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

Liu Mei was alone, walking slowly through the wide corridor of Ming Garden, her mind was in a mess.

Lin Xiaohong was left in the flower hall just now, while Chef Shao and other people in Hongshunlou had stayed in the kitchen just now.

At this time, the time of ugliness has long passed, and the sky over the tea garden is already slightly bright, while the lights and noise in the garden have gradually become lonely at this time.

Shi Qing's favorite diet?

——Where did she get half of the clue?

If Shiqing can still read what she thinks like when the system was in place, the two of them should be considered cheating, right?

But now that the system is not there, and her mind is really empty, she has never thought of eating or drinking, so why does Shiqing trust her so much, and believe that she can have a... tacit understanding with him?

Liu Mei held on to the white jade railing beside her and looked at the tea garden after the banquet. People were satisfied but also tired... Seeing that the sky was getting brighter, the once noisy and seething huge joyous field finally ended. will return to silence—like life.

Thinking of Shiqing, Liu Mei felt a little subtle feeling in her heart.

She once thought that Shiqing understood her, and that the two could synchronize on certain things, but later found that it was only because the system could read her mind.

But now the system is gone, and Shiqing seems... so far away.

"Master Liu, Master Liu!" Chef Shao and the second chef "inexperienced" came running from a distance along the bright corridor.

"Master Liu, are you okay!" Lao Shao rubbed the sweat on his brow, he was really anxious.

"What's wrong?" Liu Mei shook her head to indicate that she was fine.

"Master Xie came back just now, and he didn't say anything when he came back, so he collected all the better materials from our side, saying that he wanted to use them." The second chef explained to Liu Mei slightly panting.

"We didn't wait for you to come back, and we didn't know what happened. I was afraid that you had discussed it with him beforehand, so we didn't dare to stop you. It's just that the more we thought about it, the more something went wrong..."

So Chef Shao and "Inexperienced" left everything in the kitchen behind and came out to find her.

Now Liu Mei understood Xie Xiaochuan's intention to go back early.

Most of the ingredients prepared by Dingju and Hongshunlou were prepared for the four rounds of competition. Up to now, the good ingredients are almost exhausted.Especially Xie Xiaochuan's Qi Dingju, the dishes he cooks, such as the "seeing the dragon unloading the armor", are extremely broth-intensive and material-intensive dishes.Moreover, there may be very few good materials that are really needed for living there.

So Xie Xiaochuan went back early, and while she and Lin Xiaohong were away, he quickly picked all the materials that could be used from Hongshunlou to his side, leaving nothing for Liu Mei——

Who told the two of them to be rivals right now?

Liu Mei sighed lowly, she had long understood that Xie Xiaochuan should be such a person.

This man has an uncontrollable ambition in his heart, and his utilitarian heart enables him to automatically switch from a teammate to an opponent in the blink of an eye, and do everything that will hinder the opponent.

So Shiqing only said one sentence, which made Xie Xiaochuan reveal his true colors, turning his face and denying anyone.

Liu Mei was silent: So, does she have to be grateful to Shiqing?

To be honest, Liu Mei can understand Xie Xiaochuan's behavior with different positions at the moment.

It's just this person, from now on, she never wants to cooperate with him again.

"Is that so?" Hearing Liu Mei's ins and outs, Chef Shao and "Inexperienced" jumped at the same time, rolled up their sleeves one after another, expressing their intention to snatch back all the ingredients that Xie Xiaochuan robbed.

Looking at the two people in front of her, Liu Mei felt a little warm in her heart: Although one had been inflated and disillusioned, and the other was a little silly, the two in front of her are her "real" teammates.

"No, don't worry! Anyway, I'm still thinking about finalizing the dishes. I'll think about it later, and I'll ask the two of you to grab the ingredients!"

Chef Shao and the other two hurriedly patted their chests, saying that as long as Liu Mei opens his mouth, they will go into fire and into water.

Liu Mei took a deep breath, and pulled her thoughts away from Xie Xiaochuan—she had to think hard about Shiqing after all.

So, here comes the question, what would Shiqing most want to eat at the moment?

For a while, Xie Xiaochuan and Liu Mei returned to the flower hall side by side. They each held a food box, which contained the finished products they had made.

Immediately, a waiter from Mingyuan came up, took the food box from the two of them, and took out the container inside.

