You are unlucky and I am tough

Chapter 200: Top Scholar Porridge

In the private room, Cheng Jinxiu and Cheng Wanpeng were having dinner.

Cheng Jinxiu was still angry about what Cheng Shuang had said to her. Seeing that her brother ignored her, she dropped the chopsticks in her hand on the table with a crisp "pa" sound.

Her tone was full of grievance and displeasure: "Brother, that bitch Cheng Shuang scolded me, you should have slapped him twice for me just now!"

Cheng Wanpeng slowly picked up a piece of food with chopsticks, his tone filled with a bit of impatience: "Have you had enough of making trouble? We didn't come to Taibai Tower today to quarrel with that kind of people."

Cheng Jinxiu became even angrier when she heard this, and her voice rose. "But, Cheng Shuang scolded me in front of so many people, did you expect me to endure it? Are you really my brother?"

Cheng Wanpeng put down his chopsticks, frowning, and said with a warning tone: "Keep your voice down! This is Taibai Tower. If you shout like this, it will be embarrassing if someone hears you."

Cheng Jinxiu was startled by Cheng Wanpeng's tone, but she quickly regained her arrogant demeanor and snorted coldly, "Anyway, that bitch Cheng Shuang, I'm going to make her pay sooner or later!"

Cheng Wanpeng slammed the table, "Cheng Jinxiu, you are so hostile to Cheng Shuang, are you really attracted to that country bumpkin Wei Qinglang like she said?"

"How is that possible?" Cheng Jinxiu hurriedly denied, "What's so good about him besides his face? How can he be worthy of me? He makes a sour face when he sees me. He just wants to attract my attention, so I just pretend to look at him a few more times."

Cheng Wanpeng's face darkened. "It's better if you don't forget why we came here today. Your target is Xie Zhiyou, understand?"

Cheng Jin curled his lips and said, "I know. I dressed up specially today, but what should I do if he doesn't even look at me?"

"That's normal. It's not easy to win over someone like Xie Zhiyou. If you work harder, you'll have a chance."

Cheng Wanpeng said, "And I've already inquired about it. Xie Zhiyou's conditions for remarrying are very simple. As long as he likes her, family background is not important. It all depends on whether you have the ability to make him fall in love with her."

Xie Zhiyou's original wife died of hemorrhage after giving birth to a daughter three years ago. Now that three years have passed, the Xie family wants him to marry again, but he has looked at many families but has not yet settled on one.

Later, Xie Zhiyou said at a party that he would no longer continue to date and would let nature take its course. He would not marry unless he met someone he liked.

When Cheng Wanpeng heard people talking about these things, he felt that it was an opportunity. Although his family had some wealth, they were not ranked high in the provincial capital. If he could marry his sister to the head of the Xie family, then their family would be able to rise to prominence in one step and gain a firm foothold in the provincial capital.

Cheng Jinxiu brushed her hair and said confidently, "I'm only sixteen years old this year, young and good-looking, and he's already twenty-three, his wife is dead, and he has a daughter.

If it weren't for his immense wealth, I wouldn't have looked down on him. But if I put in more effort, how could he not be attracted to me?"

Cheng Wanpeng's expression softened. "That's right! Jinxiu, remember, as long as you take down Xie Zhiyou, our Cheng family will be able to prosper completely and no longer be looked down upon!"

---

After finishing their meal, Cheng Shuang and their group followed Xie Zhiyou to the kitchen of Taibai Building. The busiest time period had passed, and only a few kitchen helpers were busy in the kitchen.

Xie Zhiyou asked someone to call the chef over, "Master Li, this is my brother, his last name is Wei. He wants to teach you how to make a new dish. You should learn it well."

The chef's surname is Li. He is a middle-aged man in his forties, with a burly build and a somewhat honest face.

He looked at Wei Qinglang and said with a smile, "Mr. Wei, what dish are you going to teach us to make?"

Wei Qinglang said, "Top Scholar Congee."

Chef Li smiled and said, "That's a good name. I'm really looking forward to it. I wonder what ingredients you need? I'll ask someone to get them."

Wei Qinglang said, "Please give me fresh pork, pig heart, pig liver, pig intestines, pig kidneys, pig stomach, flour, white vinegar, white wine, and ginger."

Chef Li frowned as he listened to these things and looked at Xie Zhiyou. Seeing him nod, he turned around and went out to prepare.

Taibai Building consumes a lot of pork, so a cooperating butcher shop slaughters a whole pig and delivers it every day. The kitchen has everything Wei Qinglang wants, and they are placed on the table in a short while.

After preparing all the ingredients, Chef Li couldn't help but ask, "Master Wei, can these things really make delicious porridge?"

Pig offal has a strong fishy smell and customers generally don't like to eat it. A few months ago, the chef learned to use wood ash and flour to clean pig intestines, and then learned to use the same method to develop other dishes made with pig offal.

Among them, the most popular one is the stewed pork belly chopped up and fried with side dishes. The others are just average, requiring heavy oil, salt and chili to taste good. Some customers like it, while others still find it difficult to get used to the taste.

