The matter ca suddenly and left no room for careful consideration. Zuo Jinxiang hurriedly led two workers to slaughter the chickens. However, just before stepping out of the kitchen, she couldn’t help but mutter to herself, "Last ti, that girl made a dish of Chicken Golden Bamboo Shoots at the Escort Agency, right? How co it’s Chicken and Snow Clam this ti? ...She really has a thing for chicken!"
Hua Xiaomai heard her clearly and couldn’t help but laugh.
As a cook, one must be adept at discerning the expressions and moods of the diners to understand whether a dish was liked or if there were any setbacks by observing the expressions of the guests while they ate. Previously at Lianshun Escort Agency, while preparing Chicken Golden Bamboo Shoots, she had carefully observed Ke Zhenwu’s reaction. Noticing that though he praised the bamboo shoots, his chopsticks mostly went for the chicken, she guessed that he particularly loved chicken and hoped today’s Chicken and Snow Clam would cater to his palate.
Ultimately, although the banquet was about catering to the tastes of the guests, it still had to satisfy the host in the end!
Snow Clam is a prized ingredient mainly for the gel inside it. In the era Hua Xiaomai lived before her transmigration, high-class restaurants would only use that gel for cooking, discarding the rest, and naturally, Hua Xiaomai followed this practice.
The "Snow Clam gel," once soaked, was about the size of two fingers. She chopped it into tiny cubes after mixing with ginger juice and rice wine, then simred it in a rich broth made from chicken carcass and pork bone, creating a dish called Clear Soup Snow Crab. However, since it included chicken mince, an additional crucial step was necessary.
Velvety chicken breast was laid on pork fat and chopped finely with the back of a knife into a bowl, further mixed with egg white. As she stirred with chopsticks, the sinews in the chicken automatically wrapped around the chopsticks. After repeatedly stirring until all sinews were removed, it resulted in the tenderest chicken mince. At this point, she took the boiling broth and Snow Clam gel off the heat and slowly poured in the chicken mince, sprinkling so ham dices and coriander on top before the dish was ready to be served.
After preparing this crucial dish and seeing that noon was approaching, Hua Xiaomai quickly and efficiently fried several plates of spring pancakes. Workers responsible for transporting dishes soon arrived, carrying trays and bowls out one by one.
Ke Zhenwu and his guests had already taken their seats in the front yard.
At today’s banquet, the spread was as visually stunning as it was unnecessary to elaborate, with both luxurious dishes like bird’s nest and Snow Clam anchoring the scene and delightful side dishes like marinated cuts offering refreshing flavors. Stir-fried goosefoot with smoked duck was glossy with oil, the spring pancakes with shrimps and winter bamboo shoots shone golden, and the wild chicken was a vibrant red... What’s more, today’s tea, brewed from ground dried cypress leaves, when sipped after drinking the alcohol, seed to instantly dispel the drunkenness, clearing the head in a most refreshing manner.
Everyone easily found their favorite dishes at the table, hence laughter and toasts occurred frequently, making the scene extrely lively.
Hua Xiaomai had been working the entire morning and her legs felt as if they were filled with lead, so heavy that they hardly seed her own, leaving her without the energy to move around much. Hence, she sat in the courtyard outside the kitchen sipping tea with Sister-in-law Zuo. Fortunately, Sister-in-law Zuo had a very lively and cheerful disposition and chatted incessantly with Hua Xiaomai, making it relatively easy to pass the ti with intermittent conversation.
The Spring Wine Banquet lasted until the late afternoon, a testant to the complete satisfaction of both guests and hosts. Ke Zhenwu sent off the guests and then had soone invite Hua Xiaomai and Zuo Jinxiang to join him in the front yard.
"Co quick, little Mai, ti to get paid!" Zuo Jinxiang suddenly jumped up, poked Hua Xiaomai at the waist, and imdiately dragged her arm as they hurried to the front yard.
The workers were cleaning up the four large tables, and most of the guests had already left, leaving only Master Zhao of Chunfeng Restaurant and Ke Zhenwu sitting and drinking tea under the porch.
