Siheyuan: From Being Called Shazhu

The next morning, although He Yuzhu was beaten with his hands, feet and shoes by He Daqing last night, He Yuzhu, who only thought of it as a physical training, did not take it seriously at all and still got up early to practice kung fu in the yard.

"Come in and dress your sister, wash her, and then have dinner."

After He Daqing finished preparing breakfast, he still called He Yuzhu to come in for dinner with an expressionless face.

While eating, He Yuzhu saw that He Daqing had no intention of going out to sell buns, so he began to test him.

"Dad, you don't need to bring me lunch at noon."

There was a hint of surprise on He Daqing's seemingly expressionless face.

"you...."

However, it soon turned into a sigh.

"Ah~~~ You silly guy, what can I say to you?"

In fact, He Yuzhu also knew that He Daqing was worried about him.

But there are some things that He Yuzhu can't say, and can't say.

Even if he told it, He Daqing would not believe it.

After dinner, He Yuzhu was the one who usually cleaned the table.

But today, He Yuzhu seemed to be a little faster, which made He Daqing, who was already upset, even more annoyed, and he gave He Yuzhu another lecture.

However, in the end, He Daqing still acquiesced to He Yuzhu's going out as a helper in his opinion.

"Little chef, come here quickly, why are you taking so long? Hurry up, we are waiting for you."

He Yuzhu had just walked out of the yard and onto the street, and before he could register as he did yesterday, he was dragged over by the old man.

Looking at the pile of radishes, cabbages and potatoes in front of him, He Yuzhu smiled.

"Grandpa, are you testing my cooking skills? Aren't you afraid that my cooking skills will fail and the dishes will be ruined, leaving you with no food to eat at noon?"

However, although He Yuzhu said this, he still went to wash his hands and prepared to start working on the ingredients.

"Come on, you said you were an expert yesterday, why are you so scared today?"

The old man is still the same. He will criticize when necessary and provoke when necessary.

However, He Yuzhu had a feeling that the old man seemed much more enthusiastic today than yesterday.

He Yuzhu shook his head and threw this unrealistic fantasy out of his mind.

I took the knife from the old man and started to prepare the ingredients for lunch.

After watching He Yuzhu cutting vegetables for a while, the old man nodded with satisfaction.

"Don't mention it, you're only telling half the truth."

"Hey, old man..."

Well, when He Yuzhu said this, the old man got angry again.

"What do you mean old? You are old. I am not old."

"Well, you're not old anymore, Master."

He Yuzhu shrugged and continued cutting vegetables nonchalantly.

"My last name is Sun, you can call me Master Sun. It's not nice to call me Master all the time. It will be embarrassing if others hear it."

Looking at He Yuzhu's casual look, the old man started to scold again.

But He Yuzhu still didn't care.

"Okay, Master. Got it, Master."

"you...."

Now it was the old man, Master Sun, who was speechless.

However, He Yuzhu remembered what Master Sun had just interrupted him with.

"By the way, Master, what do you mean by the half truth I told you?"

"Hmph~~"

Master Sun first snorted arrogantly, and then explained to He Yuzhu.

"What else can it mean? Your knife skills are qualified now. We will have to see how well you cook before we can tell whether you are a good cook or not."

"No, Master, you really intend to let me cook."

Now it was He Yuzhu's turn to be surprised.

He originally thought that Master Sun asked him to come over to cook, and that he would just be a kitchen helper, chopping vegetables and at most helping to light the fire.

However, according to what Master Sun said, He Yuzhu will have to do the cooking later.

This is puzzling.

"Also, Master, where are your cooks?"

He Yuzhu pretended to be uncertain and asked.

But Master Sun just curled his lips.

"That unlucky guy sprained his ankle right before entering the city. You say he sprained his ankle, so he sprained his ankle. He also sprained his arm, so I have to fight with him these past few days."

"Wow, I didn't realize you have this skill."

Although He Yuzhu said he was old this time, Master Sun did not care. Instead, he seemed very proud because He Yuzhu praised his craftsmanship.

"Look, back then, I was a famous chef in our village. People from all over the country had to look for someone to hire me."

It would have been better if Master Sun didn't say anything, but after he finished speaking, He Yuzhu grinned.

He Yuzhu didn't know what the "Yangzicai" chefs in other places meant.

But in Northeast China, Yangzi dishes are also called Banzi dishes or Yangban dishes.

Moreover, if you want to be more formal, you should order the sacrificial dishes.

As the name suggests, Yangzicai is actually the "tribute vegetables" placed next to the sacrifice during the white festival.

Because Northeast China is so vast, funeral customs vary from place to place.

However, no matter whether it is a "noon sacrifice" or an "evening sacrifice", when offering sacrifices, the "golden boy and jade girl" or the twelve zodiac animals are placed.

As a chef of Yangzi cuisine, his main skill is making noodles.

Because they need to make the "Golden Boy and Jade Girl" or the "Twelve Zodiac Signs" lifelike.

