"Master Chen, you're really biased. I've been asking for fish soup for half a month without seeing you make it for , but Ming Yi asks you to cook so good dishes for tonight's family feast, and you make fish soup."
Facing Jiang Hui Qin's teasing, Chen Qiusheng calmly ladled out a bowl of fish soup: "Yes, yes, yes, it's my fault. Let secretly serve the first bowl of fish soup today to the young mistress as a small favor, consider it my apology to her."
Jiang Hui Qin received the fish soup with a smile, took a small sip and her eyes lit up: "So fresh! Master Chen, what did you add to it? You actually have a secret recipe for fish soup I didn't know about, quickly tell , I need to make a pot for Ming Yi in a couple days to show off my skills."
"Ahem, Young Madam, the Madam advised you to spend less ti in the kitchen," the maid gently reminded.
"Mother said I should cook less often because the sll of oil can cling to my clothes. I'm making soup now, it doesn't have the sll of oil."
Chen Qiusheng couldn't help but tease: "Yes, yes, soup making, the kind where you make a big pot."
The maid quietly reminded again: "Young Mistress, the young ladies will arrive soon."
"Oh right." Jiang Hui Qin suddenly rembered, and quickly addressed the main issue, "Master Chen, are you free now? My elder sister is bringing Fen back today, and soone just sent word that Fen caught a chill last night and has been having stomach trouble and can't eat. Mother asked if there were so suitable snacks for children here, ones that should be made by you, definitely not by him."
"His snacks are too sweet, Grandma likes them but Fen shouldn't eat them too much, it's bad for her teeth."
Hearing Jiang Hui Qin say this, Zhao Cheng'an, who had been eavesdropping nearby, imdiately felt wronged and wanted to defend himself: "Hui Qin, how can you say this? You've known for so many years, aren't you aware of my skills? My snacks are sweet because the old lady likes sweet things, but I can make non-sweet ones too!"
Hearing Zhao Cheng'an call Jiang Hui Qin by her na, the maid instantly beca furious, glaring at Zhao Cheng'an and using a stern voice: "How dare you address the young mistress directly..."
But Jiang Hui Qin interrupted the maid mid-sentence: "Alright Xiaoqin, stop being influenced by those opera shows, he's a bit slow, and calls everyone by nas. Last ti he mistakenly called my mom Xiuzhen, and she didn't bother about it. You get used to it."
Jiang Hui Qin looked at Chen Qiusheng: "Master Chen, do you have any suitable snacks ready?"
Chen Qiusheng thought for a mont: "How about yam cake? It's easy to digest and not sweet. Perfect for when soone has a weak stomach and diarrhea. I'll start making it now, it should be ready by dinner."
"That's wonderful." Jiang Hui Qin said smilingly, standing in place without any sign of wanting to leave.
Clearly, she wanted to stay in the kitchen to watch Chen Qiusheng make yam cake, but to appear less intrusive, she found a topic to chat about while watching.
"Master Chen, are you really not planning to give him a na? It's been seven years, and he doesn't have a na yet. We can only call him 'hey.' Last ti both Mom and Grandma asked if he really has no na."
Zhao Cheng'an chid in: "Madam Hui Qin, nas are important, can't be taken lightly. This na will be with for a lifeti. If I live to 120, this na will stay with for over a hundred years, so it's important to choose carefully."
It was obvious that Zhao Cheng'an had taken advice from the maid, as now he addressed Jiang Hui Qin as Madam Hui Qin.
Chen Qiusheng smiled helplessly, giving Jiang Hui Qin a look as if saying: you see, he's like this, what can I do? Then started making yam cake.
The thod of making yam cake is actually quite simple: wash the yam, steam it until soft, cool it, then mash it into a paste, add a little sugar and stead flour, knead into a dough.
For the simplest version, roll out the dough, cut into strips, and steam again to serve.
If you want to make it more complex, you can add various ingredients to the dough, like preserved fruits, dried fruits, jujube paste. Adding jujube paste makes jujube and yam cake, adding milk makes milk yam cake, adding various miscellaneous ingredients makes eight-treasure yam cake.
When Master Chen was making yam cake, not only was Jiang Hui Qin watching, Zhao Cheng'an also joined to watch, and even Xia Sheng would occasionally glance over. With so many eager learners observing, Master Chen's actions naturally beca slower.
