royal family

The younger generations of the Mao family couldn't sit still, and told the adults with mixed feelings that they were going to play somewhere else, gathered together in the backyard, and immediately let go of their courage to complain about the Shao family.

Mao Yuewen, the youngest son of Mr. Mao's second, said to his sister indignantly: "I really don't know what uncle thinks. Dad asked him to teach me and elder brother before. He kept saying that grandpa stipulated that only the Mao family's craftsmanship can be passed on. As a disciple of the teacher, Dad asked him to accept me, but he didn't agree. Now an outsider has come, and he hasn't said a few words, and he is rushing to recruit him."

His sister Mao Yuemei's face was not very good-looking, but she looked at Mao Shaofeng who was sitting on the rest chair not far away with concern, and pushed her younger brother: "Stop talking nonsense! This is what you can say?!"

Mao Yuewen couldn't swallow this breath, but following his sister's eyes and seeing Mao Shaofeng who was closing his eyes and meditating, he still forcibly suppressed his anger.Including their siblings, this group of Mao family juniors who came out cannot be regarded as Mr. Mao's serious children.Most of the four brothers and sisters of the Mao family had children. Mr. Mao, the serious eldest son who wanted to inherit the family business, had only two children. The eldest son Mao Guangling is currently studying abroad, and the youngest son Mao Shaofeng is studying management from his father in China.Among the younger generation of the Mao family, Mao Shaofeng, the future leader, naturally has the highest status, and no one dares to complain about his father's strange behavior in front of him.

No matter how depressed, the scale of the topic can only be kept on attacking the Shao family.The juniors knew little about business affairs, and the Yan family would not easily associate with Mr. Mao's other siblings in order to avoid suspicion. Many people didn't know why their uncle treated this inexplicable family so well. Pay attention to.

In a family like the Mao family with a well-organized seniority, the cake left for the eldest son is already pitifully small. Now that there is another outsider who is suspected of plundering more resources, it is a ghost not to feel nervous.

"It's really inexplicable. When this family came to visit, they brought two bottles of wine. That Shao Yan started eating peanuts as soon as he sat down, and the uncle acted as if he didn't hear what he was talking to. It was not polite at all."

"At first glance, it looks like a pretty boy. I'm afraid I can't even lift a spatula."

"Looking lazy, he didn't talk to us when he came in, he was timid, and he looked like a person from a small place."

Mao Shaofeng took out a cigarette from his pocket and put it in his mouth. Several people who were still spitting all over the side immediately stopped to take out a lighter. Mao Yuewen quickly lit the fire and sent it to Mao Shaofeng. Seeing the other party leaning over to light a cigarette, I couldn't help asking: "Brother Feng, that guy is so annoying, why don't you teach him a lesson?"

"Teach me who?" The winter sun was warm, and the rattan lounge chair in the Mao family's backyard was covered with soft cushions. It was soft and comfortable to sit in. Mao Shaofeng took a puff on his cigarette and looked at him with half-closed eyes, "Teach Shao Yan a lesson? Why teach him? I think he is quite interesting."

"... Interesting?" Mao Yuewen slowed down closing the lid of the lighter for a moment, and repeated his words a little unexpectedly, "He is silent, so why is it interesting?"

Mao Shaofeng couldn't help laughing when he thought of the look in his father's eyes when he was tangled in staring at Shao Yan while he was talking just now.Because he is the eldest in the family, since he was young, Mr. Mao has a calmer and colder personality than his peers, and he does not relax for a moment when facing the children in the family.The juniors, including Mao Shaofeng brothers, will always be suppressed into a short section of arrogance when they see him. No one dares to show disrespect in front of him, and they have to be very serious even when joking.

Apart from his own grandfather and mother, Mao Shaofeng couldn't find anyone like Shao Yan who dared to lazily answer his questions while eating peanuts.It wasn't a question of politeness, Shao Yan didn't show any impoliteness, he just wasn't afraid of Mr. Mao.

Mao Shaofeng really finds it quite novel that someone is not afraid of his father's majesty.The cousins ​​chattering on the sidelines made him bored. This group of people looked worried that their father would be deceived by people with ulterior motives, but in fact they were just worried that Shao Yan's appearance would divide up their interests.The apprentices didn't even write a word, and they were already afraid that Shao Yan would plot against the Mao family.Who is better than whom?

-

Shao Yan heard Feng Qifang's voice complaining about her husband at the kitchen door: "What do you want to do? Yuke brought her sister and the others as guests, so you have to disrupt the situation, don't you? There are also people who force people to apprentice, I have never heard of it. Do you want to be shameless? The older you get, the more shameless you are?"

