Why am I, a cook, always involved in cases?

On that rare morning, Lin Zhiruo lightly stepped over the dusty threshold of the imperial kitchen.

In front of her, the lazy cook was still standing there, as if time had stopped and had not passed.

The cook's voice was gentle and melodious, like a spring breeze:

"Long time no see, Miss. The breath of spring has quietly climbed up the branches, and even the air is filled with gentle warmth."

The cook, who usually looked a little tired, poured tea leisurely while using a precious cookbook as a tray and slowly handed it over.

Lin Zhiruo couldn't help but be shocked:

"Oh, how could you ruin something so precious like this?"

She hurried forward and carefully took the tea and book.

The imperial kitchen was still as deserted as ever, with only the cook guarding this world alone.

It is truly awe-inspiring that she has managed to hold on to this position, a position that is practically deserted.

"The air of spring is still faint, and the chill remains."

Lin Zhiruo gently placed the laundry basket on the table.

The season has not yet fully warmed up, and even the flowers that dare not bloom in winter are still waiting for their opportunity.

If the air of spring was already thick, it was perhaps because of the cook's plump figure, which added a touch of warmth to this deserted place.

With the change of seasons, the busy picking season is about to begin, but before that, Lin Zhiruo has an important matter in her mind that needs to be addressed.

She came to the imperial kitchen this time just for this matter.

In fact, she didn't have to deal with these trivial matters as soon as she came back, but the other party's casual personality made her helpless.

"Oh, miss, you just arrived. Are you going to be busy again?"

The cook saw Lin Zhiruo taking something out of the laundry basket and couldn't help but ask curiously.

"You have the nerve to ask."

What Lin Zhiruo took out from the basket was a complete set of exquisite cleaning tools and as much bamboo charcoal as possible.

"Come, give this house a thorough clean."

There was a determined light in Lin Zhiruo's eyes, and her tone was firm and unquestionable.

It’s really a headache. It seems that the two months of rigorous training at Henghua have left a deep impression on Lin Zhiruo.

Lin Zhiruo had nothing to do in the Glazed Palace, so she came to this place where she could sweat to her heart's content.

She had long realized that this place was in urgent need of improvement, and once the enthusiasm was ignited, it was like a horse running wild, difficult to stop.

"what?"

The cook's face turned gloomy in an instant, but Lin Zhiruo didn't care.

The cook is not a bad person, she can even be said to be a kind-hearted person.

But in Lin Zhiruo's eyes, being a good person does not mean being capable.

Behind the room where the cook lives, there is a food storage room, where three walls are occupied by food cabinets. To Lin Zhiruo, it is simply a paradise on earth, but it is not perfect.

There are always many ingredients in the storehouse, but they are all used by the cook.

Many ingredients are covered in dust or eaten by insects because they have not been used for a long time.

For dry food ingredients, moisture is their natural enemy. If you are not careful, they will rot and spoil.

As the weather warms, humidity will become more rampant.

If you don't clean it up before then, you will regret it later.

Lin Zhiruo was not a person who liked cleaning. She often came to the imperial kitchen because there were many entertainment activities there and she didn't need to get involved.

But today, she had to do it.

Lin Zhiruo waved the duster in her hand while burning with a sense of mission.

She felt as if she had been deeply influenced by Henghua, but she could do nothing about it.

"Miss, you don't need to worry so much. You can ask someone else to do such a small thing..."

The cook's lack of motivation in her words made Lin Zhiruo unable to help but give Quan Wushuang the same look she usually gave him.

In short, it is like looking at a pond full of mosquito larvae with disgust.

"Uh!"

The cook's mustache trembled with fear and she looked completely undignified.

Although she is a cook, she is the superior after all. I have to at least show some respect to her on the surface when dealing with her, otherwise I might not even be able to eat pancakes next time she comes.

The snacks in the harem are always mostly sweet, and salty and fragrant ones are rare.

"It's certainly possible to ask someone else to do it for you, but what if someone takes advantage of the situation and swaps out the ingredients?"

Upon hearing this, the cook fell silent.

If that were really the case, then Lin Zhiruo's unauthorized entry and exit to clean was indeed inappropriate, but she chose not to mention a word.

She couldn't be kicked out.

The cook who was on good terms with the food and medicine official seemed to have been punished for having too few poisonous mushrooms.

However, Gao Zhongcheng said that because of his excellent cooking skills, he was not fired, but was only punished by having his salary reduced.

Lin Zhiruo brushed off the dust, opened the food cabinets one by one, and wiped the inside with a dry cloth until they looked brand new.

She discarded the ingredients that were obviously spoiled and wrote down their names one by one on wooden slips.

Rewrap the ingredients with new wrapping paper and put them back in their original place.

As for those tasks that require physical labor, they are left to the cook.

Lin Zhiruo's foot injury has not yet fully healed, and the cook is a little fat, so this is a good opportunity for her to exercise.

Lin Zhiruo secretly praised, "This paper is of really good quality."

Paper that can be preserved for a long time is very expensive, and the paper sold on the market is almost all crude products that are discarded after use.

Not only could they only be used once, but they were also difficult to preserve, so common people often used wooden slips to record things.

Firewood was available everywhere, and some of it was cut into thin slices for easier ignition. People used it to write and then burned it directly as firewood after use.

In the past, this country even exported paper abroad, but the late emperor... or more precisely, his mother, the empress, had issued an order prohibiting the felling of trees used to make high-quality paper.

Although the regulations have been slightly relaxed now, the amount of logging is still insufficient.

Why did the Queen ban the felling of trees?

It is said that no one dared to ask such questions to the Queen at that time.

Now, since there are still restrictions, Lin Zhiruo believes that there must be a reason.

Therefore, except for some high-end products, the rest of the paper is made from other wood, grass or rags.

Since the raw materials extracted by these methods are far less abundant than trees, and the processing is cumbersome and time-consuming, they are expensive.

As a result, many crude products made with shoddy materials appeared, leading to the general public believing that paper was expensive and difficult to use, and its evaluation was very low.

Therefore, although paper is more convenient to use, its penetration rate is still less than half.

"Is the cleaning done, miss?"

Seeing Lin Zhiruo take a breath, the cook asked happily.

"Not yet, half is not yet finished."

After all, there were so many kinds of food that it would be difficult to clean them all up in one day, so Lin Zhiruo left the remaining work for tomorrow.

She placed the bamboo charcoal she brought in the room to dehumidify.

Because the quantity was insufficient, she asked the cook to order more.

The cook seemed exhausted, pounding her shoulders while searching for snacks in the cupboard.

She poured some fruit juice from the ceramic jar into a cup and handed it to Lin Zhiruo.

“When you are tired, you need sweet comfort food.”