National Tide 1980.

Chapter 1328: Four Four to the End

Master Li was in charge of counting the dry goods and delicacies from land and sea. While responding to Master Pang's words, he also checked the ingredients he needed to prepare. At this time, he felt that it was almost done.

"It's windy, so everyone is busy with their stalls. Over here, everything that needs to be soaked has been soaked. The sea cucumbers and other things are OK, although some things have been stored for a long time, like the deer tendons, and have lost their freshness, but it doesn't matter, they will be tasty when cooked."

Then Master Li rushed to the kitchen and shouted, "Liangzi, come out. We need to use caustic soda to soften the deer tendon. You must make it more flexible so that we can use it later. Do you understand?"

At about this time, the three tricycle drivers from the outer courtyard also rode their tricycles to the kitchen door under the guidance of someone.

As soon as the two chefs saw the contents of the manifest, they understood.

These were all pre-ordered from the supplier of Tan Palace. They are fresh fruits and vegetables obtained from Yongdingmen. They are for their freshness and cannot be prepared in advance.

So at this time, the two chefs who wanted to take a break couldn't even catch their breath, as another round of inspection of seasonal fresh goods began.

Several rickshaw drivers were unloading the goods from their carts one by one. They opened the rattan covers one by one to check.

There were more than twenty baskets and dozens of things of varying quantities. It took me half an hour to sort them out.

At this time, the rickshaw drivers standing in the kitchen yard finally opened their eyes.

Not to mention that along the way they felt as if they were in the big garden of Prince Gong's Mansion and thought they had come to a "real palace."

Just the sight of the kitchen filled with delicious food was far beyond their imagination.

They had seen factory canteens before, but this one was far inferior in comparison.

Because the factory only grows common vegetables, cabbage and potatoes in winter, eggplants and lentils in autumn, tomatoes and cucumbers in summer, and even the occasional meat is something like "red-crowned crane".

Where had they ever seen so many diverse varieties of meat, so many colorful cakes and snacks?

Not to mention that all the things they got are hard to find in the market.

There were a large basket of lychees and bananas, and countless other fruits and grapes.

Even the vegetables were fresh and delicious that they had never seen before.

Especially since there are not only a lot of things, but also in large quantities.

They had never seen dozens of soup cans with different strips on them placed together.

I have never seen dozens of pork elbows piled up like a mountain in several large iron pots.

I have also never seen hundreds of big fish being neatly cleaned, fried one by one, and put together.

Not to mention, there are many things they don’t recognize, such as sea cucumbers, scallops, fish maws, shark fins, bird’s nests, camel humps and so on.

In short, the kitchen looks like a big vegetable market today.

The kitchen yard and the aroma wafting from it made them drool, and they thought of one word - rich and delicious.

In their opinion, all the good things that a person could eat in his lifetime might not be as much as what they saw in the kitchen at this moment.

So, when they finally finished what they were supposed to do.

They were all overjoyed to have received the generous reward for the trip they had run in the hot summer and had made them sweat all over.

Under the shade of the trees, they drank warm and fragrant jasmine tea from big bowls and wiped their sweaty heads with dark towels. The rickshaw driver in the lead was so happy that he couldn't stand the loneliness and wanted to chat a little.

While holding the tea bowl, he could not help asking Master Pang, "Master, it's so hot this day, there must be a lot of flies, and the ice melts quickly. Look, the ice water under your basket has melted all over the floor! In this kind of weather, you dare to bring out such old things. Can they be used? How many tables are you going to have?"

As for Master Pang, having been a chef for so long, he has also developed the habit of being a know-it-all.

Anyway, everything was in order, people were busy with miscellaneous tasks, and there was still some time before the lunch break, so he simply picked up the teacup and started chatting with the driver like a storyteller.

"Have they been used? You've got rid of that 'ma'. Let me tell you, the host of today's event is not an ordinary person. He has many friends in the literary and artistic circles, cultural circles, business circles, and government circles. He has a wide range of social contacts. We have prepared for 300 people, but it may not be enough. And there is another point you must understand. They are not ordinary people. They have to entertain guests with a buffet, and we have to arrange people to accompany the guests and eat. They have two formal meals, one in the morning and one in the evening. If they want to eat, the guests can eat here for a whole day. Just think about it, how much food do we have to prepare?"

“Yes.” Several drivers’ eyes sparkled as they listened, as if they were listening to the crosstalk “Opening a Porridge Factory” and appreciating the generosity of Mr. Ma from the Huangtu Ma family.

