The aroma of cooking filled the house: I sent my eldest brother to become the Grand Secretary.

Shen Cao was overjoyed to see the huge pile of porcini mushrooms in front of her.

In her previous life, she was a glutton. Because of a large porcini mushroom, she accidentally fell off a cliff. Now, with all these porcini mushrooms on the ground, she can eat them however she wants.

"Uncle Village Chief, why don't you stay for lunch? I just finished cooking these porcini mushrooms, please have a taste."

"What... what do you want to taste?" Before Shen Cao could finish speaking, Grand Tutor Zhou quickly stepped over the threshold and walked up to the group.

Grand Tutor Zhou had just finished talking with Shen Chen, and the more they talked, the more he liked the student he had taken on.

He planned to have a good talk with Mr. and Mrs. Shen, as they had raised a good son.

As he approached the entrance to the main room, he heard what sounded like a conversation about food. He had certainly witnessed the culinary skills of the chefs at Shen Family Restaurant over the past two days.

This simple bowl of wontons tasted better than any he had ever eaten before, so the other dishes must have been just as good.

Shen Cao smiled as she watched Grand Tutor Zhou, who turned into a playful old man whenever food was mentioned. Two foodies had just left, and now another one had arrived.

"Grand Tutor Zhou, have you finished talking?" Shen Cao bowed respectfully.

Grand Tutor Zhou waved his hand, "Little girl, your name is Shen Cao, right? I'll call you Cao'er from now on. There's no need for formalities in private. We'll be family from now on."

Shen Cao smiled and stood up straight. "By the way, Grand Tutor Zhou, would you like to stay for lunch? It's perfect timing, the village chief brought a lot of mushrooms this time."

"Taste it?"

Grand Tutor Zhou stroked his beard. "Then let's keep it and have a taste. It'll also be a good opportunity for me to tell Chen'er about that book."

Shen Cao smiled and introduced Grand Tutor Zhou to Shen's parents and the village chief.

Shi Yong never imagined in his life that he would actually meet Grand Tutor Zhou.

He excitedly wiped his hands on his clothes several times before carefully bowing to Grand Tutor Zhou.

After bowing, he sat quietly to the side, listening to the others speak.

He said that the Shen family would definitely not be ordinary people in the future. It hasn't been long, and Shen Chen has already become a student of Grand Tutor Zhou of the Great Xia Kingdom.

Shen Cao made a special trip to the market and bought a chicken.

Porcini mushroom stewed with chicken soup is so delicious it can make your eyebrows fall out.

The village chief also brought the last of his green chili peppers; although not much, it was enough for one meal.

Shen Cao first cleaned the porcini mushrooms and soaked them in lightly salted water to slightly remove the grassy smell.

The porcini mushrooms in the basin were plump and round, like steamed buns, and looked delicious.

Since the chicken was freshly killed, there was no need to blanch it.

She first poured the chopped chicken pieces into a clay pot, added ginger slices, and stewed them.

Once the water boils, skim off any foam that rises to the surface.

The porcini mushrooms are almost soaked; cut them into slices.

Add enough porcini mushrooms and a few red dates to the casserole dish, cover it, and simmer over medium-low heat.

She also planned to stir-fry a porcini mushroom, prepare plenty of sliced ​​garlic, sliced ​​pork belly, and chili peppers.

Heat oil in a wok, then add the pork belly and stir-fry until the excess fat is rendered out.

Then add the porcini mushrooms and garlic slices, and stir-fry continuously.

When the porcini mushrooms are stir-fried until the moisture has noticeably evaporated and their color changes from their original color to ginger yellow or even caramel yellow, they are almost cooked.

At this point, add chili pepper pieces and a little salt.

Porcini mushrooms have a very delicious flavor and don't need any extra seasoning.

Stir-fry for a while longer to add a salty flavor to the porcini mushrooms in addition to their original umami flavor, and the stir-fried porcini mushrooms are ready to serve.