Will it be delicious if these things are added together to make porridge?

Wei Qinglang didn't say much, walked straight to the stove and started preparing the ingredients.

Cheng Shuang asked the chef to call someone over to help light the fire, and then she followed over, rolled up her sleeves and helped wash the ingredients.

First, soak the pig's stomach in water with a little salt for a while. Then, use flour and white vinegar to clean the intestines. After the time is up, turn the preliminarily cleaned pig's stomach over to remove the fat inside. Add some white vinegar and use your hands to evenly clean off the mucus. Then add some flour and rub it again with your hands.

After cleaning the pig's stomach, intestines, kidneys and heart, put them in the pot, add ginger slices and a little white wine and white vinegar, cover the pot and light the fire.

Bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer on low heat for half a quarter of an hour, remove the other ingredients except the pig's stomach, and continue to simmer the pig's stomach on medium heat for a quarter of an hour.

Afterwards, Cheng Shuang washed the plump new rice, chose a large ceramic casserole, added appropriate amount of water and started to cook porridge on the stove.

Wei Qinglang cut a small bowl of shredded ginger, cut the pork and liver into thin slices, mixed them evenly with cornstarch, soy sauce and other seasonings, and marinated them for a quarter of an hour.

When the time is up, take the pig stomach out of the pot and rinse it with cold water, then cut the pig stomach, pig heart and pig kidney into thin strips.

Wei Qinglang's knife skills are average but his movements are skillful and he works very efficiently.

The two have clear division of labor and work well together.

Chef Li stood by and watched intently, unable to resist asking, "The pig offal smells strong, are you using ginger slices, white wine, and vinegar to remove the fishy smell?"

Cheng Shuang used a spoon to stir the porridge in the clay pot to prevent it from sticking. "Yes, blanching it this way will be the best way to remove the fishy smell."

Chef Li nodded and took careful note.

When the porridge in the pot is about 70% to 80% cooked and becomes thick, put all the prepared ingredients into the pot, keep stirring evenly and simmer for half a quarter of an hour over medium heat.

As the ingredients were put into the pot, the aroma gradually emanated. Xie Zhiyou and Qin Suyue, who were sitting in the yard outside drinking tea and chatting, smelled the aroma and walked in. The other kitchen helpers were also attracted by the aroma and came over to watch.

Calculating the time, Wei Qinglang added an appropriate amount of salt and finally sprinkled a handful of chopped green onions. A pot of fragrant top scholar porridge was ready.

Xie Zhiyou smelled the fragrance and couldn't help but exclaimed: "The aroma of this porridge is really tempting. I can't wait to try it."

Wei Qinglang brought out a few small bowls and served them out. Cheng Shuang took the first bowl and handed it to Qin Suyue.

"Come, Sister Qin, try it and see how it tastes."

Xie Zhiyou and the chef went to serve the porridge themselves. Chef Li couldn't wait to scoop up a spoonful and blew on it. When the porridge entered his mouth, his eyes lit up immediately. He took two more mouthfuls before saying, "Delicious, this porridge is delicious. The pig offal is processed just right. There is not even a fishy smell. The broth blends into the porridge perfectly!"

"And these rice noodle intestines, we always threw them away, but we never expected them to have such a unique flavor when used to make porridge."

After tasting it, Xie Zhiyou nodded repeatedly. "The porridge is so soft and glutinous, and it has absorbed the flavors of all the ingredients. It's mellow and sweet. Brother Wei, how did you come up with such an ingenious recipe?"

Wei Qinglang looked at Cheng Shuang and said, "My wife likes to study food. She researches it on her own."

Cheng Shuang saw that the credit was being attributed to her, so she glanced at him and nodded, "Yes, I just figured it out."

Qin Suyue ate in a gentle manner, savoring half a bowl in small sips. She smiled and said, "Sister, I didn't expect you to have such good cooking skills. This porridge is not only delicious, but also has a good meaning. It will definitely be a big hit!"

"This porridge is made from pig offal," Cheng Shuang said. "It symbolizes 'passing the imperial examination'. With all the students in the city gathered now, if Taibai Tower serves this porridge, it will surely attract many customers."

Xie Zhiyou nodded. "That's inevitable. Not only scholars, I believe everyone will fall in love with this porridge. Master Li, you practice well, and tomorrow morning we will serve this top scholar porridge!"

Chef Li nodded quickly: "Don't worry, boss!"

Xie Zhiyou invited the two to come again tomorrow. Cheng Shuang and Wei Qinglang also wanted to see whether the porridge would be popular, so they agreed to come again the next day and then said goodbye and left.

Xie Zhiyou drank another bowl of porridge and was full of confidence about tomorrow. He arranged for the kitchen to prepare enough ingredients for tomorrow and asked someone to spread the news. In this busyness, he forgot about Cheng Wanpeng's invitation.

Cheng Wanpeng and his sister stayed in the private room for nearly two hours, and were finally told that the host had left for something.

Cheng Wanpeng was so angry that he threw the painting he brought specially to the ground, and Cheng Jinxiu felt extremely insulted.