Xie Xiaochuan's container is extremely delicate, it is a three-legged tripod made of porcelain.

"What is this?" Shiqing asked first.

To be honest, when Xie Xiaochuan's three-legged tripod was taken out of the food box, everyone in the flower hall felt that the attractive aroma was constantly coming out, and they all probed to know what kind of dish it was.

"Reporting to His Royal Highness, the name of this dish is 'Ask for the Top of the World'!" Xie Xiaochuan replied loudly, "It is based on sea cucumber, abalone, scallop, fish lip, deer tendon, fish maw, fish maw, pigeon, pigeon egg, ham, ribs , chicken and duck breast, chicken and duck gizzard slices, winter bamboo shoots, mushrooms and other fresh ingredients, first cooked separately, then put into a pot, the above chicken juice, ham juice, scallop juice and Shaoxing wine are simmered, and finally put into a cauldron, meaning A cauldron catches all the freshness in the world."

Hearing this name, the ambition is immediate.

Shiqing nodded slightly, but the old man beside him showed a somewhat nervous expression for some reason.

Looking at what Liu Mei presented, it was an ordinary casserole with a lid on it.

"What's inside?" Shiqing raised his eyes and asked her.

"My lord knows it just by looking at it!" Liu Mei smiled and didn't say much.

Shiqing glanced at her, then went to lift the lid of the casserole.

All the bystanders let out a "hey".

The moment the steam dissipated after the lid was lifted, everyone was surprised to find that the casserole presented by Liu Mei contained a bowl of rice—ordinary white rice.

"Master Liu... are you... admitting defeat?" Wei Laosan, who was watching from the side of the seat, asked loudly in surprise.

At this moment, the person who is most annoyed is Wei Laosan of the "Nine Big Bowls".Poor him just now had a bet with Lao Zhou and others, betting ten taels of silver on Liu Mei's victory.So when Wei Laosan saw a bowl of white rice appearing, it was hard for Wei Laosan to believe his eyes.

Liu Mei didn't answer, others thought her skills were not as good as others, so they simply gave up.Few people would have thought that how many ingredients are in Xie Xiaochuan's "Aspiration for the World", which was originally prepared by Hongshunlou, and prepared by Chef Shao and the others in advance. Otherwise, how could it be done with the time Xie Xiaochuan spent This is the way to "aspire to the top of the world".

But at this moment, old man Bai who was sitting next to Shiqing let out a "huh" and leaned over to carefully look at the rice in the casserole.

He looked at Shiqing, and asked cautiously: "Your Highness, can Caomin...?"

Shiqing nodded, took the spoon by himself, and scooped a spoonful of rice into the bowl in front of Old Man Bai.

And Bai Hongtai held the bowl in both hands, placed it in front of him, and looked at it carefully.

The flower hall in the tea garden was brightly lit, and the spoonful of rice in the bowl of old man Bai was illuminated, crystal clear and distinct.Bai Hongtai held the chopsticks and flicked them lightly, only to see that the rice grains were loose, but slightly stuck together, as if separated.

Xie Xiaochuan was next, and seeing the master looking at the bowl of rice cooked by Liu Mei so solemnly, but not moving his chopsticks to taste the fragrant "Winning the World" he made, he finally couldn't help but frowned. brow.

He tilted his head to look at Liu Mei, and saw Liu Mei's expression was as calm as Huan, as if Mr. Bai's serious attitude had not surprised her at all.

Finally, Bai Hongtai put a chopstick of rice into his mouth, chewed it carefully, and bowed to Shiqing with a slanted body, then put down the bowl and chopsticks, and did not speak.

While Bai Hongtai was tasting the rice made by Liu Mei, Shiqing was concentrating on playing with the various dishes in Xie Xiaochuan's porcelain cauldron with his chopsticks - just playing with it, as if hesitating, what should be tasted.

When Bai Hongtai put down his chopsticks, Shiqing also put aside "Aspiration for the World", and went to serve a spoonful of rice by himself.He even changed to a pair of clean chopsticks before taking the rice into his mouth and savoring it slowly.

Xie Xiaochuan's reaction to Shiqing was not surprising, he had seen Shiqing's eyes staring at Liu Mei before, and he had also seen Liu Mei leaning on a railing alone, worried and worried.He already had a premonition in his heart that no matter what Liu Mei presented, even if it was poisoned wine, Shiqing would be willing to enjoy it.