Then a driver asked, "How many dishes are there on each table for this meal? I'm afraid there must be eighteen dishes, right?"

This question probably reflects the ceiling of the luxurious banquets that people of his class can imagine.

However, these words sounded so ridiculous to Master Pang's ears.

He couldn't help curling his lips, "Eighteen dishes, you're saying too little. I still say that, our banquet is not for a small family, if it were ordinary people, we would have treated them with 'eight dishes of pork'. That's a rough banquet, with eight dishes all found on the pig, such as four-happiness meatballs, braised pork with pork belly, rice noodle meat, tiger skin elbow, braised spareribs, large pieces of pork, and some cold and vegetarian dishes, to make eighteen dishes for you. We are not doing that today, with wine and meat, it's not enough to just eat to fill your stomach, the guests today are all top-notch, so we have to serve high-end food, and make it look good for the host, so, we have to have a 'four fours to the end' banquet."

"Four four to the end?"

The drivers were confused by what Master Pang said again. They became even more curious and one of them couldn't help but interrupt and ask for advice.

"Master chef, what is a banquet that is four-four to the end?"

Master Pang was very excited and willing to explain patiently, not at all annoyed.

"Four Fours is a banquet that uses the numbering pattern of four, and there are rules for serving dishes. To put it bluntly, it is classified by dishes, and everything must be served together in groups of four. Four is an auspicious number in our culture, and it also caters to the changing of the seasons, the ever-fresh food of the four seasons, and a good start of stability. The simplest 'Four Fours' banquet is four plates, four large items, four rows of items, and four rice dishes, or four cold dishes, four hot dishes, four soup dishes, and four snacks. Just think about it, that's sixteen dishes, how much more complicated it would be?"

"So how many dishes are you going to prepare for today's banquet?"

The leading driver was completely intrigued by what Master Pang said, and as soon as he finished speaking, he couldn't help but ask for clarification.

Master Pang is a nice guy. He doesn't keep people in suspense or waste their time. He just lets them gain some experience.

"Since you are willing to listen, let me tell you. Our four-four-to-one banquet today has four kinds of dried fruits, sesame sugar, butter almonds, melon seeds, and peanuts. Four candied fruits, peach preserves, melon strips, candied dates, and quince. There are also four kinds of fruits, grapes, lychees, peaches, and bananas. Four kinds of cakes, rose cakes, flour cakes, perilla leaf cakes, and jade dew cream. Four meat dishes, smoked fish, pine flowers, mixed shrimp waist, and braised beef. Four vegetarian dishes, mixed spinach, osmanthus lotus root, red and green, and pearl bamboo shoots. Four stir-fried dishes, Kung Pao chicken, stir-fried pork cubes, braised prawns, and sweet and sour pork tenderloin. Four stews, stewed chicken shreds, Braised chestnut mushrooms, mandarin duck buckle, sea cucumber with scallions. Four dim sum, stir-fried unicorn noodles, dangle fire cakes, deep-fried magnolia sticks, and flavored steamed buns. Four bowls, stewed wild rice stems in chicken oil, stewed deer tendons in casserole, eel paste with sesame oil, and braised shark's fins. Four large bowls, dragon boat mandarin fish, slippery shellfish, cauliflower in milk sauce, and candied apples. Four porridge dishes, camel hump shreds, sweet broth, Sichuan pickles, and sweet potato with sauce. Hey, excluding the dragon and phoenix wedding cakes, there are exactly thirty-six dishes in total. Of course, we can add more if we want, but the meal time will be too long, which is unnecessary. If the guests are not full, they will be tired. "

  Good guy!

You wouldn’t know until you hear it. Only then do you realize that there is such a rich banquet in the world.

  It is really poverty that limits imagination!

To be honest, if they weren't holding tea bowls in their hands, these drivers would have wanted to applaud Master Pang.

The way they named the dishes was much more enjoyable than the crosstalk of "steamed lamb, steamed bear paw, steamed deer tail, roast duck, roast chicken, roast goose..." It's said that one of them is just a bastard, and the other is a real expert.

If someone tells you to cook it, you can make it, and there are rules and regulations to follow. It's not like the crosstalk performers who just make up stories and put different ingredients together using the same method.

The authority and professionalism are totally on a different level.

Just like that, several coachmen started drooling just by listening.

If they hadn't already known in their hearts that this meal could not be purchased with money.

