[Red Mansion] A little chef came to the Grand View Garden

Liu Mei heard Siqi sticking to her ear, and bluntly said that she didn't like her.

She smiled "hehe" and said, "Everyone!"—she didn't need chess players to like her.

Unexpectedly, this answer was right for Siqi.As soon as Siqi stretched out his hand, he slapped Liu Mei's shoulder hard, causing her whole body to shake.Liu Mei is used to cooking, so she thought to herself that the strength in her hands may not be as strong as playing chess.

"I thought that Qingwen was the only one in Yihongyuan who was a little better. The rest of the people were the ones who smiled at you in front of you, but wanted to stab you behind their backs. I didn't expect there to be such a straightforward person like you."

Liu Mei smiled wryly: If Siqi hadn't been straightforward first, she might not have been so forthright.

"Remember, tomorrow, if there is an extra word of gossip in the garden, then I'm sorry... I keep my word, so you can't eat it." Siqi grabbed her shoulder and shook her hard. Shaking, if it was someone else, she would definitely be shaken to the point of being a mess.

But Liu Mei stabilized, stretched out her hand suddenly, entangled Siqi's arm in turn, and slammed Siqi hard, saying: "Oh, I'm so sorry, girl, I really don't have the time to gossip. But ah, If you are afraid of people gossiping, please be more cautious yourself."

Liu Mei: If you can do it yourself, don't be afraid of what others say!

Siqi: My sister just did it, or she just doesn’t allow others to say—how dare you do it?

For a while the words were not speculative, Liu Mei and Siqi two stared and competed for a while in the Grand View Garden.It wasn't until last night's mother-in-law came that the two broke up, one went to Zilingzhou, and the other went back to Yihong Courtyard.

Unexpectedly, only one day later, Liu Mei saw Siqi again in the Xiaoxiang Pavilion.

On this day, Liu Mei was going to send the newly made snacks to the Xiaoxiang Pavilion, just as the Xiaoxiang Pavilion was full of gatherings, welcoming Tanxi for three springs, plus Li Wan Baochai, all arrived.Only Baoyu went out, but Shi Xiangyun's was gone.

"Look, this girl knows how to deliver snacks to Xiaoxiang Hall. Why don't you want to run to our Hengwu Garden?" Baochai pointed at Liu Mei and joked.

Liu Mei immediately called out to hit Tianqu.

"Miss Bao, I can't bear to say that? Didn't I find out that all the girls are here with Miss Lin, so I sent all your dim sums here at once, and invite all the girls to eat something fresh and hot?"

Liu Mei called out luck in her heart.Fortunately, this dim sum is labor-intensive to make, and there are three choices for stuffing, so she simply made more at a time, and made a little of each.If Jiao Baochai's bitter words are true, she doesn't care, but if she invites some gossip for Daiyu, it will be bad.

As she spoke, she opened the red-lacquered snack box in her hand.Everyone probed their heads and saw that there were pink and white cakes inside, cut into diamond shapes piece by piece, with rouge color dotted on the top, as red as peach blossoms.Looking at the weight, it is enough for all the grandmas and girls here.

"What's this called?" Seeing that the pastry was fresh, Tanchun was the first to ask.

"Three layers of jade belt cake!" Liu Mei replied with a smile.

This jade belt cake was originally not a particularly expensive dessert, but it was made by mixing glutinous rice and japonica rice together to soften it, then grinding it into rice flour, and sandwiching a layer of pre-boiled fillings between the two layers of flour, steamed in a pan made.There are three kinds of fillings, namely sweet-scented osmanthus sugar, suet white sugar, and sugar-roasted sesame seeds. They are all sweet and go well with tea.So Daiyu hurriedly ordered Zicuckoo to make tea to match.

"It seems that Tete gave it to Sister Lin, and she will greet us!" Xichun was young and spoke carelessly.Others listened and didn't care.

Yingchun, the second girl of the Jia family, sits under Daiyu.She has a gentle and quiet temperament, and has never said anything.But Liu Mei felt a pair of fierce eyes staring at her.

She raised her head slightly, and sure enough, she saw Siqi standing behind Yingchun, their eyes met, Siqi immediately smiled maliciously at Liu Mei.

For a while, everyone took the pastries. Although the pastries are simple, they are quite popular because they are cooked just right, they are soft and soft, the fillings are soft and glutinous, sweet but not greasy.

Baochai also took a piece of suet and white sugar, handed it to a young girl with combed hair beside her, and said with a smile: "Try this, it has a southern taste."

Liu Mei saw that the girl had a good appearance, with a little cinnabar mole on the center of her eyebrows, so she knew that she should be Xiangling.