Shao Yan frowned slightly, thinking that modern society is indeed full of shrews, and the awe of women can't help but increase.He didn't go in immediately, but deliberately made a relatively large approaching movement. Feng Qifang knew how to measure, and immediately stopped complaining, and turned her head to look, with a two-point apology in her tone: "Yanyan you Don't pay attention to your Uncle Mao, he is just messing around with his donkey temper!"

Mr. Mao had already put on the apron by himself behind her, and his wife's scolding came in one ear and out the other like the wind.After Feng Qifang finished speaking, she waved to Shao Yan: "Come in and help me."

Feng Qifang was speechless, and Mr. Mao turned to her again: "You go out first."

Seeing that she was going to get angry, Shao Yan didn't want to have an unfinished ending when his family visited for the first time, so he could only smile at Feng Qifang: "It's okay, I'll just stay."

Feng Qifang looked at him and then at her husband who started fiddling with the kitchen utensils by himself, took a deep breath, and really couldn't do anything about it, so she could only pat Shao Yan's shoulder pitifully, turned around and walked away step by step.

Mr. Mao did not raise his head, and poured the rice wine into the sauce to marinate the fish lip very intently. He stirred it very skillfully, and the gelatinous, soft and fragile fish lip almost became a piece of jelly in his hands. Without decades of hard training, such an effect cannot be achieved.

Shao Yan looked at it for a while, and thought that it was indeed Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, a bigger city.No need to look at other things, just relying on his ability to handle ingredients, Mr. Mao is better than many chefs Shao Yan has seen.

Seeing that he didn't move, Mr. Mao suddenly said, "I started learning to cook when I was six years old."

Shao Yan was stunned for a moment, then smiled slightly: "I was about the same age when I was eight or nine."

Mr. Mao’s voice was deep and hoarse, and his tone was not special, as if he was just stating the most natural: “My father said that I was very talented, but at that time I only felt that cooking was hard work and the spoon and shovel were heavy. I just got used to it, and cooking has different pleasures. I didn’t understand the depth of cooking until I started cooking in my teens. But there are too many excellent chefs, and I can’t compare them. I can only work harder, except In addition to my father, I went to visit famous teachers to study skills, and then I was able to support the Mao family's business, and I am almost forty."

Shao Yan nodded, rolled up his sleeves and washed his hands, and went to help him prepare the dried abalone.

Mr. Mao looked at him with admiration: "There are not many geniuses in this world, the more you should cherish them. You have talents, and you should not bury them for any reason. We have heard about your family's difficulties in S City. I know that you have talents on your shoulders. The burden is heavy, but for the sake of the long-term, in such a predicament, you should learn more."

Shao Yan knew what he meant and didn't answer. After washing the abalone with his hand, he raised a knife and made a deep cut on the skirt.Mr. Mao was still thinking about it, and he couldn't help being stunned when he saw this scene: "What are you doing?"

"The meat on the side of the skirt is tight and easy to taste, and the deep feeding here does not affect the appearance." Shao Yan looked at the two-headed abalone in the small basin on the table, and asked, "Should I make a scallop or stew?"

"It's good to use sea cucumbers for stew." Seeing this, Mr. Mao put down the fish lips that were almost marinated in his hand, and handled the abalone with Shao Yan. It seems easy to do but not so simple.Mr. Mao picked up the abalone prepared by Shao Yan and opened it. The hem of the skirt was neatly kept at a distance from each other. When he opened it, it seemed that there was a universe inside. Although there was only one cut, it was from the outside. Here, there are three knife marks.

He couldn't help being a little surprised: "What kind of saber technique is this? My father also competed with your grandfather when he was young, and I don't see the Shao family have this kind of saber technique."

"I figured it out by myself." Shao Yan held the casserole on the stove very steady, and brought the casserole on the stove to the mouth of the corner stove, opened the pot all the time, and asked Mr. Mao, "Do you mind if I use it?"

Mr. Mao raised his hand towards him, while he looked at the abalones with great interest, stroking the knife marks, he couldn't help frowning, and looked at Shao Yan's hand in disbelief: "It stands to reason that you At my age, the strength of the knife in my hand should not be so steady."

Shao Yan casually rolled a knife for him, the snow-white porcelain knife and his fingers couldn't tell which was more radiant.Mr. Mao couldn't help laughing, the corners of his mouth were slightly raised, and the serious eyebrow lines and nasolabial folds on his face were not as serious as usual.He also went to Shao Yan's side to set up a pot, and choked on the ingredients at the bottom of the pot.

