Is the beginning of a catastrophe? The little farm cook is raising a family with a full warehouse.

This Ji Mansion is Ji Yanchuan's territory. Although he has to maintain friendly relations with Shen Linfeng for some business matters, it does not mean that the other party can do whatever he wants on his territory.

Just when he wanted to stand up for Cheng Yuntao and rebuke Shen Linfeng's unreasonable request, Cheng Yuntao smiled calmly and said, "No problem."

This relaxed response made Shen Linfeng's eyes flash with surprise. He had been certain she would look hesitant or even refuse, but he hadn't expected her to accept so readily. He felt an inexplicable curiosity, wanting to see just how capable this woman was, so he suggested, "I want to watch you cook."

Cheng Yuntao remained calm, nodded slightly, and said calmly: "No problem, Mr. Shen, please go ahead." After that, she took the lead and walked towards the kitchen, her steps steady and without a trace of panic.

After hearing Shen Linfeng's request, the first thing that popped into Cheng Yuntao's mind was the unique Dai-style sour braised vegetables.

The acid mainly comes from the sour water of pickled vegetables and diced tomatoes.

The pickled vegetables are fermented for a long time, resulting in a rich, mellow sour flavor that hits the palate instantly, leaving a lingering sour aroma. The tartness of the diced tomatoes adds a refreshing and lively layer to the overall sourness, complementing each other to create a rich yet refreshing sourness.

Sweetness, mainly provided by brown sugar.

During the cooking process, the brown sugar slowly melts, its subtle sweetness permeating the dish and blending with the other flavors. This sweetness isn't overly cloying, but rather perfectly balances the acidity, giving the dish a mellow texture and a more harmonious overall flavor.

The bitterness comes from the bitter vegetable moss.

The bitterness of dandelion is refreshing and unique. This bitterness is not unbearable, but adds a different charm to the dish. It collides and blends with other flavors, enriches the taste level, and brings a different taste experience.

Spicy, provided by millet chili.

The spiciness of millet pepper is moderate and the aroma is rich. The spiciness and sourness complement each other. The sourness makes the spiciness have a longer aftertaste, and the spiciness adds a hot stimulation to the sourness. At the same time, it is cleverly balanced with the sweetness and bitterness, making the sour, sweet, bitter and spicy taste perfectly blended in the mouth.

The spare ribs are the soul ingredient of this dish. The tender meat absorbs the flavors of various ingredients during the stewing process, becoming tender, juicy and full of flavor.

The aroma of the ribs permeates the dish as it stews, blending with the flavors of the other ingredients to create a rich and mellow base for the entire dish. The coriander sprinkled at the end not only adds a touch of fresh color but also brings a unique aroma, further enriching the flavor of the dish.

Coming to the kitchen, Cheng Yuntao skillfully tied an apron and began to prepare the ingredients in an orderly manner.

She first reached out to pick up the ribs and placed them neatly on the chopping board. With a wave of her hand and a drop of the knife, accompanied by a crisp "click", the ribs were precisely cut into small pieces of uniform size. The thickness of each piece was almost the same, and the cut was flat and smooth.

Gently pinch the roots of the dandelion with your slender fingers, remove the yellowed parts, then tear the long dandelion into inch-long pieces with your hands and neatly stack them aside for later use.

Compared with cutting it directly with a knife, the bitter vegetable moss made by hand is often more delicious and flavorful.

From the perspective of fiber structure, hand-breaking is done along the direction of the fiber, which can preserve its integrity, while knife-cutting will cut the fibers, destroy the structure, and hinder the penetration of seasonings; in terms of contact area, the cross-section formed by hand-breaking is irregular, which greatly increases the contact area with the seasoning, and is more conducive to the absorption of the seasoning flavor by the dandelion compared to the flat cross-section of knife-cutting; in terms of juice retention, the pressure of the knife during knife-cutting can easily cause a large amount of juice inside the dandelion to flow out, resulting in loss of flavor and nutrition, while hand-breaking is relatively gentle, which can reduce juice loss and better preserve the original flavor, making the dandelion taste delicious and easier to absorb after cooking.

Not only the bittercress, but also some leafy vegetables, such as cabbage and lettuce, will have a better taste and flavor if they are processed by hand.

After processing the dandelions, Cheng Yuntao picked up the tomatoes.

She picked up a sharp knife and made a cross on the top of the tomato. Then she put the tomato in hot water for a while, easily peeled off the skin, and cut it into even small dices. The diced tomato was plump and juicy, and she placed it in a porcelain bowl for later use.

Shen Linfeng stood aside with his arms folded across his chest, his eyes fixed on Cheng Yuntao's every move, his eyes filled with scrutiny and suspicion. Ji Yanchuan also followed and stood not far away, his brows still furrowed. He was worried that Cheng Yuntao wouldn't be able to cope, and he was also dissatisfied with Shen Linfeng's provocation.

Cheng Yuntao seemed unaware of their gazes and focused on preparing the ingredients.

In the kitchen, the blazing fire was leaping wildly, and the warm red flames reflected on Cheng Yuntao's face, outlining her focused expression.

Cheng Yuntao walked to the wall and steadily picked up the ceramic jar containing the pickled vegetable sour liquid. With a slight force from her wrist, the sour liquid happily flowed into the large iron pot like a lively stream. Then, she reached out and picked up the washed and drained pork ribs. With a light twist of her fingertips, she placed the ribs into the pot one by one, splashing a small amount of water with each drop.

As the fire grew stronger, the flames licked the bottom of the pot affectionately. A slight "sizzling" sound first came from the pot, but after a moment, it turned into a "gurgling" sound.

At the same time, white foam continued to emerge from the bottom of the pot and quickly floated to the surface. Seeing this, Cheng Yuntao quickly picked up the colander beside her, shook her wrist lightly, and accurately inserted the colander into the pot, gently skimming off the foam.

Her movements were smooth and seamless, without a trace of delay.

After skimming off the foam, Cheng Yuntao turned and walked to the vegetable basket. She gently picked up the tender green and fresh dandelion sprouts with both hands and threw them into the pot. The moment the dandelion sprouts were put into the pot, the originally monotonous sour water instantly gained some vitality.

Then, she turned and picked up the porcelain bowl of diced tomatoes. With a flick of her wrist, the vibrant red of the tomatoes contrasted with the tender green of the dandelions, adding a richer color palette. She then added crushed brown sugar and salt, covered the pot, and turned the stove to medium-low.

It only takes three quarters of an hour to prepare the delicious meal.

The wait was somewhat long and boring. Ji Yanchuan invited Shen Linfeng to move aside and rest for a while, waiting for the moment when the food came out of the pot to find out what was going on. The two of them sat down in the side hall. The servants quickly served fragrant tea. The lingering tea fragrance rose up, but it failed to dispel the subtle tension in the air.

Shen Linfeng picked up the teacup and took a sip. His eyes passed through the swirling hot steam and fell on Ji Yanchuan. A faint smile appeared on the corner of his mouth: "Yanchuan, the cook in your house is really interesting. I want to see how capable she is."