However, Xie Xiaochuan still had a glimmer of hope in his heart, a little doubt——

Such a bowl of plain rice always needs side dishes!

Xie Xiaochuan knew early in the morning that Liu Mei cooked such a bowl of plain rice, and he even thought that what Liu Mei did was precisely what could best complement his way of "aspiring to be the best in the world", just like Liu Mei, a girl who is generous and considerate , will be his best partner...

It's just that Xie Xiaochuan himself knows that after this incident, Liu Mei is determined not to partner with him again.

However, the temptation of the imperial signboard was too great for him - after all, "Standing" is only a rising star at the moment, and his reputation in Beijing is not obvious yet.Therefore, for Xie Xiaochuan, an ordinary girl who met by chance and a kitchen maid of a rich family is absolutely worthless to Xie Xiaochuan as a golden signboard.

However, what disappointed Xie Xiaochuan was——

Shiqing ate a spoonful of Liu Mei's rice, and made two more spoonfuls by himself... Until he ate all the rice in his bowl, Shiqing never touched the dishes presented by Xie Xiaochuan again. .

Shiqing put down the bowls and chopsticks in his hands, lowered his head to hold the cup, drank the liquor in the cup, and then took the handkerchief and sipped it lightly on his lips.

"According to what this king sees, the victory and defeat have already been decided, Mr. Bai, what do you think?" He turned his head to look at Bai Hongtai.

Old Master Bai nodded respectfully, and said, "Yes! I have already made it clear."

The owner of the nearby tea garden spoke, and said flatly: "My lord, Mr. Bai, I am responsible for monitoring and arbitrating. Although neither of you has ever tasted the 'Winning the World', for the sake of fairness, I will taste both at the same time. "

Both Shiqing and Bai Hongtai have no objection.

So the owner of the tea garden held the spoon, first scooped a spoonful of Liu Mei’s rice, and then turned his attention to Xie Xiaochuan’s “Aspirations to the World”.

The dishes served in the porcelain tripod were golden red in color and attractive in aroma. It seemed that even the soup in the tripod was saturated with the rich umami flavor of the main ingredients.

The owner of the tea garden hesitated for a moment, took a spoonful of soup, and wanted to pour it on the rice.However, Shiqing and old master Bai said at the same time: "No..."

When Shiqing saw the owner of the tea garden stop, he also stopped talking, but old man Bai continued, "Even if the soup is delicious, I would rather eat the soup in one mouthful, eat it in one mouthful, and eat it in front and back, so as to get the best of both worlds.① "

The owner of the tea garden was stunned for a moment, but finally heeded Mr. Bai's suggestion, took a sip of the soup, and then the rice. After thinking for a while, he put down his chopsticks.

"In my opinion, these two dishes..." He originally wanted to say "dishes", but suddenly remembered that Liu Mei made rice, so he quickly changed his words and said, "The food and drink are all top-notch, and there are no obvious flaws. "

"This 'Win the World' dish, after cooking, the meaty aromas of various high-grade ingredients are integrated into one, and the tastes of each are still distinct. It can be said that there is a taste in the taste, and the flavors are colorful!"

The owner of the tea garden is also a well-known gourmet eater. This is a very high evaluation of the dishes. The famous chefs of the four major cuisines nearby all nodded.

"As for Master Liu's bowl of rice—I just want to say that at this point, I don't think about anything in my stomach, but I just think about this bowl of rice."

"Not to mention, such a touching bowl of rice!"

As he spoke, he stood up, bowed to Liu Mei far away, and said, "Thank you, Master Liu, for thinking about it."

Liu Mei only smiled faintly, and replied: "You are welcome."

At this time, the east was already white, and everyone realized that it was already a night.The judges at the banquet sat all night and tasted all kinds of delicacies, but in the end, a bowl of simple rice can give people the most warm comfort.

"However, in the end, the outcome will still be based on the rules agreed in advance by His Royal Highness and Mr. Bai!"

The owner of the tea garden slapped his palms and ordered someone to fetch the box that had been sealed in advance.Everyone knew that this was the key to the victory, so they all looked up and wanted to know what the two had written in advance.

The owner of the tea garden opened Shiqing's box first, and took out the banner written by Shiqing in advance.

Everyone let out a "Huh" again, only to see the four big characters "The Origin of Hundred Flavors" written on it.