The Mao family's stove is very large, and there is even some distance between the two of them.While throwing garlic slices into the pot, Mr. Mao said to Shao Yan: "The chicken soup stewed in the casserole is used to cook the abalone, just throw the stuff in, and turn on the fire."

Shao Yan did not follow his arrangement, he took a rake and made small holes in the abalone, and then put it aside to dry, put oil in the pan, heat it up, and quickly passed the dried abalone in the oil with chopsticks.The fresh food made a crackling sound in the oil pan, and Shao Yan moved very quickly, leaving almost no trace on the surface of the abalone except for the darkening of the color.Mr. Mao didn't make a sound to stop him from ruining things, but instead asked him with interest: "What are you doing?"

Shao Yan smiled, then put the abalone into the casserole, closed the lid and turned on the fire, and within a short while, the lid of the casserole began to make a rattling sound.

Mr. Mao carefully fished out the seasonings fried in the oil, left the base oil, turned on a very low fire, put the scallions in, spread the fish lip on the top of the scallions, and shook the pot evenly.When the bottom of the scallion is golden, pour the rice wine into the pot evenly.

With a sound of "stabbing", a strong aroma of wine came out, and before it became foggy, it was sucked clean by the range hood.Shao Yan was also a little curious, he had never seen someone use rice wine so ruthlessly.Rice wine is slightly sour and has a strong flavor. Adding a small amount can enhance the freshness of the dishes, but adding so much will undoubtedly overwhelm the guests.But after thinking about it again, he realized that the fish lips that Mr. Mao pickled were all fishy ingredients, and if rice wine was not used, it might not be easy to get rid of the fishy smell.

Shao Yan shook his head, thinking that it was true, the more precious something is, the more flaws it has.Shao Yan actually didn’t know what fun people could have in eating these things. Letting him choose, dishes with strong flavors such as roast leg of lamb and stewed meat are undoubtedly more appetizing, but throughout the ages, people always love to pursue those rare and rare things A material that requires a lot of effort from the chef to make.

It's probably not all a matter of taste.

Seeing that it was almost time, he turned off the casserole that was cooking, fished out the abalone and put it aside.

As soon as the abalone covered by the knife is heated, an umbrella-shaped flower blooms. It is trembling and looks very beautiful. Shao Yan put the fat ham slices into the oil pan and stir-fried the oil, sautéed the onion and garlic until fragrant, and added a small amount of rice wine , Opened a bottle of Laobaigan on the table and poured in a small bottle cap, then fished out all the miscellaneous ingredients, and added some fresh dew.

Mr. Mao, who was observing his movements, couldn't help but widen his eyes because of the explosion of aroma in the pot. He had never tried to stir fry these seasonings in the pot without adding the ingredients.Shao Yan poured a few spoonfuls of stewed abalone soup into the pot again, the soup and oil collided violently, and after everything calmed down, he poured the abalone back again, put the lid on, turned to low heat, and collected the juice Son.

Mr. Mao looked a little silly. He leaned close to Shao Yan's pot, looked at the abalone under the transparent glass cover that was constantly beating with the soup, and couldn't help asking: "What kind of cuisine do you have?"

"Shao's cuisine." Shao Yan replied. Seeing the other party's brows furrowed in confusion, he couldn't help but point to his pot: "I think you, fish lips, if you choke like me before cooking, maybe you There is no need to put so much rice wine."

"Oh..." Mr. Mao touched his chin thoughtfully, and couldn't help nodding his head: "You have a...good idea. You don't need a lot of oil, and the fish lips won't melt, and the taste has been adjusted in advance. ...why didn't I think of that?"

But after a while, the soup mixed with abalone aroma wafted unscrupulously. Mr. Mao began to approach Shao Yan, asking him about the ingredients and his thoughts on the processing of raw materials.After encountering a topic of interest, Mr. Mao talked a lot. It was only after the two of them really communicated that he realized that Shao Yan's culinary skills were much more advanced than he had imagined.He has a stubborn temper, but he is not clear about it. He immediately apologized for what he said to Shao Yan during the meeting just now. When the two talked about their relationship, Mr. Mao became epileptic and called Shao Yan brothers and sisters again.

The Shao family's parents were sitting on pins and needles outside, worried that Shao Yan would offend Mr. Mao indiscriminately at a young age, and worried that Mr. Mao would be wronged by Shao Yan because of his age.