Xiangling thanked Baochai, took it too, took a sip, her face changed slightly, and she was a little dazed.

"What's the matter?" Daiyu was sitting opposite Xiangling, and hurriedly asked her.

Hearing this, Xiang Ling felt a little panicked, and quickly shook her head, "It's nothing—it's just this cake..."

Baochai smiled and looked at Xiangling: "Just tell me, what's wrong with this cake?"

"The taste of this cake seems familiar, I always feel as if I have tasted it before." Xiangling looked at Daiyu apologetically, "It tastes delicious, but I really don't remember where I tasted this cake , maybe when I was very young..."

Liu Mei heard Xiang Ling talking at the side, and her nervous heart relaxed, but she couldn't help but be speechless in surprise.

This three-layer jade belt cake is really not a red building dim sum, but a dim sum that she accidentally ate at a small shop in Guanqian Street when she traveled to Suzhou before time travel.Liu Mei was amazed at the time, and sincerely asked the proprietress how to make jade belt cake.After asking, I found out that sweet-scented osmanthus sugar and sugar-roasted sesame seeds are all later designs, but the one with suet and white sugar is an ancient practice handed down from the Qing Dynasty.

And Xiangling, according to the book, lived in Gusu until she was three years old.

Now Liu Mei made such a jade belt cake according to the recipe she got in Guanqian Street, Suzhou in later generations, and after Xiangling tasted it, she was able to tell that it might be a dessert she had tasted when she was a child.

It can be seen that the taste in people's memory is branded more deeply and lasts longer.

At the same time, Liu Mei also felt that every detail of this world formed according to the original book of the Red Chamber was extremely accurate and terribly delicate.

Most of the people in the Grand View Garden know Xiangling's origin. They know that she was abducted since she was a child, and they can't remember where her hometown is.At this moment, everyone either looked at Xiangling with sympathy, or opened their mouths to ask.

Liu Mei was also thinking, should she tell Xiangling directly that her recipe comes from Suzhou, maybe it can bring Xiangling a little thought.

When Baochai heard this, she spread her hands and said with a smile, "I brought you here to see Miss Lin because you wanted to ask her to learn poetry as a teacher. If you change your mind now and want to learn how to cook with a little girl like Liu Mei, it's even worse." OK. I have nothing to say!"

Xiangling was confused for a moment, but when she heard Baochai say that, she finally dismissed her thoughts about the jade belt cake, turned her head to look at Daiyu, and said politely, "Miss Lin, you are laughing."

Seeing that she didn't ask, Liu Mei couldn't talk anymore.

After all, even if you tell Xiangling, what can Xiangling do.

Maybe she doesn't even know that after experiencing so many things in this world, her fighting spirit is no longer as high as it used to be, and what's left is just the persistence in her heart.

When I was young, everyone used pastries.Liu Mei lowered her eyebrows and put away all the food boxes and containers.Zijuan Xueyan came up to help her together.

Another person intervened and said with a smile: "Miss Liumei made delicious snacks, please allow me to step in and help!"

Liu Mei frowned, seeing Si Qi approaching with a smile.

Zijuan praised: "Siqi, it's rare that you and Liu Mei have a good relationship!"

Liu Mei sighed in her heart - who has a good relationship with Siqi?

But Siqi deliberately stretched out his hand, hooked Liu Mei's arm, smiled and said to Zijuan: "Zijuan, you are busy here, I will send Liumei out."

As she spoke, she conveniently lifted the food box in Liu Mei's hand, and slipped out of the flower hall of the Xiaoxiang Pavilion lightly and deftly.

"What do you want to do?" Liu Mei was extremely uncomfortable being embraced by Siqi with his shoulders and backs.

Only Siqi asked in a low voice: "I heard...you often make snacks for the Xiaoxiang Pavilion?"

Liu Mei didn't answer, but just listened attentively to see what this chess game really meant.

"I also heard that since you have been living in Yihong Courtyard, both of you, mother and daughter, naturally bend your elbows inward, so you should do everything you can in Yihong Courtyard." Si Qi added in Liu Mei's ear.

"What do you mean by that?" Liu Mei became a little vigilant, what do you mean they are two mothers and daughters, doing everything in Yihong Courtyard?

"What do I mean?" Siqi's expression showed that she was obviously "hehe" in her heart, "Those of us who live in other yards have never seen any benefits after getting up in the small kitchen in this yard! Tell me!" , Did you take the quotas from other places to subsidize the Xiaoxiang Pavilion and Yihong Courtyard?"

When Siqi asked such a pressing question, Liu Mei immediately understood.

