Siheyuan: The Qing Dynasty is back

The next day, just after lunch, Li Huaide came to He Daqing's office.

He Daqing took his own kitchen utensils and followed Li Huaide to his father-in-law's house.

Since I had been here once before, this time I got in smoothly. The guard at the door asked me a few symbolic questions and then let me in.

When I came here again, I saw "Auntie Wang" still in the kitchen.

When Aunt Wang saw He Daqing, she said happily, "Yesterday when I heard someone was coming to cook, I immediately guessed it might be you. I didn't expect that I was right. Chef He, the dishes you cook are so delicious. I can't forget them all the time!"

He Daqing also smiled and replied: "Auntie Wang, you are too polite. I have to trouble you to help me again this time."

"It's all right, it's all right. I hope to have troubles like this every day."

Seeing that the two of them were very familiar with each other, Li Huaide said, "Auntie Wang, Master He, I'll leave this place to you two. I'll go to the front living room to take a look. I'll come and let you know if there's anything."

After Li Huaide left, Aunt Wang took He Daqing into the kitchen to look around.

Just like last time, the kitchen of Li Huaide's father-in-law's house was fully stocked with all kinds of food, and the freezer contained chicken, duck, fish and meat. Looking at this, you can't feel that it was a year of famine at all.

As the saying goes, while the rich have wine and meat, there are people freezing to death on the streets.

This sentence is very appropriate here.

However, He Daqing knew that he was just a cook and could not change anything. He could only do his job well.

Aunt Wang said, "This time the host family is inviting four or five comrades from other places. I heard that they were in the same army before, but now they are serving in other places. These are the ingredients. What dishes can you make?"

After hearing this, He Daqing asked, "You didn't say there were any dietary taboos, did you?"

Aunt Wang shook her head and replied, "That's not explained. If there are any dietary restrictions, the host will definitely bring it up."

He Daqing thought for a moment and said, "Okay, then I'll take a look at these ingredients and think about what dish to make."

Then, He Daqing looked at all the ingredients here.

He remembered that Li Huaide's father-in-law was from Northeast China, and the Northeastern dishes he cooked for their family last time were very popular, so he would definitely add a few Northeastern dishes this time.

After looking at all the ingredients, He Daqing planned to make two Northeastern dishes, sweet and sour pork and sauerkraut vermicelli stewed meat.

I’m not going to specify any specific cuisine for the rest, there are pickled fish, mapo tofu, twice-cooked potato chips, braised pork with preserved vegetables, boiled chicken, and four-happiness meatballs.

There are eight dishes in total, which should be enough.

He Daqing told Aunt Wang about the dishes he was going to make, and Aunt Wang said, "Okay, these dishes are enough, but you should make more later, as I guess Sister Ping and Cuifen will want to eat alone."

Now that he had decided on the dishes he needed to cook, He Daqing stopped hesitating and started preparing.

Although it was still early for dinner, some preparations could be done now. When the guests arrived, He Daqing could start cooking without wasting too much time. He was still thinking about his two little cuties.

By mid-afternoon, everything that needed to be prepared was almost done, and He Daqing sat aside to drink tea and rest.

Aunt Wang, who was also sitting next to him, said, "Master He, it's such a pleasure to watch you chopping vegetables and cooking. Your knife skills are so smooth, how did you practice it?"

He Daqing smiled and said, "There's really no shortcut to this. We can only practice more."

The two were chatting in the kitchen, and soon Li Huaide ran in hurriedly.

"Master He, the guests are about to arrive. How are your preparations going?"

"Don't worry, Director Li. Everything has been prepared long ago. I will start cooking as soon as the guests arrive."

Li Huaide looked at the cut vegetables on the chopping board and nodded.

"Okay, Master He, I trust you to do the job. I'll let you know later."

As Li Huaide left, Aunt Wang said, "Huaide is still so attentive. In the past few years when the other children were away, he took care of all the big and small things in the family. He is indeed a good boy."

When He Daqing heard this, he couldn't help but think: If Li Huaide's father-in-law and mother-in-law knew what he did outside, I wonder what the consequences would be for Li Huaide? This guy disguised himself so well in his father-in-law's house that he successfully deceived everyone.

However, He Daqing just thought about this in his mind. He would not do such a thing that would harm others and benefit himself.

Whether Li Huaide is good or bad has nothing to do with him. It can also be said that Li Huaide is quite good to him. Although they are using each other, this person is still relatively decent. Even though people know that he is not a good person, they don't feel disgusted with him.

I continued to wait in the kitchen for a while, and finally the guests arrived.

Li Huaide's father-in-law also came back.

At this time, Li Huaide came to the kitchen again and informed He Daqing to start preparing to serve the dishes.

He Daqing, who had already prepared everything, started cooking immediately.

With He Daqing's skillful movements, Aunt Wang brought delicious dishes into the restaurant.

By the time the last dish was served, He Daqing felt that he had completed his task for the day.

Aunt Wang came over and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Master He. The dishes for the guests have been served. I will bring the reserved dishes to Sister Ping and the others, and we will be fine."

As Aunt Wang had instructed before, He Daqing made every dish in generous portions. In addition to reserving some for Li Huaide's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, he also put a lot of it into the lunch box in the space while Aunt Wang wasn't paying attention.

He was planning to take these dishes back to Chen Xueru and Yu Li.

Chen Xueru now has to feed two children every day, and she cannot do without nutrition.

Yu Li has been pregnant for several months and needs more nutrition.

Although the food at their home is not bad, it is still far inferior to the ingredients here.

The things here are not available outside now. For example, He Daqing hasn't seen tofu in the market for a long time.

After Aunt Wang brought over the reserved dishes, the two of them ate in the kitchen.

He Daqing couldn't leave at this moment, for fear that someone might want more dishes or something, so he had to wait until the guests finished their meal before he could leave.

While He Daqing was eating, Li Huaide came to the kitchen again.

He smiled and said, "Master He, hurry up and get ready. My father-in-law asked you to come over. He said the guests were very satisfied with the meal and wanted to thank you."

He Daqing was used to this kind of thing. He was very confident in his cooking skills, and people often wanted to meet him after eating to express their gratitude.

After tidying up his clothes, He Daqing followed Li Huaide to the restaurant.

There were six people sitting at a round table, with two old men who looked elegant sitting in the middle. One was Li Huaide's father-in-law, whom He Daqing had met last time.

The other one is probably the more important guest today.