on one's side, they were like little angels!

Normally, she would go out and slack off on the second day after work, so she was still a little uneasy. However, with her apprentice Wang Wan around, she felt that she could sneak away for a while. After all, Anxingfang was right next to her, so she could just go and come back quickly.

Jiang Shangxian hurried forward with two oil-paper bags. There were only two waiters guarding the lobby, and the rest went to the back to eat and rest. Jiang's mother stood in the corner outside the gate, looking inside with a shiver.

"Mother, why don't you go in and wait?" She handed over two oil-paper bags. "Take them back later and have them as a snack tonight."

Jiang's mother took the oil-paper package, glanced into the restaurant, and quickly put it into the bamboo basket she was carrying. She covered it with a cloth and hurried towards Anxingfang, pulling her along. "You child, you didn't even know how to take food out secretly!"

"Don't worry, mother." Jiang Shangxian gently broke free from her hand and walked quickly alongside her: "The shopkeeper has gone to rest, and there are only two young men ahead."

"That won't do either. It won't be good if someone sees us." Jiang's mother didn't think there was anything wrong with the cook taking some food, but she was afraid that it would have a bad influence if someone saw us.

After all, no one can go hungry, but the cook can. Haven't you seen how those chefs look plump and sleek? Many people choose this profession simply to eat well and be well fed.

This can be considered a kind of customary professional benefit. If Jiang Shangxian didn't steal food from home, Jiang's mother would feel at a disadvantage!

"Hurry up!" Jiang's mother kept urging, "I heard that a powerful Taoist priest has come to the Yue Lao Temple. He's an amazing fortune teller and interprets the divination for six people with whom he's destined to meet."

"Six?" Jiang Shangxian breathed a sigh of relief, as most of his wallet was saved.

But he still had to be polite, so he pretended to be very regretful and said, "It's already this late, and there are only six of us. I'm afraid it won't be my turn."

"It's okay if it's not your turn. Today was supposed to be the day to pick up the marriage belt. You're only fourteen, so there's no need to rush."

Jiang Shangxian paused, looking at his own legs, which were moving so fast, and then at Jiang's mother's fat legs, which were twisting and turning, leaving afterimages. "Why are we so anxious?"

"Hey, just for fun. I haven't seen those Taoist priests cheating people in years. I wonder if their tricks have changed."

Jiang Shangxian:? ? ?

She was worried that the results of feudal superstition would be disappointing, so she prepared some words of comfort.

Jiang's mother clearly had her own theory: "When it comes to praying to a deity, you pray first, and if it works, then you go and fulfill your wish. If it doesn't work, you go to another deity."

Well, this is hard to review.