Li Yuke was still comforting Shao's mother, but after seeing Shao Yan come out of the kitchen for a long time, she also became nervous.She wondered if she should ask Feng Qifang to take her to the kitchen to see what was going on, when suddenly there was a strong fragrance from a distance that made her heart burst.

"What is the taste?"

"Wow, it smells so good!"

"It's so fresh, it must be a big dish!"

"What did uncle and brother do?"

Everyone in the hall immediately became lively, and the vaguely isolated Shao family was excluded from this discussion. Mr. Mao's craftsmanship is currently the most proud capital of the Mao family. He would not pay attention to the Shao family from a small place.The apprenticeship just now seemed to them an absurd joke. Even if Mr. Mao agreed, their younger siblings and Mr. Mao would never sit idly by.

Shao's father suddenly felt a little familiar at this moment, and couldn't help asking Shao's mother in a low voice: "Could it be Mr. Mao who brought Yanyan to cook inside?"

"I smell Yanyan's craftsmanship." Shao's mother has always been very confident in her son, and after smelling the fragrance, she relieved her nervousness a lot. "I smell the aroma of ham, and Yanyan likes to put seafood Ham, I've never seen anyone do that except him."

Their voices were so small that no one else in the hall could hear them. It was the first time that the Mao family had smelled this scent. Looking at Shao's parents.Li Yuke and Yan Yi did not dare to offend them. The Shao family, who were regarded as guests of honor as soon as they arrived at the Mao family, naturally became public enemies.Knowing that this family came from a small town to develop in City S, they began to look down on them. The signboard of the Shao family can still be used around Province A, but it is obviously not enough to take it outside. The rapid economic development of City S in recent years has attracted a lot of people who want to make money to do business, regardless of whether they are capable or not, all of them flock to it, which is the most annoying thing.They stayed for a long time, and saw a lot of dizzy and flamboyant people who were praised in small places, and they all came back to their hometown in despair when they came to fight in the end.

Even if the Shao family doesn't necessarily end up like that, it will definitely not be much better in the end. It is really interesting that they came out to seize the market a few years ago, and waited until the branch family had nowhere to go before going to S City. City A has no place to stand, so could City S be used as a garbage dump?

The juniors followed the scent and returned to the house happily, no matter how upset they were outside before, because of their tutoring, they will not be rude in front of guests.At best, the young people regarded the Shao family as transparent people, and the Mao Yuewen siblings only dared to hide aside and curl their lips secretly.Mao Shaofeng lay lazily on the side thinking about the origin of this fragrance, when he caught sight of the two of them, he showed disdain, and with a flash of his eyes, he found someone coming out from the direction of the kitchen.

It's Shao Yan.

He was walking outside with his head down, wiping his hands with a light yellow satin handkerchief. Mao Shaofeng stared at his movements for a while, and couldn't help squinting his eyes.Shao Yan's fingers were white, tender and slender, with a pampered appearance, and the nails that had just been washed turned into a clear and transparent color, which was very elegant.that handkerchief...

Mao Shaofeng was rarely surprised: this is his father's handkerchief.

Mr. Mao loves his hands very much. His hands are used to hold knives, carve patterns, and select ingredients. He can know how hot the oil is by simply brushing the surface of the pot. Such a pair of treasures must not be ignored casually.In fact, except for cooking, he rarely uses cold water. He soaks his hands in warm water regularly every day and then maintains them. He usually does not use paper towels to clean after cooking, but must use silk handkerchiefs to dry them.This is actually a tradition of the Mao family. It is said that their ancestors did this many years ago, but in fact, there are not many people in the Mao family who can enjoy this treatment. Except for Mr. Mao, there is only Mr. Mao .

Handkerchiefs are all custom-made by himself. Mr. Mao has a cleanliness habit, and the things he uses are rarely touched by others. It is the first time that Mao Shaofeng has seen his father share such things so generously.

Shao Yan raised his head after wiping his hands. Almost everyone in the hall was looking at him. He didn't show any timidity, and smiled at them: "Come in, the vegetables are almost done."

Shao's father and Shao's mother stood up, and they were relieved when they saw Shao Yan gave them a reassuring look.Everyone in the Mao family was so overwhelmed by his unrecognizable master that they didn't move for a while, when Mr. Mao yelled from the direction of the kitchen: "Let you come in quickly! What are you doing?"