Xie Xiaochuan frowned, turned his head to look at Liu Mei.He saw Liu Mei standing beside him, looking at the people at the banquet and smiling slightly, but there was some warm moisture in his eyes.

How did he know, Liu Mei clearly remembered that a famous gourmet eater once wrote down in his food list, "Food is the root of all flavors".

Sure enough, Shi Qing replied in a clear voice: "The root of all flavors in my heart is sweet and mellow rice. The sweetness of rice is above all flavors! Those who know the taste don't need to use vegetables when they meet good food."

What he said made old man Bai nod his head again and again, and he sincerely agreed: "Your Highness is right."

Xie Xiaochuan never imagined that he tried his best and tried his best to make a final effort, but according to everyone's evaluation, he was not as good as a bowl of white rice?

Therefore, he was more concerned about what his master, Mr. Bai, wrote in the box. It is said that he has not been a teacher for a long time, so he should not deviate too far if he tries to figure out what his master wants.Could it be that his master didn't want him to inherit the mantle, become the champion in this food and cooking, and aspire to be the best in the world?

The owner of the tea garden immediately opened the box that old master Bai had sealed in advance, and took out the scroll inside.

Everyone saw four big characters written on it: "Back to simplicity and truth".

Xie Xiaochuan's "Aspiration for the World", but he tried his best in cooking, selected the most abundant ingredients, and cooked the most complicated dishes...

"Off, completely off—"

"This is really unexpected, it is obviously a master and a student..."

Xie Xiaochuan only felt that there was a rumbling sound in his ears, and the comments of others seemed to be far away in the sky.For a moment, Xie Xiaochuan's legs became weak, and he could hardly stand still, so he had to cover up and turned around, bowed to Liu Mei and cupped his hands.

"Master Liu, congratulations!"

Everyone can hear the bitterness in Xie Xiaochuan's words. Seeing this young and promising young man lose to a bowl of rice, he wants to admit defeat to his teammates who fought side by side in the past.

After a whole night of competition, the final winner was Liu Mei, who was the youngest and looked the least champion.

As soon as the news spread, nothing happened in the flower hall, but the outside of the flower hall had already been bombed first.Chef Shao and the others were waiting outside, and as soon as Lin Xiaohong went out and said something, the frying pan started in the front hall first.

"Won--"

"This time I really won!"

The cheers came in.

In the flower hall, Wei Laosan also grinned from ear to ear—he bet ten taels of silver, and no one was optimistic about Liu Mei at that time, so this time he must have made a lot of money.

"Wait a minute!"

In the flower hall, two people spoke at the same time.

Looking at the reputation, I saw that the ones who spoke were Master Zhou from Sanhe Hall and Li Yan from Heyangquan Restaurant.

"His Royal Highness, Mr. Bai, Master of Mingyuan," Master Zhou got up and cupped his hands upwards, "First of all, I would like to congratulate Master Liu of Hongshun Tower. It is really gratifying to be able to win such a competition for the master at such a young age. Congratulations!"

This old Zhou is really treacherous and cunning, let me put the nice words first.

"However, now that I've looked back and thought about it, it seems a bit wrong!"

Shi Qing sat at the top, smiled instead of angry, lowered his voice and asked, "What's wrong?"

Li Yan from Yangquan Restaurant answered at this time, "Since this is a culinary competition, this Master Liu must have presented some amazing dishes. But I watched from the beginning to the end, just wondering, which one? The astonishing dishes are made by Master Liu?"

To be honest, during the entire competition, Liu Mei personally cooked only a few dishes: she did not participate in cold dishes, two venison and venison dishes were considered top-notch, and a steamed duck made with fermented wine was outstanding, but there were four Mercury dishes on top. The "Scallion Roasted Sea Cucumber" was pressed, and finally... finally she served a bowl of rice.

Lao Zhou also nodded and said: "Yes, in such a competition, such a "cooking champion" was elected, and it was spread. Don't be afraid of anything else, I'm afraid that Master Liu himself will be challenged one after another... Master Liu himself Trouble aside, this golden signboard bestowed by the imperial court may be a bit...'not worthy of the name'!"

Listening to the two singing together, Shiqing's pupils shrank slightly, and a storm was brewing in his eyes.

Elder Bai and others next to him were nervous for these two—have you never heard of what kind of person Prince Zhongshun is?