When Wang Xifeng built this small kitchen, he had some selfish intentions, not necessarily for the well-being of the girls in the garden.After the small kitchen got up, Liu Mei lived in Yihong Courtyard, and became close to Xiaoxiang Pavilion.These are nothing in her own opinion, but in the eyes of others, she feels unfair.The so-called don't worry about the few but the unevenness, even Baochai occasionally has bitter words, how can he stop someone like Siqi who treats her willow eyebrows with the heart of a villain, thinking that their mother and daughter are not equal to each other. What about secretly skipping ingredients?

"Let me tell you the truth! At the beginning, the old lady specially sent a message, asking me to make some nourishing dishes to help Miss Lin's body. You see, Sister Yuanyang came to see me every month, and that's why." Liu Mei was serious. Explain the matter of the Xiaoxiang Pavilion clearly—in fact, the mandarin ducks who come here every month are the extras for her mother Jia.

"But Miss Lin is sensible and never bothers anyone. All the materials are provided by the Xiaoxiang Pavilion itself, and even the labor is done by Sister Zijuan and the others themselves. I just come here occasionally to help."

Liu Mei is really not exaggerating.

Let’s talk about the rice oil. Ever since she taught Xueyan, she never cooked it for Daiyu herself.As for those high-quality bird's nests and snowflake foreign candies, they were also gifts from Mrs. Wang, Sister Feng and others.As for cakes like jade belt cake, she doesn't make them every day, but she does make some every now and then, and it's inevitable that Daiyu will give them to others, and invite Yingchun Baochai and the others to enjoy them together.

Daiyu lived alone in Jia's house, and never deliberately asked for anything, but tried her best to avoid troubles from Jia's servants.This kind of temperament and consideration, not to mention others, she Liu Mei is the first to admire her.

"As for the second master Bao, my current status is still in Yihong Courtyard. In name, I am still a girl in Yihong Courtyard. There are many sisters in the upper class. If they call me around, I can't be lazy and sit still. !"

"But I can assure you that each house and court has its own quota. There is absolutely no reason for us to deduct any one's quota and go to another one." Liu Mei stared at Siqi closely, without even evasive eyes.

She knew that Siqi had a straight temper, and everything she said had to be said clearly and firmly in person, otherwise it would only leave future troubles.

After hearing this, Siqi squinted at Liu Mei in disbelief, and said, "Then how did I hear..."

"Forget it, since you said that, I'll believe you first!" Siqi's arm loosened his eyebrows, "If I really know that your small kitchen is depriving us of Zilingzhou's share, hum..."

"I told you that you can't eat it and walk around!" Liu Mei made up in her heart, she knew that Siqi was just saying this over and over again.

When Liu Mei was young, she went back to the small kitchen and bumped into someone she knew, but she was an acquaintance—Chunyan, a little girl from Yihong Courtyard.

"Mei'er!" Chunyan greeted cheerfully, "You are back! I waited for a long time and saw Aunt Liu busying herself. Where have you been?"

Liu Mei was a little puzzled, it was not the time to start preparing dinner, and she had already handed over all the preparations to be done in advance to the maid in the small kitchen, so she didn't need her mother to do anything.

But she soon understood what Chunyan meant.

I saw Mother Liu came out of the small kitchen with two freshly baked stir-fries, first showed Chunyan, and said, "Miss Qingwen thinks these are okay?"

Chunyan nodded, looked at Liu Mei beside her with a confused face, and explained with a grin.

"Sister Qingwen did her homework too late yesterday, so she wakes up today without energy. Second Master Bao ordered her to rest, but she missed her lunch. Sister Qingwen ordered me to come over and ask Aunt Liu to cook Two dishes!"

Liu Mei was speechless when she heard that——Qingwen, ordered Chunyan to come over and "call" her mother to cook two dishes? !

"Sister Qingwen has a bad appetite," Chunyan said, completely unaware of the problem, "and asked for fried Artemisia annua. When I came over, Aunt Liu asked me whether it was chicken or meat. I said it was because of meat. It’s not good, so I asked for another gluten-fried one with less oil. Aunt Liu washed her hands and went to stir-fry after hearing this..."

Liu Mei felt that her jaw was about to drop when she heard it.

Then take a look at the two plates of hot frying in Mother Liu's hand. One plate is Qingwen's request to cook gluten-fried Artemisia annua, and the other plate is a dish of grilled cabbage with mushrooms. Life has an appetite.

But Liu Mei knew that as the weather was getting colder, fresh vegetables such as Artemisia annua, Tricholoma, Choi Sum, etc. were the most in demand.She has never had more copies from the big kitchen.Mother, where did the material come from?