Seeing Hua Xiaomai arrive, Ke Zhenwu imdiately smiled and waved at her, "Co here, little Mai. You must be exhausted after today, huh? The al was delicious! I loved that Chicken and Snow Clam the most, so fresh and savory that it lingers in the mouth, and everyone else was just praising it too! Yuhuai told before that you’re a great cook, and today, I truly saw it!"
Hua Xiaomai felt a sense of stability in her heart, her lips curving slightly as she was about to respond, when Master Zhao interrupted, "Is that so? At such a young age, you’re much stronger than that Wei from my Chunfeng Restaurant! He keeps making demands and his cooking skills are declining day by day... Miss, I heard from Mr. Ke that he had so disputes with you before and bullied you? If you ask , you might as well co and be the head chef at my Chunfeng Restaurant and let that Wei aside!"
"Master Zhao, please don’t joke with ," Hua Xiaomai said with a restrained smile, "I won’t be humble now, I know very well the level of your Chunfeng Restaurant, and even if I had the gall to run to your restaurant to cook, my family wouldn’t allow it. My second sister particularly dislikes running about outside. Even this job at the banquet, I had to beg her for a long ti before she agreed. I dare not even think about being a head chef at a restaurant."
Master Zhao seed sowhat disappointed but soon nodded, "Indeed, a young lady will eventually marry. I hadn’t considered thoroughly, never mind."
Taking advantage of the mont Guan Rong and Zuo Jinxiang were talking, Ke Zhenwu had soone bring over two ingots each weighing five taels of silver and presented them to Hua Xiaomai; he also gave Zuo Jinxiang a piece of two taels of broken silver with a pleasant expression, and said, "Here, take this, Xiaomai girl, you’ve worked hard today. It’s getting late. If you wish, you can stay another night at my Escort Agency and return to Fire Knife Village tomorrow morning, it won’t be too late; if you do not want to, I will have Dazhong escort you in a while as it might be dangerous for a young lady like you to travel alone."
Hua Xiaomai took the two silver ingots, grasping them tightly, her palms breaking into a fine sweat.
Ten taels, ten taels of silver! This amount was enough for the Jing Family’s small household of three to live a whole year without worrying about food and clothing, and now, it was truly in her hands!
She forced herself to suppress the excitent in her heart and smiled at Ke Zhenwu, "Then I have to thank you, Uncle Ke. I would still like to go back today, to avoid my second sister worrying."
"Alright." Ke Zhenwu nodded agreeably, then promptly instructed soone to call for Dazhong, tapping his temple pensively, "Xiaomai girl, you have such great skills, do you really plan to make a living just by working for others forever? That is too passive, with only those few hundred households in the village, if there are no events like weddings or funerals, you might not even get a single gig for months, or even half a year; this inco is too unstable!"
Hua Xiaomai had considered this issue herself, but whatever she wanted to do, it required capital.
When she first ca to Fire Knife Village, being able to fill her stomach with two als a day was already more than enough; she had no intention of thinking about anything else. But now, with these ten taels of silver, it was indeed ti to ponder her next steps earnestly.
As Ke Zhenwu had said, rely earning money by providing service for others was indeed too passive.
She did not respond but simply looked up at Ke Zhenwu and Mr. Zhao, and gave them a heartfelt, toothy smile.
...
That evening, when she returned to Fire Knife Village, the sky had already darkened, and Hua Xiaomai was so tired that her body was sore and limp, floating into the courtyard like a specter, and ran right into Sister-in-law Hua.
"You dead girl, coming back so late, you almost killed with worry!" Sister-in-law Hua rushed over and grabbed her hand, scolding, "Guan Rong ca looking for you today, and also..."
"Second sister, can we talk about whatever it is tomorrow?" Hua Xiaomai was so sleepy she could barely keep her eyes open, waving her hand weakly, "I need to sleep now, I really can’t keep going."
"You..." Sister-in-law Hua paused slightly, "Aren’t you going to have dinner, then?"
Hua Xiaomai humd from her throat as if to answer, stumbled up the steps, and when she pushed open the door to the western room, her gaze shifted for a mont, and it seed she saw soone sweating profusely and busy at work in the vacant lot behind the house.
She didn’t have the energy to look closely, kicked the door shut, and dove headfirst into bed, imdiately falling asleep.
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