But Li Yan didn't finish his sentence, "Actually, this is not the fault of Master Xiaoliu. Every meeting in this competition is extremely fair. I, Li, never said that there was any unfairness in the judging, but judging from the results, it turned out to be Xiaoliu. The master won the championship, what is the problem? This is a problem with the competition system..."

Before he finished speaking, Shiqing stood up "Huo".The beauty accompanying him was caught off guard, and fell to the floor with a "slap", unable to get up for a long time.

"Very well, you two are not convinced, are you?"

There was a sharp chill emanating from the prince's body, which made everyone in the hall silent for a while.

As for Zhou and Li, their original intention was to belittle Liu Mei, hoping to win a chance to compete again.Right now everyone can be regarded as knowing the basics, if there is another match, there may be a chance to come back.

But what Zhou and Li didn't expect was that they actually offended the King of Hades.

"No, no, no..." Li Yan shook his hands quickly, while Lao Zhou was pale and didn't say a word.

"I'm giving you one last chance," Shiqing said without hesitation, "A keen sense of taste is the basic quality of a chef; and identifying famous wines is also a skill a chef should have, isn't it?"

At this point, no one dares to say otherwise.

Both Zhou and Li nodded like chickens pecking at rice.

"So, the wine my king invited you to drink just now, have you tasted what kind of wine it is?" Zhongshun Prince Shiqing asked coldly.

Zhou and Li looked at each other, just now when they were waiting here for the duel between Xie Liu and the two of them, someone did indeed bring a jar of old wine, His Royal Highness ordered them to share it, and everyone in the banquet was invited to taste it.After tasting, everyone naturally praised the wine, but no one could tell what kind of wine it was.

Lao Zhou shook his head blankly, Li Yan stared desperately at the owner of the tea garden, as if he wanted to see some clues from his face.

The owner of the tea garden quickly waved his hands, "Don't look at me, this is the wine sent by Prince Zhongshun's residence, and it's the first time I taste it. If the prince hadn't mentioned it privately earlier, I would never have thought about the origin of this wine."

Everyone heard that the owner of the tea garden was well-informed, and even he was tasting wine for the first time, so how could Zhou and Li recognize each other.

"If Xiaoliu can identify the origin of this wine, are you two willing to admit defeat?" Shiqing asked coldly.

"Little man is willing!" The two people saw the opportunity quickly, nodded quickly, but thought in their hearts, in terms of age, they must have drunk more wine than Liu Mei, there is no reason why they can't tell, but Liu Mei can tell The reason that comes out.

Shiqing beckoned and ordered: "Bring the wine, let Xiaoliu taste it."

"If you go back to the prince, the jar of wine has already been drunk, and there is no more."

"No more?" Shiqing raised his eyebrows, then turned to look at Liu Mei who was standing in the middle of the flower hall, not knowing where he was going.

"Well, there is no wine left..."

While everyone was staring at him, Shiqing walked slowly to Liu Mei.

"...However, I still believe that she can distinguish... this wine."

People could hear every word Shiqing said clearly, but the words were rare and gentle, and the tone was like whispers between lovers.

Liu Mei saw Shi Qing walking in front of her step by step.

Shiqing's aura has always been oppressive, and this time was no exception—she had to raise her head to face the man who was looking down on her.

Like last time, Shiqing's handsome face was too close, she could clearly smell the alcohol on his body, and she could even discern in her heart naturally, it wasn't Huiquan wine, Su wine, or Shaoxing wine... …

But it was different from last time, last time it was in the empty small hall of Red Sandalwood Castle, but this time it was in the grand flower hall of Mingyuan, behind Liu Mei was full of people's curious and inquiring eyes.

Shiqing stretched out one arm and gently wrapped her waist around her, while the other hand gently hooked her slender chin, leaning over slightly...

--Ugh!

Liu Mei sighed in her heart.

She closed her eyes once again in despair, and let the warm lips cover her cherry mouth.

——As if there is air behind you!

The author has something to say: ① The saying that rice is the root of all flavors comes from Yuan Mei’s "Suiyuan Food List". The root of food." The sweetness of rice is above all kinds of flavors, and those who know the taste don't need to use vegetables when they meet good rice.Yuan Mei also said that Mr. Bai said that one mouthful of rice and one mouthful of soup, Yi Zhen is really a foodie.

②Xie Xiaochuan made a simplified version of "Buddha Jumps Over the Wall".