They really wanted to ask how much they had to contribute to get a seat and sit there and eat for free.

At this time, perhaps also tempted by the delicious food, a little yellow cat jumped down from the courtyard wall to join in the fun.

As soon as the cat entered the yard, it ran straight to the kitchen, where there was a mountain of meat.

Two of the rickshaw drivers discovered it almost at the same time. They were kind-hearted, so they chased after it and each kicked it once to scare it away.

"This thing is the most annoying thing! It can take away a fish if you're not careful."

"Isn't it? Damn it, this thing is the worst. It's impossible to guard against it. If I see it again, I'll definitely catch it."

The two drivers used this sentence half to scold the cat, and half to show their goodwill, as a greeting to Master Pang.

It’s a pity that their joy turned into sorrow. They were really rash.

Because Master Pang was immediately frightened and kept shouting to stop.

"Don't worry, don't worry! This is the chairman's cat. You two, hey, how can I say hello to you. Fortunately, you are not hurt, otherwise if the old American lady knew about it, we would all be dumbfounded."

"Ah?" After hearing this, the drivers realized that they had almost gotten into trouble.

Well, I drank his tea, took his candy, cigarettes, and money, and almost hurt his beloved cat.

  What do you mean?

As for the frightened little yellow cat, it ran to the courtyard wall, but because of the unexpected disaster, it was unwilling to leave easily, and stared at the coachman, meowing.

It was as if he understood their conversation and was demonstrating.

As a result, the drivers couldn't stay any longer and realized that cats were not to be messed with easily.

They were afraid and aggrieved, and felt that this matter was more and more weird.

They all thought that the night was long and dreams were many, so they left quickly to stay away from this place and keep their gains.

However, in the eyes of cats, they don’t think too much.

  Why is it calling?

In fact, it is very simple. It is nothing more than feeling that today's kitchen is so different, with so many rich and tempting things, which makes it unable to resist the temptation and dare to take the risk.

For it, what it longed for most was obviously not the several large tables in the yard that were filled with dried fruits, cakes and various snacks.

Instead, in the corner of the yard, there were fish scales, fish bones, shrimp skins, and meat bones thrown together like the Himalayas, attracting flies.

As a result, he was expelled, and it was an outsider who came to him.

Damn it, why did he have to take these two kicks?

In the cat's heart, it feels really wronged. It also knows that what it wants is something that humans don't eat.

The host was getting married, but it couldn't even catch any chicken bones or fish bones. How could it not cry?

…………

It should be said that in terms of viewing pomp and broadening horizons, today, whether it is the delivery drivers or the chefs in the kitchen, they are just not ranked.

In all aspects, who is the person who is most likely to feast his eyes?

Well, actually they were the ones wearing red uniforms, sitting in the row of houses at the gate waiting for the arrival of the newlyweds, the trumpeters and drummers drinking tea, and the few people waiting to act as sedan bearers.

These people's job was to wait until the bride arrived home before starting work, so they were all very idle.

The big bronze drums and bronze trumpets were all put aside. They held small cigarettes in their mouths, blew on small electric fans, and watched people coming and going outside the window.

Everyone is busy.

They not only saw with their own eyes how the people in Yunyuan set up the gift table and tea table.

Then a red tablecloth was laid out and an eight-panel screen with broken branches and flowers was placed on top.

I also saw how these people arranged dried fruits, fresh fruits, wedding candies, wedding cigarettes, and snacks on the plates in order.

And all the porcelain used was specially fired for this wedding.

Of course, although they were surprised and enlightened, they couldn't stop talking.

  What's the point of just sitting there and watching?

With such a foreign scene in front of them, of course they had to chat and joke with each other.

"Isn't it the same for rich people to marry a wife as for us poor people? No matter how much money you spend to marry a wife, you still can't have a good life after marriage - these days! Good wives are hard to find! Even if you find one, what do you think? You can't afford to offend her! She controls your money, makes you drink! She doesn't allow you to meet friends! And if you have children, you have to take care of their food and clothes. Don't you agree? What's the point of getting married? If I had so much money, I wouldn't get married. I would put it all in the bank. It's not good to live a life of luxury instead of spending it on others, grandma..."

This guy speaks just to "make people laugh". He dares to say things that others dare not say, because in fact he is not married yet. For example, he has not even found a partner yet.

So his words have a comic effect of sour grapes.

Everyone couldn't help laughing when they heard what he said.