Silly Zhu's Moving: The Old Neighbor's Nightmare

Sha Zhu arrived at Master Wang's house, where Master Wang was enjoying tea.

Seeing Sha Zhu come in, he slammed the teacup he was holding onto the table.

He glared at Sha Zhu and shouted, "What are you doing here? Get out!"

The master's wife put down the half-finished hand-knitted sweater beside her and called out to Master Wang.

Why are you shouting so loudly? You've scared Zhu Zi so much he hasn't dared to come over for two months.

It's just that they wrote down how to make a few dishes in the newspaper, I think that's fine.

I even tried making a few dishes using the newspaper as a guide. Didn't you say the dishes I made following the newspaper recipes were quite delicious?

You finished all the dishes back then, and now you're trying to scare Zhu Zi.

Master Wang blushed with embarrassment at his master's wife's words, and Sha Zhu, seeing this,

Not daring to let his master and mistress start arguing, he quickly said...

"Master and Mistress, I've spoken to Master Li, and we're moving back to Nanluoguxiang today. I've come to deliver a few books to you, Master."

As Sha Zhu spoke, he placed the three books he was holding on the table in front of Master Wang.

When the teacher's wife heard that Sha Zhu was moving back to Nanluoguxiang today, she hurriedly said, "Zhu Zi, why are you moving back now? Have you prepared everything at your place? You haven't even prepared any winter vegetables. What will you eat when you go back?"

Sha Zhu quickly said, "Master's wife, everything is ready. When the cabbages are harvested..."

I went home during my work hours and bought a lot of cabbages and radishes, which I put in the cellar.

I also bought several small jars, and filled them all with pickled vegetables. We have no shortage of rice, flour, or cooking oil.

Master Wang Yijun carefully flipped through the books on the table. After listening to Sha Zhu's explanation, he coughed and said to Sha Zhu,

"You printed this book? It's the same menu as the newspaper?"

When Sha Zhu heard his master ask the question, he quickly replied, "Yes, they are all home-style dishes. The main signature dishes are not included, and the master's specialties are not printed on the plates either."

The chef took the book, placed it on the table, and pointed to the names of the dishes in the menu.

He excitedly said to Sha Zhu, "You brat, you traitor, look at yourself! Come here, take a good, careful look!"

"What do you mean by not printing out a few of my signature dishes? You've listed all the chef's skills on the plate, and you've exposed all my abilities for the last few dishes!" The chef's mustache stood on end as he finished speaking.

Sha Zhu was terrified and quickly comforted his master, saying aggrievedly, "Master, didn't I leave you some dishes? Don't be angry. Read the second book before you continue to scold me."

Master Wang Yijun was so angry at Sha Zhu's aggrieved look that he almost exploded with rage.

Suppressing his excitement, he trembled as he picked up the second book and began to read.

I first looked at the table of contents, then turned to the next page while referring to the table of contents and carefully read through it.

Not long after, his eyes widened, and he suddenly stood up from the chair.

He said to Sha Zhu, "Where did you get this book from?"

After saying that, he picked up the book again and carefully flipped through it twice, muttering to himself, "Impossible."

He looked at Sha Zhu and said, "How come the recipes for dishes from the Eight Great Restaurants, Yi Pin Ju, and all sorts of other restaurants are recorded in such detail? That's absolutely impossible. Where did you get them, Sha Zhu?"

Sha Zhu was speechless. His master was so excited that he shouted out his nickname again, just like He Daqing.

I couldn't possibly tell my master how I learned it by secretly observing him, could I?

Anyway, these aren't my own notes; they're just copied down entirely in regular script.

Then he started spouting nonsense and lying. "Master, do you remember how my cooking skills improved by leaps and bounds more than two months ago?"

Actually, I had already secretly started learning and figuring things out on my own before that. I found several cookbooks at a bookstall.

Examples include the Suiyuan Menu, Imperial Chef's Notes, and other food records.

By comparing my cooking skills with those of my master, I gradually gained a deeper understanding of cooking.

I don't know who wrote down the information in the book my master is holding, but I've read it all myself.

I brought it over to my master; I glanced at the book of imperial chef's notes at the time.

It appears to contain recipes for dishes prepared in the imperial palace during the Ming and Qing dynasties.

I don't know where I lost that book when I moved.

And this culinary record the chef is holding—I've kept both the Suiyuan Menu and the Tan Family Cuisine recipes for myself.

After Sha Zhu finished speaking, he continued in a low voice, "How about I bring the Suiyuan menu and the Tan family cuisine recipes to the chef as well?"

After hearing what Sha Zhu said, Master Wang blurted out,

"Why would I need your family's Tan family cuisine recipe? That was passed down from your father and grandfather."

"Keep this safe and don't lose it. It's such a shame you lost all the palace recipes, you brat! It really makes me so angry!"

Master Wang suppressed his urge to hit someone and calmed down his agitated emotions.

He continued, "Keep the Suiyuan Menu for yourself and study it slowly. Although it's rare in the market, I still have a copy here."

After finishing his sentence, Master Wang picked up the third book on the table and began to read it.

Seeing this, Sha Zhu quickly said, "Master, this third book is just the recipe for various broths of Tan Family Cuisine from my family's cookbook. It doesn't contain any recipes for the dishes. Please accept this book, Master."

Master Wang ignored Sha Zhu, flipped through the books for a while, and then put the third book on the table.

He picked up the first book, opened it, looked at Sha Zhu, coughed, and said, "How many copies of this book did you print? Bring me two more."

Sha Zhu's heart jumped. What was his master going to do? He hadn't told his master that his name was in this book. What would happen if his master looked through it carefully and saw his name?

Sha Zhu asked his master in a low voice, "Master, isn't there already one here? Why do we need two more?"

Master Wang Yijun glared angrily at Sha Zhu and said, "Isn't this all your doing?"

It wasn't until later in the newspaper's run that it caught the attention of several head chefs and the owner.

They tried to collect the previously published newspapers, but they were no longer available in the market.

The newspaper department didn't keep any either; the management has even assigned them the task of collecting all the circulated newspapers. Perfect, I'll just take one to the boss tomorrow.”

Sha Zhu thought to himself, "Master, if you take it to show the boss, won't you be exposing yourself?"

Although you are quite famous and have hosted state banquets, publishing a book could also enhance your reputation.

But aren't some of the dishes in this recipe book not your specialty?

Master should, it seems, probably be fine even if he's exposed.

Sha Zhu took five or six steps back toward the door, looked at his master and raised his voice slightly, saying, "Master, why don't you check who wrote this book first?"

Master Wang Yijun watched as Sha Zhu inexplicably retreated to the doorway.

My heart suddenly skipped a beat. I turned to the last page of the book.

Looking at the list of contributors, with the names Wang Yijun and Li Wei, my eyes widened.

His whole body trembled, and he picked up the teacup on the table with his right hand and smashed it towards Sha Zhu at the door.

He kept shouting, "Traitor, traitor!"

Sha Zhu saw the cup coming at him, ducked, and dodged it.

He called out, "Master and Mistress, I'll come to see you again during the New Year," and then ran towards the courtyard gate.

Seeing this, the master's wife quickly chased after him out of the living room and called out to Sha Zhu, who was running away, "Zhu Zi, don't run away, leave the rainwater behind."

Shouting, he left his angry master behind and chased after Sha Zhu, who had run out of the courtyard gate.