As for other vegetables, chicken, duck, fish, meat, vermicelli and so on, it is enough to just arrange them and add color.

In conclusion, the chef is pretty good at making pastries, but as for the rest, well, it’s hard to comment.

Otherwise, in later generations, the chefs of Yangzi cuisine would not have gradually disappeared, and in some areas they were even replaced by the "black neck knife".

He Yuzhu looked at the radishes, cabbages, potatoes and other things on the chopping board, and then looked at Master Sun who was still chattering about the grand occasion of making "sacrificial vegetables" in the past.

oh~~~

I feel deep sympathy for those who have eaten the dishes made by “Master Yangzi” these two days.

After chatting and laughing, He Yuzhu quickly cut everything.

However, Master Sun took one look and said, "There are not enough potatoes, keep cutting these."

He Yuzhu looked at the potatoes, which were about the same amount as the cabbages, and became suspicious.

Although He Yuzhu has never learned or made a big pot dish, either in later generations or now.

But that doesn't prevent him from making calculations based on the small pot dish.

Besides, He Yuzhu is at least the protagonist who is unanimously recognized by many netizens as having some talent as a cook.

If He Yuzhu can't even handle this little bit, then there's no point in mixing.

Just when He Yuzhu wanted to say something to Master Sun.

Master Sun waved his hand.

"You can cut it if I tell you to."

Okay, since Master Sun has spoken, let’s cut it.

He Yuzhu picked up the knife again and continued cutting potato strips.

"By the way, cut the potato strips thicker."

The old man spoke again.

He Yuzhu shrugged and did as he was told.

Seeing that He Yuzhu cut the potato strips thicker, Master Sun nodded and started to get busy.

Otherwise, why do people say that all chefs who cook plain dishes are good at cooking?

As for the dough cakes baked by Master Sun, He Yuzhu, who has always been a popular chef, was full of admiration.

After a busy day, the cabbage and potatoes and radish and vermicelli stew are almost ready.

To be precise, this was He Yuzhu's first time cooking a big pot dish.

You can imagine how that felt.

After opening the lid of the pot, He Yuzhu took the spoon and subconsciously wanted to taste it.

However, looking at Master Sun standing next to him, He Yuzhu still handed the spoon to Master Sun.

"Master, try it and see how it tastes."

Master Sun did not refuse. He took the spoon and took a bite.

After tasting it, he nodded.

"It has to be said that you, the little cook, have really learned something and are considered an expert."

Just when He Yuzhu was about to say something boastful, Master Sun changed the subject.

"It tastes good, but it's a little bland. Add some salt."

"Faded?"

He Yuzhu couldn't believe his ears.

No way, he studied it over and over again and tasted it countless times before determining the amount of salt, how could it be bland?

He Yuzhu picked up a spoon and tasted it himself.

After tasting, He Yuzhu looked at Master Sun with a strange expression.

"Master, are you sure it's faded?"

The main thing is that after He Yuzhu tasted it himself, he found that the taste was not bland at all.

In addition, there is still some time before the meal is ready. If the pot keeps bubbling, some of the soup will be stewed out, making the taste stronger. It seems that we should not add more salt.

"If I say it's bland, then it's definitely bland. If I ask you to add salt, then just add salt."

Seeing that He Yuzhu didn't move, Master Sun picked up the salt bag and started to work.

He Yuzhu quickly took the bag of salt in his hand, fearing that Master Sun would add too much due to his lack of taste.

But even so, He Yuzhu still added salt several times under the urging of Master Sun.

Finally, He Yuzhu could clearly feel that the dish had become like salted cabbage stewed with potatoes. As for the vermicelli in the stewed radish, they began to taste salty. Only then did Master Sun give up.

What could He Yuzhu do? He could only accept it with a wry smile, and silently pray that the people who ate his food would not scold him.

Soon, it was time for lunch.

All the people who came out to work on the street came over to line up for food.

While Master Sun was serving meals to people, he asked He Yuzhu to help distribute the unleavened flatbreads to them.

Not many unleavened dough cakes were distributed, just two per person.

To be honest, for people of this era, it’s not much, just enough to barely fill their stomachs.

However, it would be okay if it is served with stewed cabbage and potatoes.

Finally, have a bowl of radish stewed with vermicelli, which is considered a satisfying meal in winter.

At this time, He Yuzhu finally understood why Master Sun asked him to cut more potatoes.

Because what Master Sun is serving to the helpers now are basically potatoes, and the cabbage is just a few leaves.

Although potatoes were considered vegetables in later generations.

But at this time, it can serve as a staple food.

Although due to the rules, we cannot issue too many unleavened cakes.

However, once potatoes are cut and put into the pot, they become a dish.

It is up to Master Sun to decide how much to serve to people.

Like Master Sun, giving more potatoes to the helpers is also an alternative way to give them more "staple food".

As for why more salt is added to the dishes, just look at the fact that these helpers basically take the meals home to eat with their families.