Shao Yan helped his parents to get up, noticed the unkind eyes and looked back at them one by one, not to be outdone. His sharp eyes made the expressions of the juniors who regarded him as an imaginary enemy unnatural, and they all bowed their heads and dared not take the initiative to provoke again As soon as the group arrived at the restaurant, they ran into Mr. Mao who was excitedly coming out of the kitchen with abalone. The Mao family was stunned when they saw the smile on his face.

Mr. Mao didn't talk to his family at all. He hasn't served a plate for many years, and today he made an exception because he was in a good mood.He tried Shao Yan's method of sautéing fish lips before serving the wine, and the result turned out to be better than ever!Needless to say, the fish lips are sweet, smooth and waxy. The fishy smell that was originally covered by a large amount of rice wine has also been mixed with fresh dew to form a special fragrance, which reduces the sourness of the rice wine and improves the quality of the dishes. It kills two birds with one stone. , Turn decay into magic.

If he could, he would definitely hug Shao Yan and give him a kiss. A few words solved the problem of new dishes that had troubled him for so many years.Yuchun was originally Mao's signature dish, and there are more or less deficiencies in various methods. Now that I know it, I can solve the problem in this way. By analogy, it may only be a matter of time before many difficulties are solved.

The abalone stewed by Shao Yan was thickened with the remaining broth, and Mr. Mao took it when the finished product came out.The shape of the abalone that has been in the oil pan is really beautiful like never before. He cut one in the kitchen, because the sauce was stewed into the abalone meat because of the change of the knife. The delicious abalone meat is springy on the outside and soft on the inside. Seafood and Gorgon soup are a perfect match, and he ate half of them without knowing it.

It has been a long time since his father was in poor health and did not cook well. Mr. Mao has not enjoyed this kind of fun of discussing with others. The two sides learn and exchange experiences from each other, and innovation and sublimation come from here.

The table is covered with fresh food, and the fish lip and abalone are obviously big dishes, and the mixed aroma of the two dishes is even more irresistible from a close distance.Mao Shaofeng suddenly felt that the size of the abalone on this plate was a bit bizarre, but after a closer look, he found that the hem of the abalone's body was opened for some reason, and it seemed to be about the size of a head.The thick gorgon juice on Bao's body was bright in color, and it flowed down from Bao's body. Just looking at it for a while, he couldn't help but salivate.

The elders and juniors of the Mao family looked around the dining table, and couldn't help but praise Mr. Mao: "Why is the abalone cooked so well today!"

"Yeah! It's big and fleshy and straight, I've never smelled such a mellow umami!"

"Father used to cook, and his cooking may not be as good as yours. It's really better than blue!"

"The fish lip is also much better than before!"

"The fish lip is really better than before?" Mr. Mao laughed loudly, and his deep voice echoed in the restaurant: "That's indeed the blue is better than the blue! Old Yan, you brought such a nephew to me. I'm starving. Brother Shao! Come and sit with me!"

Shao's father inexplicably thought that the other party was greeting him, and before he had time to leave, he saw Mr. Mao walking over quickly, holding Shao Yan's shoulders and leading him towards the main seat.Shao Yan's expression was a little helpless, and he whispered to him: "Mr. Mao called me brother, won't the family's seniority be messed up?"

"Isn't it good for everyone to call their own?" Mr. Mao obviously doesn't care about these things. He didn't greet anyone except Shao Yan. I made it myself with brother Shao, hahahaha, I really can’t accept this apprentice. If there is a chance in the future, I will invite you to meet my father in our Mao’s old house. He has been obsessed with cooking all his life. You two must have something to say when you meet .”

Shao Yan was placed second at the main table, and the people around him, including Li Yuke and his wife, looked at him inexplicably.The eyes of the Mao family seem to be looking at aliens. Does this Shao Yan learn witchcraft?Their family members surnamed Mao haven't seen Mr. Mao so cheerful for many years.Feng Qifang greeted the guests with a smile to clean up the mess left by her husband, and she was especially considerate to the Shao family couple.After being seated, a group of people looked at each other and saw that Mr. Mao had already started to move his chopsticks, so he slowly picked up the abalone.

When the fork pierced Bao's body, the unusual texture made them feel a little amazed.

After cutting off a small piece of entrance, everyone couldn't help looking at Shao Yan in amazement, who was rejecting the fish lips scooped up by Mr. Mao in the direction of the main seat with a headache on his face.

The abalone is springy on the outside and soft and glutinous on the inside. The thick gravy permeates into the abalone unscientifically. After one bite, various thick and layered aromas burst out one after another, making it almost impossible to stop eating.

How could there be such an unscientific craft!