Chapter 17 First Success
Ma Wu's family was unwilling to do so. Everyone was waiting for Dongmei to reply. After a while, Dongmei came with a little girl and a woman. As soon as they entered the courtyard, they waved to Su Qing to come forward, patted her hands and said:
"Madam said this is a great idea, and she sent Mrs. Xia and her granddaughter from the kitchen over. Mrs. Xia is an excellent soup maker, and Xiaohua is also an expert at cutting slices of vegetables into patterns. I'll leave these two to you. The servants from the outer courtyard will bring four buckets of water from the Bailao Spring in a while. Be careful, and if there's anything else, send Xiaohua to find me."
People in the yard had all kinds of expressions. Ma Wu's family had a complicated look, Cai'er was genuinely happy...but Shuiqin curled her lips in disdain.
Su Qing and Cai'er took the ingredients back to the big kitchen, and Ma Wu's family had already emptied the stove closest to the innermost stove.
Su Qing looked at the dried seafood that had been soaked when she left, and cut the tofu, bean sprouts, mushrooms, etc. into thin slices according to her own requirements. She nodded to Mrs. Xia to indicate that they could start.
After being boiled in water, the fish slices were white as jade, the green vegetables were green and tender, and the various seafood were cut into small pieces after being soaked and placed in the bowl layer by layer. Finally, the soup made by Mrs. Hong was poured on top. Waves of fresh fragrance came to the nose, and everyone in the kitchen picked up chopsticks to eat, saying that it was delicious. Su Qing took a piece of fish meat and put it in his mouth. It tasted good, but it was old. Moreover, the soup was made from chicken and bones, and it looked greasy when poured on top. Because it was the last dish, it would be inappropriate to serve such a greasy soup, and it would not show the sweetness of the Broad Spring.
Su Qing and Mrs. Xia sat back in front of the stove and expressed their ideas, and Mrs. Xia also agreed.
"You're right. Although this dish is novel, it may not have the effect that Madam wants. Let's try adding or subtracting a few ingredients."
In this way, several people became busy again, working back and forth until it was completely dark. Although they did better each time, they did not achieve the effect that Su Qing wanted.
Everyone stopped only when Mrs. Xia's granddaughter waved her hands and said she couldn't drink any more.
It was impossible to make the final product today, but fortunately there was still one day. Mrs. Xia also comforted her by saying that the final dish today tasted very good and the fish was tender, so she could still serve it if she really couldn't make it.
After seeing everyone off, Su Qing washed up and lay on the bed but couldn't fall asleep. Shuiqin was barefoot and slipping on her shoes. While making her own bed, she said, "You can't do a job without a diamond drill. I think it would be better for everyone to drink a bowl of Bai Laoquan tomorrow, so as to save you from embarrassing yourself and bringing trouble to us."
After listening to Shuiqin's words, Su Qing sat up suddenly, which scared Cai'er. She looked at her with concern. Su Qing waved at Cai'er and lay down again, but she was very happy in her heart.
Yes, why didn’t I think of using any kind of broth? It turns out that there are all kinds of seafood and fish in the bowl. Wouldn’t it be refreshing if I just pour some water from Broadway?
The next day, as soon as Mrs. Xia arrived, Su Qing told her his idea. Mrs. Xia was also very happy. Several people started to prepare the ingredients and then poured the boiling spring water directly on it. This time, except that the fish meat was a little dry, the soup tasted light and fresh.
"It would be better if the fish meat could be more tender." Mrs. Xia said with a little regret.
"I have an idea." Cai'er interrupted, "My grandfather went up the mountain all year round, sometimes staying there for more than a month. He always sliced the meat of the game he hunted and soaked it in boiling water before eating. My grandfather said it was very tender. Why don't we boil the fish meat and just put it on the top. When serving, pour spring water over it. How about that?"
Su Qing despised himself again. He had eaten so many shabu-shabu hotpots and sashimi in his previous life, but why didn't he think of this method?
So everyone started to work again. After pouring boiling spring water on it, Mrs. Xia took the first bite. The other three people looked at her. Mrs. Xia said slowly, "This is the most tender fish I have ever eaten." Only then did Su Qing let out a long sigh.
On the day of the feast, the garden was filled with women dressed in bright and beautiful clothes, creating a lively scene. As the dishes were served, they drew praises from everyone. By the time all the dishes were served, everyone had almost finished eating.
Mother Wu came out and said loudly: "Madam Huainan thanks everyone for your concern and support for Huainan Marquis over the years. Today, she has specially added a soup made with water from our Bailao Spring."
With just this one sentence, the people sitting below began to whisper. After a while, the maids brought out large large bowls and placed them in the middle of each table. Everyone stretched their heads to look, and saw that the bowls were filled with layers of red, yellow, green and white food very neatly arranged, and the most important thing was that there was a layer of transparent food on top, and no one knew what it was.
Isn't it soup? Why is there no water at all?
While everyone was wondering, another group of maids came in, each holding a long-spouted teapot in her hand.
"Everyone, this pot contains the water from the Broad Spring," said Mother Wu, and then she gestured to the maids to pour the water in.
Everyone saw that after the water rushed in, the crystal clear layer of food on top rolled up, and the water spread down layer by layer. Soon, the fresh smell came to their noses. Someone eagerly stretched out his chopsticks and took a bite, "It's fish, it's actually fish, oh, it's really delicious."
Everyone started eating and praised the food. Mother Wu looked at everyone's satisfied expressions and her heart finally settled down.
In the third courtyard, Song had just finished drinking fish soup and was very happy. Today's flower banquet was very successful. She had never tasted such delicious fish soup in the East Palace.
"What was the name of the girl who came up with this dish?"
"Madam, my name is Su Qing." Dongmei replied with a smile.
"Well, she's a smart girl. Reward her. Everyone in the kitchen should be rewarded. This girl deserves a big reward. You should reward her too, haha..."
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Wanxiang looked from afar at Langge, the great-grandson of the marquisate, who was playing among several maids. Thinking of Meng Shao, who had just arrived and was ready to take Jiang and Langge back, her mind became active again.
"It is said that Young Master Lang hasn't had enough fun and wants to play for two more days." Ruchun said as she made the bed.
Wan Xiang stopped unbuttoning her clothes and whispered, "So they're not leaving tomorrow? The young master isn't leaving either?"
"Well, my aunt said she'll leave the day after tomorrow."
Wanxiang didn't say anything else, she just lay back on the bed and thought about her own things. Yu's mother hadn't been as concerned about her affairs as she thought in the past few days. She discussed with her mother yesterday whether Yu's mother had changed her mind and didn't want to bring her to the mansion.
In any case, although her family had made a plan, it was too difficult for her to get to the Fourth Young Lady on her own. If there was no chance or she could not succeed, she would still have to rely on her mother Yu. She had to go to the East Palace first before she could plan for the future.
Today, I saw the fourth young lady and Langge fishing by the pond. An idea slowly sprouted in my mind, but time is tight and I don’t know if I can make arrangements in time. I also need to talk to my mother about it.
Wanxiang went over the idea from beginning to end and thought it should be feasible, but who should she find to take the lead?