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

The Ji family is wealthy and powerful in the business world.

Shen Linfeng relies heavily on Ji Yanchuan's financial support in many matters. Unless necessary, he really doesn't want to fall out with Ji Yanchuan.

Before in Ji Mansion, he had seen Ji Yanchuan think highly of Cheng Yuntao. Although he was not sure what the relationship between the two was, he did not want to have any rift with Ji Yanchuan because of such a woman.

If today's incident cuts off my source of income, it would be more trouble than gain.

What's more, Shen Shulan has already left. Even if you turn the yard upside down, you won't find him. It would be a waste of effort.

Thinking of this, Shen Linfeng suppressed the anger in his heart: "Hmph, even if I'm giving Yan Chuan a favor today, I won't bother with you for the time being, but you'd better pray that Shen Shulan doesn't show up in Junhua City again, otherwise, next time, it won't be so easy for her to escape."

After saying this, he flicked his sleeves violently, and with his clothes fluttering, he left with his men in a mighty manner, leaving behind a slightly empty courtyard.

"Steward Mu, please wait for me for a moment."

Cheng Yuntao glanced at Mu Qingfeng, who was waiting on the side, then turned and walked quickly to the kitchen. Soon, she came out holding a pottery jar. The pottery jar was simple and heavy, and the lid was tightly closed, but even so, a strange smell still escaped from the gap.

Mu Qingfeng looked at her suspiciously, not understanding what Cheng Yuntao was going to do.

Cheng Yuntao came to Jiang Yu holding the pottery jar and earnestly instructed him, "Jiang Yu, comfort grandma and your brothers and sisters. Don't let them worry. I'll be back soon."

Jiang Yu nodded and agreed: "I'll take care of everything at home, don't worry, come back early."

Cheng Yuntao turned around and said to Mu Qingfeng calmly, "Manager Mu, let's go."

The carriage drove slowly on the bluestone road and soon stopped in front of Ji's mansion. Cheng Yun got off the carriage nimbly, and her light blue cloth skirt swayed gently with her movements.

She looked up at the magnificent vermilion lacquer gate of the Ji Mansion, followed Mu Qingfeng's footsteps, and walked into the mansion together.

Along the way, familiar pavilions, towers, winding paths and corridors came into view one after another. This was not her first time stepping into Ji Mansion. She had been there several times and was already familiar with the routes here. She was no longer as cautious as she was at the beginning and was much more relaxed.

Cheng Yuntao soon saw Ji Yanchuan. Today, Ji Yanchuan was wearing a moon-white brocade robe with exquisite black bamboo patterns embroidered on the corners. The robe swayed in the wind, like swaying green bamboo.

He was tall and slender, standing upright in front of the window. The sunlight shone on him through the carved window lattice, outlining Ji Yanchuan's angular profile.

Under the high nose bridge, the thin lips are slightly raised with a faint smile. The deep eyes are like a deep pool, showing the shrewdness of insight into the world, but also hiding a bit of casualness and unrestrainedness. Elegance and nobility are revealed in every gesture.

Seeing Cheng Yuntao, Ji Yanchuan turned around and said with a hint of sarcasm: "They say that no one comes to the temple for no reason. This is really true. Miss Yuntao usually doesn't come to me on her own initiative, but now that she has run into trouble, she thinks of me. What a trick of using the power of the tiger to bully others."

"This time it is really thanks to Boss Ji," Cheng Yuntao said respectfully with a smile on her face, "I came here specially to thank you." After saying that, she winked playfully.

Ji Yanchuan's gaze shifted to the pottery jar that Cheng Yuntao had been carefully guarding beside her. A hint of suspicion flashed in his eyes, and he raised his eyebrows and asked, "Could this be the new dish you mentioned?"

Cheng Yuntao smiled mysteriously and deliberately kept the secret: "Yes! Boss Ji, just wait and see, this food is definitely novel." After that, without waiting for Ji Yanchuan to ask any more questions, Cheng Yuntao hugged the pottery jar and walked briskly towards the kitchen.

Mu Qingfeng looked at Cheng Yuntao's departing back, frowned slightly, his face full of confusion and worry.

He approached Ji Yanchuan and lowered his voice, saying, "Master, I've been vaguely smelling a foul odor coming from that pottery jar all the way here. It's really weird. Is the stuff inside really edible?"

After hearing this, Ji Yanchuan just smiled, his eyes still following Cheng Yuntao's retreating figure: "Didn't she just tell me to wait?"

"Then wait and see what interesting food she can come up with."

……

In the kitchen, the fire is burning brightly.

Cheng Yuntao opened the pottery jar, and a rich and unique smell instantly filled the air. The jar contained the stinky tofu that she had carefully marinated for a long time.

The production process of stinky tofu is unique, and the stinky brine is the key. The ingredients include amaranth stems, bamboo shoot roots, fresh fish heads, fresh snow vegetables, ginger, licorice, peppercorns...etc.

The washed, drained, chopped, and thoroughly cooked fresh ingredients are then mixed in a specific ratio with processed licorice, Sichuan peppercorns, salt, and cold water and added to the jar. The snow vegetable doesn't need to be cooked; just wash, drain, marinate with salt, and chop it up before adding it to the jar. Once mixed, let it ferment naturally, stirring occasionally to ensure even fermentation.

When making tofu, the battering is particularly important. The braised strips should be as thin as mung beans. When battering, use a copper spoon to slowly stir the soy milk. The speed must be slow. This way, the tofu pudding is not only soft and chewy, but also has good water retention, which makes it less likely to break in the subsequent steps.

After the batter is added, scoop the tofu pudding into the ring covered with the wrapping cloth. When the amount of tofu pudding exceeds a certain height of the ring, smooth it with a bamboo stick, and then wrap the four corners of the tofu wrapping cloth tightly to cover the tofu pudding.

Stack them to a certain height and use the weight of the tofu pudding to slowly press out the water. In the middle of the process, turn the stacked tofu puddings upside down in order and continue pressing until the water is released from the puddings and drips in short lines.

After the blank is cooled, it is immersed in the smelly brine for a period of time. The smelly brine can be reused. Before use, the blank should be washed with clean water to remove impurities.

When frying, wait until the oil temperature reaches 70% hot, put the tofu into the pot, fry an appropriate number of pieces at a time, and fry them over low heat for a while until the tofu expands slightly, the surface becomes golden and hard, and the inside remains tender and white, and the bubbles caused by moisture in the pot basically disappear. At this time, remove the tofu and drain the oil, and it is considered mostly done.

To make an authentic stinky tofu, preparing the sauce is the first step.

Dried shiitake mushrooms and dried shrimps need to be finely ground into powder to add a delicious layer to the dish. Place chopped garlic and chopped green onions in a bowl, then add chili oil, appropriate amount of sugar, soy sauce, salt and water, and stir carefully until all the seasonings are fully blended. The sauce is ready for use.

Cheng Yuntao prefers the slightly thickened sauce, which is not too thick but sticks to the surface of the dried tofu just right, allowing her to taste the rich, spicy and fresh soup in every bite.

She slowly poured the prepared sauce into the pot, added an appropriate amount of starch, stirred gently, and let the sauce simmer in the pot until it became slightly sticky.

Use chopsticks to poke a few small holes on the surface of the fried stinky tofu, then slowly pour the warm sauce on it. The hot soup will slowly seep through the small holes, soaking the stinky tofu into more flavor.