While Shen Cao was stir-frying, she was tempted by the aroma and took a bite first. The delicious porcini mushrooms had a slight chewiness and were more delicious than any other umami seasoning she had ever tasted. They were incredibly tasty.

It was as if a large spoonful of MSG had been added to the dish, making it so delicious that she wanted to eat a bowl of rice right away.

Since she was going to eat anyway, she decided to make a porcini mushroom rice dish.

She had just made a piece of salted meat a few days ago.

She first cut the cured pork into strips, then heated oil in a wok, added the cured pork, and waited for the fat in the cured pork to be rendered out before adding the sliced ​​porcini mushrooms.

She wouldn't have dared to add so many porcini mushrooms in her previous life, but luckily the village chief had brought a lot, and since there were many people, she cooked all of them.

Add some sliced ​​garlic and continue stir-frying until the moisture from the porcini mushrooms has evaporated. Then pour it into a clay pot that already contains raw rice.

Use chopsticks to thoroughly mix the rice and porcini mushrooms, add water to just cover the ingredients, and simmer over medium-low heat.

While the chicken soup was simmering and the rice was cooking, Shen Cao stir-fried some pork with chili peppers, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, stir-fried crab with chili peppers, and boiled sliced ​​pork.

There were just too many porcini mushrooms to eat at once, so she made a small pot of porcini mushroom sauce.

Cut the porcini mushrooms into thin strips, put them in enough oil, and fry them slowly over low heat until they turn golden brown. Then add a little bit of soaked chili peppers, minced scallions and ginger, sugar, and a little salt. Cook until all the water has evaporated, and the porcini mushroom sauce is ready.

Once all the vegetables were cooked, the chicken soup in the pot was also ready.

Shen Cao carefully lifted the lid of the pot of stewing chicken soup through the rag.

A layer of golden chicken oil floated on the surface of the chicken soup. She had only added a little salt to the soup, and it smelled delicious.

She tasted it to check the saltiness, and wow! The chicken soup was already flavorful enough, and with the addition of porcini mushrooms, it was even more delicious. She couldn't even imagine how good it would be to soak a bowl of rice in this chicken soup.

Since the bacon is already salty, there's no need to add anything else to the porcini mushroom risotto.

She stirred the rice with a spatula, and the aroma immediately filled the air.

The white rice was glistening with oil, and with the previously fried porcini mushrooms until golden brown, the rice exhibited a beautiful Maillard reaction.

Each grain of rice is distinct, and a sprinkle of chopped scallions adds a touch of vibrant green, making it look incredibly appetizing.

While Shen Cao was cooking the rice, she discovered that there was actually some crispy rice at the bottom, and the crispy rice wasn't burnt at the bottom; it was a nice golden brown.

After all the dishes were ready, Shen Cao shouted outside, "Dinner's ready!"

Just as she finished shouting, Shen Wan and Shen Qing appeared in the kitchen.

"Wow!" These younger siblings are so fast!

It wasn't that they were fast, but rather that the aroma of the food was simply too enticing; they had been eagerly waiting at the kitchen door for a long time.

Grand Tutor Zhou, who was explaining things to Shen Chen in the study, had already missed the mark several times in a row.

Shen Chen simply didn't expose him.

The aroma of the food wafted into his nose, and he had already perked up his ears as soon as he smelled it, waiting for the meal to be served.

Ye Shu also went to the kitchen as soon as Shen Cao called for dinner to help serve the dishes.

Grand Tutor Zhou had been waiting for Shen Chen to suggest going to dinner, but he didn't seem to be in a hurry.

Ye Shu has been gone for half a day, the food must have been on the table long ago, should he take the initiative to ask for it?

Just as he was struggling with his decision, a pleasant female voice rang out, "Grand Tutor Zhou, elder brother, dinner is ready, we've been waiting for you."

"Hey!" When Shen Chen looked up, he could only see the hem of Grand Tutor Zhou's robe at the door.

He shook his head and got up to eat.