"Master Chen, is Ping'an still studying at school?" Jiang Hui Qin asked.
"Yes, Ping'an is doing quite well in studies. Maybe he'll have a chance to be like Young Master Li, pass exams and beco a college student in a few years!" Chen Qiusheng said proudly, "If he graduates from college and goes into governnt work, our Old Chen family will have so prestige. Although Ping'an didn't learn my craft, with Xia Sheng as my apprentice, I've done justice to our ancestors."
"When I'm old, I can retire outside the border with dignity."
"What about 'hey'?" Jiang Hui Qin looked at Zhao Cheng'an, "You've been teaching him for so many years, though you're not very skilled with pastry, but are you really going to let him go without accepting him as an apprentice?"
Chen Qiusheng retorted irritably: "What do you an I'm not taking him? He didn't choose ."
Zhao Cheng'an quickly explained: "Master Chen, it's not that I didn't choose you, I just think your snacks aren't as tasty as Master Jiang's, especially the white bread buns."
"The buns aren't as good as Master Jiang's either."
"Shao Mai aren't as good."
"Glutinous rice balls aren't as good."
"Rice cake isn't either."
"Actually, the yam cake Master Jiang made before was tastier than yours."
"Not just snacks, your cooking isn't as good as Master Jiang's either. Master Jiang's dishes are known to be the best in Beiping, even the old prince praised them."
Xia Sheng: ...
Initially, Xia Sheng had joined in to watch Chen Qiusheng make yam cake, but silently stepped back after these comnts, pretending to have other things to do, and slipped away.
Judging from Chen Qiusheng's expression, he was a hair's breadth away from tossing the stead yam at Zhao Cheng'an's face, held back only by not wanting to waste food and fearing losing his job.
After a long silence, Chen Qiusheng managed to squeeze out: "I know, shut up."
Jiang Hui Qin nearly suffocated herself holding back laughter.
"But Master Jiang has one thing that doesn't compare to you, Master Chen," Zhao Cheng'an said, "Your kindness towards and Xia Sheng is incomparable to Master Jiang's."
Though initially annoyed, Chen Qiusheng couldn't stay angry after hearing Zhao Cheng'an say this, only feeling helpless about why he ever bothered to argue with a fool.
Upon hearing Zhao Cheng'an, Jiang Hui Qin felt the need to speak for her brother: "That's different, you and Xia Sheng are living with Master Chen, of course he's kind to you both. If you lived in my house, my brother would be just as good to you."
"It's different, Master Chen is exceptionally kind to and Xia Sheng. He's even considering giving us nas, though mine hasn't been decided yet and I'm not sure about Xia Sheng's, but Master Chen's willingness to na us—no one in this world is better to us than Master Chen!"
"You 'hey,' I helped you co up with seven nas too!"
"Wait a minute, Master Chen are you really going to give Xia Sheng a na?" Jiang Hui Qin stared at Chen Qiusheng with curiosity.
Chen Qiusheng: ...
"How do you know?"
"A few days ago, I overheard you chatting with Young Master Ming Yi outside," Jiang Hui Qin said with a mischievous look.
Chen Qiusheng: ...
"Don't eavesdrop next ti!"
"I didn't intend to, but I heard there were leftover smoked chicken tails in the kitchen that were going to be thrown away, and I wondered if I could sneak a taste."
"Don't sneak food!"
"It wasn't really sneaking. I just wanted to squat by the kitchen to grab the chicken tail when it was tossed out and be the first to eat it."
Chen Qiusheng: Tired, let the world end.
"Master Chen, you haven't said what the new na is."
"Nothing much, I'm just asking Young Master Li to co up with a more respectable na for Xia Sheng." Chen Qiusheng explained, "Since I've accepted Xia Sheng as an apprentice, a master is like half a father. I don't have much to leave him, just the ability to give him a good na."
"A new na, a new beginning."
"Over the years hearing 'hey' constantly harp on about how important nas are and how careful one should be in naming, so of it stuck with . I always felt Xia Sheng's na wasn't good enough, wanted to give him a better one, but without much education or culture myself, I could only ask Young Master Li to help co up with a good na." Chen Qiusheng said with a laugh, shaking his head.
Zhao Cheng'an proclaid loudly and proudly: "See, Miss Hui Qin, nas are important!"
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